Marriage Material

“Are you hungry?” I lean down and blow on Charlotte’s belly, making her giggle. “I think you are.” I snap her onesie back together and lift her into my arms.

“Let go see if Daddy wants some breakfast, too.” I kiss her chubby cheek, but my gut tightens when I hear my brother’s voice coming from downstairs. He sounds angry and I don’t know what to do.

“I know my sister’s in here, so step aside,” he barks.

I take a deep breath so that I don’t get too worked up. I don’t want to get Charlotte upset, and this is going to be a fight. My brother must have figured out that it wasn’t a we who bought the Jenkins’ place and Anderson is a single man. That’s the only reason he’d be here at the crack of dawn.

“This is my home and if you’re going to come around here barking orders you can leave,” Anderson says, his voice stern.

“I’m the sheriff,” my brother responds. I can tell by his tone he’s surprised by the way Anderson talked to him. Hell, even I am. No one ever stands up to my brothers, especially to Kent.

“I don’t give a fuck if you’re the pope. You don’t come to my home, where my family is, and make demands.” When I turn the corner I see Anderson take a step towards my brother. It’s then I notice they’re not only the same height but the same build. My brother is a big guy, so that’s saying a lot. If they come to blows I honestly don’t know who would win and I really don’t want to find out. One thing’s for sure, though. Something has changed in him. Maybe it’s been there the whole time and it’s just now coming to the surface. It’s as if a switch has flipped in Anderson. His sweet gentleness is gone and now he stands as a protector who’s not going to back down. Is this the businessman he was before he retired? Listening to him talk about his company from before he sold it, he sounded like he ran a tight ship. I won’t let some fist fight come between the two of them, and I won’t allow my brother to ruin something that has just begun to blossom.

“Kent,” I say in a calm, hard voice.

Anderson looks over his shoulder at me, and our eyes meet. The anger on his faces falls away as he turns to face me. If I hadn’t heard what was happening, you’d think nothing was going on.

“Beautiful, will you please take Charlotte and go back to our room?” he asks softly. Though it’s said in a question, I don’t think he’s asking. Oddly this doesn’t bug me like it does when my brothers do it.

“Our room,” Kent says like he’s trying to process the words. I’m shocked Anderson called it that, too. “Did he just say our room?”

“Why are you here? It’s five in the morning.” I ignore his question and take a few steps towards the both of them. “I’m busy right now.” I bounce Charlotte in my arms, reminding my brother there’s a baby here. “I’ll call you later.”

He stands there for a moment and I think maybe he’ll leave.

“You heard her, it’s time for you to go.” Anderson levels my brother with a stare.

It’s then I realize he’s one of them. He’s sweet and loving until something he cares about is threatened. He’s gone from teddy bear to grizzly bear with a snap. At least I think he cares about me. Maybe I could’ve found out if my brother hadn’t come pounding on the door.

Kent doesn’t even bother to respond to Anderson as he glares at me. He takes a step into the house and points his finger in my direction. “Is that a hickey on your neck?”

Oh shit. Anderson’s hand flies out and lands on Kent chest.

“Don’t even think about it,” he tells him, not letting him come in any farther.

I didn’t know there was a hickey there, but Anderson kept kissing my neck when he was on top of me, so it’s a strong possibility. I move from my spot and walk over in between them.

“Stop it both of you.” I glare at my brother in warning. “I bet you want your daddy, don’t you?” I say sweetly to Charlotte. She gives me little smile, and though I hate to let her go, I know this will calm everyone down. Well, at least it will stop anyone from throwing a punch. I hold Charlotte out to Anderson, and he glares at me because he knows what I’m doing. “She misses you.”

I have to defuse this situation, and it’s the only thing I can think of. I want Anderson like I’ve never wanted anyone before, and that means I can’t let him and my brother end up in a fight that could make them hate each other forever. I already have an uphill battle as it is, so we don’t need that added in. And if this gets worse, Anderson may not want anything to do with me because of the drama my brothers bring. I’ve learned by now most men run the other way, though Anderson looks to be fighting back. Who knows what he’ll think once the dust settles and he has time to process all of this. Maybe I’m not worth the trouble. He has enough on his plate and I’m supposed to be here to help him with it, not add to it.