Page 17 of Breathless With Her

“Special circumstances, and not me. I’ve worked long and hard for my rest. And I’m going to keep it.”

“Until you’re old and wrinkly and can’t lift the boxes that you need to put on the porches?” Amelia asked, batting her eyelashes. “I mean, you’re already well on your way to that ancient-ness, right?”

“You’re lucky there’s a witness here, or I would bury you in that hole you’re digging,” I growled out.

“Hey, you may be bigger than me, but I can still take you,” Tobey said, waving his spade around. “After all, I have a weapon.”

“Aw, look at you defending me,” Amelia said, grinning up at Tobey. Yeah, I saw that look in her eyes. She was going to be in a world of hurt if she didn’t make a move or ignore that crush of hers. But I had already stepped in it more than once when it came to my little sister. She didn’t need my help, didn’t need anything from me. She just needed me to be here, so I would be. And if her best friend hurt her, I would beat his ass. After all, that was my right as the big brother. And Caleb and Dimitri would be right by my side, making sure Tobey rued the day he ever dared to hurt our baby sister.

Amelia leaned forward and punched me in the gut.

“What was that for?” I asked.

“You have that growly vibe going on. I have a feeling you’re about to do something overprotective that’ll annoy me.”

“How on Earth can you tell that just from a look?”

“I have my ways. Plus, you just answered my question.”

I rolled my eyes and leaned forward to kiss the only spot on her face that didn’t have dirt on it.

“You’re filthy, Amelia.”

“So are you. But I love this job. I mean, look at all of this. It’s all growing and pretty and green and colorful. I can’t wait to start my next project, though. It’s probably going to break part of my body, most likely my back, but it’ll totally be worth it.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Is it too much for you? Do you need to hire more people?”

Tobey muttered under his breath and winced. “Oh, bro, you stepped in it this time.”

“Tobey is right, my dear brother. There’s a lot of fertilizer right here, but you’re the one that’s standing in manure.”

“How long have you been waiting to make that type of shit joke?” I grinned.

“Ha-ha. No, I don’t need to hire anyone else. I have three part-timers that come in when their schedules allow, and I can do everything else on my own. I have a strong back, and even though I joke about it, I’m just fine. I like my job. You do not need to come in here and growl at me and try to take over. Do you hear me, Devin Carr?”

“Oh, you got full-named,” Zoey said as she walked into the back yard. “There’s my best friend.”

“Can you believe him?” Amelia asked, gesturing towards me. “He gets all growly and thinks I can’t handle it. It’s like I haven’t built this business from the ground up. Yes, I’ve needed help on occasion and took it because my friends and family offered. But I’m the one who’s put sweat, blood, and tears into this. Literally.”

Amelia raised her chin, and I sighed.

“Don’t sic Zoey on me. I’m sorry, Amelia. I was just worried that you might need to hire new people because your business is growing so much.”

“Sure. I’m sure that’s exactly what you meant. But I’m fine. I own my own business. I know what I’m doing.”

“And because I don’t own my own business I can’t help out?” I asked, wondering why I felt a little hurt by that.

Amelia rolled her eyes, and Zoey went to my side, elbowing me in the hip. “You know she didn’t mean it like that,” she said.

“Maybe. But now I’m the one who’s feeling hurt.”

“You are not. You have a steady job, a full pension, and you don’t have to worry about self-employment tax. Or business tax. Taxes period.”

“Oh, I have to worry about taxes. Taxes literally pay for my job.”

“True, so I guess you could say I’m your boss,” she said with a grin. Zoey and Tobey laughed outright.

“Wow, that would be the end of the world right there, wouldn’t it?”

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