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“I can’t change who my mother is, Fin.”
“I know that, but it would sure make it easier to like you. Joe’s a friend... more than a friend, he’s a brother to me. His family are my family, and it’s just hard to be nice to anyone with the surname Howard.”
“My sister’s a Howard.”
“Yeah, but she’s hot.”
He felt the bite of anger as a surge of protectiveness had him wanting to put his fist in the ranger’s face. Another emotion he was experiencing for the first time.
“Family is vital to our existence, and I don’t just mean blood, Dylan. Those that mean the most to us are what keep us grounded, and they are the only ones who have our backs when the chips are down.”
“What are you, Dr. Phil?” he managed to get out.
“His nephew, can’t you see the resemblance?”
“This town has always been weird, but I have a feeling it’s gotten more so in the last sixteen years.”
“Yeah, but good weird. You play pool?”
Dylan nodded, wary as to which direction Fin was heading now.
“Ted’s hosting a tournament soon. You may as well come so I can fleece you too.” He reeled off a date. “Joe will have eaten all the food if you don’t arrive early.”
The ranger walked away after slapping Dylan on the shoulder, which he wasn’t sure meant he was accepted now or not. Lowering himself onto a barstool, he tried to remember the last time he’d played pool. Actually not that long ago, as sometimes a few of his colleagues invited him to a local bar, but it wasn’t a regular thing, and he wasn’t close to any of them.
“Like I said, weird,” Dylan muttered, his eyes skimming over Charlie, who seemed okay, smiling even, as she talked to the redheaded Maggs. He found Piper on the dance floor again, but this time with someone else, and this did not make Dylan happy.
What the hell was happening to him? He’d only been back a few days and he’d experienced lust, jealousy, bonding with one of his siblings, and this serious pain in his chest when he’d looked at his dad. He needed to keep to himself from now on, and get through his visit. Things would settle down again when he got back to work.
Chapter 13
Two weeks after Dylan Howard had kissed every thought from her head, Piper listened to the phone ring in her ear, waiting for Joanie to pick up. She’d been feeling edgy since leaving Rummer, constant worry gnawing at her. Was Joanie still using? Was that asshole ex of hers still around? Was Grace safe?
“Come on, we’re short a player, so you’ll do.”
“What?” Jack was standing in the doorway to her bedroom. Hair not brushed, he’d thrown on a singlet and shorts.
“It’s freezing, put on a sweater,” Piper said. “And no to playing.” She cut the call and glared at the phone. Why was Joanie not answering?
“I’m warm-blooded, baby, unlike you. Now move it.”
They shared a house, him, Luke, Piper, and her mom. A big old farmhouse they’d spent many hours renovating—and plenty of heated debates. For the most they cohabited well, but sometimes she wanted to slap her cousins for their hygiene habits and other annoying little traits she’d thought cute once... a long time ago.
“We’re due to play ball in thirty minutes against the Pissants, and we had two pull out, so hustle it.”
“Peasants, Jack. They call themselves the Pilker Peasants.”
Jack was the middle Trainer. Tall, dark, and sexy according to the woman Piper had encountered... who wanted to talk to her simply because she was related to three of the most handsome men in Ryker, apparently.
Little did those women know that they left their rooms a mess and dirty dishes on the bench.
“I don’t have time for this, Jack.”
“Sure you do. You’re all bent out of shape at the moment; it’ll do you good to get up a sweat and spend some time with your cousins.”
“I live with two of you!”
“Like I said, bent out of shape.”
