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“Gemma, stop flirting with Hunter. He’s literally more than twice your age, and my friend.”
“Are you literally more than twice my age?”
“Literally.”
“How old are you?”
“If I said I was close to thirty, would you think I was old?”
“Thirty is definitely old.” She popped her hands onto her hips and tipped her head. “But I don’t believe you. You don’t have any gray hairs.”
Hazel snorted.
“Oh good grief, Gem.” Bennett stepped beside her and slipped a hand over her mouth. “I’m begging you—please stop.”
Gemma laughed. “Okay. I’m done. For today. But Hazel is right—it is super fun to watch old men blush.”
“Great.” Hunter shook his head. “I’ve moved fromgrowntoold. I’m not sure I should thank you for that, Bennett.”
If it stopped his little sister from flirting with his friend, Bennet wasn’t sorry.
“Hello?” a woman’s voice called from the first floor. “Anyone home?”
Bennett exchanged a look with Hazel.
“That’s Janie,” Hazel said.
A sense of dread locked in his chest, and he shifted his gaze to Hunter. The man’s demeanor shifted—where he’d been relaxed and easygoing, now his jaw had locked tight and his shoulders had stiffened.
Hazel must have read her brother’s reaction as well. Her eyes, which had been amber since the moment she’d walked into the house, had faded and now held a ring of mossy green. That was interesting. Before Bennett had gone to Chicago, Hazel would have immediately taken Janie’s side in any and all conflicts between Janie and Hunter.
Things could sure change quickly.
Setting the wet stir stick against the rim of the paint bucket, Hazel stood up and turned to leave. Bennett trailed her, and they both clambered down the stairs. Janie stood in the middle of the empty front room, eyes wide as she took in the highlighter vibrance of the walls.
A man stood behind her. Bennett didn’t even know his name, but he felt an immediate dislike for the guy.
“Hi, guys!” Janie grinned wide. A little too wide. “We heard you were able to start work on the house and thought maybe we could lend a hand.”
Hazel turned those now nearly-all-green eyes up to Bennett. The room hung in an uncertain pause. Did Janie know that Hunter was there? Certainly she didn’t know that her going out on a date with another guy had sent Hunter into an asthma attack by way of a punching bag.
Would that matter to her?
Bennett had to believe it would. Janie wasn’t heartless.
“I’m Grady.” The stranger stepped forward and held out a hand.
Bennett swallowed, glancing at Hazel as he tried to piece together what to do. He met Grady’s palm with his own. “Bennett.”
“Janie’s told me about you—that you’re taking in your younger siblings for a while. That’s generous of you.”
Though he tried to smooth it away, Bennett frowned. Those two younger siblings were right up the stairs and in hearing distance. Bennett knew keenly what it was like to grow up with the father they had—one who cared more about success, money, and personal pleasure than about what his actions did to his children. Nathan and Gemma didn’t need to feel like a charity case.
Grady didn’t have a level playing field to begin with when it came to Bennett’s estimation, but he was already slipping further down.
“Is . . .” Janie’s too-bright smile faded. “. . . are the kids upstairs?”
“Yes.”
