Read Nothing Sweeter (Sweet on a Cowboy) for Free Online

live with it. I’m not willing to sell off any land for yuppie vacation retreats, so why would I run a ranch to cater to them? To give them a ‘real Western experience,’ whatever the hell that is. Can you see me doing that?”
    Max looked across the table to the face he’d missed and been glad to be quit of all these years. He had always loved his little brother. How could he not root for the little underdog of the Jameson household? But Wyatt’s sexual orientation raised close-to-the-bone questions for Max. Questions he found easier to ignore than deal with. That philosophy had worked for years—as long as Wyatt was two thousand miles away. Lately, though, not so much. Max shifted in his chair.
    Looking into his empty coffee cup, the tense lines on Wyatt’s face relaxed.
    “I guess not.” He leaned forward, over his coffee mug, and looked straight into his brother’s eyes. “I know you don’t want to consider this, but what if we sold out? We could split the money, and you could get a good job as a ranch foreman somewhere. Think about it, Max. You’d still have the parts of the job you like, but none of the headaches of ownership.”
    Max’s deepest fear, spoken out loud, hung in the air over the table. He smothered it with his bellow. “Jesus, how many shades of stupid are there?”
    Wyatt flinched.
    Max forced his voice lower. The anger made it come out in a hiss. “I make a pittance as a lackey for some rich dude? I still have all the problems without the pride of ownership?”
    Wyatt raised his head. His entreating expressionreminded Max of that little kid, expecting his big brother to make everything right. “So what are we going to do, Maxie?”
    Max’s hands tightened on the edge of the table. Building frustration and a haunting sense of failure made him want to throw something. “I don’t
know
, Wyatt,” he ground out, staring at his fingers, willing them to relax. “I’ve looked into alternatives. Kobe beef looked good, but then the economy tanked. People aren’t willing to spend the money for it, and the price has fallen to where it isn’t profitable either.”
    Wyatt toyed with his coffee cup. “Then it looks like we’re back to selling some of the land. I don’t want to do it either, but we have to be realistic.”
    The dark clouds of foreboding he’d been turning his back on could no longer be ignored. The too much coffee he’d drunk burned in his stomach.
    His brother continued. “I know Colburn has already put in an offer. Wouldn’t it be better if we sell some land and at least have cash to run the rest?” Wyatt’s look speared him. “I know it would stick in your gut to sell to him, after Jo. But if we don’t, we’re going to lose everything. Every day that goes by—”
    Max exploded to his feet, his chair hitting the floor with a clatter. “
Goddammit,
Wyatt, don’t you think I know that?” He strode to the wooden door and yanked it open, slamming the screen door against the wall as he barreled through. Sensing movement, he turned his head to see the city girl lurking against the wall, a startled deer-in-the-headlights look to her huge brown eyes. The high color in her cheeks told him she’d been standing in the cold for some time, spying, no doubt.
    “This day just keeps getting better and better.” He snorted in disgust and kept walking.
    After sharing a quiet breakfast with Wyatt, Bree followed him to the barn for a rundown of her job duties.
    “We don’t expect you to groom the working ponies. The cowboys do that.”
    She waited in the doorway. “Oh, that’s okay. I’m awake early anyway, and we all enjoyed it.”
    Wyatt walked past her, leading the way down the aisle. “I’ll explain the routine to you.” As he turned, she almost walked into him. “And don’t let me forget to show you how to cinch a Western saddle.” The corner of his mouth lifted, and Aubrey smiled back.
    Wyatt introduced her to her charges and the details of their care. Various