Page 30 of Lemon Crush

Gene’s friends always reminded me of the hetero life partners Kirk and Spock—you rarely saw one without the other. Lucy had Kirk’s cocksure charm, a wicked sense of humor and a very patient, though rarely seen, wife. Rick had been married to the military until recently and, despite his dark, chiseled good looks, had a tendency to scare most people away with his scowls and long silences. So, Spock…if Spock was an emotionally repressed war machine who’d been through the grinder.

I might be in the same continually pissed-off mood if I’d had his career history. Rick had been a Marine, an Army paratrooper, and part of an MSST special unit in the U.S. Coast Guard until he retired five years ago. The only people he ever truly relaxed around were Gene and Lucy. They all considered themselves brothers, and they’d only gotten closer since Gene’s initial cancer diagnosis.

“I don’t think he’s paying attention to us, Rick.”

“Sure I am.” Wade’s eyes were still firmly closed. “I told you I hadn’t found a workable car yet. You decided to rehash the saga of Dave the Dick, and now I’m wishing I wasn’t in the middle of a repeat episode ofHow the Wheels Turn.”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

“I’ll forgive you for that because I needed this pool today.” Lucy’s voice, as usual, sounded like he was smiling, even though I couldn’t see his face. “Does the stick up your ass have anything to do with your luck on the home search front? I told you to talk to my builder buddy. You could buy one of those lots a little farther out and make your own place from scratch if you’re going to be this picky about it. He built Rick’s weekend cabin on Lake Conroe and he loves it.”

“Privatecabin I don’t tell people about,” Rick grumbled.

“I’m not going to ask to crash at your bunker,” Wade assured him. “That’s over an hour away, and building sounds like a pain in the ass. I knew Dave wasn’t a good fit,” he tacked on, either because he was more invested in the soap opera than he wanted them to believe, or he didn’t want to talk about his house plans.

“Oh look, Rick, we’re at the ‘I told you so’ phase of the conversation.”

“I’ve been there all along.” Rick’s tone was dangerously quiet. “I told you last year it was a bad idea to add him to our team. You should have let me deal with him.”

He wasn’t mad at me and I still wanted to run for cover. Hopefully Dave had the self-preservation instincts to stay away from the team for a while.

“I know you did, but our boy got seduced by a cool travel trailer and the promise of a fancy RV for our out-of-state races,” Lucy said with a shrug. “Now we’re in emergency mode.”

That’s your cue, August. Enter stage right.

“Hey guys,” I called, causing all three heads to turn in my direction. “Don’t mind us. Merlin had to come out so I made some cold drinks for you. Anybody up for Arnold Palmers? For some reason, I felt like something lemony.”

Very smooth, Merlin’s expression seemed to say.

Lucy and Rick immediately splashed to attention and jostledeach other on their way out of the pool like they were sixteen instead of forty-seven.

Wade took his time, his enigmatic expression on full display once again. Was he upset that I’d come out here after telling him I wouldn’t?

“Well met, fair lady of the house.” Lucy offered me a sweeping bow that also managed to splatter me with drops of chlorinated water before Rick whacked him in the chest with a dry towel.

“Hi, Lucy. Rick,” I added with a nod his way.

“Is he practicing his Ren Fest BS already?” Wade sounded mildly irritated, but I couldn’t see him around the two men in front of me.

“He’s never not practicing.” Rick scrubbed the towel across his buzz cut and then down over his bronze skin with brisk, efficient movements. I noticed a few small scars on his chest and shoulders before his shirt was tossed on top of his head from behind.

“You forgot this,” Wade said.

I almost frowned when I realized he’d wrapped a long beach towel around his waist, which meant I’d missed seeing his legs when he got out of the water.

And he was back in his shirt. Spoilsport.

Turn down the pervy landlady volume please. We have plans to enact.

“Thanks, Wade,” Rick said dryly, pulling on the tee before stepping over to pour drinks.

Lucy, heedless of his shirtless state, took me by my shoulders and planted a loud, smacking kiss on both my cheeks. “It’s good to seeyou, little sister. And with delicious, icy beverages no less. I was starting to wonder if Wade here was even going to offer us a teaspoon of water or a thimble of beer. No snacks either. It’s almost like he doesn’t want us here.”

“I’m all out of thimbles,” Wade said, his expression deadpan. “I thought you were writing.”

I gripped my elbow with my opposite hand while Merlin stayed close to my leg. The key to calming my sudden nerves and staying focused might be to avoid looking at Wade entirely, so I directed my answer to Lucy instead. “I got a phone call and decided to close up shop for the day. Sounds like I showed up right on time.”

“You’re an angel. Sit down and join us,” he said magnanimously as he slid his arms into a purple bowling shirt, leaving it unbuttoned and clinging damply to his wide frame. “It’s been an age since we saw you, August Retta. How’ve you been? Feeling better? Have you heard from your sister recently?”

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