Reckless (The Mason Family Series Book 3) by Adriana Locke (online e reader .txt) 📗

by the drink fills my veins. It’s a Band-Aid covering the gaping wound in my heart, but I’m fine with taking the easy way out tonight.

Oliver sits beside me, wrapping his hands around his glass. We sit quietly.

“I think I’m done being an adult,” I say sadly. “It was a good ride.”

Amusement washes across Oliver’s face. “You can’t just quit.”

“I already did.”

He laughs. “You did not. Stop acting like a baby and grow some balls.”

I look at him aghast.

He laughs harder. “Fine. Some real talk then.” He downs the rest of his whiskey and sets the glass down hard. “If I had to get into a bar fight, which brother do you think I’d take with me?”

“Not Wade.”

He shakes his head. “Definitely not. I’d take you.”

“Makes sense. There’s a badass under this pretty face.”

He ignores me. “If I had to go to Vegas, which brother—”

“Me. This one is me. One-hundred-percent.”

“Who do you think I’d leave my kids with someday, if I ever have them, which isn’t likely?”

I immediately think of Rosie. My chest constricts. Hard.

“You,” he says. “And who do you think I know will come up with some out-of-the-box solution to solve a problem that the rest of us can’t work out?” He leans closer. “You.”

I lean back until the stool gets wobbly.

“What’s your point?” I ask.

“My point is that you don’t give yourself enough credit.”

“Why are you saying this?” I ask. “What difference does it make if I leave here feeling like we had a kumbaya moment? Not that I don’t appreciate it. And not that I’m not going to use it against you someday.”

He grins. “I’m bringing it up, asshole, because this isn’t who you are. You don’t roll over and take shit. You don’t cry because you didn’t get your way.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Well, sometimes.” He smiles at me. “Is this girl what you want?”

I nod.

“Then make some Boone magic and figure it out.”

It sounds so easy. And I do like the sound of Boone magic. But it’s not that easy, and quite frankly, I don’t know if it’s smart.

He sighs. “You’re doing the same thing she is right now.”

“How do you know that she’s contemplating mixing whiskey with tequila?”

“Stop making jokes. I’m being serious.”

I twist in my seat. “I’m being serious too.”

His hands fold in front of him, catching his watch in the light. It, too, reminds me of my girls.

My girls.

A sting zips through me again.

“What is your reaction based on?” he asks. “Why are you reacting this way?”

“Because this can never work out, and I can’t fix it. That fucking sucks, if you didn’t know.”

“Bullshit.”

I gape at him. “What do you mean bullshit?”

“You’re just being a crybaby. Typical baby of the family reaction,” he grumbles.

“That’s bullshit.” I rub a hand down my face. “No one expects anything from me. Not you, or Holt, or Mom—except that I’ll be over for dinner. And even that’s a shitty expectation.” I throw my hands up. “She … I thought she needed me and … I was somebody to her, you know? I really thought that maybe I could pull through and be the man. But I was wrong.”

Oliver sighs. “We all see it in you, Boone. As much as I hate to admit this, it’s you that closed the biggest deal in Mason history and probably the Greyshell one—if it’s not the biggest now. You don’t think we expect shit from you?” He rolls his eyes.

I need to think about this, but it’s not the point. I brush it off and hope I can remember it later.

“I tried my hardest to … be the best to her, and it wasn’t good enough. That’s why it hurts so much.” Hearing that out loud singes something deep inside me. It burns my core, chokes me out with smoke—has me cringing from the pain of the fire.

There’s nothing worse than realizing that you are the problem. Not a habit or a hair color or a way you do something. You. The very fiber of your being.

I lean up and grab the whiskey. Before Oliver can object, I pour myself more.

“Now, let’s play a game,” Oliver says. I can tell he’s going to be a dick by the tone of his voice. “What do we think Jaxi’s reaction is based on?”

I sip my drink and try not to think about it.

He hums the Jeopardy tune. I glare at him.

“Fine,” he says, sliding the bottle toward himself. “I’ll tell you.”

“I figured you would.”

The whiskey splashes into the glass.

“Jaxi is basing her reaction to this situation off what’s always happened to her.”

“I know this.”

“Then fucking listen.” He sighs, frustrated with me. “Everyone in her life has let her down. She reacted this way because this is her making what she thinks is inevitable happen. And here you are, rolling over like a damn pansy, and letting it happen because you’re scared.”

I don’t know if it’s the whiskey that’s numbing my brain so I’m more willing to accept a rationalization or if he actually makes sense. Or maybe I’m just too fucking tired to put up a fight. Or heartbroken. Now that I know it’s a real thing.

Either way, I nod. “I am scared.”

“Probably not half as scared as she is.” Oliver gets off his stool. “You need to get her back, little brother. Not tonight. Tonight, you won’t be going anywhere. Not after drinking and not in my shirt.”

“It’s pink,” I say, my words not quite as crisp as I’d like them to be.

A warm haze clouds my brain. I get off my stool too.

“Let her have the night,” Oliver says. “Let her think about things. A little time apart never hurt anyone.”

“Then what?”

“Then, tomorrow, you Boone swoon that shit.”

“Boone swoon that shit,” I repeat. I try to grin, but only half of my lips work.

“I’m going to order some food and then grab a shower,” he says. “You okay?”

I nod again. How do I Boone swoon that shit?

He clasps my shoulder and takes off downstairs. I hear his footsteps fall against the hardwood.

I lean