Page 4 of Rules of Engagement
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Chapter 2
Carter Hayes left his house via his rear deck and headed next door. Mac's home stood between Carter's and his brother Lincoln's and, ever since Mac had moved in, had acted as the in-between for the three bachelors. Evening free time was usually spent hanging out with whomever was free.
Lincoln had a pool in his backyard that they all used, and Mac had made his recently purchased home his by hiring a professional landscaper to come and create a visual haven that included an outdoor patio with a big-screen and built-in kitchen, as well as a beautiful garden that extended down to the canal. Both men left Carter thinking he needed to up his game since his yard only held an assortment of Piper's toys.
"Hey. How was Piper's first week?" Mac asked.
Carter jogged up the stone steps to Mac's raised patio. "Good. She's getting back to her usual self."
"Did she get over her upset?"
He chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. I keep reminding her that they'll be home to visit soon and will hang out with her on video chat sometimes until then. She isn't happy but she's adjusting."
Lincoln's twins had left for college a week ago and were settling in, and Piper hated that her cousins hadn't been around for her first day of pre-K. Now that she was going to school like the "big kids," she wanted them to be around to acknowledge the fact.
"Where's she now?"
"Breanne recommended another friend of hers to babysit," he said, referring to his niece. "They're inside watching a movie."
"Anotherbabysitter?"
Carter avoided eye contact. "Yeah. The, uh, last one didn't work out."
"What happened?"
"Don't ask."
Mac started chuckling and Carter glared at his friend. "It's not funny."
"Ah, but it is. Little Miss Hottie came on to you, didn't she? I saw her getting out of her convertible in her cheerleading uniform," he said with a shake of his head. "Jailbait in sneakers."
Carter swiped a hand over his face and rubbed hard. "That girl hadjustturned sixteen. If Piperever—" He broke off, unsure of what he'd do other than lock his daughter up in her bedroom and not let her out until she was forty.
Some men would've accepted the babysitter's offer of letting him be her "fabulous first" without a care for the consequences. But having a daughter of his ownandnot wanting to go to prison for statutory rape, Carter had fired the girl on the spot. Thankfully he had a nanny cam in the main room of the house as well as in Piper's, so when the girl had gotten mouthy over her dismissal, he'd pointed out that he had proof nothing happened.
"It's that bad-boy look," Mac stated with a grin. "The muscles, Harley, and tats? You're the triple crown."
"Bite me. And give me one of those," he said, wagging his fingers for a bottle of water. He'd rather have a beer but these days it paid to have a clear head. Especially when teenage girls were in his house. Thankfully this one seemed a little more grounded, but only time would tell. And he still had to find yet another one to pick up the slack since girls that age tended to be busy and notoriously unreliable.
The thought brought on others he'd been pondering a lot lately. His construction business was doing well. He had a good crew working for him. Maybe instead of finding a babysitter, he should try promoting someone to foreman and take a step back from things? Work after-school hours from home the way Mac had started doing after his first wife's death? "Where's Linc?"
"His text said he had some things to do but he'd be over soon."
"Man, he's been working crazy hours trying to get a handle on things before he and Amelia get married," Carter said.
The thought of his brother's upcoming nuptials made Carter wonder if their nightly "guy" ritual would continue after Lincoln tied the knot or if their hang-out sessions would dwindle down to the two remaining bachelors. Time would tell. Until then… "Haven't seen Marsali around. How's she doing?"
Carter asked the question to get a rise out of Mac, and sure enough, the man drew back and glared at Carter with all the animosity of a friend with a hot sister.
"Watch yourself," Mac said, pointing a finger at Carter.
"Just asking."
"Don't."
"Gentlemen," Lincoln said. "What are we arguing about tonight?"
