Jacked (Trent Brothers #1)(56)
I found talking about them was an easier topic. “Mike is still in Florida but Jason’s overseas again.” I eyed Erin, watching her eyes widen. “He’s a chopper medic in the army.”
I felt her foot slide up against mine under the table while her soft pink lips parted, silently giving me the message that I had her support and comfort. Damn if it didn’t feel good, too.
Knowing my youngest brother was a world apart in some god-forsaken hellhole was like a knife to the gut, slowing twisting in me every day. I saw her hand start to reach across the table but she checked herself and flinched back. It was all very subtle, nothing that the unobservant would have noticed. I was glad she wasn’t in a rush to share public displays of affection, especially in front of one of my friends. She was so different from the other women I’d been accustomed to.
And with that, images of Nikki yelling at my brother Jason, calling him a stupid * to his face for being enlisted, drifted through my thoughts. How she got up in his business, preaching and arguing with him about how he should give a shit about what was happening here in this country instead of fighting for other’s rights. The two of them didn’t speak to each other for a long time after that, and my family surely didn’t want me to bring her around anymore.
Erin adjusted her foot that she was resting on mine, breaking my thoughts, rubbing as if she were nuzzling me. It took everything within me not to reach across the table and acknowledge her private messages in my own way. Her inner beauty was shining through, bright and clear, blinding me with her generous gifts. I’d be willing to bet the farm that Erin would never be the type to challenge one of my brothers or publicly humiliate them in front of the rest of my family on their choices.
“Shit,” Kip breathed. “Doing another tour?”
I nodded.
“Afghanistan?”
Jason’s orders were actually classified. “Some shithole like that.”
“God, I hope he’s safe. Middle East. That is not a place to be these days.”
“Tell me about it,” I muttered.
Kip shuttered. “Damn. Well, we’ll pray for him. Oh, and speaking of the Trent brothers, my wife showed me a picture of Kyle the other day with that blonde actress… what the hell’s her name from that movie? The one that all the women are going ape shit about? Aw hell, I can’t remember.”
Hell if I knew either. While I could only handle one girl at a time, Kyle liked variety. One thing was for certain—Kyle and I both had a weakness for blondes.
“He still in California?”
I gazed back at the gorgeous blonde sitting across from me, giving me her undivided focus and attention.
“He’s all over the place, Kip. It’s hard to keep up with him.” I couldn’t hold back my smile. My brothers might be dickheads sometimes, but they were still my brothers and we were all tight, even though we didn’t take a lot of time to call each other. “My brother Kyle is a bodyguard. He’s had a few high-profile clients lately.”
“What, like celebrities?” she asked.
I nodded, aware of her tempered reaction.
“Wow,” she uttered, giving me a warm smile. “Sounds like a very interesting career. I bet he has great stories.”
I was glad to see her thoroughly interested but maintaining her enthusiasm. Last girl I told that to lurched over the table, pawing at me with such fangirl exuberance to find out dirty details, I was afraid, not to mention instantly turned off by it.
But not Erin. She had class.
My eyes focused on her sexy mouth, the pit of my gut sparked an all too familiar fire of want, and I found myself wishing Kip would get lost. “Probably, but we don’t talk a lot about it. It’s his business and he’s usually pretty tight-lipped. His job comes with pages of non-disclosure agreements, so he’s not one for long-winded discussions.”
Erin readjusted in her seat, and that’s when I lost her foot that was touching mine. I wished she’d put it back where it was. “Is Jason the one that’s older than you?”
I shook my head, stretching my leg her way, trying not to kick her by accident. “No, he’s the baby of the family. Mike’s the oldest, then me, Kyle, and then Jason.”
“What does Michael do?”
Get’s into deeper shit than I do with drug cartels? “He’s a police officer too, outa Miami.”
Kip gave me another slap on my shoulder. “Badasses, all of them. Hey sorry to hear about your dad, man.”
I let his condolences roll off my shoulder with a nod and took them for what they were—Kip being decent and respectful and a friend who still gave a shit.
“Is he doing better?”
Getting that frantic call from my mother last summer was something I could do without remembering. It was also one of the things that brought everything to a head. “Yeah. He’s got a bit of a slur yet when he talks but it’s a lot better and, well, he’s still breathing.” I met Erin’s concerned stare. “He had a small stroke.”
“Shit,” Kip breathed out. “Looks like you’ve had your plate full, man. No wonder I haven’t seen you around.”
Considering I was the only son in town when it happened, that was putting it lightly.
“Adam’s dad coached varsity ball our senior year. He’s a tough son of a bitch,” Kip said with a grin to Erin.