Right. Right. A water cannon’s origin is not the most important part of this right now.
I race after her as my uncle walks out of his shop, wiping his hands on a rag that’s already stained with grease. His eyes widen when Killian gets blasted in the chest with the same water cannon.
Deacon howls with laughter when Killian finally falls off the side of the boat, killing the motor in the process. Deacon bumps fists with Benson as they circle my brothers like sharks.
“Where’d he get a water cannon?” Uncle Bill asks.
See? It’s not just me. A freaking water cannon demands attention.
“Does he realize he’s starting a war?” my aunt demands. “And what happens if they keep this up? The town will insist on a fifth corner. Who would move?”
The sound of cars pulling in behind us has me turning around, and I see people getting out of their vehicles, hurrying toward us. Tons of people too, not just a few.
“What the hell?” I ask on a long, confused breath.
“For once, I have no damn clue,” Aunt Penny groans, looking over the ridiculous amount of uninvited guests.
Delaney is practically beaming as she races toward the edge to watch the showdown.
“If you want out, you have to promise on the graves not to throw another one of those fucking bombs. Ever,” Benson tells them, moving over to take position behind the water cannon as Deacon takes over the boat’s helm.
“Fuck. You,” Hale seethes, starting to haul himself out.
Benson blasts him with the water cannon, and Hale flails backwards, slapping the water with a clap when he lands on his back.
“I must have heard you wrong,” Benson says, grinning as he holds his finger on that trigger.
Seriously! Where’d he get a water cannon?
“Don’t move to the wilderness, they said.” Liam’s voice has me jerking my head to the left to see him right beside me, his arms crossed over his chest as he stares out at the lake to see this bizarre turn of events.
“You’ll be bored to death, they said,” he goes on. “Peace and quiet gets old, they said.” He turns and gives me an eye roll. “Funny how this wasn’t in the town brochure.”
I’d laugh under normal circumstances, but these are most definitely not normal circumstances.
“Wait…Tomahawk has a brochure?” I ask, unable to help myself.
“Yield or freeze to death. Your choice,” Benson tells my brothers, reminding me there are far more important things going on than brochures.
“Damn it, they’re going to freeze to death,” I grumble.
“We’ll yield the pipe bombs, but you still aren’t getting near our sister,” Killian acquiesces.
As if he’s known exactly where I’ve been all along, Benson turns to face me, and he says something I can’t hear to Deacon, as both my brothers start scrambling to get on their boat.
Benson’s boat turns and shoots toward us, and he curses when Deacon doesn’t line up correctly, bumping the dock too hard when he tries to dock it.
“Sorry. I don’t drive a boat to the store in Seattle!” Deacon defends loudly.
Benson says something I can’t hear, and hoists himself onto the dock before jogging my way.
I look for somewhere to hide, but there’s really no way around this. Only problem is…I now notice half the town is here.
Benson doesn’t stop until he’s right in front of me, cupping the sides of my face.
My eyes stare into those dark brown ones, and he lets his gaze rake over me like he can’t bear not seeing everything at once.
“I’ve been in love with you for over a year, Lilah Vincent. You’re a different brand of crazy than I realized if you think I’m going to let you go now.”
I almost fall forward when he releases me suddenly and takes a step back, smirking at me as he goes to stand on top of the picnic table. My heart is still pounding as I try to process the fact he just told me he loved me.
“I’m on the challenge committee, so I have the right to instate a new beard challenge if I want to,” Benson says, drawing a few hushed whispers.
“There’s a challenge committee?” Liam asks.
“And I will,” Benson goes on, smirking over at me. “Unless Lilah Vincent tells me she’s still mine, and that she’s not ever going to leave me again.”
I narrow my eyes when Delaney comes over and grips my arm painfully.
“Don’t you dare let them grow back the beards,” she hisses.
“The challenge was voted against once. It’ll be voted against again,” I point out, even though it’s just a small act of defiance. He doesn’t know it yet, but I’m already his. Never stopped being his.
And he won me over the second he took my brothers out with a freaking water cannon. Because I totally want to shoot them with it myself. I also really want to shoot the Malones. Maybe even the Nickels and Wilders too.
Aunt Penny is unfortunately right. I’ve loved the asshole for longer than I realized. And now I’m boiling.
Benson’s eyes glint with determination as he stares me down.
“Unless the challenger assumes the punishment to instate the challenge on his own accord—don’t forget that little clause. I’ll swim to the other side of the lake. If I make it without being pulled out, the challenge is set. No one can refuse. It could be another nine years before it ends. What do you say, Lilah?”
He smirks, and I battle a grin.
“Really. I need some sort of rule book or something, and I want to be on this challenge committee,” I hear Liam saying, and my uncle is quickly at his side, paperwork in hand.
“Seriously?” I ask my uncle and Liam as they start discussing the committee right beside me.
“Lilah, you’re stalling,” Benson says, sounding amused.
Sighing heavily, I stare at him, weighing my options. Say no, let the beards grow, walk around miserably missing my best friend, while the rest of the town hates me for the bad beards. Or say yes, have Benson back, let him spend an obscene amount of time making all this up to me, and keep the bad beards away.
Tough choice.
“I’ll come back to you. On one condition,” I say, crossing my arms as I grin.
“What condition?” he asks, stepping off the picnic table, but hesitating to move toward me again.
“Tell everyone here how you make your money.” My lips curl in delight, and he glares over at his brother.
Deacon groans while dropping his head back, knowing I’ve Googled their name now and know their not-so-dirty secret. There’s a pun in there. You’ll figure it out later.
Everyone perks up, completely interested in hearing if he’s going to cave to this demand. It would be a long-time mystery finally solved. Only I have the answer right now. The rest are salivating for a morsel.
“I’ll just instate the challenge, and everyone here will be pissed off at you,” he argues, turning to go toward the lake instead of coming to me.
Yeah…that deflates my bubble. About thirty angry stares—men and women—swing my way as if cued.