To Love and Protect Read online

  So, what the fuck did he do? Pushed too damn hard and ended up paying for it when his muscles seized in the middle of setting up their tent. He turned to brace a hand against a tree trunk, cursing under his breath while rubbing the heel of his hand over the spasm in his thigh.

  Reyes came around the other side of the tent. “You okay?”

  “Fuckin’ peachy.”

  “Well, you’re the one who practically ran all the way here. I don’t know what the hell you’re trying to prove.”

  He hung his head and dug harder into the tight muscles. “Mark offered me a job.”

  “Okay?”

  “As Shelby’s bodyguard.”

  “And?”

  “And what?” he bit out. “I said no.”

  “Why? You said last week you weren’t sure what you were going to do now that you’re out. It’s as good a job as any, and Mark pays well.”

  Dev whirled around and nearly fell when pain shot through his leg. “Does it look like I can fucking protect anyone like this?”

  Seriously. What the hell was her father thinking? What the hell was he thinking that he wanted to?

  Reyes shrugged and went to pick up the tent pole Dev had dropped when the spasm hit. “You should do it.”

  “Look at me.” Hearing the self-pity in his own voice, he was thankful when his brother kept working on the tent.

  “You know, half of the deterrent is you being there. It’s like having a dog to protect against break-ins. Most times, it doesn’t matter how big or small, as long as it barks.”

  Dev leaned against the tree as his massage began to ease the pain some. “By that logic, she should just get herself a dog.” A big one.

  Reyes grinned. “But your bark is already so very loud.”

  “Fuck you.”

  His brother laughed and Dev rolled his eyes as he limped over to resume helping. Sure, simply having him at her side would be a deterrent. But if something serious happened and she got hurt because he failed to protect her, he’d never be able to live with himself. He needed to leave that job to someone of sound mind and body.

  He didn’t qualify for the latter, and some days, he wasn’t so sure about the former, either.

  Chapter 6

  A half-hour before three p.m., Shelby gave a perfunctory knock at the bridal suite before swishing the skirt of her floor-length, silver velvet dress inside and shutting the door. She’d left Celia, Honor, and Mae in the room next door, so she knew she’d have her soon-to-be sister-in-law to herself for a moment. Likely a very brief moment with the way wedding planner Maria was barking out orders.

  Roxanna’s gaze flicked to hers in the mirror before she returned her attention to the mascara wand for one last swipe over her lashes. A few pearl-studded pins held a wreath of white baby’s breath and tiny copper-colored tea roses in her hair, but otherwise, her long brunette curls cascaded down the back of her ivory bridal gown.

  Whereas the bridesmaids were all tricked out in cool silvers for the February winter wedding, copper and bronze shimmered on the bride’s eyelids, and her brown eyes were framed beautifully by her long, thick lashes. Her cheeks glowed with happiness as she capped the mascara and set it down for one final look in the mirror.

  “You look amazing,” Shelby said with a grin.

  “Thanks.” She gave a bit of a wistful smile. “I can’t believe after all the crazy of the past few weeks it’ll be over in a few hours.”

  “Not over.” Meeting her gaze in the mirror, Shelby leaned down to hug her shoulders. “Just on to the next chapter.”

  “I know. I meant the wedding, though.” Now her smile turned wry. “So much for small and intimate.”

  “Come on, you knew this would happen even without being psychic.”

  “Your mom is hard to stop once she gets started.”

  “Consider yourself lucky. One hundred guests is better than Celia’s five hundred.”

  “One hundred and two—but at least I actually know everyone.” She tilted her head and squinted at the ceiling. “I think.”

  Shelby laughed as Roxanna swiveled around and took hold of her hands. “How are you doing? With everything going on, I feel bad I haven’t been able to talk to you much since that day Devante showed up at brunch with you.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” she assured her, shifting sideways to drop down onto a chair. “I’m fine. And nothing’s happened since then, so the whole bodyguard thing is beginning to feel a little melodramatic.”

  Like everyone’s reaction at the brunch table three weeks ago when Dad had insisted they all know what was going on so they could be extra careful, too. She completely agreed on that, but the smothering had been even worse than she’d imagined.

  “After what happened with your car, and the clinic last fall, it’s good nothing more has happened,” Roxanna said.

  Looking at it all together, Shelby couldn’t disagree. The extensive vandalism at her veterinary clinic had forced her to postpone construction back in October, and then Mae’s early labor had extended the delay.

  “Of course,” she replied to Rox. “It’s just that I hate not knowing how long this is going to go on. Having someone watching every move I make is uncomfortable, even though I know they’re there to protect me.”

  “Your dad hasn’t found out anything yet on who’s behind everything? The cops got nothing from the flowers or the note?”

  Shelby shook her head with a heavy sigh. “Nope.”

  Roxanna gave her a sympathetic smile and reached to squeeze her hand again. “Well, be patient. It’ll all work out the way it should.”

  The way it should?

  Shelby raised her eyebrows at the odd phrasing, but before she could ask if patience was a professional psychic recommendation, or if she was just voicing platitudes, the wedding planner breezed in with her clipboard.

  Her future sister-in-law glanced at the buttoned-up, blond tornado talking a mile a minute into her headset, then leaned forward to whisper, “Can you do me a favor?”

  “Of course.”

  “I had planned to message Loyal this morning, but Maria confiscated my phone last night. Will you go find Loyal and tell him I love him?”

  “Aw, that’s sweet, but you’ll be telling him yourself in a half-hour.”

  Maria abruptly swung back toward the door. “I swear, he’s completely incompetent. I’ll be right there.” She pointed at the bride on her way out. “Twenty minutes to go-time. Do not leave this room.”

  Roxanna turned pleading eyes to Shelby.

  A laugh bubbled up as she rose to her feet. “Okay, okay, I’m going.”

  She passed her fellow bridesmaids while following Maria out, then started across the church foyer to the opposite side where her brothers had been banished two hours earlier. She noticed her bodyguard near the main doors, chatting up her cousins from Texas and Washington D.C.

  Blake didn’t even glance her way, though with Raine’s dark Diamond beauty, and Noelle’s blond bombshell looks from her mother, it was no wonder his focus was concentrated elsewhere. It was kind of nice to have the break, and with all her family around in the church, she wasn’t worried. She’d have even been fine giving him the day off.

  In front of her, the wedding planner glanced back over her shoulder, and when she saw Shelby, she did an abrupt about face. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  One of her silver heels slid on the tile floor as she pulled up short while scrambling for an answer. “To pee.” She arched her brows. “Or am I not allowed a potty break before the ceremony?”

  Maria’s gaze narrowed as she pointed in the direction they’d just come. “The bathrooms are over there.”

  Shelby pointed in the direction she was headed. “There are some over there, too.”

  “Make it snappy,” the blond ordered before pivoting to head down the center aisle of the church.

  She gave a mocking salute to the woman’s back, then rolled her eyes as she dropped her arm and turned to go find Loyal.
Her gaze collided with Dev’s where he stood at the back of the church with his parents, and his sister, Solana.

  Embarrassment burned her cheeks at the possibility of him having heard her saying she needed a potty break. Her breath caught when she saw what looked like a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Freshly shaved and sporting a recent haircut above the navy blue suit that fit his broad shoulders perfectly, the striking Torrez good looks were on full display.

  “Hey, cuz—you look gorgeous.”

  Raine’s voice drew Shelby around. After a quick hug, she shot Dev one last glance, but he was now walking with his family toward the front of the church. She couldn’t help noticing the limp he seemed so self-conscious about—and the absence of his cane—and the absence of a date.

  Nope, don’t care.

  She turned back to her cousin to find Raine watching the Torrezes, too. “Holy hotness. Is that Devante all grown up?”

  “He was grown up the last time you saw him,” Shelby pointed out.

  “Yeah, but that was what, ten years ago?”

  “Yep.”

  A year prior to her failed deflowering, when they were fifteen, Raine had been up for a summer visit when Dev was home on leave. The two of them had drooled over him at the pool most of the afternoon. He’d been twenty, tanned, muscled, and a military hero in their young, romantic eyes, even though he had yet to be deployed.

  Now he was thirty, still muscled, a seasoned Special Forces soldier, and a true military hero to her realistic eyes.

  And also a Neanderthal jerk.

  “Too bad he’s got a date,” Raine said.

  “That’s his sister, Solana.”

  Her cousin gave her a little nudge with her elbow. “That’s good news.”

  Refusing to let her mind—or her heart—go down that road, she kept her lips zipped.

  “Doesn’t he have a brother, too?”

  The question had Shelby biting back a grin. Raine didn’t fool her with the innocent act. She knew damn well he had a brother. Because while they’d both voiced their teenage appreciation for Dev, her cousin had actually had a thing for the youngest Torrez, though she’d never openly admitted it. But she had flaunted her red bikini in front of Reyes every chance she got on that visit.

  And last summer, when she’d been visiting after one of her equestrian events, Shelby was positive Raine had gone down to the barn with the excuse of going for a ride, but it had really been to try to get under Reyes’ skin. Instead, he’d gotten under hers. Her cousin had been fuming when she’d joined her at the pool after her ride.

  “Reyes is home sick, unfortunately,” she informed Raine.

  “Oh.” A wealth of disappointment filled that one little word. Shelby wished he had been able to make it just so she could’ve watched the fireworks.

  She did a quick scan to make sure Maria wasn’t on the warpath, saw Blake still distracted by Noelle, and lightly touched Raine’s arm. “Come on, walk with me before the general comes back. How’s your shoulder doing?”

  She’d had surgery a month ago after a pretty serious accident during her final jumping event of the season.

  “Good. I ditched the sling for the wedding.”

  “I noticed.” As they walked, she glanced sideways at her cousin’s plum sweater dress with lace detail down the length of the sleeves and across the neckline. “And love that dress by the way. You look great.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Have you started riding again?”

  Raine shook her head. “Doctor won’t clear me for a couple of weeks yet. I’m chomping at the bit, though.”

  “I bet.”

  They reached the groom’s dressing room by then, and slipped inside to deliver Roxanna’s message. Loyal was the most straight-laced one of the family, and seeing his happy smile made the assignment totally worth the trip. After quick hugs and well-wishes, Shelby hurried Raine back before Maria came looking for her. Her cousin broke away to join her parents and four brothers in the church, while she went to line up with the wedding party at the back for the start of the ceremony.

  A half-hour later, while standing on the altar steps during the exchange of vows, she reflected on how much had changed over the past two years. Today was wedding number four for their family, and there were already two babies. Plus, she was pretty sure Loyal and Roxanna would be planning babies soon, and Celia and Robert had been trying to get pregnant for a few months already as well.

  Which left her and their half-sibling, Grayson, still standing.

  Still standing.

  That thought brought a smile. Because, seeing the love shining in Loyal’s eyes as he said, “I do,” she knew he was one hundred percent happy to have fallen. All of them were.

  A tiny spurt of envy subdued her smile. While she still didn’t know Grayson well enough to know how he felt about love and marriage, she wanted what her older siblings had.

  Love.

  A partner.

  Babies.

  It didn’t have to be right away, but someday. Maybe soonish.

  She glanced at her half-brother on the opposite side of the steps, who was practically the mirror image of the groom. Though he was only a groomsman, he looked more than a little claustrophobic in his tux, especially without his service dog, Remy, at his side. She definitely could not imagine him saying, “I do,” anytime soon. Heck, she didn’t think he was even dating anyone—and if he was, it clearly wasn’t serious enough for that someone to be his plus one to the wedding.

  However, if she was imagining a groom…

  Shelby found her gaze on Dev at the end of the second row before she realized she’d even turned her head. Her heartbeat skipped hard. Damn it all anyway, he was still the man who came to mind when she pictured her own wedding day.

  He appeared to be studying the stained glass windows to his right, so she took a moment to study him. The past two times they’d met she’d been too emotionally keyed up to really get a chance to take him in.

  Raine was right. The boy had become a man over the past ten years. Light from the window highlighted the angles of his face. The snowy-white of his shirt seemed to deepen his tan, though he’d always sported a little darker complexion thanks to his Spanish heritage. That same ancestry also blessed him and his siblings with model-like cheekbones, but they were sharper than she remembered. His whole expression was harder in a way that made her wonder what he’d all been through.

  At most, he might have finger-combed the top of his dirty-blond hair, where he’d let his military cut grow out some compared to the short sides. The tousled look only accented his good-looks, especially with the slight beard shadow on his jaw adding a rugged edge that made her belly dip.

  Abstractedly, she registered the pastor telling Loyal he could kiss the bride just as Dev started to turn his head back toward the couple. Shelby quickly averted her gaze, but not before she noticed Solana watching her watch her brother.

  Heat warmed her face, and she had to fight the urge to fan her burning cheeks as the ceremony concluded.

  Standing in the receiving line a few minutes later, her pulse kicked with stupid anticipation when she saw Solana and Dev’s parents, Elena and Estefan. It slowed when she realized Dev wasn’t with them. She didn’t dare examine how she felt about him skipping, and then she forced herself to put him out of her mind as she rode with the wedding party in the limo over to The Piñon Hotel for the dinner reception.

  Except, she couldn’t help noticing his empty chair at dinner. It taunted her curiosity. Why was he not sitting with his parents and sister?

  Why do you care?

  After dinner was over and the music had started, she ventured out into the lobby to get a breath of fresh air near the doors. She hadn’t quite realized how alone she’d been feeling lately. With the romance of the wedding, seeing Loyal and Roxanna so happy, and other couples in her family all lovey-dovey, it left her feeling a little melancholy.

  Worse, it had her longing for her own romance and casting
Dev in the role he’d turned down years ago. After how long it took for her to get over his rejection the last time, she knew her heart couldn’t take another trip down that road with him.

  Doesn’t mean you can’t make the journey with someone else.

  For so long her focus had been on school, and then setting up her veterinary clinic. When that had been delayed, she’d thrown herself into her job at the animal hospital to get some experience under her belt. But clearly, there was so much more to life than working all day and going home to an empty apartment.

  Restlessness had been building for a while, maybe even since Asher and Honor’s wedding the previous May. Nine and a half months ago. Almost a year of her life had passed as she sat on the sidelines through two births and two—three weddings.

  It was way past time to get herself out there and actively start dating.

  With a bodyguard in tow?

  Yeah. That’ll be so much fun. Not.

  “Shelby?”

  She startled at the unexpected voice behind her, then forced a polite smile as she turned around to see one of the staffers from her father’s senatorial campaign two years ago. “Hey, Chad.”

  “Hi. I thought that was you.”

  He was the one date she’d gone on in the past year. Well, kind of date. She’d only agreed out of obligation after he’d helped with some permit issues related to her veterinary clinic.

  Because, though he was good-looking in a pretty-boy way with his blond hair and blue eyes, there wasn’t anything about him that stirred her interest. If only he did. He was nice enough, extremely smart, and he had a good sense of humor. Most women would consider him a catch.

  He moved in to give her a hug, and she stiffened against an instinctive reflex to step back. The smell of his cologne made her nose wrinkle. It had an odd feminine note to it, and she held her breath to keep from coughing when he held on a tad longer than was socially polite.

  Lightly pushing free, she asked, “What are you doing here?” Because she knew he wasn’t one of the hundred and two guests.