“I think I need another bottle of water,” I said to Jesse.
He gave me an exasperated expression that said he knew exactly what I meant—he needed another bottle of beer.
“Walker,” Colt cut in, like Jesse and I weren’t in the middle of a hydration stand-off.
Jesse’s eyes cut to Colt—long enough to express some serious displeasure—before landing back on me. “Mason.”
I lifted my eyes to the barn ceiling. I didn’t know why they even acknowledged each other if that was how they did it every time they ran into one another. Puffing out my chest and narrowing my eyes at Lily, I channeled whatever gruffness I had. “Walker.”
She giggled but managed to stifle it quickly. Lifting her head, Lily rolled her shoulders back and settled her hands on her hips as Colt had them. “Sterling-Walker.”
My eyes widened before I nodded at Lily’s seriously impressive talent at playing the part of a twenty-something guy. “That was impressive, Lily. You win that round.”
“Really?” she said, going back to herself seamlessly. “I thought it was a tad overacted. You know, the sneer thing might have been a bit much.”
I made it a point to inspect both Colt and Jesse’s faces. “Eh, no. You nailed it.”
Lily and I were in the middle of high-fiving when Jesse and Colt shook their heads.
“We don’t sound, look, or act anything like that,” Colt piped up first, flinging his finger between Lily and me.
“Yeah, you pretty much do.” Lily patted Colt’s arm in an attempt to console him, but when his frown only grew, she just shrugged.
“Nothing like that,” Jesse added, though his eyes were still zeroed in on my stomach.
“Everything like that,” I argued.
Jesse sighed, but he was clearly already over the disagreement and ready to get back to why I’d nearly done a back-flop into Colt’s arms.
“What’s going on?” he asked again, lowering his voice.
“Nothing.”
He shook his head and set his jaw. I shouldn’t have looked away when I answered him. That was standard procedure for what a person shouldn’t do when attempting to lie.
“Rowen . . .”
That tone made me bristle a bit more each time he used it.
“Come on, Jesse, ease off,” Lily said. “She’s okay now. Why don’t you enjoy the party?”
“I was enjoying the party until you two showed up and my wife looked like she was about to pass out.”
My eyes went wide at his words. Jesse had always been gentle to a fault with his sisters, Lily especially. I knew his words came from a place of worry and were directed at Colt’s presence, not hers, but still . . . the hurt on her face went deep. She wasn’t used to masking her emotions like some of us were.
“Hey, Walker. Back off.” Colt stepped forward, putting Lily just enough behind him to look like he was ready to protect her from a firing squad.
Jesse didn’t miss it either. “My sister doesn’t need you to take care of her, Mason. She’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself.”
“I never said she wasn’t.” Colt’s hands fell from his hips down to his sides, his fingers curling into his palms. Jesse’s had been curled in the same way since Colt had shown up. “Rowen’s pretty damn capable of taking care of herself too, you know. She doesn’t need you calling the cavalry and playing hero every time she trips on something.”
Jesse’s jaw ground together. Then he stepped toward Colt. If either of them took another step, they’d be bumping chests. Jesse and Colt were built the same: tall, wide shoulders, muscular, although Jesse’s were the kind developed from hard work and labor whereas Colt’s had been hewn in a weight room. I didn’t want to see either of them get in a fight with anyone, least of all each other. While I knew neither was predisposed to testosterone-fueled fights, nothing about that day had gone with the flow.
“Back off, Walker,” Colt said, though his feet stayed in place.
“Lily’s my sister. I’m her brother. I’m not backing off. You are.”
Lily and I exchanged another look. Where was Garth Black when I needed him? He could ease the tension by yapping some lewd comment before sending them on their separate ways or if they did get into it, act as a scrappy enough referee to tear them apart.
“I’m her boyfriend.” Colt’s chest went out a bit—the whole scene reminded me that Freud was right on so many levels. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“You and Lily have been dating for all of five minutes. Don’t make grand proclamations you can’t be certain you’re capable of keeping.”
I wasn’t used to seeing Jesse so confrontational. I wasn’t sure I liked it. Was this side of him brought on from the stress of the pregnancy? Or would this be the norm for him no matter which of his sisters’ boyfriends was standing in front of him? I didn’t know. All I did know was that I needed to drag Jesse away from Colt, or Lily had to drag Colt away from Jesse. Those two wouldn’t be friends anytime this decade.
“We’ve been dating almost six months, and I have every confidence I can back what I just said.” Colt reached for Lily’s hand, not blinking as he stared down Jesse. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Before Jesse could snap back with anything else, I grabbed his hand and pulled him away. “We’re going somewhere though. Somewhere else.” I waved at Lily as I continued to wrestle the wall of determination away from the future scene of the crime. “Anywhere else,” I added when I noticed how tight Jesse’s fists were curled.