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Maybe we’ll watch a movie.
When I pull up to her place, I frown at the dark blue sedan parked behind her car. A rental car company sticker is affixed to the windshield—someone’s visiting, but she never said a word about it.
I take the stairs two at a time, grocery bag in one hand and keys in the other. Unlocking the door, I push it open to find three large men standing in the living room, and for a moment, I think Hellman has sent someone to deal with both Abby and me.
The men turn, eyes on me, and I see Abby behind one of them looking uneasy.
“What’s going on?” I ask neutrally, setting the grocery bag on the small table by the door so my hands are unencumbered to fight.
“Kellen,” Abby says, moving toward me. The three men step back, giving her free rein. “These are my brothers.”
My gaze moves among the men, and now I see it. All with the same black hair and green eyes. Christ, they’re so similar, they look manufactured.
In ordinary circumstances, this is where we’d all smile and shake hands, pleased to make each other’s acquaintances. I know damn well her sister Kat is warm and outgoing and in favor of our relationship.
But these three—all as big and tough-looking as I am—glare with open hostility. Something tells me they’re not here to check me out or make sure Abby’s okay. It seems they have an agenda, and by the look on Abby’s face, she’s not happy about it.
CHAPTER 15
Abby
I take Kellen’s hand and give it a squeeze. “Let me introduce you.”
Each of my brothers is polite and shakes Kellen’s hand. Ethan, the oldest at thirty-eight, doesn’t crack a smile. He’s here representing the family and takes his duties far too seriously. Everyone always says that Kat and I look the most like Ethan because we all have the same dimples.
Only problem with Ethan is we never see his anymore.
Trey is thirty-three, the hell-raiser of the group. He wears his dark hair long, just above his shoulders, and it drives my parents bonkers. He’s a ladies’ man, though, and supposedly the women love it.
And lastly, Wade, twenty-nine, only two years older than me and Kat, but he’s closest to us in age and in loyalty. We three always played together, never a shortage of mischief to find, given our vast farm. He’s the daredevil, the one who always egged us on to do stuff even if it got us in trouble. I’m counting on him to understand the reason why I did the things I did.
“And what’s the occasion for the visit?” Kellen asks, his eyes moving from me to my brothers.
“Oh, you know… just big brothers checking in on me,” I reply, my voice a bit shrill because that’s not an accurate representation at all, and the three Blackburn men filling my small living room intimidate me.
“More than checking in,” Ethan growls in disdain. “It’s more like saving her from herself and from bad influences.”
His eyes pin on Kellen with that last statement, who in turn crosses his arms over his chest and cocks an eyebrow. “Bad influences?”
“You threw fuel on the fire by getting into it with Levi Hellman and accepting that stolen dog—”
“Kat has a big mouth,” I mutter with ire, then turn to Kellen. “When you talked to her last night from the hospital, it freaked her out, so she told my brothers. They came to… to…” I turn not to Ethan, because he can be a bully, but rather to Wade, who I’m closest to out of the boys. “Why are you here?”
“To bring you home,” Ethan says, answering not just the question I posed to Wade but laying down a decree on behalf of the Blackburn family. “It’s more than time you took your place, and you’re causing trouble here that could land you in prison.”
“Last I checked,” Kellen drawls, his eyes lasered on Ethan, “Abby is an adult and fully capable of making her own decisions. Now, she might want to return home with you, but if she doesn’t, no way I’m going to let you drag her out of here.”
My heart surges with gratitude and… I don’t know what, but an incredibly strong tenderness for this man who has turned out to be my hero every step of the way.
“Last you checked?” Ethan repeats contemptuously. “Just because you’re checking her out under the covers—”
I gasp.
Kellen growls and lunges for Ethan but is thwarted by Wade stepping in front of him while Trey steps in front of Ethan. I don’t interfere because there’s probably close to eight hundred pounds of muscle and testosterone in here.
“Why don’t you remove these two boys trying to protect you from the equation,” Kellen taunts, stepping back toward the door and placing his hand on the knob, “and let’s take this out in the yard. I’ll let you check me out so you have no confusion as to what’s going on here.”
