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Archer leans his weight on his cue stick. “Me, too. The girl likes to play tough, but all those med school rejections? That must have been a hard blow.”
“She’ll be fine,” Darius, who is now back in the game waves it all off. “If anyone can bounce back from this, it’s Karli. You guys don’t give her enough credit. Growing up in a house with all of us made her strong.” He takes a chug of his beer.
“Yes, she’s strong. And no question that she’ll bounce back.” Felix frowns. “But what bugs me most is that she’s trying to deal with everything on her own. Instead of asking for help. I wish she’d just let us help her.”
Ronan shrugs. “You know how she is. She has a chip on her shoulder. She always feels the need to prove herself.”
“But who can blame her? All her life, she’s had us around, hovering over her.” Archer grimaces. “I think sometimes, she just wants to show herself that she can stand on her own two feet.” He hunches over the table and takes a clean shot.
Felix nods slowly, seeming to understand his brother’s perspective.
I stand by, silently sipping my beer, my head swimming from all this information.
It takes a lot of effort and hard work to make it through a rigorous pre-med program. Admission into a decent med school is the expected payoff at the end. I can’t imagine the feeling of disappointment Karli must be experiencing—in silence—knowing that all her hard work didn’t produce the desired result. That’s a heavy load to carry. And even though it’s none of my business, I just wish I could do something about it.
Darius shoots me a glance out the side of his eye. “Felix was always the most protective of Karli,” he tells me.
“Not fucking true,” my buddy grumbles.
“Definitely true,” Ronan counters. “As a baby, that girl took forever to learn to walk. Mom used to joke that it was because you’d never let her fall. Every time she stumbled, you were right there to catch her. You never let her find her feet.”
“That was just some bullshit story Mom used to tell to poke fun at me and you all know it.” Felix comes around the table, lining up his shot. “There’s actually a silver lining to Karli being home, though. I know she must be feeling pretty damn low about herself these days. Right now would be the perfect opportunity for some asshole-in-shining-armor to come and swoop in and take advantage of her now that she’s feeling shitty about herself. At least when she’s locked up in the house, we don’t have to worry about some fucker trying to put the moves on her when she’s in that state. We can keep a close eye on her.”
Archer grunts. “You’ve got a good point. If any man even dared to take advantage of Karli when she’s vulnerable like that, I’d make sure to rip his balls off.”
“And use them as hacky sacks,” Ronan adds, not a note of humor in his voice for once.
The rest of the Brighton brothers nod in agreement.
The hairs on my neck stand on end. My balls duck for cover somewhere between my intestines. These guys are beasts when it comes to protecting their little sister. Good thing I’ve already established a handy-dandy set of rules for making sure I don’t cross the line with Karli.
The conversation shifts when Nolan takes a break from the bar, striding over to join the pool game. “Dude.” He claps me on the back. “Every woman in here is looking at you like you’re a shiny new toy.” Chuckling, he slings a dirty towel over his shoulder and grabs the pool stick from his twin.
I glance around. Fuck—he’s right. I’ve got so many eyes on me, I might as well be standing under a spotlight. In my birthday suit.
“It’s annoying as shit,” Ronan says with a scowl as he glances around the room. “Let’s hook this bastard up with some babe…then I can get all the other honeys’ attention back on me. Where it belongs.” He winks.
“Now that’s not a bad idea,” Felix agrees, pointing his focus on me. “If we get you settled down with some Starlight Falls girl, you’ll be more likely to stick around with me at the clinic.” He lets his eyes travel around the room, like he’s in search of an appropriate candidate. “Who do we have here tonight?”
“I’m not really interested, man,” I argue weakly.
He ignores me. They all do. In fact, the gang of brothers turns around, surveying the bar in their quest for my potential bed buddy.
“In all honesty, I’m really not feeling it,” I try again. My headache is slowly coming back. I can feel the pressure building behind my eyes, and I’d really just rather go home than be set up with some random girl. I sound like a whiny bitch right now, but I’m just too old for this shit.
Plus, I can’t stop thinking about Karli.
Nolan nods toward the other side of the room at a bubbly redhead wearing cowboy boots. “That girl at the bar has been asking about the hot new doctor. Her words. Not mine.”
Felix hoots, his elbow jabbing me in the ribs. “She’s smokin’, man. Go for it.”
“She’s not really my type,” I mumble.
“Or what about that one near the door?” Ronan asks. “I went to high school with her. She’s a cool girl, too. Not too high-maintenance.”
I glance over that way. “Meh. She’s all right. But…” Her eyes aren’t icy blue. And her hair’s not black and silky straight.There’s no tattoo on one ankle. No string of beads on the other ankle.
Fuck it—she’s not Karli.
