AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I pulled up in the yard to find Gage’s tall, broad figure and stiff spined silhouette I recognised all too easily in front of the big house at the entrance to the trail where he had built one for his misses as they went at it.
"I don't care, Gage. Just get it done."
“It’ll be done, Brit.” He took a step towards her and tapped her nose.
She snapped, "I don't have time for your bullshit."
The girl looked like she was close to tears. I kicked the door to my truck open and swung out onto the sidestep ready to say something probably pretty stupid seeing as I was making a habit of getting into people's business.
"Walk it off.”
“We’ll take it to the house.” Gage gripped her arm and she pulled away.
They both turned to find Jude glaring at them from the top step, his arms folded over his barrel chest, his black shirt embroidered with the Red Hart logo beneath the house’s coachman lanterns that glowed gently in the failing light.
"Not her." Jude pointed a finger Gage’s in the direction, and then the house the man had built himself from scratch.
He didn't move for a second, though his shoulders stiffen infinitesimally before he stalked off into the darkness, cursing so not quietly.
Jude opened one arm and Brit ran into him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Always fun times." I dived into my duffel and came up with a blue feather clip. I slid it into Brit's hair, pulling the salty strands back from her face, and kissed her cheek. "Don't let him walk all over you, sunshine.”
"That's what I keep telling him,” she said through a snuffle with a half laugh.
“He doesn't hurt you, does he?" I asked gently.
Jude shot me a sharp look, his brow lowered. It looked like that had never occurred to him, that someone trusted in the Red Hart’s extended family might break that trust under the roof of their own house.
"No." Brit turned a clear face to me, a quirk to her lips. "Not when I don't ask him to, anyway."
Jude winced. "That was an overshare."
“Good girl. Can I beg for a meal?”
"Always."
My belly filled quickly, and the chatter abounded around the table, though my gaze constantly swiped across the living area to the door, seeking a head of curls I knew wouldn't be there.
Brit barely touched her meal, heading back towards the shadows.
"Should someone walk with her?" I asked the table in general.
“Only if you want your head ripped off your shoulders,” Will Kirk snickered.
I stared at him. "Is that a death wish I heard? You got girl trouble?"
Will ducked his head. “Nope."
The table broke up, and even Travis relaxed the stiff stance that carried him through the meal at the head of the table.
Eve, as always, was in the kitchen, and she poked at her food, eating standing up.
I collected a stack of empty plates and made my way to the kitchen, dumping my armload, and reached for the fridge door. "Another?" I indicated to her wine glass.
She shrugged, staring down at her plate. "Why not?"
I eyed her, trying to keep the frown off my face. "So, you got plans for Christmas, yet?" I recalled our last conversation, when she said her beau might be up for the season she traditionally loved the most.
