I wanted to make sure the kid thinks twice before hurting another woman. I wanted Travis to remember how his damn nose felt when I landed that hit.
“Some kid pisses you off and you swing?” Dominic said from behind him. “Why didn’t you drive your temper over here, to the shooting range?”
“I did,” he admitted, closing his case. Afterward. He picked up his stuff and turned around, ready to get the hell away from here.
“She won’t tell me anything,” Dominic said, and he moved closer, blocking Noah’s path to the door.
Noah stared at his friend and saw the same determination that had radiated from Josie the other night. “Look, it’s not my story to tell. But I’ll say this. That asshole Travis doesn’t deserve her and he won’t go near her again.”
His best friend since damn near forever stared back at him as if waiting for Noah to crack and spill more about what had led to Travis Taylor’s broken nose.
Noah just held his gaze.
Finally, Dominic took a step back. “Thanks for looking out for her. I wish you’d tell me what went down . . .”
Noah shook his head.
“But,” Dominic continued, his face breaking into a rare smile, “as long as you’re taking on the big brother role—”
“I’m not . . .” But he couldn’t finish the sentenc
e. 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.