* * * *
Valentina was tired and especially worn out emotionally after dealing with the Roxie case at work and getting nowhere. The woman wasn’t going to trust Val on the spot. It would take time, and that wasn’t really an option. Then, when she’d gotten home, she heard all about how Evan came over and scared Lois. That had started a whole discussion about what the therapist was doing to Kenny to make him make statements like he had to his mother about his father hurting her. It was too much to handle. On top of it all, Valentina had forgotten to hand in the rent money. She thought she would have the chance when she got home, but she’d gotten home late and didn’t want to leave it in the mailbox overnight.
Her sister was lying in bed watching TV with Kenny. Valentina told them she was going outside for a bit. She didn’t want to upset her sister more by telling her she was bringing the rent money over to the landlords and warning them to tell their cousins to stay clear of Lois and Kenny.
She made her way across the grass, the night sky illuminating a clear path. She climbed the porch steps of their beautiful home and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” she heard someone yell. She hesitated, but she was curious about the inside of their home.
Sure enough, it was breathtaking. As Valentina walked into the main entryway, she saw all the large windows and the old black and white pictures that decorated the walls, and she could smell remnants of whatever delicious meal someone had made for dinner.
“Hello?” she called out.
Jace appeared, and his shocked expression made her stand in place. He looked good in a button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his forearms revealing muscles galore. He was clean shaven and looked ready for a date, and she wondered if he was expecting company.
“I’m sorry to bother you. I wanted to drop off this rent money.”
“It’s not a bother. Come on in. My brothers are just cooking outside. We got home late tonight, too,” he said to her as he looked her over. She was wearing a black skirt and a button-down long-sleeve white blouse, complete business attire. He turned around and headed inside where he ran to the stove, pushed around some vegetables, and then turned it off. She stood there looking at the beautiful country kitchen. It looked like something out of Southern Living.
“Sorry, I had to turn that off. So, you said you have rent money?”
“Here you go.” She stuck the envelope out toward him and he didn’t move.
“What was with your sister today? I heard she gave Evan a hard time when he was offering to teach her kid how to swim,” he asked her, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
She pulled back her hand and the envelope and stared at him. He was a tall guy, older than her, very muscular and filled with attitude. He also had great posture and stood like a soldier, but she didn’t care for his attitude one bit.
“Funny you bring that up. I was going to ask you to tell your cousin to keep away from my sister and from Kenny. She doesn’t need any strange guys coming over making her feel scared.”
He uncrossed his arms and squinted at her. “Scared? Why the hell would she feel scared? Evan is a nice guy.”
“Just tell him to stay clear.” She held the envelope out toward him and he didn’t take it. Instead he looked her over. She stepped closer and placed the envelope onto the counter.
“I can’t do that. He asked to be her guardian.”
She felt her jaw drop and she was stunned for a second.
“Why would he do that?” She was shocked.
“Like I said, my cousin is a nice guy.”
“Well, we don’t accept the guardianship thing, so if you could tell him, I would appreciate it.”
He stared at her. “What are you so afraid of? What are you hiding from my brothers?” he asked. The fact that he said brothers and not us warned her that he was distrusting and didn’t like her. They’d bashed heads from the start, which is why Valentina wondered why she felt attracted to the man. Maybe it was just his good looks and muscles. His attitude toward her ruined it all.
“Listen, I’m tired, I had a long day at work, and I just want to make sure you all understand where we stand on this guardianship crap.”
“What?”
She turned to the left to see Beck standing there.
“What’s going on? When did you get here?” he asked and stepped closer to give her a kiss. She stepped back and wound up cornered by the cabinets.
“What’s wrong?” Beck asked.
“Seems your little lady here has a problem with us being her guardians and our cousins being her sister’s guardians.” Jace stepped closer. She stepped back and planted her hands on the counter behind her.
“Is that so?” Sparrow asked, joining them along with Ridge as they carried steaks into the house.