The Long Hot Summer (Billionaire Season Book 1) by Kimball Lee Read Free Book Online Page A

and grinding it out with the toe of his shoe.
    “Nope. Shots and therapy, same as always. No sex, no fun, no pain, no games. I could fall asleep just thinking about it,” Walden said swaying as he stood. He propped his arm on William’s shoulder to steady himself and pointed toward a wisteria arbor at the edge of the bayou. “Mother’s ghost is gone, Wills, and fuck-me-running am I glad. It’s about time isn’t it? I don’t think I’ll see ghosts anymore but look, now I can see angels.”
    He pointed to where Allie leaned aga inst the thick twining wisteria, she took a bite from a large peach their father had plucked from a tree and peeled for her with his small silver pocket knife. The fruit laden branches of the gnarled tree hung nearly to the ground and the smell of ripe peaches and the steady hum of buzzing bees hung in the air. Allie bit into the peach and as the juice ran down her chin she threw her head back and laughed and the lilting sound floated up to the veranda and William felt his heart constrict and then expand. He turned to his brother and Walden’s eyes were bright and glassy as he leaned forward, his hands clutched the railing and he whispered with awe, “That’s my angel! Wills, she’s real. She’s a real live girl, Father told me all about her. Her name is Alaina and she’s Liza’s daughter—if you can handle the irony of that. Just seeing her has saved me and messed me up bad but in a good way and now I’m falling in love with her, Wills, I…”
    “How many fucking times have I asked you not to call me Wills? Huh, how can I get it through that crazy head of you rs that I am not our father? He is Wills, I’m not!”
    “You are like a father to me, Wills. He never was. I won’t call you by that name anymore if means that much to you. But I want you to understand that I never would have made it this long, survived this long, without you to watch over me. You were the only person who cared whether I lived or died. Our dad is a major fuck up, and that’s coming from me the crown prince of gutter-crawling severely screwed- up human beings. His precious Liza did a serious mind-fuck on William Warfield the third and the rest of us—you, me and Mother, and we paid the price. Money, billions of dollars, a fat fucking bank account, that’s all he is. That’s all he’s ever been, he’s given us money and the power and perks that come with it instead of giving us his love. You’ve been my father, William. And you gave me the greatest gift a father or a brother could give—you believed in me.”
    “I’m glad you’ re done with ghosts, Walden, and I do believe in you. We’re brothers and I love you and I really want you to get better. But you have to make an effort, do you understand?” William said, jerking his brother away from the railing and the sight of Allie with more force than he had intended and guiding him into the blue bedroom. “You should lie down before you fall down. Dr. Bishop has you on a powerful sedative, that’s why you feel like sleeping. Has Mae been keeping your wounds clean?” He asked, peeling away a strip of gauze that covered the cuts on Walden’s chest and stomach. There were scores of older wounds, healed now but constant reminders that the darkness in Walden wouldn’t allow him to enjoy pleasure without pain.
    “The old girl treats me like a baby, it’s kinda nice. I want that angel, William, did you see her? She looked right at me, it was like looking into the face of love. I could be too much like father if I fell in love, I’d go insane like he has, thanks to his beloved Liza. Don’t let her get away, I swear to you, she’s meant for me. But love is the worst thing that can happen to a man…” he mumbled the last words as he drifted off to sleep and William stood in the open French doors and ran his fingers over his mouth and his chin wondering what to do, what to do about Allie Darling.
    *
    “I’m sorry to hear that your brother isn’t