LITMIR.BIZ

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lack of a tie.

      His brothers shared a grin that awoke suspicions in Luke’s mind. “Spill it.”

      “Just be careful, that’s all,” Aiden said.

      Luke looked from one to the other, settling on the familiar face of his twin. “What’s he mean? What could little ol’ Avery do to me?”

      “Oh, it’s not Avery you need to watch out for,” Jacob said. “It’s the town.”

      Huh?

      Jacob went on. “Avery is notorious in Black Hills. This entire town has tried to marry her off ever since her mother died. They’re relentless.”

      “Why?”

      Aiden smirked. “You’ve been away from a small town for too long if you have to ask. She’s young, pretty and single. Every matron in the county sees her as a princess in need of someone to take care of her.”

      They both eyed Luke, who quickly held up his hands in surrender. “The last thing I need is a princess.” He moved over to one of the long windows, hiding his reaction from the others, because deep inside he couldn’t deny his attraction. He could ignore it as long as he wanted, but it was there all the same.

      “Just be careful,” Jacob said. “They’ll marry you off before a first date.”

      “Not. Me.”

      His twin just laughed, making him look more like Luke despite his close-cropped hair. “Yeah, right. The princess and the local celebrity—they’d eat that up.”

      Definitely time to change the subject. “Didn’t we meet here to talk about something more important than local gossip? Like this spying job you have for me?”

      Aiden choked, so Jacob answered, “Well, I wouldn’t call it that.”

      “Why not? Don’t think I can pull off the James Bond bit?” He mimed straightening a suit jacket and tie, just for kicks.

      “I don’t think he went in for corporate sabotage. A little too tame for him.”

      Luke shrugged. “Hey, I’ve got to start somewhere.”

      Jacob threw up his hands and dropped into one of the chairs, obviously knowing when he’d been verbally outmaneuvered. But Aiden didn’t give up. “I’m hoping, if you come in with the stated purpose of inspecting the mill to bring you up to snuff as a full partner, then maybe you’ll see something Jacob and I have missed.”

      The brothers, along with their new head of security, Zachary Gatlin, had been secretly investigating a saboteur who seemed intent on ruining Blackstone Mills. The brothers had eliminated several suspects, but still had no clue who the actual culprit was. Or if they were even still out there. Whoever it was intent on destroying Black Mills would end up destroying the whole town in the process, since they were the biggest supplier of both jobs and housing in the area—heck, the whole county. Without the mill, Black Hills would cease to exist.

      It had been a grueling year for his brothers, dealing with all of that on top of Luke’s car accident. “Anything new?” Luke asked.

      “Nothing I can prove, yet,” Jacob said, his amber eyes darkening.

      “That sounds promising.”

      His twin nodded. “Zach has one of his men following the trail, but it looks like we also have some embezzling going on.”

      “That’s bold,” Luke said. “The orders, company equipment, our cotton supply and the Manor itself...now money. Is there anything this guy isn’t afraid to put his hands on?”

      “Not that we can tell,” Aiden said with a slow shake of his head. He pressed his palms against the desktop. “As soon as we cut off one avenue, he finds another. All too easily.”

      Luke paced across the room despite some lingering muscle pain from his therapy session. His rising anxiety made the walls close in, leaving him eager to move, to escape. An all-too-familiar feeling. “That’s disheartening.”

      “Well,” Aiden said, “I hope I can cheer you up with my news.”

      “Yeah?” the twins said in chorus.

      “The legalities of Grandfather’s will are all finished. The mill is now mine,” Aiden said.

      “Wow. That was quicker than you thought,” Luke said. “Congratulations.”

      “It was quicker than I thought,” Aiden conceded. “But I’m glad, because now I can move on to plan B.”

      A short glance at Jake didn’t provide any clues as to what that might be. He looked as expectant as Luke felt. Aiden pulled a thick envelope out of his inner jacket pocket.

      “I’ve had my personal lawyer pull up this paperwork,” he said. “I’m changing the ownership of the mill to all three of us, instead of just me.”

      Luke simply stared, not fully comprehending.

      Jacob spoke for both of them. “But Aiden, this is your inheritance.”

      “It shouldn’t be. It should be ours. Not just mine. Not a weapon to turn us against each other, as Grandfather intended.” He took a solid breath. “A family investment. We’re all putting our lives into the mill, the town. We’re sharing the responsibility. We should share the benefits.”

      “Whoa. Wait a minute.”

      Jacob’s smile faded as he looked over at Luke, but Luke couldn’t give in just to make his twin happy.

      “I’m not staying here,” he reminded them. “The only thing I plan on investing my life in is my racing career—the minute I’m cleared to get behind the wheel. I’m here only because I have to be.”

      Luke could almost feel Jacob’s emotions fall along with his expression. Aiden remained more stoic as he said, “You never know what might happen in the future, Luke.”

      “Is this why you insisted I come home?” Luke asked, panic rising in his chest. “Did you think you could force me home, force me to find something of value here, and then I’d never want to leave? Like you two have?”

      He didn’t even realize his voice had risen until he stopped talking. The three of them stared at each other in silence. Embarrassment swept over Luke like a heated blanket. Where had that come from? “Look, I’m sorry. I know y’all would never do that to me.”

      “No, I wouldn’t,” Aiden agreed quietly. “I would never trick you into coming here. After all, I know very well how that feels.”

      Their grandfather had faked his own death, bringing Aiden home to care for their sick mother, but it was only a trick to force Aiden and Christina into marrying. Even though the man really was dead now, Aiden faced what James Blackstone had done to him every day. Luckily, he’d been given a happy ending.

      Luke didn’t want one. Not here.

      Aiden wasn’t finished. “I’d never force you to sign this paperwork,” he said, giving the envelope a little shake. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t wish you would. Regardless of what your immediate future holds, you’re still a part of this family. I hope one day you can willingly put your name on the mill, and reap the benefits along with the rest of your family.”

      All the work would be done by Aiden and Jacob. They should have the rewards—they would have the rewards. And Luke would have his freedom. He loved his brothers, loved the new family they’d built. But how could he stay here and still feed his love for the road?

      Unbidden, an image of Avery’s face as she flushed with embarrassment came to him. He shook the enticing image away. He had never let anything in Black Hills hold him back. He certainly wasn’t going to start now.

      He and Avery would have a little fun, something to liven up his time here, but he could still walk away on his own terms. When he was good and ready.

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