Braydon (Alluring Indulgence #6)(102)
Author: Nicole Edwards

Jessie considered that for a moment. She couldn’t disagree, although she desperately wanted to, but that was her inner five-year-old talking. She wanted to argue for the sake of arguing. Mainly because she was scared. “I love him, Ky,” Jessie blurted.

“I know you do.”

“I don’t even know how to tell him. And I don’t think that we can do anything until we get Brendon under control.”

“Brendon’s a big boy. He’s going to figure this out. We just need to make sure he goes about that the right way.”

“And how do we do that?” Jessie asked. “Braydon’s practically babysitting him.”

“I think that’s why Travis called Cheyenne. He asked for a favor.”

“What sort of favor?”

“We were talking and we think it might be a good idea if Cheyenne can assure Brendon that she isn’t pissed at him. He hasn’t been right ever since he called her out at Moonshiners, treating her like a slut. He feels like shit about what he’s done to her. And to you.”

“To me?”

“Yeah, to you,” Kylie answered. “He wants to be friends, but he thinks he’s messed that up.”

“But he hasn’t,” Jessie assured her. “I’m his friend.”

“Have you told him that?”

“Well . . . no. I haven’t really talked to him though.”

“Maybe that’s the problem.”

“So what? Are you suggesting some sort of intervention?”

Kylie laughed. “God, no. That won’t work with Brendon. Even I know that much. I just think he needs some reassurance. Everyone seems to be talking, but they aren’t talking to him.”

Jessie thought about that. Her sister was right. Jessie had kept all her feelings guarded, bottled up inside. Especially when Braydon had been gone.

But that didn’t mean she couldn’t make things right. After all, she was dating Braydon, and that was going to be a long-term thing. So it only made sense that she reach out to Brendon.

After all, they all had to shoulder some of the blame.

BRENDON HAD JUST stepped out of the shower when he heard a knock on the front door. He wrapped a towel around his waist and listened for a moment, wondering if Braydon had made it home yet. When he didn’t hear his brother moving around, he opened his bedroom door in time to hear the knocking once again.

Reluctantly, he made his way across the living room. Figuring one of his brothers had come by to check on him, he pulled open the door, ready to blast them with all the reasons they needed to just leave him alone.

Instead of yelling, Brendon damn near swallowed his tongue.

“Hey,” Cheyenne greeted him softly, her eyes weary as they locked with his. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he answered reluctantly. “Uh . . . Fine. Why?”

When her gaze strayed, Brendon felt a heated trail down his chest, and that’s when he realized he was standing there in front of Cheyenne Montgomery in only a towel.

“Shit,” he bit out. “Sorry. I had no idea you were coming.”

“No, I’m sure you didn’t,” she said with a smile.

“Want to, uh, come in? I’ll go change, er . . . put clothes on. I just got out of the . . .”

“I get it, Brendon,” Cheyenne said with a strained laugh. “Go get dressed, and yes, I’ll come inside.”

Brendon stepped out of the way, allowing Cheyenne to come inside. The fresh, floral scent of what he assumed was her perfume tickled his nose, and for the first time in weeks, he felt something strange flickering in his chest. Hope?

God, he hoped not.

Shit.

“Give me two minutes,” he told her. Without waiting for her response, he made his way to his room and shut the door behind him.

Grabbing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt from his dresser, he managed to pull on his clothes. It wasn’t until he was dressed that he actually took a breath.

Okay, so this was really unexpected. What the hell was Cheyenne doing there? Especially after the last time he’d seen her at Moonshiners. Out of habit, he reached up to touch his eye. He knew the bruising was pretty much gone, but he still felt the ghost pain of the black eye Sawyer had given him the last time he had been in Cheyenne’s presence.

He wasn’t sure whether he should be pissed or excited about her arrival on his front porch.

“Want something to drink?” he asked when he forced himself back into the living room. He couldn’t very well hide out in his bedroom all day, now could he?

“Water?” she suggested.

Brendon nodded and then made a beeline for the kitchen. After retrieving two bottles of water, he again took a deep breath. Something inside of him said he shouldn’t get his hopes up about this visit. He didn’t think Cheyenne had come to see him of her own accord. For some reason, Brendon got the impression that Travis might have had a hand in this.