Free Summer Kisses by Theresa Ragan, Laurie Kellogg, Katie Graykowski, Bev Pettersen, Lindsey Brookes, Diana Layne, Autumn Jordon, Jacie Floyd, Elizabeth Bemis, Lizzie Shane

and began untying the ropes tied across the furniture.
    “What if Jill decides to let you into Ryan’s life? And then down the road you find out she wants him to go to an all boys’ school—”
    “Over Derrick’s dead body,” Cliff interjected.
    “What if she gives Ryan a little baby tattoo?” Jake went on, trying to stir up trouble.
    “Nobody gives a baby a tattoo,” Brad said.
    Cliff shook his head. “That’s not true. The nephew of a good friend of mine owns his own tattoo shop and he gave his baby a tattoo.”
    “Jill wouldn’t do that,” Derrick said, although nobody was listening.
    “What if she signs him up for dance lessons?”
    Jake looked appalled. “Do they allow boys to take ballet lessons?”
    “No nephew of mine is wearing tights,” Brad said.
    Derrick raised a hand. “You’re all getting yourselves worked up for nothing. Ryan isn’t even a week old. Besides, if the boy wants to dance, I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
    All three of them got another good laugh at that.
    Derrick felt a headache coming on.
    “Is she breastfeeding?” someone asked.
    Derrick had watched her feed Ryan from a bottle, and he recalled Lexi’s comment about Derrick not liking his mommy’s boobies. “I don’t think so.”
    “I overheard Grandma telling Mom that she hopes Jill is breastfeeding because otherwise the baby could turn out to be…not too bright.”
    “Ridiculous,” one of them said. “Sounds like an old wives’ tale.”
    “I’m just telling you what I heard.”
    “Sagging breasts would be the only downfall I can think of when it comes to a woman breastfeeding,” Brad stated matter-of-factly.
    “A definite downfall,” Jake agreed.
    “How about Maggie?” someone asked next. “I wonder if she plans to breastfeed?”
    “First comes marriage and then comes baby,” Derrick growled. “Could we all get to work now?”
    “Still a little sensitive when it comes to Maggie, I see.”
    Derrick finished with the ropes and then headed for the back of his brothers’ truck and unlatched the tailgate. “Aaron had no business going after her and that’s all I have to say on the matter.”
    Brad shook his head. “You really do have it bad for Maggie, don’t you? I didn’t believe it, but now that we’re on the subject, what’s the deal? If you were in love with her, why didn’t you go after her a long time ago?”
    “Because I knew I wasn’t the only one who had feelings for her. We took a damn vow.”
    “That was nearly fifteen years ago,” they all said at once.
    “We were kids,” Cliff added for good measure.
    Jake shook his head as if Derrick was a lost cause.
    Derrick grabbed hold of one side of the couch and slid it halfway off the truck on his own before Jake hurried over and grabbed hold of the center while Brad jumped inside the bed of the truck to get the other end of the couch.
    “You’ve got to let go of your feelings for Maggie,” Jake said. “She and Aaron love each other and Aaron deserves to live a good full life with his brothers’ support.”
    “He’s not our brother.”
    Jake glared at Derrick. “That’s bullshit. Guess who taught me to swim?”
    “Aaron did,” Jake said, answering his own question. “Remember the car wreck in West LA, the accident people still talk about: the driver fell asleep and four boys were killed on their way home from Vegas? I never told anyone but I should have been in that car. Aaron caught wind of what I was up to and he wouldn’t let me go. He threatened to tell Mom. I was furious, hated him for stopping me. But I wouldn’t be here now if it weren’t for Aaron. I don’t care what anyone says. He’s our brother. He’s yours too, but for some reason you’ve got your wires all twisted because if you stopped to think long and hard about the good ol’ days you’d see you’ve got it all wrong. Maggie never loved you or any of us like she loved Aaron. For some reason, though, everyone can see that but