Page 22 of Choosing Us

But Jack always has people asking things of him, and if I can figure this out, I really want to do it on my own.

“Have you talked to Finn about this? I bet he’s chomping at the bit to get started,” Mama adds with a massive grin while she sits back down in her chair on the other side of the dining table.

“Not specifically about that house, but in a broad conceptual idea, yes.” Finn started designing and building homes while he was still in college and is an exceptional carpenter with his own residential construction company. He hasn’t done a large-scale renovation like this, but he has the ability to bring an old-world charm to his new builds, so I have all the faith that he can do this—and no builder will care as much about the property as one of us. He’s also told me he’d like to be able to add this service to his business, so really, it helps both of us.

I get a home that I already love, and Finn gets to give that property new life.

And Mama gets one more of her babies moving home.

From the outside, it looks like a 1920s farmhouse, but when Finn got his hands on it after I bought it from our parents, he completely updated the inside. Walls were removed, relocated, and everything was taken down to the studs. Finn managed to find a balance between the industrial-modern style I like and the charming vibes of the house’s history.

There were originally four rooms that made up the main floor which we opened up to create better flow—and room for the big ass island in the middle of my kitchen. The main living space flows into an open dining room and hearth area with a large stone fireplace, and bright LED Edison bulb light fixtures flood the interior with a warm glow, and it’s chilly enough lately to justify having the fireplace on. The poker table is on my covered deck, and I have the fireplace going out there, too.

My primary suite was an addition off the side of the house, and upstairs includes four guest bedrooms, although it’s usually just one that gets used, and only by Liam when he is passing through. It’s a lot of space for a bachelor, but it’s a home, and if it’s going to be the home for my family one day, I wanted it done right.

Despite what some people think, there is a right way to do everything, and if that’s an option, that’s the route I go.

I understand—after plenty of therapy—that my need for order and safety is all rooted in my greatest regret. Logically, I know that it was an accident Finn fell out of the tree when I was supposed to be watching him while Mama went upstairs to put Vivi down for her nap. I should have kept a closer eye on him, but Finn has always been rambunctious. I didn’t even know he went out the back door and climbed the damn tree until I heard him crying after he fell out of it. I was eight years old when I failed him, and it resulted in not only a broken arm, but Finn required surgery and pins above his elbow to place the break. He was only six years old.

Shaking off the memory, I hear the front door open as my brothers start to arrive. I don’t know what we can really do to help Theo, but I know that while they are trying to keep it together for the sake of the girls, he is fucking pissed.

And I don’t blame him, because the entire Cavalry is pissed at this recent bullshit.

After dropping her girls off at school and going to a Pilates class, Savannah came home to shower—only to discover that someone had not only somehow gotten into her house, but they had also used some kind of blade or knife on the feather pillows on her bed, slashing them open and leaving puffs of downy stuffing everywhere.

If that wasn’t creepy enough, the asshole went through the drawers of her underwear and bras, and apparently, some of it is missing, or has been missing? I didn’t ask a lot of questions when Theo was venting on the phone yesterday. I told him we would figure it out then called in The Brigade—which is The Cavalry plus Vivian’s husband, Walker.

I hesitated if I should include him in the text thread, though, because as an FBI agent, Walker took an oath, and we never want to put him in a position where he has to choose between the badge and his family.

I don’t have loyalty to a badge, but I sure as hell have a deep and nonnegotiable loyalty to my family.

Liam arrived before dawn this morning, flying in from God knows where, and I can hear the guest bathroom’s shower running upstairs. I saw him briefly this morning, but we haven’t talked about what’s going on with Savannah.

Jack walks through the front door after entering his access code and is carrying two boxes of cinnamon rolls, with Theo following him holding two trays of coffees from Java Jive. They set their haul down on my kitchen island.

“Hey, Ry, how’s it going?” Jack tugs his jacket off and drapes it on the back of one of the stools at the kitchen island. He walks over and pulls me into a brief hug. We aren’t overly affectionate as brothers, but I think all of this is shaking us a bit.

As if this year hasn’t been crazy enough with Vivian getting shot in January, and now Savannah has a deranged stalker. I don’t know what’s going on, but I know that we will double down, and always—always—bet on each other.

The front door opens, and I call out to let whoever it is to come on back. Theo looks as pissed off as he sounded last night as he takes a seat at the kitchen island next to the stool Jack occupied. I offer him a beer, and he takes it with a nod—and a very large initial drink.

“Man, you can’t blame yourself. Because if you do, all of us are right there with you. We had no idea someone had the ability to access one of our houses like that. This is not your fault,” Jack tries to encourage Theo, but it’s not landing.

Not that I can blame him.

I wish we had a name or even an idea of who would do this, and if it turns out to be her recently ex-husband, then Shane would be wise to run far and wide from Forrest Falls, because we will find him, and it will hurt.

I take a deep breath to find my center. I rely on the tools from my martial arts practice to ground me when I feel out of control, and today, I feel like I’m on the verge of losing all control.

But until we can identify who it is, none of us have a direction to aim our anger.

So, we wait.

Liam comes down the back set of stairs and walks into the kitchen with damp hair, grabbing an electrolyte drink before walking over to sit next to Theo.

“Hey, man, you good?” Liam asks Theo, setting a tablet next to me on the counter.

“Hey, I guess as good as I can be. Did you find anything?” Theo asks as Liam sets his drink down on the island and pulls up some video footage on his tablet.