He walked around the kitchen island to stand by me. He pushed a plate full of my favorite things in front of me. When had he figured those things out?

  “Right. You know how we’ve been trying to make the big harvest celebration a little bigger each year?” When I nodded instead of speaking with my mouth full, she went on. “Well, I finally convinced your Uncle Fred and your father to bring in some musical talent. I thought maybe you’d want to play, Ian?”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “You have a band, right?”

  “Yes.” He swallowed hard and pounded on his chest a few times. “I do have a band.”

  “I know it’s sort of short notice. The festival is in a few weeks. Do you think you could arrange it? Maybe you could call LeeLee, Zoe?”

  I paused with my fingers hovering over a sweet pepper. “Pardon?”

  “LeeLee?” Ian frowned.

  Laverne sat at the head of the table and patted his hand. “Lila, dear.”

  “Crandall?” Ian’s eyebrows snapped down. “Oh, they don’t like me. Why would you call them?”

  Laverne patted his hand. “Don’t say that, dear. Besides, harvest is generally a family affair. Lila and her family can’t always make it, but since Oblivion’s not touring I thought maybe we could get them to come.”

  “I don’t know, Aunt Laverne. She’s really busy. Besides, she’s your daughter. Don’t you think you should call?”

  “Yes, of course. But you two need to make up.” She stood. “So, you’ll call her.” As if it was already decided, she bustled back into the kitchen. “Now one sandwich or two?”

  “Two for me, please.”

  I elbowed Ian.

  He frowned at me. “What? You weren’t serious about me being fat.” He lifted his shirt and rubbed his six-pack. “These are coming along quite nicely, I thought.”

  I pulled his shirt down. “Oh, for God’s sake.” I’d been intimately acquainted with those abs and I could attest there wasn’t an extra spare ounce on him.

  He gave me a cheeky grin and stole a pepper from my plate. “Do you think it would be too much to ask for three?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re probably right. Maybe she’ll have some crisps over there.”

  I rolled my eyes. He was a human garbage disposal.

  I pulled my phone out and went into the other room as they laughed and joked through the process of making toasted cheese. Mostly because Ian was looking to learn how and my aunt was all too happy to have another student in her kitchen.

  My thumb hovered over Lila’s contact number.

  I just needed to get it over with. I hadn’t been mad at my cousin this long since…ever. Lila may have been high-handed with how she treated me in regards to Ian and working with Ripper, but I knew it came from a good place. And she was protective of all her people, but with her family, she was a lioness.

  I hit call and lifted the phone to my ear.

  She picked up immediately. “Is everyone all right?”

  “Everyone’s fine, LeeLee.”

  “Oh.” She blew out a shaky breath. “I wasn’t expecting your call.”

  “I know it. I should have called sooner.”

  “It’s all right, I knew you needed time.” She paused. “We both did.”

  “I’m sorry—”

  “I’m sorry—”

  We both laughed.

  “I don’t like fighting with you.” I slumped into one of the oversized chairs in the main living space.

  “I don’t either. I just didn’t want you to get hurt.”

  “No one knew it was going to go that way.” I sighed. “All right, so maybe your instincts were on point for one thing—but the rest? No. Ian didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

  “I’d say extortion counts as hurting someone.” Her voice turned clipped.

  “Yes, but he couldn’t go through with it. He did everything he could to never go through with it. Even starving himself and sending all of his own money to Jerry.”

  “Are you really defending him?”

  “I am. I love him, Lila. The real deal, like you have with Nick.”

  “Nick would never—”

  “Really? Are you really going to say that scrapper who came here all those years ago wouldn’t have done anything for his family?”

  “That’s different.”

  “Why? Because he’d rather do it with his fists back then?”

  I remembered when Nick first came to Happy Acres. How rough around the edges he’d been until he was loved and accepted by my aunt and uncle.

  Until Lila.

  “Nick would die before he’d ever steal anything.”

  “Oh, really? I believe he and Klepto were of a similar mind.”

  “That was to survive.”

  “LeeLee, listen to yourself.”

  “Dammit, Zoe.”

  I smiled into the phone. “I’m not saying it wasn’t wrong and he’s been making it up to everyone since that day. He even went to talk to Simon and Margo.”

  “I know, I talked to Margo.” She sighed. “All of you are too soft.”

  “Says the inadvertent matchmaker of Ripper Records. Who’s next? Flynn and Sabrina?”

  “God, no.”

  In between the hours of getting reacquainted, Ian had told me a lot about his time at Flynn’s. Especially about the spicy Sabrina and Flynn’s reaction to her. I made a noncommittal hum.

  “Besides, Flynn isn’t on Ripper. Though we are working on him.”

  “Because he and Ian are amazing.”

  “I would have dropped him from the label no matter how big that single became. I wouldn’t have even let them record it.”

  “But Donovan overrode you.” Her silence was all the information I needed. “He was dealt a pretty shitty hand, but he figured—”

  “Too late. He figured it out too late and Margo almost died.”

  I closed my eyes at her near shout. Lila didn’t shout. I could practically feel her reining herself in. “I love him. I hope one day you’ll understand that and be able to accept it. But I don’t want my relationship with him to ruin ours. I’ll keep you both separate if I have to, but I just wanted you to know I was sorry. That I understand you were only protecting me.”

  “You’re my family.”

  “And Ian’s my family. Come to the harvest celebration. Bring your family. Bring Simon and Margo if you can. See just how different he is and how much he’s fallen in love with my family.”

  “My mother adopts every stray that comes by.”

  “She did the same with Nick and Simon.”

  Lila blew out a breath. “We planned on coming out, but now I don’t know.”

  “Bring the girls and bring that stud of yours.”

  “Zoe.” Her voice was exasperated.

  I laughed. “Just try. I think you’ll find Margo and Simon might just want to come out. At least if my conversation with Ian is anything to go by. And Aunt Laverne misses the girls.”

  “No promises.”

  I knew it was as good as done. Grandbabies always trumped personal strife. “I love you, LeeLee.” We were a loving family, but we didn’t really fling around the L-word. It was more of a gesture thing.

  I caught movement out of the corner of my eye as I ended the call. I turned to find Ian giving me a bright smile. He’d probably listened to the whole thing.

  “How long were you there, Mr. Eavesdropper?”

  “Long enough.” He came in the room and sat on the ottoman in front of me. “Still hates me, huh?”

  I leaned forward and tugged him down for a kiss. “Only thing that matters is I don’t.”

  “That’s very true.” He grinned against my mouth. “I don’t want to cause strife between your family, Magic.”

  “Well, we can’t control that. All we can do is move forward.”

  “And we will. Right after we go see your gallery owner.”

  I dropped my head against his chest. “Do we have to?”

  “Yes. Everyone needs to see your amazing paintings. As beautiful as they are in the barn, they should be shared.”

  I blew out a breath. “You’re right.”

  “I am?” He cupped the back of my neck. “I mean, of course I am.”

  I kissed him one last time. “All right. Let’s go do this.”

  “Do we have to pack up your paintings or something?”

  “I have one in the back of Beckett’s truck and the rest in a digital portfolio.”

  “You’re going to change, right?”

  I glanced down at my shorts and top. “Good point.”

  He slid his arm around my shoulders and drew me out of the chair. “Let’s get you all artsied up, love.”

  I was afraid what that meant, but I’d hitched my wagon to his crazy. I had to trust him. “Lead the way.”

  Twenty-Seven

  The next few weeks were a whirlwind of work. Harvest was always a busy time in the orchard. We had a lot of seasonal help that came in just to help with the orchard itself. Hayes had been brewing his moonshine every spare moment to see if he could drum up some interest with the influx of people coming for the small festival.

  Well, not so small.

  Ian had been working incessantly to help build the small stage outside the distillery. Which meant people were forever coming and going from the barn. Everyone wanted to stop by and chat, so of course I got almost no work done until the wee hours of the morning and then the hammering started at five in the damn morning because that was when the sun freaking came up.

  Needless to say, I was a little grouchy.

  Ian?

  Nope. He was the eternal spinning top of happiness because he was in the thick of it all.

  I was also grouchy because I couldn’t get a moment alone with him. We were finally back together and he was forever being pulled away.

  “Magic?”

  “Zoe isn’t here right now,” I called from the loft.

  He came up the ladder, his wild curls tipping over the top first. “Come down and see the band.”

  I flopped onto my back. “You go.”

  “No, come on.” He crawled onto the mattress, his cross dangling down like a little pendulum as he caged me in with his knees. “We’re setting up for the show at sunset. Beckett even procured fireworks.”

  “Oh, that’s good. It’s super dry and he’s going to shoot off fireworks?”

  He frowned down at me and pulled me up by my arms. “Why so grouchy?”

  I turned my face away from his incoming lips.

  “Wow, super grouchy.”

  “Just tired. I don’t know why you have so much energy. You’ve been running around like the Energizer Bunny for days.”

  He crashed onto the mattress next to me. “Haven’t heard back from Martha, huh?”

  I curled onto my side and settled my nose into his chest, my phone wrapped tightly in my hand. He smelled like apples and sunshine. “No.” Of all the days that she could’ve said she’d call, it had to be today. It was down to three artists for two spots at the gallery. I was so afraid I’d miss her call in between the rest of the chaos for the festival.

  “I know you got one of the spots, I wish you believed it too.”

  I’d seen the paintings from the other two artists as soon as I’d walked in. They were both good—so much more mainstream than I was. It wasn’t like I didn’t have talent. I knew I did, but my stuff was so…much more individual.

  “There are other galleries. I’m used to rejection, pal. You should have seen how brutal art school was.”

  “How could anyone not love your work?”

  I smiled against his chest. “You only say that because you’re madly in love with me.”

  “Well, that’s true, but you’re more talented than any of the blokes in the gallery when we were there.”

  I lifted my face to his. “I’m sorry I’m being a downer.”

  “You’re not. Besides,” he rolled me onto my back. “I know how to improve your mood.” He tunneled his hand under my shirt to cup my very unencumbered breast. “Oh, well, that’s a nice little surprise. I love when you’re too hot for a bra.”

  “What, like every day? I don’t have much to support there.”

  He peeled my shirt up and covered my nipple. “They’re perfect. And your salty skin is my favorite snack.”

  I slid my fingers along the curls that now reached past his shoulders. “Is that a dig?”

  “So prickly.” He let my nipple go with a pop and kissed me long and deep. He slid his knee between my legs and the evidence of just how okay he was with my current wet noodle status dug into my belly. With his free hand, he wandered down my side to sneak under the hem of my shorts. I arched up against him as he slid two fingers deep. “Ah, but you’re so ready for me here.”

  “Because it’s been days.”

  “Do you need a little release, love?” He nibbled along my neck to my ear. “Maybe a little stress relief, perhaps?”

  Restless, I lifted my hips to get him deeper. “There’s people everywhere.”

  “Then you’ll just have to not shout my name to the rafters for once.”

  I pulled his hair. “Funny guy.”

  He waggled his eyebrows and inched down.

  “Ian, wait—I…” I groaned out a long shuddering breath as his mouth replaced his fingers. He pulled my oversized boxers to the side and tucked both fingers back inside me and sucked at my clit with his clever and very dexterous tongue.

  I arched off the mattress and a loud bang from outside made me stiffen.

  “Ignore it,” he said against my thigh.

  “How am I supposed to—” I reached above my head to the slats of the half wall that kept us from rolling to the damn floor. I turned my head into my arm to muffle the scream as I careened into a mind-bending orgasm. But he didn’t stop there. No, Ian never was a one and done kind of guy.

  “Where’s Zoe?” Beckett’s voice floated into the barn from just outside.

  “Zoe is currently post orgasm and about to have another, mate,” Ian said against my pussy with the devil gleaming in his eyes.

  “Ian, wait.” But my body was way more on board with Ian’s plan than the fact that my nosy brother was looking for me. I brought my knee up to try and curl away from him, but Ian was ready for that. He splayed me open with his freakishly strong fingers and demanded more.

  “I missed your taste, love. Missed the salty perfection of you.” His voice was little more than a rumble. “Come for me again. I want your taste on my tongue as I’m singing tonight.”

  “Jesus,” I growled and that was enough to send me over again. My toes curled and I lifted myself to his mouth, my fingers buried in his hair. I tried like hell to curb the groans, but a few leaked out as I coasted through the eye of my own personal storm.

  My body went boneless and I shuddered as I slowly came back to the loft and the endless banging of the workmen outside the barn.

  Ian grinned as he crawled his way up my body and made a pitstop at my way too sensitive breasts. “Feel a little better?”

  “Sorry, Zoe can’t answer right now. She’s enjoying her post-coital bliss.”

  “Coital, my ass. You just got bliss. I have to play with a hard-on, love.”

  I reached down. “I can take care of that.”

  “Zoe, we need your artistic eye.” Beck came all the way into the barn this time.

  “Bah.” Ian growled into my neck.

  “I’ll be right down,” I called down.

  “Tell that asshole he needs to come too,” Beck shouted.

  “Ian wishes he was coming.”

  I laughed at his disgruntled tone. “It’ll be worth it later.”

  “Damn fucking right it will be.” He kissed me, my flavor rich on his tongue as he marked me with a hot and heavy kiss to add to the very thorough one between my legs. “Let’s go see what they all need.”

  “You go ahead. Let me try and not look like I just—”

  “Came your brains out.”

  “Wipe the smug smile off your face, rocker boy.”

  “Never.” He kissed me again and shifted his jeans before climbing back down. Suddenly, his head popped back up into the loft. “Oh, I forgot what I actually came up here for.”

  “It wasn’t to…” I tipped my head.

  He grinned. “Well, that’s always a side benefit, but no. Reach into that bag.”

  I turned. “What bag?”

  “I found it at the house. The backpack. When I got here, Aunt Laverne stole all my belongings and stowed them. I sort of forgot I had something in there for you.”

  “You can give it to me later.”

  “It’s very relevant today, Magic.”

  I tugged my shirt down since I hadn’t even gotten it off before Ian had been into my knickers. God, he was rubbing off on me. I reached in to find a soft T-shirt that I instantly wanted to steal. “What am I…” My hand bumped into something plastic and very familiar. “Oh.”

  “I figured you should have her back. Maybe even use it today, yeah?”

  “Oh, Ian.” I teared up. It had been a long time since Matilda had been in my hands. “But you don’t have to give her back, she’s ours now.”

  He tipped his head and batted his lashes at me. “Aww, our first child.”

  I threw my shorts at his head. “Oh my God. Go away.”

  His laugh bounced around the rafters. “I love you madly, Magic.”

  I shook my head. “I love you too,” I shouted.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake. I knew you were up there debauching my only sister.” My brother’s disgust was more than apparent.

  “Such dirty thoughts, Beckett. I was just waking up the love of my life.” Ian whistled as he left the barn.

  “What do you need, Beck?” I called out as I swapped the boxers I slept and painted in for panties and lightweight khaki shorts. I added a bra for posterity and pulled on a Happy Acres T-shirt since I was technically part of the crew tonight. The all hands on deck decree had been given.

  I reached for the camera and took a chance that he’d have film. Considering his obsession with my favorite camera, I was happy to find a few packs at the bottom of his bag. Ian didn’t take pictures with her as much as used her for random props for his Instagram.

  I climbed down. “What’s so important?”