She frowned. What on earth were ab packs?
“But,” Jewel continued, “now that he’s home, he might be able to tempt you into a long night of hot shower sex.”
Elle snorted. There was no way Sadie would think this was from her. Maybedrunkher, but even then, it was a stretch.
“And…send.” Jewel grinned—but that expression only lasted a second before it changed to confusion, then shock. “Shit.”
“What?”
Jewel looked up, nervousness widening her eyes.
Oh God, what happened? Her auntneverlooked nervous.
“Um…well, I may have accidentally sent the text to the wrong person?”
Elle’s heart began to beat faster. “Who?”
Jewel scratched the back of her neck. “Well, I was thinking of him when I searched for the number, and I just…”
Her jaw dropped. “You didn’t.”
“I did.”
“I’mglad you bought this place,” Kayden said as he leaned back in a deck chair.
Jace and Eastern both nodded.
It was good to be home. A bit strange to be sleeping in his parents’ old bedroom, but he’d get used to it. The house was on a huge block of land, surrounded by forest. It was the home he’d grown up in. The home they’d all grown up in. His father had sold it to their neighbor, but just before coming home, Jace had been approached by that neighbor about buying it back, and he’d taken it.
“I keep expecting Dad to walk into a room and catch me drinking beer or sneaking out,” Jace said, a grin on his face.
Eastern chuckled. “Yeah, you aged that man.”
Not intentionally. But he and his father had been opposites in many ways. “He didn’t really understand me. Probably because he was most like you, Eastern.”
Eastern scoffed. “No. Cody was his clone. It’s why that bar’s still so successful.”
True. Cody was good with people, just like their father was, and Eastern was a man of the law. Jace was… Hell, he didn’t evenknowwhat he was.
“We all have part of him in us,” Kayden said quietly, gaze moving over the trees surrounding the house.
Kayden was the oldest, and he’d taken their father’s death the hardest.
Eastern looked at Jace. “I heard there was a run-in at the visitors center today between you and Hendrix.”
Jace scowled. “The guy’s an ass. He rocked the skywalk when there’s a clear fucking sign saying ‘do not rock.’”
“And that warranted you grabbing his shirt and yelling in his face?” Kayden asked. “I thought you were gonna hit him.”
“If you hadn’t pulled me off, I probably would have.” He drank some of his beer. “Elle was with us on the walk, and she has a fear of heights. She had a panic attack.” Just thinking about her crouching in fear made him want to go out, find Hendrix, and remind him just how stupid what he’d done was.
Understanding crossed his brothers’ faces.
“Still,” Eastern started, “Hendrix wouldn’t have known that.”
His fingers tightened around his beer. He didn’t give a fuck if the guy knew or not. He shouldn’t have done it.
Eastern’s phone vibrated and when he pulled it out, a huge grin spread across his face.
