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“Little brats.” A reluctant smile tugged at his lips as he turned his head away from the spray and reached to turn off the faucet. Water trickled from the sprayer, and he now saw that the handle had been tied open with a piece of twine. He looked toward the hayloft. The boys had hunkered down until all he could see was a tuft of Dustin’s dark hair. They wanted to play, did they?
Grinning, he spun the faucet handle to full blast and approached the opening to the loft. Holding the hose at the ready, he waited patiently for curiosity to lure the kittens up.
It didn’t take long. First there was a flurry of hushed exchanges, then they popped up; one, two, three. Colton aimed the sprayer and doused them before they had any clue what’d hit them. His devilish laugh overrode their surprised shrieks.
Kendra rushed from the stall as Colton shook his dripping hair out of his eyes. She frowned at the hose in his hand. “What are you doing?”
He lowered the sprayer without losing his smile. “Payback.” Raising his voice, he added, “When you mess with the big boys, there’ll always be payback.”
He laughed the exaggerated devil laugh again. Kendra shook her head but he thought he glimpsed a smile as she turned away. The boys made their way down, teeth chattering, bodies shaking.
“Little bit cold, guys?” he asked, because he was.
“We’re going to change,” Cody said with an irrepressible smile. Noah looked less than cheerful, and Dustin just looked miserable. Colton took pity on him and scooped him onto his shoulders, calling out to Kendra that they were going to change.
By the time they were all dry, the riders had returned. After the bus departed, and Dustin left to spend the night at a friend’s house, Britt invited Colton, Kendra and Noah to dinner.
Noah turned to Kendra halfway through the meal. “Ken, can Cody sleep over?”
She glanced at Joel and Britt for confirmation, and Britt said, “I don’t mind if you don’t.”
“Please, Aunt Ken?” Cody begged.
She nodded, and the boys slapped a high five. Colton grinned, thinking how close the two had become. His gaze shifted, catching a sad look on Kendra’s face a split second before she smiled. He contemplated the fleeting emotion. Why sad when the two were obviously having fun? Did she regret not revealing their existence sooner after their mother’s death? Or was she anticipating an imminent departure? Those questions joined the one that was always in the back of his mind. Why were they really here now? And more recently, instead of wondering how soon before they left, he wanted to know how long would they stay?
Dinner clean up went fast with everyone helping, and when the last dish was put away, Britt offered the guys a beer before turning to Kendra. Colton saw her stifle a yawn as he slowly followed Joel toward the living room.
“I’m pretty tired,” Kendra said. “I think I’ll go lay on the couch while the boys watch a movie.”
Shortly after, Britt went upstairs, leaving Joel and Colton to watch the baseball game. Now was the perfect time to discuss his concerns about Kendra with Joel. Trouble was, he’d put the discussion off for far too long and was unsure how to broach the subject.
As if he’d read his mind, Joel provided the perfect opening while Colton took a long drink of his beer.
“Sure is nice to have Kendra and Noah here. Though it’s still hard to believe I have a sister and a brother.”
Colton tensed. He took another pull from his bottle before commenting, “It’s a little strange how they just showed up out of the blue.”
“That was a shock,” Joel agreed. “But, I guess no more so for me than it was for her when she found out.”
Colton sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he fiddled with the beer label. “Yeah, but seems to me she had a couple years to get used to the idea. What took her so long?”
Joel shot him a look, and Colton knew he heard the suspicion in his tone. Hell, he hadn’t attempted to hide it.
“Some people need time,” Joel answered, his calm voice at odds with his expression.
“Two years?” Colton shot him a level look. “All I’m saying is, you really don’t know anything about her. How do you really know?”
Joel sat forward. “I’m not stupid, Colton. I used to be an investigator, remember? She checks out, everything she’s told me checks out.”
Yeah, but what about what she hasn’t told you?
“She’s my mother twenty-four years ago,” Joel continued. “Every so often when I look at her, it takes a couple seconds to realize it’s Kendra, not Vivian. I feel a connection with her and Noah that I’ve only ever felt with my father, my wife, and my kids, and…I just know.”
Dull pain lanced through Colton’s chest. He’d pushed and Joel’s warning was clear; it was none of his business. Though only ten years separated them, he looked up to Joel as a father figure, or big brother. There was so much Joel didn’t know, but Colton backed off. If he didn’t, it could go one of two ways. He was right and Joel would be pissed he didn’t open his mouth sooner. Or he was wrong, and Joel would be pissed he’d tried to cause problems between him and his sister. Either way jeopardized their friendship, and he didn’t have a whole lot else in this world.
Acknowledging his reasons were somewhat selfish, he justified his continued silence by vowing to be the first line of defense. Whatever Kendra was up to, he’d just have to prevent her from succeeding.
He finished his beer and the inning, then said goodnight.
