Chapter 2
Lyrical
“No,” I murmured. “I didn’t know. Then again, your parents wouldn’t invite me. They barely tolerated me being present when you brought his body home.”
Jamie muttered an expletive under his breath, and the guys around the table shared looks and shifted in their seats.
Jesse, I’m sure, had told them there was tension between himself and his family, and that tension included his twin, Jamie, because he took his brother’s side.
Beyond that, I doubted he’d told them much.
It just wasn’t his way to share a lot of personal things.
I placed a hand on my brother-in-law’s forearm. “It’s okay. I said my goodbyes to Jesse a long time ago.”
For just a moment, my eyes flicked past Jamie.
Rhen Durbin. Some day, a very lucky woman will stand at his side.
I heard my dead husband’s voice clear as day in my head. Firm. Affectionate in a best friend's way. They’d been close. Very close. Knowing how my husband felt about him and the bond they shared, my heart twisted at the grief Rhen must have felt when Jesse passed.
Right now, I was more concerned with how guilt crept in as my heart raced at the sight of him. So guilty, I heard my departed husband’s voice in my head.
Short blond hair in a crew cut, just past regulation. Brown eyes so deep you could drown in them. A gentle smile that lifted only one corner of his mouth. A dimpled chin. And the rest of him? Like all of Jesse’s unit, muscles upon muscles.
He was quiet, polite, and when he looked at you or listened to you, he was one hundred percent focused on you. Every time he came around, nothing quite prepared you for the quiet presence of Rhen “Tiguan” Durbin.
While on deployment, I’d seen him over video calls, and he’d been to the house often for cookouts and weekend-warrior projects—or as I called them, slam-bang construction sessions of the let’s-drink-beer-and-try-to-assemble-something variety.
The two men were amazing Marines, but trying to build something while not on a mission?
They were adorably useless. My sewing machine table still wobbled unevenly.
After Jesse died, I saw him at the funeral, but that was the last time. Until now.
When he hugged me moments ago, the comfort he offered filled me to the brim.
It felt like my cracked pieces were being glued back together.
He smelled all citrusy and sunshiny, and for the briefest of moments, it seemed as if something pushed me closer to him, giving me permission to soak in all that was Rhen.
“Order for Lyrical?” The server startled me out of my daydreams about Tiguan, and I blushed at being caught staring.
“Add it to our table, please,” Jamie said.
“No, Jamie, I can’t—”
“Don’t argue, little sister.” He took the bag from the server and set it on the table between us.
The woman cleared a few dishes, more to show off for the guys than anything else.
If she called one more of them “sugar” or “hun,” I was going to have a stroke.
It was the hand on Tiguan’s shoulder that made me pop up from my seat, desperate to get out of the hot, noisy diner, my appetite suddenly gone.
“Thanks for my breakfast. I have to get to work. Lots to do at the center with the festival coming up.”
Jamie stood with me. “I’ll walk you out.” He put a hand on my lower back, guiding me through the crush of people. Once outside, he faced me. “What festival?”
Immediately, my brain kicked into overdrive.
My list of tasks had reached the never-ending, overwhelming, daunting stage.
“We’re running a fundraiser this weekend.
A carnival sort of thing. Music. Kiddie rides.
Games. Trick-or-treating with the local businesses.
All Halloween themed. Runs tomorrow through Sunday.
We’re short-staffed, so everyone’s pulling a lot of overtime to get the tents and everything set up. ”
“I’ll come by and help.”
“You don’t need to do that.” Secretly, I hoped he wouldn’t listen. Not that the women and volunteers couldn’t do it, but having some muscle there would make it go faster, and I wouldn’t worry so much.
Let people help you, sweetness.
Jesse’s reminder blew through my mind like the wind blew a strand of hair across my face, which Jamie delicately tucked behind my ear. “You okay, sweetheart? You need anything?”
“Other than more time in the day and reminders to do things like eat?” I held up the bag as evidence. “No, I’m doing well.”
“You sure? Being back home can’t be easy. My parents aren’t harassing you?” he asked darkly.
There was no way I was telling him that his family actively campaigned against the women’s center.
“Neither has come by the center or my home to see me.”
His eyes narrowed slightly, and they flicked across my face, searching for a lie. He wouldn’t find one. All their dirty work was coming from behind the scenes.
Suddenly, I found myself pulled in tight into another huge Jamie-hug, all arms and squeezing, lifted off the ground, complete with a growling noise. I couldn’t help but giggle at his antics.
“It’s so good to see you, little sister.” Setting me back down, he gave me an exaggerated kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you in a bit. Be prepared to make me roll up my sleeves, move heavy things around, and be eye porn for the ladies.”
Rolling my eyes, I secured my bag of breakfast food and began walking away. “Some things never change,” I called out over my shoulder. “See you soon!”