LITMIR.BIZ

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little Emily here to get to know you. You’re her uncle.’

      Monroe’s gaze flicked to the little girl who was whispering furiously to Miss Firecracker and gazing at him in that penetrating way only kids could pull off.

      He wasn’t her uncle. He wasn’t anyone’s family.

      ‘I’m Ali, by the way, Linc’s wife,’ the pregnant woman continued. ‘That’s our daughter Emmy and my sister Jessie.’

      Monroe gave a stiff nod, the little girl waved back at him and said, ‘Hi,’ but the redhead just continued to stare at him. She didn’t look anywhere near as welcoming as her sister.

      ‘We’ve got five bedrooms in this place, Monroe,’ his sister-in-law said as her fingers settled on his arm. ‘Surely you can stay for a while and get to know us all.’ The determination on her face told him there was no way she was going to let him bolt. The sinking sensation in his stomach dipped lower.

      ‘I’m not staying in your home.’ On that, he was firm.

      ‘There’s an apartment above the garage that will give you privacy.’

      Monroe wondered if his sister-in-law had been a steamroller in a former life.

      ‘Linc, why don’t you take your brother into the house? Get him a beer, and then you can show him where he’ll be staying.’

      ‘Sure. Grab your stuff, Roe.’

      The nickname reverberated in Monroe’s mind, no one had called him that in close to twenty years.

      ‘I think we both deserve a beer,’ Linc said as he gave him a rueful smile. The crooked twist of his lips stabbed at Monroe’s memory again.

      ‘Hold on.’ He hadn’t agreed to anything, had he? But as he tried to form a protest, his sister-in-law picked up his T-shirt and shoved it on top of the boots in his arms.

      ‘Hell,’ Monroe grumbled as the brother he’d never intended to see again led him into his home.

      Jessie gaped at her would-be trespasser as he padded past her, carrying his boots and T-shirt with a bewildered look on his face. If she could just get her jaw off the floor, she might be able to speak.

      Linc had a brother? She’d had no idea.

      ‘Can you believe that?’ Ali’s face beamed. ‘I wrote that letter to his old probation officer over a year ago on an off chance. I can’t believe he’s finally here.’

      ‘His probation officer!’ Jessie choked out the words. ‘So he really is a criminal!’

      ‘Don’t sound so shocked. He was little more than a child when he went to jail. From what Jerry Myers told me, he’s been clean as a whistle for the last fourteen years.’

      Jessie didn’t believe it. Did law-abiding citizens sneak into other people’s houses and use their pools? Did they manhandle women they didn’t even know? She didn’t think so.

      ‘By the way—’ Ali sent her a saucy smile ‘—you guys looked like you were having fun when we arrived.’

      Jessie stiffened. ‘I thought he was a trespasser or worse. I wasn’t having fun. I was trying to get away from him.’

      ‘I see.’Ali looked doubtful. ‘So that would explain why he was whispering sweet nothings in your ear, then, would it?’

      Jessie’s cheeks flamed. ‘Actually, he was being rude and obnoxious.’ She glared at her sister. ‘He was having a ball trying to scare me to death.’

      ‘It serves you right for haring off to confront him in the first place.’

      ‘What?’

      Ali waved away Jessie’s indignant shout. ‘Come on. We better get in there and make sure Linc doesn’t let him get away.’

      ‘I’m not going in there,’ Jessie snapped back. ‘I never want to see That Man again.’

      ‘Jess, you can’t avoid Monroe. If Linc and I have our way, he’ll be here for a while.’

      What was wrong with her sister? Couldn’t she see the guy was trouble with a capital T? ‘I think you and Linc are insane for inviting him, Ali. You don’t even know him.’

      The twinkle in Ali’s eyes dimmed. ‘I’m sorry I teased you. I shouldn’t have. What happened by the pool was probably a bit of a shock.’

      ‘I’ll say.’ At last, Ali was seeing sense.

      ‘But you’re going to have to apologise to Monroe about it.’

      ‘You can’t be serious.’ Was her sister insane? ‘I’m not apologising to him. He was trespassing.’

      ‘No, he wasn’t,’ Ali replied softly. ‘We invited him, remember?’

      ‘But that’s not the point.’

      ‘Look, Jess. I can’t explain this thing with Linc and Monroe to you properly. It’s complicated. It has to do with their childhood.’

      ‘Really?’ A kernel of curiosity pierced Jessie’s anger.

      Jessie knew there was something wrong with Linc’s family—the only person he’d ever mentioned was his British grandmother who’d died years ago. From the little Jessie knew, he’d spent his summers with her as a child, but he never spoke about the American side of his family and neither did Ali. But still, having met That Man, she wasn’t convinced Linc needed to get to know him again. The guy had ‘deadbeat’ written all over him.

      ‘I can’t tell you about it, Jess. Linc wouldn’t want me to.’ Ali paused, seemed to struggle to find the right words. ‘Since we had Emmy, it’s been important to Linc to find his brother. He may not be able to have a relationship with Monroe. But the fact that he’s here is important. Linc needs to make sure he’s okay.’

      Jessie looked at her sister and thought she understood.

      Ali and Linc were such fantastic parents, they just naturally wanted to watch over everyone. It was the thing she admired most about them. Their devotion to Emmy and to each other had made her yearn for a home and a family of her own.

      Jessie didn’t think for a minute that the man who had been taking a dip in their pool needed anyone to watch over him. She could see, though, she wasn’t going to be able to convince her sister of that. She heaved a sigh of frustration. ‘If it’s that important, I won’t get involved.’

      ‘Jess, you are involved. You’re here and so is he. Couldn’t you make peace with him? I don’t want him to feel uncomfortable. It’s taken us years to find him and get him here. I want Linc and him to have a chance.’

      Put like that, what choice did Jessie have? Ali and Linc had done so much for her. They’d comforted her when she’d broken up with Toby. She was sure they’d only invited her to stay with them this summer because they’d been worried about her. She could never refuse them anything.

      ‘Oh, all right.’ But she’d be keeping her eye on Linc’s bad-boy brother. No one took advantage of her family.

      ‘Great.’Ali’s eyes warmed. ‘Once Linc has helped Monroe settle into the garage apartment, why don’t you go over there with some clean sheets and towels? Show him there are no hard feelings, then you could invite him back to the house for dinner.’

      Jessie groaned as her sister waddled off towards the house.

      Flipping fantastic! How exactly had she gone from being Bruce Willis in Die Hard 2 to the welcoming committee from The Stepford Wives?

      CHAPTER TWO

      ‘NICE place you got here,’ Monroe said to Linc as they walked through the lush landscaped gardens towards the garage. Talk about an understatement, Monroe thought. A spread like this must have cost well into the millions.

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