Chapter 3

chapter

three

Landry

Ever since Natalie moved in, Linc has moved the poker game to the screened-in porch on the back of the house. Keeps us out of her hair is how he puts it.

"Wanna tell me why you had to carry my sister-in-law in here?" Linc asks.

I grab a beer from the cooler, pop the top, then take a long pull. I swallow hard and put on my game face. Now is not the time for me to be losing my edge.

I sit in one of the folding chairs and shrug. "She tripped in your yard and twisted her ankle. Isn't that what she said when we came inside?"

My friend's eyes narrow on me and I'm thankful my older brother, Greyson, isn't here yet. That motherfucker can read me like an open book.

"How'd you know who she was?" he asks.

"I didn't. We met when I picked her up after she fell. What's with the Spanish Inquisition?"

"Natalie is protective of Brook and so by extension, I am too. She's been through a lot lately."

It's on the tip of my tongue to ask precisely what those things are, but the other two guys in our group arrive. Cain and my big brother, Greyson.

He shoots me a glare. "Where the fuck you been this week?"

My heart thumps wildly at his question. Damn him and his sixth sense. "What are you even talking about?" I ask. "I saw you this morning, you moron."

"I know." He grabs himself a beer and sits down across from me. "I'm not talking about work; I'm talking about the rest of the time."

The answer to that is driving around like a lunatic looking for my mystery girl, only to find her at my best friend's house. That is not, however, what I say.

"I don't know, running errands. What's your problem?"

He points his bottle at me. "You're hiding something. I know that face."

"Of course you know it, it's my fucking face. You're in a weird mood." I swallow another gulp of my beer and glare back at my brother. Perceptive motherfucker. "Are we gonna play cards or what?"

Linc looks down at his phone. "Actually, we're being summoned. I think Natalie wants to introduce y'all to her sister." He gives me a thorough look, then turns and walks into the house.