Ruthless by Gillian Archer Read Free Book Online Page B

another responsibility for me.” Brent looked away and hitched a shoulder in a dismissive shrug. “I don’t need the guilt trip.”
    The mention of Amy was enough to make me regret saying a word. Brent’s ex had run off and left him with a toddler and credit card bills he was still paying off. Two years and a divorce later, the witch still had the power to turn my brother’s life upside down when inevitably another bill popped up.
    “Sorry, Brent.”
    He just shrugged and walked away.
    The back door closed behind him and I turned to give my mom a look.
    I didn’t need to say anything. She clucked her tongue and hugged me, her tiny frame dwarfed by my tall one. With her petite body and dark hair, most wondered how I fit into the family. At times like this, I kind of wondered myself. No matter what, I seemed to always put my foot in my mouth when it came to Brent and Kaden.
    “I know you didn’t mean anything by it. And I happen to agree with you. I think a dog would do wonders for his little family.”
    I pulled back with a soggy laugh. Of course Mom would agree with me. Her love of dogs was legendary and shared by me. If I didn’t spend so many hours at work, I would’ve gotten a dog years ago. I just couldn’t stand the guilt of leaving one home alone for hours, and I knew the insanity of more than one—my parents’ pack of Scottish terriers being a great example. Besides, I could always come over here to get my doggy fix.
    Of course, now that my guard was down, Mom chose that exact moment to pounce.
    “So you never told me how the date with Charlie went,” she said as she led me into the kitchen.
    “Horrible.” I turned away from her with a sigh. I really hoped she’d let me leave it at that. “You have to stop setting me up with random strangers, Mom. That was the last blind date I’m going on. No more.”
    “Ah, come on. It couldn’t have been that bad. Charlie seemed like such a fine young man at the grocery store.”
    I rolled my eyes. Should I have been surprised she was scoring me random dates with men she’d met in the produce aisle? “Well, it was. Never again. He was the definition of a narcissist. So promise me, no more blind dates, no more setups, no more ‘Jeanie’s son really wants to meet you.’ I’m done.”
    “Okay, okay, okay. You don’t have to beat me over the head with it. I just worry about you. You’re already twenty-eight and still single. When I was your age, I had three children.”
    I swear if I had a dollar for every time I’d heard this particular rant…“Yeah, well, I’m not you, Mom. I like where I am right now. And I’m not lonely. There are…men in my life.”
    “What? Who? Since when?”
    I wasn’t sure which question to answer first. So I went with none of them. Lord knew I wasn’t going to tell her about Zag and our one-night stand. “The minute I’d bring a guy over here, he’d get the third degree from you and your army of nosy sons. Not to mention Dad.”
    “What? Why, we’d never—”
    “Rob Watson.”
    “Well, honey. That one was not my fault. Brent and Wes were very protective of you when you first started dating. And for good reason.”
    “Good reason? What was wrong with Rob? He was president of the debate club, captain of the swim team, and held an almost perfect GPA. Most mothers would’ve been thrilled to have their daughters bring him home. He was safe.”
    “Now, sweetie, he couldn’t have been all that perfect. He was so easy to scare away, after all.” My mom bit her lip as she held in her laughter. It didn’t appear to help her quivering lip.
    I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, well, I think that had more to do with the two looming brothers threatening bodily harm if Rob ever tried to get beyond first base.”
    “Those are my boys.” This time she didn’t even try to hide her triumphant grin.
    “Whatever.” I turned away to fiddle with emptying the dishwasher.
    “Come on, Jess. It wasn’t that bad.”
    “Not that bad?”