Page 36 of Cherry Picked
“Yeah, but still. The kid needs to understand—”
“Theman, Webb.” I paused, then added, “And for the record, Hawk’s as much my friend as you are, so think carefully about how you’re gonna end that sentence. I’m not letting you insult him in front of me.”
Webb blinked at me, and I returned his look levelly. I had no desire to get into an argument with him—having one Sunday pissed at me was plenty, thanks—but I wasn’t sure I could stand to hear Webb discussing Hawk like the man was still a moody teenager without losing my cool. If Hawk dealt with this all the time… if he thoughtIwas dismissing him the way Webb did… well, maybe I understood where some of his anger was coming from.
“I’m not insulting Hawk! Jesus. He’s mybrother. The very best of us.” Webb sounded horrified. “I love him.”
“I know you do,” I agreed. “Hawk knows it, too. And… maybe that’s why he hasn’t said anything to you. You and he are more alike than either of you know. He wants to protect the people he loves, too. But he does it by keeping his mouth shut when he’s hurt or upset because he doesn’t want to worry anyone.”
Webb nodded thoughtfully. “Okay, maybe so. I still think he needs to try to understand the benefits of the development, though—”
“I agree with you, and I told him so. It’s not cut and dried. Hawk gets that there’s more to the issue, but I’m not sure he knows how to reconcile the financial concerns with the environmental. To be frank… I’m not sure any of us do. We’re all so excited about the potential income and so worried about scaring Evola off, maybe we haven’t thought enough about the environmental aspects. Maybe if we all listened as much as we talked,” I said pointedly, “we could come up with a good solution. Together.”
He sighed. “I see what you’re saying. I guess we’ve all been busy with other things this year and haven’t paid attention. I definitely haven’t noticed the toll it’s taken on Hawk.”
I reached out to squeeze his shoulder. “Understandable. You were busy getting accidentally hitched. It’s like a damned love fairy has infiltrated this town with how quickly you Sundays are falling these days.”
“True story.” Webb’s face brightened. “Be careful, or the fairy will get you next.”
“Oh, no. I’m not a Sunday,” I murmured, though my heart kicked up an uncomfortable notch. “I think I’m safe.”
“You’re an honorary one.” He smiled ruefully. “Seems like you’ve been a better brother to Hawk than I have these last few months.”
I thought of Hawk’s gorgeous face and the lean strength of his legs peeking out from beneath my sweatshirt. The luscious curve of his ass and the potent thrill of his laughter. His eyes gone gold withwantand the needy catch in his voice on our last hike when he’d begged for my kiss with a whispered“Please.”
I could say with certainty that brotherhood was not what I felt for him.
“I’m glad he has you.” Webb ruffled my hair playfully and stood. “And don’t worry too much about the fairy. Maybe it’ll get Hawk instead. The way he’s putting his personal business out there, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t have several cherry-picking offers by sundown.” He snorted and headed back toward the diner.
I stared at him in nauseated shock. “A-and you’d be okay with that?” I called. “With him just… just… finding some random guy, and…”
Webb turned before he reached the swinging door, grinning from ear to ear. “Jack, I was kidding! Come on. This is Hawkwe’re talking about. The king of romance novels. He’s got standards. He’s not the random hookup type.”
“But—”
“And you callmeoverprotective.” Webb laughed lightly. “I might have missed some changes in the ki—theman,” he corrected, “but of all my siblings, Hawk’s the one I’ve never worried about when it comes to dating. No matter how upset or frustrated he is, unless Mr. Darcy himself comes to Little Pippin Hollow, Hawk’s not going to do anything rash.”
Webb turned around and pushed his way through the swinging door while I couldn’t help but scream after him in my head,He already fucking has.
ChapterEight
HAWK
“I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me.” ~ Elizabeth Bennet
I read somewhere once that a peacefulness follows any decision, even the wrong one. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure that storming out of the diner today had been the correct way to handle things—if I let myself remember the stunned, sad look on Jack’s face, my stomach hurt—but as I pulled my truck to a stop in front of the farmhouse, I decided it felt really good to be doingsomething instead of trying to ignore the creepy-crawly feeling under my skin that something needed to be done. It was time for action. Drastic action.
“Hawk?” Drew turned in surprise as I banged through the back door into the kitchen. He was dressed in full-on tie-dye today, from his Jerry Garcia T-shirt down to his organic cotton harem pants. “I thought you were working through lunch and then heading right to your Scout thing. I was about to leave to meet Marco and the others at the diner, but I lost my keys—”
“Check the junk drawer,” I called over my shoulder, heading upstairs to shove a few pieces of clothing in my hiking backpack. “And I no longer work at Panini Jack’s. I’m heading up to Glassy Ridge to protest the development.”
“Protest?” Drew panted up the stairs behind me and paused in my bedroom doorway to catch his breath. “You quit your job? Youloveyour job—”
“From now on, my full-time job is saving Fogg Peak from Evola, and I’m gonna stay out there until people take notice. I’m thinking I’ll start a social media campaign. Lots of pictures showing the beautiful vistas and endangered species. Maybe tagging some environmental groups and celebrities.” I broke off for a moment, making a mental list of which activist groups I could invite to join me in the protest, and then I shook myself. First things first. “Hey, where’d Porter put my sleeping bag? He borrowed it when he was home a few weeks ago and never gave it back.”
“I thought you werealreadyprotesting the development. You sent all those letters last spring—”
I zipped my backpack and slung it on my shoulder, then tucked a pillow and blanket from my bed under my arm. “Uncle Drew,” I said seriously, “I shouldn’t have to explain to you of all people that I cannot continue to work for The Man while the brutal machinery of capitalism is set to grind the town I love into dust. You might not be fired up to protect the wild spaces on our planet from corporate greed anymore—”
