Two of Logan’s siblings—Ethan and Emily—appear around the coop. Each of them have bits of Logan in them: Jules’s eyes for Ethan, Scott’s cheekbones for Emily.
It’s the first time I’ve seen the eldest brother since my return. He’s filled out into a broad, intimidating wall of muscle. He and Cole always used to make me nervous. Logan’s half-brothers were much older and decided to pursue careers in authority—law enforcement and teaching, respectively. Ethan still makes me feel a little nervous, especially since he’s staring at me like he wants to peel my skin and skull away to look inside.
“Are you hiding?” Emily teases. She tosses a handful of kernels into the chicken coop.
“Maybe a little,” I admit once the chickens settle down their loud squawking. “There are so many people here.” Including people who like to threaten me.
“Yeah, that’s the only problem with Dad’s barbecues,” Emily says. “He doesn’t allow alcohol to lubricate the social situation. It feels a little too high school to sneak in a flask, but desperate times…” She flashes a grin, then yelps when Ethan plucks the flask from her hand. “Hey, don’t confiscate that! I’m an adult!”
“Dad was clear—this is a family-friendly event.” He tucks the flask into his back pocket.
“That’s such an outdated view of alcohol. Doesn’t Dad remember what happened during prohibition?”
“Dad wasn’t alive then,” Ethan says dryly. “That was in thetwenties and thirties. And no jokes about Dad’s age either, remember?”
“I didn’t mean he was… Ugh, never mind.” Emily groans. “Ethan, you’re such a stick-in-the-mud. You’re not even a deputy anymore!” She turns to me. “Come on, Sierra, we can take him. I’ll share half with you.”
I eye Ethan’s bulk. “I know when to pick my battles.”
“Please give it back,” Emily begs.
“Nope. As a wise band once sang, sometimes you can’t get what you want,” Ethan says sagely.
“How old are you? You’re too young to be quoting the Rolling Stones. But, ugh, fine.” Emily wrinkles her nose. “God, I can’t stand the smell of these chickens anymore. If we can’t drink, let’s go.” She loops her arm through mine and tugs me back toward the party.
Across the yard, Logan’s head is swiveling in all directions, his brow furrowed. When he spots me, his whole face lights up. I can’t help my reaction; his joy at spotting me lights me up too, until it feels like we’re just two beacons of silly, pure happiness in the middle of everything.
I hold on to that single, bright truth. I can’t let the town marshal, or my past, dictate how I feel.
Then again—who am I kidding? He said there would be consequences. You can’t chase love from inside a jail cell.
“So,” Emily says, “Logan says you two are dating now?”
I look up, and both of them steadily meet my gaze, assessing me.
“Yes,” I say.
Ethan frowns. “Listen, I don’t want to get involved in any of my siblings’ love lives—”
“Then don’t,” Emily says. “We’ve already grilled Logan about it.We don’t need to grill her.”
“I’m not going to grill her, I’m just…” Ethan studies me hard. “I just want you to be careful, Sierra. With Logan’s heart. It’s taken too much of a beating over the years. And you know why,” he says darkly. “That’s it. That’s all I’m going to say.”
I blush, mortified.
“What’sall you’re going to say?” Logan asks.
We all startle. He and Cole have come over to join us. Cole is the biggest of the four brothers, stocky, with a strong presence about him. His eyes are on me, carefully assessing me in the same way that Ethan and Emily were a minute ago.
I wonder whether spontaneous human combustion is real and, if so, how to trigger it. It’d be a very helpful skill right now.
“I was questioning her about how tired you look,” says Emily with a smirk.
“What?” Logan says, startled.
“Yep. Look at those shadows under your eyes.”
“This is just what I look like,” Logan protests, his hand raising toward his face where—Emily is right—he has darker smudges than usual.
