Page 1 of Home Town
Chapter One
“Josephine Adeline Baldwin--”
At the horrifying sound of her full name, in all of its Mom-and-Dad-named-me-after-both-grandmothers glory, Josie spun to glare at the man who’d been a thorn in her side for nearly three decades. Right from the moment she emerged from their mother’s womb.
With a voice that was low and filled with warning, she said, “Do you want me to whack you over the head with my laptop? Call me that again and I will gladly oblige.”
The warning only had her older brother Quinn, a Navy SEAL who’d probably enjoy some hand-to-hand combat training in the living room of the rented house they shared, grinning.
“I’d like to see you try. But what I’d really like is to know what has you grumbling and huffing and talking back to your laptop screen while I’m trying to watch TV?” He raised one dark brow where he sat on the sofa.
She let out an audible puff of air. Then scowled when she realized she’d just proven her brother right. She had been having a very one-sided argument with the content in her browser window during which she’d hurled insults at it and it had continued to ignore her.
Glancing up, she saw he was still patiently waiting for her to answer.
Damn the man! Nowadays he had the ability to be as cool as a cucumber on command when it came to the sibling spats between them.
Over their lifetime together she’d made it her goal to rattle him. It was her job as his little sister. And she used to be able to get him pissed off pretty regularly, which only made her want to do it more. And more. And more.
Then last year, through no effort on Josie’s part, Quinn had really lost his cool. It had been glorious to watch as he lost his shit when it came to their mutual friend Bailey and all the problems that had come with her sudden fame. The break-in at Bailey’s apartment, Bailey’s ex-boyfriend leaking her nude pics. And, not to be forgotten, the paparazzi camped outside their parents’ house…
All that, combined with Quinn’s inability to process that he might have actually succumbed to the dreaded L-word when it came to Bailey, had nearly driven him over the edge. It had been the most satisfying time of Josie’s life watching Quinn wrestle with his emotions.
But now that Quinn and Bailey were engaged and blissfully, euphorically, disgustingly happy, it was as if he’d become some sort of Zen master… Calm. Cool. Collected.
Or at least he was as long as the paparazzi following Bailey behaved themselves.
His eyes still on her now, Josie realized she might as well answer his question. In their staring contests of old, he’d always won.
Quinn was as stubborn as he was annoying. And apparently he had nothing else to do today but bother her. Bailey was safely at the salon getting highlights for the next three agonizingly long hours or so—which was one reason Josie’s own boring brown hair had never been and would never be highlighted. And nothing was going on with his team at the base in Coronado at the moment, so…
“Mom and Dad,” she said with another expulsion of air.
That cryptic explanation had even Quinn releasing a sigh. “What now?”
Josie turned to read straight from the caption of the Instagram post because he wouldn’t believe her, wouldn’t be able to comprehend the horror, wouldn’t share her misery, unless he heard it verbatim.
“The wife and I christened Rusty last night, if you know what I mean. Wink-wink. Glad we sprung for the upgrade on the mattress. #IYKYK”
She glanced up expecting to see an expression of abject horror, disgust and nausea on Quinn’s face to match her own. Then she frowned. He was fighting a smile.
“Why aren’t you shocked?” she demanded unable to comprehend he found this situation amusing.
“Oh, I am. Completely shocked that Dad’s hashtag game is so on point. Way better than mine actually.” Quinn chuckled.
“So you think this is okay?” She waved one hand to indicate the offending post on the screen.
Expending barely a modicum of effort, Quinn lifted one shoulder. “They’re in the perfect position to enjoy themselves. Empty nesters. Retired with no responsibilities. Reliving the honeymoon period. Let them have their fun.”
“Fine, have fun, but do they have to do it in public?” she asked, appalled.
“Don’t worry. Rusty has curtains. Mom posted a week’s worth of stories of her shopping trips to pick out just the right ones. They’re pinned in the RV Renovation highlights in case you missed it.” He grinned wider.
“Them having that kind of fun in full public view wasn’t what I was talking about and you know it. Their Instagram is just so… embarrassing.”
Even with their parents in New York and Josie, Quinn and Bailey living in California, her parental unit could still make her blush.
“This coming from the woman who makes a living by building websites and PR campaigns designed just to get people this exact kind of social media attention.” Quinn rolled his eyes.
