Page 18 of Mad About Her Cowboys

He smirked. His hand slid behind her neck, and he pulled her close. His mouth brushed ever-so-lightly over hers, sending hot waves of shuddering heat coursing through her. It was over too fast. She would have believed the touch was her imagination if not for her goosebumps and the tingling across her lips. The heat in his eyes said it had been entirely real.

He tipped his forehead to hers. “Soldier, you are to go with Franklin and relax on the couch. Maybe bundle up in the afghan. It’s a chilly night.”

“Aye-aye, sir.”

Franklin slung an arm around her as he herded her into the family room. He leaned over to speak in her ear. “Better watch it with that ‘sir’ stuff. He likes to be bossy.”

“Heard that,” Connor called.

“And?” Franklin hollered back, but Connor didn’t respond as he headed down the hallway.

“You guys might not be related, but you sure act like family. You’re a lot like the Szuzmans—River’s family.”

“But not yours?”

“Only child,” she said. And her parents… They definitely weren’t the bantering type.

“I was, too,” Neal said as he came in with an armful of drinks. He handed Franklin a beer and set one aside for himself, as well. He offered her a water. “We have pop, too,” he said. “Or juice.”

“Water’s great, thanks,” she replied, taking the bottle from him. “I’m sorry you lost your parents. I take it they weren’t bad like the other guys’ families.”

“Nope. I had an awesome mom and dad. Really awesome,” he repeated, his eyes a little sad, though she knew from talking with them over dinner, the accident had been nearly twenty years ago. Some pains only dulled, but never went away. “But,” he added after a moment, “the Quists were awesome, too. I was fortunate to land with them right away. There are so many foster-home horror stories, but my experience was ideal. They’re really great people, and I’m glad to have them as my second parents.”

“Here-here,” Franklin agreed, lifting his bottle. He fiddled with the remote with his other hand.

“And I got brothers out of the deal, too,” Neal added.

“Yeah, lucky bastard,” Edison said, coming in with two large bowls of popcorn. “Who wouldn’t love me as their fucking, awesome relative?”

“Language!” Connor yelled from down the hallway.

“How the hell did he hear that?” Eds muttered. “Sound doesn’t travel that well in this house.”

“Lucky positioning?” Neal offered, flopping on the couch kitty-corner to where Franklin and Madison sat.

“He’s not much for cursing?” she asked as Eds set one of the bowls on her lap. “I’ve heard him swear.”

“He’s trying to rein us in. When we first got here, before we started hosting guests, we developed quite the, um…”

“Potty mouths?” she supplied.

“Yeah, I guess that,” Eds agreed. “We shouldn’t curse around the guests, no matter how much they might swear. He reminds us, even when we’re off-duty, to keep it G-rated.”

“And Edison’s the worst,” Connor said as he came into the room. “But we love him all the same.”

“Aw… Love you too, big brother,” Edison gushed, sarcastically. Connor threw him the finger.

“Good thing you do,” she laughed as Connor sank down beside her so she was bookended by him and Franklin. His arm slung along the couch behind her. “It would be pretty harsh to cut off Edison for foul language.”

“Oh, he gives us more reasons than that,” he replied. The man in question choked out a laugh from where he’d settled near Neal. He threw a few pieces of popcorn at Connor.

“Jerk!” Edison snorted.

“Volunteering to vacuum?” Connor asked, nodding at the fallen pieces.

“Totally worth it,” the younger man replied.

“Remember that in the morning.”

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