Hourglass (Hourglass 1)

I’d want a pool in my backyard, too. “Why did he freak out when you introduced us? I thought he knew about me.”

“He did. The fact that you’re here with me confirms you’re on board to save Liam.”

Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and Michael held a finger up to his lips. Kaleb walked through the open doorway, shielding his eyes from the sun coming in the window.

“You look better,” Michael said, standing to close the blinds.

A lot better. He’d showered and put on clean clothes. The improvement in smell alone was stellar. He looked back and forth between the two of us, his gaze lingering on me.

It made me feel warm.

“Sorry about downstairs. I’m not exactly in my right mind. Which I don’t understand,” he said, looking back at Michael, “because I swear I only drank two beers.”

Michael raised his eyebrows, saying nothing, and sat down on the edge of his bed.

“Swear,” Kaleb insisted in his deep, rough voice. “Do you remember … um, who I was with when you found me?”

“Tall girl, dark hair, crazy eyes. She didn’t seem to want to let you leave.”

“Amy. No, Ainsley.”

“New girlfriend?” Michael asked.

“No.” Kaleb’s gaze slid over to me.

“Random hookup?”

“Mike. A lady is present.”

“She might as well get to know the real you.” Michael shrugged.

“I don’t appreciate what that implies,” Kaleb said through gritted teeth.

“You’ll get over it.” Michael reached out to grab me by my sleeve and pulled me over to the bed to sit beside him. He pointed to the empty desk chair, then back to Kaleb. “Sit.”

Kaleb sat.

But he wasn’t happy about it.

I watched as his face transformed from the wide smile into something fierce and closed off. His eyes were even more beautiful up close, lending some delicacy to his face, but he still wasn’t a guy I’d want to meet in a dark alley. Michael said Kaleb was a hard-ass, but I didn’t think that began to cover it.

He was just plain scary.

“Nothing to worry about, Mike.” Kaleb tried to play the disagreement off, but his voice remained tight. “No harm, no foul. No strings.”

“I know.” Michael stood, his tone challenging. I wanted to cover his mouth with my hands. Something told me I didn’t want to be within a ten-mile radius if they started fighting. “It’s like all your relationships. Hit-and-run.”

“Watch it.” Kaleb’s gaze darted in my direction again as he stood and took a step toward Michael. “I don’t need a big brother or a babysitter.”

“You did last night.”

Jumping between them was as smart as jumping into the middle of a cage match, but I did it anyway, putting a hand on each of their chests. Even in the heat of the moment I had to appreciate the muscle tone of both.

“Stop!” My voice broke, so I tried again. “Stop! I know you don’t really want to do this, either one of you. Quit acting like babies.”

It had been my experience that accusing a boy of being a baby was as effective as throwing a bucket of water on the Wicked Witch of the West. Just as she did after the Scarecrow took aim, the tension melted. Michael sat back down, and Kaleb dropped into the desk chair. Placing one arm on the seat back, Kaleb eyed me. “Hey, bro, do you think you can put Shorty back on her chain?”

I stepped forward with my hands on my hips, only slightly intimidated to find Kaleb almost eye level with me when he was seated and I was standing.