“Perfect. Noon? We can have lunch here.”

“Rod would love that, and I, of course, will have questions.”

“I’m sure you will, and I look forward to answering them.”

“Thank you.” She was trying to be civil, but it didn’t sound that way. Sounded more like she was in pain.

“Don’t hurt yourself there, Ms. Soledad. Don’t worry, I’m not stealing your brother from you.”

She glared even though he couldn’t see her. “Never thought so.”

“Sure. I’m excited to see you guys.”

“He is very excited. Thank you.”

“You should be too. This will be great for him,” he reminded her, like everyone else had. Before she could say more, though, he said, “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas.” Hanging up the phone, she glared down at it as Rodney bounced beside her.

“What did he say?”

Looking up at her baby brother, she smiled. “We go on the twenty-sixth. Merry Christmas.”

He let out a screech of happiness before wrapping her up tightly in his arms. “You’ll love Nate. He’s great. And I’m so excited! Thank you, thank you so much, B.”

He kissed her on her cheek, and she smiled as she leaned her head on his. Mr. Way sounded every bit as gorgeous as Chrissie had described him, but something in his voice sounded familiar. Almost like she knew that voice. It made her belly warm and her heart race, and that scared her. She didn’t know this man, didn’t know his end game, and she wasn’t sure if this was going to be as easy as he had made it sound. But as Rodney danced around the room, she wasn’t sure if there was any other option but to make this work. She had to tuck in her overprotectiveness and go into this with a truly open mind.

It wasn’t about her or how this felt like she was losing Rodney.

It was about Rodney—and her promise to her mother.

Brie was still beside herself when she got to the Nashville Assassins’ compound.

Something wasn’t sitting right in her gut, and she wasn’t sure what it was. Even though everyone thought the little community of NateWay would be great for Rod, she wasn’t so keen on it. At Riverdale, his doctor was a hop and a skip away, and the doctors on site knew what was going on. What if the ones in the new little community weren’t up to speed? What if they didn’t know how to take care of someone like Rod? Yeah, he was very exceptional on the spectrum of Down syndrome, but his heart problems were scary, and it had always been an issue when they were growing up.

He couldn’t play like he wanted, and she was always the bad guy, telling him to go slow when all he wanted was to go fast, try to keep up with the other kids. He was already different, and when she and her mother held him back, he resented them. She knew he did, and it broke Brie’s heart. But above all, he scared her to the core. She could handle him resenting her for loving him and being protective because she knew that if this newest pacemaker didn’t work, they’d probably push for a new heart.

Closing her eyes, she sucked in a deep breath as she leaned into the wall. He worried her to pieces, Rod did. He was such a sweet soul and she understood his need to be a man, as he always said, but she wasn’t sure she could let him. Her role as a big sister had morphed into that of a mother, and in a way, she felt too young for this responsibility. How dare her mother leave her to do this? Yeah, it wasn’t her mother’s choice, but still, she wasn’t adult enough for this. She felt like she was constantly looking around for the adult, only to realize it was her.

Man, life was hard.

Moaning loudly, she knew she was supposed to go downstairs, but she had a good twenty minutes and she needed every one of those minutes to collect herself. For the first time, she didn’t want to be downstairs at the Assassins’ compound. She wanted to go to her new apartment and just sit on the floor with a tub of ice cream so she could cry. She needed to cry so damn bad, but she just didn’t have the time.

Her life was a mess.

Or at least, she felt like it was.

Shaking her head, she swallowed hard as she held her phone lightly in her hands. She couldn’t stop thinking about the NateWay community, and the more she thought about it, the more she needed to know before she took Rod there. She couldn’t ask the questions she wanted to in front of him because she knew he’d freak. Before she even realized what she was doing, she had clicked Nate Way’s number once more and held her phone to her ear, her hand shaking. She didn’t want to sound like one of those overprotective sisters, but she was pretty sure that ship had sailed and she was wearing the sash that proclaimed the truth.

“Ms. Soledad, twice in a day, I’m surprised.”

His voice was deeper, and she wasn’t sure why that turned her on, but it did. Lord, she needed to get laid. She also prayed he was ugly as sin because there was no way she would be able to keep a level head as she checked the place out with some sexy guy who wanted to help adults with disabilities. It was a no-brainer for Rod if Mr. Way was gorgeous. Just like that, she wondered if he planned on that.

And at that moment, she decided she needed a sash for “Crazy” too.

“Yes, Mr. Way, I was calling to ask a few more questions.”

He chuckled softly. “Because Rod isn’t there, I’m guessing?”

She pressed her lips together. “Doesn’t matter if he is or isn’t. I’m still not a hundred percent sold.”

“I wouldn’t think you would be,” he said, and she glared at the condescending tone. “You’re protective, which is understandable. So, please, ask away.”

Okay…maybe she was overreacting. Maybe he wasn’t as condescending as she assumed. Clearing her throat, she stood erect as she stared up at the banner that hung above the doors of the Assassins’ compound. It was of some of the players being all serious and sexy. Sinclair, Odder, Reeves, Thomas, and of course, that asshat Johansson all stared back at her, a smug little cocky grin on JoHo’s face. Rolling her eyes, she looked anywhere but into the dark brown eyes of Johansson that somehow kept pulling her back in. “Yes, thank you for understanding. Do you have doctors on site?”

“Not a doctor, but I have a nurse practitioner who comes in the morning, afternoon, and evening to evaluate meds and anything else anyone needs. Then there is my registered nurse, Dawn, who has been working with children and adults with Down syndrome for thirty-five years, and she lives on the property. She’s my property manager’s wife, so she’s always there. Everyone pretty much looks to them as Grandma and Grandpa. Hell, I call them that.”