Gentling the Cowboy(67)

As the three of them marched toward the house like it was a guillotine, Sarah searched Tony’s face. It was impossible to tell by his guarded expression if he was nervous about meeting her brother or put off by his attitude. Charlie could be a bit of a pill, but he was her only brother, and she wanted these two men to get along.

Just inside the main hallway of the house, Melanie and her son came out of the kitchen to meet them. Melanie’s reaction to seeing her brother was almost comical. Her eyes rounded, her jaw went slack, and she instantly started shoving her loose tendrils back into her ponytail.

Charlie looked over Sarah’s head at Tony and in a tone as quiet as it was deadly, he asked, “Who is she?”

Sarah jumped in, “That’s Melanie, his housekeeper.”

“Does she live here, too?”

What are you doing, Charlie? What’s with the interrogation? “She has her own house on the other side of the barn.”

“Convenient,” Charlie said, his displeasure and innuendo clear to all.

Melanie’s face reddened. “It is since I spend most of my day working here.”

“I’m sure you do.”

Tony made a noise deep in his chest that sounded an awful lot like a warning growl. “Melanie, why don’t you and Sarah take Jace into the kitchen and get us a drink. I’m sure Charles is thirsty.”

Sarah looked back and forth between the two of them. She didn’t want to leave them. She’d really wanted their first meeting to be a pleasant one, but her brother was being an ass, and if their past was anything to go by, nothing she could say would change that.

When he made up his mind, he could be as stubborn as Tony.

I don’t know why I thought he’d approve.

He’s never approved of anything I’ve ever done.

He’ll say this is for my own good, but it’s about him. Without me, he’s probably afraid he’ll have to go home and deal with Mom and Dad himself.

Don’t judge me for leaving, Charlie—you left a long time ago.

It was that last thought that convinced Sarah that Charlie deserved whatever Tony was about to say to him.





I can’t punch Sarah’s brother.

I’d love to, but I shouldn’t. Tony took a calming breath. “It would mean a lot to Sarah if you pretended to be happy for her.”

Charles whipped off his sunglasses and glared at Tony. “I deal in facts, not fantasy like she does. You may have her fooled, but I’ve had you investigated, and I don’t like anything I learned about you.”

One corner of Tony’s mouth curled sarcastically. “I’m beginning to understand why she had to leave Rhode Island.”

His face red with fury, Charles snarled, “You’re a violent drunk who should be rotting in jail instead of making a fool out of my sister in all the gossip rags.”

A deadly calm swept through Tony. His past had found a voice at last. He went toe to toe with Charles, striking out at him with words in a way he knew would wipe that superior look off his face. “I haven’t had a drink in four years. My guilt or innocence is my own business. But your sister, she’s a good fuck.” He regretted the words even as they came out of his mouth.

Charles hauled back to punch Tony, but Tony caught his fist in his hand, his strength buoyed by a rage that had simmered inside him for years. He dropped it in disgust and prepared for another strike.

Melanie’s voice was heard clearly in the charged quiet moment that followed. “Sarah, he didn’t mean that.”

Tony’s head spun in time to see the two glasses of lemonade in Sarah’s hands fall and shatter on the wooden floor at her feet. Shaking her head slowly back and forth, she turned and ran out the front door.

Tony looked back at Charles just in time to receive a brain-rattling punch that set him back a step. The world beneath Tony tilted and he shook his head to clear it, preparing to deliver a crushing rebuttal.

Melanie was between them before he raised his fist. She was spitting angry. She threw her glasses of lemonade in their faces, which brought them both to a shocked, temporary cease-fire. “You two just broke that girl’s heart. If one of you doesn’t chase after her to apologize, I’m coming back with a frying pan.”

The real concern in Melanie’s voice focused Tony’s attention on Sarah’s vulnerability. This wasn’t about what her brother thought of him. He’d let the mention of his past cause him to say something he would always regret.

Melanie didn’t look like she needed any help defending her honor. She wasn’t joking about the frying pan. Tony set off in long strides to find Sarah.

She was holding onto the railing in the corner of the porch, her pale cheeks wet with tears. He went to stand beside her, searching for what to say to erase the hurt he’d caused.