eyes when he peeled the lid off the container of chicken and gave a cautious sniff. Wimp.
If her brothers thought it strange she’d prepared a meal without it being a special occasion, they kept further comments to themselves. Thank God. The last thing she wanted was to explain about Neil’s mini-lecture on healthy eating. How she’d given in to it.
Maddie bit into one of the chocolate chip cookies Pops had sent over yesterday. “I take it you’re not here just to raid my refrigerator.”
Glowering, Leo stalked over to her. “This is an intervention.”
She stilled. “You can’t cut off my cookie consumption. Taking away a woman’s right to chocolate is just wrong. Not to mention possibly illegal.”
And she took a huge bite.
“This isn’t about a damn cookie,” he growled, swiping his hand through the air as if to brush aside her words. “This is about you making another stupid mistake. We stood by last time, but not now.”
“Did you suffer a brain injury?” she asked, finishing off the cookie. “What have we told you about sliding down the fire pole headfirst?”
“I warned you years ago. I told you Neil Pettit was nothing but trouble. That he’d hurt you.” He stopped and tossed his hands in the air. “But did you listen? No,” he snapped when she opened her mouth. “You didn’t. And look what happened.”
“I take it this is about your little run-in with Neil and Bree this morning?” she asked.
Bree had called Maddie that morning to tell her she was spending the rest of the day at Pops’s house. It wasn’t until Maddie had picked her up there that she’d learned about Bree getting hurt while out with Neil.
And Leo coming to her rescue.
Now he was here, all irritated and in full big-brother, defender-of-weak-willed-baby-sisters mode. She should have expected this little visit, Maddie realized with an inner sigh. Her brothers loved her and Bree. Wanted to protect them.
She wished that one day they’d get it through their thick heads she was more than capable of taking care of herself.
Zoe nudged Maddie’s knee and she stroked the dog’s silky head. “Yes,” Maddie said, “you warned me. But unless you happen to have a DeLorean that you’ve tricked out into a time machine, there’s not a whole lot I can do to change the past.”
Wasn’t sure she’d do anything different even if she did get some magical do-over.
Leo’s mouth tightened, the skin around it turning white. “How long is he in town?”
She blinked at the vehemence in his tone. Out of all her brothers, Leo had always had the biggest problem with Neil. “I’m not sure. A few weeks, I guess.”
He stood with his legs apart, his arms crossed. “You can’t let him spend time with Bree. Not after everything he’s done.”
Her blood heated. Her hands curled into fists. She stood, her body trembling with the need to haul off and punch Leo in the nose. “Excuse me?”
Zoe whimpered and hid under the table.
James sighed. “And here we go.”
“You heard me,” Leo said. “Tell him he can’t see her again.”
“Pettit’s Bree’s father,” Eddie interjected before Maddie could calm down enough to gather her thoughts. “He has a legal right to see her.”
“Screw his legal rights.”
Eddie snorted. “Say that when it’s up to the courts to decide whether you get to see your kid or not.”
Eddie had full custody of his son, Max, but his ex-wife had been making noises about wanting to be a bigger part of Max’s life. Maddie knew Eddie’s biggest fear was losing his son in a custody battle where the courts usually favored the mother.
“This isn’t about you,” Leo said. “It’s about Neil Pettit being no good for Bree.”
Eddie pointed his fork at Leo. “That’s not up to you to decide.”
Leo, his eyes narrowed to slits, stalked over to Eddie, all cocky and aggressive. “I’m her uncle. I care about her.”
“We’re all her uncles and care about her, you moron,” Eddie said.
“Who are you calling a moron?” Leo asked, pushing Eddie’s shoulder.
Eddie’s face darkened, his eyes flashed.
“Are you going to stop this?” Maddie asked James as Eddie set his food aside.
James shrugged. “Nah. Leo’s been itching for a fight. Might as well let Eddie give him one.”
“I’m calling you a moron,” Eddie said, using both hands to shove Leo back two steps. “Moron.”
There was a beat of silence—the calm before the storm—then, sure enough, Leo snarled and charged. Eddie neatly sidestepped and gave Leo a sharp crack to the back of the head as he went by.