in Florida on a drug bust instead of delivering a prisoner. It wasn’t my fault.” He grinned. “Not that I’m complaining. If I hadn’t been in Kansas, I wouldn’t have met Haley.”
“A minister’s daughter,” Nash repeated. “I still can’t believe it. So where did you two hook up? Church?”
“A bar.”
The answer came from the doorway. Nash turned and saw a young woman walking into the parlor. As he stood he saw she was of medium height, with short fluffy blond hair and hazel eyes. She was pretty enough, curvy, dressed in a snug T-shirt and shorts. His gaze automatically went to her bare legs and he waited for the kind of reaction he’d experienced when he’d seen that sliver of Stephanie’s stomach that morning.
Nothing.
Which didn’t make sense. If he hadn’t had sex in forever and he was finally starting to feel something, why didn’t Haley ring any bells?
“You must be Nash,” Haley said as she approached. She tilted her head. “Wow—you’re tall, like Kevin, and really nice-looking. The same dark hair and dark eyes, but you don’t look very much alike.” She wrinkled her nose. “What is it with this gene pool? Aren’t any of you going to be fat or balding or at least kind of unattractive?”
Kevin beamed at his fiancée. He wrapped an arm around her and brushed a kiss against her temple. “Haley speaks her mind. You’ll get used to it.”
“If not, I’m sure you’re polite enough not to say anything to my face,” Haley said cheerfully.
She sank onto the sofa, pulling Kevin next to her. Nash sat down, as well. After linking hands with Kevin, Haley leaned forward and studied Nash.
“I’m really excited about the whole brother-in-law thing,” she told him. “I’m an only child. I had way too many mothers, but no siblings. I always wanted other kids around. Some of it was to take the heat off me. I mean I couldn’t even think bad thoughts. It’s like everyone could read my mind. How awful is that? Okay, sometimes it was really great to have so many people worrying about me, but it could be stifling, too.”
Kevin bumped her shoulder with his. “Slow down. You’re going to scare Nash off. He’s not the sociable twin.”
Her gaze became as penetrating as a laser. “Really.”
Nash shifted uncomfortably. “Congratulations on your engagement,” he said in an effort to distract her. “If Kevin wasn’t completely honest about his past, I’d be happy to fill in the details.”
Haley giggled with delight. “Ooh, stories about when Kevin was bad. He’s told me a few things, but not about the women. There had to be dozens, right? Hundreds, even?”
Now Kevin was the one squirming in his seat. “Haley, you know everything important. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. “Isn’t he the best? I can’t wait to get married. Speaking of which, are you dating, Nash?”
Kevin stood and pulled Haley to her feet. “I think you’ve terrorized my brother long enough.”
“What?” she asked as she put her hands on her hips. “What did I say?”
He gave her a little push. “I won’t be long.”
“Did I upset you?” she asked Nash.
He stood. “Not at all. From what I can tell, you’re exactly what my brother needs in his life.”
“Ha.” She tossed her head and walked out of the room. “I’ll be upstairs,” she called back. “Planning the wedding. A really big wedding.”
“Have fun,” Kevin said, then flopped back on the sofa. “She’s a handful.”
Nash sat down. “Interesting young woman.”
“I think so. She’s smart, funny, fearless. She gives with her whole heart. I’m still learning how to do that, but she makes it so damn easy to love her.”
Had that been the problem? Nash wondered. Had Tina not been easy to love? Had the work got in the way?
“Enough about me,” his brother said. “How are you doing?”
“Fine,” Nash said. “Great.”
Kevin didn’t look convinced. “I didn’t think it was possible to pry you away from work.”
Nash shrugged, rather than admit the vacation hadn’t been his idea. “I’m here, ready to meet the family.”
“Yeah, right.” Kevin’s expression turned serious. “You’ve always been quiet, but since Tina died, it’s been worse than usual. Are you coming out of that?”
As Nash had never been willing to acknowledge what he felt about his wife’s death, he didn’t know if he’d recovered or not. Still it was easier to say, “Sure. I’m doing great.”
His brother shook his head. “You still blame yourself. It was never your fault.”
“Whose fault was it?”
“Maybe no one’s. Maybe it just happened.”
“Not on my watch.”
“You can’t control everything.”
Nash knew. The realization was one of the reasons he’d stopped sleeping, stopped eating, stopped living. But knowing that didn’t seem to change anything.
“Tell me about the Haynes family,” he said to change the subject.
Kevin continued to watch him for a couple of seconds, then nodded, as if agreeing to the tactic. “The couple I’ve met have been good men. They’re as surprised by all this as we are, but friendly enough.” He smiled. “They’re all cops.”
Nash knew there were four brothers and a sister. “You’re kidding.”
“No. They’re all—” He broke off and laughed. “Wait. I forgot. One of them is a rebel. He’s a firefighter.”
Which wasn’t the same as being a cop, but it was close. Kevin was a U.S. Marshal, Gage a sheriff. Nash worked for the FBI and Quinn, well, Quinn walked his own road.
“It’s in the blood,” he said.
Kevin nodded. “That’s what they’re telling me. Earl Haynes was sheriff of this town for years. He has a bunch of brothers and they’re all in law enforcement. Maybe we’re following our destiny.”
Destiny? Nash didn’t believe in that kind of crap. He’d gone to work for the FBI because he’d been recruited out of college. Of all the offers he’d received, it was the one that had appealed the most.
“I’ve seen Gage,” Kevin said. “We’ve known him and Quinn all our lives, played together, fought, made up. I’m having trouble getting that we were always brothers.”
“We
