Page 41 of Waiting in Wyoming
The news had reported that someone with the Texas State Police had broken that drug case that had brought all those cops—including Charlotte’s friend Gunnar and Quade’s aunt Heather—to Masterson County. And that it had beenbad.
Brandt’s entire family had been in danger somehow.
They didn’t know anything else.
Charlotte handled getting their tickets, and then they were on the plane, taking their seats.
Then Charlotte was looking at her. Like she did when she was going to ask a lot of really hard questions. Charlotte could be so difficult sometimes, but Meyra adored her cousin. “So...you and Brandt? For real?”
“We’re still...in the early stages.” She didn’t know where exactly they were. Serious relationships, lifelong relationships like Ben and Dusty had, or her dad and Rhea—she didn’t have a lot of experience with those. She’d wanted to talk to Miranda again, get her sister’s opinion. She just hadn’t had the time. “We haven’t slept together yet, but I think we probably will soon. I want to be with him that way.”
“For what it is worth, Brandt is one of the kindest, nicest, most beautiful-hearted—and beautiful bodded, let’s be honest—men I have ever met. I don’t think he would ever willingly or knowingly do anything to hurt a woman he is involved with.” Charlotte stared at her for a long moment as an older businessman who looked vaguely familiar walked past them to his seat in the rear of the plane. “And that man has been hot for you almost from the moment he first met you. Weallknow that—except maybe you. And Uncle Gerald. Your dad seems to have blinders on.”
Her words gave Meyra a lot to think about. But right now, she just wanted to get to him.
32
Brandt was still tryingto put this into perspective. He doubted he ever would fully be able to understand what had happened.
His father was hurting now, but he would make a full recovery. Brandt’s mother didn’t have even one bruise on her; it was the emotional trauma that would stay with her forever. The nightmares.
Powell and her baby were going to be fine. It had been bad for a while there. She had been right in the middle of things.
Gunnar’s prognosis was good. He would be okay—eventually. It would be at least three months until the other man was back on his feet fully. Brandt felt for him—he had been in the same boat himself, after all. Gunnar had the woman he loved right next to him, though. The other man was going to be just fine. That it was Powell, well, Brandt had known she would fall for a man completely eventually. He was glad it was Gunnar—there wasn’t anything that man wouldn’t do to take care of Powell and make sure she was happy, and that was all Brandt really wanted for his sister.
Powell was already making plans to paint her nursery, and move that man in with her. Once he was recovered.Powell was determined to have happily-ever-after. His sister would be okay.
Brandt went searching for his sister early. She’d made it clear she wasn’t leaving room 403 until Gunnar did—and Brandt’s father wasn’t getting out of the hospital until close to noon. They’d kept him after a small complication with his heart had shown up on the monitors. Enough to have Brandt’s mother panicking. Brandt’s brothers were roaming around the lobby of the hospital when he stepped in. Brandt went to them.
Mac had a snarly expression on his face. Normally, it was Alex who was in a foul mood. But Mac took protecting Powell to the extreme. Well, Brandt could fully understand that—his sister had drawn far too much trouble in her direction lately. “What are you doing here so early?”
“Waiting,” Alex said. “Mac wants to talk to Heather.”
“But Heather does not want to talk to Mac right now,” a feminine voice said bluntly from behind his brothers’ shoulders. “You guys should probably listen.”
Heather’s niece Cara was there. A very beautiful, dark-haired, dark-eyed fairy princess type who had captivated Brandt’s brother Alex completely. Cara didn’t have a clue about that, either.Brandt privately thought it served Alex right.
“Heather is going to get even angrier at you, Mackie Mac McBarratt,” Cara said. “And she has enough problems to worry about right now.”
Brandt listened to her lecture Alex and Mac very bluntly. She made him want to smile. Alex was drooling over her again.Cara was completely oblivious to that.
“What are you doing downstairs?” Alex asked. “I thought you were in with your aunt?”
“No. I am taking my turn sitting with Daniel. We voted. Apparently, we are keeping him. Cashlyn and Summer think wecan retrain him into a proper man creature while he recovers.” She said it so seriously that Brandt almost laughed. He wondered what Daniel, one of Mac’s closest friends, would think about that. “Powell is in there next to Gunnar, and I think she’s hungry, but she won’t admit it. So I am going to the vending machines. They have good granola bite snacks in there. Powell will probably eat those. She can be a little finicky. I was going to get them for her. I’m going to be her new personal assistant, you know.”
“I hadn’t heard,” Brandt said. Cara just nodded.
“Yes, Powell doesn’t want to work sixty hours a week with the baby coming. So I’m going to work for her instead of at B-3. That way, Alex will leave me alone.” She shot his brother a probing look. Alex just smirked at her. Cara’s cheeks turned bright red instantly.
Brandt would admit it: seeing his brothers so early reassured him. Now he just needed to see his sister and parents. Then he would know everything was going to be fine.
He checked his watch. It was not quite nine a.m. His flight had gotten in at two that morning. A few texts from Mac hadn’t answered his questions. Not fully.
Brandt had found his mother in the lobby of the hospital at three that morning. He’d spent the next three hours holding her and listening as she’d told him what had happened. What those bastards had done. And why.
He hadn’t even seen his twin sister yet.
Someone said his name. From behind him. A woman.