Page 7

Chapter Four

C orie

I’ve been back in Nashville for a month. I’m still unemployed and mooching off my older brother, who has been taking care of me since we lost our mom the summer after I graduated from high school. I hate that he’s supporting me. That’s not his job as my older brother, even though he thinks it is.

I’ve been trying to do small things like making dinner, grocery shopping, and cleaning up.

Landry reminds me he has a housekeeper who does the cleaning, grocery shopping, and even some cooking, but I have to do something.

I’m not used to sitting around idle. I worked all through college and even more during the summers.

I feel… lost.

Every day, I look at job listing websites and apply for jobs.

I don’t want to, but I’m going to have to start searching outside of Nashville.

I don’t want to move away from my brother and best friend again, but I have to go where the work is, and it’s starting to feel like that’s not Nashville, at least not for me.

My phone rings, pulling me from my thoughts. I smile when I see Sloane’s name. “Hey, you,” I greet her.

“Hey, hey. What are you doing today?” Sloane asks, as if I’m doing anything different than I’ve done every day for the past month.

“Oh, you know. Same old. Just sitting by the pool with my laptop, looking for jobs.”

“Still no luck?”

“Nope. I think it’s time to start expanding the area I’m searching.”

“No. No, something will come up. Take the rest of the summer to relax and see what happens.”

“You know I hate depending on Landry to support me.”

“I know you do, but he can afford it.”

“That’s not the point,” I remind her, just as I have almost every day since I graduated from college and moved back home.

“I know it’s not, but it’s still the truth. Come on… hang out with me the rest of the summer. I don’t start back to work until the middle of August. I need some bestie time.”

“What do you call what we’ve been doing the last month since I’ve been home?”

“Come on, Corie, it’s not enough. You lived away from me for four years. Four very long years. I missed you.”

My heart squeezes. Sloane has been there for me through thick and thin, and I missed her, too. We talked on the phone and texted every day. She would visit during the summers, but it wasn’t enough. She’s like the sister I never had.

“I’ll give it until the beginning of August. If I haven’t found something by then, I’ll need to change where I’m looking. Trust me, I don’t want to move away again, either, but that’s all a part of growing up and being an adult, right?”

“Yeah, yeah,” she grumbles. “There is a job in this city for you. I can feel it.”

“I hope you’re right,” I tell her.

“Now that we have that settled, I’m on my way over. Do you want me to bring food?”

“Actually, why don’t we just make something here? Landry’s home, and I’m sure he’ll be hungry, too.”

“Sounds good. I’m on my way. I’ll see you in fifteen.”

“Drive safe,” I tell her, placing my cell phone back on the chair beside me. Closing my eyes, I tilt my head back and enjoy the feel of the sun beating down on me.

Although I hate that Landry is supporting me, I can admit that it feels nice to take a break.

It's weird because I’ve been nonstop for the last four years, but it’s also nice to have nowhere to be, and I have time to figure out my next steps.

Sloane’s right. I need to give it time and see how it all pans out.

I’m trying to put all the worries out of my mind when a shadow falls over me. The sun is no longer blazing. Sunglasses cover my eyes, blocking the harsh rays hidden behind my brother, but I still have to squint to see him smiling down at me.

“Damn, I thought you were sleeping. I was going to toss you into the pool.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” I tell him, sitting up straighter in the lounger.

“Nah, not unless I knew you were fully awake.”

“That’s not much better, but thanks… I think,” I say, chuckling. I’ve missed my brother so much.

“What are you getting into the rest of the day? It’s Saturday. Shouldn’t you be out on the town, enjoying the downtime you deserve?”

That’s his way of telling me that being a freeloader is okay with him. I really did get lucky in the big brother department. “Actually, Sloane is on her way over. We’re just going to hang out here if that’s okay. Unless you need me to make myself scarce?”

“What? No. This is your home, Corie. I don’t bring women here.

The only women who have been in this house are you and Sloane.

” He says that sadly, because he bought it two months after our mom passed away.

“You come and go as you please, and don’t you dare ever think you’re not welcome here.

I don’t care what’s going on, Corie Reynolds. This is your home.”

Tears prick my eyes. “Thanks, big brother.”

Landry sits on the corner of the lounger and leans in to hug me. “Love you, baby sister.”

“What are you doing? Training camp starts in a couple of weeks. Are you going to be living it up until then?” I tease.

“Nope. Not that Beckett would let me even if I wanted to. I swear, he’s worse than Coach Warner sometimes.”

“So you’re telling me that he takes his position as captain seriously.”

“Is there a stronger word for serious?” he asks.

“That bad?”

“Nah, he rides our asses because we do stupid shit. By we, I mean me, Montgomery, Sinclair, and Vaughn. Beckett keeps us in line.”

I’m thankful that I’m a fan of the Rampage; otherwise, it would be hard for me to keep up when he uses their last names like that. They go back and forth, but it’s a typical conversation for us.

“Ah, I get what you’re trying to tell me.” I’m setting him up, but he doesn’t even realize it.

“What’s that?”

“That you’re living it up a little too much, and you’re depending on Knox Beckett, your quarterback, team captain, and best friend, to keep your asses in line.” I raise my eyebrows, daring him to deny it.

“Pretty much.” He laughs. “It’s not like we’re going hog wild or anything, but Knox, he’s on another level.

He lives and breathes the game. He rarely strays from his regimen of working out and eating as the trainers and nutritionists tell us to.

He’s got willpower unlike anything I’ve ever seen before in my life.

The man can resist anything if they tell him to. It’s not human.”

“Stop.” I push at his arm, and we laugh. “He’s human.” Then again, maybe that’s why he’s so damn sexy. It’s not human for a man to look that good.

“You can hang out with Sloane and me,” I offer.

“Thanks. Knox is coming over. We’re going to watch some game tape.”

“Already?”

“Yeah. The schedule’s out, so we already know who the first game of the regular season will be. Not sure if we’ll play much during preseason, so we’ll go straight to the first team that counts and study our opponent.”

“You’re a lot like him. I think you all are. You, Reid, Baker, and Foster might be a little more relaxed, but all five of you are dedicated to the game and being the best you can be. That must be why the five of you are so close.”

“When you live, eat, and breathe with a group as much as we do, it’s hard not to get close. Besides, it shows on the field, too. We’re the dream team, baby.”

“Careful, big brother, that ego of yours is showing.”

He stands and stretches. “It’s not ego if it’s facts. What time is Sloane going to be here?”

“She’s on her way now.”

“Knox won’t be far behind. I’m going to run out and pick up dinner. I’m going to get Chinese. Do you know what Sloane likes?”

“We were going to cook dinner,” I tell him.

He waves his hand in the air. “Take the night off. Besides, I know Chinese is one of your favorites. Tell me what to order so I don’t mess it up,” he tells me.

Accepting defeat, I rattle off her order and mine, which is the same thing—sweet and sour chicken. “Thank you, Landry.”

“I got you.” He winks. “If Knox shows up, keep him company until I return with the food. Don’t be alarmed if he comes on in. We do that at each other’s places, but I’ll talk to the guys now that you’re back home and let them know they need to knock.”

“Don’t do that on my account. It’s not as if I’ll be roaming the halls naked.”

Landry shudders at the thought, making me laugh. “Yeah, let’s not do that.”

“Be safe,” I tell him, enjoying his discomfort.

I’ve missed having time like this with him.

Mom passed away, and within a few months, I was moving to college.

Our normal, or what used to be our normal, is no longer relevant to us.

We’re both adults now, and now that I’ve spent more than a few days with him, I realize how much I’ve missed him.

I missed the sense of feeling like I’m home.

This house doesn’t feel like home, but being around my brother, that’s as close as I’m ever going to get to that again.

Closing my eyes, I rest my head against the lounger and again soak up the feeling of the sun's rays shining down on me. However, that feeling doesn’t last as another shadow falls over me.

“You’re blocking my sun,” I tell my best friend without opening my eyes. She doesn’t reply, so I keep going. “I know you’re attracted to me, babe, but I don’t swing that way,” I tell her with a soft laugh.

Coughing starts, followed by a low, deep chuckle.

I still and slowly open my eyes. It’s not Sloane standing over me.

Not that the low, deep chuckle didn’t already tell me this.

Instead, it’s Knox fucking Beckett standing there looking like sex on legs.

Seriously. He’s wearing a charcoal-gray fitted shirt that does nothing to hide his defined biceps and abs.

He’s in khaki cargo shorts, and his hair is mussed.

I imagine it looks like it would if he and someone—not me, because that’s not allowed—would look after a round of sweaty sex.

I sit up and clear my throat. “I thought you were Sloane.”

He nods. “Still pretty accurate, though.”