Chapter 33
The world's biggest asshole slammed the truck door and stomped across the frozen ground and into the kitchen.
As one, Garrison, Kerr, and Odie looked up from their seats at the kitchen table, half-eaten meals in front of them.
"Rough week last night?" Kerr quipped.
"Shut up." Vaughn so wanted to wipe the floor with that know-it-all face. "So, what are you three stooges doing together? Looks like you're plotting world domination."
Garrison groaned. "Fight with Sara this morning."
"I'm facilitating the therapy," Kerr winked. "Want to make it a group session?"
"Have a seat, mon ami. We're trying to figure out women," Odie drawled. "We have no leads, no advantage, and no hope of ever solving the puzzle. You got any ideas?"
Vaughn motioned to his rumpled, unshaven, sorry-ass appearance. "Does it appear that I have a clue about women?"
Odie patted the chair next to him, his glass-green eyes disgustingly merry. "You might need something stronger than coffee this morning."
Kerr whistled low.
"That's the last thing I need, trust me." Vaughn slumped into the chair and scrubbed his face. "What's the plan for dealing with the badness stalking our ranch?"
"Way to change the subject, slick," Kerr quipped. "How about fill us in on the woman details first. Why the long face, Trigger?"
Garrison rubbed his own stubbled jaw. "Yeah. You look like you had your ass handed to you."
"In two fists." Vaughn studied his brother, like Garrison might have the answers. Nope. "I'm an idiot."
"Well, we had to endure the story about Garrison's screw-up." Kerr straightened. "Your turn. Inquiring minds want to know."
"Nothing, man. It's nothing."
"You walk in here, almost taking the door off the hinges, and it's nothing?" Kerr pursed his lips. "Not buying it. Welcome to circle-sharing time for the boys. We'll all take turns. You're up."
"I ended things with Mariah this morning."
Silence fell for a few seconds before Kerr leaned back. "Before or after you made a few more O faces with her?" The way Kerr cocked his head to the side, Vaughn's hands itched to strangle his kid brother.
"Fuck off."
"Okey dokey, but I do prefer a little privacy." Kerr grinned, then he sat straight and glared at him. "Holy shit, you really did the nasty first and then broke it off? That's pretty cold, even for a jerk like you."
Vaughn sucked in air and prayed he wouldn't kill Kerr.
Odie lifted a hand. "Maybe we should refocus here."
"Who the hell are you to talk?" Vaughn snapped.
The Cajun chopped his hand through the air. "Listen closely, boys, and maybe one day you'll have a long, meaningful relationship with a beautiful woman who puts up with your stupidity."
Garrison grinned. "Like you?"
He rolled his lips together, the beard and moustache meeting in the middle. "Me? No. I've only known Ruth for a year. A mere blip of time in the grand scheme of the universe, really. But once I figured out that my life meant nothing without her, I pulled my sorry self together in a hurry, before I lost her. You hear me, mon ami?" Damn. The guy went from jovial to dead serious in a millisecond.
"What you're saying is, don't make mistakes with a woman," Vaughn muttered. "One, that's impossible. Two, a moron could have figured out that advice."
"Yet here you sit." He sighed. "No, my friend. What I am saying is, when you find the woman who you would die for, the woman who makes you a better person and a hell of a better man,"—resting his thick forearms on the table, Odie propped his hands on the rim of the mug—"if you're smart, then there should be absolutely nothing in the world that prevents you from holding on to her for as long as she will allow you to do so."
Vaughn winced as the man's words, like an arrow, hit a bull's-eye on his heart.
"And your credentials in family counseling are from what university?" Kerr raised orange brows.
Odie shot a tight smile. "My credentials are far more than you'll ever know. Let's just say that I know what it feels like to have someone I love ripped away. I know what it feels like to see someone I love hurt because of my stupid decisions." He pushed away from the table and stood. "You can learn from my mistakes or keep making your own and live with regret for the rest of your life."
"That's the worst Dear Abby advice I've ever heard." Kerr rolled his eyes.
"Is it? What will you sacrifice for the person you care about?"
"I don't—" Kerr sputtered. "There's no one."
Garrison shook his head and glared. For a split second, he looked like Dad, giving his sons hell. "There'd better not be. Least of all someone with the last name of Brand."
Odie cut off Kerr's sputtered response. "All that matters is that you don't miss your chance. There aren't a lot of do-overs in this life." His mouth twisted into a grimace, like he had an awful private joke. "And you'll pay dearly for the do-overs you get."
Vaughn didn't like the sound of that sage advice. "Where are you going?"
He rubbed his beard. "To personally thank my wife for sticking with an old, dumb Cajun and to beg her to stay with me for years to come."
"How are you going to do that?" Garrison mumbled.
"For starters, I'll tell her that I'm sorry."
Kerr coughed on coffee. "For what?"
Odie whipped around. "It don' matter, boys. But those two words are a great place to start. I'm sorry softens the ladies right up. Putty in your hands. Primes the pump. You don't even have to give her specifics, just bury what little pride you have left and say it." He cut his eyes to Vaughn. "You should try it before the chance is gone." Turning on his heel, he swaggered out of the kitchen.
Vaughn tried hard not to make eye contact with his brothers.
"Damn. I'm a real idiot, huh?" Vaughn moaned.
Garrison pulled out his phone and raised his hand. "Don't bother me. I need to text Sara and hope to God she'll talk to me again." Head down, he typed as he slowly walked out of the kitchen.
"You two are one grovel away from losing your man cards," Kerr said. "So, what are you going to do, Vaughn? Crawl back?"
"She may not talk to me again. I'm not sure what to do."
"Wait. You don't know? Let me get this straight. You have a smart, beautiful woman who, by some miracle, digs you despite your weird brain stuff, sordid history, and caveman complex. Oh, and you're ugly. And you kicked that awesome package to the curb?"
"Fuck." He began to sweat.
"Here you sit, still unable to figure out the right thing to do?"
"Uh..."
"Even a blind man can see that was a boneheaded move. What were you thinking?"
Vaughn tried with two hands to scrub the stupid off his face. "I was thinking it would be good if she didn't get hurt by the insanity going on here."
"So you hurt her... to keep her from being hurt?" Kerr flipped two thumbs up. "Way to go, Romeo."
Vaughn shoved to his feet and grabbed his coat. "Fuck if I know what's the best thing to do in this situation. For now, I'm going to do chores until I'm too exhausted to think about stupid crap like feelings. If I'm lucky, I won't reach for something that has 'proof' on the label." He wet his lips. God, how good would a stiff whiskey taste right now? And the numbness to follow would be wonderful.
"Dude."
"Don't worry. I'll steer clear of the Wild Turkey. For now. Damn it. Even if I beg for forgiveness, I don't know if I can ask her to step into the mess we've got here. When Mr. Text Apology stops groveling and wants to discuss the monster trying to kill our family, let me know. As much as I want to fix this disaster with Mariah, there's a bigger problem waiting out there."