Dare to Stay (Dare Nation 4)

Austin pushed the door shut and shrugged. “Sorry, man.”

Braden ground his teeth together. “Great timing, asshole.” He finally had Willow where he wanted her, and Austin had to interrupt. “What do you want?”

Austin shoved his hands into his trouser pockets. “I didn’t see you around and didn’t realize Willow was missing, too. Figured I’d make sure you were all right. I know readjusting to being home can’t be easy, and we haven’t had much time to catch up.”

“I was working on the hard parts when you interrupted,” he muttered.

Austin, the older brother who’d always acted like a parent, braced his hand on Braden’s neck. “How’s it going?”

“Well, it was going great until you walked in.”

Austin released him and rolled his eyes. “That’s sex. How’s it really going? You left her, right? And she wasn’t exactly cozying up to you earlier in the main room. In fact, she was avoiding you entirely.” He sounded serious, not like he was taking any pleasure in pointing out the fact.

With a groan, Braden flopped onto the bed. “She’s still pissed. Doesn’t trust me. I’m trying to take what I can get while showing her she can believe in me this time.”

“And you think sex is the way to convince her?” Austin sounded surprised.

“Hey, it can’t hurt to remind her of our chemistry while showing her all my stellar qualities at the same time.” He would have laughed but it wasn’t funny. “I’m working at proving myself, believe me.”

Austin nodded. “That’s all you can do. Meanwhile, it’s almost dinnertime so let’s go eat.”

“Sounds like the best idea you’ve had all day.” Because it certainly hadn’t been walking in here, he thought, still frustrated because of the interruption.

They rejoined the family to find his mother had opened the chafing trays on the kitchen island for their buffet-style dinner. There were too many people for any kind of sit-down-and-be-served dinner. Damon had brought some teammates and there was a folding table set up in another room where the guys had congregated.

Braden looked around for Willow and found her across the room talking to Aurora, both women sitting, Aurora on a chair, Willow on an ottoman. He strode over to join them, catching Willow’s gaze first and noting the flush that rose to her cheeks when she met his gaze, the kiss still alive between them.

“Am I interrupting?” he asked.

“Nope. We were just talking about … things,” Aurora said, and he could sense her being deliberately vague.

He allowed her privacy. “Are you hungry? The food’s out in the kitchen.”

“We thought we would wait until everyone got theirs and then we’d go eat,” Willow said.

He laughed. “Smart. I wouldn’t want my hand to get between my brothers and food. Animals, the lot of them.” He grinned, causing both women to chuckle.

“I’m going to the ladies’ room before dinner,” Aurora said, pushing herself to a standing position and centering herself before walking off.

“Everything okay?” he asked, taking the young woman’s seat.

Willow nodded. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.” He leaned in close, unsure what she wanted to say, but it sounded serious.

She glanced over her shoulder before turning back, seemingly satisfied. “About Aurora. I can’t let her go back to a closet room in the back of a diner. I just can’t.” She looked at him with wide eyes as she said, “I want to let her move in with me.”

He hadn’t seen that coming but maybe he should have. Willow could obviously relate to her, and he’d known that when he’d made the decision to bring her with him to meet Aurora. But to have a stranger move in?

“Do you think I can trust her?” she asked on a whisper, as if reading his mind. “I realize that sounds awful, but I don’t know her, and yet I can’t let her live the way she has been.”

He blew out a long breath. “Seems like you’ve already decided. And yes, my gut says you can trust her. But it’s still a risk.” One that worried him. Because really, what did they know about Aurora?

“Where will she sleep? You’re in a one-bedroom.” He’d move them both in with him, but he had no room, either, and there wasn’t a chance Willow would agree.

She wrinkled her nose in thought. “My sofa is a pullout. I can sleep there. She can have my room. We travel quite a few more weekends, anyway.”

He shook his head. “You can’t–”

“I can. She’s pregnant and looks exhausted, like she hasn’t slept. Did the bed in her room look solid?”

He ran his hand over his eyes. “It was a cot.”

“Then that’s that.” Willow folded her arms across her chest, obviously determined. “Listen, I know what it’s like to have no one. I can’t imagine being her age and pregnant with no support system.”

“And how will she get to work at the diner?”