“Hey, Linc.”
I look over and smile at Rose. She’s sitting at the reception desk with a pencil tucked behind her ear and spreadsheets scattered on the desk. Roy has two girls, and they couldn’t be more different. Violet is five years older than Rose, and she’s the free spirit of the family. She hightailed it out of town the second she turned eighteen, determined to conquer the world. But not Rose. Rose is a homebody. All she wants is to settle down in the town where she grew up and be close to her dad.
“Hey, Rose. Did Chloe leave?”
She shakes her head. “She stepped out to make a phone call. She’ll be right back. Don’t forget to sign in.” She taps the clipboard on the front desk, and I scrawl my name across it.
“Your dad told me about the party for Chloe.”
“I know it’s short notice, but I was thinking next Saturday. I’ll let a few of the guys know. It’ll just be something small with a few of her friends.”
“Next Saturday is perfect. But you know you don’t have to do this, right?”
Rose smiles and fiddles with a paper on the desk. “Chloe is like family. She helped Dad throw a graduation party for a me last year, so this is the least I can do.”
I open my mouth, but Rose stops me.
“She’s my best friend, Linc. I want to do this.”
“She’s lucky to have you in her life.”
Rose swallows. “I’m here for you too, you know.”
Chloe’s laughter saves me, and I glance toward the front door in time to see her walk through it, followed by my friend Deacon.
Chloe sees me and smiles. Her smile is bright and reminds me so much of our mother’s. Chloe and I share the same eyes—big and round, the color of dark chocolate, and framed by thick black lashes—something we inherited from our father. But everything else she got from Mom. Her high cheek bones, small button nose, and dark straight hair make it nearly impossible to look at her and not see the woman who brought us into this world.
It’s also something she doesn’t like to be reminded of.
“Hey,” she says, taking a step toward me.
“What are you doing here?” I pull her in for a hug, making sure to nudge Deacon back a few steps in the process.
He chuckles. The last thing Chloe needs is to get tied up with one of these assholes.
Deacon is a damn good friend, but the guy can’t keep his dick in his pants to save his life, and Chloe deserves better than that.
Shit. I wonder if that’s how Rhett would feel if he found out about Adley and me.
“It’s Friday. You always come here on Friday, and I wanted to see you. Did you just come from Dad’s house?”
“Yup.” I nod for her to follow me to the locker room.
Chloe turns around. “It was great seeing you again, Deacon. I’ll call you later, Rose,” she waves to them before following me.
I’m not a fan of Chloe coming to The Barn. It isn’t exactly in the best part of town, and some of the men that frequent the place are questionable at best. But we grew up here, and whether I like it or not, she feels safe and comfortable, and I don’t want to take that away from her.
We reach the locker room, and Chloe knows the routine. She covers her eyes until I confirm that it’s empty.
“You’re good.”
She drops her hand, along with her purse, in time to catch the roll of tape I toss at her.
“Are we still on for Sunday?” she asks.
“Sunday?”
“Kid Connection. We volunteered for this Sunday, remember?”