Saxon nodded.
“You couldn’t have thought they’d jump right on the idea of me collaring them.” Truthfully, he wasn’t quite sure why he’d said yes to the idea.
You’re lonely. You miss having a sub of your own.
Probably. But that made him sound a bit pathetic, so he pushed that thought aside.
Joel sighed. “Yeah, wishful thinking. I guess I hoped they’d see him in you and feel comfortable with you.”
“See who in me?”
“My brother.”
Jardin gaped at the other man. “Ah, I’m pretty sure I was just insulted.” He didn’t know the whole story, of course. But most of his cousins were a bunch of gossips and word had it that Saxon’s brother was a complete ass who thought Joel was some sort of freak because of his sexual needs.
Saxon grinned. “You’re used to being insulted, right? Living with the Malones.”
“I don’t live with those assholes. I just visit sometimes. Mainly, I go to check that Mia hasn’t murdered them all and needs an alibi.”
Saxon laughed. “We’d all give her an alibi. Hell, most of the town would help her bury the bodies.”
Jardin raised an eyebrow. “I seriously remind you of your brother?”
“Not because you’re an asshole,” Saxon told him. “I’m sure you are, you’re a Malone after all. But you’ve just got a way about you that’s similar to him. Quiet yet controlled. I’ve only ever seen Cole flip out twice.” Joel looked back at the guest house. “He’s in Haven.”
“Who? Your brother?”
“Yeah.”
“Shit. Do they know?”
“Yep. He walked into Fet the other night. Didn’t know they were even here. Saw Keira. She froze. Then Julian punched him, and Keira raced out. Julian panicked because Keira was out of his sight.”
Jardin ran his hand over his face. “Fuck.”
“Yeah. It’s good they’re talking. But they’ve got a long way to go. Until he can let her out of his sight without losing it, until he can let people get close to her without threatening them how are the two of them going to heal? As for Keira . . .” Saxon shook his head.
“I’ll do what I can to help them,” Jardin told him quietly. “But maybe it’s not just what happened to them in South America that needs healing.”
Saxon shot him a look. “Yeah. I thought of that. Cole has some explaining to do. Not sure they’re ready to listen, though.”
“He’s sticking around then?”
“Yeah. He is. He owes them that at least. They need some closure from him.”
“You think he wants them back?”
“Yeah, I do. Question is, is he what they need, or will he just make everything worse?”
“Fuck, man. You’d think you would’ve explained all this before I said yes.”
Saxon grinned. “Now, where would the fun be in that?”
The waitress needed a lesson in customer service.
Seriously, why had anyone hired her for this role? Cole stared down at his burger in confusion. “I ordered the special.”
“You don’t want the special. You need a burger.”