Page 8 of Stay With Me

Magnolia sits up and leans forward until her face is perched between Landen and me. “Guess y’all will have to carry me bride-over-the-threshold style.”

Landen laughs, putting the truck into gear and then glances at her. “Could haul you over my shoulder with one hand, sweetheart.” He flexes his arm, then smacks his palm over his bicep.

I roll my eyes, then suppress a groan when she squeezes his muscles. I’m the one who just carried her out of that party without breaking a sweat, and she’s acting like Landen’s a god when he flexes.

Get me outta here.

“But I ain’t riskin’ Ma catchin’ me sneakin’ y’all back inside. Last time I got in trouble, she nearly shipped me off to Canada,” he adds before pulling back onto the road.

“Well, we can’t have that now, can we? So we’ll have to make aplan…” Magnolia emphasizes the last word. “Noah and I will sneak up to her room first and make sure no one wakes up. After a few minutes, we’ll text you when it’s safe to come in.”

I look over at Landen, surprised he’s actually considering it, and then he nods. “Fine. But after ten minutes, I’m comin’ in.”

Ten? I’m waiting three tops.

As we get closer to the house, Landen turns off his headlights. I don’t bother moving but look back to make sure the girls are getting out.

“Ten minutes,” Landen reminds them.

“Keep your panties on.” Noah snickers.

They use their phone flashlights and slowly make their way up the porch steps before opening the front door. Dad sleeps like the dead after working twelve-plus hours a day, but my mom’s always been a light sleeper. Having a houseful of five kids made her aware of every little noise.

“So what was Magnolia doing when you found her?” Landen asks when the silence gets too loud.

“Two seconds away from kickin’ some guy’s ass for touchin’ her,” I say flatly. “Then two seconds after that, another guy came up and called her a slut. That’s when I hauled her ass out of there. I knew the moment she kicked him in the balls, a fight would break out, and it wouldn’t be too much longer before the cops showed up.”

Landen chuckles. “She’s a fiery little thing.”

“Tell me again why you like her?” My voice is mostly taunting since I have no room to talk.

“Besides how beautiful she is?” He arches a brow. “She’s fun, has a good sense of humor, a playful personality, and as you know, she can handle herself. Bold and sexy. What’s not to like?”

I nod in agreement but keep my mouth shut.

It’s one thing to know who your brother likes, but it’s another when it’s the same girl you’ve liked for years.

When I found out he had feelings for her, I shoved mine aside the best I could and pulled away. Landen and I have always been close. I’m not sure what he’d say if I told him I like her too, but I didn’t want to find out and have a girl come between us. Landen’s a great big brother, a good guy, and after the heartbreak his high school girlfriends put him through, he deserves a nice woman in his life.

“It’s been five minutes. Let’s go.” I grab the door handle before he can stop me.

Moments later, he’s following me up the steps, but we both freeze when the doorknob doesn’t turn.

“Those little shits,” Landen murmurs, reaching for his keys to unlock it.

But the door doesn’t open when he turns it.

“What the hell?” I ask, shifting the knob back and forth. “They deadbolted it.”

Landen grabs his phone and clicks on Noah’s name. After one ring, it goes to voicemail.

I call her next but get the same thing.

“Goddammit. We go save their asses, and they pay us back by lockin’ us out of the house. If Ma wakes up, she’s gonna think we were the ones out past curfew.” I shake my head, my hands balling into fists. Although Landen and I are adults, we still live at home and abide by the rules as a form of respect for everyone who gets up early to work on the ranch and retreat.

Pulling Magnolia’s number up, I call her next. To my surprise, she picks up.

“Hey, handsome. You lookin’ for a rowdy cowgirl for the night?” Her seductive drunken tone nearly has me choking out a laugh, but I’m too pissed to give in.