She blinked, seemingly startled.Yeah, sweetheart, you got caught.She swept her hair over her shoulder, shielding a bit of her face, but not enough to conceal the blush on her cheeks. She turned toward the driver’s side and walked behind him.
“Well, I should get going. I’ll see you at twelve on Saturday.” There was a slight shake in her voice. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “Bye, Jonah.”
He’d assume the car ran fine and let her be on her way. It felt good, though, seeing her get a little flustered by him. Hell, half the time he was in her presence, she left him unsettled. He walked back toward the house.
“Later.”
He listened as her car started and turned around in the cul-de-sac. He spared another look at the street. She was pulling past his house when her head turned. Now,he’dbeen caught.
Jonah walked into the house, stopping at the bottom of the staircase. He assumed Cord was still holed up in his room. Not for long.
“Cord! Ass down here, now!” His brother was in dire need of a serious ass-beating. Though Jonah had never raised a hand to either of his brothers, he was the main source of their discipline. He’d admit he messed up at times, and his parenting came with a sharp learning curve. Nothing in his short eighteen years had prepared him. At least he had the rearing from his own parents to set him on the right path.
Jonah moved through the living room and into the kitchen, trying to tamp down his anger. He grabbed the fridge door, pulled out a water and twisted the cap before taking a long swig. All the while, fully alert to Holden watching him as he stirred the taco meat in the pan. Jonah did his best not to lose his shit in front of his brothers too often. After all, he was the example they’d follow. He took another swig, hoping the cold water would settle the heat raging in his chest.
If ever there was a rule that Jonah ingrained in his brothers’ head it was to never lay a hand on a woman. It was a hard rule that should never under any circumstance, be broken. The only thing keeping him from tossing his brother through the wall was Roxanne’s explanation. Fuck, he better not have been aggressive.
“Cord!” Jonah shouted again. He pushed off the counter and started toward the door.
“Wait, Jay, I got a question,” Holden said, his tone too eager.
Jonah turned. Holden was practically bouncing on his feet. Jonah sighed and glanced up at the ceiling. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind, his little brother’s next question had nothing to do with the dinner he was currently preparing.
Jonah held up his hand. “I want you to think long and hard before you ask, you hear me?” He paused with little hope that hisbrother was receiving the message he was trying to send. “You ask and I don’t like it?” Jonah pointed. “Gonna slap you upside your head.”
Holden scanned the room and drew in a breath, taking two seconds to think.
“I’ll take my chances,” he blurted.
Jonah sighed, knowing what was coming. His question would be about sex. Or Roxanne. Or both. Jonah crossed his arms. It was more for Holden than for himself. He knew the next words out of his brother’s mouth would be worthy of a slap to the head.
“Are you banging her?”
His eyebrows pinched together in a deep scowl. “I warned you.”
Jonah released his arms and stalked toward Holden who, at the last second, ducked his head and scrambled around the table.Smart kid. Putting an object between them was vital to his safety at the moment.
“What? I’m asking for research purposes.” Holden held up his hands.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Holden shrugged. “My odds.”
“Odds of what?” Jonah snapped.
“Landing a girl like Roxanne.”
Jonah closed his eyes and hung his head low. He hoped like hell he hadn’t been this idiotic at eighteen.
“Hear me out.”
I’d rather not, but …
Jonah glanced up, sighing. “What?”
“Okay. You never bring any girls home, so I usually have to base it off Cord’s girls, and well, while he’s had a few hotties, none of them looked like Roxanne.” Holden twisted his lips. “Like not one on her level. And while Cord has that ‘I’m a dick’thing going for him, which seems to get girls, I don’t wanna be a jerk and have them eventually hate me. But on the flip side, you got that ‘I don’t want a woman’ attitude which I can’t pull off cause,” he flared out his arms and pursed his lips, “I want a girl.”
Jonah steeled his features, and resisted the urge to smile. It may not have been the conversation he wanted to have at the moment, but at least it enlightened him as to how observant Holden was.
