SEB WOKE immediately when he felt Gray’s hand on his arm, almost as if he’d been waiting for it. He yawned and sat up, looking around him in interest as they drove down what looked like a private road that meandered through trees. “Where are we?”
“This is Rawlings’s estate, just north of Cleveland and only about fifty miles or so from the Chattahoochee National Forest. Very secluded. Very private.” Seb glanced in the mirror, and his heart sped up.
“There’s a black SUV behind us.”
“Yeah, it’s Rawlings’s men. They picked us up just as we left the village, but they know the car and know we’re in it. It’s just protection.”
“Who for?” Seb asked dryly and unscrewed the water bottle Gray passed him. “I need the bathroom.”
“We’ll be there in five,” Gray confirmed. Seb subsided and watched Gray. He was holding the steering wheel a little too tightly, and his breaths weren’t as unhurried as they usually were. He took no notice of the car behind them, so it must be what they were heading for that was making him nervous. His sister.
Seb couldn’t imagine how hard the next few minutes would be for Gray. He would have loved a younger brother or sister, and wondered what it must be like to blame yourself for the death of her husband and then having her marry his boss. He couldn’t imagine, and he had no idea what he could say.
He stared at Gray’s white knuckles resting on his knee; the other hand had a death grip on the wheel, and Seb was suddenly reminded of the times Gray had sought to reassure him in the oddly intimate way they seemed to have developed despite being nearly complete strangers. Moving his own hand and gently covering Gray’s, he surprised himself at his daring. Gray didn’t jerk away or even look at him, but Seb felt the fingers slowly relax. He turned to the window, not wanting speech to break the moment, and risked the small smile that seemed to want to come and play on his lips. He took a breath and relaxed the tension he didn’t know he had, and stared at the trees just as they cleared.
Seb watched openmouthed as the huge house came into view; it looked like it belonged on some period drama. Mrs. P loved some Brit stuff—Downton Abbey—and he’d even watched one with her a few years ago. From what he could remember, it could be nearly all filmed here.
Then he saw the man standing discreetly by the main wooden doors and in particular the gun held in his arms. He doubted that visual would have been in any of Mrs. P’s shows. As they drew nearer, as if by some unseen signal, two massive wooden doors opened, and two men hurried out and looked toward them as Gray pulled into a gravel-covered lot in front of the house. He recognized Danny, followed by Sadie at his heels, but didn’t know the older man with him as they jogged down the steps toward them. Gray heaved a sigh and moved his hand. Seb let it go quickly and then immediately missed it as they both got out. The older man—well, older than him anyway, but he guessed he must be the same age as Gray—had his hand held out in greeting to him while Danny headed around to slap Gray on the back. He saw Danny make some comment about turkey, and then Seb realized the older man was standing in front of him waiting for a response.
Seb flushed and clasped his offered hand.
He wasn’t surprised at the firm grip. “My name is Diesel Rawlings, and you are very welcome. I hope you’re hungry.” He grinned and turned to Gray as he walked around the car.
“Sorry,” Gray mumbled, but Seb caught the word.
Rawlings shook his head. “You did exactly the right thing.”
Gray whipped his head up quickly, and Seb glanced around to see what Gray had heard and saw the woman who appeared by the open front doors. Seb knew immediately who she was. Gray’s same tilt of the head bent her neck as she stared at him. The same straight nose and the same color of brown eyes that was in at least one of Gray’s. Her hair was also black but without any gray mixed in. She raked her eyes over Gray hungrily but didn’t attempt to walk any nearer.
Seb’s eyes fell to her protruding belly. She was obviously pregnant, and not that Seb was an expert, but she definitely looked like she was going to pop any day. He glanced at Gray just in time to see the knowledge register in Gray’s eyes and the small tightening of his lips. The barely soundless inhalation missed by everyone but the person who couldn’t hear it. Gray hadn’t known? Seb almost shook his head in disbelief but stopped. His own family dynamics were far from perfect. Maybe Gray had known but not acknowledged it. Sometimes the hardest person you needed to tell was yourself. Seb knew Gray suspected his father had other motives besides pure altruism for his operations, but Seb hadn’t really wanted to think about that possibility.
Seb felt the brush of something on his jeans leg and bent down immediately, more than happy to have his arms full of Sadie, who was ecstatic to see him. He laughed and glanced up, catching the look of surprise on Rawlings’s face and the shrug of Danny’s shoulders. He stood and was pleased when Gray stepped in close as they followed Danny and Rawlings up the grand stone steps.
Pink’s eyes narrowed as they approached, and Seb didn’t mind she only had eyes for her brother as Gray stepped toward her. Seb could practically see the tension rolling off Gray, and then Pink seemed to launch herself at him, and he closed his arms around her, holding her firmly but with his usual gentleness. She leaned her head forward, her belly stopping her getting any closer. Rawlings shot Danny a look that seemed to say he was satisfied with how things were working out even if they were invading their holiday. Then Pink shocked them all as she stepped back and punched Gray hard in the shoulder. “You ever let it go this long again and I’ll hunt you down with a gun myself.”
Gray swallowed hard, nodded in answer, and drew Seb closer to him. “Seb.” Gray glanced at him, checking he was looking and could see his lips. Seb smiled at the insane idea he might be watching anything else. “In case you hadn’t worked it out, this is my sister, Pink.”
Seb returned his gaze to Pink, but she was holding her arms out for a hug. Seb hesitated a second before he allowed himself to be drawn as near to her as her belly would let them get, relieved when she pressed close for only a second. She stepped back and eyed him critically. “I have some arnica for that.” She glanced at his sore cheek where Gray had hit him. Gray’s pained look immediately turned to guilt, and he took a step toward them. Pink held up her hand to forestall him and turned back to Seb. “I got this, big brother,” she said and graced him with a slight smile. “Let me show you to your room, and then we’ll eat when you’ve had time to freshen up.”
“And then you’re going to spend the rest of the day sitting with your feet up,” Rawlings admonished in what Seb imagined was a stern voice. She rolled her eyes and clasped Seb’s arm.
“Come on,” she said conspiratorially. “You may need to winch me up the stairs.”
Rawlings glanced at Gray. “Let me show you what we’ve got so far.” Gray shot a questioning look at Seb, obviously unsure of whether Seb would be comfortable with Pink on his own or not. Seb smiled, more in surprise that for the first time in a lot of years, meeting new people wasn’t freaking him out. He knew Danny. Gray was here, and Pink—she looped an arm in his and turned him toward the stairs—seemed kind of nice.
He took the short flight slowly and rather than shun the body contact, let Pink lean on him. “Diesel would put me in a cage if he could,” she said as they got to the top and huffed a breath. “And I don’t mean that in a kinky way, more a ‘you mustn’t lift that really heavy teaspoon’ kind of way.” He grinned at the accompanying roll of her eyes and let her steer him to the first door on the left. She turned the handle, and Seb followed her into a huge bedroom. The outside of the house was old, but the bedroom was sleek and modern, with a king-size bed that dominated one wall and a stylish sofa and coffee table tucked along one side. A dark wood dresser and matching side tables completed the room along with pale cream drapes that suddenly reminded him of how his dad’s room used to be. He’d forgotten that. He hadn’t been in his dad’s room in years but knew he’d decorated at least once since his mom had died. Pink walked to the two doors on the left to reveal a dressing room and an en-suite bathroom. “…not surprising, as protective as they all are, of course,” she said as she turned, and then at his confused look obviously realized at the same time as he did she had started speaking before she turned to look at him.
Her hand fluttered near her mouth in a distressed sort of way before she dropped it. “I’m sorry, that was so rude of me.”
Seb shook his head, as touched by her consideration as he was determined not to upset her, and stepped closer. The thought of what any of the men would likely do to him if she so much as chipped a nail while in his presence should have made him nervous, but somehow he seemed to have developed a protective instinct he’d never felt before. Maybe it was because she was Gray’s sister. Or because she was pregnant, or just maybe it was because she seemed so nice. “Please, it’s fine. It’s very kind of you to let me stay. I’m sure you weren’t expecting a target for kidnappers to spoil your holiday.” To Seb’s horror, her eyes filled, and without thinking, he put his arm around her and steered her to the small sofa. He grabbed some tissues from a box on the coffee table in front of it.
She took the tissues gratefully and wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry. Hormones,” she added ruefully and stroked her belly. “This is going to sound incredibly mean, and I’m sorry you were scared and that someone is trying to hurt you, but—”
“But you’re glad because it means Gray is here,” Seb finished her sentence. Pink nodded silently, her rueful smile tinged with embarrassment.
“Do you know…?” Her voice trailed off.
Seb squeezed her hand, which seemed to be holding his own. He didn’t know much but wanted Gray to share the rest of whatever it was with him. He glanced down at her stomach, wondering what was polite to ask.
“I’m due in two months,” she answered. “Believe it or not, I am going to get bigger.” She grinned, correctly guessing, and stood up, accepting the change of topic as she nodded to the bathroom. “I was going to say that the door over there connects to the room Gray will be in. In case that made you feel better he’s close.” She finished with an assessing gleam in her eyes that Seb couldn’t meet and dropped his gaze. The same slight touch to his arm that her brother did had him raising them. “I’ll leave you to it and wait downstairs.”
“No.” Seb suddenly had an image of her tripping on the stairs. “I’ll be real quick.” Pink beamed and sank back down gratefully.
Seb rushed to the bathroom, emptied his bladder gratefully, and then unwrapped one of the spare brushes he found already laid out and brushed his teeth. He was back in the bedroom in barely any time at all. He didn’t mind when Pink took his arm again and they went back to the stairs. He’d even stayed close to her in case she needed it, knowing he would rather fall down the entire flight himself than have her stumble over one single stair. The double doors at the bottom were open, and they headed for them.
He froze for a few seconds. It was another large room complete with dining table groaning under more food than he’d ever seen in his life. Probably more people than he wished to see either, all sat or stood around it. He swallowed nervously and sought out Gray, who immediately pulled out two chairs.
Rawlings walked over from the huge bay window at the other end of the table and gently steered his wife to a seat. Seb’s gaze fell on an adorable little girl, who was trying to feed Sadie turkey from her small plate, and Danny was trying to stop her. He recognized Ringo and Mac, even though he’d seen them only briefly, and they both tipped their heads to him in greeting. An older couple, who both smiled, passed dishes around to everyone. To Seb’s complete astonishment, he recognized Paula, who sat at the other side of the table and smiled shyly, and he assumed the older man next to her, who didn’t raise his head, was her father.
Seb waited for the nerves to roll over him but found instead he was blinking furiously as his eyes stung. He ducked his head and tried to disappear into the seat he slunk into, praying no one noticed. After a few seconds, he felt Gray touch his arm, and he looked up cautiously at the full glass of water he was holding. The knowledge that Gray was still continuing with his mission to try to drown Seb with the amount of water he was pushing on him made Seb smile in spite of himself. And even more, despite what must be an incredibly hard time for him, Gray was still looking out for Seb, which warmed him through at a ridiculous speed. He swallowed the water and washed away the lump in his throat.
The older woman he sat next to lightly tapped his arm and he turned to look at her. She was holding a platter of potatoes—roasted, brown, and faintly crumbly. They looked and smelled delicious. Seb felt his stomach rumbling and pressed his hand to it in panic in case it was audible.
By the lady’s wink and smile, he guessed it had been. “I’m Maisie, Diesel’s mom, and that’s Tom, his dad.” She looked to the older man who was chatting with Mac. “Pleased to meet you,” she said and patted his hand.
“Seb,” Seb supplied and helped himself to potatoes. In what seemed like no time, his plate held more food than he was sure he had ever eaten in his life in one sitting before, but no one seemed to make a fuss of him or stare or ask awkward questions, so he was content to just sit and eat the wonderful food. He glanced surreptitiously a few times at people’s lips but none of the conversation seemed to concern him, so little by little he relaxed. He felt Gray nudge his arm after a while. “You were hungry, huh?”
Seb stared down at his nearly empty plate in astonishment and wondered where all the food had gone. He glanced up, and both Pink and Maisie were watching him with indulgent smiles. Suddenly it wasn’t embarrassing. It was confusing, yes. He always shunned this much contact, and when he was younger and his dad forced him to eat with their extended family—which only amounted to an uncle who lived in Alaska and his stern wife and three children, or his grandad when he had been alive—Seb had simply played with his food, convinced eating a lot would make him sick, and then escaped the audience as soon as he could. Once his mark appeared, his dad never asked him to eat with guests ever again. He’d been too relieved at the time to be offended, but faced here with what family should look like, it shone a light on all the dark corners of his own.
No one except his dad and Mrs. P and Gray had ever been this considerate about waiting until he was watching to speak to him, or not assuming his deafness meant stupidity. Not his extended family, and certainly not strangers. All these people were confusing the hell out of him, because no one seemed to care he was enhanced either, and he sat feeling completely stuffed and watching the antics of Gray’s niece as she tried to convince her father that each vegetable she ate meant she had earned some promised chocolate ice cream. She seemed unfazed by the strangers sitting around her as she ate, and he guessed she took her security from her dad, who towered in the seat next to her, or her mom, who was leaning back and lightly pressing her hands to her sides.
“Are you okay?” Seb asked worriedly.
Pink’s smile widened as nearly every head around the table snapped up at the question, as if the answer was a matter of life and death. “I’m fine.” She glanced over fondly at her daughter. “If you would excuse us both, I think a nap might be in order.” It was Seb’s turn to smile as both Gray and Rawlings jumped up. Maisie chuckled and turned her attention on Gray.
“Would you help me get the coffee?”
Paula stood and helped her father stand. “Does a nap sound good, Dad?” She started to follow Gray and Maisie from the room. The silent older man seemed very frail, and Seb watched, feeling the same guilt that he hadn’t known her dad was sick until Carter had mentioned it. Shocked, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder as they passed, and glanced up at Paula. “Thank you,” she mouthed, and Seb smiled back, pleased he had been able to help. She hesitated, obviously wanting to say something else.
“Please, it’s fine,” Seb assured her, and she threw him another grateful smile and helped her dad out.
He stood when the others did. Danny nodded to the door at the other side of the room, and Seb followed everyone else through into a comfy lounge with large overstuffed armchairs and eclectic unmatched sofas. He sat on the edge of the nearest sofa, and Danny joined him. Sadie curled up on the floor next to them, and Seb idly stroked her head.
“Have you ever thought about getting a dog?” Danny asked, watching him.
Seb turned to gaze at Sadie in longing, surprised the idea had never occurred to him. Although if he had, he knew he would have dismissed the thought of being able to care for anything else when he didn’t seem to be able to care for himself. “What does it involve?” he asked.
Danny grinned and found a website on his phone. Seb—not surprisingly—wanted every puppy he saw.