by Jill Shalvis
irony.
Jacob shook his head. “Okay, let’s have it. Exactly how long are you going to hold that against me?”
Hud shrugged. “Dunno. When are you going to stop sulking around and start acting like one of us again?”
Jacob drew in a deep breath for patience. “What do you think I’m doing here?”
“Trying to relieve some guilt.”
Jacob turned and stared at him. “And what the fuck am I guilty of?”
Again Hud shrugged.
“Oh no,” Jacob said. “You brought it up. Spill it.”
The dessert tasting was still going on under the canopy. Bailey joined Kenna and Sophie, stuffing a big cookie into her mouth. Laughing, she caught sight of Hud and Jacob. She pointed at Hud and then at her own eyes, miming I’ve got my eyes on you.
And then she blew a kiss at Jacob.
Hud scowled, but Jacob grinned. “Your woman likes me more than you.”
“She wants me to be nicer to you,” Hud said.
Now Jacob out-and-out laughed. “Did you tell her us Kincaids don’t do nice?”
Hud squirmed.
“Aw. She has you totally wrapped around her pinkie,” Jacob said. “She believes that you are nice.”
“Yeah, and no one’s going to tell her otherwise,” Hud said, and pointed at Jacob much in the same way that Bailey had just pointed at him. “Don’t make me kick your ass.”
Jacob laughed again. “I’ll keep your secret but not because I’m afraid you could kick my ass. I just need you to keep the same one for me.”
Hud’s gaze slid to Sophie, and he nodded grimly. “Understood.”
The rest of the Kincaids found a reason to be there as well, and not to watch him and Kenna stumble through the huge event, but to help. Everything fell into place just as people started to show up for the eleven-o’clock start time.
They had fifty disabled veterans registered from all over the country, and every one of them showed up with family or friends, so in no time the entire North Beach was taken over.
Jacob spent two hours driving the boat, whipping the guests around on tubes in the waves created by all the activity. At one o’clock, they all took a break for lunch under the big canopy.
Jacob pulled off his sunglasses and surveyed the organized chaos. The veterans and their entourages were all chowing down, the staff roaming around making sure everyone was taken care of. He caught sight of a flash of red hair and followed it, catching up to Sophie just as she greeted a latecomer.
“Heard there’s room for one more,” the guy said.
“Absolutely,” Sophie said with a welcoming smile, paying no attention whatsoever to the prosthetic arm when he held out his ticket. “You’re Chris Marshall,” she said.
“I am.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” she said warmly.
Stunned, Jacob came up next to Sophie just as Chris slid him a look. “Can’t believe a thing you hear from this guy,” he said, eyes on Jacob.
Jacob was having a hard time breathing. He hadn’t seen or talked to Chris since Brett’s funeral. He’d tried to get ahold of the guy and had taken his silence as a sign that he blamed Jacob for not dying or losing a limb.
Chris held his gaze. “Your brother tracked me down,” he said to Jacob’s unspoken question of what was he doing there. “He said you’d want me here.”
Jacob turned and looked at Hud, who’d come up to Jacob’s other side.
“Couldn’t have done it without Sophie,” Hud said.
Chris looked at Sophie as he spoke. “I was glad for the invite,” he said. “Needed a reason to get out and be human.”
Until that very moment, Jacob hadn’t realized how much the guilt had been weighing him down. He took a step toward Chris and was met halfway in a hard, back-slapping hug that brought a chestful of emotions far too close to the surface.
Chris must have felt the same way. His arms tightened around Jacob, and instead of pulling back, Jacob set his head on that broad shoulder and closed his eyes. “God, it’s good to see you.”
“Yeah.” Chris’s voice sounded as rough as ground glass. “Because I’m just a ray of fucking sunshine.”
Jacob choked out a laugh, and they pulled apart and stared at each other. “You’re okay.”
Chris shrugged. “Working on it, anyway.”
Jacob became aware that Gray, Aidan, Hud, and Kenna had all moved in close at his back. And with Sophie at his side and Chris in front of him, he felt humbled and honored to the core at all they’d done for him.
And he thought that maybe, just maybe, he had a place to belong after all.
Chapter 26
As the day went on, Sophie found her gaze automatically searching and seeking out Jacob.
He hadn’t said a word to her about helping to bring Chris here and she didn’t know what that meant. Had she overstepped boundaries? Was he upset? Mad?
He was for sure busy. He and Kenna ran the event hands-on. At the moment he was checking the athletes’ equipment as he assisted them each onto the back of the Jet Skis. He was laughing at something one of them said, smiling easily as he made sure their life vests were tightened properly.
He didn’t look upset or annoyed. He looked…happy. It was a good look on him.
But since when was she worried about someone else’s mood anyway? She’d once allowed herself to be at the whim of Lucas’s moods, which had changed as fast as the weather did here in Colorado. Half the time her head had been spinning at how fast he could go from one emotion to the other, and she’d promised herself to never allow herself to be at the mercy of someone else like that again.
All this past year she’d been alone, and she’d treasured it. Being responsible for only herself, she hadn’t had to worry about making anyone else happy.
And yet here she was, wanting to know that Jacob was okay.
It’s not the same, she told herself. Jacob didn’t require her to be at his beck and call, and he certainly wouldn’t want her mood depending on his.
And he hadn’t asked her for anything. Not a single thing…
One of the donations for the day had been from Nelson Rentals, who’d provided the canopy, chairs, and ramps that they’d used to ease the way for the people in wheelchairs. That company was owned by Josh Nelson, who was one of Lucas’s good friends.
Josh’s wife, Leanne, showed up midday to check out the event and make sure Nelson Rentals was properly represented. Sophie knew Leanne well. They’d been at many society functions together in the past, but Sophie no longer ran in those circles, and she hadn’t seen Leanne since before the divorce. She wondered if Leanne was in Camp Lucas or Camp Sophie. Or maybe she was in Camp I-Don’t-Give-a-Crap.
Leanne moved through the event, smiling, introducing herself to the guests, effortlessly charming everyone. That pretty smile was still on her face when she came up to Sophie. “Look at you,” she said. “Looking for your next husband?”
Camp Lucas, then. “Good to see you, Leanne.”
Leanne’s smile didn’t slip. “I’m going to tell you right up front, there’s no need to pretend to be friendly. I think what you did to Lucas was despicable. And what you’re doing now, stepping on his toes in this way, is even worse.”
“What I did?” Sophie repeated. “Are you referring to me divorcing him for being a cheating liar, or for taking the high road and not taking out an ad to tell everyone he was a cheating liar?”
“For stealing his boat away from him, the one thing he loved above all else.”
“Ah,” Sophie said. “So you’ve heard his side of the story, then.”
Leanne snorted. “I’ve heard the truth. His grandpa bought him that boat only a few months before he died. It was the only thing he had of the man who practically raised him.”
So that was the story Lucas had spread to gain him sympathy. It should’ve pissed Sophie off, but she’d realized something over the past few months. She no longer cared about Lucas and his games. “I need to
get back to work,” she said, and started to walk off.
“How do you excuse what you’re doing now?” Leanne asked.
Sophie turned back to her. “Which is what exactly?”
“Going after one of the Kincaid brothers. That is what you’re doing, right? Though you’ll have to hurry. There’s only one single brother left, and I hear he’s emotionally unavailable.” She cocked her head. “Or maybe that doesn’t matter to you.”
Kenna appeared at Sophie’s side, eyes on Leanne. “What’s up?”
“You,” Leanne said, transferring her carefully controlled hostility to Kenna.
Sophie looked at Kenna for an explanation on that one.
Kenna smiled politely at Leanne and turned to Sophie. “Mrs. Nelson and I had words at a charity auction last month.”
“Yes,” Leanne said. “And after which Gray promised me I wouldn’t have to deal with you again. Honestly, does a Kincaid’s word mean nothing?”
“You can’t even imagine the immensity of the fuck that I do not give,” Kenna said. She turned to Sophie. “I need your help.”
“Of course,” Sophie said, and she and Kenna walked off.
“So what’s up?” Kenna asked.
“Nothing.”
Kenna gave her a long look. “Didn’t look like nothing.”
Sophie shrugged. “She was wondering if I was trying to catch my next husband, one with a last name of ‘Kincaid.’”
“Why didn’t you tell her to go to hell?”
“I was implying it with my eyes,” Sophie said. “It’s a new thing. I’m trying to be calm and steady. Subtle.”
Kenna laughed. “Us Kincaids don’t really do subtlety. Outspoken and obnoxious is our specialty.”
Sophie looked at Jacob, who was in the water up to his waist, steadying a kayak for one of the guests and his brother. “Not all of you,” she said.
Kenna followed Sophie’s gaze to Jacob, and some of her smile faded. “You’re right. He’s learned to hold things in. But he’s working his way back to us. It’s harder than he thought it would be, I think. He’s seen and done things in the years he’s been gone that we can’t even imagine. It’s changed him. But I’m pretty sure we can bully him back to us.”
Sophie couldn’t help her reaction. It was instinctive, telling her that she wasn’t quite over the verbal bullying she’d faced with Lucas. When she sucked in a breath, Kenna glanced at her and then frowned. “You do know I’m kidding.”
“Of course,” Sophie said quickly. Apparently too quickly, because Kenna stared at her for a beat and then closed her eyes and muttered something.
“What are you doing?” Sophie asked.
“Telling myself not to meddle.”
“Meddle in what?”
Kenna sighed. “Okay, listen. I like you, Sophie. I like you a lot.”
“Uh…I like you too?”
“No, you don’t understand,” Kenna said. “I don’t like anyone.”
“Not even the Mitch who sent you flowers?”
Kenna sighed again. “Well, actually, I like him too much, but that’s another story.” She paused. “I want to tell you something else about us Kincaids.”
“What?” Sophie asked cautiously.
“Sometimes we get it into our heads that we know best about something. And then we try to solve a problem without even letting you know that there is a problem. You get me?”
“No,” Sophie said.
“It goes back to that outspoken thing. But we also try to do the right thing, and then end up knee-deep in shit of our own making—you know what I’m saying?”
“Not even a little bit,” Sophie said.
Kenna grimaced. “Men can be stupid. You know that, right?”
“Not telling me anything new.”
“Well, the Kincaid men are no exception to that—except their stupidity is usually done with the best of intentions. They look big and tough, but the truth is they wouldn’t hurt a fly. Remember that. The best intentions, okay?”
“Okay,” Sophie said, and then found herself being pulled in for a hug. “Okay, so we’re hugging it out.”
Kenna squeezed her tight. “Yes.”
“And what exactly are we hugging out?”
“You and Jacob are going to be good for each other,” Kenna said softly. “You’re going to heal each other too.”
Why did she feel like Kenna had just told her something very important and she’d missed it? “Kenna—”
“Shh! He’s watching us with those eagle eyes of his. Don’t look! He’ll know I told you. You can’t tell him I told you, Sophie.”
Sophie shook her head and lifted her hands. “Even if I wanted to,” she said honestly.
Kenna laughed. “What you can tell him is that I approve. No, wait. Don’t tell him that either. He’s just ornery enough to do the opposite of what I want, just to spite me.”
“The opposite of…?”
Kenna grinned. “You don’t have brothers. I can totally tell.”
Sophie laughed. “Are you speaking English? Because I swear it sounds like English, but…”
Kenna laughed, and then they were dragged into refereeing a wild game of Frisbee golf with five army vets. It took both of them to keep the group from cheating and all-out brawling as they seemed to want to do.
Halfway through the game, Sophie’s attention was drawn to the wakeboarding boat buzzing the shore.
Jacob was behind the wheel, Chris riding shotgun, holding up a flag signaling they had someone in the water.
“That’s Hud,” Kenna said. “He’s a maniac on a wakeboard. How much you want to bet that he and Jacob are in some sort of do-or-die competition?”
Sophie turned and stared at her. “Why would they do that?”
“Uh, because they each have a penis?” Kenna asked.
The guys with them burst out laughing.
“Don’t even think about denying it,” Kenna told them.
Sure enough, two minutes later the boat whipped past the shore towing Hud. He whooped it up, and everyone onshore whooped back at him.
Then he hunkered down on his board and flew at the boat’s wake, jumping it at a jaw-dropping height.
“Nice,” Kenna said.
“I could do better,” a guy said, coming up on Kenna’s side. His badge said MITCH, and he flashed Kenna a sexy grin.
So this was the guy, the one Kenna liked too much.
Kenna rolled her eyes at him. “Must everything be a competition?”
“Competition used to be your life,” he said. “You gave it one hundred percent of you, and you were the best in the country.”
“And then I learned that not everything has to be won,” she said. “Some things have to be earned.”
Mitch’s smile warmed as he touched Kenna’s nose with his finger. “Bingo,” he said quietly, and walked away.
Kenna was still standing there with her mouth open when Gray came up. “What’s up?” he asked. “You okay?”
“Peachy.”
He started to say something, but just then Hud wiped out spectacularly on a buoy and cartwheeled across the surface of the water away from the boat.