Page 76 of Not A Whisper

"You three are in trouble," Luane glares at the guys around me. "You have some work to do getting back into my good graces. Hiding all this from us... I still can't believe it."

Grant steps forward and drapes his arm over her shoulders. “It was for your own good.”

As they head toward the kitchen, Kai slides open the massive glass door that leads out back and smiles at us.

“Hey, boys, help an old man out, will ya? All these sides can go out onto the table, and someone needs to man the grill other than Carlos.” He jerks his thumb toward the back door. “The man burns everything he touches. I need to grab my good tongs. They’re somewhere in here, I just need a second to look for them.”

Luane ushers us into the kitchen where the sides are all ready to go. Jason, Grant, and Trip all grab food and head out back. I start to grab the rolled plasticware but Luane swats my hand away, grabbing them herself.

“You need to eye the oven. I have rolls in there. Be a dear and stay here for a moment while I go set the table.”

“Of course.”

She’s barely shut the door behind her when Kai calls to me. “Hey, Bri, will you come here for a second?”

I round the beautiful island, large enough to seat five people comfortably, and come up behind Kai who’s standing by the refrigerator, peering into the cabinet above it.

“I’m not sure if I’ll be any help, but I can try.” I smile at his back. “You’re taller than me so unless you want me on your shoulders?—”

“You can help by explaining something to me,” Kai cuts me off sharply. He turns to me, forgoing any pretense of looking for tongs that probably don’t exist. His face tightens as his pupils narrow. “Tell me, Bri, how is it that my boys meet you and suddenly they come into a whole bunch of money, buy massive properties and are able to put all of this—” he waves his arms around us “—together? What are you dragging my boys into?”

I stand there, frozen with shock.

Jason’s dad takes a step toward me, his shadow blanketing me. Just as tall and muscular as his son, he’s an imposing figure on his own. But with a scowl like that directed at me? Yikes. It takes everything in me not to take a step back.

Swallowing hard, I force myself not to cower away.

“I think there’s been some miscommunication here,” I start slowly. “I’m just a librarian who stumbled into a relationship with your boys.” I like how he refers to the others possessively, as if they’re his too. “Before this, I was a real estate agent. The guys knew this and wanted my professional opinion of this property. It was already in their sights before I came around. As for this—” I wave around us at the house “—I knew they wanted to do something for you and I just… had an idea. They took it and rolled with it.”

Kai’s scowl doesn’t relent.

“Do you expect me to believe that? What are the chances all this happens around the time they meet you?”

“It’s what happened.”

That’s a weak response, one that Kai notices. He opens his mouth to push the issue, but instead of allowing him to make assumptions, I raise a hand—halting whatever he has to say.

“Look, I adore your son and the others. Somehow, we’re making this work, as crazy as it seems.” I give him a rueful smile. “There’s nothing I want more than to see them succeed in all their endeavors. I would never drag them into a situation that could put them in harm’s way.”

His hazel eyes search my face, his dark brows remain furrowed deeply. “This feels fishy.”

“Then you’ll have to take that up with your son. I think whatthey’vedone is very sweet,” I counter, straightening my spine. “I would like to think that, given the situation with Garry, the guys would do everything in their power to make sure to avoid getting tangled up with another corrupted individual. They don’t strike me as the type of people who would hop from a hot frying pan into the fire, do they to you?”

Kai’s shoulders sag. “No. They’re smart kids. But, then, where did they get the money for all of this?”

I don’t want to lie but this secret isn’t mine to share.

“I don’t ask about their finances,” I shrug. “It’s not any of my business. But I can assure you that, on my librarian’s salary, I’m far from rich, so they aren’t getting it from me.”

Kai’s brows pull apart and the strong man’s face goes slack. With a sigh, he looks away to glance around his new house.

“I-I’m sorry,” he mutters, his gaze dropping to the tile floor. “I just don’t want them getting caught up in any scheming. We were victims of a man who appeared to us like an angel only for us to find out later he was really a devil. I had to ask.All three of them are too good for the sick world Garry’s forced them to grow up in.”

When his gaze returns to my face, concern is etched into every inch of his golden skin. It deepens his wrinkles and shines in his eyes. I reach out to rest my hand on his shoulder.

“I completely understand.” His concern twists at my heartstrings. I wish I had a dad like this growing up. “Those three young men mean so much to me. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them. I’ll keep an eye and ear out for trouble while steering them in the right direction when I can. They’re stubborn, so I can’t say they’ll listen to me, but I think they know where my heart is, and they trust that.”

Kai chuckles as the back door opens and Jason steps in. He looks between the two of us.

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