“If he’s a good guy, why did he take advantage of her? He was sent to protect her, not—”
Marcas lifted one brow, the way he always did when he knew more than he let on, which was most of the time. “Sure you want to go there, little Brother?”
Cody had sometimes wondered if Marcas knew the truth about him and Shay.
“Yeah,” Lach agreed. “Who went and told Shay her whole life was a lie, before the clan even had time to prepare her?”
Cody looked at Jamie, feeling the knife twist inside. Shay had spent months with Jamie, talking with him, sharing her life with him. He gritted his teeth. Sleeping with him. Maybe getting pregnant by him. “I’m going in,” he said, brushing the nurse’s hand aside. “Time’s up, Waters.”
Marcas and Lachlan followed. Ronan put his hand on the nurse’s back. “We’ll just be a minute,” Ronan said, winking at her. “What can it hurt? She’s sleeping.”
The nurse flushed, looking at all five men dwarfing the room. She rolled her eyes. “Five minutes, then I’ll toss all of you out. I don’t care how big or how good-looking you are.”
***
“Come on, Cody, we don’t have all night.” Shay glanced over her shoulder as she ran toward the barn. The weather was warm for October, and the smell of fall reminded her of pumpkins and the haunted trail they used to make every Halloween. They had grown too old for monsters and demons and fake swords. She missed it. Missed the closeness. They were all growing up, and it scared her. She was afraid she would wake up one morning and they’d all be gone. How would she live? They were her family, her whole life.
“I thought Nina already checked the barn,” Cody grumbled behind her. He was home from college for a few days. He seemed different, older, as if he knew things she didn’t, and it bothered her. They’d always shared everything. He looked different, too, taller, his shoulders broader, and muscles popping out everywhere. He was also grouchy as a bear. He had barely spoken two words since he arrived. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought he was avoiding her. It made her sad, since he was all she had thought about for months.
“She didn’t check the hayloft. The cat might have gone there to have her kittens.”
Cody held the narrow ladder for her and then followed. “You check this side; I’ll check over there,” he said when they reached the top. He turned away, but not fast enough. Shay didn’t miss his quick glance at her breasts.
That was strange. The last thing Cody MacBain would be interested in was her breasts. She was the one with the obsession eating her alive.
They spent several minutes searching. “There’s no cat here,” Cody said, leaning over a stack of hay bales, stretching his faded Levi’s across his rear.
She was so preoccupied with his butt, she caught her foot on a piece of twine and fell flat on her face.
“You okay?” Cody asked.
“Just winded.” She rolled to her back, trying to catch her breath. She realized how stupid she must look and glanced up at Cody, expecting to see him laughing at her. He wasn’t.
The muscles in his jaw tensed as he leaned down and stretched his hand out to help her up. She slipped her hand in his, gave a nervous laugh, and tugged, hoping if he fell too, it would wipe that somber look off his face. Caught off balance, he tumbled forward, landing on top of her. Once again, her breath whooshed out. His eyes were dark, and she could see a muscle ticking in his jaw. His gaze dropped to her mouth and he licked his lips a moment before lowering his head.
