“Well, I’m glad to hear she’s not going to be my sister-in-law. Her brand of drama doesn’t mesh well with our family dynamic.” Reece’s eyes strayed to Noah’s laptop, open on the coffee table. “Is that … Are you watchingsurfingon YouTube?”
Aw, shit!Had Hailey seen it too? Noah had been so worried about dirty underwear and dirty pictures that he’d totally spaced on something far more compromising.
“Uh, yeah. Broadening my horizons.” Noah lunged for the computer, where his new favorite clips were still looping.
“Hang on.” Reece held up a bracing arm and leaned in. “Sweet, but why? Didn’t know that was a sport you were into.”
“No reason.” Noah’s hand hovered, poised to snatch the device from Reece’s line of sight.
“Hey, that looks like … Wait! ItisHailey Bailey!”
Noah groaned. On the screen, they’d switched from film of her maneuvering inside a barrel to a close-up of her being interviewed, her loose hair kissed blond by the sun. The bottom ticker scrolled her name, along with stats Noah had yet to decipher—he’d been way too distracted by the athlete to unravel how the competitions worked and the nuances of the scoring criteria.
Very young and very wet, said athlete spoke into the mic as if she’d done it her entire life … probably because shehaddone it her entire life. Though she was muted, her poise was evident—as were the curves under a hot pink surf suit.
Reece slapped his thigh. “She surfs!”
“Correction: shesurfed.” Noah picked up the laptop and minimized the window.
“Holy shit, now that’s badass!”
And so fucking hot!“Yeah, but it was a long time ago.” Noah executed a jerky shrug.
The dog picked that moment to sidle over to Reece, and Reece held out a hand. The mutt licked it. “Wow! Progress.” Reece glanced up at Noah. “He doesn’t know how good he’s got it yet, does he? You’re his second chance.”
“He’ll figure it out. Hey! That’d be a great name for him.”
Reece’s eyebrow dipped. “What would?”
“Chance.”
“I thought you were having a naming contest.”
“I am, but no one has to know I picked a name, do they? Besides, Hailey had a hell of an idea, and I want it to play out.”
Reece regarded him for a moment. “You like this girl, don’t you?”
“No!” Noah’s too-loud protest teased another smirk from his brother.
“That denial says it all.”
“I barely know her,” Noah spluttered.
“After what you guys went through? I bet you know her better than most women you’ve spent time with, and I’m not talking about in the biblical sense. People open up a lot when they believe they might not make it. The alter egos, the pretenses, the games melt away, and you’re left with who that person is at their core. Trust me on this one.”
After his years in search and rescue, Reece had the experience to back up his statement. But while he might have been right about Noah seeing the real Hailey, Noah wasn’t ready to admit it to his brotherorhimself. His thoughts took an unfortunate detour to her seeinghimas he really was, and he winced inside at the crappy impression he’d probably left her with … until the word “sweet” bubbled up.
“Idon’t have the time, the money, or the energy for anything beyond the occasional—” Noah stopped himself from saying “hookup” as guilt over Sandy slammed into him.
“Keep telling yourself that, bro. Watching surfing videos says otherwise.” Reece stood, startling the dog, who slinked back to the kitchen. “Well, shit. I thought we were pals.”
“He’ll warm up. I think. I hope.” After Reece left, Noah turned to the dog. “Hey, Chance, it’s okay. See? He’s gone.”
Chance surprised the snot out of Noah when he walked over to his fancy bed, had a sniff, and plunked down with his head on his front paws. He let out an enormous canine sigh.
“Huh. Guess you like your new name. Well, that’s one bright spot in the shit-show that’s my life today.”
Noah stripped off his flannel and skinned on a Miners Tavern T-shirt over his Henley. With a resigned exhale, he headed out of his sanctuary, down the stairs, and into battle.
