Read Online Autumn Wish by Stacey Joy Netzel - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Stacey Joy Netzel
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I’m looking for.”
“I can help you with that,” Nikki offered. “If it’s the places I told you about, either one will take good care of Ella.”
He nodded, though he still looked uncertain. With the crib all set up, they went back downstairs, and Nikki detoured into the kitchen to warm a bottle while Sam laid the baby in the playpen.
“I’m going to head home,” Eric said. “See you Friday for Savannah’s party, Nikki.”
“I’ll be there.” She glanced back to see Sam walking him to the door.
“Thank you, and your wife, for everything.”
“We’re happy to help.” After a slight pause, he added, “Listen, you mind stepping outside with me for a minute?”
Nikki’s heart thumped hard when she caught her brother-in-law’s low request, but by the time she spun around, the front door had clicked closed on the both of them.
Damn it. What the heck was he up to?
Chapter 8
Sam faced Eric Riley on the porch, not sure what to expect after the guy’s low, almost secretive request.
“You said you moved around a lot.”
“Yeah?” He shoved his hands in his pockets, hunching his shoulders against the cold autumn air. It’d started with him searching for Rae, then became a defense mechanism until he’d landed in Pulaski.
“You planning to stick around?”
A hint of accusation in the question put Sam on the defensive. “I bought a house, didn’t I?”
“You can sell it just as easy as you bought it.”
“Probably.” Inside his pockets, his fingers curled into fists, and he locked his gaze with Eric’s. “How about you just get to the point.”
When the other man crossed his arms over his chest, Sam didn’t miss the bulge of his biceps under his shirt.
“I don’t want you toying with Nikki.”
He figured Eric was close to his age, maybe a few years older than twenty-nine, but his steel gaze made Sam feel like a teenager who’d been caught making out with the guy’s daughter. It was a totally new experience, and if Eric hadn’t been one hundred percent serious, Sam would’ve laughed.
Instead, annoyance reared up and he went straight to smart-ass. “As I understand it, you’re married to her sister, not her.”
Eric’s jaw tensed as he took a step closer. “She’s family, and she’s barely a month out of a bad relationship. The bastard broke her heart, and I’m not going to stand by and let someone else hurt her.”
Sam frowned at Eric’s vehemence. Had Joe done something more than leave Nikki because they wanted different things? And what made him think Sam was a similar threat? “You realize we just met, right?”
“And yet you looked like you were in the middle of something when I showed up.”
When he thought of how he’d finagled that kiss, guilt doubled his defensiveness. “What we were doing when you showed up—uninvited, I might add—is none of your business. I don’t know her exact age, but I’m pretty sure she’s old enough to make her own decisions.”
“That’s true,” Eric conceded. “But she also wants to get married and have kids, and you’ve got a ready-made family here just begging for help.” He stepped closer and poked a finger into Sam’s chest. “I’m giving you fair warning. Hurt her and you’ll answer to me and Marissa, and the rest of our family. Got it?”
Sam held his gaze without making any attempt to move. “Yep.”
“Good.” Eric suddenly grinned, backed off, and descended the porch steps for his truck. “Good talk, Sam. Nice to meet ya.”
“Yeah, sure,” he muttered under his breath as Riley drove away.
Shit. If the rest of the family was anything like Eric, maybe he understood Joe’s reluctance to join in.
But the guilt that’d surfaced a moment ago returned, and he saw himself through her brother-in-law’s eyes. Damn it. The guy’s gut instinct was dead on. Sam knew Nikki still had feelings for her ex, and he’d used them to get what he wanted. If that wasn’t messing with her emotions, he
“I can help you with that,” Nikki offered. “If it’s the places I told you about, either one will take good care of Ella.”
He nodded, though he still looked uncertain. With the crib all set up, they went back downstairs, and Nikki detoured into the kitchen to warm a bottle while Sam laid the baby in the playpen.
“I’m going to head home,” Eric said. “See you Friday for Savannah’s party, Nikki.”
“I’ll be there.” She glanced back to see Sam walking him to the door.
“Thank you, and your wife, for everything.”
“We’re happy to help.” After a slight pause, he added, “Listen, you mind stepping outside with me for a minute?”
Nikki’s heart thumped hard when she caught her brother-in-law’s low request, but by the time she spun around, the front door had clicked closed on the both of them.
Damn it. What the heck was he up to?
Chapter 8
Sam faced Eric Riley on the porch, not sure what to expect after the guy’s low, almost secretive request.
“You said you moved around a lot.”
“Yeah?” He shoved his hands in his pockets, hunching his shoulders against the cold autumn air. It’d started with him searching for Rae, then became a defense mechanism until he’d landed in Pulaski.
“You planning to stick around?”
A hint of accusation in the question put Sam on the defensive. “I bought a house, didn’t I?”
“You can sell it just as easy as you bought it.”
“Probably.” Inside his pockets, his fingers curled into fists, and he locked his gaze with Eric’s. “How about you just get to the point.”
When the other man crossed his arms over his chest, Sam didn’t miss the bulge of his biceps under his shirt.
“I don’t want you toying with Nikki.”
He figured Eric was close to his age, maybe a few years older than twenty-nine, but his steel gaze made Sam feel like a teenager who’d been caught making out with the guy’s daughter. It was a totally new experience, and if Eric hadn’t been one hundred percent serious, Sam would’ve laughed.
Instead, annoyance reared up and he went straight to smart-ass. “As I understand it, you’re married to her sister, not her.”
Eric’s jaw tensed as he took a step closer. “She’s family, and she’s barely a month out of a bad relationship. The bastard broke her heart, and I’m not going to stand by and let someone else hurt her.”
Sam frowned at Eric’s vehemence. Had Joe done something more than leave Nikki because they wanted different things? And what made him think Sam was a similar threat? “You realize we just met, right?”
“And yet you looked like you were in the middle of something when I showed up.”
When he thought of how he’d finagled that kiss, guilt doubled his defensiveness. “What we were doing when you showed up—uninvited, I might add—is none of your business. I don’t know her exact age, but I’m pretty sure she’s old enough to make her own decisions.”
“That’s true,” Eric conceded. “But she also wants to get married and have kids, and you’ve got a ready-made family here just begging for help.” He stepped closer and poked a finger into Sam’s chest. “I’m giving you fair warning. Hurt her and you’ll answer to me and Marissa, and the rest of our family. Got it?”
Sam held his gaze without making any attempt to move. “Yep.”
“Good.” Eric suddenly grinned, backed off, and descended the porch steps for his truck. “Good talk, Sam. Nice to meet ya.”
“Yeah, sure,” he muttered under his breath as Riley drove away.
Shit. If the rest of the family was anything like Eric, maybe he understood Joe’s reluctance to join in.
But the guilt that’d surfaced a moment ago returned, and he saw himself through her brother-in-law’s eyes. Damn it. The guy’s gut instinct was dead on. Sam knew Nikki still had feelings for her ex, and he’d used them to get what he wanted. If that wasn’t messing with her emotions, he
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