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Sawyer: Use the code phrase if it’s a need Casanova, otherwise, I gotta skip today. I was up with Ivy and Grace all night

Liam: Let us know when you’re ready for a break, brother. Hannah and I are happy to help

Sawyer: We’re good right now but I appreciate it. Not ready to leave the m

Fuck. Is this code phrase worthy? We set it up as protection to bail each other out of shit if it was a situation we needed help with. But I can’t even tell them my issues without it exploding completely. FUCK.

Me: I’m good. Don’t worry about it. Just bored.

Kinsey: Want to meet for some coffee?

Do I want to do that? My sister is on summer break, and I really should be soaking up some time with her, but I just want to work this tension out of my system to clear my head. Guilt eats at me as I war with what to do. Shit.

Me: Yeah. Meet you at Bean Haven in twenty?

Kinsey: See you in a bit!

After taking a quick shower and doing my business, I pull on a pair of fitted khaki shorts, a navy blue short-sleeve button-up shirt, and my white Converse.

Bean Haven is an Aspen Ridge staple. My brother Liam’s wife, Hannah, owns the place and makes the best baked goods in the state.

She closed for two days a few weeks ago because of some personal things she had going on, and the town nearly lost their shit.

She keeps us all fueled with her coffee and pastries.

As I approach the storefront, I nearly groan out loud.

Hannah’s grandmother, Mrs. Nettie, sits outside at her little table that is placed there just for her during the summer months, with her little dog in her lap.

You never know what you’re going to get with Mrs. Nettie.

You’re either on her good side or this creepy ass other side she lets out sometimes .

“Hi, Mrs. Nettie. How are you and Winnie today?” I greet her, giving her what I’m hoping is a charming smile.

“Don’t you hit on me, Carter Hayes, or I’ll call your momma!”

My eyes bug out of my head. So, wild and crazy it is.

I gasp, pulling my hands over my heart to mock horror. “Mrs. Nettie! You hurt my feelings! Now, why would you want to break my heart first thing on a Monday?”

“Oh, don’t give me that garbage! You Hayes boys are all trouble. Except for Liam. Liam’s the good one.”

“Your secret is safe with me, Mrs. Nettie. I know you have to say that because he’s married to your granddaughter,” I say with a wink.

“Psh! The day you settle down, Carter Hayes, is the day I will let you give me that smooch you’ve been trying to get!” I laugh at her, reaching over to scratch Winnie’s ears before pulling the door to the shop open.

Walking into Bean Haven, my sister, Kinsey, is already chatting with Hannah at the counter.

Her light brown hair is worn up in a messy bun, her face bare of any makeup.

She’s such a perfect mix of both of our parents.

Our mom’s soft facial features and petite stature, our dad’s hair color and blue eyes.

She’s wearing a pair of cutoff shorts that I think are way too short and a loose-fitting Aspen Ridge Distillery T-shirt.

“Hey, little sis. Hey, Han.”

“There he is! Why do you look like someone kicked you while you were down?”

“Nah. I just got a lot of work stuff on my mind. What about you?”

“Well . . .”

“Oh, shit. So this wasn’t a ‘I just want to spend time with my brother’ coffee date? You’ve got some shit you’re gonna try to pull me into.”

“Okay, I really need help. I can’t live with Mom and Dad anymore, Carter. I love them so much. They’re so amazing for letting me move back in after college. But I need out.”

“Ugh. I get it. But, what do you need me for?”

The bell to Bean Haven chimes, and Kinsey and I both turn our heads to see our brother’s best friend, Reid Knight, bend his head to walk through the door.

Reid’s been Sawyer’s other half since Sawyer was in college at the University of Washington.

He brought him back to Aspen Ridge with him one summer, and he never left.

He owns a tattoo shop a few blocks down from Bean Haven.

The man is covered from neck to . . . I’ve actually never seen the man in shorts, so I don’t know how far down the damn things go, but on every inch of exposed skin, he’s got ink.

Ivy has nicknamed him Drogo because of his long hair and massive size, and I don’t disagree with her.

Reid walks over to our table as he makes eye contact with us before placing his order with Hannah.

“Hey, man, how are ya?” I ask.

“Life’s decent. How are you?”

Oh, I’m just dreaming about fucking the shit out of the man who’s taken over all my headspace, but you know, life’s a peach.

“Everything’s good over here,” I reply, my voice falling flatter than I mean for it to.

“Kinsey?” he asks her. My sister smiles coyly at him, and I have to squint my eyes at her.

She had better not be flirting, I will shut that shit down so fast. She is not allowed to flirt.

No boys. Even if there isn’t anything about Reid that is boyish.

He’s definitely a man, just maybe like a superhuman one.

“Everything’s okay. Happy that summer is here. You want to join us?”

“Yeah, that’d be great, shop doesn’t open till four, so I’ve got plenty of time to kill.”

Hannah places a mug of steaming coffee on the counter and a small ivory plate with an old-fashioned donut next to it.

He must come in here a lot for her to know his order without him asking.

I watch their exchange and am reminded how thankful my family is to Reid.

One way or another, he’s managed to help out all the women in our lives who mean something to us.

He has a dark past that only Sawyer knows about, but none of us press.

It’s his story, but we’re all grateful to know him and have him in our corner.

Reid returns, pulling up a chair to sit in front of the booth.

His large-ass body wouldn’t fit next to me in the booth, and he knows how protective we all are of Kinsey. I appreciate him giving her space.

“So you two just catching up? I’m not intruding on any sibling bonding time?”

“Nah. Just hanging.”

“Actually, I was just about to beg Carter to let me move in with him,” Kinsey blurts, my eyes shooting up to her.

I did not know that’s where that conversation was headed.

My mind flashes images of Finn in my bed, and that would never happen if Kinsey was there.

Not that I have any intention of ever bringing Finn home with me.

“Whoa, Kins, that is not happening.”

“Whaaat? Why? I’m a good roommate! I’m quiet, you won’t even know I’m there. I can’t live with Mom and Dad anymore!”

“Why don’t you take the loft above Rogue? Blaire’s moved out since moving in with Dallas,” Reid interjects, taking a sip of his coffee. Kinsey’s head snaps in his direction.

“Wait. Are you serious?”

“Yeah, why not? It’s furnished. It’s a studio. Don’t think it’s glamorous or anything. But Blaire enjoyed living there.”

“I could pay you.”

My eyes shoot back and forth between the two of them as they start to plan this out, and I don’t like it at all .

“Whoa, okay, back up. No one is moving anywhere. Kinsey, Mom and Dad’s is not that bad.”

“It is. I need my own space. I’m twenty-two, Carter, I have a career, and I need to be on my own.”

“What about above Bean Haven, then? We can talk to Hannah.”

“And be woken up at the ass crack of dawn when she’s there before the sun comes up to start baking? No, thank you. Love her. Love Bean Haven. That’s a hard pass.”

“Beggars can’t be choosers, Kins.”

“And I’m not begging. Reid offered, and it’s a better option than the one you just gave me, without even talking to Hannah first, by the way.”

“I’ll ask her right now,” I snap as I raise my hand to yell for Hannah. Kinsey quickly leans over the table, wrenching my arm back down.

“Don’t you dare! I don’t want to live above Bean Haven, Car, you know that would be rough.”

The situation rapidly gets out of control as Reid and Kinsey start discussing options. Pulling out my phone, I open up the group chat.

Me: We got an issue

Me: @ Bean Haven with Kins and Reid and Reid offered to let her rent the studio

Dallas: Fuck no. She’s staying with Mom and Dad

Sawyer: The fuck? No. Absolutely not. She’s too young to live on her own.

Liam: Tell her no right now.

Dallas: Shut that shit down

Kinsey’s phone chimes from her lap, and I smile brightly at her as she reads the messages.

“Really, Casanova? You’re a dick.”

“Look,” Reid says, putting his palms up in peace, “I don’t need you four Neanderthals comin’ at me for bein’ helpful. Kinsey, the place is yours if you want it and these dumbass brothers of yours let you breathe.”

“She’s our baby sister, man, you gotta understand.”

“I do, more than you know, trust me,” he says, a bit solemn and reflective.

“But, I’m downstairs seven days a week and into the evening when I’ve got late clients.

She’d be safe. And she’s responsible. Just come get the keys if it works out.

If not, don’t worry about it.” With that, Reid pops the last bite of his donut into his mouth and stands to leave.

“Why do you four have to be such overbearing dickholes?”