I’m getting ready to move to join them at the table when Cam and Bash come into the room. Tristan has her back to them, and my two idiot brothers don’t hesitate to look directly at her, both with lust in their eyes, so I’m going to have to tell them that I’d have no issue with chopping their hands off and stuffing them up their asses if they even think about touching her.
“We just finished putting Stella’s bed together, which was the last of it.” Cam makes himself at home, heading straight for the food spread out on the counter.
Tristan jumps up. “Let me make your sandwich—it’s the least I can do. What would you like?”
Cam looks at me, while Tristan hurries past him, and wiggles his eyebrows. They know without me even telling them that Tristan is off limits; they’re just busting my balls. And it’s working, dammit.
“He can make his own sandwich,” I growl, glaring at Cam who is now silently laughing. I flip him off after making sure Stella isn’t watching me. The kid already calls me on every ‘naudy’ word I say, and unfortunately, I say a lot of them. I’ll have to work on trying not to cuss in front of her.
Damn, this is going to be hard.
“I don’t mind making sandwiches for everyone. You have all been so helpful. I’ll never be able to repay you.”
“We work for beer,” Bash says, sitting in the chair that Tristan had just abandoned. He makes Stella laugh when he tugs on one of her curls, making it bounce, and then uses the distraction to snag a piece of watermelon off her plate.
“So Nora said, but I didn’t even buy the beer—Owen did.”
“It was his turn,” Cam says with a quick shrug, bumping her out of the way so he can make his own sandwich. “Where are Nora and Roe?”
“They were talking on the back porch. I think Nora was catching Monroe up on her date last night.” Her eyes meet mine, a slight twinkle in them, and I know she’s picked up on the Cam and Nora vibe. It’s hard to be in the same space with them and not feel the sexual tension between them.
I am pretty sure that Nora is Cam’s mo chuisle mo chori, but my brother is the king of all idiots, and he’s done something that has fucked the whole thing up between them. They manage to keep it civil, barely, but he assured me that there is no way it is ever going to work out between the two of them.
I study him closely as Tristan’s words sink in. A frown filters over his face, but he wipes it away pretty quickly, cloaking himself in his ‘I don’t give a shit attitude’ as he slaps the cheese on his sandwich. Tristan bites her lower lip in response to his reaction, her teeth sinking into the soft flesh, and I shift to try and get a little more comfortable. Because I’m suddenly picturing biting that lip myself, and my dick is very on board with the idea.
Like, incredibly on board with the idea.
I shift again and see Bash smirk at me before he goes back to occupying Stella. I think the little girl is developing another crush. Huck will be devastated. The whole reason I left the dog at home this morning is because he spotted Stella in the yard and was literally sitting at the window whining to go hang out with her. When Nora put the call out that Tristan needed help moving in and Monroe was going to watch Stella, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to make it first thing since I had paperwork that had to be completed at the office.
It’s still a little trippy to be chief at only twenty-eight, but when Dad retired last year, I apparently was the only candidate the town council had considered. I spent four years in the marines as an MP, and then five years working as my father’s deputy, so I am more than qualified, but considering the current mayor caught me with my hand down his daughter’s shirt when I was sixteen, I hadn’t thoughtdidn’t think he would ever approve my nomination, but it had gone through without a hitch.
“I told you they’d get everything done in record time!” Nora dances in from the back porch, Huck following at her heels. She is careful to avoid Cam who shoves his sandwich in his mouth so he won’t have to talk to her. King of idiots. Huck gravitates toward the table where Stella sits, kicking her feet back and forth. It looks like she’s spending more time tearing her sandwich into little pieces than she is actually eating it.
“Did you bring wine or margaritas?” Nora demands before digging into the fridge to see which I’d picked up. There were two bottles of Moscato since I knew that was Roe and Nora’s wine of choice, as well as margarita mix and some tequila to finish them out. “Yay, you brought both! Tristan, would you like to toast your new house?”
“Not toast, silly, sandwiches!” Stella giggles from the table. “Yummy sandwiches. My Huck likes them.”
“Oh, Stella,” Tristan cries. “Are you feeding the dog? Honey, Mr. Owen may not want Huck to have turkey sandwiches.”
“He’s hungwy, Mama.” Stella’s little lip starts to tremble, tears welling in her eyes, making them appear bigger and darker. “I’m sowy.” Her head hangs down, curls falling to hide her face.
“It’s fine. Huck eats from the table a lot more often than he should. His favorite is hotdogs.”
Stella’s head picks back up, a smile pulling across her lips. “I lub dogs!”
I wink at her. “Me too.” I’m getting ready to make a sandwich and pop open a beer when my phone chimes. Though I’m not technically on duty, in my position, it’s hard ever really to be “off” duty. I pull the phone out of my back pocket, frowning at the text.
I forgot that I had plans with Lesa this afternoon, and she texted to confirm that I’m still going to pick her up in an hour. There’s a concert over in Savannah she wants to see, and I said I’d take her. We’ve been on again, off again for the last three years or so, though lately, I’ve gotten the impression that she wants to be on permanently, and I haven’t been of the same mind. But it would be incredibly rude of me to dip out of the plans we made nearly a month ago, and my mama certainly didn’t raise rude children.
“I’ve got to head out.” I push away from the counter, eyeing Tristan who is very careful to avoid looking at me. “I forgot an appointment I have this afternoon.”
Bash snorts from the table but shuts up after I shoot him a death glare. Tristan is busy making sandwiches, standing hip to hip with Monroe; they’ve set up some sort of assembly line. “Can I take a sandwich to go?”
“Of course,” she answers softly. “You bought everything. Thank you again. I know it can be a pain to shop for Stella sometimes, with her allergy.”
I’ll admit to no one exactly how long it took me to select each item I threw in the cart; even the items I knew wouldn’t have nuts, like the cheese, had been carefully scrutinized to ensure there was no risk to Tristan’s little girl. “No big deal.” I take the sandwich she’s holding out, my fingers brushing softly against hers as I do. Her startled gaze jumps to mine at the contact, and a slow smile spreads across my mouth. Oh, yeah, I’m not the only one feeling this heat.
***
Lesa Jacobs is a beautiful woman. There is no denying that. Her pretty brown hair is pulled back in some sort of intricate braid in the front but hangs in large, loose curls down her back. She knows exactly how to dress to show off her body. The little one-piece outfit she’s wearing is striped in a pale blue and white, the shorts hitting just shy of mid-thigh, showing off her amazingly tanned and toned legs. The front comes up in a V, but it isn’t too low, just enough to show off the barest hint of cleavage, but the back plunges low, showing off her back. I’ve always been a sucker for long legs and a sexy back, and she knows it. It’s just too damn bad it isn’t her long legs and sexy back I want anymore.