Bailey pushed open the door to glare at his brother. “I haven’t brawled since Flynn had to rescue my ass, and I’d never do that to him again, so…” He shrugged. “My pool hustling days are over.”
“Oh, baby, don’t say that,” I said. “I’m happy to drag you out of brawls for eternity.”
“Jesus, he isgonefor you,” Axel said.
Bailey smiled at me, eyes soft. “Well, maybe once your parole is up. I can’t risk you getting into trouble for me.” Bailey glanced at Axel. “But you’ve got a sheriff for a boyfriend, so if you’re around, I can be as reckless as I want, right?”
IthoughtBailey was joking, but it was hard to tell.
Axel looked torn between humor and dismay. He just shook his head and chuckled. “Sure, kid, you know I’ll always pull your ass out of the fire. No promises Dalton will feel the same about bailing you out of jail, though.”
“Yeah, luckily my drag-race mechanic days are over,” Bailey said. “I don’t enjoy getting arrested.”
“No one does,” I said.
“Eh.” Axel smirked. “It has its perks with the right lawman.”
Bailey dragged me back inside before Axel could start telling stories about hot hookups with Dalton. The chaos had shifted into a sort of organized hustle now. Side dishes sat on the table, wafting delicious, mouthwatering scents through the house. I spotted green bean casserole—my personal favorite—alongwith yams topped with marshmallows, mac and cheese, which was apparently Axel’s favorite, and the traditional staples like mashed potatoes and stuffing.
Holden had transferred the turkey onto a baking sheet and was slicing and transferring cuts of meat onto the platter.
The doorbell rang.
“Oh, that might be my brother,” I said.
“Or Knight,” Emory said.
I headed to the door, Bailey behind me. When I opened it, Aiden and Knight were both on the porch. I’d interrupted some sort of conversation.
Aiden whipped his head forward with a smile. “Hey, Flynn!” He swayed forward to hug me. “And Bailey. Good to see you again. Are you keeping this guy out of trouble?”
“Please, he’s the one keeping me out of trouble.”
Aiden stepped into the house and hugged Bailey, too. “Yeah, my brother’s a good guy. He’s too hard on himself.”
“That’s the truth,” Bailey said. “But don’t worry. I’m working on that.”
Aiden grinned. “I knew I liked you.”
As they headed into the house, Knight stepped inside. “That’s your brother, huh?”
He had a strange expression on his face. “Yeah. Sorry. I should have done introductions, but you seemed like you’d met?”
“Oh, not officially,” he said. “Just got here at the same time. Said hello. You know how it is.”
“Uh-huh. Well, let’s go make the formal introductions with everyone.”
I led him to the large eat-in kitchen, where everyone was gathering around the table.
“Hey, everyone, this is Aiden, Flynn’s brother,” Bailey said. “He’s studying to become a doctor, so he’s way smarter than all of us.”
There were a few chuckles.
Bailey introduced each of his brothers, then turned to me and Knight. “And Knight is in the Redemption Road program with Flynn, so you’ve probably met him.”
“Flynn has told me a lot about you,” Aiden said, his tone almost challenging. “I thought you’d be older.”
“Thanks,” Knight said dryly. “He told me about you too. I thought you’d be younger. Or maybe less blond.”
