Free Surge (St. Martin Family Saga: Emergency Responders) Book 3: St. Martin Family Saga: Emergency Responders by Gina Watson Page A

between them. “You need to come clean and tell the family.”
    Clara jumped in. “They will never understand. They won’t accept our relationship.”
    “Why not?” Eve frowned.
    “Jackson is one of their brothers. It will be seen as betrayal.” Clara’s foot tapped nervously on the dusty floor.
    “I stayed with them for a while after my parents died. Until I went off to college.” Jackson clarified.
    Dawning spread across Eve’s face. “Oh.”
    “But it’s not betrayal, we want to get married.” Clara smiled.
    Eve gasped. “Clara!” Her hand went to her chest. “You’re way too young to get married.” She set her intense gray eyes on Jackson. “What are you thinking to allow these fantastic notions to run through her head?”
    “Were it up to me, I would have already married her.”
    Her head shook. “This is so bad. Clay is just going to kill you.”
    Jackson grimaced. Cara didn’t like when Eve said that particular phrase. A phrase she was beginning to use a lot lately. Clara knew Jackson looked up to Clay and the last thing he wanted was to cause a rift between them and lose him as a friend and brother.
    “You can help us.” Clara said.
    “No.” Her head shook vigorously. “Please don’t ask me to do that.”
    “But he’ll listen to you.”
    “I can’t talk about this here.” She seemed frayed as she trudged off to link up with Clay on the dance floor.
    “Well Bug, we’re loving on borrowed time.” Jackson stared out onto the floor, watching Eve with Clay.
    Clara took his hand in hers. “No matter what happens we will always be together.”
    He kissed their connected hands. “Always.”

Chapter 7

    Given the late hour, the dance hall had emptied by half and some of the brothers had wanted to head back to the house. Jackson tried to pull Lexi away from the dance floor, but he couldn’t get through the pack of rabid males. As a result, they’d missed the first SUV back to the estate. She’d been shoeless for the last hour. The slit in her dress had torn and now was actually revealing things that should not be uncovered in public. When he’d tried to tell her she cooed in his ear and asked if he liked what he saw. He couldn’t be more disgusted with his current predicament. Did her father know she had a drinking problem? He suspected not, but he wasn’t very happy at getting stuck with her for the evening. Meanwhile his sweet Clara was back in her room with the pink-canopied bed. A bed he wished he shared with her.
    The night wore on and even the youngest St. Martin brothers had had enough. Cory spoke up from the sidelines where they all currently watched. “Jackson, if you don’t go and physically throw her over your shoulder so we can leave I’ll fucking do it.”
    From beneath his arm Brook spoke up, “Over my dead body. She came with Jackson, he needs to be the one manhandling her.”
    Exasperated, Jackson exhaled. “She didn’t come with me. She was thrown at me by her father.” Cal laughed from his position atop a barstool.
    Chloe took a swig from her beer and said, “It’s been a while since we’ve been able to get out. My stamina for this stuff is not what it used to be. I’m beat. If you don’t go and fetch her, I’ll freaking do it.”
    They all laughed and Cal said, “I think you could take her.”
    Shit. He headed onto the dance floor to retrieve this privileged daughter of some land tycoon who had an overblown sense of entitlement. What problems did she have that she needed to conduct herself in such a manner? Tomorrow morning when her head was nice and fat because her electrolytes would be out of sync he’d give her a piece of his mind, and he’d do it loudly.
    When he arrived at the center of the wooden floor she brashly slurred, “Jackson, you super fine man, get that juicy ass over here and let me grab a handful.”
    He bent and shoved his shoulder into her abdomen and threw her over his shoulder.
    “Oomph.” She expressed.
    He’d be lucky if