Hennessey's Handler (Protect and Serve #4) - Pandora Pine Page 0,3

side of the back porch. Her Elsa dress flowed behind her as she ran on tiptoe.

“She’s crazy about you.” Kennedy took a seat next to me. He’d come to live with us about eighteen months after Kevin. Mom and Dad had adopted Kennedy while Kevin had gone back to his mother after she’d promised to divorce his step-father. We never heard a peep from him again.

“I’m pretty nuts about her too.” I could see Lola and Sophie dancing to Springsteen’s “Glory Days” while Saxon and Dallas straightened the tail-less donkey.

“How are things at Bait?” Kennedy took the seat next to me. He took a sip from his Heineken, his blue eyes never leaving mine.

I’d bought Bait five years ago and had managed to turn it into one of the hottest bars in Gloucester. Kennedy knew how things were, this was just his way of buttering me up for what he really wanted to say. “Things are fine. I’m taking applications for the annual wet T-shirt competition if you’re interested.” I waggled my eyes at my brother. He wouldn’t enter the contest if his life depended on it.

“You know…one of these days I’m gonna take you up on that offer.” Kennedy flexed his muscles.

“Today’s not the day,” I deadpanned.

“Today is definitely not the day.” Kennedy looked around as if he were making sure no one else was in earshot. “Listen, Gunnar and I set the date.”

My eyes widened. Kennedy and his former neighbor, Gunnar Prince, had been engaged for over a year. My mother had been pestering them for months about setting a date and giving her grandbabies. Sophie and Lola’s arrival had slowed my mother down, but she was still pushing hard for a wedding. I opened my mouth to respond, but Kennedy held a hand up to stop me.

“This is top secret, so close your mouth, you’re attracting flies.” Kennedy laughed. “Fourth of July. What do you think?”

I snorted. “Well, you are a Yankee Doodle asshole, so it fits.”

Kennedy burst out laughing so loud that it attracted our brother Ozzy’s attention.

“What the hell is so funny?” Ozzy took the seat next to Kennedy. His scar twisted as his grin widened.

“Gunnar and Kennedy finally set the date,” Kennedy half-whispered.

“What? Congratulations!” Ozzy slapped Kennedy on the back.

“Shh, not so loud.” Kennedy instantly sobered. “We haven’t told Mom and Dad yet.”

“Why not?” I knew Mom and Dad would be over the moon. It didn’t make any sense that they didn’t know yet.

“We were thinking of making it a surprise.” Kennedy’s whole face lit up with the idea.

“A surprise wedding?” I exchanged a dour look with Ozzy. “You want to surprise our mother with a wedding she’s been dying to plan since the day the ink dried on your adoption papers?” I wasn’t going to say it aloud, but my brother had lost his marbles.

“Are you fucking crazy?” Ozzy boomed. His cheeks pinkened. “Sorry, Lola!” he called out.

“Bad word!” Lola shouted back. “Timeout!” Her little finger pointed to the steps where she’d served more than her fair share of sentences on the dreaded timeout step.

Ozzy rolled his eyes dramatically at the birthday girl. “Oookay.” He was out of his seat. “This conversation isn’t over.” He pointed back and forth between the brothers.

“Neither of you had the reaction I was hoping for.” Kennedy’s good mood had obviously dulled.

“Oz has a point. Mom has been dying for weddings and babies for years. We both know how much she wants to help plan all of the weddings suddenly popping up in this family.” I felt my mood starting to sour. It had all started with Kennedy falling in love with his bratty neighbor, then progressed to Ozzy and his pesky newspaper reporter, then Dallas and the newest, annoying member of Gloucester EMS, Saxon. Although it was Saxon who had made me an uncle, so he wasn’t as annoying as he could have been otherwise.

“Speaking of, when are you going to let someone in?” Kennedy’s grin was back in full effect.

I felt like a complete idiot. This was what Kennedy wanted to talk about all along. Not Bait. Not his impending nuptials. This. Me. My perpetual singlehood. Motherfucker.

Letting someone in was not an option. I didn’t have one skeleton in my closet, I had a flotilla of them. Mom and Dad knew my secrets, and so did my brothers. I wasn’t so sure about my future brothers-in-law, but for my own self-preservation, I had to assume Gunnar, Deacon, and Saxon all knew what happened when I was