Page 51 of Mustang Summer

“I can hear you!”Josie was stomping in their direction.

“Good,” Cash hollered back.“Then you can tell me what you’re doing here.”

“Josie is none of your business.”

Cash whipped his gaze back to him.

Brock nodded.“And treat Josie with respect.The Walkers always act like gentlemen.”

He might have quoted his mother, and maybe it wasn’t exactly the right time, but he didn’t like his family being rude to Josie.

Cash stared at him and Josie stopped several feet away.

“So that’s how it is?”He shook his head and made a disgusted noise.“I hope you’re using protection.I wouldn’t put it past the family to try to get their claws into the land anyway they can.”

Josie’s indignant gasp sparked Brock’s anger.He lunged until he was up in his cousin’s face.Cash’s only reaction was his mouth dropping open.Brock rarely got aggressive and he hated arguing with his cousins.

“She’s no relation to Gram’s first husband and I told you to quit insulting her.”

Cash snapped his mouth shut, but didn’t back down.“You’re willing to risk it.Look around you, Brock.Look at what an hour of bad weather did.And we’re barely going to recover without drowning in debtbecause of her brother.”

“She’s not her brother,” Brock gritted out.

“Look,” Josie shouldered between them.One hand still held produce in her shirt while she used her shoulder to push Brock away and her other hand was in Cash’s face to keep him from advancing.“I’m gonna go visit that brother you despise so much because I love him dearly, criminal record or not.You two deal with your issues.”

She turned her back to Cash and jiggled her stash.“These’ll be on your counter.I’ll call you later.”

He met her halfway for a kiss, which she deepened by pulling him as close to her as possible without busting tomatoes.

They broke apart and she marched off.

Cash was staring at Brock and shaking his head.“It’s not going to turn out well, dude.”

“How do you know?”

“No good relationship starts out with a woman who broke into your property.”

Brock’s only thought was,The door had been unlocked.

“Not you, too.”Josie’s head was planted in her hands with her elbows resting on the table in the visitor’s room at the jail.

“A fucking Walker, Josie,” Jesse hissed to keep his voice down.“What are you thinking?”

“He’s a good guy.”

“Yeah, they’re all saints.”Bitterness dripped from his words.He rolled his neck and dropped his head back to stare at the stark ceiling.This room was too familiar, the routine one she knew too well.The people working at the jail even asked how she was doing and they’d chatted about the storm.

Bringing his head forward, Jesse sighed.“Does he treat you right?”

“So far.He even faced off with his cousin Cash about me.”A shot of pride zinged through her.Calm, literal Brock had been willing to throw down for her honor—and hadn’t been offended when she’d butted between them.

“Already more than Gage would do for you,” he said drily.

“You never liked Gage.Why didn’t you warn me?”She choked back a laugh.

“I only did a hundred times.‘That guy’s wacked, Jo.Gage is a giant pussy, Jo.I don’t think Gage can keep his dick in his pants, Jo.’”

“You were right about it all.”She reclined back in her hard, metal chair with padding that hadn’t seen any fluff since the seventies.“Wait until I tell you the latest.”

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