fell into an uneasy silence as the streetlights flicked past. Up ahead Ty could see the red neon sign reading OON.
Ty kept his words to a bare minimum. “That’s our stop.” Gravel crunched beneath the tires as they pulled into the parking lot. He put his hand on the door handle, but couldn’t seem to open it until he said his last words to Jess’s older brother. “For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t do anything to hurt your sister. You’re her family. You protect each other. I get that. I know what it’s like. She’s an amazing woman. You’re right to want to protect her.”
Edgar’s eyes softened slightly. No matter what else the man was, he cared about his younger siblings. “Take care of my brother.” His gaze flicked to Riley. “You listen up and keep yourself safe out there. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Yeah, yeah, if I die, you’re going to come kill me.” Riley grinned. Edgar’s lips twitched slightly, but it couldn’t be called a smile. “Night, Riley.”
“Night, Ed.”
They shut the doors and watched the car turn back onto the main road and out of sight.
Riley rocked back on his heels and caught Ty’s gaze. “I bet you need another beer after meeting my family.”
“Beer? Kid, I need something way stronger than that.” Ty walked over and opened the door to his black pickup. “But we’ve got to get back. Hop in.”
* * *
Jess walked downstairs in the morning to find her three older brothers waiting for her. Not good.
She shoved her hair into a haphazard bun, or messy bun, as her kids called it at school. Her body was sore. Okay, perhaps sore was an understatement. She’d done things she didn’t know she could do last night, and the thought left her breathless and a little light-headed. Maybe she was hungry.
Only the smell of crisp bacon and warm cinnamon buns from the oven had tempted her enough to brave the gauntlet of her brothers the morning after. She suspected the only reason they’d left her any breakfast in the first place was to lure her into the kitchen. They knew her well enough to know she’d want to avoid them for a few days. Perhaps if she acted as though nothing had happened, they’d just let it go.
“Morning.” She tried to sound chipper and ended up sounding strained, even to her own ears.
“Jess, we need to talk,” Davis said before she could even grab a cup of coffee. His dark neat hair and well-pressed uniform made him look as if he was getting ready to lead an interrogation.
She held up a hand to stop him. “Seriously? At least have the decency to let me get caffeine in my system before you start your lecture.”
His mouth thinned into the disapproving line she’d memorized since she’d been fourteen and he’d been in charge. Jess did her best to ignore it as she pulled out a mug, filled up her coffee cup and added the necessary three packets of sweetener and generous splash of half-and-half, stirred and sipped. The familiar warmth trailed down her throat. She cradled the cup between her hands, letting it warm them, and rested her hip against the counter as she took another fortifying sip. How did anyone live without coffee in the morning?
Edgar didn’t wait any longer. “We’re worried about you.”
“How do you know you can trust a guy like that?” Paul added.
Davis was far more grim and final. “He’s not for you.”
They fired off comments in such rapid succession it was like a firing squad. Jess could have gone along with the concern. She could have handled reason, but to be told flat out what she could or couldn’t do chafed like no one’s business. She locked gazes with Davis.
“Look. For the last time, I’m an adult. And just like the rest of you, I’ll see who I please when I please. You don’t ask my permission and I shouldn’t have to ask yours.”
Fine lines of tension appeared around Davis’s eyes. “And what about your career, Jess? Have you considered what somebody like that might do to your reputation? How it could ruin a job you love?”
She set the coffee cup down on the counter and crossed her arms. It was hard enough to battle with her brothers confidently, harder still when she wore a fluffy robe with kittens cavorting over it. “You’re one to talk, Davis.”
He winced.
“You remember Shelby? How smart was it to get involved with her?”
“That was different.”
“How?”
“She lied about being single.”
“And yet you stayed by her side for months. This was just a fling. One night.”
“You sure about that?” Paul interjected.
“I’m telling you. You guys are preaching to the choir here. There’s no reason for us to keep seeing each other.” Jess picked up her cup and took another drink. “As you say, he’s not my type. I’m not going to jeopardize teaching for some mountain-man jarhead, no matter how attractive. Don’t worry your pretty little heads. I’ll never see him again.” After all, it wasn’t as if he’d come looking for her, was it? What had been brain-melting sex for her could have been just another night out for him. She really didn’t know.
Edgar snorted. “Don’t think he sees it that way.”
Her stomach did an uneasy roll. Jess speared Ed with a glance over the steaming rim of her cup. “What did he say?”
“Nothing. Didn’t have to. God, Jess, it was written all over his face. Even you had to see that. The guy has it bad for you.”
Jess’s heart pounded at the thought. Did he? Surely he didn’t think she did those things with everyone she dated. She’d dated guys before, but no one had brought out her wild side like Ty. She was like a different woman when she was in his arms. Wanton. Insatiable. “You guys are way overreacting. Trust me. One date was it.”
Paul looked over at Davis. “Isn’t that all Mom and Dad had before they got hitched?”
Davis nodded, his mood still surly.
As if that ever happened nowadays. Nobody believed in love at first sight anymore. They were just being the same overprotective brothers she’d always known. Jess sighed. She couldn’t blame them for being who they were.
“It doesn’t matter. He’s got his survival school to run and I’ve got my class to think about come Monday.”
She set down her coffee and grabbed the last plate set out by the stove, picking up several pieces of bacon and ignoring the cinnamon rolls. For whatever reason, she was craving the bacon, but the thought of eating the sweet, sticky rolls no longer sounded appetizing. “You three don’t have to worry,” she said as she bit into the bacon and chewed. “I’m a big girl. I’ll guarantee you, Ty’s already forgotten the whole thing.”
* * *
Ty looked over his group of recruits. He hadn’t slept when they’d gotten back to the compound. He’d packed Riley off to his barrack,
