Offside (The Barker Triplets 1)

Logan swore beneath his breath and nodded. He thought of Trent Barker. He’d heard rumors that Trent was deteriorating, dementia being the culprit, but he’d not been prepared for how frail and helpless he had appeared to be.

He could only imagine how Billie felt.

“What’s really going on…boss?”

Logan’s scowl deepened. He didn’t much care for Shane’s sarcastic tone—he hated being called boss—or the glint in his friend’s eyes.

“Because if it was anyone else, I don’t think you’d have a problem offering a little help.”

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea for you to get involved.”

Shane’s brows shot up.

“With the Barker sisters.”

“Involved as in…” Shane’s expression was flat and a dangerous vibe filled the room but Logan didn’t give a crap. The guy had always been drawn to chaos and if he thought screwing around with Bobbi and Billie was going to end well for him, he had another thing coming. Considering Shane and Bobbi’s history, it was Billie who would end up in the middle. She’d be the collateral damage.

“Do I need to spell it out, Gallagher?”

“It would help.”

“Do you think Bobbi is going to like the fact that you’re seeing her sister? Do you think that’s going to encourage sibling love and affection?”

Several moments of silence ticked by and Logan hated that every single one of them hammered home the fact that he felt like a damn teenager. Why the hell did he care who Shane was having sex with? Was Bobbi’s relationship with her sister really his concern? Hell, he and Bobbi had never been close. She’d been the woman who’d virtually sent his buddy over the edge.

Shane and Bobbi had always been a volatile combination—a powder keg ready to explode—and he’d watched from the sidelines knowing it wasn’t going to be a pretty ending. And when it had finally happened, he’d been right.

Shane had pretty much gone off the deep end and Bobbi had become an absolute bitch.

“You think I’m screwing Billie?” Shane’s voice was even keel, but the hard look in his eyes wasn’t. “You think I’m that guy?”

The door to his office swung open. “Hey, Logan. We just had four tires delivered for Billie’s car.”

His office manager Janelle looked from Logan, back to Shane, and then quietly closed the door behind her.

“Aren’t you?” Logan asked as he stood.

The hard lines of Shane’s face stretched thin over his cheekbones as he grounded out, “no”, before folding his arms across his chest.

“You expect me to believe you guys just shoot the shit and nothing else,” Logan asked incredulously. He thought of Billie’s announcement to her sister. Why would she lie?

For a moment, Shane said nothing, his eyes hooded, his expression fierce. He cocked his head to the side. “I see what this is.”

Shane moved toward the office door. “Believe what you want. I have no reason to lie. I like Billie. I can talk to her. There’s no judging or expectations.” Shane paused, his hand on the doorknob. “I don’t owe you an explanation, Forest, but I’m really curious as to why the hell you care.”

Logan scowled and sank back into his seat. Why indeed?

He thought of Billie’s declaration to Bobbi and realized she hadn’t said she’d slept with Shane, she’d inferred it. It was becoming apparent to Logan that the dynamics betwe

en the Barker sisters were screwed. Their relationship shouldn’t matter to him. [i]Billie, shouldn’t matter[i].

And yet, as he ran fingers over the stubble on his chin, he was more than a little surprised how relieved he felt knowing Billie-Jo wasn’t sleeping with Shane.

So what the hell was up with that?

By Monday evening, not only had four tires been delivered for Billie’s car, a cash donation for paint materials and other incidentals had been dropped off as well. Shane volunteered his labor and Logan agreed to eat any other expenses that were incurred.

By Wednesday afternoon the car looked like a million bucks. Her stereo was shot, so Logan had grabbed an old one from the storage room and traded it out himself. When she arrived near closing time to pick it up, he was just finishing up.