“You missed me?”
He chuckled. “Yeah. It’s been too long.”
“I missed you too.” She frowned. “As a friend,” she quickly added. “A brother, even.”
This time, Holden frowned. “A brother?”
“Well, kind of. I guess. But you aren’t my brother. You’re Holden. My brother’s best friend. Very different. Not as different as a parent or a grandparent, but different.”
Aspen grinned. She was rambling and making no sense—and it was definitely because she liked him.
Holden’s smile widened. “Thanks for the clarification.”
Pam cleared her throat. “The boys are outside.”
Holden nodded but didn’t take his gaze from Clara. “I’ll join them.”
The second he stepped outside, Clara dropped her face into her hands and groaned. “It’s official…I’m an embarrassment to myself. One big, gigantic puffer fish of embarrassment.” She lifted her head. “Not as different as a parent or a grandparent? What’swrongwith me?”
“Nothing. You’re perfect,” Pam said as she walked past her daughter back to the kitchen.
Clara rolled her eyes. “You have to say that, you’re my mother.”
Aspen shook her head. “Not true. My mother hasneversaid that to me. In fact, I could count the number of times she’s complimented me on one hand.”
Clara’s eyes widened.
Shit, why had she gone and said that?
Pam almost looked sad. “I’m sorry to hear that, honey. But in this house, you get lots of compliments. It’s the rules.”
Aspen’s heart squeezed. “I think I’m going to like this house.”
“It’s how we suck you in so you never leave,” Clara said with a laugh.
“Shit, you guys are cute together.”
Jesse leaned against the deck railing, beer in hand. “Thanks. Haven’t been referred to as cute before, but I do know I’m a lucky bastard to have her.”
A bit of the smile slipped from Becket’s face. “The way you look at her…it reminds me of the way Dad looked at Mom.”
That was a compliment if ever he’d heard one. His parents had loved each other. Likereallyloved each other, right up until the day their father had died. “It’s the kind of relationship most dream of.”
“I don’t think you need to dream.”
Even though Becket joked a lot, he had another side that he reserved for family and those closest to him. A side that took life more seriously than he often let on. “I think you’re right. What about you? Any love in your future?”
Becket laughed as he turned back to the grill. A full belly laugh, like it was the funniest question he’d ever heard. “No love happening here. In fact, I am so far on the other side of love that I think the woman I see most often might murder me in my sleep.”
“What have you done now?”
“Nothing. My neighbor’s the one doing stuff. I was just getting home from work the other day and she exploded on mefor the new cameras I installed on the side of my house. You should have heard the things she called me. I actually laughed when she used the word ‘ogre,’ and she looked like she wanted to stab me.”
“Dammit, Beck, I’m going to get a call for a neighbor dispute, aren’t I?”
“You absolutely will. And on that day, I want you to remember sibling loyalty.” Becket flipped the chicken leg. “You can also be witness to how insane she gets. It’s kind of cute. Her cheeks get red and her chest puffs up. It’s like she forgets she’s five foot nothing.”
Oh, Jesus. “Beck—”
