Harper raised her glass to her mouth and finished off her drink, then turned the cup upside down. “All dry. I’ll be back.”
Emma watched her heading off in the direction of the house’s back door then discovered a beer thrust in front of her.
“Thanks,” she said to Shep, accepting the crisp bottle, obviously pulled from a cooler.
She took a sip, glancing out at the fire again, noticing the country music playing through the speaker that was sitting on the beer cooler near Chase. “So, this is what you all do for fun, huh?”
Shep finished his sip of beer, one hand stuffed in his pocket. “Not your type of fun?”
“It is, actually, but it’s also different.” She paused, trying to form a picture in her mind. “To be honest,
I can’t even imagine my old friends sitting around a fire like this, unless there were waiters bringing them cocktails.”
“Different isn’t always bad.”
Emma hadn’t really looked at it that way for a long time. She’d felt like she’d lost everything. Different had been the enemy. But now . . . “You’re right—different isn’t always bad.” Actually, neither situation was really better than the other. She loved the city, the energy of New York City, but she loved this too. She had never realized she fit into two completely different worlds so perfectly until now.
Suddenly there was a bang as the door flew open, then Harper called, “Emma, come here, we’ve got shots.”
Brody rose. “You don’t need shots, Harper.”
Harper rolled her eyes. “Actually, yeah, I do. A couple of them, in fact.”
First, Emma noticed that Nash and the girl were gone, probably to have sex somewhere after that kiss she’d seen. Her gaze then drifted over to Chase, who watched Harper closely, with a little smile curving his mouth. Proud of her for standing up to her brother, was he? She turned to Shep and said softly, “You should say something to him.”
He glanced between Chase and Harper, clearly catching Emma’s drift, then gently shook his head. “It’s not my place.”
“Maybe it should be,” she offered, then took his hand. “Now, come on, let’s get drunk.”
He sighed. “I better not regret this tomorrow.”
“Oh, you won’t.” She smiled.
“And why is that?” He tugged her closer, no space between them now.
“Because I get dirty when I get drunk.”
She waggled her eyebrows, which quickly turned into a gasp and a laugh as he threw her over his shoulder and headed toward the door, slapping her ass. “Then hell yes, darlin’, it’s time to drink.”
* * *
Two shots and three beers later, Shep glided through the cool water stark naked, the moonlight casting a glow across the black water beneath the surface. He wasn’t exactly sure how the conversation began, all that he recalled was Harper asking Emma wide-eyed, “You’ve never skinny dipped before?” Then they were at the lake and he was naked and running off the dock, jumping into the crisp water with Brody’s warning about Harper, “Look at her and I’ll rip your eyeballs out,” still making him laugh. Of course, the warning wasn’t meant for him, more directed at Chase and Nash; it was amusing nonetheless. Shep was glad he didn’t have any sisters. He suspected if he ever had a daughter, he’d likely behave exactly like Brody.
When Shep broke through the water, inhaling sharply, with the starry sky above him, he discovered Emma and Harper had remained closer to shore. Nash was to Shep’s left, his date long gone now, and Chase stationed to his right. Shep smiled, keeping his lips beneath the water, thinking about Brody’s warning. Which was likely the reason why Nash and Chase kept their distance from Harper. Brody had stayed back at the fire, waiting for his girlfriend to get off work to join them tonight, but no one wanted to chance that he’d show up and find them near her. Brody had a fierce temper.
On shore, standing on a jagged rock, Gus gave a loud bark, looking into the water. Shep narrowed his eyes, trying to focus through the darkness, discovering a muskrat swimming through the water. “Ah, Nash, I think—” Gus dove into the water, swimming in the opposite direction after the muskrat.
“For fuck’s sake,” Nash growled, then took off swimming after the dog. “Gus!”
Chase laughed, treading the water. “It’s a sweet reward how much that dog does not listen to him.”
“It is,” Shep agreed, moving his arms to stay afloat. His gaze returned to the women, whose heads weren’t bobbing, telling Shep they were likely standing atop a rock beneath the water. When he glanced back to Chase his brother was staring at Harper intently, with the same intense look that was always on his face around her. “Your eyeballs are in great peril at the moment,” Shep joked.
Chase’s mouth twitched. “I’d like to see Brody try to touch my eyeballs.”
Shep looked at Harper, who he caught glancing Chase’s way before quickly returning her attention to Emma. There was something sweet there between Harper and his brother, and had been for a long time now. What Emma had said earlier crossed his mind. “Nothing would stop me from dating the woman I wanted,” he told Chase.
Chase didn’t even play like he didn’t understand. “Harper is a line I refuse to cross.”