Dee, Lavada - Nothing to Lose [Blackhawk Brothers] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) by Lavada Dee Page B

of “if” but of “when.” She had to leave. Staying simply wasn’t an option, and she might take a part of him with her, but she’d be leaving a huge part of herself behind, too.
    Turning back to look over at Cooper, she worked to lighten her voice. “Tell me about your family. I’ve met Dr. Blackhawk. I know he’s older than you, but where does he fall in the family?”
    “Yeah, I’m the youngest and you already know all about me.”
    “Are you kidding, I could spend a lifetime and not know all about you.’” Catching what she’d said, she quickly added, “So who’s the oldest?”
    “Actually Grant, Dr. Blackhawk. He’s thirty-six. He was pretty close to getting married once. He had just finished medical school and was starting his internship. So it’s been awhile. He doesn’t talk about it. Ever.”
    “Keep going, who’s the second oldest?”
    “That would be Tyrell. He’s the only one of us that doesn’t live in Blackhawk. Sometimes we wonder if he will ever come home. He shows up unexpectedly, like at Christmas. Stays a few days and is off again.”
    “Does his job entail a lot of travel?”
    “He joined the military after two years of college, and it wasn’t long before he entered a Special Forces unit. Of all of us, he’s more the loner. Plus, he’s more physical. We all played sports in school, but Tyrell excelled at them. They still have his jersey and pictures in the display case at the high school. He’s probably where he needs to be, but none of us like it. Mom and Dad hate it.”
    “How old is Tyrell?”
    Cooper paused to think. “Umm, Tyrell is going to be thirty-four in a couple of months. There’s only two years between him and Grant. Devon is closer in age to me. He’s thirty-one. He manages the lodge, but his true love is being a geek.”
“Geek?”
    “Yep, geek, like as in computer nerd, but you wouldn’t know it to look at him. He hides it well, but he escapes over to his cabin across the lake almost every day to write software programs, mostly games that he sells for horrendous prices.”
    Galynn’s eyes crinkled at the edges as she laughed over at Cooper. She was so enjoying this drive. Even though they spent a lot of time together between the office and home, they hadn’t spent time just talking and getting to know each other. For one thing, they both fought the overwhelming physical attraction, or at least they had, until last night. Galynn’s thoughts drifted back, her pulse pounded in her throat, and she felt uncomfortably warm. She pulled at the seat belt, fidgeting with instant arousal.
    Coop, tuned into her as usual, noticed her discomfort but interpreted it wrong, thinking she needed to make a pit stop. “There’s a small state park just up the road. We’ll stop and take a break.”
    She nodded that she heard him and turned back to their conversation to ward off the emotions she was feeling. “Were you closest with Devon?”
    “Not more than with Tyrell. Growing up, he was my hero. I thought there wasn’t anything he couldn’t do. Guess I still do, because last night just before I fell asleep, I was wishing he was here. He’d know what to do. And with his contacts…”
    Galynn sat up straighter. This wasn’t the kind of thing she wanted Cooper to talk about, let alone think. Mick was dangerous, even more so now that she had left him. Galynn had thought all this out before she had decided to leave. She knew that even if she did stay, there wasn’t anything she could do to help him. She’d tried talking to Mick’s mother, but if she suspected anything, she was in denial. All his mother had done was make excuses about the stress of his job. She’d even gone to the police, but they’d protected their own, telling her she needed to be more understanding.
    She needed to respond to Cooper saying that his brother could help, but she didn’t know what to say. Thankfully it was a moot point, as Tyrell wasn’t around.
    Cooper slowed the SUV. “Look,