Page 37 of Echoes of You

“Just make sure you clean the blood out of the furniture when they’re done,” Nathan said with a chuckle as he made his way toward me. His gait was still slightly off. He’d had a heart attack several months ago and then broke his leg when he fell, but it was clear he was on his way to a full recovery.

He bent and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “So good to have you back where you belong.”

“Thank you. You’re looking good. How are you feeling?”

Nathan scoffed. “No heart attack can keep me down. I’m just working my way back to SAR.”

“If he follows the physical therapist’s instructions,” Kerry said with an arch of her brow.

“Yeah, yeah,” Nathan mumbled.

I locked gazes with the final person in the room. Roan’s green eyes were darker than Nash’s, though maybe the shadows in them only made them appear that way. That gaze swept over me, and it was as if he knew all my secrets with one look. And maybe he did.

Roan had always been more perceptive than most, his quiet nature giving him time to examine those around him. But it was more. The aftermath of the shooting ten years ago, the way the town had turned against him in a blink of an eye when he’d been a suspect. It had built in him a need to continually assess those around him.

But there was an authenticity to Roan that I’d always liked and admired. I smiled at him. “Good to see you, Roan.”

He didn’t return my smile, but he did give me a dip of his head. “Welcome home.”

Holt chuckled. “Hell, that’s a kiss and cuddle from him.”

Roan scowled at his brother but didn’t say a word.

A screech sounded, and Grae flew into the room, Wren trailing behind her. “You’re here, you’re here, you’re here!”

Nash caught his little sister around the waist before she could collide with me. “Whoa, there. Let’s not knock Mads down. That’s not exactly the welcome she needs.”

Grae licked her finger and stuck it in her brother’s ear. “Let me down.”

“Sick!” Nash barked, dropping her to the floor.

Grae laughed. “Gets him every time.” She looped her arm through mine and started pulling me out of the living room. “Come on, Wren and I are having girl talk, and we need to catch up oneverything.”

Warmth spread through me at the normality of it all. At the welcome. The Hartleys had always made me feel that acceptance, and always would, even if I’d never truly be a part of their ranks. But that wouldn’t stop my heart from wanting it. I’d just have to learn to live with the pain.

12

NASH

Lawson clampeda hand on my shoulder as he handed me a beer. “Let’s go drink these out on the porch.”

I knew that tone. It meant he wanted to talk. I mentally cursed.

“I’ll come, too,” Holt said, rising from his chair.

Roan didn’t make a sound but stood from his spot on the couch.

More curses flew around my brain. My brothers had always been too perceptive for their own good.

“I was going to help Mom with—”

Mom cut me off with a shake of her head. “Your father will help me. You go have a catch-up with your brothers.”

I tried not to glower at her. She didn’t know she was throwing me under the bus. “Sure,” I gritted out.

I followed Lawson out the door like a prisoner heading to the gallows. The moment the four of us were outside and the door shut behind us, Lawson turned on me. “What the hell is going on with Maddie?”

I feigned ignorance. “What do you mean?”

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