Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 133878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
They had called the week after it all fell apart. The very day she got fired.
“Who’s paying the PI?” It was the only explanation.
“PI?” Bay asked. “As in private investigator? Why would your brothers hire a PI?”
She ignored him because she knew exactly why they would. They were deeply nosy and way overprotective. The question was how since they were also completely miserly when it came to money.
“I think it’s Uncle Stef.” Paige was the only one who seemed to be enjoying this altercation. She sat down in the chair Max had recently occupied and took a piece of toast for herself. “They talk about you a lot, and there’s that big guy who seems real mean but he’s actually nice. Big Tag is what they call him. His kids are cool. I like the girls.”
She felt her jaw clench. “You hired McKay-Taggart to follow me?”
“No,” Max said with the calm assurance of a man who knew how to lie.
Rye stayed quiet because he wasn’t as good a liar as his twin.
Now that she thought about it, there was only one person who would tell her the truth. She could march right over to the big house and tell her sister-in-law everything. Including how her husbands ate her bacon.
Her pregnant sister-in-law. Who was under an enormous amount of stress. Who didn’t need more.
She wasn’t about to cry in front of them. It was obvious they thought she was a pathetic girl they had to watch over because she couldn’t take care of herself.
Rye’s jaw went tight, and she watched as he moved into stern-dad mode. “Brooke, go get dressed. We’ll have this discussion at the big house and we’ll talk about some of your more reckless choices.”
There it was.
What she’d always been afraid of.
“Bay, I think it’s time you got on with whatever it is you need to do with your day,” Max said with a frown.
She felt like she was fifteen and caught doing something terrible, and here she was alone in front of the two men she’d tried so hard to make proud all of her life.
She’d screwed it all up, and now they would find out she’d possibly screwed them over in the process.
Except she wouldn’t. She would let it all go if it meant protecting them, and they never had to know.
She was alone, and if she pissed her brothers off enough, they might decide they didn’t need her drama.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Bay said in a deep, no-nonsense tone. “Look, I wish Shane was here because he’s way better at this part than I am.”
“There is no part, son,” Rye began.
Bay held up a hand. “Don’t. I am not your son, and don’t use that word on my brother. This is the part where I explain to you that I’m taking Brooke out of here. I can do that in a civilized way by waiting for Shane to return and packing her up in our truck. Or I can have her get dressed and I’ll carry her out of here, but what I will not do is allow you to make her feel like shit when she’s already going through a tough time.”
“That is not what we’re trying to do,” Rye argued.
Bay pulled her hand into his and brought it to his lips. There was such certainty in his eyes. Like he could handle this. He wanted to handle this. “Go get dressed. We’ll find a place to stay. You and me and Shane. I got some money saved. We’ll check into the motel until we find a cabin to rent.”
“Okay.” The word was out of her mouth before she could think about the wisdom behind them. Was she going to play house with Bay and Shane? It would annoy the hell out of her brothers. They’d been watching her. She knew they’d done it because they were worried, but they hadn’t even asked her before they’d started spying.
Yes, that was why she was doing this. It wasn’t about the way they made her feel the night before.
What was she doing? She should tell Bay this was all a mistake. She could apologize to her brothers and promise not to cause any more trouble. They weren’t monsters. They were good brothers. They were just… It wasn’t fair that they would spy on her and not give her any space to figure things out on her own.
They still viewed her as a child, and maybe they always would. They were her safety net.
“I can take you out myself if you don’t go,” Max promised.
She stepped in front of Bay. No one in all of her years had been willing to take her brothers on for her. Her dating life had been almost non-existent when she lived here in Bliss, but the two guys who had asked her out had told her they couldn’t handle her brothers.