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The door opened, and panic hit me. What if it was obvious – Hailey's hair was a mess, falling loose from her ponytail now, and Quinn had a guilty look on his face. I tried not to meet her mom's eyes at all, feeling like there was no way I could after what we'd done with her daughter – no matter how amazing it felt to us at the time.
Ada Roberts didn't have a good look on her face when she stepped inside. In fact, she looked positively grim, which sent a stab of fear into my heart again. Something had happened – and it wasn't that she'd figured out we'd just had the strangest threesome I'd ever experienced in my life. Something was genuinely wrong.
“Honey, I have some bad news,” she said, sitting on a chair across from the bed. “Leo has already posted bail and has been released. He's already out there somewhere.”
Hailey's face fell. Her hands were clenched in front of her, and although she forced her fists to open, she started wringing her hands.
“Already?” she managed to choke out.
“I'm afraid so,” her mom said. “We can go down to the courthouse and file a restraining order –”
“A restraining order won't do anything,” Hailey scoffed. “Not with someone like him. He laughs at things like that.”
“It's all we can do, Hailey,” her mother said.
Quinn spoke up. “Hailey, would you feel more comfortable at our place?” he asked with a seemingly casual shrug. “Leo wouldn't know to look for you there. And you'd have the three of us to protect you if he did.”
I nodded. “I actually think that's a great idea.”
She looked at Quinn, then at me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
“It wouldn't be a problem?” she asked. “I don't want to impose.”
“Not in the least,” Quinn said, taking her hand in his.
He stared deeply into Hailey's eyes, and for a moment, it felt like they were the only two in the room.
I cleared my throat and said, “We'd love to have you, Hailey. We have a fourth bedroom that's empty. It used to be our parent's before they moved out. You're more than welcome to stay there.”
I half expected her mother – a conservative woman from the south – to nix the idea immediately. Her daughter staying with three guys? The horror. The scandal around town. But when I looked over at Mrs. Roberts, she was surprisingly, nodding her head.
“I think that sounds like a great idea. You'll be safe there,” she said. “You are such good, kind boys.”
I looked away, remembering that perhaps she shouldn't trust us with her daughter, but Hailey was already on board with the idea. She smiled, wiping away the tears.
“I think it's a great idea,” she said. “At least until Leo gives up and leaves town.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN - CASON
I was in the living room when I heard the door open. Voices pulled me away from the game on TV and made me look, my eyes wide when I heard a female voice. A familiar female voice.
Hopping up from the sofa, I made my way to the foyer to meet Quinn and Bennett – and they weren't alone. Hailey was with them, carrying an overnight bag. I cocked an eyebrow at my brothers, not knowing what in the hell was happening.
“Hey, Cason,” Hailey said, some rosy pink coloring in her cheeks as she looked at me. “Your brothers said I could stay here for a bit.”
“Sure thing,” I said. “Not that I mind. Like, at all. But, any particular reason why?”
Hailey looked down at her feet, and Quinn took her hand, giving it a squeeze. I had an idea already, but I had hoped that I was wrong. After the other night, I thought perhaps Hailey and I might have been developing some chemistry between us. But now, as I looked at her standing with Quinn, I worried that I might have been mistaken about it.
“It's a long story,” Bennett said. “We can explain over dinner, if Hailey is up for it.”
She nodded.
“Let me show you to your room,” Quinn said.
He took Hailey down the hall to our par
ent's old room. Bennett followed, so I did too. I was confused and had no idea what was going on. So, I wanted to keep an eye on things, hoping there was another explanation to all of this.
