How could he say that in front of his family? Even if they couldn’t hear, she was terrified they knew exactly what he was whispering in her ear.

Without another word, she managed to untangle herself from Crew’s arms, and she fled inside.

She wasn’t coming out again for another ten years. Maybe her blush would have faded by then. She doubted it, but miracles did come true sometimes.

Chapter Twenty-Two

It wasn’t often that Crew didn’t have a word to say, but this was too much for him. How could it be possible? Things like this happened only in fiction, not in real life.

“I understand your shock, son,” Richard said. “I couldn’t believe it myself, but it is true. Signed, sealed, delivered, and scientifically verified. I didn’t want to give you news like this over the telephone, and I certainly didn’t want to tell you until I knew it was fact. We’ve already spoken to Ashton, Tanner and Lance. Brielle was the stop right before we came here. She insisted on joining us.”

Still, Crew sat there and stared at these men, these near duplicates of his father — his uncles. As the oldest child, Crew had always wanted more family when he was younger, cousins to play with, tell secrets to, and run amok with. Now that he was a grown man, he was finding out they’d been there all along, on the other side of the USA.

His family had taken vacations in California, had been through Seattle. He could have sat next to his cousins at a table, and never known. It was all so overwhelming.

“You’re taking it about as well as my oldest boy, Lucas, did,” Joseph said. The booming sound of his voice finally snapped Crew out of his shock.

“I’m sorry I’m being so disrespectful. I…it’s just a lot to take in,” he murmured.

“Well, of course it is, boy. It’s not every day you find out you have aunts and uncles, and a heck of a lot of cousins. We’ve planned a family gathering so you can meet. They will love you all as if you’ve known each other since day one. Family means everything to George and me. Plus, it’s been a real privilege for us to meet our brother, Richard. We want to know our new niece and nephews.”

The way this larger-than-life man instantly accepted a new family as his own was humbling. How many years had Crew taken family for granted? How many times had he gone off and not once thought of calling his siblings? It had been only after his father’s ultimatum that he’d pulled himself together — finally seeing what he had to lose.

Not the money. Sure, at first, that had been the worst of it, but when he and his siblings had sat down to plot against their old man, something else had happened. They’d bonded again — a bond that had been stretched thin over the years, but never broken. Now, they spoke at least once a week. They knew what was happening in each other’s lives. They were a family again, leaning on each other for moral support during the difficult undertaking of transforming troubled businesses.

Now, they had even more family, and Crew wanted to meet them all.

“When is the soonest we can do this?”

“I want everyone there for Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday because that’s when I get to look around an abundant table and count my blessings. I hope you’ll plan on it,” Joseph replied.

“Yes, of course,” Crew responded.

“There’s an extra setting for your spitfire girlfriend, too,” Joseph said, sending Richard a wink.

Crew looked incredulously from Joseph to his father and then burst out laughing. Despite being apart their entire lives, the men were more alike than seemed possible. Was matchmaking in the family genes? Next Joseph would be yammering on about grandbabies... No. Not likely. No one could be as bad as his dad was when it came to pushiness for the next generation to be born.

“I will consider that,” he said, refusing to satisfy the old meddlers’ obvious curiosity. Let them sweat. Yes, he was in love with Haley, but she was still frightened. He was waiting for the right moment to tell her she was never escaping him. She could run and she could hide, but he would never let her get away.

“Stubborn. That’s definitely Anderson blood,” George grumbled.

Crew sat back smugly, pulled out a cigar and lit it.

“Well, don’t be selfish there, boy. Offer your uncles one, too,” Joseph bellowed. With a laugh Crew handed over cigars to all three men.

“Disgusting habit,” Brielle said as she moved her chair away from the smoke.

“You don’t know what you’re missing out on, Brielle. These are magnificent, came to me all the way from Colombia.”

“I’m done with this testosterone-filled room. I think I’ll find your girlfriend, Crew, and see what dirt I can get on you. I have a few stories to tell her, too.”

Crew considered trying to stop her, but knew he’d be wasting his time or worse. His sister was a force of nature, and when she went after something, it was dangerous to stand in her way.

Instead, he sat back and whipped his head to and fro, listening to the three brothers bantering together as if they’d never spent a day apart. His father wouldn’t be lonely ever again.

*****

Brielle took her time exploring her brother’s resort. She couldn’t deny feeling a bit of jealousy that his project was a luxury hotel, while she was stuck on a ranch.

Then she smiled, for there was nothing at all to pout about. She wouldn’t trade places with Crew if she could. She’d never admit that ranch life was suiting her, but her incredibly hot neighbor was certainly a plus in keeping her in the wilds of Montana.

She’d let her neighbor come milk her…cows anytime!

As she passed the bar, a curious sound caught her attention. Inching the door open, she slipped inside the dimly lit room, then stood by the back wall as she watched Haley in the corner of the room with her long fingers stroking the keys of the piano.

The poor woman was doing a terrible job of playing, but the man behind the bar didn’t seem to mind in the least. When he spotted Brielle, he walked over.

“Sorry, we aren’t open for another two hours,” he said kindly as he motioned for the door.

“I’m here to see Haley,” Brielle said.

The man’s eyes narrowed protectively, which had Brielle’s curiosity piqued. Who was this woman who had the men in her life so ready to spring to her defense? Brielle was determined to figure it out.

“What business do you have with Ms. Sutherland?”

“I promise you it’s nothing bad. Let me introduce myself before you call for the bouncers. My name’s Brielle Storm — Crew’s baby sister.” She stuck out her hand, and after a moment’s pause, the man’s shoulders relaxed.

“Marlin. It’s good to meet you.”

“You don’t have a last name, Marlin?” Brielle asked with a low chuckle.

“Yeah, but I don’t like it. Just call me Marlin. I’ll leave you ladies for a few minutes. I have to run to the back anyway to let the guys know what to bring out.” With that, the man slipped out the door. Haley hadn’t noticed their exchange as she continued to fumble with the chords on the piano.

The girl had also decided to sing, and Brielle didn’t know which was worse, the piano playing, or her singing. She wouldn’t be winning a Grammy anytime soon, though she certainly was enthusiastic.

Now it was time to get to the bottom of what was going on between her and Crew. From the steam flying between Haley and her brother, Brielle strongly suspected she was more than just a girlfriend. Was this woman worthy of her brother? A feeling deep in her gut told her yes.

“I hope I’m not interrupting you,” Brielle said as she came out of the shadows. Haley hit the keys with a jolt, thus ending her “song” with an impressive array of discordant notes. Brielle could see Haley had been hoping her hiding spot would hold, but when Brielle wanted something, nothing would stop her, and right now she wanted to find out who Haley was and exactly what she stood for.

“No. Of course not. I’m not really supposed to be in here, but the bar’s closed right now. Marlin lets me sneak in because I enjoy playing around on the piano, though I’m obviously terrible at it. I took a class in college on music appreciation and picked up the basics. The instructor, who played beautifully, taught me a few simple songs.” Haley neglected to mention the impressive piano in her grandparents’ house — after all, she’d been forbidden to touch it while they were alive.

“I know ‘Frosty the Snowman,’ and ‘Silent Night.’ My father always insists on Christmas carols around the piano, so each of us were required to learn a couple of songs,” Brielle said with a hopeful grin. She sat down on the bench beside Haley and started plunking out “Frosty” since Haley was too shocked to play right then.

“What are the songs Crew knows?” Haley asked, her eyes wide and mouth agape.

“‘The Drummer Boy’ and ‘Friendly Beasts.’”

“I love both of those songs. I’ll have to see if he’ll play them for me,” she said with excitement and delight.

“Well, if you’re planning on coming for Christmas, you’ll hear him,” Brielle said slyly and watched Haley’s reaction.

There was hope in the girl’s face, true hope that she would still be with Crew at Christmas. The worry in Brielle’s chest evaporated when she saw how smitten this woman was.

“That’s several months away,” Haley said, gathering herself together quickly and looking down at the keys.

“Well, I wanted to seek you out to make sure you’ll be there for dinner tonight. I want you to know that I thought you were great not letting Crew get away with anything. If I had been some floozy instead of his sister, you probably would have clawed my eyes out.”

Reddening, Haley glanced over at Brielle, then plunked a few keys with Brielle in a terrible rendition of “Silent Night.”

“I don’t know why I got so upset,” she murmured. “It’s not like we’ve ever said this is something official. We’ve only been together a couple of months now…”

“I think you got so upset because you like my brother — as hard as that is to believe — and maybe even love him.”

Haley now blanched, and Brielle knew without a doubt that she’d just met her future sister-in-law. She and Crew were crazy about each other. Now, they just had to admit it, and Brielle would have her first sister-in-law.

“I...uh…don’t love him,” Haley said. “It’s complicated, but he’s been helping me with some stuff. Men like Crew marry debutantes or Ivy League girls. They may date women like me, but they marry ladies.”

“What do you mean?”

Haley’s pain-filled words tore at Brielle’s heart.

“I’m not exactly in the same class as Crew — as you. I’m not too stupid to realize that. I enjoy him, and he’s been wonderful to me, but this is a summer thing, nothing more. We’re just having fun,” she trailed off.

Brielle studied her, wanting to know this woman’s secrets, wanting to know what had happened in her life that had filled her with so much insecurity.