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After all, he’d been about to kiss the lass and instead got a right good knock to the knee.
Samantha’s housekeeper, dressed in a wrapper and nightcap, appeared at Donny’s shoulder. “Goodness, my lady! What were ye doin’ out at this time of night?”
“That’s what I’d like to ken,” Donny said.
“Hush, you’ll wake the neighbors,” Samantha hissed. Then she flashed a quick look at Braden. “Good night, sir. And thank you.”
She hustled her staff inside and slammed the door in his face.
CHAPTER14
Braden stuck his head into the study where his brother was working at his desk.
“Got a few minutes to talk?” he asked Logan.
“For you? Always. Besides, I need a bit of a break.”
“It might not be much of one,” Braden replied, hoisting up the box in his hands.
Logan eyed him over the top of his spectacles. “What the hell is that?”
“Ledgers.” Braden lugged his burden over to the mahogany desk and placed it on the one corner not covered with papers.
His brother pushed his spectacles up onto his head before reaching into the box and pulling out the top volume.
Braden frowned. “Since when did you start wearing spectacles?”
“Since about a year ago.” Logan flipped open the ledger. “I need them when I’m doing close work, which you apparently failed to notice.”
“Apparently. Also, I am a terrible brother,” Braden said.
He sank into the buttery-soft leather club chair in front of the desk. The well-padded upholstery cushioned his weary body, tempting him to close his eyes and have a snooze. After his adventures with Samantha, slumber had eluded him last night. Too much to think about, including Samantha’s various revelationsandthe fact that he’d almost kissed her.
Logan scoffed. “Braden, you’re the best of us, but you work too hard. Speaking of which, you look like hell. How much sleep did you get last night?”
“I’m perfectly fine.” He ruined that assertion by having to smother a cracking yawn.
Logan eyed him with brotherly disapproval. “Another late night with a patient?”
“Hmm.”
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing. Just work, is all.”
“You’ve had a run of late nights. I’ll say it again—you’ll wear yourself out if you’re not careful.”
“There’s no need to glower at me like a disapproving nanny. You’re as bad as Nick.”
“That is literally impossible. Nobody nags and fusses as much as Nick.”
“You’re a close second,” Braden dryly said.
“A fairly recent development, as you know. And we’ve all deserved a clout in the head and a nagging from our big brother and clan chief on more than one occasion.” Logan waggled a hand. “Well, you and Kade never did.”
“Kade has always been kind and thoughtful, down to the bone. I was simply the boring one.”
“No, you were always the serious one, even as a boy,” Logan corrected. “So now it might not be such a bad thing to kick over the traces, lad. Spend some time with your family. Have a little fun. You might like it.”
