Page 65 of Guarding Colton’s Witness

He chuckled. “They can bring it on. I’m not scared of them.” His gaze scanned around the tables that had been pushed together. “Although they are big, and if they decide to gang up on me, I’ll revise that statement.”

“Smart man.”

“I never would’ve guessed Dylan and Aiden are twins.”

“They’re fraternal twins, but they’re close. They balance each other. Aiden’s the fun one and Dylan’s the quiet one.”

“All of you seem really close,” he said.

“Yeah, I guess we are.” Short of breaking the law, she’d do just about anything for her sister and brothers.

“What about your foster brother, the mayor? He doesn’t do your secret dinners with you?”

“He kind of distanced himself from us when he went away to college. He’s always invited and welcomed at family get-togethers. Sometimes he comes, sometimes he doesn’t. He does have a lot going on, so his excuses are legit.”

He looked around at her brothers and sister. “I kind of envy you having a big family.”

“They can drive you crazy sometimes, especially the boys, but I wouldn’t change a thing about my family. Lately, it doesn’t seem like we’re spending much time together with everything going on, so I’m really happy right now having them all here.”

He reached for her hand under the table. “I like seeing you happy.”

“And that’s how I met Jules,” Cal said, bringing her attention back to him.

She’d never seen such a soft smile on her brother’s face as the one that appeared when he said Jules’s name. She was pretty sure he was in love, and it was great to see him happy.

Their drinks came and, soon after, their food. As they ate, she told Kelly about getting called to pick up Sam at the police station, that he’d been shot and taken to the emergency room. “And that’s how I met Ryan.”

“I thought she was a neglectful mother and got on her case.” Ryan grinned at her. “She didn’t hesitate to put me in my place.”

“She never hesitates to put me in my place,” Dylan said.

Cal lifted his hand. “Same.”

“She never goes off on me,” Aiden said. “Must be because I’m perfect.”

Wyatt threw a French fry at him. “You’re delusional.”

“Your family’s…” Ryan’s gaze scanned over her siblings. “Interesting?”

“That’s a nice way of saying we’re a bit on the crazy side.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, but I like them.” He leaned over and kissed her.

“No, no, no!” Dylan called out. “Dude, no kissing my sister in front of me.”

“So I shouldn’t tell you what we’ll get up to later?” Matti said, egging them on.

“Please don’t,” Dylan said.

“Stop!” Wyatt yelled.

Cal put his hands over his ears.

“I want to know,” Aiden, always the mischief-maker, said.

His other three brothers threw French fries at him.

And so it went through the meal, the boys razzing each other and her and Kelly rolling their eyes. Ryan seemed to be just taking it all in, and when they finished and Stephanie brought the check, he grabbed it.