The Stone Family Heart - Taylor Hart Page 0,63

believe it,” Marshall said, releasing him.

Trey put his dukes up and play-punched him. “Who knew I’m going to be in charge of one of those little humans?”

Marshall laughed and did the same, falling right into the little play-punch fight he and Trey had worked out years ago in order to distract anyone they wanted to mess with. There were lots of families that would come to the beach for the first time, and sometimes he and his brothers would stage fights for the crowds and then walk away laughing.

“I’ll be right back,” Ava called out.

He and Trey kept circling each other and play-punching.

“You’re going to be a dad,” Marshall said, trying to process this. “Wow.”

Trey shook his head. “I know, right?” Trey gave him a right hook, and Marshall dodged and pretended to sweep the legs. Trey jumped, and both of them chuckled.

“We still got it.” Marshall bumped Trey’s knuckles with his own.

“Yeah, we do.” Trey put his arm around Marshall. “It’s weird.”

Marshall beamed with pride. “It’s great. You seem so settled and happy. Whoever would have thought my big bro would be …” He gestured to the inn. “So domesticated?”

Trey grunted. “You make me sound like a dog.”

“Maybe a wolf. Is that better? A pet wolf.”

That earned him an elbow to the ribs, which only made him laugh more.

“Life catches up to you, old man.”

Marshall didn’t argue. “I know. Believe me, I’m feeling it.” He’d told Trey about … the incident. Trey understood. He also had his fair share of battle wounds.

Trey jerked his head to face him. The look in his eyes told Marshall that he was assessing him. “You good?” That was code for You’re not going to have a freak-out on me, are you? Because I’m leaving with my pregnant wife and son on vacay, and I don’t have time for this.

“You kidding?” Marshall pounded his chest. “I was born good.”

Trey nodded, his face turning serious. “You know, I was thinking that … if you ever do want to settle down, you might come home. You know Kat is back, and I don’t think she’s dating anyone.”

Every part of him tensed. “Why would I care if she was dating anyone?”

Trey held up a hand. “Chill, okay? I just know that once upon a time you were best friends.”

Marshall’s heart pounded. It was against bro code to talk about things like past women and settling down. “Well, that was then. This is now. Plus, this isn’t my home.”

“Hey, I’m just saying that I wouldn’t mind having a little brother here to boss around and stuff.”

Marshall relaxed. “Thanks, but the day I don’t want to fly is the day you can just put me down.” He made a motion like he was firing a gun into the ground. “Pine box in the desert is fine by me.”

Trey grunted and looked away.

Marshall knew he understood. SEALs and Night Stalkers and Special Forces would say that to each other: they’d rather be working and doing than … stopping. The hardest part was when they weren’t spun up. They had endless hours with nothing to take their minds off of the things they’d seen, the things they’d done, and the ghosts that haunted them.

Trey began walking to the garage. “Come with me. I’ve got something for you.”

Marshall followed. Well, dang straight he’d follow. When Trey said to come, all of his siblings followed without arguing. At least, without too much argument. That was how it had always been. Except for Kensi. He grinned, thinking how good it would be to see her. She came and went when she wanted to, no matter if Trey was calling the shots or not. Somehow, those two worked it out.

The garage door was open on one side of the two-car garage. The farthest side went two cars deep. Trey moved over to the back of the garage. “I thought you might like this.”

There was a black tarp over something. Trey yanked it back, revealing a red motorcycle in pristine shape.

“What?” Marshall couldn’t believe it. He pulled the rest of the tarp off to uncover another motorcycle standing beside it. He paused. “What? Which one am I supposed to be looking at?”

Trey reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring of keys, flinging them at Marshall. “Both. They’re both yours. One to ride, and one to keep you occupied.”

If Santa Claus himself had descended out of the North Pole and dropped the bikes in the garage, Marshall wouldn’t have been more surprised. He stared down