Page 2 of Hung Up on the Hacker

“What the hell are you doing here, man?”

The box in Cash’s pocket weighed on him like lead. For just a fleeting moment, he considered blurting it all out. But just in case Holt elected to deck him, he really didn’t want that reputation for his friend’s business. He’d sit on it until he could talk to Holt alone.

“Well, you said I should come down and visit. I thought I’d surprise you.”

“About damned time.” Holt glanced back at the kitchen. “Listen, I’m on deadline. I’ve got a cake I have to stay after closing to finish. How long are you in town?”

“Not sure. For the night, at least.” He didn’t know how long this was going to take. His team was taking care of things while he was gone, and he had his laptop to tackle anything that came up in the meantime.

“Do you have somewhere to stay?” Jonah asked. “The Misfit Inn is the best place in town. Rachel’s their new in-house baker.” Pride in his fiancée shone in every word.

“I’ll be sure to stop by and see if I can get a room.”

“Fantastic. And you’ll come to dinner tonight,” Holt insisted.

“Is that going to be okay with Cayla? Do you really want to surprise your wife with a dinner guest?”

Holt waved his concern away. “It’ll be fine.”

God, Cash hoped so. He figured if he waited until they got to the house, around Holt’s wife and daughter, maybe he’d be less inclined to commit violence. If everything went smoothly, he could be back on the road tomorrow to go fix things with his woman.

“All right then. Dinner it is.”

Hadley Steele hated being wrong. She hated admitting it even more. But she’d been taught by her mule-headed big brother to own up to her mistakes. If she’d chosen to do that in her own way, on her own terms, rather than accepting any of Cash’s calls, well, all three of them knew she was the most stubborn of their trio. So she’d gotten on the road at an entirely unreasonable hour this morning, to drive down to Tennessee and talk to Holt herself.

If he lost his shit over her involvement with his best friend, he wouldn’t hit her. She didn’t have the same confidence about his restraint when it came to Cash. What was it about brothers and their friends when it came to little sisters? That protectiveness made sense when she’d been young, but she was a grown-ass woman who made her own decisions about who she let into her bed. She had plenty of choice arguments to make about the subject, and she was prepared to deliver them at top volume if necessary. She just hoped she got to him before Cash did.

Obstinate, honorable, sexy man.

Was it any wonder she was totally gone over him?

Not wanting to confront Holt at work, she’d timed her arrival, hoping to catch him at home. She knew that most days he picked up his adopted daughter Maddie from school when he finished up at the bakery. With luck, they’d be smack dab in the middle of snack time and homework. Was she hoping her niece would be an inadvertent buffer? Hell yes. Hadley knew how to work her brother, and she wasn’t above taking every potential advantage she could to minimize the inevitable explosion.

Pulling up to the curb several houses down from the little bungalow her brother called home, she took a moment to wipe damp palms on her jeans. It would be fine. Holt would probably be upset to start, for all the reasons Cash had outlined yesterday morning. He was likely to see their subterfuge as a betrayal. She didn’t think her reasons for not telling him were bad ones, but Cash had a point about not wanting to sneak around for the long haul. Which implied he also believed there would be a long haul. She wanted that more than she could admit, so no matter what Holt thought about it, she’d make him see reason. She absolutely would not allow him to end his friendship with Cash over this. Not when she knew how much that relationship meant to Cash.

Hadley climbed out of her car, pausing for a moment to strike a power pose, hands on hips, shoulders thrown back. She could do this. She was a badass. With a deep breath, she strode down the street and up the walk, past the bright-faced pansies in the neat little beds that provided a pop of color in the late autumn landscape, and on up to the cheerful blue front door. Her knock was greeted by a volley of frenetic barking from Banana Bread, the family mutt. Moments later, the door was yanked open, and a pint-sized blonde dervish shrieked, “Aunt Hadley!”

Maddie leapt, wrapping her little arms and legs around Hadley with all the excited joy a six-year-old could muster.

Delighted, Hadley hugged her back, inhaling the scents of bubble gum and… was that popcorn? “Hey, Pipsqueak.”

Maddie’s mother, Cayla, appeared in the doorway, her smile spreading wide. “Hadley! What are you doing here?” Any possible censure in the question was erased by the warm side hug she wrapped around Hadley’s shoulders.

“Well, I did promise I’d come back. I thought I’d pop down for a surprise visit.”

“That’s wonderful. Holt will be so happy to see you.”

Hadley shifted Maddie to one hip. “Is he home?”

“Not just yet. He’s staying late to work on a cake, but he’ll be home by dinner.”

So she’d be getting a little reprieve. That was fine. It would give her the opportunity to get the lay of the land before she had to face him.

Cayla glanced back at the street and frowned. “Where’s your car?”

“Down the street. The better to surprise him.”

“Fair enough. Come in! Come in!”

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