Straight Up Love (Boys of Jackson Harbor 2)

I nod. I kind of forgot, and I’m not thrilled about the reminder. I wonder what Molly would do if her boss tried to put his hand up her skirt. I can’t imagine her confronted with such a situation, but if she were, I have the feeling she’d handle it with grace. And she probably wouldn’t do something like Straight Up Casual to begin with. “Apparently she has some sort of big news.”

“Maybe she’s moving home,” Colton says.

Jake stops his coffee halfway to his mouth. “You think?”

I frown at him before looking back at my brother. “I can’t imagine she’d want to. She’s been here a grand total of five days in as many years.”

“That’s true.” Colton studies the contents of his mug.

I stifle a growl. Just the mention of Mother Teresa and all the men in the room go somber. I’m four years older than her, but I have younger friends who told me the guys in high school all wanted a piece of her. I always knew Colton had a thing for our stepsister, but I hate to imagine Jake just as lust-stricken. “Are you going to make it to dinner?” I ask my brother.

“Can’t,” he says. “Have a thing.”

“A thing? Sounds super important. I’m sure Dad will understand.”

Colton shrugs. “Since when do I give a fuck what Dad thinks?”

That’s true. Colton can’t stand our father, and when Mom moved to Florida, he went with her rather than living with Dad. For me, it made sense to stay. I was a junior in high school, so I only had a year and a half till I finished school, and I figured I’d rather be the odd man out with Dad’s new family than leave all my friends. In retrospect, I think Colton made the wiser decision, but at the time I wondered if part of his motivation was his fear that moving in with Molly made him more like a brother to her, rather than a potential . . . What? What did Colton want with Molly? To screw around, or more? Before Ellie, Colton wasn’t serious about anyone, but I always wondered if Molly was the exception. Maybe even the reason.

I turn to Jake and catch him staring at the stack of ungraded compositions on my kitchen table. He looks a little stricken as he grabs his keys from his pocket. “I need to head to Brayden’s for brunch. Do you want to come with?”

I put my hand on my stomach, already full of Star’s incredibly rich donut. “I think I’m all set.”

He shakes his head and smiles. “You don’t have to eat. You can just hang out with us. I know how much you like Shay’s coffee.”

“That’s tempting, but I have a bunch I need to get done around here.” Papers to grade, laundry to fold, weeds to pull. Since I work two jobs and volunteer as the director of Jackson Harbor Children’s Theater, I have to be stingy with my time off.

“I’ll see you later, then,” Jake says, heading to the door.

“Give Mom my best,” I say.

“Will do,” he calls back.

I wander across the kitchen to see whose paper Jake was looking at, and my heart does a stutter step. Not composition papers. Potential sperm donors.

Colton looks over my shoulder and chuckles behind me. “Jake doesn’t seem to be handling the news of your potential pregnancy very well.”

Any awkwardness from Jake was less about a potential pregnancy and more about me asking for his sperm, but since Colton would flip out if I shared my embarrassing drunken request, I think I’ll keep that to myself. Maybe I shouldn’t be allowed to drink.

I look at my brother, narrowing my eyes. How’d he find out, anyway? “Ellie told you about that?”

He nods and studies my face. “Would’ve rather heard it from my sister.”

“Well, it’s only a possibility. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” I shrug. “How’s your season shaping up?” I ask, intentionally changing the subject.

Sometimes I think my brother chose his career in motocross just to spite our father. Then again, everything about racing appeals to Colton. The travel. The constant thrills. The life-threatening levels of danger. The women . . .

“Season’s good,” he says. “There are some new guys trying to make a splash, but we’ll see if they last.”

“And how are you and Ellie?”

“We’re fantastic.”

I grin. “That’s why she keeps hearing wedding bells.”

Donut halfway to his mouth, he freezes. “Did she tell you that?”

Folding my arms, I frown. “Not in so many words, but she talks about you two getting married like it’s inevitable. I think we all assume it is.”