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to say to him about seeing the old man last night. Ryker was out of town on business and Nex was still in the honeymoon phase with Jaci, so I didn’t want to bother either of them. Besides, Kane and I were only two years apart, so we had similar memories of our… dad. Referring to him as that still felt wrong, like a betrayal to the mother who’d earned our love and respect, unlike him.
    “Hey,” Kane said when I opened the door. “What the hell are you doing here? Since when are you and Riley…?” His voice drifted off when he caught sight of Macy.
    He hadn’t seen her in a few years, and I tried seeing her through my brother’s eyes. She was definitely all grown up… and a knock-out, just like her older sister.
    “Hey, Kane,” Macy said, surprising him with a hug. “Long time, no see. How’ve you been?”
    “I… uh…”
    I’d never seen my big, tough brother, who stared down the barrels of guns for a living, so tongue-tied. It was funny as hell, but I decided to jump in and rescue him from further embarrassment. “Kane, you remember Riley’s sister, Macy, don’t you?”
    “Uh, yeah, of course,” he said, finally finding his voice. “Good to see you, Macy.”
    “You too.” She lit up the room with that beautiful smile Riley said had made all the boys chase her in high school. “How’s work?” she asked, winking. “Still keeping the streets safe?”
    “Uh, yeah. Work’s good. Can’t complain,” he said, still looking uneasy. “How about you?”
    “I love Nashville.” She sighed. “Making music’s my life. But sometimes I wonder if I’m destined to play rinky-dink bars and honky-tonks all my life.”
    Knowing how talented she was, I found that hard to believe. “Hey, don’t get down on yourself,” I said, trying to lift her spirits. “You had the guts to chase your dream. How many people can say that?”
    She treated me to a smile. “Thanks. I guess you’re right.” She shrugged before stealing another glance at Kane. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll just keep plugging away and hope for the best.”
    Kane’s eyes followed Macy as she walked to the chair to retrieve her purse.
    “Well, I should head out. I’m meeting my sister for dinner later.” She pointed at me. “Remember what I said. Do not screw my sister over, or I will kill you!” She turned to Kane. “Huh, I guess I shouldn’t have said that in front of an officer of the law…?”
    Kane grinned. “Hey, I didn’t hear a thing.” With a pointed look at me, he said, “But for the record, I’ll back her up.”
    “Aren’t you just the sweetest thing.” Macy kissed Kane’s cheek. “I’ll see you guys later.” After giving me a brief hug, she was out the door.
    “What the hell?” Kane said, looking shell-shocked as he ran his hand over his cropped dark hair. “Why don’t I remember Riley’s little sister looking like that ?”
    I laughed. Macy had always attracted attention wherever she went. If my brother hadn’t noticed her before, he must have been blind. “Back off, man. Last I heard, she has a boyfriend. They’re a duo, actually. Write together, perform together, and live together.”
    Kane grunted. “So why’d you call me over here if it wasn’t to tease me with your girlfriend’s sister?”
    Damn. It had been a long time since anyone had called Riley my girlfriend, and just hearing those words made me want her to be mine again. Not that I’d ever stopped wanting that.
    “Sit down,” I said, pointing at a chair. “I need to talk to you about something.”
    “I don’t have a lot of time,” Kane said, checking his watch. “I was at the gym when you called. I’ve got to go home and get ready for work.”
    While I was proud of my brother, I never understood why he’d chosen the path of a police officer, let alone adding on the responsibility of being in charge of a SWAT team. “Yeah, no problem. This won’t take long.”
    “Before we get into the reason for my visit”—he