Page 33 of Jack

“None of us are looking for company,” Jay tells her.

Jenny ignores them. She shifts just enough for our eyes to meet. “Come on, Ghost. It’s been a long time since you and I caught up.”

Yes, it has. I groan inwardly. This is one of the reasons I don’t get drunk at club parties anymore. The night before Rodeo and I left Willow Creek, the club threw us a going-away party. I let loose and got hammered that night. I woke up the next morning with Jenny in bed next to me in my room upstairs. I swore right then to never be in a situation where I didn’t know what I was doing and who I was with. Jenny’s time with us is almost over. I only have to avoid her for a few more months.

I remove her arms from my neck as I stand. “And it’s going to stay that way.”

Jenny jerks her head back like I slapped her. The guys snicker, which only fuels her anger. I don’t care. She knows the rules. If a brother rejects her for any reason, she’s supposed to walk away.

Movement at the back gate catches my eye. Everly’s trying to pull my little sister and Lily through the gate. Both ladies look as though they’re ready to commit murder.

“Ghost,” Jenny whines and reaches for my arm.

“No,” I snap at her. I turn to Jay and point to Harley. “Keep an eye on that. You and Shep handle it. I’m going to make sure Everly gets home.”

Jay leans back and looks toward the three ladies at the gate. He grins and shakes his head. Yeah, there’s more to my leaving. He knows. I’ve never been able to hide anything from him.

“Go. Take care of Everly.” Jay motions toward the gate with his head. “I got the wild one.”

“Rodeo.” I tap my best friend on the arm. “Lock this side behind us.”

Without question, Coty follows me to the back gate. I never have to question his friendship or loyalty. My sister, my niece, and my angel glare at me like they could kill me. Really? Just what did I do? No clue, but I’ll find out what’s going on once we’re on the other side of this gate.

Chapter 15

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Jack

“Maci, what are we doing?” I gently nudge all three ladies out the gate and lock this side behind us.

“What areyoudoing?” My little sister crosses her arms and shoots daggers at me with her eyes.

“I’mmaking sure you three get home.”

“Didn’t look like it,” Maci snaps.

Great—just great. They saw Jenny. I open my mouth to snap back. I freeze when my niece’s arms circle my waist. Her frightful, tear-filled eyes gut me.

“Please, Uncle Jack. I just wanna go home.’ She sniffles and tries to blink back tears.

“Evie, sweetie. What happened?” My little sister and her big temper are instantly forgotten.

“Aunt Harley.” She lays her head against my chest.

I wrap her tightly in my arms. “I know, sweetie. Uncle Jay’s still watching over her.”

“I tried to pull her away. She wouldn’t listen.” She leans back and wipes tears away with the back of her hand. “One of the guys told me to get lost and let the grownups have fun.”

“What?” Maci and I ask at the same time.

I wrap my hands around Everly’s upper arms and hold her slightly away so I can look her in the eye. This little girl has owned my heart from the moment she was born. Her feelings matter to me. I want to protect her heart with everything I have, but right now, I wanna kill somebody.

“Evie, which guy said that to you?” Nobody talks to my girl like that.

She shrugs and sniffles again. “I don’t know. I didn’t look. Aunt Harley told me to go home, so I called Aunt Maci.”

Okay. It looks as though the entire group from Texas is about to die. Well, minus Shep, of course. My dear older sister needs to be brought down a notch or two as well. She knows how tenderhearted Everly is. Sometimes, it takes days to calm my niece down. Mom and Dad will go livid when they find out about this. Maybe Dad will finally put his foot down with Harley.

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