Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

W arrick

Em had insisted on sleeping in the guest room with Georgia, which I tried not to take personally. When she got up before dawn to start banging around on the house, I realized how laser-focused she was on finishing the job on time. I only had myself to blame for dangling that ten-thousand-dollar carrot in front of her. That early start to the workday meant Georgia and I were blurry-eyed and tired as we dropped her off at preschool.

"Wa-wy?"

"Yeah, Peaches?" She held my hand as we walked across the parking lot to her classroom.

"Miss Amber says we only have five days of school left before summer vacution."

"Vacation," I corrected her.

"Yeah." She was unfazed. "So, can we go fishing again? And maybe swimming? I don't know how, but Mama says I could take lessons. And Aster says everybody goes to fires at night."

I nodded hello to the principal and various teachers as we headed through the school gates. Fishing and swimming sounded like a perfect summer, but I wasn't so sure about the fires. I'd have to find out what she meant. "How about we talk about our summer plans over dinner tonight with your mama?"

Georgia stopped at the door to her classroom and tugged on my arm. Her blue eyes were wide and intense, so like her mother's that I hoped she didn't ask for something outlandish in the next breath or I'd fold and agree to it just because she was so darn cute.

"Mama is gonna work …" The way she dragged out the word like it was a despicable swear word was enough to have my lips wobbling.

I sobered quickly though. Em was doing her best and I wanted her daughter to understand that. I crouched down so that I was eye to eye with her. "Listen, your mama works hard to make a good life for the two of you. She's the toughest woman I know and I respect her something fierce. However, we can talk to her tonight and come up with a plan so that summer is also fun. It's called compromise."

Georgia wrinkled her nose, ready to argue with me. Also like her mama. I pulled her into a hug before she got going.

"But right now, you need to go to school. We'll talk tonight, I promise."

She ran inside to sit by Aster and I headed back home. Anton was coming today and I wanted to impress him. This house remodel may be almost over, but I had intentions toward Em that didn't have an expiration date. Making sure her older brothers knew my intentions were pure—well, most of them anyway—was high on my priority list.

Em rushed down the porch stairs the second I pulled my truck into the driveway. I could hear Pip and Savannah banging away on the house to a raucous German techno song, but Em's angry expression held my attention.

"Ah, here we go again," I muttered to myself, climbing out of the truck .

Em stopped toe to toe with me. Her hands went straight to her hips. "Did you say the lawyers think we have a solid case?"

My head hung for a moment. Fuck. I was wondering when she was going to remember that part of the conversation I had with Anton yesterday. I lifted my head and stood straighter. By her own terms, I hadn't stomped all over our agreement, so I wouldn't act like it.

"I called in a lawyer. It's being taken care of. They'll schedule a court date and he'll represent you, but he's very certain there's a snowball's chance in hell of Cayden getting any kind of custody of Georgia."

Em stared at me, the frown not breaking even for a second. Then she nodded. "Okay."

I leaned down to read her expression, a little stunned she wasn't trying to hand me my ass right now and not trusting the peaceful reply. "Okay?"

She nodded again, expression softening. "Yeah. More than okay. Thank you for handling it."

I put my hands on her arms, wanting to hold her but knowing she was probably itching to get back to work. "You're welcome." I couldn't help an impish grin. "Shit, we almost sound like mature adults in a normal relationship."

Her returning grin made me feel hopeful. Like maybe we could find some common ground after all. Maybe I wouldn't overstep and maybe she'd let me handle some of the stress that weighed on her shoulders. Maybe none of this had to be temporary.

"I do have a confession though."

Em's shoulders sagged. "What now?"

"I tried milking Bitchy Bessie again this morning and she almost took out my kneecap."

Em sputtered out a laugh. "Just let Pip do it or you'll end up on crutches."

"Yeah, but Pip's only here a little bit longer. I gotta learn how to do it myself. "

Em put her hands on my chest. "Then I'll help you. Or your mom will be back. Don't injure yourself."

I put my hands over hers and squeezed. "Are you worried about me, Slaywright?"

She rolled her eyes, but our attention was drawn to a large gray truck pulling into the driveway. Em snatched her hands away and faced the truck.

"And that would be Anton."

The truck came to a stop and a tall man with light brown hair and a lean, muscular build hopped out. He wore work boots and jeans, pretty similar to Em's work outfit.

"Emmerleigh Jane, you have some explaining to do!" he said immediately.

"Jane?" I mused out loud. Em backhanded my chest and went to hug her brother. With such an interesting name like Emmerleigh Slaywright, I was expecting more than Jane for a middle name.

The two hugged and Anton kept his arm around Em as he turned to me. He held out his hand and we shook, both of us with strong grips.

"Anton, this is Warrick Wolfe. Warrick, this is my brother Anton Slaywright."

"You forgot the part about him being your husband." Anton looked down at Em, whose cheeks went pink.

"Uh, I hear Pip calling me. Have to get back to work if we're going to finish on time. You two have fun." And then she slipped out from under Anton's arm and rushed into the house.

We watched her go and then eyed each other wearily. I gestured to his T-shirt and the logo on it.

"That from Bark Barbecue in Nashville?" I recognized the logo. The restaurant was a fun place that allowed dogs in the extensive outdoor seating area. And the food was top-notch.

"Yeah. Attended a bachelor party there last year. Great spot. You been there?"

I nodded. "I opened it ten years ago. Sold it last year to Hank."

Anton blinked. "Is Hank a bald man with a chest built for bench-pressing competitions?"

I grinned. "Yep, that's him. How's he doing?"

Anton slapped me on the back. "He's doing great. Had a live band the night we ate there and it was packed. Talked about the previous owner like he was some kind of saint among men."

I waved away the compliment and gestured toward the house. "How about I show you the upgrades your sister expertly managed the last three weeks?"

We headed inside and I showed him the kitchen, both bathrooms, the flooring, the screened-in porch, and ended in the hallway to the additional bedroom where the ladies were still working. The place looked amazing and Anton knew it. He beamed with pride as he darted around the vinyl plank flooring being installed by Savannah and wrapped his arm around his sister's neck. He gave her a messy kiss on the cheek and she fought to push him off, both of them dissolving into laughter. I leaned against the doorway and soaked in the sight of Em being lighthearted. If Anton could get her to laugh like that, he was alright in my book. Now to convince him I was alright too.

"Get lost, you creep. We have serious work to do here!"

Anton messed up Em's hair before letting her go and darting away before the fist she swung at him connected. Pip sidled up next to me, shoving her elbow in my ribs.

"I have the beer in the cooler. You are welcome to it. No one can be disappeared over a beer. It is unnatural."

"Thanks, Pip." I patted her beefy arm in thanks and led Anton to the screened-in porch where we sat in the Adirondack chairs. It wasn't hot out yet and far too early to crack open a beer, but I appreciated Pip trying to pave the way with Em's brother.

He sat back and studied me. I let him look his fill. I had nothing to hide. Well, only my inability to milk a mild-mannered heifer. He crossed his ankle over his knee. "Explain how the marriage thing happened. After her ex, that's the last thing I expected Emmy to do."

I nodded. "Yeah, she's told me about what happened with Cayden when she got pregnant with Georgia. Total dickweed." Anton looked like he might use those bright blue eyes to incinerate someone. Hopefully not me. "I had already hired Em when her landlord gave her notice and was there when Cayden had her served. The only natural thing to do was to help her out. I have this house and plenty of money. Why not help out a struggling single mom?" I huffed a laugh. "And have you met Georgia? That kid is something else. I couldn't stand by and watch some asshole try to disrupt her life just because she suddenly sounded like a good accessory to his current lifestyle."

Anton ran a hand over his two-day-old beard. "Seems like marriage might be slightly overkill though, don't you think?"

I shook my head. "Not when Em needs to appear both financially and emotionally stable. What's more stable than a steady job, a place to live, and a husband with a squeaky-clean background?"

"So, it's all for show. Temporary."

I leaned forward and put my elbows on my knees. "Started that way, yeah."

"And now?"

I laced my fingers together, looking him in the eye and accepting whatever reaction I deserved. "Well, now I'm in love with your sister."

The guy smirked like that wasn't a monumental confession. "Figured as much. Her gaze kept darting to you, as if she had to know where you were at all times. Judge your reactions, that kind of thing. So you're either abusing her or she's fallen in love with you too."

I frowned, but Anton waved me off. "And knowing my sister's temperament, she'd never stand for a man abusing her again. I'd bet money on the latter." He sat forward too, mirroring my stance. "She used to laugh a lot more. She was the coolest sister, just one of the guys but also had a gaggle of girlfriends. Cayden swooped in and changed her. We could all see it, but she's also stubborn as hell. Wouldn't listen when we tried to warn her about his bullshit. He used her constantly. She worked harder than him for the business and yet the whole thing was in his name, legally. I couldn't confirm it, but I have my suspicions he was cheating on her the whole time too."

I couldn't help the growl that came from my chest as I flopped back in the chair. "I want to fucking kill him."

Anton huffed. "Trust me, I get it. Getting pregnant was the straw that broke the camel's back. He showed his true colors finally and my brothers and I were there to pick up the pieces. He screwed her over in every way a man can harm a woman. It did a number on her. She's fiercely independent now, to a fault."

"I've noticed," I drawled.

"But she's still loyal when it's deserved. And she has her priorities straight. A man won't pull one over on her ever again." Anton lifted his chin, glaring at me. "Even so, if you harm one hair on her head, cause her to shed one tear, I swear to God, me and my brothers will shove that snakeskin boot so far up your ass you'll have a split tongue. You'll be in worse shape than Cayden when we got our hands on him."

I held my hands up. "Understood. I have all good intentions when it comes to your sister and niece. If anything, it's Em who won't let me do more to help them. If I had my way, I'd swoop them up and shower them with money and never let Em lift a finger again. But I know she doesn't want that."

Anton shook his head. "She built her first birdhouse with Dad when she was six. She didn't get much time with him before he died, but he gave her his love of building. She'll never stop working. Probably die at ninety-five with a fuckin' hammer in her hands."

I grinned at the mental image. Probably wasn't wrong. "What did y'all do to Cayden? "

Anton smiled and I saw so much of Em in his evil grin. "We may have toyed with him a bit. His jobsites kept getting flooded. Tools went missing. Permits came back unapproved due to electrical issues he swore weren't there the day before. We would have kept it going until he moved his shit company out of town for good, but the fucker had to walk into the same bar he knew my brothers and I went to every Friday night. Started talking shit about Emmy and we'd had enough. Carter's the biggest of us. We waited until Cayden swung first and then Carter unleashed while I held Cayden's arms. The cops had to pull us off him. Cayden went to the hospital and we spent the night in jail."

"Shit," I muttered. "Em must have been pissed."

"Oh, she was." Anton laughed, looking quite pleased with himself. "But most everyone in town already hated Cayden and everyone in the bar saw him swing first. The chief let us out the next day, dropped the charges, and Cayden got the message loud and clear. He steered clear of us from then on out, which makes me very curious why he's popping his head up now."

I put my hands behind my head and looked up at the brightly painted plank ceiling Em and her crew had just built. I liked this guy. Could see myself hanging out with him and shooting the shit. Anton would fit right in with my brothers too.

"I've got a guy investigating what's going on there. We'll get to the bottom of it. I promise you that." I looked back at Anton, an idea coming to my mind. "Hey, you like fishing?"

Anton didn't hesitate. "Is Emmy the most stubborn woman in the world?"

I stood and clapped my hands. "Let's go pick up Georgia early and take her fishing at the pond."

Anton stood too, clapping me on the shoulder again. "I think I like you, Warrick."

A smile spread across my face. "Everybody does eventually."