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“Joe! Wait.” Elly was dressed in her regular clothes, pressing a hand against her left side as she hobbled toward them. “Don’t go. I need to talk to you.”
Rhy took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest. Joe noticed he didn’t look happy, but he hadn’t gotten punched in the nose yet either.
He found that slightly reassuring.
“Take a hike, Rhy.” Elly came over to stand beside him.
Rhy laughed. “Yeah, that’s not happening.”
“Yes, it is.” Elly took a step toward him, holding his gaze. “I’m sick and tired of you trying to intimidate guys I might be interested in. Enough is enough. I’m almost twenty-five years old. I don’t need your protection anymore. I can handle my personal life all on my own.”
“I don’t try to intimidate your boyfriends,” he protested.
“Yes, you do. Cleaning your service weapon in the living room on prom night for both me and Alanna. Running every guy I ever dated through the simple case search to find out if he has a criminal record.” She huffed, then winced and grabbed her ribs. “Back off, Rhy. I mean it.”
Joe wanted to smile at the way Elly stood up to her brother.
“I taught you and Alanna to do a simple case search on potential boyfriends to help you out,” Rhy said mildly. “Not as an intimidation tactic.”
Elly looked up to the dark sky, then said, “Rhy, if you really care about me, you’ll give me and Joe some privacy.” She didn’t back down.
“It’s okay, Rhy,” he said. “You know Elly is safe with me.”
“Do I?” Rhy’s gaze bored into his. “Okay, fine. You get five minutes.”
“I’ll take as much time as I want,” Elly shot back.
Rhy didn’t answer, but he did go back inside the emergency department. Elly turned back to him, looking adorably frustrated.
“What did you want to talk about?” he asked.
“You. Me. Us.” She frowned. “Joe, I care about you. A lot.”
His heart swelled with hope. “I care about you too, Elly.”
“Then why are you leaving like this?” She stepped closer, resting the palm of her hand on the center of his chest. He couldn’t help reaching up to cover it with his own. “Why won’t you come to our Christmas party?”
“Family reunion,” he corrected. “Elly, I’m not family.”
“You are to me.” The words were spoken so softly he thought he hadn’t heard them clearly. “I love you, Joe.”
Her declaration knocked him off balance. “Elly, we’ve been through a difficult and dangerous time. Your feelings will likely change...”
“No, they won’t,” she interrupted. “Because I’ve cared about you for months now. Long before the Christmas parade shooting. I was trying to get up enough nerve to ask you out.”
Really? She’d wanted to ask him out? He searched her gaze. “I don’t know what to say.”
The light in her eyes dimmed. “It’s okay, Joe. I can understand if you don’t feel the same way.”
“I do,” he quickly interjected. Then he laughed and carefully drew her into his arms. “Elly, I already told Rhy I’ve fallen in love with you. And the good news is that he didn’t take a swing at me like I half expected.”
“Is that why he wouldn’t leave us alone?” Elly rolled her eyes. “Older brothers are a pain.”
“I heard that,” a male voice called from the darkness.
Over Elly’s shoulder, he watched Rhy emerge from the shadows. Joe wondered if his boss had changed his mind about raking him over the coals.
“Go away, Rhy,” Elly said without looking at him. “We’re busy.”
