But the resentment that welled up in him was tamped back down when he looked at the back of Leo’s bent head. Maybe life hadn’t been fair to them, but Luke would do anything for Dad and Leo. He truly feared for his family, with the loss of Leo looming so large before them. It was like a dark shadow following them around, always there, spreading just a little more each day.
As if he knew Luke was standing behind him, warring with his conscience, Leo said, “Come on, Luke, you have to see this! Tonight is unconventional materials night. I hate the unconventional materials challenge, but you know what I love? Heidi Klum.” He grinned as Luke walked around and sat in Dad’s La-Z-Boy beside him. “Lay down on ze bed,” he said in an awful German accent. “I will have my vay vith you.”
“Is that supposed to be Heidi?”
“That’s supposed to be Heidi with me,” Leo said, and turned his gaze to a string of models strutting down the runway in what looked like glass dresses. “So how was the Stakeout?”
“Okay. The food still sucks.”
“Any women?”
Luke honestly hadn’t really noticed, which was unusual for him. “I saw one of Grant’s daughters. The one from Orlando.” Funny how she was still on his mind.
“Who, Blue Eyes?”
Luke looked at his brother. “How do you remember everything?”
“Dude, I keep telling you—my brain is a machine. Here’s the way I see it—they sent the attractive daughters in to mess with our heads.”
“What, you think they have some ugly stepsisters lurking in the background?”
Leo laughed. “You never know. So it was Blue Eyes, huh?”
Luke smiled. Leo definitely had a steel-trap of a memory. “Yes, Blue Eyes, also known as Madeline Pruett.”
“So what does she look like?” Leo asked. “And don’t leave out a single detail. Start with her boobs.”
Luke playfully swatted his brother’s arm. “You’re such a damn pig, Leo.”
“Calling me names will not remove the swagger from this swine! Okay, tell me—and don’t hold out on me.”
Luke sighed. He looked at his little brother’s shining blue eyes. “She has a respectable rack and a nice ass,” he obliged him. That much was true. Her derriere was heart-shaped and a little bouncy, just like Luke liked them.
“Excellent!” Leo said, his eyes lighting. “What else? Thin? Round mound of fun? What’s her personality like?”
“She’s average build,” Luke said. “Pretty.” She had dark, shiny hair that she had released from the death grip of Grok’s claw. He’d had an insane urge to touch it tonight. But as to what she was like? He still didn’t know. She was private. Maybe a little standoffish, but not in a bad way—more like a kid who didn’t know which group to join on a playground. “She’s a little uptight,” he said.
“That’s the best kind,” Leo said instantly. “You get to peel back one delicious layer at a time. Fun for everyone.”
“I’m not peeling any layers,” Luke said, shooting Leo a look.
“What about the rest of her?”
“She’s pretty,” Luke admitted. She had intelligent blue eyes and an expressive mouth. But it was the eyes, shrewd and a little innocent at the same time, that he kept thinking about. When she smiled, they glittered. “She’s obviously got some issues.”
Leo snorted. “Don’t we all.”
“And I don’t think she’s letting go of the ranch without a fight. Neither is Libby, for that matter,” he added with a shrug. “Emma? I think she could take it or leave it.”
Just then, their father appeared carrying a jug with a big silly straw.
“Dinner is served!” Leo said happily. “What’s it tonight, Dad? Liquid mac and cheese?”
“It’s a protein shake,” his father said, and attached the jug to a strap he’d rigged onto the side of Leo’s chair.
“Bo-ring!” Leo sang out, but clamped his mouth down onto the end of the silly straw that looped and twisted right up to his mouth. He took a long drink as his father settled in on the couch, his gaze on the television screen as more models paraded down the runway.
“Anyone else there tonight?” Leo asked.
“As a matter of fact, Julie Daugherty showed up.”
“Ho! There’s a blast from the past!”
“Not a good one,” Dad muttered.
“So? Did you check her hands?” Leo asked.
“What?”
“Her hands,” Leo said again, and waved his lobster claw of a hand at Luke. “Her ring finger.”
“No, I didn’t check it—why?”
“Dude.” Leo waggled his brows. “You mean you haven’t heard? Word is that she and Brandon are on the skids.”
Luke snorted. Brandon would have to be a complete moron to mess that up. “You are my sole source of information, Leo. So where’d you hear that? From Dani?”
“No, actually, from Marisol,” Leo said, pausing to sip from his straw. “She says Brandon is a prick and was hitting on her at her son’s Little League game. I want to withhold judgment, because every guy wants to hit on Marisol, right? But she seemed pretty adamant that he is a player and has something going on the side. And Julie isn’t putting up with that. I hear she kicked him out.”
Julie, free again? Luke’s head began to spin with just the idea.