“Woah,” George says, taking in the changes in the room. “You changed things around.”
“I like the paint,” Charlie says.
Dex looks runs his hand down the mantle. “Did you get the HVAC fixed?”
“Yep. Took the last little bit of the insurance money, but I think it was a good investment.”
“It looks way better than when we were stuck here in the snow storm.”
I grimace. That snow storm had been what started a lot of our problems. The boys and Starlee went missing during a sudden storm. They’d thought fast and taken shelter in the house. Unfortunately, a vengeful girlfriend had gotten police got involved. From the tight set of Jake’s jaw, he remembers all this, too.
“You rearranged,” Dex says, noting the new furniture placement. “Did you do all this yourself?”
“I tried,” I admit, thinking about how the bookcase almost crushed me. Thank god for Smith. “I had help.”
“Adrian?” I nod. “He seems cool. He said you were awesome and let him stay after the fire.””
He wanders down the hall to check out the back of the house. I follow, overwhelmed by the urge to be truthful with my brother. He pauses in front of the bedrooms. I hadn’t gotten a chance to clean them up. It’s obvious that one of the guys is staying in my old room. Male clothing is folded neatly on a chair. My bra is by the pillow.
I take a steadying breath. “Adrian’s not the only one staying here. Smith and Holden, the other Rangers, are staying here, too.”
“You’re dating?”
“Yes, but not just him. All of them.”
The boys, crammed in the narrow hallway, process this information.
Dex runs his hand through his hair, his jaw clenches. “All of them. What the hell, Sierra?”
“Don’t tell me you don’t understand.”
“I understand that guys are perverts, even when they seem okay. What do you even
know about them?”
“I know that they’re good guys. I know they had tough backgrounds, kind of like you. I know that we didn’t just jump into this; that it took work and understanding and compromise.” I’m rambling, justifying myself. “I’m a big girl, I can handle it.”
But even as I say it, I’m not sure it’s true. Sure, I can handle them here, playing house together, but once we get outside, what’s going to happen?
Dexter shakes his head and heads down the hall. “I need some air.”
I start after him but a strong hand grips my shoulder.
“Let him go,” George says. “He’s your brother. It’s hard enough thinking about you with one guy, much less three.”
“You’re seriously seeing all of them?” Jake asks, breaking his silence.
“Yes.”
“Even after you tried to push Starlee away from us?”
“That was different. The situation was tense. My foster care license—”
“It’s bullshit and you know it.”
“Dude,” George says in warning. “Sierra warned us what would happen. She was protecting us. It all worked out.”
“Barely. The shit that went down with you and your dad.” Looks at Charlie. “That got bad, and Sierra promised to stick by us. She bailed. And now, she comes back with three guys she’s screwing, wanting us to pretend like everything is normal? It’s not normal.”