by Lea Hart
“Always important,” Claire commented.
“Sure is,” Lilly responded. “I have a good man I like to spend my time with, so spending a night in the pokey doesn’t sound real appealing.”
“Me, too,” Erin replied. “I just hope he feels the same way when I come through town again.”
“I bet he will,” Claire replied. As far as she could tell, men like Brady, Hunter, and Brock didn’t change their feelings once they caught them.
***
Brady studied his baby brother and tried to figure out what was different about him. It seemed some of his natural swagger was missing and he wondered where it had gone. “Where you been, Brody? I’ve hardly seen you this summer.”
“I’ve been working on a house over on Doyle and it’s about got me consumed. A woman inherited her grandmother’s house and we’re fixing it up.”
“Why do I feel there is more to this story?” Brock asked. “You have two crews that could be out there, so maybe it’s the woman that’s keepin’ you busy and not the house.”
Brody crossed his arms and huffed out a breath. “Brock, just ’cause you’re in love doesn’t mean the rest of the world is.”
“Didn’t say that. But you’re the one who used the word love, not me,” Brock replied as he tipped his head toward Brady. “Feel free to use us as an example of what happiness looks like. I’m about to ask Lilly to marry me and I have a feeling that Brady is going to do the same thing with Claire before too long.”
Hunter snorted and then crossed his arms. “There’s asking and then there’s accepting. Just ’cause you ask, doesn’t mean those wily women will agree. Even if they want to and know it’s a good idea.” He looked up at the house and shook his head. “Stubborn, mind-boggling creatures.”
Brady slapped his buddy on the shoulder. “I know that little speech you just gave has everything to do with a certain actress and not Lilly and Claire. Anything you want to share with the class?”
Hunter looked back at the men and shrugged. “Seems I’ve got myself tangled up with someone who is more irascible than me and it’s going to take me a while to figure how to get her mind right.”
Brody grabbed a beer out of the bucket, flipped the top off, and took a long drink. “I came over here to catch up with my brothers, not listen to a bunch of guys whine about their love lives. Our team had a fine opening game yesterday. Can’t we talk about that instead?”
Brady looked at Brock and shrugged. “Seems Brody is next and doesn’t know it.”
“Seems so,” Brock replied.
Brady heard the women and turned to see them all walk out to the patio. Claire’s smile made him realize that he was about done with the visiting and ready to go home. He had an idea or two that he wanted to get her interested in and the sooner he could get started the better. “We may head out early,” Brady said to the gathered group.
“Can’t leave before we eat supper. Lilly has a big pot of gumbo going and she expects everyone to stay,” Brock said.
As Claire approached, Brady held his hand out and waited for her to take it. “We’re staying to eat.”
“I know, honey. Lilly told me that when we spoke this morning. I told you before we left.”
“Guess I missed it.” He pulled her against his side and kissed her head. Seemed his plans were going to have to wait a bit longer. Which, by any measure, was going to be torture. He was hungry for his woman and he didn’t feel much like waiting. Yesterday had been amazing and he had a lot more to show her. Leaning over, he spoke quietly into her ear. “Let’s eat fast and get home as soon as we can.”
“You behave,” she whispered back.
“I bet you change your tune about me behaving after I get your clothes off.” He felt her elbow in his side and looked down to see her fighting a smile. She might act like she wasn’t interested, but he knew that she was. When she had agreed not to move out, he’d vowed to make sure he gave her every reason to stay. And he hoped what happened between them in the bedroom would be one of the many reasons she never wanted to be too far away. Come to think of it, they hadn’t confined their activities to just the bedroom. There had been a particularly satisfying encounter in the laundry room this morning that had left them both breathless and satisfied.
Seemed that seeing him do their laundry was exciting for Claire, and she had expressed her excitement in a way that pretty much ensured he would be doing the laundry from here on out. What the woman did with her mouth while he sorted was as close to heaven as he’d ever been. Which was not anything he should have been thinking about when he stood around with a bunch of people.
Taking a slug of his beer, he tried to concentrate on the conversation, which apparently was about where Erin was going to be filming in Morocco. He pulled Claire’s hand up and pressed a kiss against her knuckles. When he felt her shiver, he tried to keep his desire in check. Because the chances of running them both out of there were lousy.
The beast had been unleashed and Brady wasn’t real sure how long it would take to get himself under control. He’d fallen for the woman standing next to him and was about consumed with every little piece of her. The way she spoke, the way she laughed, and God damn…just the way she existed. Right now, for example, the sun was bouncing off her beautiful, shiny hair, making him want to run his hands through it and hold tight. Something sharp dug into his side, and he glanced down and saw Claire give him a look. “What?”
“Brody just asked you a question.”
Running his hand through his hair, he grinned at the group. “Sorry about that. I was lost in thought.” The group erupted in laughter and he joined them. What other choice did he have? He’d been caught daydreaming about the girl who’d stolen his heart. Embarrassing, definitely. Avoidable…absolutely not.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Saturday, September 9th
Claire waited for Brady to come around and open her door. She knew if she didn’t, he would fuss. She didn’t want that because he had planned the perfect day. At least, she hoped it was going to be perfect. He’d found a woman who lived over in Mandeville that had a bunch of cute rescue dogs up for adoption. They had been looking at pictures on the website all week and she had three she was interested in. She was anxious to get there, but they were both starved, so stopping at the Acme Oyster House in Baton Rouge seemed like a good idea.
When the door opened and she saw Brady holding out his hand, she grinned. She appreciated his gentlemanly ways as much as she appreciated when he wasn’t a gentleman. This morning, for example, he’d been a hungry wolf and she’d enjoyed every single moment. Taking his hand, she hopped out of the truck and then followed him to the entrance of the restaurant. “I love this place. They have the best fried soft-shell crab po’boys.”
“That sounds good, but I like their meat pies,” Brady responded as they walked in and waited for a table.
“I went to school with a girl who was the Meat Pie Queen. By all accounts, it’s been the highlight of her life. Because whenever I’ve run into her it comes up in conversation. You’d be surprised to know that it can be tied into just about anything.” They were shown to a table, and Brady got himself situated right up against her side and grinned. “You good?” Claire asked.
He slung his arm around her shoulders and smirked. “Yeah.” He picked up a menu and glanced at it. “My college girlfriend was the Queen of Contraband Days and brought it up rarely.”
“I think it’s either your greatest dream or worst nightmare. If your mama makes you do it, then it seems to always be an awful experience.”
“Yeah, Poppy’s mama made her do it. Some kind of family tradition.”
“Is that Poppy Montgomery from the famous horse racing family?”
Brady leaned away and nodded. “How do you know Poppy?”
“I met her at Lilly’s right after you and Brock started. I was over there helping Lilly with a scene she was writing and Poppy stopped by. She’s a lovely woman and, come to think of it, Lilly had sai
d something about you two rekindling the flame when you moved back.”
“Yeah, I thought about it for a minute or two, but when I saw her, I realized that we were going to remain good friends and nothing else.”
Claire picked up her menu and studied it, even though she knew what she was having. For a second, she felt a flash of jealousy. Which was crazy. Somehow, the idea of Brady being with anyone other than her made her feel very angry. Which told her she wanted to hold on to the man sitting glued to her side.
Hopefully, they could take what they had and keep growing it into something that would withstand anything. Because that’s what she wanted: a resilient relationship with a man that couldn’t be taken away. Brady’s big shoulders made her hope they could create that together.
The waitress came up and Brady gave her their order. It was such an old-fashioned thing to do and she wondered why he always did it when they went out to eat. She’d thought about asking him but never had because she felt it might make him self-conscious.
“You excited to start our family?” Brady asked as their drinks were delivered.
Scooting away, she raised her eyebrow. “Say again?”
“The dog we choose is the start of our family. Everyone knows that.” He lifted his soda and drank some. “Brock got Lilly a puppy when she graduated from college, and they were nothing but friends at the time. When I heard what he did, I knew he’d made a place for himself in her life, despite the fact he was about to be deployed.”
“So…you come by this behavior naturally? Seems the Landry brothers have some kind of genetic chip that makes them possessive with the women they’ve got their eyes on.”
“I don’t think it’s anything that only applies to us. Men have thousands of years of evolution that make us behave the way we do. Cavemen had to protect their mates so the species could evolve, and now all we’re doing in modern times is the same thing.”
“Not all men are like that.”
“The ones worth keeping are. Do you want someone in your life who wouldn’t do anything to protect you? I doubt it. After all, women can do anything they set their minds to and don’t always have much use for men. We’ve got to do what we can to make ourselves appealing to you. Protecting you, loving you, and making you laugh is about all we got.”
Claire took his hand and held it as she thought about what he’d said. There were a lot of holes that could be punched into his theory, but at the same time, there was a simple truth in there that couldn’t be denied. Brady had protected her when the psycho showed up in Victoria’s Secret and showed her love in a hundred ways since they’d gotten together. All stuff she absolutely needed and wanted.
Their appetizers of fried crawfish tails and craw puppies were delivered and they dug into the food. After a few minutes, Claire took a break, looked at Brady, and thought he would be the perfect person to have a family with. Leaning over, she kissed his cheek. “I’m so happy that we’re starting our family.”
The blinding smile he gave her lit her heart on fire. Which made her realize she needed to get in the habit of telling him how she felt and how much she appreciated him. Life changed instantly and if you didn’t take the opportunities to tell someone how much you loved them, you might miss it forever.
***
Brady stood in the backyard, watching Claire being overrun by puppies. She was sitting in a patch of sunlight with about six puppies fighting for her attention. He knew they were going home with at least two of them. There was no way to get away with anything less and he was okay with that. When they’d gotten here about an hour ago, they discovered the dogs they were interested in had been adopted, and before they could be too heartbroken, the woman had shown them puppies that had been delivered from the shelter earlier.
Seemed God wanted them to have a puppy instead of an older dog. Which meant that he had a bunch of projects ahead of him. They’d have to get the house ready and he’d have to figure out how to keep the dogs out of the lake until they got older.
Hearing Claire’s laughter fill the backyard made him realize that he was ready to get started on the human part of their family too. Thinking of her round with his child filled his heart to overflowing.
Yeah, he’d gone there and he wasn’t even embarrassed for himself. In fact, he felt a little proud that it had taken him only a little less than two months to get her on the same page as him. When she’d said earlier that she was ready to start their family, he took that as a sign that they were well on their way to their happily-ever-after.
So what if she was thinking about dogs and he was thinking about babies? The idea of having a little girl who looked like Claire running around made his chest explode with happiness…and fear. Maybe they could manage a boy first. That way she’d have a built-in bodyguard. Letting out a slow breath, he relaxed. Definitely needed a boy first and, God willing, a big one.
Maybe they could get started on that tonight in the cabin they were staying at on the water at Fontainebleau State Park. It seemed like the perfect place to let romance and fire wash over their lives. Not that they couldn’t have it anywhere they were. Hell, they’d managed something satisfying in Claire’s office on Thursday. Even with computers whirring and beeping, he’d given her everything she needed to have a good afternoon. Real good.
“Brady, come on over and help me choose,” Claire called out as two puppies started to fall asleep in her lap.
One was black and white with small ears and the other looked like an Australian shepherd mix with light blue eyes. “Darlin’, I think Spike and Rocky have already chosen you.”
He walked over, sat next to her, and ran his hands over the two puppies’ heads as the others played in a pile next to the tree. “All you had to do was sit here and let the dogs pick you. And they have.”
Claire looked down at her lap and grinned. “Seems you’re right.”
Leaning over, he kissed her and reveled in the open way she responded to him. She was all in, just like him, and as he released her mouth, he smiled against her lips. “We’re starting our family with a couple of rough-and-tumble boys. Which I think will be good training for when we have a couple of our own.”
“Not so fast, Brady,” she replied as she pulled away. “We have a long way to go before we’ll be ready for any of that. We’ve only gotten started and have a lot of work to do to make sure we have a solid foundation.”
“I think we’re pretty solid right now.”
“People don’t start a family after only being together for a couple of months. It’s best to take time and let things happen slowly.”
He kept his mouth shut because he didn’t want to go slowly. He wanted to run at her, lock her down, and get them bonded irrevocably. Their happiness and success as a couple were inevitable, and he wanted to get started as soon as they could. Claire’s expression told him she wouldn’t agree with his timeline, so he didn’t say anything more. “Okay, Claire. Whatever you want.”
“Thank you, Brady. I don’t want to be rushed, so let’s just enjoy what we have and take our time.”
Might be time to change the subject because he didn’t know how well he was going to be able to fake going along with her plan. Truth was, he was going to do everything to change her mind, but he didn’t need her to know that. Best to keep his mouth shut and go along to get along. “Do you like the names I came up with?”
“I do. They’re very masculine and fierce. Who knows? These two might grow up to become real guard dogs.”
“We could teach them to do that. I have a buddy who trains dogs for law enforcement agencies, so we could have him make these two great guard dogs.” He looked down and saw they were curled up together and wondered if either of them had the temperament for it. Guess it didn’t much matter. They were keeping them either way. “Let me go and find the woman who runs this place and see what we do about taking these two home.”
“Thank you, Brady, for finding this place. I’ve wanted a dog since I was a kid and it’s hard to believe i
t’s finally happening.”
He cupped the back of her head and kissed her good and hard. “Just the beginning, darlin’. I got a lot more I can give you.” Untangling himself, he stood and headed in the direction of the house. Little did she know the dogs were just the tip of the iceberg. He had a lot more in store for his woman. A lot more.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Sunday, September 10th
Claire sat on the porch and listened to the water of Lake Pontchartrain slosh against the stilts of the cabin. It was so peaceful with the whisper of wildlife moving around in the morning. Lifting her eyes, she saw a bald eagle make a slow pass over the trees to the east, then make a sharp turn and dive into the wetlands. She figured breakfast was about to be served for the majestic bird.
Pushing her feet against the floor, she tipped her rocking chair and let its gentle rocking motion calm her fluttering heart. The things she’d done with Brady last night were beyond anything she’d ever imagined. Which might be saying more about her lack of creativity than she cared to admit. The places he’d taken her when she submitted to him were filled with an intensity she hadn’t known existed. They created their own little bubble and the connection they had with one another made her feel there was no separation between his skin and hers. No line of demarcation that would tell you whose soul was whose.
To think a random act of violence could’ve ended that was unbelievable. Had she not thought her undies needed an upgrade, they never would’ve been in the mall. But she had and that put them smack-dab in the middle of the tragedy. And who’s to say that’s not exactly how it was supposed to happen? After all, Brady’s presence had probably saved countless lives. Who knows what could’ve happened had the shooter been allowed to continue? He certainly would’ve killed his ex-wife and God knew who else.