Page 5 of The Love Ambush (The Sullivans #1)

Four of my six brothers are living with me in my three-bedroom house and have been since they moved from Aspen Cove to Catalpa Creek in July. They’re also working out of it, since we don’t have a headquarters for our construction business in Catalpa Creek yet.

I consider turning around and leaving, but I don’t really have anywhere to go.

Is this how Gentry feels? Like siblings have invaded her life?

With the extra bonus of her being entirely responsible for those siblings? She’s a few years younger than me, but I can’t imagine how my life would have to change if I suddenly became responsible for the lives and well-being of two teenagers.

No wonder Gentry looks stressed all the time.

She’s doing an amazing job with a difficult situation, but she’ll never believe that coming from me.

I grab my coffee, my cinnamon bun, and the book I picked up from Lazy’s bookstore and head inside, braced for absolute chaos.

I hear the yelling before I walk through the front door. “The deal was, if I have to put up with your snoring every night,” Sebastian roars, “you have to buy the coffee, Ryland. Where’s my damn coffee?”

“I’ve been too busy to shop because I’ve been working overtime on the Hershman project because you couldn’t get your shit together and get the pipes run on time,” Ryland calmly replies. Ryland never raises his voice, but there is a definite hard edge to his words, which is as close as he ever gets.

I head straight for the stairs and my bedroom, which is currently doubling as my home office, because I don’t want to deal with Sebastian and Ryland’s brawl.

Unfortunately, my room isn’t empty or quiet. Deacon’s sitting at my desk, and Cash is on my bed with floor plans and papers spread out around him.

“You know the dining room is supposed to be our office, right?” I ask.

Cash looks up at me, his dark hair, in need of a cut, falling into his face. As usual, he’s dressed in a button-down and slacks, always dressed for success, as he puts it. “You think I’m going to get any work done with World War Three going on down there?”

I cross my arms over my chest. “And you couldn’t find anywhere to work other than my bed?”

His expression softens. “Sebastian says he’s going to look for office space today. You’ll get your house back soon, baby brother.”

Deacon’s typing away on my laptop, ignoring both of us. Which means he’s probably up to no good.

“I need my computer, Deac.” I’m handling all the accounting for our family business until we can find an accountant locally, but more importantly, I have a side job they don’t know about and I have work to finish before I take off for Brodie’s wedding tomorrow.

Deacon keeps typing, not even looking up, his long, lean body bent over my laptop almost protectively. “When you abandoned us, I learned how to do all this business crap, Levi. I’m working.”

Two years ago, I left the business and moved back to our hometown of Catalpa Creek to go into business for myself. I just needed to get away from the family and prove I could make it on my own. Even being gone for so long, I still know Deacon has never been the one who handled the ‘business crap.’

I look over at Cash, who gives me a wicked grin. “Leave him be. It’ll be worth it.”

If I didn’t have work to do, I might go along.

Instead, I walk over and look at the screen.

“You’re setting up a profile on a dating site?

I thought you declared a moratorium on romance.

” That’s what he said last month, but he hasn’t offered any reason for the sudden change in his typically busy dating schedule.

Deacon scrolls back up and leans back in his chair, proud of himself. I move in closer and see Sebastian’s name at the top of the profile.

Laughter bubbles up at the same time dread fills my gut. “He is going to murder you.”

“He’s going to thank me,” Deacon says, running his hands through his auburn hair, which is also in need of a cut. We’ve all been working too hard to have time for self-care. “Dude needs to get laid. He’s been an enormous dick since Skyler dumped his ass, and I’m sick of it.”

“What are you going to do if someone decides to date him? Are you going to tell the poor woman this is a setup?”

“Hell no,” Deacon says. “You know me better than that. This is a well thought out, finely tuned operation.”

“Uh-huh.” I look over at Cash. “You part of this?”

Cash shrugs. “Can’t do any harm. Sebastian is miserable.”

“This won’t fix him. When he finds out, I want you to tell him I had nothing to do with it.”

Deacon grins. “Unless he loves it and is deliriously happy, then you want credit for it?”

My brothers aren’t generally idiots, but sometimes their never-ending optimism makes them seem like they are. “If this actually works and Sebastian is actually grateful, I’ll cook dinner for a week for both of you.” It’ll never work, but my brothers love a bet.

So do I.

My brothers nod, intent on what they’re doing.

“And…” I say.

They continue to ignore me.

As the baby of the family, I was ignored too often to love the feeling. “If Sebastian doesn’t find happiness with a new woman, you two will do my laundry for a month, including folding it.”

“Two weeks,” Cash says without looking up.

“Four weeks,” I say. “I don’t have that much laundry.”

“Fine,” Deacon says.

“And get your own computer,” I say. “I need mine.”

“Done,” Deacon says with a final keystroke before he throws his arms in the air in a V. He leans forward and rubs his hands together. “Now, let the matches commence.”

“Great,” I say. “Now, put the app on your phone so you won’t need my computer again.”

I know my brother well enough for the look on his face to make me nervous. “I don’t need the app on my phone, brother. I set up the account with your contact information.”

I drop my arms, hands fisting at my sides. “Why in the hell would you do that?”

“Because it’s your computer,” Deacon says, like the answer is obvious. “Not that I’m going to tell you the password. You just need to review the matches you get via email and forward the most likely candidates to me. I’ll set everything up.”

I run my hands through my hair and grip it hard. “How are you going to do that when it’s my contact information on the account and my computer is with me in Colorado?”

Deacon’s grin gets sharper and more wicked. “That’s not for you to worry about, Levi.”

I should have known Deacon would pull something like this. He always makes sure to cover his ass with any prank he pulls.

Lucky for me, he has no idea just how far my computer skills extend. A secret I’ve been keeping more for moments like this than for any real concern that my brothers will be mad about my side business.

“Whatever. Can you two please leave my room? I have some work I need to get done.”

“What work?” Cash looks up, his interest way too intense. Does he know something? “I thought you finished up all your projects so you can head out-of-town tomorrow.”

“There are a few loose ends I need to tie up.” I make a sweeping motion with my hands. “Go find somewhere else to work.”

“Sebastian takes up all the space in the dining room,” Cash says. “This is the cleanest room in the house and the farthest away from Sebastian and Ryland’s battles.”

“Should we be worried about that?” I ask. As the founding members of our company and the only two with architecture degrees, I have good reason to be concerned about them not getting along.

“It’s fine,” Cash says, expression serious for a change. “They’re just stressed about drumming up business here as the weather cools, and you know they both get grumpy when they don’t have sufficient alone time.”

I trust Cash’s opinion. He’s always got a good bead on the moods and concerns of every member of our family.

“Plus, Mom called this morning to say she and Dad are moving to Catalpa Creek next year,” Deacon says. “They want us to find them land and build them a house.”

That shocks me so much I have to grab the doorjamb for support. “Are you fucking with me right now?”

“Wish I was,” Deacon says, frowning. Deacon almost never frowns, even when he’s actually feeling sad. He’s the family cheerleader, always lifting the mood. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’m glad they’re going to be living close again, but you know how they get when we’re doing a build for them.”

“I still have nightmares about Mom’s she shed,” Cash says with wide eyes.

“I thought they were happy in Aspen Cove,” I say. “They have so many friends there.”

“They have friends here too,” Deacon says. “And tons of family. It really is the best move for them.”

I don’t hate the idea of them moving here, but it’s going to take me some time to adjust to the idea. Living in a small town is bad enough, but when a large part of the population is related to me, there’s no keeping secrets. And I’m not sure I want my parents that involved in my business.

“We’re going to have to brainstorm a plan of action on how to fit them into our schedule when I get back,” I say. “I’ll work on some ideas while I’m gone, but it’ll take a lot of late nights and careful planning to get the business off the ground here and get their house built.”

Cash looks over at Deacon, brow creased. “I told you to wait until he got back.”

“It’s fine,” I say. “I’m not going to stress over it. I’ll just work on some ideas, maybe start on next month’s schedule.”

“Yeah,” Deacon says. “You were right as usual, Cash.”

“Do they have their house on the market yet? I’ve got a list of great real estate agents—”

“We’re on it,” Deacon says. “Trust us.”

I cross my arms over my chest. There’s no way in hell I’m trusting these two chuckleheads with Mom and Dad’s house sale. This is their life savings we’re talking about. I’ll call them as soon as I get a chance and get the real story.

“Don’t call them,” Cash says, eyeing me. “We’re on top of things, Levi. Go have fun and don’t think about work or anything going on here. You need the break.”

Yeah, I’m not going to be able to do that, but I’m also not going to argue with my brothers about it.

“Family meeting,” Sebastian bellows from downstairs. “We need to clear some shit up.”

“Fucking great,” Cash says as he straightens his papers. “I’m blaming Ry for this.”

Deacon snaps my laptop shut and hands it over. “You should get out of here before he realizes you’re back.”

I take the laptop and stuff it into the bag next to my desk. “Let me know if it’s anything important?”

“It won’t be,” Cash says. “It’ll just be Sebastian trying to fix his miserable mood by lecturing us on the importance of sticking to timelines and working as a team.”

I hesitate. Sebastian is miserable, but he’s also not wrong. “We need an actual office and an office manager as good as Stanley.”

Deacon rubs his temples. “I offered her so much money to move with us, but she wouldn’t do it, man.”

“Maybe I should stay,” I say. “I found a couple of potential clients we could talk about.”

Cash stands and gives me a shove toward the window. “If you get into that right now, you won’t be leaving tomorrow. Get out before he comes up here.”

Deacon slides the window open, and I climb out of it, feeling more than a little like I’m abandoning my family. “Just don’t let him do anything too unhinged.”

“We’re on it,” Cash says. “Trust us.”

I climb out the window and slide down to the edge of the roof. From there, I make a small leap onto a sturdy tree branch and climb down to the ground. I haven’t snuck out of a house since I was a teenager, but since my brothers moved back to town, I’ve been doing it at least once a week.

Sebastian is right. We really need to get our shit together.

Since my driveway is short, I had to park about a block down the street when I got here. Earlier, I was annoyed, but now I’m grateful as I sprint through backyards without being spotted by my brothers.