Free Tackled by the Girl Next Door by Veronica Forand, Susan Scott Shelley

 
    Chapter One
    Saturday
    Jacket collar turned up against the chill, Samantha O’Brien inhaled the crisp air and raked more leaves into the large pile by her side. Her brother’s chore, but with his friends lounging on her couch and sprawled over her rug, Kevin’s promise of “later” was as empty as the beer cans littering her kitchen table. His hostility toward her role as his guardian had only intensified since he’d gone away to college and begun to ignore every request she’d given him.
    College kids had to blow off some steam after midterms, but only two weeks into being twenty-one, Kevin was overdoing it.
    Music blaring from the open door competed with the voices of the four guys walking from the house and into the front yard.
    Kevin swaggered toward her. “Sam, I’ll be back in a few. I need to take a drive to the liquor store.”
    God, more alcohol? Lips briefly pressing together, Sam gripped the rake. “You’re not in any condition to drive.”
    “I’m fine.” With keys dangling from his fingers, he lumbered closer. Three of his football teammates flanked his sides.
    “No way.” She tossed the rake aside, snatched the keys, and stuffed them into her jacket’s inside pocket.
    “Hey, what the hell?” Kevin’s hand reached for the keys, then formed a fist. Built like a linebacker, he towered over her—a large, imposing giant. He’d inherited her share of height along with his.
    “I said no.” She craned her neck to keep their gazes connected.
    His eyes narrowed. “You can’t tell me what to do. I’m not a kid anymore. Hand ’em over.”
    Enough . She pointed toward the street. “Party’s over. Everybody needs to walk home now.”
    “You can’t kick my friends out of here.”
    “I can, and I did.” Heat spiked through her limbs and tightened her stomach. Being ten years older and the person who paid all the bills and Kevin’s tuition, she not only had the right, but the responsibility to shut the party down. After all, he was the only reason she’d abandoned her dream career at a wealth management firm in New York City, returned home, and settled for a job with the local accounting company.
    Kevin wrapped his hand around her elbow. “Give me my keys.”
    She jerked her arm away, and her nail scraped her neck. “Damn it. Kev, back off.”
    A kid as tall and wide as a refrigerator stood at her back. “Come on, Sam, lighten up.”
    She glared at him before she focused on her brother. “The keys are to my car, and you’re not allowed to drive it right now. Go inside and drink some water or coffee to sober up.”
    Large, meaty hands grabbed her arms from behind and manacled her wrists. “Don’t be such a killjoy, sweetie.”
    She twisted against the iron grip. Her pulse pounded like a jackhammer in her chest. “Go home, all of you.”
    Kevin grabbed her jacket. His knuckles whitened, and he tugged her toward him, knocking her off balance.
    His aggression sent tremors up her spine. With adrenaline coursing through her system, she kicked out. Her knee connected with his thigh. “Get off me.”
    “Let her go.” A deep, rich baritone barked out the order. Large hands gripped the collar of Kevin’s coat and pulled him away.
    Jason Black, Sam’s best friend and six feet four inches of chiseled perfection, filled her view, blocking her from Kevin, and facing down the goon holding her wrists. His leather jacket outlined shoulders as wide as cinder blocks. Hazel eyes sparked a warning at the group of guys huddled around them. “Go home. Now.”
    Sam wrapped her freed arms around her middle and stepped closer to her impromptu bodyguard. Her heartbeat thudded, hard and strong. How had things spiraled so far out of control?
    Jason’s hand rested on her shoulder. The solid weight ensured protection and set off the familiar stirring in her heart that had developed since he’d returned home. Probably a one-sided stirring. He’d never noticed her as anything other than a friend.
    Kevin