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“Braxton has a fancy lawyer friend. I’ve got a call out to him. This has to be handled the right way.”
The right way. Sophie didn’t know what his exact intentions were, she wasn’t sure Zach fully knew, but he was going to do something, and that was more than Brock had been offered so far.
“I have some good news,” she told him. “Let’s go inside since Liam is here too.”
Zach tipped his head. “Tell me now.”
“You’ll have to be patient.” Sophie started down the sidewalk. She’d taken maybe three steps when she was lifted off the ground and flung over Zach’s shoulder. “Why am I looking at your butt?”
Zach laughed. “Because you were limping and I’m carrying you inside.”
“Your concern is sweet, but the execution could use some work.”
“You dumped the polished man, Soph. Now you have me.” Zach carried her to the porch and gripped her thigh. “You know you love this.”
He knew her so well. Better than anyone, actually. Which made him perfect for her. Now if she could just get him to realize how they were imperfectly perfect together.
As soon as they were inside, he set her down. “No steps today. We’re working in the bathroom and kitchen anyway.”
Sophie nodded. Arguing with the stubborn man was useless. Besides, she liked knowing he cared so much. Not that she ever intended to use her limp as a means of gaining attention; she’d never want to be that pitiful and desperate. But knowing he zeroed in on how she was feeling without her saying a word proved how much he’d settled himself into her life. She hadn’t even noticed she was limping more than usual.
“Hey, Sophie.” Liam strutted through the foyer. With a ball cap on backward, his dark hair curling around the edges and a stained white tee, you’d never guess he was a prominent chef at a popular Savannah hot spot. “We’ve got sandpaper with your name on it.”
Laughing, Sophie glanced over his shoulder at Brock, who hung back. “Hi, Brock. How are you?”
The boy shrugged, but gave her a passing glance. Her heart literally ached for the kid. No doubt he was terrified of his future, and to be honest, so was she. But Zach wouldn’t give up on this kid and neither would she.
Focusing back on Liam, Sophie could barely hold back the happy news another second. “I’ve heard back on the grant.” She turned to make sure Zach was behind her stil
l. “We’ve been approved!” she squealed.
“Already?” Zach asked. “That was fast.”
Nodding in agreement, Sophie said, “It’s been a week. They said up to thirty days, but this was much faster than I figured. If you’re changing any renovations on the original list, I just need to let them know.”
“I can’t foresee any changes,” Zach told her. “Wow, I didn’t expect to hear back so soon. You are awesome, Sophie.”
Beaming with pride, she was so excited she’d spent sleepless nights working on this for them, for Chelsea. She screamed when Zach picked her up and spun her around, placing a loud smacking kiss on her lips. The second he put her down, Liam wrapped his arms around her and spun her in the other direction.
“Keep your lips off her,” Zach growled just as Liam’s mouth pressed to hers in a brotherly manner. “I’ll kick your ass.”
Liam laughed, easing Sophie back down but keeping an arm around her waist. “I’d like to see that. I believe Braxton gave you a black eye the other day and I punched you in the gut. Don’t make me remind you who’s stronger here.”
“You’re full of it,” Zach retorted with a snort. “I deserved it the other day, but you lay your lips on her again and—”
The back door slammed and Sophie jerked her attention in the direction of the hall leading to the kitchen.
“Shit,” Zach muttered, taking off in a run. “Brock.”
Why did Brock leave? One second they’d been joking and . . .
Sophie closed her eyes as realization dawned on her. The poor boy didn’t know the difference between playing and real life.
“I’m going after him too.”
Sophie watched as Liam took off after Zach. No way would they let Brock escape thinking the worst . . . thinking they’d ever turn their fists on him. How sad that a teenage boy didn’t recognize the brotherly banter and joking manner. Sophie had been so thrilled with the news, with Liam and Zach laughing and joking with each other, she hadn’t even stopped to think.
She wrapped her arms around her waist and headed back out the front door. Maybe he ran around front. Regardless of where he went, Sophie was confident Zach would find him and set him straight in the most loving of ways.
