The Vincent Brothers 2

              The Vincent Brothers

      by Abbi Glines

The Vincent Brothers

Copyright © 2012 by Abbi Glines

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes. If you are reading this book and you have not purchased it or won it in an author/publisher contest, this book has been pirated. Please delete and support the author by purchasing the ebook from one of its many distributors.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

For information concerning the cover art please visit Stephanie Mooney’s website at

http://stephaniemooney.blogspot.com

Editor:
Stephanie T. Lott a.k.a. Bibliophile

Published by Abbi Glines

16125 County Road 13

Fairhope, AL 36532

Ebook edition

Prologue

              Ashton pulled herself up on our branch and sat down. Once upon a time, she’d needed me to give her a boost. Now, she didn’t need me for anything. I’d let her down in so many ways. I’d heard the term heartbreak before and never really understood it. Until now. Sitting here looking at her, my chest literally hurt. Taking a deep breath had become difficult since the day I’d walked outside the church and saw her with Beau. I’d known. I’d wanted her to tell me anything to prove me wrong. Still, deep down, I’d known. Ashton was no longer mine.

              “Impressive. You made it look easy,” I said loud enough so she could hear me. She’d texted me to tell me she was out here. I’d come down here to think hours ago. This was where it all started. It was fitting that it ended here too.              

              Ashton’s expression was slightly confused. I loved that look. It was adorable. “I was already here when you sent the text,” I explained and a small smile touched her lips.

              “Oh,” she replied.

              “To what do I owe this visit?” I already had a good idea as to why she was here. I just wanted her to say it out loud. It was time we cleared the air for good. Standing up, I made my way over to where she sat on the limb but not before noticing the audience hidden in the darkness. It figures Beau would have come looking for me too. Or maybe he’d followed her.

              “I wanted to check on you. Beau said you had a concussion.”

              I couldn’t help but laugh. I had a concussion alright. I skipped the rock I held in my hand across the water. “He tell you how I got the concussion?”              

              “Yes,” the guilt in her voice was thick. He must have admitted to bashing my head in. It wasn’t her fault though.

              “I deserved it. I was shitty to you all week.” My chest ached harder. Seeing everyone treating her so cruelly, while I sat back and did nothing, would haunt me for a long time.

              “Um,” she seemed unsure of what to say next. I’d let her down this week. I’d let myself down. The guy I’d been, the way I’d reacted, that wasn’t me.

              “I shouldn’t have let them do those things to you. Honestly, Beau beating the crap out of me was a relief. I’d been beating myself up. Having someone physically beat me was a nice release.”

              “What?”

              She was surprised that I felt bad about what I’d let them do to her. Damn, if that didn’t make this even harder. Breathing was becoming more difficult.

              “Ash, you were my girl for years. Even before that, we were friends. The best of friends. I should’ve never let one bump in the road cause me to turn on you like I did. It was wrong. You took all the blame for something that wasn’t entirely your fault. It was Beau’s and it was mine.”

              “Yours? How—”

              “I knew Beau loved you. I’d seen the way he looked at you. I also knew you loved him, more than you did me. You two had a secret bond I didn’t get to share. I was jealous. Beau was my cousin and you were the prettiest girl I’d ever seen. I wanted you for myself. So, I asked you out. Without going to Beau first, never once asking him how he felt about it. You accepted and just like magic, I broke up the bond you two had. Y’all never talked anymore. There were no more late night roof talks and no more bailing y’all out of trouble. Beau was my friend and you were my girlfriend. It was as if your friendship had never been. I was selfish and ignored the guilt until it went away. Only the times I saw him watching you, with that pained needy expression, did the guilt stir in my gut. It was mixed with fear. Fear you’d see what I’d done and go to him. Fear I’d lose you.”

              That was the first time I’d verbalized the truth. For years, I’d held it inside. Even pushed it away when my conscience nagged at me. Watching Ashton transform her personality and never saying one word to stop her. All of it. This was all my fault.

              Ashton’s hand played lightly with my hair and I wanted to close my eyes and sigh from the small innocent touch. Would I always love her like this? Would I spend my life paying for my sin by living with the constant pain in my chest?

              “I loved you too. I wanted to be good enough for you. I wanted to be the good girl you deserved.”

              Hearing her say she’d wanted to be good enough for me, reminded me once again why we’d not worked out. She’d been perfect since the first day I’d met her but I’d let her believe I expected more.

              “Ash, you were perfect just the way you were. I was the one who let you change. I liked the change. It’s one of the many reasons I feared I’d lose you. Deep down, I knew one day that free spirit you’d quenched would fight for release. It happened. And the fact it happened with Beau doesn’t surprise me in the least.”

              “I’m sorry, Sawyer. I never meant to hurt you. I made a mess of things. You aren’t going to have to watch Beau and me together. I’m stepping out of both your lives. You can get back what was lost.”

              When Beau didn’t come charging out of the woods cursing like a sailor, I knew he was too far back to hear us. I reached up and grabbed Ashton’s hand. I was the only one who could convince her that she didn’t need to do that. It was time I let her go.

              “Don’t do that Ash. He needs you.”

              Shaking her head, she gave me a sad smile, “No, it’s what he wants too. Today, he hardly acknowledged me. He only spoke to me when he was making a point to everyone else; I was to be left alone.”

              She really didn’t have a clue. “He won’t last long. He’s never been able to ignore you. Not even when he knew I was watching him. Right now, he’s dealing with a lot. And he’s dealing with it alone. Don’t push him away.”

              Jumping down from the limb, Ashton stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around my neck for what I knew would be the last time. “Thank you. Your acceptance means the world to me. But right now, he needs you. You’re his brother. I’ll just be a hindrance to you two dealing with everything.”

              The pain was almost unbearable now. Reaching out, I played with a lock of her hair. I’d been fascinated with the perfect golden color of it since we were five years old. She’d always reminded me of a fairy princess, even when she was baiting hooks with chicken liver. I’d lost my princess but the memory of her was worth every sharp pain in my heart.

              “Even if I was wrong to take you without a thought to Beau’s feelings, I can’t make myself regret it. I’ve had three amazing years with you Ash.”

              That was my goodbye. Beau was out there waiting on me to walk away. It was his time now. I’d royally screwed mine up. Dropping her hair, I stepped back, then turned and walked into the woods, toward my brother.

Chapter One

Six months later...

Sawyer

             
I’d known better than to come here but I couldn’t keep avoiding the field parties. It was time I started acting as if Beau and Ash being together didn’t bother me.

              “Here, man,” Ethan shoved a red plastic cup full of beer into my hand. Frowning, I started to hand it back to him. “Drink it. You need it. Hell, I need it just watching the three of you.”

              I was thankful he’d spoken low enough that no one else could hear him. I could feel everyone sneaking glances at me. They were all waiting to see how I would react. It’d been six months since I’d lost Ash to my brother. It was easier to see them together now but, normally, I kept my distance. This was the first time I’d had to witness Ashton snuggled up between Beau’s legs while my horny ass brother kissed her neck, hand, head and anything else he could get near his lips while he carried on a conversation with everyone else.

              Ethan was right; I needed a drink. Touching the cup to my lips, I tilted my head back and took a very long gulp. Anything to distract me from the make-out session in front of me would be nice.

              “I still can’t believe you two aren’t going to the same college. I always expected y’all to get signed on as a package deal.” Toby Horn almost sounded let down that I’d chosen to sign with the University of Florida instead of Alabama, like everyone expected me to. Beau and I had been planning to play for the Crimson Tide since we were five years old. But when Florida had offered me a full ride, I’d taken it. I needed the distance. Ashton was headed to Alabama with Beau and I just couldn’t do it.

              “Florida offered him a sweet deal. Can’t blame him for taking it,” Beau explained. He got it. He never mentioned it but he knew why I’d gone with Florida. Beau had been careful for a long time not to shove my face in his relationship with Ashton but since graduation he’d put that behind him. Every time I saw them lately she was wrapped up in his arms and he was staring at her with that ridiculous worshipful expression he’d always reserved just for her.

              “Alabama can’t handle two Vincent boys. I needed to share the love,” I replied, focusing my gaze on Toby before taking another swig of my beer.

              “It’s going to be weird not having you around though.” Damn. Why’d she have to say anything? Couldn’t she sit over there quietly and let Beau paw all over her? Hearing Ashton’s voice made it impossible not to lift my eyes to meet her gaze.

              The sad tilt to her full lips made that old familiar ache start up in my chest. Only Ashton could get to me this way. “You’ll survive. Besides, you two hardly come up for air to notice much of anything else.” I’d just sounded like an ass. Ashton’s flinch from my snide comment was just another strike against me.

              “Careful, Sawyer.” The threat in Beau’s voice was unmistakable. Silence fell over the group. Everyone’s focus was on the two of us. The anger flashing in Beau’s glare just pissed me off. What did he have to be angry about? He had the girl.

              “Why don’t you calm down? I was responding to her comment. Am I not allowed to speak to her now?”

              Beau gripped Ashton’s waist and moved her away from him as he stood up. “You got a problem, Sawyer?”

              Ashton scrambled to her feet, threw her arms around Beau’s neck and began begging him to ignore me. Telling him I didn’t mean anything by it, which we both knew I had. Beau’s eyes never left mine as he reached behind his neck to unlatch Ashton’s hold on him.

              Setting my cup down on the bed of my truck, I took a step toward him. This was a fight I needed. Holding my aggression in was so damn hard at times. Ashton, however, wasn’t having it. She grabbed Beau’s shoulders and jumped up, wrapping her legs firmly around his waist. If seeing her wrapped around him didn’t piss me off so bad, I’d laugh at her determination to keep us from fighting. She’d been dealing with us since we were kids and she knew exactly how to keep us from coming to blows. Throwing herself in the line-of-fire was the only way.

              Amusement lit Beau’s eyes as his angry snarl turned into a pleased grin and his eyes shifted from me to Ashton. “What ya doin’ baby?” he asked in a slow drawl I hated. He’d been using it on girls since we hit puberty.

              “That’s the way to distract him, Ash,” Kayla Jenkins hooted from Toby’s lap.