Ties That Bind by Brenda Jackson Read Free Book Online Page A

a sigh of relief when he opened the door to discover it was his brother, Randolph. “Damnit, Rand, you had me scared there for a minute. I thought you were Grandmother Julia.”
    Randolph chuckled. “Is she still coming to town unannounced?” he asked, entering the house.

    â€œNot as much as she did last year. Granddad must have said something to her about it.”
    Like that would mean anything, Randolph thought. “Or she got tired of dropping by and finding this place a mess. Sometimes you and Noah can be real slobs.”
    â€œYeah, well, if the reason you came by was to hurl insults then I’m not in the mood. But if you happen to have a beer in that bag you’re clutching so tightly to your chest then you can stay for a while. Just as long as you brought enough to share.”
    Randolph huffed loudly. “It was either that or run the risk of you guzzling down all of mine,” he said, following his brother into the kitchen. “Where’s Noah tonight?”
    â€œIn his bedroom. He has company.”
    Randolph nodded and smiled. Although he’d never met Noah’s girlfriend, he had heard from Ross that she was good looking, and that she and Noah were deeply in love. He also knew from talking to Ross that she spent a lot of time, especially nights, at their place with Noah. No wonder Ross had been nervous about their grandmother showing up unexpectedly. Julia Fuller would have a hissy fit if she knew a woman was sleeping over. “Do you ever get jealous?” he asked as he sat down and handed his brother a beer.
    Ross lifted a brow as he joined Randolph at the table. “Jealous about what?”
    Randolph smiled. “About the fact that there’s always action going on in Noah’s bedroom but never any in yours.”
    Ross thought about the woman he’d been seeing now on a steady basis for the last eight months. He shrugged. “Angela is in Boston. Besides, she isn’t into sex before marriage.”
    Randolph chuckled. “Are you sure she’s even into sex after marriage? I would find that out if I were you. Doing something like having sex might be too undignified for her.”
    The corners of Ross’s mouth quivered into a smile. “You don’t like Angela, do you?”
    â€œNo,” Randolph replied without hesitation. “I can’t rightly say that I do. I think you can do better. I admit she looks okay, but you need a
woman with passion, Ross, and I doubt Angela Douglass has a passionate bone in her body.”
    Ross wasn’t stunned by his brother’s statement. In a way he had to agree with Randolph, but still … “Passion isn’t everything,” he said unconvincingly.
    Randolph grinned. “I bet you couldn’t convince Noah of that about now.”
    Ross chuckled. “Yeah, well, probably not.” He took a swallow of beer, not wanting to discuss Angela any longer. “So what brought you by?”
    Randolph looked down at the beer bottle he held in his hand. A few moments later he looked up and met his brother’s curious stare. “I met someone.”
    Ross lifted a brow. “Someone like who?”
    â€œA woman I’m attracted to.”
    Ross took another sip of his beer before saying, “Okay, so what’s the problem? I’m sure in your lifetime you’ve met a lot of women you’re attracted to. Can you be a little more specific than that?”
    Randolph shook his head, wondering why he had wasted his time coming to see Ross. His brother clearly didn’t understand the ramifications of being attracted to someone, probably because he’d never been attracted to anybody. Academics had always been the number one thing in Ross’s life. That and his love for music. Ross had a gift for being able to pick up and play basically any instrument. “What is there to be more specific about, Ross? I met this woman at a party Saturday night and I