His mind flashed to Tess and her brother, and once again, Brian was in awe of how strong the woman was. She was years younger than Dan had been when he was granted guardianship of three teenage boys, and Brian wondered if she had anyone to help her when times got tough or to have man-to-man talks with Andy. The kid would probably be embarrassed as hell discussing certain subjects with his sister. Maybe she had a boyfriend Brian didn’t know about, who could have the women, sex, condoms, drugs, and drinking talks with Andy.
Brian ground his teeth together. Why did the thought of Tess having a boyfriend annoy him?
Did he think Tess was hot?Of course—any red-blooded, heterosexual male would.
Would he like her in his bed?Hell, yeah.
Did he want more than that?Nope.
He studied KC and Moriah, and then Sean and Grace. Up until recently, having his brothers in committed relationships hadn’t bothered him. It just wasn’t for him... or so he’d thought. Lately, Brian was having pangs of... well, jealousy, he supposed, when he watched them. Of course, that didn’t mean he wanted to get married. Still, it would be nice to have a steady girlfriend for a change instead of an endless string of first dates that either led nowhere, to a one-night stand, or maybe, at the max, to a couple of weeks of fun. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a womanbeyond a handful of dates, and he wasn’t always the one to pull the plug.
Right before KC’s wedding, Brian asked him how he knew Moriah was “the one,” since they’d had such a rocky start. His older brother had responded, “Because if I lost her, it would rip my heart to shreds, and I don’t think I’d ever recover. I never thought a woman would be my universe, but Moriah is.”
At the time, Brian thought those were just poetic words KC spewed out because he was in love. But the more he thought about it, though, the more Brian realized his brother had spoken the truth. If something happened to Moriah, KC would be devastated, like Uncle Dan had been when he lost his wife so early in their marriage. The older man always said that being appointed the boys’ guardian finally pulled him out of the well of despair he had lived in for years. After his brother and sister-in-law died, he put his own grief aside to help his nephews deal with the pain of losing both parents. The couple had been on their way to Hawaii to celebrate their twentieth wedding anniversary, but their plane crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 194 souls on board.
Maybe that was the reason Brian had never wanted a long-term relationship with a woman before. To go through the physical, mental, and emotional investments, when one never knew when and why the love affair would come to an end, was something he couldn’t seehimself doing.
“On the count of three, open your eyes, Uncle Dan,” Moriah said, breaking Brian out of his wayward thoughts.
After his friends and family members counted to three, Dan’s jaw dropped as he stared at the masterpiece in front of him, and then he struggled against a few tears that threatened to fall. “Oh... wow... this... Is this the picture we took on the beach?” He leaned closer, eyeing the painting’s precise details. “This is beautiful! Who—where did you have this done?”
“Moriah’s friend, Danielle, did it for us,” KC responded as he bounced Megan in his arms.
Moriah beamed as Uncle Dan smiled at her. “Well, tell her that she did a wonderful job. It’s fantastic. And I know just the place for it—over the rolled-top desk.” He’d bought the antique oak desk as a birthday present for Annie a month before she was diagnosed with cancer. It was one of only a few pieces of furniture he took from the beach house when he moved into his apartment several years ago. After the last tenants vacated the unit, Dan decided it would be easier to live above the hardware store rather than drive home each night, especially since his nephews were grown and no longer lived with him.
Bonnie squeezed his shoulders. “That’s exactly where we thought you’d put it.”
He patted one of her hands. “Okay, now that I know what was up with the photo on the beach thatday, I have to agree with Brian. Why aren’t you ladies in it? You’re all family.”
Leaning against the house, Brian rolled his eyes as Bonnie explained they’d made sure there was room to add Grace, Moriah, herself, and Brian’s alleged future wife later on. Sighing, he picked up the framed picture again. “I’ll put this back inside, so it doesn’t get damaged.” Anything to get away from the talk of his fictional and non-existent love life.
Sean stepped over and opened the door for him, then followed him inside. “Hey, Rafe told me what happened to Tess’s place. How’s she doing?”
“Okay, I guess. The tree fell on the other side of the house from where she and her brother were sleeping.”
“Uncle Dan said you invited them to stay here while their house is being fixed?”
Gently setting the painting down against the fireplace, Brian raised his eyebrows. “Yeah. Problem?”
Sean shrugged. “No problem at all. I’m glad it was available. It would suck if they had to stay in some charity-funded motel room.” He paused. “So...”
Brian’s eyes narrowed. “So... what?”
“So, she’s cute, nice, not a whack job, and... available?”
Annoyance flared in his gut. Sean had met Tess a few months ago while helping the local police solve a serial killer case. “And you’re engaged.”
“Not for me, asshole. I just thought... maybe thereason you made the offer was that you’re interested in her.”
Shaking his head, he started for the door and told a partial lie. “You thought wrong. Dan’s penchant for helping strays has rubbed off—that’s all.”
Sean chuckled and slapped Brian on the back as they stepped out onto the porch. “Sure it has, brother. Sure it has.”
With another exasperated sigh, he strode over to a cooler of beer and grabbed himself a cold one. Leaning against the banister nearby, Rafe asked, “How’s Tess?”
Beyond aggravated now, he glared at the other man. “Is that all anyone can ask me? How the hell should I know? The last time I saw her was with you.”
His partner held up his hands. “Whoa, dude, I was just asking. What’s up with you?”
