Page 48 of Silent Heart

Harley pursed her lips. “I don’t appreciate you interrupting my private lesson. He’s paying good money for the time.”

“Our grandma wants to invite you to Sunday Dinner, Mr.…?” The salty one arched a brow.

“Cut the crap. You know his name. Everyone around here does,” Harley snapped.

“But he doesn’t know us,” tank top grinned. “Since our cousin isssooorude, I’m Dallas. These are my brothers Drake and Duke.”

They might be her family, but I didn’t like the change they brought over Harley. This tense, defensive side of my water sprite brought out the strong instinct to start shooting. I doubted she would thank me for decorating the foreheads of her cousins with red dots. But if they made her feel this way, there was a damn good reason.

“Pleasure to meet you.” I pulled myself fully onto the dock, water sloughing from my board shorts. “Kole Williams.”

In a way that could have been simple appreciation of the physical physique—although just as likely a homoerotic awakening—the three pairs of eyes glued to my body. Not only was I a good head taller than these cousins, I was also jacked. They had working muscles, but their middles were pudgy and soft from the beer they consumed while kicking back.

“I’ll be headed home to help with dinner after I’m done here,” Harley said sharply, her words barely breaking the spell.

Only Duke, the one greying, turned to her. There was something simmering in his gaze that I didn’t like. I made a step to put myself between him and his cousin. That silent glare bordered on threatening. I fucking relished the idea of smacking it off his square face.

“Haven’t seen that big cruiser out on the water. You taken her out yet?” Drake jerked his chin to the speedboat behind Harley.

“I haven’t,” I responded, not taking my eyes off the older cousin.

Come on, pussy cat, want to dance?My fingers itched at my sides to take Duke on.

“You coming to dinner?” Dallas quipped. The side of his tank flapped in the wind where it’d been cut open and lily-white skin shone even though the cloud cover was thick. “Because you could drive her over.”

Not putting my back to the boys, I angled my body to Harley. “Your grandmother invited me for dinner.”

It wasn’t a question, but I was asking her permission all the same.

Something churned in Harley’s sharp gaze. Was it panic? And why was it there in those brown depths?

Because she doesn’t want someone rough like you to meet her family.

I clenched my jaw tight.

“Come on, Harley, be a good sport,” Duke drawled. “We just want to get to know the feller you’re spending so much time with.”

“Would you like to have dinner—and by that he means the noon meal—with us?” Harley asked, voice gone suddenly soft.

“I would.” I resisted taking a step toward her.

Her shoulders seemed to visibly relax.Odd.Wouldn’t my agreement make her more uptight?

The men seemed in no hurry to move. Harley turned her gaze to them. “You came, you saw, you delivered your message—now, scoot! There are chores to be done.”

They grumbled loudly.

“Go on, now. Git,” Harley snapped. “I have a lesson to finish.”

“We’ve got the morning off,” Dallas protested.

“Yeah, Gran’s at church,” Drake laughed. “That means fishing!”

“Fine!” Harley waved her hands. “Go fish.”

The younger two brothers cajoled the salted redhead to back up. Reluctantly, and with several looks that promised trouble, Duke pulled away from the dock. The speedboat tore away, whipping fast and clipping the no-wake buoy. A surge of water rocked the dock.

“You don’t have to come,” Harley said quickly, when the boisterous group was out of hearing.

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