Chapter 28

Birthday countdown: 32 days

Since meeting her: 14 days

Company takeover: 39 days

Lexi’s palm grows sweaty as we walk down the hallway that leads to the kitchen in the two-story farmhouse. It feels like home, a place that was full of love, growing up. I envy this.

She leads me toward the kitchen, and I stop to glance over the pictures on the wall, all hanging in different-sized frames. It’s a collage of Lexi’s life.

“Is this you?” I ask, pointing to one of the photos.

There’s a little girl dressed in a red wig, center stage, with her arms spread wide. By the positioning of her mouth, she’s singing.

She laughs. “Yes, I played Annie in the community theater’s summer show. I guess the billionaire thing has been going on for a while.”

Laughter escapes me. “You’re terrible.”

There are countless photos of Lexi performing throughout the year, along with high school and college graduation photos. I notice the sparkle in her eye and the happiness on her face, which is the same one I witness when she looks at me. Her brothers have just as many photos hung too. I can tell their parents are very proud.

“Come on. Let’s get this over with, please,” she urges, pulling me away.

When we enter the dining room, connected to the kitchen, her brothers put their forks down and stare at me. Then, they stand, and I realize they’re both an inch taller and stacked with muscles. I’m not sure why I expected anything else.

Lexi instantly smiles and gives them both tight hugs.

“You stink,” she tells one.

“What’re you doing here?” the other asks.

“Surprise! I wanted you to meet my boyfriend,” she says. “This is Easton Calloway.”

Immediately, her brothers grin. I slightly relax.

“Must be serious if you both came all this way. I’m Brett,” the one with dark hair says.

I take his hand, and we exchange an aggressive, firm handshake.

“I’m Chris,” the blond says, nearly crushing my hand next.

I give him the same pressure but with a straight face. I’m immune to intimidation; however, the message is heard.

They return to their seats and their plates.

Lexi’s mother tells us to sit. “Oh, and my name is Melissa, but everyone calls me Mom, especially the man my daughter will marry.”

Both of her brothers stop chewing and glance at each other.

“What the fuck?” Brett asks.

Lexi holds up her hands as she pulls out her chair. “Don’t.”

“Are you pregnant?” Chris asks.

“No. Now, stop. Seriously. I’m nearly thirty years old, and I don’t need this bullshit.”

“Can we watch our language?” Her mother’s voice is stern, but it softens. “Are you two hungry?”

“No thanks,” Lexi says as her brothers continue arguing.

An ear-piercing whistle fills the room and everyone stops.

“I am getting married to this man, eventually. So, for once, can you please be happy for me and not ruin this? It’s a moment I’ve been looking forward to since I was a little girl. I don’t care about your opinions because this is what I want. You should be thrilled I even came here to introduce you. If it wasn’t for Easton insisting we visit Valentine, you’d have gotten a FaceTime call.”

It’s silent for a few seconds.

I know how much truth is intertwined in her words.

“I miss Dad. He’s the only one who would understand,” she says, her voice cracking.

I grab her hand and squeeze it.

“We all miss your father.” Her mother clears her throat, then moves to the fridge. She grabs two glasses from the cabinet and fills them with tea. “I’m happy you’re here, sweetie. I knew this day would come, and I can tell you two care about each other.”

She sets the glasses before us and gives her sons a stern look. “Behave and remember your manners.”

I can feel the tension building in the room, but it doesn’t bother me.

“So, how did you two meet?” Brett asks as he takes a bite of potatoes.

“I stole his watch.” Lexi laughs. “Then, he got me fired.”

“I felt awful,” I admit. “It was a misunderstanding.”

Chris laughs. “Sounds like she deserved it.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Lexi stresses. “But it’s neither here nor there. Afterward, we ran into each other randomly. It was a lot of serendipitous events, and I quickly realized how good we could be together.”

“Sounds like love at first sight,” her mother says.

“It was,” Lexi agrees, squeezing my hand. “Which is also very weird.”

“No,” Chris offers. “Dad said he fell in love with Mom the first time he saw her. I don’t think it’s that unbelievable. It happens to some people.”

Lexi smiles and sucks in a deep breath.

“So, you want to marry my sister?” Brett focuses on me.

I notice the tattoos on his arm. It’s a Western theme with a cactus, mountains, and night sky.

“Yes,” I say without any hesitation. “It would be my greatest honor to have Lexi as my wife. She makes me a better person,” I say, meeting her eyes. “I wanted this conversation to be more private without her here, but⁠—”

“My timing is shit,” Lexi says. “It is what it is.”

“If you’re asking for my blessing, Easton, you have it,” her mother says.

“Thank you, I appreciate that.”

“Don’t have ours though. Come back before dark, and we’ll discuss it,” Chris says. “Beside the house is a long dirt road leading to our horse barn.”

“Can we not do this?” Lexi asks.

“I’ll be there,” I say, not intimidated.

Maybe Lexi’s right though, and I should be. I don’t know their capabilities, but I won’t back down.

“We’ll see you then,” Brett tells me as they finish eating.

“Well, this was a great talk,” Lexi says. I can hear the sarcasm in her voice. “Love you, Mom. I think we’re gonna let y’all finish up and head out.”

Lexi stands and pulls me with her.

“So soon?” her mother asks.

Lexi kisses her on the head. “Yeah. I won’t be a stranger though.”

“It was an honor meeting you all,” I say, then glance at her brothers. “I’ll see you soon.”

Lexi drags me away.

When we’re outside, she places her hands on top of her head and breathes out as she looks at the sky. A butterfly skirts by and she shakes her head. “That went terribly. They’re going to haze you.”

“Whatever it takes.”

She turns to me with seriousness written on her face. “They won’t play by any rules, Easton.”

“I have a little sister. I understand how this works. I’m not concerned.”

“You keep saying that,” she says.

“Don’t worry about me, okay?” I grab her cheeks in my hands. “Promise.”

“I hope I don’t have to say I told you so.” She sighs.

I squeeze her shoulder. “Let’s get out of here.”

We take the long drive back to the bed-and-breakfast, not saying much to one another.

When I park, I turn to her. “You know I have to meet up with them tonight. I can’t skip that.”

“I know.”

After we eat dinner at the B & B, I grab the keys to the car. “I’ll be back.”

Brody stands to go with me.

“No. I have to do this alone.”

Weston meets my eyes. “Try to protect your face, for my sake.”

“Oh, sure, I’ll try to remember that,” I say, shaking my head. “Like I’m concerned about our face.”

Lexi walks with me outside, smelling like a fresh shower. We look up at the dark purple sky, and she hooks one of her fingers with mine.

I open the door, leaning against the car. “Any words of advice?”

“Stay quick on your toes,” she says, sliding her mouth across mine. “And good luck.”

I take the driveway onto her family ranch, then turn onto the dirt road her brother mentioned. My headlights lead the way. After I park, I get out of the car, cracking my knuckles. The lights are on in the barn, and I walk inside.

“Hello?” I yell.

“Out back,” a deep voice says.

I make my way toward their laughter. A small fire is built, and five guys are sitting around it.

Brett and Chris stand, each giving me another bone-crushing handshake.

“Easton, this is Beckett and Harrison Valentine, and Hayden Shaw. They’re some of our best friends. We planned a small get-together tonight and thought you’d like to join us,” Brett says.

“I’m staying at Horseshoe Creek Ranch,” I say to Beckett, knowing Summer mentioned they’d recently gotten married when she made us one hundred pancakes for breakfast.

“Ahh, yes.” He smiles. “Harrison is my brother, and he works with me at the training facility behind the B & B. Hayden is supposed to marry my sister at some fucking point, but we’re still waiting for that to happen.”

“You were in the bookstore earlier today with Lexi, right?” Hayden asks.

“Yeah,” I tell him, and they offer me a seat and a bottle of moonshine. I can’t help but laugh. I’m sure this isn’t what Lexi expected.

Harrison points to the bottle. “Be careful with that shit. You won’t be able to drive if you have too much.”

“Noted,” I say, passing it to Hayden.

Another guy enters from inside the barn. “Hey,” he says.

“This is Cash. He’s a vet. Runs the clinic,” Brett tells me.

“Ah, yes.” I give him a nod, stand, and greet him. “I’m Easton. I’m dating Lexi.”

“Oh yeah. I saw your car at the B & B. Nice ride.”

“Thanks,” I tell him.

Chris turns his attention back to me. “So, what do you do?”

Now I wish I had the booze, because if they’re asking, they haven’t researched me, which can be a good or bad thing, depending. “I’m in diamond sales.”

“Damn,” Harrison hisses. “Are you sure you want to marry their sister? I have a few you can choose from.”

Beckett gives him a dirty look. I could see myself hanging out with them regularly—even if the cowboy hats and Wranglers are a culture shock.

“We have some business to take care of,” Chris says, picking up two sets of boxing gloves.

“You don’t want to do that,” I explain, knowing I trained for ten years with a professional. It’s not fair.

Harrison claps his hands together. “Oh, yeah, they do. I can’t wait to watch you beat the fuck out of them though. They need their egos brought down to reality. I’ve got a hundred on Easton,” he says, pulling cash out of his wallet and slamming it down on his leg.

Beckett shakes his head. “Hogties and threats work so much better.”

“It’s friendly sparring,” Brett says as Chris hands me the extra gloves.

I remove my jacket and watch, rolling my wrists and neck before putting my hands inside the gloves.

Turning my head, I notice the large area roped off with twine.

The last thing I’ll do is back down from this.

If I have to fight her brothers for permission, then let’s fucking go.

We move to the area, and Chris slams his gloves together.

“Rules?” I ask.

He takes a swing, and I easily avoid it.

“No dick shots. All else is fair game. It’s over when one of us falls or knocks the other out.”

“Street rules, then?” I ask as he punches his fist forward again, missing.

“Are you fucking my little sister?” he growls, and that’s when I see the anger behind his eyes.

“Not yet,” I answer truthfully.

This time, he rushes at me, wearing his emotions on his sleeve. His fists fly, but I take two steps, avoiding his sloppy attack. The fact that Lexi was worried is comical.

“I’m serious about marrying her,” I explain.

He removes his gloves, throwing them to the ground. His fists lift back into position.

“Street rules,” he confirms, his chest rising and falling.

I take mine off too. “We can stop this right now. Seriously.”

“Look, he’s fucking scared,” Chris boasts.

“I’m not,” I say, my tone even as I shake my head.

All the guys surround our makeshift arena. I look over at Brett and he shrugs.

As I’m about to say something else, Chris’s fist flies forward. I quickly step, and my fist slams into his jaw. His head bounces back on his shoulders and he wavers.

“Just go down,” I say.

“Fuck you, pretty boy.”

I pop my knuckles, protecting my face and staying light on my feet. I study him, watch him, and predict his next move. I give a fake right swing and let out a left hook.

“Shit,” Hayden whispers as I deliver one blow that a professional couldn’t withstand.

Chris stumbles backward until he loses his balance and crashes to the ground.

Cash rushes to him to make sure he’s okay.

“If you hurt my sister,” he says, spitting blood as I look down at him.

“I’ll give you permission to fuck me up if I do,” I say.

Beckett pushes Brett forward. “Your turn to fight him.”

Brett shakes his head. “I’m good. But I do have one question for you, Easton.”

He stands in front of me, all muscle, as I look down at my swollen knuckles.

“Anything.”

“Why Alexis?”

I meet his eyes. “Because I’m in love with her.”

A grin fills his face, and he pats me on the back. “Right answer.”

Chris moans and I offer my hand to pull him up. I think he might go for my face, but he pulls me into a hug instead.

“Treat her right.”

“You have my word.”

Cash hands me the moonshine and I take a swig as we sit by the fire and then pass it on. They talk about Valentine and their work on the ranch and even chat about their significant others.

Realizing my watch is still in my pocket, I pull it out and put it on. It’s barely past nine thirty.

“I should probably make my way back,” I say, standing.

“You’re one of us now,” Brett says, and I go around the group and give strong hugs. “Don’t fuck this up.”

“Don’t plan on it,” I tell him with a wave as I walk through the barn and back to the Mustang.

I drive back to the B & B with the windows down.

As soon as I enter, I go upstairs for Alexis, but our room is empty. So, I walk through the house, searching.

“I know where she is,” Remi says with her feet kicked up on the counter.

She’s reading a book, but I can’t quite make out the title.

“Where?”

She sets the book down. “There’s a trail that leads behind the B & B. Take the single track to the end and you’ll arrive at a clearing. You’ll find her there.”

I smile. “She’s alone?”

“Your clone and friend went to town for dinner.”

“How?”

She smiles, pulling a wad of cash from her pocket. “I rented them my car.”

“And what do you drive?”

“A Mustang GT.”

I laugh. “That was a mistake.”

“Why?” she asks as I walk toward the back door.

“My brother will drive the fuck out of it.”

Her jaw clenches. “I made him promise he wouldn’t.”

“Trusting him was your first mistake. The second was not charging him more.”

Her mouth transforms into a line. “I might kick his ass.”

“I think you should.” I give her a nod and make my way outside to find Lexi.