Feels Like Home: A Southerland Family Contemporary Romance Book 1 (19 page)

“
She will. Bailey is the
easiest of all of us. She’s kind and grateful. She never gave my
mom and dad any trouble.”

His affection for his sister was so apparent.
Autumn reached for his hand, loving him for the way he loved his
family. He glanced at her and smiled, twining his fingers with hers
and her heart kicked up another notch.

“
She’ll like whatever you
got her because you went to the trouble to get it. Don’t worry.” He
raised her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss across her knuckles.
“Everyone is going to love you.”

“
Are all your brothers and
sister going to be there?”

“
Five of them plus Andrew.
You know him already. He’s an only child. He practically grew up at
our house.”

She nodded, grateful for at least one
friendly face.

“
Travis is still in
Afghanistan.” He sounded both sad and proud when he said it and it
was her turn to kiss his hand. A quick press of lips against skin
because she hated to think of him hurt or worried.

“
You must miss
him.”

“
Every day. This is his
third tour and God willing, his last.”

He faced the road, but she saw the way his
jaw tightened. She imagined how difficult it must be for someone
who was used to taking care of everyone not to be able to take care
of his own brother.

“
Rachel lives in
Charlottesville but she promised she’d be here. If she misses
another family event Momma’s gonna have her head. Do you know
Taylor? She might have been in your class.”

“
She was a year behind me
in Summer’s class. We weren’t friends but she always seemed
nice.”

“
She is. She’s a bit of a
brat but she’s okay. It’s my brothers you have to watch out for.
They are going to be all over you. Don’t believe anything they
say.”

She laughed as they crossed the bridge,
spanning the lake from Bedford to Franklin County.

“
There’s Momma and Daddy,”
he said as he turned the car into the marina parking lot. “Come on.
I can’t wait for them to meet you.”

It wasn’t one boat; it was two. And she
shouldn’t have been worried. Jude’s family accepted her right away.
Jude’s father helped his mother onto one of the boats and he and
his brothers carried coolers and stowed gear. Taylor and Rachel
surrounded her while Bailey thanked her for the present.

Jude’s sisters were warm and friendly,
ushering her to a seat near the back of the boat and peppering her
with questions about her taste in music, her clothes, and what it
was like working for Jude. She didn’t realize there was anything
wrong until Jude’s brothers jumped on the back of the pontoon.

“
Go, go quick,” Andrew said
as he vaulted onto the boat.

“
On it,” said
Adam.

“
Hey Autumn, it’s good to
see you again.” Andrew leaned in and gave her a friendly peck on
the cheek on his way to the front on the boat. “Brats,” he said
with affection, nodding to the other women.

Taylor reached out and smacked his butt as he
squeezed past them on his way to the captain’s chair. Autumn felt
the engine start and then Blake slid onto the bench next to
her.

“
What’s in the box?” he
asked, draping an arm over Autumn’s shoulder.

“
Wait.” She started to rise
but Blake’s arm held her in place. “Where’s Jude?”

“
On the boat with Momma and
Daddy. Don’t worry. We’ll hook up with them when we get to the
cove.”

She looked behind them to see an angry
looking Jude at the helm of the second boat.

“
We just wanted a chance to
get to know you. You’re the first woman Jude’s let us get close
to.” Bailey said the words apologetically but Rachel and Taylor
didn’t look at all sorry. They looked hungry.

“
And,” Adam called from one
of the front chairs. “We wanted to give you a chance to realize
you’d chosen the wrong brother.”

“
Exactly.” Blake wrapped
his arm tighter around her and smiled, his brown eyes
twinkling.

“
Oh no. No way.” Autumn
squirmed out from under his arm, pulled her sunglasses from the
neckline of her t-shirt and slid them on. “Jude warned me not to
listen to a word you said.”

“
But darling, I’m the law.
You can trust me.”

Beside her Rachel snorted and Bailey and
Taylor grinned.

“
I’m a business man – very
upstanding.” Blake tried to put his arm around her again but she
swatted him away.

“
I’m a lawyer. You can
trust me,” Andrew called from the captain’s chair.

Taylor and Bailey bent over double with
laughter.

“
Did you really just use
the trust the lawyer line?” Rachel peered over the rim of her
sunglasses, her hazel eyes twinkling. They were so much like Jude’s
and the sandy blonde hair she had slicked back into a ponytail
matched his, too. Of all the Southerlands she was the one who
looked the most like her oldest brother.

Andrew shot a quick glance at them over his
shoulder. “Yes ma’am, I did.” He grinned and Rachel shook her
head.

“
You’re
shameless.”

“
Show us what’s in the
box.” Blake nodded to Bailey.

The wind tossed Autumn’s dark curls around
and she had to keep brushing them off her face. It caught the
ribbon as Bailey started to unwrap her present.

What had she been thinking? She should have
given Bailey her gift later when they got back to the parking lot
or something. It didn’t look like anyone else brought presents on
the boat. If she was wrong about the gift there wasn’t anything to
diffuse it. She’d just have to sit there watching Bailey pretend to
like it while Jude’s brothers and sisters looked on. And Jude
wasn’t even there to save her. She cast a glance longingly at the
other boat trailing at some distance behind them.

Taylor took the wadded up paper and ribbon
from her sister. Bailey wedged the box between her knees to hold it
steady while she lifted the lid.

“
Oh my God,” she
gasped.

Autumn’s heart sank, sure she didn’t like
it.

“
It’s adorable. Look.” She
held the owl up so Rachel and Taylor could see it. “It’s perfect. I
love it.” She leaned over and gave Autumn a quick hug.

Autumn had a flash of longing to be part of a
big loving family like Jude’s, so different from her own.

“
It is really cute,” Taylor
said, tracing one of the big yellow eyes with her finger. “You
don’t have one like it do you?”

“
Nope, no owls.” Grinning,
she took the jar back from her sister and set it on her lap so she
could look at it.

“
Bailey collects cookie
jars,” said Rachel. “It really is the perfect present.”

“
Shelby Adair at the Now
and Then helped me pick it out.”

“
Shelby’s okay,” said
Bailey.

“
Maybe, but her mother is a
disaster,” said Rachel. “She’s been trying to find wives for my
brothers for years. If she knew what they were really like, she
wouldn’t wish them on anyone. Except for Jude, of course. He’s the
best of the bunch.”

“
Funny,” said Blake,
scowling at his sister. “That cookie jar didn’t come with any
cookies did it?”

“
Sorry.” Autumn shook her
head and pushed the hair out of her eyes.

“
You’re a grown man,” said
Taylor. “How can you be hungry all the time?”

“
High metabolism,” he said
with a wink.

It must have been true because he was as fit
and sculpted as Andrew and the rest of his brothers. There wasn’t
the start of a paunch on one of them.

“
Coolers are on the other
boat,” said Adam from the front. “We had to put them over there so
we’d have enough room for the rest of us here.”

They’d obviously put some thought into
separating she and Jude. She wondered what else they had planned.
She didn’t have to wait long.

“
So,” said Taylor with a
mischievous grin. “What are your intentions towards my
brother?”

Jude stood at the boat controls and fumed. He
couldn’t believe he’d let his brothers and Andrew outsmart him like
that. Hell, who was he kidding? The girls were in on it, too. His
momma and daddy were the only innocent ones. And Autumn. She’d
already been nervous. If they made her uncomfortable, he was going
to murder them all and try being an only child for a change.

He revved the engine, trying to catch up to
Andrew’s boat. Behind him, his mother let out a little gasp and
patted Max’s head resting on her lap.

“
Easy, son,” said his
father. “You know your mother doesn’t like to go too fast. Don’t
worry we’ll meet them at the cove.” His hand rested on Jude’s
shoulder. “Do you want me to drive?”

God no, then he wouldn’t have anything to do
but imagine what his siblings were saying to the woman he loved.
His hands froze on the wheel. The woman he loved. On some level
he’d known it was happening, known he was falling in love with
Autumn, but he’d never had the thought so clearly before. So matter
of fact.

“
No, Daddy. I’ve got
it.”

“
Suit yourself, but slow
down,” said his father, sliding into the chair next to him. “Your
Autumn seems nice. Your mother says her grandmother was good
people.”

Jude nodded. “She is. She was.”

“
I’m happy for you, son.”
He leaned back in the chair and pulled the brim of his hat down
over his eyes.

If it had been Jude’s mother sitting up front
there would have been questions and a lot more talking, but
apparently that was it for his father. Jude throttled back the
engine and watched the boat in front of him pull farther and
farther away.

“
Wake up, Daddy. I need
your help tying up.”

While he’d driven, Jude had tried to come up
with a way to make his siblings pay. When he pulled into the cove
and saw Autumn stripping off her shorts and t-shirt to reveal a
cherry red bathing suit, he lost some of his interest in revenge.
It helped that she was laughing with his sisters and not paying any
attention to his brothers or Andrew.

They were paying plenty of attention to her.
Her bathing suit was modest. There was enough fabric in it to make
three of the kinds of bikinis he often saw on women around the
lake. Even his sister’s suits were skimpier. But something about
the way the gathers showcased her breasts and the subtle boning
hugged her curves was sexier than any string bikini. She looked
like a dark haired Marilyn Monroe.

He pulled the boat beside Andrew’s and
started yanking on the ropes all the while glaring at his
brothers.

As soon as the boats were secure, he jumped
across and pulled Autumn into his arms. He swallowed her startled
squeal with a kiss, reveling in the feel of her sun warmed skin
under his hands. When they parted, he looked into her beautifully
dazed eyes and smiled with all the love he felt on display for
everyone to see. Then he glared at his brothers and Andrew in
turn.

“
Good grief, you may as
well pee on her,” said Taylor but her smile looked genuinely
happy.

“
Told you,” Rachel said and
Bailey nodded, smiling.

Jude looked up in time to see something that
looked like concern flash across Andrew’s face. Before he could
react it was gone and Andrew was moving past them to the other
boat. When he looked down again, Autumn was staring at him, a frown
creasing her brow.

“
Something wrong?” she
asked just loud enough for him to hear.

“
No darling, nothing’s
wrong. I might try being an only child, but that’s not a big
deal.”

Autumn laughed and his heart swelled at the
carefree sound. Any nervousness she’d been feeling seemed to be
gone. He’d still find a way to punish his siblings, but whatever
they’d said and done had put Autumn at ease. He indulged himself in
the feel of her warm curves filling his arms and then looked up in
time to see Blake and Adam heading for the Sea-Doos.

“
Touch it and die, little
brothers!” Jude called over the top of Autumn’s head.

The twins froze on their way toward the side
of the other boat.

“
We’re just gonna take a
quick spin,” said Adam.

“
No, no, no you’re not. You
left me and our poor elderly father to tie them up and tow
them.”

“
Watch it with the elderly
cracks,” said John.

“
Sorry, Daddy.” Jude nodded
to his father. Planting a kiss on the top of Autumn’s head, he
grabbed her hand and started to lead her to the other boat. “Autumn
and I are taking the first ride. If we bring them back with any gas
left, maybe you can take them out.”

Autumn tugged his hand. “I’ve never been on
one of those before. I can’t drive it.”

“
Good,” he said as he
helped her step across the other boat. “Then you can ride with
me.”

He found them life jackets and helped her
fasten hers, a little sorry when the neoprene hid her gorgeous
breasts. He climbed on the Sea-Doo and Rachel helped hold it steady
while Autumn got on behind him.

“
Are you ready?”

“
Absolutely,” she said
against his ear, her arms wrapped tight around his
waist.

He took off fast, eager to be alone with her
on the water. She yelped and held on for dear life. Her thighs
tightened around his and he felt her smooth legs against his bare
skin. He could get used to this. The only thing that would make it
better would be if they didn’t have two layers of life preserver
between them and he could feel her breasts press against his back.
Maybe he should get a motorcycle.