Page 15 of Pick Yourself Up (Heroes to the Core #3)

Clear Things Up

T he days passed quickly for Amber. She and Gray split their time between the house and the gardens, depending on the weather.

They removed the boards from the windows on the first and second floors.

The rooms were wonderful and she could easily imagine them as they could be. After a lot of effort and money.

They’d cleared about a third of the garden space. The pile of what Gray called treasures grew every day. There were many salvageable plants beneath the weeds. Not that she knew enough to recognize most of the plants, but Gray’s excitement when they found new treasures was a delight.

Spending the days together meant they had plenty of time for talking. And plenty of time for companionable silence. And kisses. They made time for that as well.

Gray was a wonderful man and the more she got to know him, the more she liked.

She was edging well past like. She was falling in love. Falling fast and hard.

Gray was a multi-faceted man. Tough and strong.

Able to do hard work physically and mentally.

Observant. Helpful. She knew he’d been in the army for two tours.

Without giving away secrets or details, he’d told her he’d been a strategic specialist. Unlike her brothers and Ford, Gray hadn’t belonged to one team.

He’d worked with multiple teams that worked in the same area.

It sounded difficult. Her brothers had become good friends with their teammates. They’d become a second family for each of them. Gray wouldn’t have had that closeness with any one group, but he’d known Knox well enough to come to work with them.

For which she was grateful.

Between Boomer and Gray, she felt safe. Knox and the others added another layer.

Along with a level of guilt. Although Knox hadn’t pressed her for details, he’d implied a few times he wanted to help.

She hoped he wasn’t imagining worse things than what had happened. Jolie, too.

Which meant it was time to tell them.

A sudden gust of wind had the rain slapping against the windows of the living area, where she was supposed to be making lists and plans.

Instead, she was worrying about the family call that would happen soon. Was she brave enough to tell them? Was today the day?

Boomer lifted his head, and his ears pricked up. He turned from her to face the door. Amber twisted her hands together and waited for Boomer’s reaction.

His tail wagged, and he stood, stretching. She wasn’t surprised when Gray appeared in the doorway. Boomer trotted over to greet him.

“I’m going to tell them.” The words burst out of her without her planning to say anything.

Gray walked closer and rubbed his hand up her arm. “Good. During the family call?”

She nodded. “Maybe. Hopefully. I want to tell them because I don’t want Knox to imagine terrible things any longer. And if I tell him, I might as well tell them all together.”

His strong arms wrapped around her, offering comfort. “How can I help?”

Yep. Such a good man. “I don’t know. I didn’t decide until you walked through the doorway just now.”

His chuckle warmed her. “Your brain’s been working on this for a few days now. Just start speaking and it’ll all tumble out. I can make sure me, Ford, and Thea are elsewhere if you’d like it to be just family.”

Her arms tightened around him. “No. I’ll need you there. I’m not sure I could do it without you and Boomer.”

He squeezed her and kissed her hair. “You can do anything, Amber. You’ve already proven that. All you have to do is let them in. It’ll be good. You’ll see.”

“I hope so.”

“How about a distraction for a few minutes and then we can head over.”

Knowing what he meant, she grinned and tilted her head back for his kiss.

When they headed back to the farmhouse, the rain whipped at them, but it couldn’t touch the warmth that filled her on the inside.

Boomer shook off the drops on the back porch and they trooped into the mudroom to remove their boots and rain gear.

She had placed a wicker basket in the mudroom that held the moccasins they’d all taken to wearing in the house. Warm and cozy, but clean and dry as well.

In the kitchen, they found Knox stirring a large pot at the stove. The room smelled like apples and comfort.

Her brother grinned. “Good timing. I found a recipe for apple cider, and it’s ready. I’ve strained it a few times, and I thought it would be good to show the others another thing we can do with the apples.”

Love for her brother roared through her. He was always seeking ways to bring them together. Thinking of what would be best for them all.

She blinked against the sudden moisture in her eyes even as Boomer nuzzled her hand and Gray’s arm tightened around her shoulders.

It was definitely time to talk it out.

Knox studied her with a small frown, but didn’t mention her emotions. Instead, he nodded at her. Was he reading her mind now?

Jolie bounced in from the back door and clapped her hands. “It smells like heaven in here. If Lawson and Burke could smell it, they’d be making plans to visit.”

Ford followed her in and grinned.

Jolie took another deep sniff. “We need smell-o-vision. Is that ready? Want me to grab some mugs?”

That scent would be an excellent addition to the rooms in the B&B.

Not candles, as lots of people had adverse reactions to them.

Maybe jars of cinnamon sticks? But what about the apple part of the equation?

She’d have to think about that. Scent was an important part of a welcoming space, but many people had scent sensitivities, especially to artificial products.

Thea entered as they were setting up the video chat on the kitchen table. “Hemsworth and Fox are playing tag in the orchard. I didn’t have the heart to force him inside.”

Amber knew Fox rarely came indoors, and that Hemsworth enjoyed the outdoors no matter the weather. A pang of guilt stabbed her heart. Was her need to have Boomer at her side preventing him from having fun with his friends?

Gray’s hand on her back guided her to a chair. He sat in the one next to her and took her hand while Boomer squeezed between them and put his head in her lap.

In moments, steaming mismatched mugs were in front of all of them and Knox connected the call. He raised his mug and motioned for them all to follow suit. When Lawson and Burke logged into the chat, they both laughed.

Knox started the conversation. “If you were here, you’d be in on the first taste-test of our apple cider.”

Jolie grinned. “It’s delicious, smells even better, and you’re missing out.”

The conversation moved easily as they all checked in with each other. Amber’s breathing got shallow, and pressure built inside. Boomer whined, and she patted his head. Gray’s arm wrapped around her shoulder and his thumb drew patterns on her skin.

She drew in a deep breath. “I have to tell you all something.”

The room quieted instantly, and Jolie reached across to rub her arm. “Good.”

“What happened, Amber?” Burke’s voice was full of concern and demand. Her brother always wanted to fix all their problems, even when there was nothing to fix.

Deep breath. “Nothing’s wrong now, but I want to tell you what happened a couple of months ago when I was working at The Sidderlight back in Chicago.”

No one said a word, but she knew they all watched her intently.

She kept her eyes on Boomer. “Three men entered the lobby when I was working the front desk. They gave me a bad vibe right away, so I prepared the code I’d had Mr. Sidderlight install on the computer.

The men wanted access to the elevators and information on a guest. When I refused, they showed me a gun, so I used the code to shut down the computer.

That way, I couldn’t give out information. ”

Jolie whispered. “Or they would think that. We know you’d have all that information in your head.”

Amber nodded. “As part of the same security upgrade, guests with certain credentials can access the lobby security cameras and get alerts on their phones when the computer shuts down by the code.”

“The men forced me to reboot the computer, but with the code, it requires two authorizations to open. They didn’t like that.”

Her brothers and Gray all growled. The simultaneous sounds were almost enough to make her smile.

Lawson was the first one to speak. “Those fuckers hurt you.”

She didn’t respond but kept talking, focusing on Boomer’s fur and Gray’s thumb circling on her shoulder.

“The elevators and stairwells won’t respond without an activated keycard, which I couldn’t do without the computer.

Then Gray appeared from the stairwell. He had the three of them out of commission in seconds.

He’d also called the police. Between them, it was over quickly. ”

Another deep breath. “Anyway, I’ve been jumpy and scared since then. Boomer is trained in personal protection. He helped me get through several shifts, but I couldn’t keep doing it. I was too afraid to stay there, so I resigned and came here. That’s it.”

There was a beat of silence before her siblings all started talking at once.

Jolie squeezed her hand hard, and Knox moved to hug her from behind her chair. He kissed her hair and then hugged her and Gray at the same time. “Thanks, man. Anything you need, it’s yours. Ever and always.”

Knox’s gruff voice had tears swimming in her eyes. She’d managed to keep them inside while telling the story, but now they were slipping out.

On the screen, Burke raised his voice. “Claus. We’re all in your debt. Forever. Thank you.”

Her other siblings echoed his words. And then Lawson spoke. “I’m assuming the fuckers are in jail where they belong?”

Beside her, she felt Gray nod. “They are. All part of a crime family in the area trying to get access to a client of the company I worked for.”

More muttering from them all and then Jolie squeezed Amber’s hand. “Is that why you wouldn’t be on camera for our video chats? You were injured and didn’t want us to see?”