Her Hometown Hero(7)

"Who won?" Michael asked as he jumped down from his horse. Spence followed speedily behind him and stared expectantly at Camden.

"Haven't you guys outgrown your competitiveness?"

"Not at all," Spence said impatiently. "Now who won?"

"It was a tie. Dad's waiting in the barn." Camden rolled his eyes and shook his head in mock annoyance while he walked inside.

"Damn. I was sure I had you that time," Michael said with a grin that took any sting out of his statement.

"Someday, little brother." Spence threw his arm around Michael's  shoulders and they led their horses inside to start brushing them down.  The animals had received a hard workout, so the two brothers spent added  time brushing them and spoiled them with a few extra treats.

"Boys, I need some help," Martin called. Spence immediately headed to his father's office, with Michael on his heels.

"What do you need, Dad?" they asked in unison, then smiled at each  other. Yes, they always thought and said almost the same thing. They'd  been inseparable for twenty years, from the second they'd come home from  the hospital on that fateful day their lives were forever changed.

Jackson entered the room, and Spence looked around at the three men who  weren't his brothers by blood, but for whom he'd die without hesitation.  For those two decades, it had been the four of them through it all, and  even after becoming adults, they still couldn't go long without getting  together.

Michael was Martin's only biological child, but from the moment Martin  had brought Spence, Camden, and Jackson home on a cold winter morning,  the day they'd rescued Michael from drowning in the lake, he'd never  treated any of them any differently than he did his own son. He'd loved  them and had raised them to become the men they now were. His guidance  had shaped them in ways nothing else could. Spence would do anything for  Martin and their patchwork family.

Martin had come up with that expression. He said they were all pieces of  a quilt, and a quilt did no good to anyone with each piece on its own.  Each square was certainly beautiful, but once put together, it served a  purpose-to provide warmth and security. And as a family unit, they were  one powerful force.

"Sorry, Dad, my mind was wandering. What did you need?" Spence said with a sheepish smile.

"Now, boy, you're thirty-four," Martin said. "A bit too old to be  ignoring me. If you slowed down once in a while and just focused on the  here and now instead of always being three steps ahead, you'd enjoy life  a little more."

"It will never happen again," Spence told him with a wink. They both  knew he was full of it. Of all the brothers, Spence was most often found  lost in his thoughts and calculations. His ability to think ahead and  focus with such intensity made him a great doctor.

He'd worked at some of the most prestigious hospitals and research  facilities in the country, but he still managed to come back home once  in a while and work where his family was, to be close to the place where  his life had changed for the better.

Luckily, all four boys had more money in their bank accounts than they  could ever spend, thanks to their father's generous trust fund and to  very wise investments on their parts, so each of them could do what they  loved, and be where they loved to be. It was a freedom few people had.                       
       
           



       

"I don't want you boys to forget about the party tonight," Martin said.  "It's for my dear friend Raymond Smithers. Also, the third leg of our  tripod, Joseph Anderson, has made the trip all the way from Seattle to  attend, so don't even try to get out of this."

"I'll cancel my plans," Camden replied promptly. He stepped away and lifted his phone to his ear.

"I spoke to Austin Anderson earlier and he told me he was coming, too.  I'm looking forward to spending time with him. We've both been busy, so  it's been a while," Spence said. He'd met Austin while at Harvard, and  they'd been fast friends ever since.

"Yes, I'm looking forward to seeing your friend again," Martin said.  "Joseph said he'd be flying in later with his family and some of his  brothers' families, too."

"It's still so strange that Austin is married with kids now. It makes me feel old," Spence said with a laugh.

"Well, you have been letting the grass grow underneath your feet when it comes to settling down," Martin groused.

Spence turned in surprise. It wasn't like his father to make such a  comment. This had to be because Joseph was visiting. Austin had told  Spence about his suspicions that his father, George, had been engaging  in serious matchmaking with his brother, Joseph Anderson, trying to  marry all their kids off. If so, it had worked, as all of the kids were  now married with kids of their own. Spence would certainly have to make  sure this longtime friend wasn't putting ideas into his own father's  head.

Trust still didn't come easily for Spence, not after so many years in  the foster-care system, and not after the hell his college "sweetheart"  had put him through. He had decided that he was far better off keeping  his relationships about one thing, and one thing only.

Sex. And plenty of it.

When the silence stretched on, Spence shook off his thoughts and turned toward his father. "Where do you need me?"

The boys spent the next several hours setting up tables, chairs, and a  dance floor in the huge barn. When they were finally finished, they had  time only to shower and dress before the masses descended. After all the  hard work, it was a good thing the four of them kept extra clothes at  their dad's colossal house.

One of the perks of living in Sterling was knowing the neighbors, plus  the fact that crime was low. Of course, when they were kids, that had  been a disadvantage. They hadn't been able to get away with anything  because people were always watching-and talking.

Now it was nice. He was a better doctor when visiting here because he  knew his patients well. As he wandered back toward the house, for some  reason the woman he'd met earlier in the week popped into his head  again. He should know who she was, that was for sure, but maybe she'd  recently moved to town. That would explain not knowing her.

But her attitude didn't make sense. She'd been crabby-downright rude,  actually-so why was he even thinking about her? There were plenty of  women who were more than willing to give him their attention, so why in  the world would he think twice about the car crash victim? Maybe because  she was a mystery?

There was just something about her . . .

Before he could dwell on it any further, Camden bumped into him. "What  are you so dreamy about?" his brother asked with a sly smile.

"I'm not dreamy," Spence said, feeling like an idiot for getting caught zoning out.

"I think it's about a girl. It's always about a girl."

"You're partially right. I was thinking you look like a girl," Spence  said before punching his brother in the arm and heading downstairs.

"Yeah, right back at ya," Camden yelled, but Spence had taken the lead.

It was time to greet the guests and, of course, to mingle-his father's favorite pastime.





The music was blaring as Sage opened her car door and stepped out. "Hold  on, Grandma. Let me come around and help you and Eileen."

"Quit your fussing," Bethel snapped. "Someone might hear you and think  we're nothing but a couple of frail old women. You do realize I'm only  sixty-five? It's not like I have a foot in the grave already."

A petite woman, Sage's grandmother didn't look a day over fifty,  especially with her pink hair. It had originally been a dye job gone  terribly wrong, but Bethel had loved it so much that for the past five  years her hair had looked like it belonged on a Barbie doll.

Sage had grown so used to it she didn't even blink anymore. When Eileen  decided to join her best friend with her own pink-colored hair, she and  Bethel had been nicknamed the Pink Ladies, a nod to one of their  favorite movies, Grease.                       
       
           



       

It was fitting. The two were usually full of life and laughter and  always seemed to be getting into trouble. And that worried Sage on  occasion. It was probably a very good thing Sage had come home when she  did. She'd have to find sneaky ways to get her grandmother to rest,  especially since the woman's health wasn't the best right now.

But as Sage really thought about it, something just wasn't quite adding  up. Just last year, she had been horrified when the police chief had  called her. He'd been left with no choice but to arrest both Eileen and  Bethel and their third accomplice, Maggie Winchester, after the three of  them thought it would be amusing to go skinny-dipping in the local pool  after hours. The poor night guard who knew the women well had heard the  commotion and called the cops, then had turned beet red when he'd  discovered who was trespassing.