Page 14 of Protecting Lainey (Broterhood Alliance #7)

Lainey stood at the sink as she put the final pot on the towel to dry.

She stared out the kitchen window overlooking the lake.

Tree branches cast shadows over the water, and the ducks were beginning their nightly waddle toward the big tree where her neighbor kept a bird feeder.

The birds spilled the seeds on the ground; the ducks gobbled them up. Win-win.

The dishes were finished. Luke was in bed, and she thought about grabbing a glass of wine and sitting on the patio, letting the quiet wrap around her.

Or … she had a list of things she could be doing. Balance the checkbook, go over the contractor timeline, stare at her dwindling cash reserve, worry about the vandalism and try not to think about Finn.

How handsome he was! How he left a boy and returned a man. How seriously he was taking her protection. How upset he would be when he finds…

Nope. Not going there tonight.

None of the above would help her relax right now. She dried her hands on a dish towel and was putting the pots away when her doorbell rang.

Who could be stopping by at this hour?

She opened the door and blinked.

Dani stood there with a big smile, holding a bottle of wine. “Surprise.”

Behind her was a group of women holding various containers and bottles of wine.

“What’s going on?” Lainey asked. This was so unexpected.

“We figured you needed a break. I know Luke is in bed.” Dani grinned. “So, surprise! It’s girls’ night.”

Lainey blinked again. “Wow. I’m speechless.” She hadn’t had a spontaneous girls’ night in forever. Actually, never.

And who exactly were these women? She opened the door wider and ushered them in.

The women poured in. Her quiet home was suddenly warm and buzzing.

“I love this neighborhood,” Dani said, glancing out the living room window. “It’s quiet, and there is so much wildlife by the lake.”

“That’s how I felt when I found it,” Lainey said. She was still trying to make sense of the women, who were making themselves at home.

“I’ve forgotten my manners. Let me introduce you,” Dani said. She motioned to each woman. “This is Joy, our party planner.”

A slender, blue-eyed blonde stepped forward and gave a finger wave.

“Naomi,” Dani continued, pointing out the women, “is Joy’s sister-in-law, then we have Isabelle and her sister-in-law Felicia, and Emelia, baker extraordinaire.”

Isabelle looked like a fairy, all dressed in pink and yellow. She was shorter than Lainey’s five feet four and slender. Isabelle handed her a small ribbon-tied box. “Felicia and I make soap. We made a Dragon Defender bar for your son. Heard he likes them. It’s a citrus fizz, mint and cedar.”

“Oh, he’ll love that,” said Lainey.

“And for you…” Isabelle handed her a neatly wrapped bar. “We made Looking for Love. Coconut water, freesia and linen. Just because.”

Naomi groaned. “Really, Isabelle?”

Isabelle smirked. “What? She’s single. This is self-care with a flirtatious finish.”

“It sounds like a dating app in soap form,” quipped Joy.

The women laughed.

“Thank you. These are perfect.” Lainey grinned. Somehow, she got the feeling she was going to enjoy being with these women.

Still, the question lingered in the back of her mind—who the hell were they?

Maybe these weren’t just Dani’s friends. Maybe, just maybe, she could be part of the group, too.

Emelia stepped forward with a small basket lined with lemon-yellow fabric. The scent of lemon and mint wafted up. “Lemon mint bars. It’s a new recipe I’m trying out.”

“Yum. They smell amazing.” Lainey took the basket and turned to the women. “You all sit. I’ll bring this into the kitchen and get some wineglasses.”

“I’ll help,” Joy offered, following her in.

Lainey reached into the cabinet for the glasses while Joy hovered near the island. “Party planner, huh?”

“Pfft.” Joy waved her hand. “That’s just my excuse for needing social time. Teaching sixth graders gets rather stressful sometimes.”

Lainey laughed. “Fair enough.”

Joy glanced around the kitchen. “This is very restful. Have you lived here long?”

“A few months. Still getting settled.”

“I heard you have a son in Jack’s class.” Joy cocked an ear.

Lainey froze for a second, surprised Joy already knew that. “Yeah,” she said. “That’s actually how Dani and I met. Luke and Jack became good friends when we moved here in the spring. Dani and I are co-room parents this year.”

“Hey, where’re the wineglasses?” hollered one of the women from the living room.

Lainey smiled and yelled back. “Hold your horses. We’re coming.”

She found a tray to put the glasses on and then opened the fridge. “I know I have some cheese here.” She poked around and found it. “Great. Joy, there’s a container of crackers in that cabinet by you. Grab it, please.”

Lainey set out a cheese board with pieces of cheddar and blue cheese, surrounding them with crackers. “That’s the best I can do on short notice.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” said Joy. “We’ve all eaten. Although that cheddar does look yummy.”

The two women brought the trays back into the living room. Lainey looked around and thought it was too bad it was so warm. A cozy fire would be perfect with friends sitting around it. Maybe this winter.

Dani had already pulled the corks on bottles of red and white. “What’s your poison?” she asked Lainey.

“Oh, white, please.”

“One white coming up.” Dani looked at the others. “You all can help yourselves.”

“I get special treatment?” Lainey teased.

“Only the first time,” quipped Isabelle. “We did surprise you.”

The women settled in, sampling the cheese and lemon mint bars, which Lainey decided she could eat every day.

“Where do you bake?” she asked Emelia.

“Oh, I used to own Lilypad Confections in town. Now I do videos and teach baking out of a converted barn at my house. Titus, my husband, renovated it for me.”

“How sweet. Is he a builder?” Lainey asked.

Emelia shook her head. Her brown-haired ponytail swished over her top. “No, he owns a gym in town. Maybe you’ve seen it? PushYourLimits.”

“Hmmm. No, but I’m still exploring. I think after tonight and these wonderful bars, I may need one.”

“Sooo,” Isabelle said, grinning as she placed her wineglass on the table. “What exactly does a historic restoration consultant do? Because it sounds kind of cool.”

Lainey laughed. “Mostly it’s a lot of spreadsheets, dust and trying to convince the city historic renovations are worth the time and money spent.”

The women laughed.

“And I hear you have Brotherhood backup,” Naomi said casually. She was a quiet one. Very observant, Lainey noticed.

Lainey tensed and reached for her wine. This was not a discussion she wanted to have.

“Wait, who did they send?” Felicia asked. “I know Will and Colt weren’t assigned to it.”

Who the hell were Will and Colt? How did these women know about the Brotherhood? Oh, God, were they a cult?

Lainey sighed. Her imagination was running wild. Most definitely the fault of the glass of wine she inhaled. A cult indeed.

Naomi grinned. “Nope. Finn Ryder.”

“Ohhh,” Joy said. “Mr. Life of the Party himself.”

“You know he’s Dani’s next-door neighbor, don’t you?” asked Joy.

Well, no, she didn’t. What the hell was going on?

“Yeah. Finn and Dex work for the Brotherhood and live in the house I inherited before I moved in with Will. You might have seen it when you drove in. It’s right next door on the corner,” Dani said.

Oh lordy. Was he home when she drove over to Dani’s to discuss refreshments for the welcome-back party at school next week? He didn’t stop by. Was he wondering why she was there? Did she even care?

“I didn’t,” Lainey confessed.

“Are you having problems at the site?” asked Felicia. She took a piece of cheese and a cracker and took a bite.

Lainey sighed. Guess work followed her home. “Some vandalism, spray paint on a mural, little things. Probably kids.”

“That’s awful, but Finn is good at what he does. Being in construction, I’m sure, is helpful,” replied Felicia.

Lainey forced a smile. “He’s been very helpful.”

Her fingers tightened slightly around the glass. There was more to say, but none of it belonged in the middle of girls’ night. Especially with women she just met.

Naomi cocked her head. “Did you two already know each other?”

“Hmmm.” Lainey swirled the wine in her glass. “We grew up in the same town. Old friends.”

A pause.

Then Joy grinned. “Old friends, huh. Isn’t that code for ‘more than friends’?”

“Well, there’s nothing going on now or in the future. He has a job to do, as do I.”

No one said anything for a moment, then Isabelle told a funny story about something that happened at her farm. Everyone laughed and thankfully forgot about her and Finn.

The night stretched out for another hour with laughing, stories about the guys and casual confessions. The wine was gone. The lemon mint bars disappeared, and all that was left on the cheese and cracker board was just crumbs.

Lainey leaned back in her chair, smiling so hard her cheeks hurt. She missed this. Just women being women.

Finally, one by one, the women yawned. Dani was the first to stand. “I’d better get home. Ryker is in charge of Jack and the baby. They were both sleeping when I left, but who knows now?”

Emelia gathered the wine bottles and brought them into the kitchen while Isabelle carried in the glasses and put them in the dishwasher.

“Thanks for letting us invade. Next time I’ll bring my lavender shortbread bars.”

“Holding you to it,” Lainey said.

“You survived your first surprise girls’ night,” said Joy. “Now you’re officially one of us.”

Lainey grinned. “I’ve always wanted to belong to a group of women.”

She followed them to the door, offering hugs and promises of getting together soon.

When the car lights disappeared down the street, she closed the door slowly and leaned back against it.

Finally, the house was quiet again.

Quiet in a good way, though. The air was filled with memories and traces of perfume.

She brought the last of the crumpled napkins and cutting board into the kitchen.

The small soapbox Isabelle gave her sat on the counter.

She opened the box and laughed. Dragon Defender had a sticker of a small boy holding a sword, with a dragon breathing fire behind him against a giant. Luke was going to love it.

Then she picked up Looking for Love, wrapped in blush-toned tissue paper with gold stars scattered across. The tagline read: “Searching. Not settling.”

She smiled and set the soap down. Turned off the lights and headed upstairs. She peeked in on Luke, sound asleep with one foot peeking out from under the blanket. She blew him a kiss and closed the door gently.

Finn’s name echoed in her mind. Along with Joy’s words.

Old friends, huh? Isn’t that code for “more than friends”?

Maybe it had been once.

But now? The truth was messier. Complicated. And hers to keep close for a little while longer.