Beat by Beat (Riggins Brothers 5)

“She’s a good eater,” she says, her eyes locked on her daughter.

“She did the same thing for me earlier,” I tell her. At the sound of my voice, Madeline turns to look at me. She grins around her bottle. It’s brief, her hunger winning out, but the effect that smile has on me is the same. That little fist of hers may as well reach into my chest and squeeze my heart. She’s so tiny and looks so much like her momma. Wren is going to have to beat the boys off with a stick when she gets older.

Reaching out, I offer Madeline my finger, and she clamps her tiny hand around it, not missing a beat as she sucks down her bottle. Bracing myself on the lounger, I lean over Wren’s legs and watch the two of them, all while Madeline keeps a tight grip on my finger. I wish I could understand why these two ladies fascinate me so much, but I’ve got nothing. Just this overwhelming urge to spend time with them.

Protect them.

Maybe I’ve had too much sun.

The first time I saw Wren, I thought she was gorgeous, but nothing more. Suddenly today, I’m all up in her space, and every protective instinct that usually only comes to the surface for my family is coming to the surface for these two.

“Marsh, you ready?” I hear Royce ask me.

No. I’m not ready for whatever it is you want me to do. I want to sit right here and watch Wren and Madeline. I turn to look at him. “Ready for what?”

“Guys turn on the boat,” he says, clamping a hand down on my shoulder.

“Come to Mommy,” Sawyer coos as she takes Roan from Royce.

It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him I’m fine where I am, but maybe a little distance is necessary. The last thirty minutes has my head all jumbled. Time with my brothers sounds like exactly what I need to shake out of this… funk? I’m not sure what to call it. “Yeah, I’ll be right there.” I turn back to Wren. “You’ll be here when I get back?” I ask her.

“Aspen is my ride so I’m here until she’s ready to go.”

“Good.” I give her leg a gentle squeeze, and on instinct, I lean down and kiss the back of Madeline’s hand that’s gripping mine. “I’ll be back soon, Maddie.” Carefully, I remove my finger from her grip and stand. I have to force myself to turn away from them and follow Royce to the boat. Dad, Grant, Owen, and Conrad are already on board.

“Come on, slowpokes,” Dad calls out.

Royce and I are quiet as we board the boat. I take a seat in the back, hoping to get a few minutes to myself. Unfortunately, my oldest brother isn’t having that as he takes a seat next to me. “Marshall.”

That’s it. All he says is my name, and there is so much said with just one word. He wants to know what’s going on with me. He wants to know if I’m okay, and he’s telling me that he’s here for me. Yeah, I got all that with just the way he said my name.

“I’m good,” I assure him.

“Is there something between you and Wren?”

Isn’t that the million-dollar question? “No.” It’s an honest answer. This is all on me. Wren is completely innocent in the fact that I almost kissed her. Sure, she didn’t look like she was going to stop me, but I initiated the move out of nowhere. She didn’t even see it coming. The funny thing is, I didn’t see it coming either. It just sort of happened.

“You sure about that?”

No. “Yep.” I don’t know what I expected, but it’s not his raucous laughter. I don’t bother to acknowledge him. Instead, I leave him sitting on the back of the boat, his head thrown back in laughter.

“What’s up with him?” Dad asks when I approach him where he’s driving the boat.

“Too much sun,” I murmur.

“Wren seems nice,” he says casually.

“Yep.” I’m stellar at conversation today it seems.

“And Madeline, she sure is cute.”

“She is.” I nod. He’s not wrong on either count, but I got on this boat and left them to get some distance, not to talk about them.

“You want to drive?” he offers.

“Yes.” He moves from behind the wheel, and I take over. I laser my focus on the water ahead and controlling the boat. Picking up speed, we crash through the water, and although I’d like to say that Wren and her daughter are no longer in my mind, that would be a lie. Instead of clearing my head from thinking of them, I imagine Madeline a little older, laughing as the boat bounces over the water, and Wren’s smile as she watches her.

What the hell? What’s happening to me?