To get in the spirit for next week’s release of the e-book version of Legacy of the Dog, I decided to share an excerpt. This is the first time any portion of the book has been presented publicly. I sincerely hope you enjoy it!!
(In this excerpt, Jessie is trying to prevent her brothers from finding out her real reasons for meeting with rude, loutish Nick. She is trying to solve the financial problems that their father has gotten them into and doesn’t want them involved – for their own protection. However, when she is caught with him at a bar, she panics and claims to be dating him. This scene is when Nick meets with all of her brothers for the first time.)
Ty took the lead as the questioning began. “So, Nick, I should have asked you the other night…how old are you?”
“I’m twenty-nine.”
Adam jerked his head back, as if shocked. “You’re twenty-nine? Honestly, you look older than that to me.”
Nick nodded. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”
As Ty, Jake and Adam began grilling Nick, they each stepped in slightly. Nick took a half step back and bumped up against the couch. My brothers closed the gaps between them, leaving me on the other side of their wall of testosterone.
Jake’s head tilted to the side. “Do you know how old Jessie is? She’s eighteen.”
I could barely see between them, only enough to see Nick rubbing his hands together nervously. “Uh, yeah, I did know that.”
The muscles in Ty’s back were tight as he spoke to Nick. “Eleven years is a huge age difference. She’s just out of high school. Why would someone your age be dating a girl that young?”
“Come on. She’s legal, right, guys? I’m not breaking any laws here.”
Oh Jesus, here we go.
The muscles in Adam’s shoulders tensed. “She’s legal? Is that what you just said?”
Ty’s hands were in fists. “So you were going to try something on her. That’s why you had her at the bar.”
Jake took a half step closer to Nick. “How did you even get her in there?”
I took a hold of Jake’s and Adam’s arms, pulled them apart and forced my way in. As soon as Nick got his eyes on me, his face relaxed slightly. “Hey, uh, get me some water, wouldja?”
“Um…sure.”
I went into the kitchen while they continued to cross-examine Nick. Elliot leaned on the island with a smirk on his face, watching the scene.
He glanced over at me. “Are you fucking serious?”
“Ssshhh.” I looked back to the living room, but there was no chance that Nick heard what was going on in the kitchen. I got a quick glass of water and went back to the front line. I pushed my way through my brothers again and held the glass out for Nick.
He looked at the water then back at me. “Can I get some ice?”
“Oh, sorry.”
I could feel the anger radiating off the three of them as I squeezed past again. Elliot’s eyes followed me back into the kitchen. “This guy’s a fucking gem.”
“Hush. You’re not helping.”
“I’m not trying to.”
I reached into the freezer and added ice to Nick’s water, then headed back in again.
“Better hurry,” Elliot called after me, “or you won’t get a good tip.”
Back in the living room, I squeezed through to find Jake, Adam and Ty taking turns looking over Nick’s driver’s license. If I had actually been dating this guy, I would have reeled my brothers in, but I honestly didn’t mind that they were giving him a once-over. I handed him the drink.
“Thanks.” He looked genuinely relieved and I thought maybe he earned back some points since he actually said something polite. He chugged almost all of the water, then wiped his brow. It wasn’t sweaty, but it seemed like he was expecting it to be.
“What do you do for a living, Nick?” Adam asked, handing his license back.
“Real estate,” he answered smoothly. He was prepared for that one.
Jake nodded and flicked his thumb toward the driveway. “You must be pretty good at it. That’s a high-end BMW.”
“It’s high-end real estate. My clients are on the wealthy side and I travel across the country looking at property for primary homes or vacation homes.”
Ty held out his hand. “Do you have a business card?”
“Uh, let’s see.” His smoothness began to ruffle. He pulled out his wallet and pretended to look through. “I don’t have any more with me.”
Ty chuckled. “A real estate agent without business cards?”
Nick broke away and took a step toward the door. “Well, Jessica and I have a dinner reservation, so maybe we should get going.”
He shook Ty’s hand, then handed him his water glass. Ty looked down at the glass in his hand and his eyes shot to me, but I looked away. Nick shook hands with Jake and Adam then opened the front door. I slid past my brothers without eye contact and followed Nick to his car. I waited as he got in and hit the unlock button so I could get in, too.
He looked over, staring at me with wide eyes. “Nice interrogation.”
“Sorry. They’re a little overprotective.”
He snorted. “A little? There’s an understatement. They asked me if I had a criminal record.”
“I didn’t catch that one.”
“I need a drink.”