A Fair to Remember

She cast a glance at Wes, who eyed her brother with suspicion. Tara’s brows rose in surprise; he hadn’t even met him yet.

“Boyfriend?” Wes asked without looking away from Charlie.

Now she grinned. “Brother.”

Wes still didn’t relax. Especially when Charlie strode toward them with his chest puffed out, eyed Wes up and down, and asked in his gravelly voice, “What the hell is going on here?”

Tara rolled her eyes. “Charlie, this is Wes Carter, he’s in town from…” She glanced at Wes to supply the information.

“Denver.”

“Wes, this is my brother, Charlie Russell.”

They nodded at each other and shook hands, firmly, by the way they both leaned into it. Though he appeared a little more intense than usual, Charlie was being Charlie, and Wes…well, poor Wes stood there in his boxers and bare feet. Of course he had to act tough. Tara smiled pointedly at her brother as they released the handshake.

“Wes needs to take a shower because Sugar puked ice cream and you-don’t-even-want-to-know-what-else all over him at the fair.”

Charlie frowned in her direction, even as his nose wrinkled as if he could now smell the vomit. “You know she can’t have dairy.”

“Tell her that—she stole Emma Frazier’s cone.”

An odd look crossed Charlie’s face. Before Tara could wonder about it, he’d turned to Wes

. “I’m sorry about that.”

Wes lifted his right shoulder, the one with the tattoo. “I don’t hold a grudge. Besides, your sister’s apologized enough, and borrowed me some of your clothes.”

“That’s the least we can do,” Charlie said, his attention caught by the dragon. “Nice tatt.”

Wes looked uncomfortable and almost seemed to angle it away from Charlie’s view. “Thanks—so are yours.”

Tara watched Charlie lift his shirtsleeve to show off an eagle with the American Flag on its outstretched wing. She was so used to seeing his multitude of tattoos, she barely noticed them anymore, and couldn’t remember if it was new.

“Our mom has a shop in downtown Green Bay,” Charlie said.

“Nice work.” Wes glanced at Tara, his gaze shifting to her neck. “She do yours, too?”

“Yep.”

Charlie opened his mouth, but Tara cut him a quick look. “Are you done for the night?” When he nodded, she shoved the leash at him. “Good, then Sugar’s all yours. And you owe me five bucks for replacing Emma’s ice cream.”

Charlie wound the leash around his hand and tightened it into a fist. He looked at Tara, then at Wes. “What’s going on tonight?”

Oh, come on, not again, darn him. “Charlie—”

“As soon as I wash your dog’s puke off, I’m going back to my motel,” Wes responded.

Tara fought a wave of disappointment. Stupid brother. She wanted to wrap that leash around his neck and pull hard. Instead, she acted as if everything was just fine. “And I’m going back to watch the fireworks.”

“Are you meeting Roger, or any of the girls?”

Tara really wanted to kill him now, making it sound like Roger was more than just a friend. “Mic and Tracy are in Chicago this weekend, and Roger had a date. I guess my consolation prize would be you, dear brother, you wanna come?” she asked, her voice full of honey.

He glanced toward where Sugar circled his bike, nose to the ground, then looked at Tara with suspicion. “You know she chases the fireworks.”

Tara gave him a tight smile. “Yeah…oh, well. It’ll be nice having the blanket all to myself. Good night, Charles.” She didn’t wait for him to acknowledge her dismissal as she turned to unlock her door.

“Don’t forget, I’m only four houses down,” he said. Tara clenched her jaw until she heard the Harley roar to life.