Page 18 of The Bodyguard's Fall

Will: I’m turning around.

Tate: Are you driving right now?

Will: I’m at a stoplight. Do I need to turn around?

Tate: I’m good. She’s safe with me.

Jaxon and Luke were still sitting at the kitchen table, playing an intense game of Speed when I walked downstairs. The discard game was essentially a big race to get rid of all your cards first. Will and I used to play all the time, and I’d been pretty good at it. Their breakfast plates had been licked clean and pushed to the side, and both of their hats were on backward as they flung insults back and forth in an intense showdown.

“I need the bigger loader,” Jaxon was saying as he played a card. “Landrie’s riding with me today.”

Luke grinned. “I think you’ll both be very comfortable riding together in the small one.” He threw down a couple of cards to accompany Jaxon’s groan. “You’ll be thanking me later.”

It was quiet for a moment as both men concentrated. Then, in a final twist of fate, Jaxon got a card he needed and slammed the rest of his cards down, one right after the other, before Luke could stop it.

“I win, sucker!” Jaxon said as he stood. “Hope your legs don’t get cramped in that loader.”

Jaxon turned and saw me standing there. “Hey, Liv. Wanna play? You and Luke could battle it out for the small loader.”

Luke’s defeated ears perked up as his hands stilled, putting the cards away. “Ohh, yeah, Liv. I think you and Tate could be very happy in the small loader.”

I looked between the two, smelling a rat. “What are Tate and I driving?”

“The swather,” Jaxon said, striding to the sink to lift the movable faucet for a drink. “Unless you play him and lose.”

“What do you say?” Luke asked, a gleam in his eyes as he waved the cards toward me.

“I should probably warn you,” I crowed, hands on my hips, “that I’m the undefeated speed champ in the Rawlins household.”

Luke looked delighted at this statement, pushing the seat across from him out from the table and motioning for me to sit. “Now, just to be clear, you are the reigning champ against your old, decrepit brother?”

The smile on my face grew wider. “That’s right.”

“Sounds perfect. Have a seat.”

Before I could make it one step, a pair of hands settled on my shoulders from behind. “Don’t even think about it,” Tate’s voice broke into the kitchen and caused me to yelp and twirl around at the combination of his voice and touch.

Tate’s hands dropped from my shoulders like he’d been burned. “Sorry. I thought you heard me.”

“She was just about to lose to me in cards,” Luke said, giving me a second to catch my breath.

“No, she wasn’t.” Tate looked at me, his eyes on my face. “NEVER play these two in cards for anything. And especially don’t bet on tractors I’m going to be driving.”

“I’m just not sure that big swather will be comfortable with your injury,” Jaxon said, a gleam in his eyes as Tate looked over at him.

“What injury?” I asked, giving Tate a quick once-over.

Luke looked like it was Christmas morning. “He hasn’t told you yet?”

When I shook my head, Luke only grinned. “Well, I can see why. It’s a pretty…delicate situation.”

From his place at the sink, Jaxon nodded, beaming, “Very delicate. I’d even call it intimate. So intimate you’d probably need Tate to tell you exactly where.”

“Upper hamstring,” Tate said, a hand on my back guiding me toward the back door, but not before I turned to see him flipping a finger at his two unrepentant brothers. “You ready?”

“The upper, UPPER hamstring,” Luke called out cheerfully just before the door slammed shut.

The morning air was crisp as we walked toward the field behind the Walker home. I’d forgotten how stunning Autumn Ridge was this time of year. Mid-September was the opening act of the fall season in Vermont. The trees skirting the outsides of the field were still mostly green, but there were signs that better things were coming, i.e., light greens, yellows, and a few premature leaves on the ground. The hot summer air had begun to cool in the mornings and evenings. The earthy smell of dirt and apples filled the air.