Paul let out a growl as he looked at his watch.
True said, “We can spare a few minutes, Paul. Just give us a little privacy, guys?” he asked, looking directly at Jared and his brother.
Jared wanted to refuse to let her out of his sight but Kendry grasped his forearm, nodded at Presley Ann, and leaned closer. “Give them a few minutes and I’ll tell you what I know.”
He hated the out of control feeling as Presley Ann looked up at him with regret and then followed True to the bus’s door. It felt too much like he was letting her go for good. He turned to his brother. “What do you know?”
“Presley Ann talked to me last night. I meant to mention it today and forgot while we were making other plans. Let her go. It’ll be okay.”
You hope it’ll be okay, Jared thought as he eyed True. He was staring at Presley Ann, and Jared knew the look in his dark eyes. Knew it well. An aching void threatened to open in his chest. It was happening again. She hadn’t cheated on him but he was losing her just the same.
They both watched as Presley Ann stepped onto the bus.
* * * *
Presley Ann’s eyes bounced around the interior of the luxury motor coach like a pea in a whistle. It was all black, shiny, and designed for comfort on the road. It smelled new—and expensive. Whit burrowed against her shoulder and that was when her gaze finally met Truehart’s. That was his name. But they also called him True.
The two brothers were utterly identical, except for the difference in their expressions. Noble was hostile. True was still in shock. That was the only way she’d been able to tell them apart earlier. The man she’d known ten months earlier hadn’t shown a single inclination toward anger. His brother evidently didn’t mind showing that part of his nature.
She turned to look out the window and saw Jared and Kendry standing outside the bus. Kendry was talking, using his hands to express himself. The glass was darkly tinted but she could see the desolation in Jared’s posture as he listened, head down and hands on his hips. She wasn’t sure how she knew it, but he was keeping his eyes on the bus the whole time, as if he wasn’t about to let it leave.
True placed a gentle hand on her elbow. “Have a seat on the couch, if you’d like. Can I get you a bottle of water or something…” He raised his eyebrows in inquiry and she realized he still didn’t know her name.
“Presley Ann Woodworth.”
“Presley Ann,” he murmured as he looked into her eyes and smiled. “How perfect.”
She opened her mouth, unsure what to say or where to begin, when Noble charged forward from the back of the coach.
His anger seemed to grow as he noticed their proximity to each other and he pointed his finger at her. “I don’t know what your game is, but if you think that we’re setting you and this little bastard up for life, you’d better think again.”
True turned to his brother, astonishment in his expression. “Do you realize what you’re saying? Do you know who you’re talking to?”
Noble shuttered his eyes for a moment but then lifted his gaze to his brother. “I’m looking at the person who’s about to change everything. I’ve worked damned hard for this, True, and I won’t allow her to fuck everything up.”
True shoved his brother a good three feet back down the aisle. “It’s you who are fucking everything up right now. You owe her. You fucking owe her everything!”
Whit whimpered and began rooting and Presley Ann backed up until she bumped into a hard body behind her. She jumped away and looked up into Paul’s grim face.
“Little girl, I don’t know what your game is but you and this little brat are not welcome here.”
She should be scared of him. She should be petrified of the ice in his eyes, instinctively knowing he’d do just about anything for those two men—but then his words registered. The brothers still argued behind her but she didn’t pay attention to what they were saying to each other. Instead she focused on the hulk in front of her as her blood heated and the mama bear roared to the surface.
“I don’t have a game and right now you’re on my home turf.” She punctuated her words by poking at his beefy pectorals. “And if you or anyone else refers to my son in an insulting way again I will not be responsible for what I do to you. You’re not even a part of this discussion, and I don’t want a single thing from your bulky, overbearing ass.” He glanced over her shoulder and then surprised her when he actually backed up as she kept advancing, his eyes showing amusement as she kept poking him in the chest.
The quiet behind her told her she had all three men’s attention and she scowled at Paul one last time before turning back to the brothers.