Chapter 2

COLTON

"What? What'd I do now?" I tried to walk around my sister and follow Shayla, but she stopped me with a finger to my chest and a glare I hadn't been on the receiving end of in years.

"Don't even think about it." Brenley poked me a second time and just when I thought she was going to lay into me even more, she broke into a huge yawn. I chuckled, and she rolled her eyes at me. Just like the good ‘ol days.

"How do you know what I'm thinking?" I'm sure she was thinking what I was thinking, but it was fun pulling her chain. I hadn't been able to in such a long time and if I had to listen to a lecture, it'd be worth it. Being back home in Pineville, back with my sisters and their husbands, plus my nieces and nephew, was exactly what I wanted and needed.

"Do not look at Shay, do not charm her, do not ask her out. She's my best friend and business partner. And she's a single mom who doesn't need good-time-Colton romancing her for a month, then disappearing."

Well, she wasn't wrong. But that was the old me. The man I was when I was in the military was someone who had no interest in settling down, having kids, and a mortgage. But retired ranger Colton had come back home for a reason. And I was just lucky enough that Shayla was still single.

Not that she'd ever given me a second glance when I first met her at Brenley and Hayden's wedding last year. Her little girl hadn't been feeling well, and they'd left early. But not before she'd made an impression on me.

With her blown pupils and sweetly flushed face after we'd been tangled up in each had nailed it for me. Oh, yeah, she'd felt our connection, and I wanted to prove to her and Brenley it could be so much more than that.

There was something about Shayla Morales and no amount of warning from my sister was going to keep me from my goal.

"Brenley, I'm not going to try to convince you I've changed. But I have. You'll just have to trust me. But it's not really up to you, is it? Would it surprise you if I told you I'm no longer just looking for short-term hook-ups? No, don't answer that. I haven't been around that much, but that's changing now, right? I bought some property to build a house. I started my own business and heck, I might even get a dog, or maybe a cat. Cats do better on their own, right?"

My sister had crossed her arms during my mini-speech, but she didn't look convinced.

"I'm home for good. Ready to be the fun uncle and not be alone anymore. I played soldier and now I'm ready to settle in, settle down and find someone to?—"

"Play house? Is that what you want, Colton? You think you can just get a mortgage, slap a decal on the side of a work truck and you'll be satisfied with a hard day's work that doesn't involve carrying a weapon and defending democracy? You're telling me you're now a one-woman man?"

Wow, neither of his sisters had expressed their opinions about his personal life before, but he supposed from their perspective his constant deployment to places he couldn't tell them about and his lack of long-term relationships if nothing else had been consistent. To convince Brenley he'd changed wasn't going to happen overnight. He hadn't seen much of Thea, their younger sister since he's moved back, but I'm sure her reaction would be the same.

"That's pretty harsh and completely understandable. So, I'll just have to prove to you that despite the way I lived when I was in the service, I want a different life. I want what both you and Thea have found."

Brenley's face softened, but she didn't say anything for so long I began to worry. "Why am I getting the vibe you've already found someone? And that someone has no idea how tenacious you are?"

I relaxed my clenched hands and shook my head at her backhanded blessing. "Well, at least that's a step up from annoying." I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and said, "I better not keep her waiting. Grab some coffee and I'll see you, Hayden, and the kids at dinner tonight, okay?"

The bell over the door jingled and their cashier, followed by an early bird customer, entered. Perfect timing. Bren would be distracted, and I'd have time to impress, hopefully, Shayla with my ideas and maybe convince her to have dinner with me this weekend.

Before I made it out of earshot, I heard her mumble something about me still be annoying. Hopefully, she hadn't shared any of my youthful transgressions with Shayla.