Any Man Of Mine

your jokes.” He spooned some for himself, then handed the bowl to Autumn. The tips of her fingers touched his before she pul ed back. Usual y on holidays, Autumn dressed for comfort, but today wasn’t a usual holiday, and she’d dressed in a fitted white blouse and a black pencil skirt that hugged her body and made her look like a fifties pinup model. She’d had mixed feeling about dressing up because Sam was coming to dinner. On the one hand, she didn’t want him to think she’d squeezed into her skirt because of him. On the other hand, she didn’t want him to see her in old sweats. Once she opened the door and seen Sam, she was glad she’d made the effort. He looked cool and hot at the same time in black wool pants and gray Vneck sweater with a white T-shirt beneath. Not like the last time when she’d seen him, al sweaty and scruffy radiating body heat.

“Aren’t you Canadian?” Vince forked sliced turkey on his plate.

“Yeah.”

“So why are you here?”

Autumn kicked him under the table. “Be nice, Vin,” she warned.

Vince turned and looked at her. His eyes wide and innocent. “I’m just asking. I’m sure Sam doesn’t mind answering a simple question.”

“Not at al .” He looked across the table and give Vince a big kiss-my-ass grin. “Autumn and Conner were gracious enough to invite me.”

Which wasn’t real y true. She hadn’t even planned to make Thanksgiving dinner. Conner was supposed to be at Sam’s and Vince at work.

“I thought you were going to spend a quiet day alone packing,” Vince reminded her as he took the potatoes from her. Which she had, until a few days ago, when she suddenly learned that Conner was bringing Sam to Thanksgiving at her house and she was cooking. She stil wasn’t quite sure how that had al transpired. Natural y, she’d had to invite Vince, who fortunately, or unfortunately— depending on how she chose to look at it—had an hour free for dinner. Just enough time to drive to her house, eat, stir things up, and go back to work. She supposed she should just be thankful that Vince would be there less than an hour. Not nearly long enough for Sam to get al comatose on L-tryptophan so that Vince could go commando on him.

“Where are you and Conner going tomorrow?” Sam asked, and forked turkey on and his and Conner’s plates.

“I’ve rented a beach house in Moclips.” Autumn added a little cranberry to her plate. “It’s about a two-hour drive from Seattle.”

“Never heard of it.”

“That’s probably because you spend your vacations in the upper rooms at Scores,” Vince said. Sam raised a brow. “What do you know about those upper rooms at Scores?”

“Just what I’ve read.”

“Giving your fifth-grade education a workout with big words like lap and dance?”

“Yeah. And with letters like f and u. ”

“Little ears.” Autumn lifted her finger off her fork and pointed to Conner. “We rented the same house last summer and real y enjoyed it, but I’ve read that it’s kind of stormy this time of year.” She talked about clamming and sitting on the beach. She talked about Conner flying his kite and the little Moclips museum. She’d never talked so much in her life, but she kept it up until both men retreated back into their caves and shut the hel up.

“Are you about through talking?” Vince asked her before he took a bite of his croissant.

“Are you?”

“Not by half.”

“Then I’m going to have Conner fil your ears with nonstop knock-knock jokes.” She held up one hand. “I swear to God, Vince.”

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, defeated for the moment. Sam laughed, and Vince shot him a look that said he was retreating, but the war was far from over.

“Knock knock.”

“Not now, Conner. Just eat your dinner please.”

“Where’s the green bean casserole?” Conner asked.

Of course the one thing she didn’t make was the one thing he asked about. Since she was leaving in the morning, she hadn’t gone al out. She’d cooked just the basics, and not a ton, so she wouldn’t have a lot of leftovers to rot in the refrigerator. “We’l have it at Christmas.”

Vince poured gravy on his potatoes and turkey and looked across at Sam. “How’s that shoulder?”

“About 60 percent.” Sam lifted his elbow away from his body and grinned. “Thanks for asking, frog squat.”

Conner laughed, Vince’s gaze narrowed, and tension pul ed at the back of Autumn’s skul . She didn’t know what a frog squat was. She was sure Conner didn’t know either, but she was fairly sure it wasn’t nice. She pointed to Sam. “Did you hear what I said to Vince?” She knocked on an invisible door. “Until your ears bleed.”

He tilted his head back and laughed like everything was just hilarious. Then he settled in and ate as if he was on death row, and this was his last meal. He seemed happy and relaxed, like he ate dinner at her house every day. Like they were friends. Like they hadn’t been going at each other’s throat a few months ago, and like her brother wasn’t staring holes through him. He didn’t seem bothered by anything, and several times she caught him watching her as if he was looking for something.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Not a thing.” He reached for more turkey and stuffing. “You’re a very good cook. I didn’t know that about you.”

Why would he? “Thank you.”

“Hey, Dad, you should move in here.” Conner pushed his peas beneath his rol as if his mother wouldn’t notice. “We have a bedroom downstairs.”

Autumn’s forehead got tight and achy.

Sam chewed and swal owed as if giving it some thought. “I don’t know. I have a lot of stuff. And where would I put that water wal you like so much?”

Vince muttered something under his breath that sounded like an impossible suggestion for where Sam could put the “water wal .” By the time dinner was over, Autumn was so tense her spine felt brittle.

Vince looked at his watch and placed his napkin beside his plate. “Gotta get back to the grind.”

Vince was her brother, her friend and protector. Besides Conner, he was the only family she had, but she was relieved to see him go.

“I drew you a picture, Uncle Vince. It’s in my art center.” Conner jumped down and ran from the room Vince stood and tucked his Titan Security shirt into his Dickeys.

Sam leaned back and pointed to Vince’s belt. “Where’s your gun, cowboy?”

“I don’t need a gun, asshole. There are more than a hundred ways to kil someone.” He smiled. “And a hundred ways to dispose of a body in places it wil never be found.”

Autumn knew he was kidding. Kind of. “Wel , I hope you come over while I’m gone and eat the leftover turkey. Or do you want to take some with you. Pie?”

Vince ignored her. “I wasn’t around the last time you hurt Autumn. I’m here now, and it’s not going to happen again.”

Sam folded his arms across his chest and leaned the dining-room chair back on two legs. “I heard you the first time.”

There’d been a first time? Where had she been? She stood and fol owed her brother into the living room. “What was that about?”

He gave her a big hug, the kind of deep squeeze that settled in her bones and let her know how much he loved her. The kind of love that would last forever. No matter how much he made her mad. “Cal me when you get to your beach house tomorrow, so I know you’ve made it.”

She didn’t tel him not to worry about her. He would anyway. “I wil .”

“Here it is.” Conner walked into the room and handed Vince the picture. “We’re playing putt-putt like last year.”

“Yep. There you are.” Vince pointed to the little blond figure, then folded the paper and put it in his breast pocket. “I’l study it at work.” He gave Conner a quick hug, then moved down the stairs. “I’l come over while you’re