Page 83 of Spur of the Moment
“Personally, I don’t think there’s a better person for Lettie,” Beckham piped in.
Reed crossed his arms. “You think Bailey is best for her? He hasn’t been in a relationship longer than three days.”
Bailey stiffened behind me and my dad looked like he was about to interject from where he stood by the oven, but he was cut off by Bailey’s voice. “None of them were Lettie.”
Reed pointed a glare at him. “As if that’s supposed to make me feel any better?”
“I’d never mess around with her feelings, Reed. I’ve felt this way for a long time. It’s not some new, summer fling.”
I braced myself for his response, but suddenly, his face softened, his eyes drifting to me. “And you like him?”
My eyes landed on each of my brothers, then I looked over my shoulder to find Bailey watching me. Our eyes always found each other, always held a thousand words our mouths couldn’t say.
I turned back to my brother. “I always have.”
His eyes were glued to me as he pondered my response. Reed was always the most protective of me, even though Lennon was the oldest.
After a few seconds of silence, Reed swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the action. He nodded and crossed to me, wrapping me in his arms. Once he let me go, he pinned his stare on Bailey. “If you even think about hurting her, just know that this ranch has a lot of places to hide a body.”
Oddly, that made Bailey smile. “I’d be more worried about Lettie hurting me.”
My dad must have been satisfied with the change of mood, as if Reed’s comment was somehow comforting, because his signature frown softened a bit before he turned around to pull the foil off the dish set on the counter.
Reed pulled Bailey in for a hug. In my twenty-three years of life, I’d never seen them hug each other. They slapped each other's backs before they pulled away.
Beckham clapped his hands together. “Thank God that’s over with.”
Lennon chuckled, coming over to grab the plates from the cabinet. “I thought Reed was going to burn the damn house down with the smoke comin’ out of his ears.”
“I’ve got to look out for my little sister,” Reed said.
“She’s an adult, Reed. Let her live a little,” Beckham said before stuffing a tortilla chip in his mouth.
Reed shook his head. “I don’t care how old she is, I’ll always be there to protect her.”
My mom came into the room from her bedroom down the hall. “What’d I miss?”
A snort bubbled out of me. “Nothing. Can we eat, please? I’m starving.”
“Me, too,” Callan said.
Beckham held his hand up again. “Me, three.”
Bailey wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me back against him. “I knew they’d be okay with it,” he whispered in my ear.
My hands hung on his arm draped across my chest. “I thought Reed was going to behead you.”
I felt Bailey shrug behind me. “A little headless horseman roleplay might be fun.”
I rolled my eyes and kicked at his shin. He laughed, pressing a kiss to my hair.
We stood there, watching my family set the table and bring dishes of food over on hot pads.
This was what I was missing.
I was home.
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