Serving Trouble(71)

“I’m not . . .” But he couldn’t finish the sentence. Because when it came to Josie, he wasn’t about to tell Dominic he’d ever considered another role.

“Hey, now.” His friend held up his hands. “You’re not encroaching. I’ve looked out for her crazy ass long enough. You’re welcome to take a turn. Though I should warn you that if you break any more noses my dad might get suspicious. I’m not part of the force anymore, so I can’t bring you in for questioning and all.”

“I’m not going to start another fight.” Noah tried to move toward the door, but Dominic sidestepped and blocked his path.

“Where are you heading in such a hurry?” Dominic asked. He wasn’t threatening now, he was teasing. “Beach date with your grandmother?”

Ryan laughed and Noah shook his head. “So Josie told you that much, huh?”

“Yeah,” his friend said. “And I figured that as long as you were feeling like a big brother and all, you could take Josie with you.”

“What?” There was no way in hell he wanted to spend an hour in a car with his gran and a woman—­yeah, he considered Josie all woman now—­who defined indecent thoughts. What would they talk about? The time Gran tried to potty train him and he’d peed all over the house? That was her favorite embarrassing childhood tale. Or maybe how he’d saved Josie from her abusive boyfriend?

“My dad’s working today, but I’m free. And Lily’s done teaching for the summer so we thought we’d spend the afternoon together, seeing as I’m leaving soon and all.”

“You want Josie out of the house so you and your girlfriend can make some noise,” Noah said, filling in the blanks. “Why don’t you just ask her to leave?”

“She’s still grounded,” Ryan supplied. And judging from his grin, he found it pretty damn funny that Noah was getting stuck with watching wild, little Josie Fairmore.

Only she wasn’t little anymore. And he wasn’t sure the “wild” label fit either. Not in a break-­all-­the-­rules context. But maybe . . .

Don’t go there.

“She begged to come to the going away party tomorrow night at your place,” Dominic explained. “Dad refused the first dozen or so times she asked, seeing as there will be alcohol served. He’s a stickler about the legal age thing. Then he changed his mind. As long as I keep an eye on her. At the party and every minute leading up to it.”

“You agreed to babysit?” Noah asked.

“She’s eighteen,” Dominic said. “She doesn’t need a babysitter. But if she gets into trouble, she can’t come to the party. I don’t want her sitting at home alone on my last night in town.”

“Take Lily someplace else,” Noah said. “Problem solved.”

Dominic shook his head. “Her mom is retired and home all the time. And you know her parents don’t want her to move out and get her own place until she’s freaking married.”

“Fine.” They only had forty-­eight hours until they reported for basic training. And he knew they all wanted to make the most of their time. “But why doesn’t Ryan take Josie?”

“I promised Helena I’d give her a hand with her farm chores so we can grab a bite tonight,” Ryan said. The next, great air force pilot was tight with him and Dom, but Helena was his closest friend in Forever. They’d never crossed the line into naked friends—­and probably never would—­but she likely topped the list of ­people Ryan would think about while he learned to fly fighter jets.

Noah looked at Dominic. “Tell Josie I’ll pick her up in an hour.”

And remember you asked for this.

JOSIE SLIPPED OFF her sneakers and sank her toes in the sand. Sandals would have been a better choice, but Dominic hadn’t given her much time to get ready. He’d stormed into the house, told her she was going to the coast for the afternoon, and if she tried to stay he’d tell Dad not to let her go to the party. She’d run to change out of her sweats and into jean shorts, a V-­neck T-­shirt, and the first shoes she could find.

“I’ve always loved the feel of sand between my toes,” Noah’s grandmother said as she settled into the beach chair he’d set out for her. “Noah thinks I come for the chowder, but I just like to hear the sound of the ocean and feel the sand between my toes.”

“You’ve got it wrong, Gran.” Noah lowered to one knee beside his grandmother’s feet. He gently lifted one foot and slipped off her orthopedic shoe and then the other. “I drive out here for the chowder. The ocean and the company are a bonus.”