Be With Me(4)

“I’ve already spoken to the doctor,” Cam continued. “He wants to keep you one more night for observation. He’l release you in the morning as long as you have a place to stay. Your house alone doesn’t count.” He stared pointedly at her.

She sighed. “I have a job to do. I have a kil er to catch. I don’t have time for you guys to fuss over me, and I seriously doubt you have the time either.”

“We’l make the time,” Hutch said.

She turned to him and frowned. He was the one she could usual y count on not to treat her like an invalid. She’d been so grateful when he walked in and said she looked like hel , because it meant he wasn’t going to start posturing like the other two and make a big deal over what had happened.

“I’m a pushover, Reggie, but not when it comes to what’s best for you,” he said as if he’d reached right into her mind and plucked out her thoughts. Damn the man.

“I agree with them, Regina,” Birdie spoke up. “You shouldn’t be alone right now. There’s no way you can go back to your job until you’ve properly healed.”

“Traitor,” she muttered.

“Birdie, you sound tired,” Sawyer said. “If you like, I’l drive you home. We’re here now. We’l take good care of Reggie.”

Birdie smiled even as Regina scowled. “I can drive myself. You boys came a long way to see Regina. I’l leave you to it.” She leaned down to kiss Regina’s cheek. “I’l be back later. Is there anything I can bring you?”

Regina shook her head. “Thank you, Birdie.” Birdie squeezed her hand. “No need to thank me.

You feel like one of mine. Just like these boys do.” Regina smiled and watched the guys momentarily forget about her as they gathered around Birdie to give her hugs and kisses. Birdie did love those boys.

She’d given them a home and love when no one else wanted them. And they loved her every bit as much as she did them.

There had been times growing up that Regina had envied Cam, Hutch and Sawyer. It sounded sil y.

She’d had a privileged childhood in that she’d never gone without food or clothing. But the one thing she’d missed was love, the one thing that the guys had never lacked for once they’d come to live with Birdie.

She’d envied them that. They would have laughed at the idea that she, the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the state, had envied dirt-poor boys who had been in and out of foster homes and juvenile detention. But in a lot of ways, they had had more freedom than she’d ever dreamed of. And they had Birdie.

It wasn’t until junior high that the bond had formed between her and Hutch, Cam, and Sawyer. They had lived with Birdie a few years, Hutch being the last to arrive. It was Hutch who ultimately brought the four together.

He had stumbled across Regina’s “pretend place,” what amounted to a little hol ow in the creek bed a mile from Birdie’s house and across the pasture from Regina’s own home.

Regina hadn’t appreciated the interruption any more than Hutch had liked coming across a girl. But with no place else to go and nothing else to do, they’d formed a grudging truce and agreed to share the space.

When Cam and Sawyer had discovered Hutch’s ne w friend, they’d teased him relentlessly. That is until Regina bloodied both their noses. While Hutch was a little mortified to be defended by a girl, the three developed a healthy respect for the tiny little spitfire.

By the time they reached high school, the friendship between the four of them was solid.

Labeled as hel raisers and not given a spitting chance at ever amounting to much (by the townspeople), the three boys hadn’t cared much about fitting in. But no one bad-mouthed them around Regina. Even her father had learned the futility of that.

She sighed. She’d give a lot to go back to those days. Things had been simple. They’d had so much fun. They’d been inseparable.

A warm hand closed over hers, and she jerked her attention back to the present. Birdie had disappeared, and now Regina faced three surly looking men. Hel .

Cam, ever one to take the bul by the horns, didn’t bandy words. She usual y liked that about him except when it was her he wanted to be blunt about.

“It’s time we talked, Reggie,” he said firmly.

She glanced to Hutch and Sawyer in a silent plea for mercy. The determined looks on both their faces told her she wasn’t getting any.

“Captive audience, darlin’,” Hutch murmured. “You won’t be running like a scalded cat this time.” She closed her eyes and clutched the sheet with bloodless fingers. They wouldn’t real y bring up that, would they?

“You pretending we didn’t have sex won’t change a damn thing,” Cam said.

Yeah, they would.

Embarrassment heated her cheeks but she worked, at great pain to herself, to keep the humiliation from her expression.

Sawyer leaned down, tucked one finger under her chin and tapped upward until she met his gaze. “It would be one thing if you didn’t enjoy it, Reggie, but we al know that isn’t the truth. It would be different if you didn’t have feelings for us or we didn’t have feelings for you, but we also know that isn’t true.” She pressed her lips into a mutinous line and glared up at him.

“We have al the time in the world,” Hutch said casual y. “You won’t be getting away from us this time. You ran hard, Reggie, and we let you. That’s on us. But it won’t happen again. That’s also on us.” Helpless rage tightened her chest. She hated how they made her feel. She loved the way they made her feel. She hated how out of control they made her feel.