Trust In Me (Triplets book 2)

Chapter 23

Nate did have to go to Hong Kong. He texted Shay and told her he would be hard to get a hold of for a few days, but he would call her when he got back. There was a moment that Shay thought about flying over to Hong Kong herself, but if he was only gone for a few days, they might cross paths mid-air with the time difference.

The next evening, Shay was sitting in the kitchen at the counter working on some last-minute details for the trip to Africa when Sawyer and Sullivan entered together. Neither one said a word as Sawyer closed her laptop, took her by the arm, and led her to the comfy sofas in the living room, and as he pushed her into a couch, Sullivan made them all drinks.

"What's going on?" Shay asked as she looked suspiciously from one brother to the other.

"You know, I can't remember the last time it was just the three of us alone together," Sawyer mused as he accepted his drink from Sullivan.

"It was probably in the womb," Shay quipped as she accepted her drink from Sullivan, who sat in the chair across from her.

They were all very different from each other, not only in looks but also in personality. Sullivan was dark and brooding, Sawyer was light and handsome, and Shay was... well, she was... what was she? She had no clue how she would describe herself against her brothers.

"Is it Momma or Pops?" Shay asked, frowning.

"No, it's about you," Sullivan said as he swallowed some of his drink.

"Me? What about me? Am I dying or something?" Shay joked in an attempt to lighten the very heavy mood that hung over the living room.

"No, but we are worried about you," Sullivan watched Shay's eyes grow wide as she looked from one to the other. Even Sawyer looked serious for a change.

"Since when?" Shay knew it sounded harsh, but it had been forever, if ever, that they had shown any concern for her.

"We're always concerned for you, Shay," Sawyer said seriously.

Shay looked back and forth between them. She wanted to believe them, but up until this moment, they had never expressed worry or concern for her well-being before.

"You don't believe us, do you?" Sullivan asked in a quiet voice.

"Honestly, no. If you have been worried or concerned for me in the past, you've never expressed it." Shay shrugged. "But out of curiosity, what specifically are you concerned about?" Shay drained her drink and set it on the table in front of her.

"It's this Nathan Wright fellow. We've heard things," Sawyer drained his glass and set it on the table in front of him.

Shay tilted her head. "What have you heard?"

"He's a bit of a player. We don't want you to get hurt." Sullivan drained his drink, set it on the table then got up to get the bottle of whisky from the bar behind them.

"It's a little bit late in the game to start playing the worried brothers card." Shay snorted, thinking about Brody. If they had cared then, would that have turned out differently?

Sawyer and Shay watched as Sullivan refilled all of their glasses.

"Do we need to be drunk to have this conversation?" Shay queried as she knocked back her drink again, and her brothers followed suit.

"Probably wouldn't hurt," Sawyer choked as the whisky hit his throat.

"Wuss, I could always out drink you," Shay insisted as she pushed her glass toward Sullivan for another refill.

Did they really think that Nate was a player? The idea of it, now that she knew Nate tickled her sense of humor, but perhaps that was the whisky.

"Not true!" Sawyer objected as they looked at each other and downed another round.