Caught in the Act (Independence Falls 2)

“And Katie,” he called after her. “This time, I’ll follow your lead.”

She paused, her hand on the doorknob. She could hear her brothers on the other side, searching the cabin, muttering to one another.

“You trust me to handle this?” They’d been here before. Well, not here, exactly. Her brothers hadn’t almost walked in on Liam spanking her seven years ago. But close. “To handle them?”

“I do.”

“Katie?” Brody’s voice boomed through the cabin. Judging from the sound, her brothers were close to the master bedroom.

She quickly opened the door and slipped into the hall, careful to keep Liam hidden from view. “I heard you, Brody,” she called, walking into the open kitchen/living space.

Her brothers turned at the sound of her voice, drawing together to form a line of tall, imposing male bodies. Her oldest brother’s eyes were bloodshot, as if he’d been up most of the night. All three looked a little rough around the edges with their untucked shirts and worn jeans. If she hadn’t known them forever, she might have been intimidated.

Katie crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“We’ve been looking for you half the night,” Brody said. “You can’t disappear without a word about where you’re going.”

“And who you’re with,” Chad added nodding his head toward Liam’s discarded jeans.

“Yes, I can,” she said, looking first at Brody, then Chad. Josh had moved off, heading for the sliding glass door. “I’m not a little girl. You can trust me to take care of myself. And I did send a text letting you know when I’d be home.”

She looked from one stern, pissed-off brother to the next, refusing to give an inch. “Now, if the three of you are here, who fed the horses this morning?”

“Georgia offered when I called to see if she’d seen you,” Chad said.

“Is that your boat stuck out there?” Josh asked, his tone more curious than angry. “Looks like you would have needed help sooner or later.”

“Someone is coming,” she said.

“Marvin?” Chad said. “We ran into him last night in town. At close to three in the morning when you didn’t respond to my calls. Marvin said he’d lent his boat to a friend who wanted to visit this side of the lake. Drunken old fool wouldn’t say who.”

She heard the bedroom door open and wondered if Liam had been waiting for the right moment to make his entrance. She didn’t turn around, instead watching her brothers’ expressions turn dark and foreboding.

Chad’s hands formed tight fists, his eyes widening. “Shit, is that—”

Liam stepped into the open area and moved to her side, placing a hand in the small of her back. His touch proclaimed, She’s mine, loud and clear. And left her wondering if he’d meant what he’d said, if he would follow her lead.

“Hey guys,” Liam said. “Were you out hiking this morning?”

Chad stepped forward, his eyes darting to the discarded jeans, the two plates of eggs, then back to Liam. “I’ll give you five seconds to explain what the hell you’re doing out here with my sister.”

“And if your reasons have anything to do with Moore Timber’s offer,” Brody added, his voice low. “You’re going to have a hard time swimming back to dry land.”

LIAM ADJUSTED HIS stance, bracing for a punch while forcing a smile. Brody was right. Liam deserved to take a hit. He’d come here for Katie, but the fact that he hadn’t told her about Eric’s proposed offer made him a bastard.

Katie quickly stepped in front of him. It took all his self-restraint not to pick her up and move her out of the path of flying fists. Not that her brothers would take a swing at Katie, but still, he wanted to fight this battle for her.

“Back off, Chad,” she ordered. “And Brody, not another threat. This has nothing to do with Moore Timber.”

“Katie,” Liam said. But this wasn’t the place to tell her. Not with her brothers looking as if they wanted to take him out.

She glanced back at him. “I’ve got this.”

Liam wanted to eat his words. He should never have promised to let her handle Brody, Chad, and Josh. Winning her trust now, in this moment, wouldn’t matter when it broke into pieces at Monday’s meeting.

“Please,” she added before turning back to her angry siblings. “I invited Liam. We’re planning Georgia’s bachelorette party.”

Liam pressed his lips together and nodded. Her brothers stared back at him with a trio of slack-jawed expressions.