Jack did.
Jamie did.
Jay did.
I told my mind to shut up.
I was only thinking about marriage because Kayla’s wedding was the second Matt and I had attended in the last month.
The first was Jay and Cate’s. I wasn’t ashamed to admit I’d balled like a baby when Jay said his vows. He’d dug deep, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, masculine or feminine, by the time he said “I do”. My troubled baby brother had found the perfect match in Cate, and if there’d ever been any doubt, she put them to rest when she promised to kill him if he got himself killed trying to protect her.
My sigh carried on the breeze as I watched Matt help a struggling teen adjust his hold on the arrow so he could draw it back without dropping it.
Today was my second archery lesson, and I’d get one more before we returned home three days from now.
I stretched my shoulders and flexed my fingers, happy to be using my body again. The deep stab wounds in my thighs took longer to heal than I’d wanted them to.
A week after returning to work, I told Jamie I was ready to move back in and help. It was more for me than them, since theyhad all the help they needed. I was desperate to follow through on my promise.
And to prove I was capable, so they’d all stop babying me.
To no one’s surprise, Matt told Jamie he’d be moving in too. Jamie just laughed, clapped him on the shoulder, and thanked him for helping out two seconds before putting him to work.
Men.
Not that I minded. The nightmares didn’t haunt me as much when Matt was beside me. Plus, Matt helped as much as he could; despite having only one good arm, it was quite a bit.
“Madi, you ready?” Trina asked.
Wanting to boost her confidence, Matt had asked Trina to teach me while he worked with some of the other kids.
“Yes, ma’am,” I said, making her giggle.
“You remember your stance?”
“I do.” When she worked with me earlier in the week, she showed great patience as I worked to perfect a proper, balanced stance.
“Looking good, Red,” Matt shouted down the line.
Asshole, I thought with a wicked smile.
There was no hiding my blush as memories of our most recent night with my red scarf and the matching tie I’d bought for him crossed my mind.
It’d taken time to build the courage to ask, because I wasn’t sure Matt would relinquish control in the bedroom, but when I did, he’d practically begged me to tie him up and do what I wanted.
“Madi.”
“Yes?”
“Are you paying attention?”
I wasn’t. “I’m sorry, can you explain it again?”
Shane hosted a family dinner the next evening, the last before Kayla and Daisy left for their honeymoon.
The guys smoked huge cuts of pork and beef all day, and everyone else pitched in to make the side dishes and set the two giant picnic tables.
I’d grown to love Shane when he stayed with us, but seeing him with his family and the kids he helped gave me a newfound respect for the man.
