Willow in Bloom Read Free Page B

me. Admit it, you really miss me,” Brick goaded.
    â€œYeah, I miss all that snoring and snortin’ you do in your sleep every night,” Tyler countered facetiously, when in truth he did miss his brother. Not only had they shared a bedroom their entire growing up years, but since they’d left home to follow the rodeo circuit they’d rarely been apart.
    But Tyler knew there was no way he’d ever live it down if he admitted that he actually did miss Brick.
    â€œI’ll be there the weekend after next,” his brother said in answer to his question. “And don’t go thinkin’ I’ll be able to recognize the mystery woman if we come across her, either, because I keep tellin’ you that I didn’t so much as cast her a glance before I left you with her in that bar. I was too tired to think straight that night.”
    â€œYeah, yeah, I’ve heard it before.”
    â€œI just wish to hell I’d made you come back to the room with me instead of leaving you there. Then maybe you wouldn’t have still been thinkin’ about her the next day and you wouldn’t have been distracted and—”
    â€œWe all get dealt our own hand, little brother, and that was mine,” Tyler said in answer to the suddenly serious tone Brick had taken.
    â€œYeah, well, still and all—”
    â€œStill and all nothin’. Things happen the way they’re supposed to happen.” Whether it’s easy to understand or cope with or not.
    Tyler heard the sound of a knock on his brother’s motel room door just before Brick said, “That’s the guys.”
    â€œHeadin’ out for a real breakfast,” Tyler added, knowing the routine well himself. And suffering a terrible pang not to be a part of it anymore.
    But he didn’t let it sound in his voice. He made sure to seem upbeat. “You better get goin’ or they’ll leave you behind. I just wanted to wish you luck on your ride tonight. Let me know how you do.”
    Brick wasn’t as good at hiding his feelings. His voice echoed with sadness. “You know I will. Talk to you later.”
    â€œTalk to you later,” Tyler answered. Then he pushed the button to disconnect the call, and set his cordless phone on the planked floor of his front porch.
    â€œDamn,” he muttered to himself, weathering the fresh surge of sorrow that flooded through him.
    But things were the way they were, he reminded himself. They couldn’t be changed, and pining for what used to be, for what might have been if only, didn’t help anything. He needed to look to the positives, not the negatives.
    Like the fact that he was now the owner of this ranch and had a home of his own.
    Like the fact that even if it was sooner than he’d planned, this was still the life he and Brick had alwaystalked about having when they were ready to throw in the towel on bronc busting.
    Like the fact that Black Arrow was a nice, quiet town full of friendly people.
    People like Willow Colton.
    Willow Colton whose legs went on for miles, whose tight body couldn’t have been better proportioned, and whose breasts were just the right size to fit into a man’s hands….
    Tyler knew what his brother would say about Willow Colton if he saw her. Brick would say, “Who needs a mystery woman when there’s a flesh and blood woman like Willow Colton?”
    But Brick didn’t understand what was going on inside Tyler over his mystery woman.
    Hell, Tyler didn’t understand it himself.
    He just knew there was something pushing him to find her. And maybe to find that part of himself that he’d lost in the process.
    And he didn’t think he could rest until he did.
    Even if he was having trouble getting that image of Miss Feed and Grain out of his head.
    Even if he was looking forward to seeing her again more than he wanted to.
    No, his mystery woman was like lost pages in a book he just had to finish,