“You boys coming in?” Danny’s eyes caught his, her cheeks barely pinking up as her gaze dropped.
“We’ll be in in a minute.” Lance held back at the base of the stairs, forcing Craig to do the same even though all he wanted was to go to her.
Hold her close.
Because something had been watching what was his.
Stalking Jude and Danny and her sisters.
She nodded, eyes staying down as she turned and went inside.
The door clicked shut and Craig turned to Lance. “How do we get rid of them?”
“Do you even know who they are?” Lance rubbed the back of his neck. “Because it seems like the girls think they are all there is out here.”
“What did Kari find out?” After a tense introduction, Danny and her sisters pulled Kari and her daughters into their circle, and it would make sense that each was incredibly curious about the other.
Lance shook his head. “Enough to make me feel guilty as hell.” He scanned the narrow section of blacktop running in front of Danny’s house. “I want to help them. Maybe build this place up like Greenlea.”
“That’s not what they want. They don’t want people coming here.” Craig stepped in close. “They just want to be left alone.”
“I don’t think that’s an option.” Lance blew out a breath. “Eventually the wrong person is going to find this place. Put it out there, and I guarantee they aren’t ready for it.”
Craig stared at the neatly cut flowerbeds. The large fenced-in space where Danny and her sisters planted their garden in the summer. “They think that can’t happen.”
He wished they were right, but from day one he’d known the same thing Lance knew.
The world was still coming for the Backwoods Beauties.
“It will.” Lance’s eyes met his. “There’s no stopping it. Not in the world we live in.”
Craig raked one hand through his hair, blowing out a frustrated breath.
He wanted Danny and her sisters to live the life they chose. After all they’d been through, the Karlson sisters deserved peace.
Protection.
“Unless you want to build a wall around the whole place.” Lance’s eyes barely widened. “That was a joke. You can’t build a wall around it.”
Craig scrubbed his face with his palms. “They’ve been through so much, man. I don’t want them to have to go through more.”
“They’re strong, Craig. Don’t forget that.” Lance pulled out his phone and started thumbing through the screens. “Let me make a few phone calls. See what ideas my guys can come up with.”
Lance’s family owned one of the largest commercial real estate companies on the East Coast, which meant he had access to a slew of attorneys and strategists. “Until then, I think I might stay here. Help keep an eye on things.” His eyes went to the woods at the edge of town. “You staying at Danny’s?”
Craig gave a single nod, his own thoughts fighting to focus on the unknown threat lurking too close to what he’d waited so long to have.
“Keep an eye on Jude at night. Make sure he’s staying inside.” Lance shook his head. “I don’t like the idea of him being out here alone. He’s taken on too much responsibility and doesn’t know his limits.”
Craig’s attention turned to Lance. The jealousy from before was still there, lingering. But it didn’t matter.
Jude did.
“Thanks for coming.” Lance’s initial plan was to come next month. Once he had time to clean up some work related loose ends. But after hearing about Jude’s near shift, he dropped everything, packing up his wife and daughters to come help.
To be there for a boy he didn’t know.
“I think about what my life would have been like if I’d known someone who was like me.” His gaze took on a far-away look. “How I would be different if I understood what was happening.”
“I get it.” Craig’s best friend carried the same secret as Lance and Jude. It’s what led him to the career he had, the desire to give Joel the truth he desperately needed.
It was what brought him first to Greenlea, and then to Shadow Pine.
“I don’t want that for Jude.” Craig was the only person who knew what Joel was until they found the man who unknowingly fathered him. Watching his friend finally have people who understood him was unexplainable. The peace it brought Joel to finally feel understood. “I want him to know he’s not alone.”
“That kid will never feel alone.” Lance lifted his brows. “That’s part of your problem.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Means he shouldn’t be doing what he is at ten.” Lance glanced toward the door before continuing, his voice lower. “He should still have a few years of being a kid.”
Craig thought he’d remembered wrong. That Joel must have been younger than he thought when he claimed his own beast began to stir.
But while Joel never felt understood, he still grew up with two adoptive parents who loved him. Parents he knew he didn’t have to defend or protect.
Craig eyed Lance, deciding just how much he wanted to share. Protecting Danny and all she was would always be the most important thing in the world.
But Lance needed at least a little more information.
“Your sisters aren’t exactly like your wife.” Craig kept the admission quiet, just in case any of the well-trained ears inside were trying to listen.
Lance laughed, low enough only they could hear. “No shit.”
EIGHTEEN
“HE’S NOT LEAVING, is he?” Sam stared at Craig, watching across the room as he and Jude sat side-by-side on the sofa, watching cartoons with Vanessa and Lance.
“No. He’s not.” Danny worked hard to suppress the smile playing at her lips.
She could have skirted the truth. Pretended not to know Craig’s plan.
But that would be doing all the honesty he’d offered her a disservice. And that wouldn’t be fair.
Sam blew out a long breath. “That’s what I thought.”
“He’s a good man, Sam.” Danny followed behind her older sister as Sam went to the fridge to pull free a bottle of water. “They do exist, you know.”
Sam’s mouth pressed into a flat line. “No, Danny. I don’t know.” Her eyes darted to the great room. “That man could be anyone. He could be lying about everything. It’s what they do. They lie and they manipulate to get what they want.”
“No. That’s what our father did.” Danny shook her head. “Not what all men do.”
“What about the men who come here? Do you think they’re all just honest, nice men who want to take care of us and treat us like queens?” Sam’s tone carried the bite of the anger she carried, the weight of it pushing her deeper into the pit of her own hate. “No. They’re here because they see us as prizes they can win. Fucking novelties to be acquired.”
“He’s not like that.” Danny usually tried to tiptoe around Sam’s disdain for anything with a dick. It was completely understandable and warranted.
But being that angry had to be exhausting. Consuming.
“I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?” Sam stepped back as Alex scooted into the space, digging through Danny’s fridge.
Their next-youngest sister straightened, peeling open a pack of string cheese as she bumped the door closed. “I guess it could be worse.”
Sam’s hard gaze snapped to Alex as she bit off a chunk of cheese. “You know only a savage eats string cheese like that, right?”
Alex grinned, lifting and dropping her shoulders as she chewed. “Whatever the situation requires.” She tossed the wrapper in the trash. “And at least Craigers there didn’t bring a friend with him to be a pain in the ass.”
“All his friends are married.” Danny glanced at Lance. “And like our brother.”
Sam crossed her arms over her chest, eyes narrowing on Lance. “Are we positive he’s our brother?”
“He is,” Lance’s eyes slowly slid their way, a smile playing at his lips, “most definitely yo
ur brother.” He glanced down at the rug under his feet. “I’d prove it, but I hate to make you have to vacuum your nice carpet.”
“He’s gonna show me later.” Jude twisted around on the sofa, looking over the back at them. “You can come too if you want.”
Sam’s attention snapped to Danny. “What?”
Danny lowered her voice. “We can talk about it later.”
She always shared everything with her sisters. Before, they would have been the first place she went after Jude’s difficulty the other night.
But she hadn’t gone to her sisters. There was only one person she leaned on.
And he’d handled it. Taken care of her and Jude. Helped her son calm down, then supplied someone to guide him with first-hand experience.
Sam’s head tipped back. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Us. What aren’t you telling us?” Alex stood shoulder to shoulder with Sam, a united front against her supposed betrayal.
“I said we would talk about it later.” Danny doubled down. This would be hard on her sisters. That was never a question.
Their whole lives they’d only had each other to depend on. Even if one of them left, they always came back.
Like James would do.
Because the world was not forgiving to women like them. Women who were strong and confident. Defiant and unapologetic.
And because no matter what, they would always take care of each other.
Sam scowled, the line of her brows moving lower. “I expected this from James.” She shook her head. “But not you.”
The jab stung. She loved James, but comparing her to their youngest and most irresponsible sister was a low-blow. Danny worked just as hard as anyone to provide all they had.
And all she wanted was someone—
No. Not someone.
She wanted Craig. Just him.
“Is this how you thought it would always be? Just us against the world? That none of us would ever want more?”
“That’s what you think he is?” Sam scoffed. “More?”
“That’s exactly what I know he is.” Danny barely shook her head. “I’m sorry you don’t want someone at your side, but I do. I don’t want to be alone forever, Sam.”
“I’m not fucking alone.” Sam’s hard eyes scanned her from head to toe. “At least I didn’t think I was.” Her nostrils barely flared as her sharp gaze flicked to Alex, pausing a second before snapping away as she turned her back to them and left, slamming the door as she went.
“She needs to get laid.” Alex picked at a ball of fuzz on the knit of her camel-colored sweater, seemingly unfazed by their older sister’s outburst.
Danny stared at her.
“What?” Alex glanced up. “Did you think we were all going without dick?”
“Kinda.” Danny blinked, her brain scrambling through the line of her sisters.
Alex laughed. “It’s probably fifty-fifty.” She bobbed her head from side to side. “Was fifty-fifty, until Craigers came along.” She gave Danny an exaggerated wink.
Danny ignored the inference, dropping her elbows to the kitchen counter and her head to her hands. “What am I going to do about Sam?”
“Nothing.” Alex leaned against the counter at her side. “You’re right. This was always going to happen.” She eyed her. “I didn’t expect you to be the first to go down, though.”
Danny peeked out through her fingers. “Why not?”
Alex’s brows came together. “Seriously?” She shook her head. “You really need to pay better attention to the people around you.”
The comment was more spot on than Danny wanted to admit. “I’ve been busy raising a child.”
“We’ve all been busy raising your child.” Alex pulled a banana from the bunch hanging on the fruit basket hook and pointed it at Danny. “You just used it as an excuse to have tunnel vision.” She pinched the bottom end of the fruit and started peeling.
Danny straightened. “You don’t understand what it’s like—”
“I do.” Alex bit off a chunk and kept talking. “I get that you had a lot on your plate. I’m the one who deals with the numbers for the shop, remember? I know you’ve been growing almost too fast to keep up with.” Her eyes slid to where Craig sat with Jude. “So I’m actually glad he showed up.” She pointed one finger at Danny. “And if you tell Sam I said that, I will deny it until I die.”
“Still scared of her?” Danny smirked at Alex. Sam took them on as more of a mother figure, and it led most of her sisters to see the oldest of them as a parent instead of a sibling.
Alex smoothed down the front of her sweater. “No.” It was clipped and short. “I just want her to feel like she has people on her side. She needs it right now.”
Danny blew out a breath. “It’s not that I’m not on her side.”
“Sam wants it to always be just us.” Alex lifted her pale brows. “Is that what you want?”
Her head dropped back. “This isn’t me against her.”
“That’s how she sees it right now. You are the one changing the rules.” Alex was the most level-headed of all of them. Nothing ruffled her. She was always able to look at an issue from all directions and evaluate and execute the best solution.
It’s why she was so good at what she did. Why their businesses were thriving and bringing in more and more money every year.
Alex was the only one of them to complete a degree, and her MBA was serving all of them very well.
Unfortunately, her pragmatic mind was serving up a whole buffet that Danny didn’t want to have to deal with right now. “I didn’t know there were rules.”
Alex’s head tipped to one side. “Come on. Be serious.”
“Fine.” Danny crossed her arms over her chest. “So what am I supposed to do?”
Alex shrugged. “Hell if I know.”
“That’s not helpful.” Danny rubbed her face. She didn’t want Sam upset with her, and she sure as hell didn’t want Sam blaming Craig for whatever changes his presence might bring to Shadow Pine.
“It will all work out.” Alex straightened. “Just give her time to work through it.” She faced Craig. “Hey, City Boy.”
Craig’s attention lifted from where it had been focused on Jude.
Alex grinned. “I like how you grocery shop.”
Craig’s dark eyes moved to Danny then back to Alex. “Glad to hear it.”
Alex bumped Danny with her hip. “Stop frowning. Everything will be fine.” She waved across the room. “Bye, Ju-Ju. I love your face.”
Jude didn’t look up from the tablet on his lap, his attention completely focused on whatever Craig was showing him. “Love your face too.”
Alex shook her head. “And just like that Shadow Pine has its first boys club.” She smiled softly, her voice unusually quiet. “That’s the real reason I’m glad Craig’s here.” Her eyes sat on their brother. “He brought Jude something we could never give him.” Alex gave her a quick side-hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Danny puttered around the sink and counters, cleaning up the remnants of the day’s meals. Her kitchen wasn’t quite as big as Sam’s, but considering her older sisters unhappiness with current events, all of them congregating at Sam’s house wasn’t an option.
That meant her kitchen was ground zero until further notice.
“How’s it going?” Craig moved in behind her, close enough to make Danny’s pulse pick up, but not so near as to raise questions with her son.
“I think we are going to need more food.” She opened the door to the fridge that seemed full yesterday. “I don’t know what happened.”
“I’ll go tomorrow and restock.” Craig glanced over where Lance and Jude were talking quietly on the couch. “Want to go for a walk?”
Danny barely hesitated.
Lance was her brother. He could help Jude understand what he was.
But he was still mostly unknown.
“Lance will protect Jude with his life.” Craig’s voice was low in he
r ear. “Just like me.”
Her stomach tightened at the thought of someone besides her or her sisters being willing to put their life down for her son. “Why would you do that?”
Lance made a little more sense. Outside of being Jude’s uncle, he was biologically designed to be lethally dangerous. To have the genetic drive to guard and fight to the death.
Craig laughed low and deep, more a rumble of amusement than anything. “I might not be a beast, but that doesn’t mean I’m not capable of many of the same things, Danny Girl.”
She tipped her head, peeking at him over one shoulder. “Is that what they teach you in Private Investigator school?”
His smile was dangerously wicked in the most sexy of ways. “Something like that.” Craig tipped his head toward the door, his voice picking up volume. “Jude. I’m taking your momma out for a walk, is that okay?”
“Yeah, sure.” Jude’s head still didn’t lift from the screen.
“See? He knows I can protect you.” Craig caught her hand in his and tugged her toward the door.
Danny followed him down the steps. “You must have found something pretty interesting for him to look at on that iPad.”
Craig led the way down the sidewalks they had poured last summer. “He’s reading about Vikings.”
“Vikings?”
“You might find it interesting, yourself.” Craig adjusted their hands, lacing his fingers with hers. “It’s where you came from.”
Danny’s steps slowed as her brain played catch-up. “What?”
“My friends in Greenlea have a more solidly-contained family line. The stories of their lineage have been passed down from generation to generation, staying mostly intact.” His eyes were warm as they passed over her face. “Someday I want to take you to meet them.”
“Maybe.” She barely smiled at the surprise on his face. “I guess we’ll see how things work out.”
“Still trying to pretend you don’t already know?” Craig caught her around the waist, spinning Danny and backing her against the wide trunk of one of the many trees they’d worked hard to keep as they built the town up. Craig pressed against her, his mouth hovering just above her lips. “Even after last night?”
Danny (Big Northwest Book 1) Page 18
