The house was nice but I could drool over the truck in the driveway. A midnight-blue one-ton dually with mud caked around the fenders—the telltale sign of a hardworking man. The full-sized SUV beside it was choice too. Something I might have to think about in the near future.
A woman stepped outside with a baby on her hip and a little boy clinging to her leg. She was almost identical to Lauren, except taller, older, and shorter hair. Her eyes narrowed in on my Chevy, and I could feel their flinty suspicion from here. Dang.
“I’m so dead. She’s already raging.” Lauren’s fingers trembled slightly as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
The front door opened wider, a massive man stepping in behind Kellie, built like he’d trained for special ops every day of his life, practically filling the frame with the width of his shoulders.
“Must be the husband,” I said, fighting to keep down my own anxiety levels.
“I should’ve known she’d want Jared home when we got here. Let me talk to them for a sec before I introduce you.”
“Not a chance.” I tried to judge the look of contempt on their faces as I killed the engine and unbuckled, but that was all I saw. Contempt. “I’m a big boy. We’re in this together, remember?”
I hopped out of my Chevy and joined Lauren on the passenger side. I took her hand in mine and led her toward them, like I was leading her out on a dance floor, but I wasn’t sure she was ready to face the music of this exact song.
Jared set a hand on his hip and lifted his chin, staring square at me beneath the bill of his San Francisco Giants baseball hat. On any other day, her brother-in-law looked like the kind of guy I could chill out with, a working man in a neon-green construction shirt, heavy work books, and calluses on his palms. A man who’d appreciate a quiet day fishing on the lake. But, right now, dude looked ready to tear my head off.
Kellie knelt down, settling the boys down in the grass with a basket full of stuffed animals and whispered something to the older one. Then she joined Jared and they marched across the lawn to meet us.
“Hey, guys,” Lauren said, with a wavering voice. “So, this is Carter.”
Kellie didn’t even look at Lauren. She was too busy glowering and, what seemed like committing every part of my face to memory. Probably to give the police an accurate description.
“Why don’t you take Lauren inside, Kel?” Jared said.
“Come on. The boys are dying to see you and Jared was just prepping some steaks for dinner. We can finish them up for him.”
“Carter, this is my sister, Kellie, and her husband, Jared.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, offering my hand.
Jared just stared. I dropped it, inhaled deeply through my nose.
Kellie’s dark brown eyes flicked to mine. “That’s nice. Come on, Laur.”
Lauren scoffed. “You’re joking, right?”
Jared eyed me like a providential buck that had landed smack dab in the middle of a sparse hunting season. “Better head in, Lauren. Me and Carter need to have a talk. Man-to-man.”
“Oh my gosh. You guys are insane,” Lauren said. “You don’t need to have a tal—”
“It’s fine,” I said.
“We’re adults, Carter. You don’t have to do this.”
“It’s obvious they care about you. So do I. They’re your family. We can figure it out, right, Jared?”
He sniffed, rubbing his square jawline. “Guess we’re about to find out.”
Kellie looped arms with Lauren. “Come on, sis. Liam’s been really patient waiting to see his Aunta.” She tugged Lauren toward the kids playing in the grass.
“Won’t be my first interrogation.” I offered Lauren a reassuring grin. “See you in a bit.”
After the women and kids disappeared inside the house, Jared asked, “So, what’s the deal, boss? What’re your intentions with my little sister?”
“Right now, I’m just trying to get to know her better. I think there’s potential for something serious between us, but I’m trying to be cautious.”
“Lauren doesn’t have a good track record when it comes to picking guys, so I’m helping her out this time.”
“That’s fine. Besides, not like I can run away too fast these days.” I grinned.
Jared’s eyes softened when they landed on my prosthetic. “Hate to ask, but did you serve? You have that look.”
“Marines.”
“Huh.” He set a hand on his hip, body relaxing. “My dad was army for thirty years.”
“You look like a man who could have served.”
“I was planning to.” He shook his head, glancing at the house with a small smile. “Then me and Kel got together and the plans changed.”
“Happens like that sometimes.”
This was the life Megs and I should have had. I shoved down the surge of jealousy. Smiled.
“I’m not leading her on, if that’s what you’re worried about. I have every intention of treating her right, and you can grill me all you want. I have a little sister, too. I get it.”
He glanced at my truck and back at me, nodding before he released a heavy sigh. “Well. Speaking of grills. You hungry? I was about to put a couple steaks on.”
Twenty-One
-LAUREN-
“Aunta!” Liam shouted, as we neared him on the grass.
“Hey, buddy,” I said, stooping as he ran full speed into my arms. I scooped him up and breathed him deep, my heart leaping because there was nothing in the world like a set of rosy cherub cheeks and the scent of bubble bath soap to make me feel like everything was right in the world.
He pulled back, twirling a piece of my hair around his finger and giggled. “You missed me?”
I nodded, my joy bubbling over into my smile.
“Did you miss me, too?” I asked, tickling his side.
He fell forward in a four-year-old laugh attack.
“I show you my new ninja,” Liam said to me.
I lifted a brow at Kellie, the no-violence-mantra mom. She
