“Uncle A.J.!” McKenna tore the thirty or so yards to get to him while Ella handed off the horse to one of the guys who worked on the ranch.
“Hey, sweet pea.” He scooped her into his arms, forgetting she was eleven, not five, and spun her in a circle. Her long black hair, which she’d inherited from her mother’s side, fanned out behind her. McKenna’s birth mom was part Cherokee, and McKenna had been blessed with her grandmother’s rich, silky black hair.
“You’re back already!” McKenna exclaimed once he set her down, her face beaming. “Why are you here?”
He didn’t want to lie to a kid, so . . .
He shot an uncomfortable look Ella’s way as she took her sweet time to get to them. “I’m here with a friend for work, but can you do me a favor?” He leaned down to eye level with her. “Can you not tell anyone I’m back home? It’s kind of top secret.”
McKenna brought a finger to her lips and nodded before he pushed back upright. “Who is your friend? Mr. Chris? Mr. Finn?”
“No, you haven’t met her. Name is Anastasia, but she goes by Ana.” He jerked a thumb back toward the house. “She’s with Nana in the kitchen.”
McKenna glimpsed Ella and faced him again. “I’m going to go see her!”
“Right.” He set a palm to his thigh in anticipation as Ella made her way over while McKenna took off in a sprint toward the house up the hill.
Can I go back to making out with Ana back at Grant’s?
“What are you doing here?” Ella’s blonde hair was plaited in two braids, one on each side of her face. Her blue eyes—she took after their dad—were sharp on him. She was giving him her signature teacher stare she whipped out for her students to let them know they’d done something wrong. “Dad and the others know you’re back so soon?”
He mimicked her stance, arms across his chest, attempting to hold his ground against a Hawkins woman. Ella was as strong, if not stronger, than their mom. “I’m here for work, and if you wouldn’t mind, don’t let anyone outside the family know I’m home.”
Her brows stitched together with mild curiosity before she said, “Brian’s not here if you were wondering. Back in Mobile until the wedding. And thanks to your shenanigans, he won’t be taking a local banking job. He insists we move to his place once we’re married.”
“What?” His arms plummeted to his sides. “Your job is here. Your family.”
“And his job is in Mobile, and he’s not looking to sacrifice everything for our crazy family.”
“Sounds like Mr. Perfect ain’t so perfect to me, then.” He huffed out an angry breath, momentarily forgetting the real reason he was in Alabama after hearing the news that his sister was hurting, and it’d been, in part, his fault. “Mom know you’re going to move to Mobile?”
“No, and don’t you dare say anything. Not until I find a way to tell everyone, especially McKenna.” Disappointment from her harsh stare cut him hard.
“I swear, woman, you just—”
“What?” Ella stepped closer and lifted her chin to bring her face closer to his from her height of five-six. “You need to apologize to Brian is what you need to do.” A finger stabbed his chest. “Since you’re down here, take a trip to Mobile and tell him you’re sorry.”
“I can’t do that, and you know it. I’m here for work, and even if I wasn’t, I don’t want to see him,” he admitted, an angry bite to his words. He hadn’t meant to come across that way, but he didn’t like the fucker for whatever reason. “Brian’s not good enough for you.”
“You don’t know him.” She spun away to face the stable off in the distance as Jesse exited the building alongside Caleb.
“Jesse’s here, too?” Too many people would know he was home.
Jesse and Caleb spotted A.J., and Jesse made a “yeehaw” noise and kicked up his pace to approach them. His gaze hung on Ella for a few seconds before he threw his attention to A.J. “Whatcha doing back here, man?” He reached around and slapped a hand to A.J.’s back as his version of a hug.
“Work,” A.J. said, still a bit taken aback at Ella’s news about moving to Mobile.
Ella placed a hand at the side of her mouth as if she were about to divulge a secret. “Don’t tell anyone he’s here or Alexander will get his skivvies in a twist.” Great, Ella was pulling out his first name. She really was pissed, and given Brian’s reaction to the bachelor party, he couldn’t say as he blamed her.
Did he have time to make things right? Did he want to make things right?
Brian. Brian. Brian. Screw that guy.
“What kind of mischief are you up to?” Caleb asked once he reached them, having taken his time to get to A.J. “We just got your ass out of here, and here you are again. You real?” He waved both hands in the air as if there was some mystical force field between them.
You and me, brother. You and me. He was right there with him questioning just about everything, including his sanity, given his dream slash ghost encounter last night.
“Work,” Ella quickly answered for him with enough sass to make a grown man quake in his boots. “And a woman is here. Anastasia.”
A.J. slapped a palm to his face when he remembered Ana’s name had been revealed at the bar Saturday night.
“The FBI agent?” Caleb asked, putting two and two together, unfortunately.
Damn it.
“Wait, what?” Ella sputtered in surprise.
A.J. lowered his palm from his face. “Different Ana,” he attempted to bullshit a bullshitter. Caleb wouldn’t buy it.
“Well, I gotta go see the woman who has you all tickled pink in the face like this.” Caleb swirled a finger in A.J.’s direction and then scurried off to the house.
“Don’t mention the FBI thing, please,” A.J. called out in a low voice. Caleb whipped around and zipped his lips shut like he used to do when they were kids. “Shit,” he cursed under his breath and looked to Jesse for—help? He wasn’t so sure.
“You protecting a Fed?” Jesse asked once Ella took off toward the house as well.
A.J. gripped his temples with his thumb and middle finger and applied pressure. “Something like that. And coming here wasn’t the plan, but Mom showed up at Grant’s rather unexpectedly while I was making out with Ana.”
“Whoa, rewind.” Jesse slapped a hand to A.J.’s chest. “You did what with the pretty Fed? And she’s a looker, right?”
A.J.’s chest puffed out with a deep breath as he lowered his hand to his side. “More than pretty,” he said on a sigh. “And you can’t tell a soul we’re here.” He removed his glasses so Jesse could see his eyes and understand he meant every word.
Jesse held both palms in the air and smiled. “You’ve kept all my dirty secrets. I suppose I could return the favor and finally keep a few of yours.”
A.J. trusted him. McKenna, too, despite her youth. No one would rat out his location. Small towns were great at gossiping, but they’d protect a secret from outsiders down to their dying breath. “Let’s not talk about why I’m here, though. I’m worried about Ella and Brian.”