When my phone started ringing, I slowly shook my head. “No. No way. I’m off.”
I glanced over at the screen, unable to keep my curiosity from checking to see who it was. I smiled and grabbed the phone. “Hey there!” I answered.
“Hi,” Xander’s rich baritone came through. “What are you doing?”
“Uh, getting ready to go for a hike. What are you doing? Are you with your brother?”
“I am with my brother and I was wondering if maybe we could tag along, if you don’t mind?”
“Really?” I asked with surprise and a bit of excitement.
“Yes, really. Kade needs to stay in shape.” I heard laughing and assumed it was his brother in the background. “And he would like to meet you.”
He’d told his brother about me. I wasn’t going to get too excited about what that meant, but it was pretty damn cool. “Are you guys up for a hike?”
“To your usual place?”
“I was going to go a little farther.”
I waited while he talked to his brother. “Yep. We’re up for it.”
“Do you want to meet in say thirty minutes? Is that enough time for you to get there?”
“Absolutely. We’ll be there.”
I ended the call, unable to stop smiling. He had called me. He wanted to see me. He wanted me to meet his brother. It was a lot and it was awesome.
All week, I had been worried my father had scared him off. I kept thinking I was going to miss the chance to be with someone awesome because my dad couldn’t see past his own prejudices.
I went back into my bedroom and gave myself another onceover. This time, I added just a hint of eye makeup and slathered lotion on my arms.
I was wearing my running pants and a long tank that hung just below my ass. Technically, the outfit was made for running or maybe yoga, but I liked to wear it when I went hiking. The fabric protected my legs from scrapes from branches and the little bugs that loved to cling to sweaty skin.
I didn’t want to be late, so I headed for the park. I parked in the same area I did the first time I met Xander. I got out of the car to stretch and text to see where they were. I heard my name.
I spun around to find Xander and a smaller version of him walking toward me. It had to be his brother. I waved and watched as they made their way toward me.
They were a couple of very handsome men. Both were wearing similar khaki cargo shorts and T-shirts. Xander’s was a little tight in the chest area, while his little brother’s was tight around his biceps. They were both built like gods.
“You showed up,” I teased. “I wasn’t sure you were up for this.”
Xander put his hands on my hips and gave me a quick kiss before stepping away. It was so sweet and natural and had me feeling all warm and gooey.
“Evie, this is Kade,” he said and stepped out of the way to introduce his brother.
I stepped forward, extending my hand, which Kade used to jerk me against him. “I’m a hugger,” he said. “Nice to meet you, Evie.”
I heard what sounded like a growl and stepped back. Xander was staring at his brother like he wanted to eat him. “Kade,” Xander said the name in a warning tone.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said. “Are you guys ready?”
“Let’s do this,” Xander said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. We walked toward the trailhead.
I was not going to be able to walk the entire four miles with his arm banded around me.
“How long are you in town for?” I asked Kade, although trying to see him over Xander’s arm was a little difficult.
Kade grinned and I had a feeling he was purposely teasing his big brother. “Just for today. I head back tomorrow.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” I said.
“Why?” Xander snapped. “Why is it too bad?”
I patted his broad chest. “Because you won’t get to spend much time with your brother.”
“Oh,” he said, relaxing a little.
I could sense the rivalry between them. Rivalry and maybe a little jealousy. “I bet you two were quite the handful when you were younger.”
Kade was the first to laugh. “I wasn’t. Xander was.”
“Not true,” Xander protested. “You did just as much shit, but you got away with it.”
“Because you were too big and obvious about it,” his brother shot back.
I managed to extract myself from Xander’s grip as the trail began to narrow. I began to fall in line behind him with Kade behind me. Xander grabbed me and practically lifted me, plopping me in front of him with Kade bringing up the rear.
“Did you guys get into a lot of trouble?” I asked.
“Xander did,” Kade quickly answered.
“Will you shut up?” Xander snapped.
“He was always in trouble. Not when we were young, but when he turned about fourteen, he kind of took the rebellious thing to a new level. He was always doing shit to piss off our dad.”
I turned to look over my shoulder at Xander.
He shrugged. “I never did anything that bad.”
“One time, he purposely broke the lawnmower. My dad was gone, and my mom had no idea how to fix it.”
“You guys lived on base?” I asked.
“Yep, and if the lawn isn’t cut, you get in trouble. Our dad was pissed when he got in trouble for it.”
“It wasn’t that big of a deal,” Xander argued.
“Yes, it was, and you know it,” Kade retorted.
“You could have mowed the fucking lawn,” he shot back.
Kade chuckled. “But that was your job.”
The two bantered back and forth. Kade revealed more about Xander than I had ever known before. Their relationship made me a little sad. I never had a sister or a brother to have that fun banter with. I didn’t have a person in this world that knew me like that. There was no one who had shared my childhood.
We made it to the lookout, each of us a little out of breath.
“I need to take a leak,” Xander said, looking around.
I laughed. “There are no bathrooms up here.”
Kade nudged me with his shoulder. “Sweetie, he isn’t looking for a bathroom.”
Xander walked off, disappearing into the trees.
I was a little shocked. “Oh. Okay. Wow.”
“He likes you,” he said.
“What?”
“My brother likes you. I’ve never seen him like that.”
“Like what?” I pressed. I didn’t want to interrogate him, but I was going to pump him for as much information as possible.
“He’s possessive of you.”
“That’s just how he is,” I replied.
“No, he isn’t. I’ve stolen a couple of his girls before. He didn’t care. He pretended he did. I think if I touched you, he would remove my arms.”
I had to laugh. “Xander and I are just friends.”
“He has never had a girlfriend to introduce me to, at least not in the last five or six years. I was beginning to wonder if he was headed over to the other side and didn’t want to tell me.”
My eyes widened and I laughed. “He’s definitely not switching teams!”
He grinned. “I didn’t think so. The fact he wanted to hang out with you and spend time with you in general says a lot.”