His Best Friend's Little Sister

by Vivian Wood

  “Well, I’m just saying. It isn’t like there’s a doubt about it,” Shelby said. “Or was Shiloh an immaculate conception?”

  “The mouth on you,” Remy scolded.

  Shelby arched a brow, like she wanted to push the topic further, but she changed the subject instead.

  “I just want to come right out and say it,” Shelby said, grabbing a bottle of water from the drink table.

  “Well, you’re already being a little roundabout,” Remy said.

  “I’m rooting for you and Sawyer to get together,” Shelby said.

  Remy paused in the middle of twisting the cap off her bottle of water. “What?”

  “Come on. It’s sooooo obvious,” Shelby said. “High school sweethearts, reunited…”

  Remy grabbed Shelby’s wrist and led her away from the main group, down one of the little walking paths. Glancing around to make sure they were out of earshot, she took her sister to task.

  “Shelby, I’m not sure if you’ve somehow forgotten this in the last few seconds, but Sawyer and I have more connecting us than just a high school fling,” she snapped.

  “Yeah, duh. That’s my point,” Shelby said, crossing her arms.

  “Listen. Me and Sawyer? Never, ever going to happen. If he wanted to, he could sue me for custody. The fact that I never told him about Shiloh, the fact that the Romans have the money for a big fancy lawyer? That means a judge might side with him. I could lose custody. Is that what you want?” she asked.

  Shelby narrowed her eyes not. “Of course not. That’s an unfair thing to say.”

  “Well, that’s what I’m facing here. So I can’t be mooning around after Sawyer, or any other man in town for that matter. No one can know. No one.”

  “You’re so mean when you’re being a scaredy-cat,” Shelby said, shaking her head.

  “Is it so wrong to fear for my son?” Remy asked, outraged.

  “Yeah, if you’re basing all of this on the supposition that Sawyer would try to take Shiloh from you. He’s a really good guy, always has been. You know him. You know that better than anybody.”

  “It’s been years, Shel. He left town 12 years ago! And until last week, I hadn’t seen him in nearly four years. He’s been all over the world, seen all kinds of stuff. Micah says that he’s got all kinds of problems, PTSD and stuff.”

  “And that’s a strike against him?” Shelby asked, looking angry.

  “No!” Remy cried, stamping her foot. “No, not in itself. My point is that I don’t know Sawyer Roman, not anymore. I can’t just… assume he’ll do the right thing.”

  “But you can keep lying to him, indefinitely?” Shelby asked. “You’d better start praying that he moves back to the city, Remy. ‘Cause otherwise, the two of you trapped in this little backwater together? No way in hell are you keeping your little secret. Not for long.”

  “Shelby—” Remy said, aggrieved.

  “No. I think I’ve heard enough,” Shelby said. “I’m going to go fix myself a plate of food. Maybe when you’ve come back to your senses, you can join me.”

  Shelby stomped off, leaving Remy scowling after her. Looking around, Remy turned down the footpath, taking the opposite direction of Shelby.

  A little ways down, she found a small goldfish pond with a cement bench beside it. Sitting down, she mulled over her sister’s words as she watched the orange and black fish flitting around in the water.

  Yeah, okay, maybe I am a scaredy-cat, she thought. But I’ve jumped the gun and let myself be spontaneous a handful of times in my life, and none of them ever turned out for me. Much as I love Shiloh, he’s the product of my last walk on the wild side…

  She heard footsteps. Looking up, she scowled when she saw Sawyer coming down the path toward her. She started to rise, ready to leave, but he held up his hands in surrender.

  “Whoa, hey. White flag, white flag. I just want to talk.”

  “We talked the other night,” Remy said, remaining seated even though Sawyer moved close. “What else is there to say?”

  “Can I sit?” Sawyer asked, nodding to the other end of the bench.

  Not wanting to be that kind of petty, Remy shrugged. “Fine.”

  As soon as he sat down, she regretted it. He dominated the small space, his big body nearly touching hers. Not intentional on his part, even… he was just a huge guy.

  All around huge, she thought, then blushed.

  Really, thinking about his… package? Where is this coming from?

  “Is there something going on with you and one of my brothers?” he asked.

  Remy blinked, then stared at him in confusion.

  “Your brothers? Uh, definitely not.”

  Sawyer’s hazel eyes narrowed. “See, it’s funny. Every time I so much as mention your name, they both get all tongue-tied. I get the feeling there’s something they don’t want me to know. I thought maybe it’d be best to come right to the source.”

  Remy watched him for a second, then slowly shook her head.

  “No. I would never.”

  “Well, there’s something going on,” Sawyer said. “Maybe I’m not as smart as Walker, but I know that much.”

  Remy worked to keep her expression blank.

  “I couldn’t tell you,” she said.

  “I’ve been trying to think what else it might be, you know?” Sawyer said, his tone almost conversational instead of that of a direct question. “Like, you have a secret fiancé, you have a problem with starting fires and burning down buildings…”

  Remy snorted. “No, sorry.”

  “Hmm,” he said, fixing his gaze on her again. “Guess I’ll just have to keep my detective hat on for a little while longer then, huh?”

  A dimple flashed in his cheek. Vaguely, Remy knew that his words should fill her with dread, the way she felt when Arlo had threatened her.

  It was hard to feel that way when she looked at Sawyer. Instead, it made her think of sun-kissed summer days and stolen kisses behind the school bleachers. It made her think of when they were crowned prom king and queen, and when Sawyer’d first told her he loved her, way back in middle school.

  “I like your hair grown out a little, like that,” she blurted out. She felt her cheeks grow pink, and she felt like a silly teenage girl again.

  “Oh, yeah?” he asked. His gaze dipped from her face down to her body, just for a second. “I like a lot of things about you, Remy.”

  He reached out and skimmed the backs of his fingers down her shoulder, and it was all Remy could do not to moan. How long had it been since she’d been touched by a man?

  Remy shook her head. “I’ve changed a lot since you saw me last.”

  “Maybe, but I still think you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen,” he said.

  “Sawyer… I’m not… I’m not that girl, anymore.”

  Something flared in Sawyer’s eyes, but he didn’t challenge her.

  “I’m starting to understand that, now. I just wish you’d tell me what happened to make you feel that way.”

  Hmmm, maybe being all but abandoned by you, getting threatened by your father, and then going through 18 hours of labor with just my mother at my side? she thought, feeling a flash of bitterness.

  Not that she could say any of it to Sawyer, but there was certainly a small part of her that wanted to lash out at him, pound her fists on the solid wall of his chest, make him understand.

  Instead she said, “I’m not the girl you knew, Sawyer. Life went on when you were gone. I have other things in my life. Responsibilities. Baggage.”

  Sawyer’s brows lifted. “You mean the farm?”

  Remy frowned. “Well… no, but… yes. It’s more than that.”

  Sawyer leaned closer, just a fraction, but suddenly Remy couldn’t seem to catch a breath.

  “What if I told you that I don’t care about any of that?” he asked.

  This close, his eyes filled with heat, his body brushing against hers… it was persuasive. Sawyer consumed her, the clean male scent o
f him filling her senses, making her forget everything else…

  “What do you want, Sawyer?” she managed to ask, her lips trembling.

  He sucked in a breath, his gaze dropping to her lips. She had the barest second of recognition before he descended, his mouth pressing against hers in a possessive, demanding kiss.

  He cupped her jaw, his lips working over hers. After a moment of frozen indecision, she sighed, giving him an opportunity.

  Sawyer teased her with the tip of his tongue, reminding her just how talented that tongue could be. Even back in school, before she’d given up her innocence to him, that tongue had given her pleasure countless times.

  When his other hand settled on the small of her back, slowly drawing her closer, she almost let him.

  Almost.

  Her hands flew up, pushing at his shoulders. She broke the kiss, shaking her head.

  “No,” she said, both to Sawyer and herself. “This isn’t right.”

  “Remy…” he said.

  “I swear, I thought maybe you’d changed a little bit since high school. You really haven’t though,” she said with a frown.

  “Tell that to the decade I served in the Navy,” he said, his brow creasing.

  “I’m not talking about your work ethic, Sawyer. I’m talking about the way you are with women. How many other girls are you running around with these days, huh?”

  Sawyer gave her a look. “None, right this moment.”

  “Uh huh. And later tonight, you’re not going to be on the phone to one of your girlfriends back in D.C.?”

  “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

  “So, you’re actually worse than before. You can’t even keep a girlfriend now?” she demanded to know.

  “Why the hell would I want to do that?” he spat, then pulled a face as if already regretting his words.

  She stood, a rush of anger filling her chest. Though it was more for herself than for Sawyer, she turned her bitterness outward.

  “You can’t just waltz back in here and think I’m going to fall into your lap, Sawyer. I’m not some… floozy, you can just pick up and put down when you want. I’ve moved on with my life, just like you did.”

  He reached out and snagged her hand. “Is there someone else, Remy?”

  She stared at him for a second. If she just said yes, right this second, there was a chance that Sawyer would back off.

  Then again, she shouldn’t have to use the excuse of belonging to some other man to make Sawyer respect her wishes.

  “No,” she said. “There’s no one, but it doesn’t change the way I feel.”

  “I think I could change your mind,” Sawyer said, cocking a brow.

  The cocky smile that slid onto his face was almost more than she could bear.

  “Yeah, I bet you’ve proven that time and again with countless other girls over the years,” she snarled. “I’m not your plaything, Sawyer. Find someone else’s head to mess with.”

  Whirling, she fled, furious with the tears that threatened to break free. Though she was mad at Sawyer, she was more upset with herself. Everything that was happening now, it was happening because she let herself be weak around him.

  Like she didn’t understand the consequences, like she didn’t understand the stakes of this little game.

  Play with fire, you’re bound to get burned…

  10

  “By God, what a week,” Colt said, kicking up his heels on the back porch.

  “Yeah,” Sawyer said, rubbing a sore spot in his neck. “I’m sunburned and worn out.”

  Walker came out of the house with several beers in a bucket, iced down.

  “Genius!” Colt declared.

  Walker sat, all three of them leaning back in their chairs and enjoying the sunset.

  “Don’t get too comfortable,” Colt warned. “Marilee called to say she’s on her way over. I get the feeling that she wants something.”

  Sawyer arched an ironic brow at Colt, who grinned.

  “I know, I know,” Colt said. “She wouldn’t call us, otherwise.”

  Walker grunted, but didn’t voice whatever antagonistic thoughts were drifting through his mind. Walker never really got over their mother’s death, having been the closest to her.

  His father publicly acknowledging his mistress so soon after the death of his wife… that was something none of the Roman sons ever forgot, but Walker was still actively angry about it.

  Nobody held a grudge like Walker, either.

  Sawyer took advantage of the lull to return a few emails on his phone, then text back Merissa and Stacy, complimenting the dirty videos they’d sent him days before. If he was a little slow to respond, neither girl seemed to mind.

  Truth be told, he hadn’t even watched Stacy’s video. Three seconds of her dull-as-dirt striptease, and Sawyer’d drifted off to sleep.

  He blamed the physical labor, wearing him out beyond all reason. Normally, he’d be pretty damned interested, especially because Merissa had the nicest pair of fake tits that money could buy.

  Her tanned skin and dark hair weren’t doing a whole lot for him recently, though. Damned if he knew why. Stacy, at least, was blonde… but her high-pitched Valley Girl voice had started to grate on his nerves.

  Turning his phone off, he put it aside and tried to enjoy the moment with his brothers.

  After a few minutes of quiet drinking, the click of heels announced Marilee’s arrival. She stepped out onto the back porch, making a face like she’d just gotten a whiff of hot garbage.

  In her tight leopard-print dress and sky-high white heels, she surveyed Sawyer and his brothers like a queen addressing her subjects.

  “Here you boys are. Why in the world would you be out here with the mosquitos when you could be relaxing in the kitchen? It’s nice and new and clean,” she said, eyeing them.

  Sawyer glanced at his brothers. All three shrugged, unwilling to insult her, but not particularly fond of the kitchen, either.

  “Well,” she said, brushing back a lock of her platinum blonde hair. “I just came out to tell you in person that I signed you boys up for some community service.”

  “Sorry?” Colt blurted out, looking baffled.

  “There are some families in Catahoula that are struggling a lot more than the Romans,” Marilee said, pinning them with a firm gaze. “I think the family should give back more. I’m making your father donate money, since he refuses to do anything. But I’m working at the food pantry, and I’ve signed y’all up to do some projects around town. Once a week, instead of the church social.”

  Sawyer considered the last part. He didn’t really want to do community service, but then again he didn’t want to go to stuffy church functions, either.

  “All the young people from church will be there,” Marilee said. “Not just boys swinging hammers, if you get my drift.”

  “Marilee—” Walker started to protest.

  “We’ll do it,” Sawyer said, raising a hand to cut his brother off.

  Colt and Walker turned to him in surprise. He arched a brow. “Hey, it’s for a good cause, right?”

  Marilee gave them a glowing grin. “Perfect! To think, your father said I couldn’t talk y’all into it. He never does give you boys enough credit.”

  “Especially where there are women involved,” Walker mumbled, too quiet for her to hear.

  “Well, I will leave you boys to your… lounging,” she said, casting a final pointed glance around the back porch.

  “Night, Marilee,” Sawyer and Colt said.

  She turned and clicked away purposefully, and no sooner was she out of their line of sight did Colt and Walker turn on Sawyer.

  “Really?” Walker asked, looking annoyed.

  “You’re mad that I got us out of a month of church socials?” Sawyer asked, leaning back in his seat with a smirk.

  “I’m not mad,” Colt said. “I’m astonished how far you’ll go to chase a girl that won’t even speak to you.”

  “I can’t believe you think
you can still speak for both of us, at this age,” Walker complained.

  “Look. You need to get out of the damned house, talk to some women like a normal guy your age,” Sawyer told Walker. “And Colt, this is a great way for you to quietly stalk Shelby River without looking like a tool. As far as I see it, we’re all getting something out of this.”

  Walker stood, his expression going dark. He stared at Sawyer for a second, clearly on the verge of unleashing his anger, but he turned and stormed off instead.

  “Nice,” Colt said, righting himself. “Great job handling that, brother.”

  “It’s been years,” Sawyer said, feeling a little defensive.

  “Would it kill you to be a little more sensitive?”

  “There are over 3 billion women in the world. He can’t just give up and be alone forever at 28.”

  “Yeah, well. If Remy died, would you be in a rush to go out and replace her?” Colt asked, standing and picking up his beer.

  Sawyer glared at Colt. “Remy’s not my fiancée, first off. I’m just trying to make things right between us, figure out what the mystery is around her.”

  “Yeah, sure. You’re not just sliding right back into your pattern, the life you had before you went into service. Is that what you tell yourself every night, after a hard day’s work pushing Remy’s boundaries?”

  “You’ve got a hell of a big mouth, Colt,” Sawyer said, pushing to his feet. “I think I’m going to head to bed. Wouldn’t want to disappoint anyone tomorrow at community service.”

  Leaving Colt with a sneer on his face, Sawyer headed for bed.

  As it turned out, Sawyer didn’t see Remy at the next day’s social. They drove out to the Hemmings’ Farm, doing hard labor felling trees to make space for a new barn. As the day turned to dusk and a bonfire started, he thought surely he’d see her then…

  But no luck. In fact, Micah River was the only one who showed up out of the whole family. It wasn’t like Sawyer could go ask him where the rest of the family was.

  The week stretched on, without a sighting. She wasn’t at the bar on Wednesday night, where all three brothers sat in a booth in near-silence. Walker was still on edge with Sawyer, while Colt was just plain worn out from their work on the barn, though of course he wouldn’t admit it.