Rise (Rise & Fall Duet #1) - Grahame Claire Page 0,33

the kitchen.

Lexie leaned on the counter as if she were finally running out of steam.

“I’m famished. Do you mind if we run upstairs and ransack your kitchen?”

Now Teague was looking at me strangely. “Uh, yeah. Be my guest. We’ll bring Eric up after we feed the dogs.”

I nodded and touched Lexie’s elbow. “Teague asked us to set the table. Eric can play with Millie.”

She looked uncertain. “I rarely leave him.”

Guilt that I’d put her in an uncomfortable position regarding her brother swirled within me.

“He’s in good hands.” If she didn’t want to leave him, I understood.

“I know,” she said quietly.

Eric sat on the floor and Millie crawled all over him. He let out a happy laugh as he rubbed her sides.

“Lincoln, come see Millie.”

“Looks like setting the table will have to wait.” Lexie smirked.

It was probably for the best I wasn’t alone with her. Muffy trotted beside me as we waded through the sea of dogs.

When we reached Eric, he shot off the floor and threw his arms around my waist. I kept my arms stiffly at my side, taken aback by the display of affection. I wasn’t sure what to do. The only people I ever hugged were my brother and sister.

Eric’s affection was different, though I couldn’t decipher why.

I felt all the eyes in the room watching the scene, but I refused to make eye contact. Eric’s head was against my chest, and he clung to me like I was an anchor.

No. It was as if he sensed I needed the embrace.

I was uncomfortable and uncertain, but he wasn’t.

Slowly, I lifted my arms and returned his hug. Muffy nudged my leg as if to encourage me. Awkwardly, I patted Eric’s back, and he showed no sign of letting go.

And oddly, I wasn’t sure I wanted him to.

Chapter Nineteen

Lexie

My brother gave the best hugs.

Watching him hold Lincoln, a powerful, untouchable man, made me proud. Eric didn’t worry about boundaries. He operated by what he felt, by what he sensed people needed.

Did Lincoln need a hug? He was so stoic most of the time, it was hard to remember a human being was inside that beautiful exterior shell.

“I thought you were starving.” He nudged my barely touched plate. “Are you a vegetarian?”

“No.” I righted my dangling fork in my fingers. “Just too tired to eat.”

“And you still have to make tomorrow’s dog food, right?”

I resisted the urge to slouch. I was comfortable with these people, considered them friends—not Lincoln, but the rest of them. But I wasn’t ready to let them see the messy part of our lives. The not-put-together part. The slouchy part.

Yet Lincoln had had a glimpse.

“Thanks for reminding me.” I made an annoyed face at him.

He didn’t seem to notice. “How long does it take?”

“A few hours.” I forked a bite of brisket. “I’d put it off until the morning, but we only have the evening available for the kitchen.”

Eric had scarfed down most of what was on his plate, and now sank into his seat. He yawned and was quiet. We’d been working so hard with barely any time off. He was a trooper. He did whatever was needed and never complained.

We both needed rest. I just wasn’t sure when we could work that into our busy calendar.

“Lexie, you’ve never told us how you and Eric got into the dog food business.” Miss Adeline’s focus turned to me, as did everyone else’s, but Lincoln’s was the one I felt most acutely.

“We help an older neighbor with groceries and anything she can’t do easily on her own.”

“Mrs. Brooks.” Eric perked up at the mention of the lady. “She had a dog, Duke. He’s in doggie heaven now.”

“He is.” I patted his arm. “About seven years ago, we were at the market and the dog food we grabbed spilled.”

“It went everywhere,” Eric said.

The mess wasn’t funny at the time, but looking back, it was. And he was right. It was a disaster.

“The food was like cardboard. Dog’s shouldn’t have to eat cardboard.” Eric was adamant, passionate.

“While we helped clean up, Eric came up with the idea. We did some research about dog nutrition and came up with a recipe.”

“Duke wouldn’t touch it.”

Everyone snickered.

“Our first test was not successful,” I agreed.

“Good thing you didn’t try it out on these hooligans. They’ll eat anything,” Miss Adeline said.

“I’m not sure they would’ve eaten that.”

That earned another round of laughs. Except Lincoln, who looked like an unfeeling rock.

“It took us seventeen tries,” Eric volunteered. We didn’t put that nugget of information on