Page 189 of Duty and Desire

I felt Mo’s arm tight around me, holding me to the strength of his big body.

And I saw all Mo’s boys around me, giving me strength.

I’d fallen for Mo.

And along the way, I started falling for all of them too.

I looked at Mag.

“Evie for you. She’s a nerd. But she’s gonna sort your shit.”

Mag blinked.

I looked to Auggie.

“Pepper for you. Just trust me on her. Perfect.”

My attention went to Axl. “Hattie. You’ll flip your shit for her. And she totally won’t for you. You’ll have to work for it. But she’ll make it worth it.”

Axl tipped his head to the side, openly intrigued.

Finally, I turned to Boone.

As suspected from nuanced vibes I was getting from him, there was something guarded in his expression, and I wasn’t sure if it was me he didn’t want to see it, or the others.

So I went out on a limb he didn’t know was a limb.

“Ryn,” I stated. “Kathryn. She’ll be beyond your wildest dreams. Yourwildestdreams, Boone.”

There was a flash of understanding that told me I’d guessed correctly, and I moved quickly in order not to allow the others to catch it.

I’d have that conversation with Boone later.

Alone.

I turned in Mo’s arm, looked up at him and said, “I just need to finish sorting my purse and get my shoe on, baby. Then I’m ready to roll.”

Mo looked down at me a beat.

Then he smiled.

Pep talk delivered, I was good to go.

Still smiling, Mo dipped way down to touch his lips to mine and let me go.

I sorted my purse, but it was Mo who crouched down to put on my shoe.

And with hugs and kisses on the top of my head from the guys while standing by Mo’s truck, and promises from Mag that the next time they came over, he’d bring beer, we were on our way.

I was notsurprised at Mo’s mom’s house.

He’d told me, in order to raise five children after his father ditched them without doing them the favor of actually ditchingthem, his mom worked hard to become a CPA. She’d semi-retired the year before, a partner in a big firm in town. She still worked VIP clients, two to three days a week, because if she didn’t, she’d go crazy seeing as she didn’t knit, paint, birdwatch (or the like).

She’d also downsized houses after Mo had entered the Army out of high school years ago.

So the brick Park Hill bungalow with the pergola over the front porch, brick path, thick, green lawn and tidy but not effusive landscaping that included black-eyed Susans in their final blooms was expected.

Sadly, by the time Mo parked behind a shiny Chevy Silverado, the pep talk had worn off.