Hara's Legacy Read Free Page A

his helmet off a peg and rolled the Harley out of the barn. He had a duffle already attached to the back. Jane realized he’d planned to leave long before she’d come out to the barn.
    “Justin, please don’t go,” Jane pleaded with him. She was afraid if he left now, he’d never return. Those five years he’d been away had hurt her terribly. She didn’t want to live through that again. She needed all the brothers, together, with her. “Please.”
    Justin turned to her, his eyes pained but resigned. “Just for a little while, Jane. I need to think some things through. I promise you, I won’t go for good without saying goodbye.” She sobbed, turning to Caleb. His arms came around her while his eyes flashed fire at his brother.
    “Go. But you damned well better be back in three days. That’s the limit of my patience.” Caleb guided Jane aside while Justin rolled the bike out the door. He led her to the chair, settling her there before he left to join Justin on the dirt driveway that led from the barn.
    -15-
     

Chapter Two
    “It hurts her when you’re gone.” Caleb stepped into his brother’s path. “She pined for you those five years you were away.”
    Justin looked as if he’d been sucker punched and Caleb knew his brother hadn’t quite realized that little fact.
    “She was nearly as bad when Mick was in school, but at least she knew he’d be back on holidays and she knew where he was.” Caleb kicked a pebble out of the drive. “She needs all of us, Jus. Her emotional bond to us is strong and her own feelings very fragile. I’m afraid if you leave us for good, she’ll never be truly happy again.”
    “God, Caleb! Don’t lay this on me.” Justin looked up to the sky as if for strength. “If I stay, I’ll make her miserable too. I can’t control what I feel anymore and I don’t want to hurt either of you.” Caleb sighed. “You love her, don’t you?” Justin’s eyes hardened, but he refused to speak. “I don’t mean like a brother. I mean, you want her, right? Like Mick’s always wanted her too.”
    “Jesus!”
     
     
    “It’s okay,” Caleb said resignedly. “I knew Mick loved her from the start, but back then… Well, it was easy to find women, and he was in school. You were gone and she needed one of us to bring her into our family. She belongs with us. I figured Mick would get over it. But now—”
    “It’s impossible,” Justin said with resignation. “It’s just frustration. Any woman would do.” Caleb looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. “You think so?” Justin refused to answer, just put on his helmet and straddled the bike.
    -16-
    “You go find a woman then,” Caleb advised. “Fuck her good and hard and then tell me if it satisfies you like just the thought of fucking Jane.”
    “God, Caleb! Have a little mercy. This is your wife you’re talking about!” Caleb nodded. “And I love her more than life. But I’m not the one she should have married. I stole her from Mick, or maybe even from you, if you’d been home. She always followed you around when she was a kid. More than either me or Mick. She was fascinated by you, and I think she still is. I’ve seen the way she looks at you.”
    “All the more reason for me to go.” He kicked back the stand and balanced the bike as he prepared to start the powerful engine.
    Caleb reached out to put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Things have changed in our world, Justin. I know it’s hard to accept, but the world we knew is over. We have to adjust to this new way of living and find a way to all be happy. One life is all we get and we were luckier than most. Don’t ruin it by running.” Justin looked up into Caleb’s eyes, questions circling visibly in his own. “You’ve seen something, haven’t you?”
    Caleb nodded once and shook his head to halt further questions. “Go to the village. You’ll find a woman there. Give her this.” He handed over a gold chain and crystal pendant that had been in