Page 51 of You Shouldn't Have Come Here

Before he could finish his sentence, Calvin appeared in the kitchen dressed in jeans and aT-shirt. “What are you two talking about?”

Joe straightened up and cleared his throat.

I smiled at Calvin. “Just deciding who’s going to lead the happy birthday song.”

He eyed both of us for a moment but then cracked a smile. “Please, please no singing.”

“I guess you’ll have to use your birthday wish to stop that from happening,” I teased.

“That’s fine. I don’t need it for anything else. I already got everything I want.” Calvin winked at me, then turned to Joe. “Did you get the grills going?”

“Not yet,” he said.

Calvin gave him a pat on the back. “Let’s get to it,” he said, steering him outside. Calvin was like a sheepdog with his brother, always herding him away from me.

Joe gave me a long look but didn’t say another word and left the kitchen through the sliding door.

“Need any help in here?” Calvin planted a kiss on my cheek.

I scooped three brussels sprouts onto a spoon and held it out. “Just for you to try this and tell me how great it is,” I said with a coy smile, thinking,The punishment fit thecrime.

He looked at the brussels sprouts and then at me. “I can do that,” Calvin said with a gulp. As soon as he opened his mouth, I shoved the spoon right in there. He chewed quickly and swallowed hard. “So good,” he lied.

He planted a quick kiss on my cheek. “Come join us outside when you’re done,” he called out before hurrying outside and closing the door behind him.

As I finished up in the kitchen, my thoughts went back to Joe. Why had he been so apprehensive about answering my question?I’d be careful if...If what? The words cut short swirled around my brain.

The sound of laughter pulled me from my thoughts and the kitchen. I grabbed a beer and made my way to the back deck.

Joe and Calvin were side by side, preparing the grill. Another guy, who I presume was Wyatt, stood with his legs slightly apart and his back toward me. A stream of liquid hit the patch of grass in front of him. He was as tall as Calvin but much broader in the shoulders. Calvin glanced over at him.

“Jesus, Wyatt. I have a bathroom. Stop pissing in the grass.”

Wyatt shrugged and wrestled with his zipper. After he straightened himself, he leaned down and grabbed the beer sitting in the grass beside him.

“Sorry, Calv. This beer is going right through me.” His voice was as thick as molasses. He took a long swig and then turned, facing me.

“Oh, shit. Sorry, I didn’t realize you were standing there.” The tops of his cheeks flushed.

His beard was thick and his hair was scruffy, going in all directions. Wyatt was dressed in a faded flannel shirt, ripped jeans, and dirty cowboy boots. Overall, he was unkempt in both his appearance and his manners.

“Hey there. I’m Deputy Wyatt Miller,” he said, taking a few steps toward me. He extended his hand. I hesitated, not wanting to shake it since he had just urinated, but not to be rude, I put my hand in his. I had touched grosser things in my life.

“I’m Grace,” I cringed. His skin was tough and tan like leather hide that had been left out to dry. “Deputy?”

“Yep, Dubois’s finest,” he said with a chuckle.

“Around here, they’ll give anyone a badge and a gun,” Joe teased.

“Except for you, Short Stack.” Wyatt let out a husky laugh.

Joe flexed his thick bicep. “I come fully equipped,” he said, turning his wrist in and out. The veins on his arms bounced.

I noticed Joe and Wyatt acted more like brothers than Calvin and Joe did.

“Put those away before you hurt yourself,” Wyatt said. He redirected his attention back to me. “Calvin here tells me you’re his Airbnb guest?”

“That’s right.” I glanced over at Calvin, who was busy replacing the propane tank on the gas grill.

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