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“You know,” Cooper drawled, plopping into the chair across from my desk, “I don’t have to listen to you.”

“My roof. My fucking rules.” I didn’t even look up from my computer. My inbox was overflowing with emails I’d neglected while traveling back from my Wyoming location.

“Okay, Dad,” he countered, crossing one leg over the other and lounging like he didn’t have a care in the world. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him lean forward, his gaze sharpening.

“What’s that on your neck?”

I inhaled deeply, gripping the edge of the desk to keep my temper in check. “None of your damn business.”

Of course, that only egged him on. Cooper stood up, leaning over my desk to get a better look.

“No way.” His laugh erupted, loud and unrestrained, as he slapped his knee. It was annoying how similar our laughs were—deep and gravelly—but unlike him, I didn’t let mine out often.

Cooper and I might’ve shared the same rugged features—matching hair, eyes, and build—but that’s where the similarities stopped. He thrived on sarcasm and stupid jokes. Me? I thrived on silence—though that wasn’t always the case.

“Are those hickeys? What are you, sixteen again?”

I clenched my jaw, refusing to dignify him with a response.

“Who attacked you?” he pressed, grinning like the damn fool he was.

“Do you ever shut up?” I slammed my fists on the desk, finally giving him my full attention.

Cooper’s grin only widened as he stood and crossed his arms. “Tawnie’s gonna love this. Imagine you, showing up to a charity event for sick kids looking like you’ve been fucking a vampire.”

I growled, my irritation boiling over. “Get out of my office.”

Tawnie was furious when she spotted the marks on my neck. Before I could argue, she’d already arranged for a makeup artist to come to my office and camouflage the evidence as best as possible. It was an ordeal I didn’t care for, but I didn’t exactly have a choice.

Now, choosing to ignore my idiot brother entirely, I picked up my phone and started scrolling, pretending to be engrossed in something important. Maybe, if I looked busy enough, he’d take the hint and leave.

“Was she a tourist? You were at The Spur & Barrel again, weren’t you?”

“What does it matter to you?” I replied, locking my phone and standing to match his height. “You’re not my keeper.”

“I’m just looking out for you, man,” Cooper shot back, his tone edging on condescending. “You and that place don’t have the best track record. And, let’s be honest, you don’t need to be tempting some kind of bad decision right now.”

Unfortunately, he wasn’t wrong, and that only pissed me off more. Liquor and I hadn’t always mixed well. Copious amounts of liquor and I had been even worse. I’d had one too many bar fights at The Spur & Barrel, and with the resort’s recent PR nightmare, the last thing I needed was to hand the gossip mill more ammunition.

But I knew he didn’t mean the fighting because I’d long outgrown that.

What he meant was the exact thing that happened last night—sleeping with random women and getting caught up in something I couldn’t back out of.

“What do you care what happens here?” I barked, my temper flaring. “It’s not like you want to be associated with any of it.”

Cooper stiffened, his stance shifting. My words had struck a nerve, which was fine by me. I was already in a foul mood.

“Colt, you know damn well I don’t want your handouts,” he said, keeping his arms crossed over his chest.

“It’s not a handout,” I growled. “It’s me wanting my brother to come work as the lead rancher. You’re the best one I know. Call me stupid for wanting what’s best for my resort.”

I threw my hands up in frustration, the weight of the conversation pressing down harder. “You’re not happy where you’re at, Cooper. They pay you shit and you know it.”

“I know,” Cooper huffed, his shoulders sagging as the tension drained from his posture. “But what will it look like if I take a job from my super successful brother?”

“Smart. It’ll look smart because I’ll pay you what you’re damn well worth,” I snapped back, my voice laced with frustration.

Cooper exhaled deeply, his gaze locking with mine. He was considering it. Things must’ve been worse at that hellhole of a ranch he worked at than he’d let on if he was finally entertaining the offer I’d made more times than I cared to count.