Page 78 of The Meaning Of You

“Samuel and I are fucking,” she announced baldly, like she was dictating a shopping list. “Have been for a while. I’m gonna presume you won’t have a problem with that, Nick, but if you do, I really don’t give a rat’s arse.” She glanced Samuel’s way. “And you better not either.”

I almost laughed at the stunned look on Nick’s face, and Samuel’s expression fit somewhere between horrified and sappy.

“What?” Jerry shrugged, looking between them. “It’s true. Besides, you should’ve told him ages ago, babe.”

Samuel’s eyebrows crawled into his hairline and he shot a sideways glance at Nick, who looked like a cat who’d swallowed the cream.

“No problem at all—” Nick turned to his brother-in-law with a huge grin on his face. “—babe.”

Samuel rolled his eyes. “You are such a dick.”

Jerry shook her head. “Men. You’re children, the lot of you.” She turned and pulled me into a hug. “Nice place you’ve got here, Madigan, although I’m starting to wonder what a woman has to do to get a coffee.”

I snorted. “Pods are in the pantry by the machine. Choose whatever you like and get one for Samuel too, if he wants.”

She patted my arm. “I knew I could rely on you. Don’t let these two bozos hit each other.”

When she was gone, I snatched the phone from Nick’s hand and plugged it in. “Samuel, take a seat. Nick—” I glanced at Shelby who was watching us from the cat carrier with a surly expression on her pretty face. “—put Shelby’s food and water inthe pantry and her litter tray in the laundry. Then let her out and make sure she knows where everything is. Oh, and you’re responsible for emptying and cleaning the trayeveryday.”

He blinked and then the arsehole saluted me.

“Every day?” Samuel considered Nick with fresh eyes. “Exactly how long are you planning to stay here and why?”

“Coffee first,” I said steering Samuel toward the dining room table.

One hour later, we’d finished the pastries, several rounds of coffee, and answered a ton of questions, bringing Samuel and Jerry pretty much up to date. Shelby spent most of that time prowling the house and generally making herself at home, before making a beeline for my lap and falling fast asleep, much to the annoyance of Nick who regarded her treachery with a disgusted glare.

“What the hell was Davis doing messing around with people like that on his own?” Samuel shook his head. “He could’ve at least run it by me.”

Nick rolled his eyes, grumbling, “If he didn’t tell me, he was hardly going to tell you, was he? Lachlan said Davis didn’t want to compromise us.”

Samuel’s lips set in a thin line. “I’m his brother, for fuck’s sake. And a cop.”

Nick glared. “And I was his husband. Besides, what would you have told him?”

“To keep his damn nose out of it.”

Nick sighed and ran his fingers through his tangled hair. “And you think he didn’t know that just like he knew I’d say exactly the same thing. Which is, of course, why he said nothing. Forgiveness, not permission, right? Davis was a big fan of that.”

Samuel grimaced. “If he wasn’t already dead, I’d bloody murder the idiot.”

Nick snorted. “You’d have to get in line.”

They caught each other’s gaze and after a long moment, Samuel chuckled. “None of this is funny, you do realise that, which reminds me—” He grabbed Nick’s jaw and turned his head to the side, blowing a low whistle. “Man, I bet that hurt.”

Nick winced and pulled away. “Like a motherfucker. And quit doing that.”

Jerry looked my way. “Like I said, children. So, what’s the plan?”

Everyone turned to face her.

“What?” She threw open her hands. “There has to be a plan. Samuel, you’re the cop. What do we do next?”

Samuel blinked. “We, as inyou, don’t do anything. You’re to stay right out of this.” He faced Nick. “Andyouneed to take this seriously. Whoever these people are, they’re not afraid to make a statement. They burned the fucking caravan to the ground, for fuck’s sake. Kind of a loud message.”

Nick stared at his brother-in-law. “Soyou’repositive it’s all connected as well?”

Samuel’s expression remained neutral. “I think we should treat it that way, just to be safe. Which means they either followed you to the caravan yesterday or—hang on.” He scraped back his chair and disappeared out the front door. A few minutes later he was back with a small metallic object, which he slid onto the dining table. “They were tracking you.”

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