“Damn. I was sure I had you that time,” Michael said with a grin that took any sting out of his statement.
“Someday, little brother.” Spence threw his arm around Michael’s shoulders and they led their horses inside to start brushing them down. The animals had received a hard workout, so the two brothers spent added time brushing them and spoiled them with a few extra treats.
“Boys, I need some help,” Martin called. Spence immediately headed to his father’s office, with Michael on his heels.
“What do you need, Dad?” they asked in unison, then smiled at each other. Yes, they always thought and said almost the same thing. They’d been inseparable for twenty years, from the second they’d come home from the hospital on that fateful day their lives were forever changed.
Jackson entered the room, and Spence looked around at the three men who weren’t his brothers by blood, but for whom he’d die without hesitation. For those two decades, it had been the four of them through it all, and even after becoming adults, they still couldn’t go long without getting together.
Michael was Martin’s only biological child, but from the moment Martin had brought Spence, Camden, and Jackson home on a cold winter morning, the day they’d rescued Michael from drowning in the lake, he’d never treated any of them any differently than he did his own son. He’d loved them and had raised them to become the men they now were. His guidance had shaped them in ways nothing else could. Spence would do anything for Martin and their patchwork family.
Martin had come up with that expression. He said they were all pieces of a quilt, and a quilt did no good to anyone with each piece on its own. Each square was certainly beautiful, but once put together, it served a purpose—to provide warmth and security. And as a family unit, they were one powerful force.
“Sorry, Dad, my mind was wandering. What did you need?” Spence said with a sheepish smile.
“Now, boy, you’re thirty-four,” Martin said. “A bit too old to be ignoring me. If you slowed down once in a while and just focused on the here and now instead of always being three steps ahead, you’d enjoy life a little more.”
“It will never happen again,” Spence told him with a wink. They both knew he was full of it. Of all the brothers, Spence was most often found lost in his thoughts and calculations. His ability to think ahead and focus with such intensity made him a great doctor.
He’d worked at some of the most prestigious hospitals and research facilities in the country, but he still managed to come back home once in a while and work where his family was, to be close to the place where his life had changed for the better.
Luckily, all four boys had more money in their bank accounts than they could ever spend, thanks to their father’s generous trust fund and to very wise investments on their parts, so each of them could do what they loved, and be where they loved to be. It was a freedom few people had.
“I don’t want you boys to forget about the party tonight,” Martin said. “It’s for my dear friend Raymond Smithers. Also, the third leg of our tripod, Joseph Anderson, has made the trip all the way from Seattle to attend, so don’t even try to get out of this.”
“I’ll cancel my plans,” Camden replied promptly. He stepped away and lifted his phone to his ear.
“I spoke to Austin Anderson earlier and he told me he was coming, too. I’m looking forward to spending time with him. We’ve both been busy, so it’s been a while,” Spence said. He’d met Austin while at Harvard, and they’d been fast friends ever since.
“Yes, I’m looking forward to seeing your friend again,” Martin said. “Joseph said he’d be flying in later with his family and some of his brothers’ families, too.”
“It’s still so strange that Austin is married with kids now. It makes me feel old,” Spence said with a laugh.
“Well, you have been letting the grass grow underneath your feet when it comes to settling down,” Martin groused.
Spence turned in surprise. It wasn’t like his father to make such a comment. This had to be because Joseph was visiting. Austin had told Spence about his suspicions that his father, George, had been engaging in serious matchmaking with his brother, Joseph Anderson, trying to marry all their kids off. If so, it had worked, as all of the kids were now married with kids of their own. Spence would certainly have to make sure this longtime friend wasn’t putting ideas into his own father’s head.
Trust still didn’t come easily for Spence, not after so many years in the foster-care system, and not after the hell his college “sweetheart” had put him through. He had decided that he was far better off keeping his relationships about one thing, and one thing only.
Sex. And plenty of it.
When the silence stretched on, Spence shook off his thoughts and turned toward his father. “Where do you need me?”
The boys spent the next several hours setting up tables, chairs, and a dance floor in the huge barn. When they were finally finished, they had time only to shower and dress before the masses descended. After all the hard work, it was a good thing the four of them kept extra clothes at their dad’s colossal house.
One of the perks of living in Sterling was knowing the neighbors, plus the fact that crime was low. Of course, when they were kids, that had been a disadvantage. They hadn’t been able to get away with anything because people were always watching—and talking.
Now it was nice. He was a better doctor when visiting here because he knew his patients well. As he wandered back toward the house, for some reason the woman he’d met earlier in the week popped into his head again. He should know who she was, that was for sure, but maybe she’d recently moved to town. That would explain not knowing her.