LITMIR.BIZ

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      “I’ve been busy.”

      Trying to sleep without Alexa.

      How insane was that? He’d actually slept with her only the one night, but for some reason that was the best rest he’d had since he’d come home. Maybe it was the sex relaxing him, but he didn’t think so. Alexa understood him. She hadn’t pushed verbally, but emotionally she’d been there. They were virtual strangers, yet they knew each other in the most intimate of ways.

      “What the hell happened?” Nolan asked, then held out his hands. “No, don’t tell me. If you like her, why are you here?”

      Hayes glanced back toward his meddling brothers. “I refuse to get into some locker room chatter. Whatever happened between Alexa and myself is between us.”

      “Annabelle said she was crying when she came back to get her things,” Colt supplied. The concern in his eyes could barely be seen beneath the wide brim of his hat, but Hayes missed nothing. “I saw how the two of you were.”

      “You saw us kissing,” Hayes corrected. “Don’t read any further into it.”

      “After that.” Colt uncrossed his arms and took a step forward. “I saw the way you two looked at each other, the way you stared after her when she left. Don’t tell me it was all physical because I don’t believe it.”

      Hayes stared for a second before he turned his focus back to his mare. “I don’t care what you believe.”

      But he did care that Alexa was crying. He shouldn’t care. He should just let her go. When he’d asked her to stay he’d had a moment of weakness, though he hadn’t been lying when he’d told her it was only so she’d stay in his bed. That was precisely where he wanted her and five days later his need was just as strong, if not stronger.

      “Have you been to see Father lately?” Nolan asked, thankfully changing the subject.

      Hayes led Jumper back into her stall. “I was there yesterday. He didn’t know me, but he knew my name. He kept referring to the time I fell into the river.”

      “You were eight,” Nolan stated. “He’s been in that time frame for a while now. I think that’s where he wants to stay. When I’m there, he’s always talking about Mom, but we’re all very young.”

      Hayes hated seeing his father robbed of his memories, of his dignity. They’d gotten him the best care possible and kept the rumors about the Elliott patriarch at bay. Nobody outside the immediate family needed to know just how bad their father was.

      As much as he hated seeing his once robust dad in such shape, Hayes made a point to visit every few days. He knew his brothers did the same and they tried not to go on the same days so as not to confuse him. The dude ranch had been his baby and no matter what happened with his health, the Elliott brothers would see this through...which was just another reason he didn’t have time to get swept away in some affair.

      The weekend was enough. It had to be.

      “Pepper said Alexa came into the store yesterday.”

      Hayes shot Nolan a glare, to which Nolan merely shrugged.

      “And how does she know Alexa?”

      “Stone River isn’t that large of a town,” Nolan replied. “And nearly everyone has been in Pepper’s shop.”

      Nolan’s wife had opened a flower shop that also showcased her one-of-a-kind paintings. Apparently the store had been thriving since the grand opening last year. No doubt Nolan had a hand in helping to make sure his wife’s venture was a huge success.

      Hayes slid the stall door closed, then turned and hooked his thumbs through his belt loops. “Is there a point to this story?” he asked his brother.

      Nolan merely smiled. “Just gauging your reaction.”

      Glancing from brother to brother, Hayes took his hat off and tapped it against the side of his leg. “This is why I rarely come down here. Being analyzed by you two is not my idea of work or a good time. I’m fine. Okay, I’m not, but I will be.”

      “Is this the war trauma or your houseguest we’re talking about now?” Colt asked, leaning against the stall on the opposite side of the walkway.

      Hayes leveled his gaze. “All of it.”

      Colt nodded and turned away. Heading toward the open end of the stables, he called over his shoulder, “Annabelle has Alexa’s address on file.”

      Hayes clenched his teeth as Nolan stared with that damn smirk on his face. “Shut up.”

      He didn’t want his meddling brothers, or his sisters-in-law, getting in his personal business. Though apparently it was a little too late for that.

      Without a word, Hayes spun on his booted heel and left the stables. He either needed to work on some more demo to get this frustration out of his head or he...

      No. That’s not what he needed to do. He’d cut ties with Alexa. He’d learned his lesson about getting tangled up with the wrong woman and Alexa being a single mother was definitely not for him. Not that he didn’t love kids. He adored his brothers’ children. How could he not? Two beautiful twin girls and a bouncing baby boy?

      There was just so much evil Hayes had seen. All the nightmares he had, sleeping and awake, would not be a good atmosphere for a child. Being an uncle was a far cry from being hands-on with a child every day and if he and Alexa became involved, he’d want to be hands-on. That goal from when he was younger still lived deep inside him. The goal of a family, of children. But he’d had to ignore that need—he’d had to push it so far down it wouldn’t creep up and make him realize he was missing everything he’d wanted for his future.

      Hayes hopped into his truck and pulled up the drive leading to his house. As he passed the main house, Annabelle sat on the porch swing watching her twin girls playing at her feet.

      A small tug of jealousy slithered through him, but the unwanted emotion had no place in his life. Growing up, he’d always thought he’d have a family and they’d all live here on the ranch. Then life happened and reality smacked him in the face with a sledgehammer.

      He threw up a hand in greeting when Annabelle lifted her head and smiled as he drove by. His brothers may have found happiness, and he was grateful they were bringing up another generation of Elliotts for the next chapter in their lives.

      But if anyone was looking to him to carry on the name, well, they were wasting their time. Hayes wasn’t about to take over rearing a child.

      * * *

      “You are so rotten.”

      Alexa laughed as she settled Mason onto her lap. She sat on the stoop and held her son in one hand and the container of bubbles in the other. Well, the now empty container, since Mason had opted to dump the bottle down her legs.

      Good thing she was barefoot and in shorts. Mason only wore his swim trunks and a little dirt on his feet from where he’d been running around in their meager front yard for a while. The postage-stamp-size yard was such a disappointment after seeing the spread on Pebblebrook.

      Alexa groaned. That certainly wasn’t the first time that ranch, or the sexy rancher, had flooded her mind over the past week. It had been seven days since she’d left and there wasn’t a day that went by where she didn’t wonder what he was doing, how he was doing. Was he sleeping? Was he still tearing out the kitchen?

      “Play.” Mason clapped his hands, then smacked her legs. “Play.”

      Alexa sat the bottle next to her thigh and wrapped her arms around his slender little frame. “You silly boy. You dumped all the bubbles on Mommy. They’re all gone.”

      “No.”

      “Yes,” she countered. “They’re all gone.”

      Mason reached over her hold and picked up the bottle. Turning it upside down, he shook it. A

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