Page 15 of Wyatt the Military Veteran

“I can look out for myself.” Kennedy glances out her kitchen window and nods toward the red fire truck parked on the street. “If that's all, you should probably get going. Fires aren't going to put themselves out, Beckett. And the lodge can't last long without you, isn't that right, Ezra?”

Right on cue, a loud honk blares from the fire engine as a walkie-talkie crackles to life. Beckett turns down the volume before pinning both of us with a harsh glare. “This conversation isn't over. We'll have dinner tonight as a family to discuss things.”

Kennedy rolls her eyes. “Whatever. Text me the time and place.NotGrandpa's. He doesn't need to be part of this.”

“Agreed.” Ezra nods. The brothers finally head toward the front door, but he pauses to glower back at me. “You fuck with our sister, you fuck with us. So be careful, Major Lincoln.”

“Understood.”

They leave with the soft snick of the door closing, and Kennedy gingerly sits on her couch with a groan. “I'm sorry about them. They take their brotherly roles way too seriously.”

“That's a good thing. It means they care, and I can respect that. I'll just have to earn their trust like I have to earn yours.” I sit next to her on the beige cushion, thankful when she doesn’t scoot further away.

“You have mine.”

“Do I?”

“Of course.” A shy smile tugs on her plump lips, tempting me to taste their blush-pink sweetness. Only years of learned restraint stop me from acting on the urge.

Clearing my throat, I force myself to look away from her pretty mouth and mumble a garbled, “Good,” before snagging the remote beside my arm and flipping on the television for a distraction.

“Want to watch one of your holiday movies before tonight’s dinner? It might make you feel better considering how stressful today’s already been.”And maybe it will help cool the desire hardening my cock.Kennedy’s not ready for that, so the damn thing needs to stop trying to punch a hole through my jeans before she notices it.

She watches the couple currently on the screen and silently asks for the remote with her outstretched hand. “This is a good one to let run in the background. You traveled all this way. I’d rather catch up.”

So that’s how we spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing on her couch. It’s cozy and downright domestic and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

There’s something warm and comfortable about chatting in front of the TV like this is a routine occurrence—exchanging mundane details about our days while unwinding at home.

“You're done?” Kennedy asks in disbelief.

“Yep, I'm officially retired at thirty-eight.”

“But what's next?”

I shrug. “I don't know yet. There’s a nest egg I've been saving for years, so I have time to figure it out.”

She hums in her throat, understanding softening her blue eyes.

“Ready to tell me more about your brothers?” Changing the subject seems like the smart thing to do since I don’t want her to dwell on the fact that I’m currently unemployed. She doesn’t need to worry about my future because I’ll always make sure I’m able to take care of her. “Does Ezra work at the lodge, too? You said something about him needing to be there?”

A pink flush rises on her cheeks, and she swipes a strand of hair behind her ear. “Uh, yeah, about that… My family actually owns the lodge.” My eyes widen at the admission. “We’re the third generation to run it. Ezra handles the day-to-day management, while I work on the event coordinating, and Soren, our eldest brother, is kind of the jack-of-all-trades, handyman-slash-groundskeeper along with Griffen.”

“Wow…”

“I'm sorry I didn't share before.”

“No, it's okay. I'm guessing that makes your family pretty important to Suitor’s Crossing,” I venture, brows lifting in question.

“Yeah, we're one of the founding families.” She bites her lip and peers up through thick lashes.

“Really? Small-town royalty, huh, princess?” I tease, though a part of me balks at the knowledge. Why the fuck would a girl like her—a woman rooted in this town for generations, whois probably beloved by everyone—want to tie herself to me? A floundering loner with connections to no place and no one?

“My brothers maybe, but…” Kennedy hesitates. “The perks of being part of a founding family never really affected me.”

“Why not?”

“Well, you saw Beckett and Ezra. They were one of two sets of twins at school and football stars. They were regularly voted homecoming king. Prom king. There was always a contest between the two of them. Soren was more introverted, but he led our debate team to three championships, which should sound nerdy but was actually amazing. Griffin is like me. More reserved, and not part of the popular crowd like our siblings. But he's a whiz at tech. Everyone goes to him for their random questions.”

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