The Vincent Boys 02 - The Vincent Brothers

me taking care of Ashton. I wanted her to go away so she wouldn’t see me treating Ash with a tenderness no one else had ever brought out in me. This was my secret moment with Ash. My step back in time when she’d turned into my arms. Lana being there had caused things in me to stir I didn’t understand. With Lana standing there wide-eyed and hurt it made what was happening wrong. It screwed with my head.
    She’d been gone from the tent when I woke up and she’d ignored me ever since. I didn’t know what to say to her. How did I explain last night? How did I make that better? Since we started our hike this morning she had been leading the group like a woman intent on getting away. I didn’t catch up to her. She’d refused to make eye contact with me over breakfast and I was too much of a chickenshit to force her to acknowledge me.
    “Why couldn’t I have stayed back at the campsite with Ash and Beau?” Heidi whined behind me.
    “Because Ash is recovering from her migraine last night and Beau is taking care of her. Trust me, they want privacy. At least, I know Beau does,” Jake chuckled.
    “She’s sick, Jake. She isn’t going to screw Beau on the hard ground in a tent,” Heidi hissed.
    “Who said she was gonna be the one on the ground?” Jake replied.
    Listening to talk about Beau and Ash’s sex life wasn’t something I was in the mood for. I quickened my pace until I was only steps behind Lana. The little shorts she was wearing cupped her ass tightly as she took each long stride.
    I’d had my hand on that sweet little bottom just the other night. I was having my doubts that I’d ever get that chance again. The idea bothered me. No, I wasn’t okay with that. I wasn’t ready to let her go. August wasn’t here yet. I wasn’t ready to walk away from her.
    “Are you going to ever speak to me again?” I asked. She paused before continuing her uphill trek.
    “Sure. What do you want to talk about?” she replied in a bored voice.
    “Lana, please slow down and talk to me,” I pleaded.
    She didn’t slow down. If anything, she picked up her speed. If she kept this up, she was going to have to break into a run.
    “Nothing to talk about Sawyer. I’d rather just walk.”
    Reaching out I grabbed her hand and stopped her. She tried snatching it back and I held firm.
    “Let go of me,” she snarled, finally lifting those bright green eyes to meet mine. The hurt in them made my knees weak. Ah, damn. What the hell had I done?
    “Please, Lana, please talk to me,” I begged, closing the distance between us.
    “Keep walking folks. Nothing to see. Let Sawyer attempt to clean up the mess he’s made,” Jake announced as the others walked past us.
    Once they’d gotten far enough ahead, I let Lana pull her hand free of my grasp.
    “Fine. Talk,” she said, crossing her arms protectively over her chest.
    “Last night...” I began trying to think of how I could explain this to her without making it worse.
    “I’ll help you since you seem to have lost your words. Last night Ashton got sick and you had an excuse to hold her and take care of her. You went into protect-and-comfort-Ashton mode. Nothing or no one else mattered because you love her. She needed you and you were right there for her without question. You wouldn’t let me help her because you couldn’t stand the thought of missing the chance to hold her.”
    “That’s not it. Being tuned into helping Ashton is a habit. I’ve been doing it for most of my life. That kind of habit is hard to break.”
    Lana let out a hard laugh, “Really? Well, isn’t that a cute little tidy way to wrap up everything I just said.” Lana took a step toward me, pointed a finger at my chest and jabbed me with it. “I’m tired of being second choice or third choice. I’ve got enough of that in my life. Last night, I needed someone too. I needed someone to listen to me. Too bad no one wants to be Lana’s shoulder to cry on. No one cares that Lana needs someone to give a crap about her.”
    Her eyes glistened with unshed tears and my chest got so tight I felt like it was about to crack open.
    “This is over. Leave it alone. I’m done.” Lana spat, then turned around and began to walk away. Acting quickly, I reached out and wrapped my hand around her arm.
    “What happened last night? Why did you need me?”
    Her shoulders heaved and I pulled her back against my chest and held her whether she wanted me to or not.
    “Let me go, Sawyer,” her voice