Just Want Somebody to Love. Keri Ford

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СКАЧАТЬ again. “I like it just me.”

      “If you hired someone, then maybe you could come see me sometime.”

      “I have no interest in the city. Nothing but trouble there.”

      And his only brother. Their business was also there. Rawlings Steakhouse didn’t exist in a backwater town like this.

      He wiped over another table and decided what the hell, let’s test the waters. “You met Dixie in a city. That couldn’t have been all trouble, since you married her.”

      The water came on and ended that conversation. At least his brother didn’t walk away at the mention of her. Progress? It probably shouldn’t be counted. Justin went over the last of the table tops as Brandon set the final dish in the rack.

      Justin tossed his rag in the sink. “We done?”

      “I need to dry them or they’ll spot.”

      Justin glanced around and found a stack of folded towels under the counter. “I’ll dry and you put away.”

      Brandon yawned and nodded. “All right.”

      Justin got started and passed several glasses off. “Feels like old times.”

      “Old, old times.”

      He couldn’t say if he missed working behind a bar or not. It was different now, since it seemed more like playtime compared to before when it was the only way to pay the bills. Maybe that’s why Brandon was doing this. Familiar work he didn’t have to do. Like a hobby. Hell of an exhausting hobby, though.

      They did the last dish and Brandon fixed a glass of water. “Is this going to take long?”

      “Not too long.” Ignoring his brother’s cranky attitude would get them there faster. With any luck, exhaustion contributed to a lot of his short words. Since he already had a glass of water in his hands and was pushing for bed, Justin didn’t mention the idea for drinks. They could toast later. “Let me get something.”

      Brandon nodded and shut off the lights to the bar. “I’ll be in the kitchen. If there’s lights on in the front, people think I’m open, even though it’s Sunday.”

      “What does that have to do with anything?”

      “Dry on Sunday in Arkansas.”

      “Oh.” Another reason Justin was ready to get back home, but no alcohol served tomorrow meant his brother wouldn’t be working. They could stay up for the rest of the night if they wanted and sleep all day.

      Justin grabbed his folder with the papers in it, snatched a pen in case there wasn’t one handy, and hurried down. Light spilled in the entryway by the back door, and he followed it as it got brighter. Brandon sat at a small wooden table that had three chairs around it. The glass of water he’d fixed had two sips left. He slouched in the high back, eyes closed. The deep yawn signaled he wasn’t asleep.

      Justin sat across from him. “Can’t fall asleep on me now.”

      “Getting close.”

      “I think I have something that will wake you up.” Justin slid the papers across the table. “We did it.”

      Brandon scrubbed over his face. His brows buckled as he stared. He didn’t flip through the small stack or so much as touch even the top page. “What am I looking at? You know I hate legal terms.”

      A bit of a smile touched Justin. Brandon had never been a fan of legal. Which suited Justin fine because he wasn’t a fan of working in a hot kitchen, where Brandon liked to be. Or where he used to like being. “Those fifteen pages say our dreams are coming true. It’s happening. We have an offer that’s going to branch us out as far as we want to go.”

      Brandon still looked, and still didn’t touch the papers. “To where?”

      Where? He thought he’d come to him this excited over another city in Texas? “To anywhere. Hell, everywhere. They’re starting in Florida, then Georgia, and working their way west to meet us in Texas. I don’t know where from there. This is our big dream.”

      Brandon lifted a shoulder and leaned back. “Dreams change.”

      Goals changed. Plans changed. Dreams? Those never changed. Justin tapped the papers. “Not this one.”

      “Does for me.”

      Justin sat back and studied his brother. Brandon did the same back. He must have misunderstood. “We’ve waited for this day since we were teenagers.” He sat on the edge of his seat. “Billboards across the country advertising us. Nationwide commercials. We talked about this for hours and now it’s here. You’re not happy about that?”

      “It’s not what’s important to me anymore.”

      Justin looked around at the shack of a kitchen. There wasn’t even a dishwasher. Upstairs sucked even more. Money clearly didn’t hit a top priority of his brother’s anymore. But still. “I’ve worked for this. I’m ready to see it happen.”

      “I’m not interested in it.”

      Justin just stared at the man across from him and tried to figure out who was sitting there. As much as a hermit Brandon that had become, this couldn’t be the same brother that Justin had shared “one day” dreams with for hours. “You do realize what I’m talking about, right? Branching out and becoming a nationwide chain? We’ll be a household name.”

      “I understand fine. What you’re not getting is that I don’t want it.”

      Justin stared at him a little longer. He had a decent poker face, but not over this. Surely not over this. Right? “How could you not want it?”

      No smile hinted he might be joking. “Too much work. Too much time away. It’s too much.”

      Lifelong plans crumbled, and Justin grasped at anything he could to hold it all together. If his brother didn’t agree and wouldn’t sign…Justin refused to even think of that option. He and Brandon had grown into different people over the last few years, but he wouldn’t do this to him. He couldn’t do this to him. “I’ve been handling everything for several years now. It wouldn’t change anything for you. You can stay here, keep on like you want. Get your TV and don’t hire any help. Nothing changes for you. Except your bank balance.”

      Finally Brandon took a moment to think. It didn’t last long before he pushed out a heavy breath. “You know what you said earlier? About meaning to get by here, but you don’t? If I sign this, then I’ll never see you.”

      Ice ran through his blood and Justin sat forward. “Are you saying you won’t sign?”

      “That’s exactly what I’m saying.” Brandon crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not signing. I don’t think it’s in the best interest of everyone.”

      Justin’s throat tightened, and he was tempted to grab the last of Brandon’s water. He couldn’t decide if he needed a drink it to clear his throat or break it over his brother’s head in hopes to knock sense into him. For that, he left the water alone. “But if you refuse, then this deal falls through. We’re fifty-fifty partners.”

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