Page 58 of Taming the Wild Cowboy

Trev explained about the restructuring of his company and how Wade was hot to get him back into the office.

“I take it you’re in no hurry to go back to nine to five,” Jordan asked, easing out of his jacket.

“Nine to five. Right.” More like whenever someone needed a solution to something, regardless of the time.

Trev smirked instead of pointing out the reality of his job, then went for the whiskey bottle kept in the cupboard over the refrigerator. He poured a couple of fingers and plunked a glass down in front of his brother, then did the same for himself. He lifted the bottle questioningly and Jordan pointed to the table. It was going to be that kind of night.

Good. He needed one of those nights.

Jordan leaned back in his chair as Trev sat. “You’re the only one of us now with a truly steady job. Wade’s not going to want you to give that up to work for peanuts on the ranch.”

“I like peanuts.” And the more he thought about it, the more he felt suited to life on the ranch than life in a cube. “Why should you get more peanuts than me?”

“Because you’re the responsible one.”

“Bullshit. I worked hard at my irresponsibility.”

“You’ve gotten rusty.”

“Yeah,” he said softly as he stared into his glass. “I might have.”

When he returned to work, after the initial shock of finding himself back in khakis and a button-down, he would be okay. It’d happened before. Why wouldn’t it happen again?

Because what he wanted to pursue was here. And it wasn’t just the ranch.

“I think I might quit.” The words that he’d been shoving aside for most of the day finally formed.

Jordan barely reacted. “Is that the lack of whiskey talking?”

“Wade’s not getting any younger. I should be closer to lend a hand. Especially if you’re going to start a consulting firm or whatever.”

“If you quit, it’ll cut into my peanuts.” But Jordan didn’t look displeased.

“Tough.” Trev sipped, resisting the urge to toss back the whiskey. He met his brother’s gaze as he set down the glass. “I’ll quit responsibly.” He had no other choice, really. Financial obligations and all that.

“You worked hard to get to where you are.”

“And I did it for the wrong reason.” A reason that was still haunting him. “Maybe I don’t need to climb the ladder.” He didn’t need to prove anything to anyone. “I can get something closer.”

“Think this through,” Jordan warned before emptying his glass in one deep swallow. When Trev cocked an eyebrow, he said, “You aren’t the only one who’s been dealing with stress.” He reached for the bottle. “Stopping at two.”

“I’ve heard that before.”

“This time I mean it.” Jordan added a splash to Trev’s glass before capping the bottle and taking it back to its place on the shelf. Once reseated, he lifted his glass and gave Trev a dry smile. “Now … which difficult topic do you want to discuss next? My surprise father or”—he glanced toward the living room, where Wade’s snores battled with the volume of the television—“a certain someone hoping that you and your girlfriend figure things out?”

Trev coughed as whiskey threatened to go down the wrong pipe. “What girlfriend?”

Jordan’s lips twitched at the corners as he said, “The one living next door, of course. The one who wrecked your truck.”

Shit.

Trev cleared his throat. “Let’s discuss surprise father.” Trev figured that if his brother brought the subject up, then Jordan needed to talk.

“I kinda thought you’d choose that.” Jordan smiled tightly as he glanced down at the whiskey.

“You start,” Trev said after several seconds of silence ticked by.

Of the three of them, Jordan was the most easygoing. The brother who rolled most easily with the punches. But not this one. His gaze took on a fierce edge when he said, “I guess I’ll start by asking where the fuck was this guy while I was growing up? Why didn’t he have the balls to reveal himself?”