Haunted by Cheryl Douglas Read Free Book Online Page A

with Ryan Spencer, who turned out to be a riot. Caleb had expected
him to be more serious and uptight, like his brother, Evan.
    “Can you believe that? The kid’s only four
years old, and he’s already hiding a whoopee cushion on his teacher’s chair and
calling it an April Fool’s joke.” Ryan grinned. “He’s going to be exactly like
I was at that age, and my wife is gonna kill me.”
    “Boys will be boys, right?” Caleb had often
thought about what it would be like to have a mini version of himself running
around, wreaking havoc and stealing hearts.
    “That’s what I tried telling my wife, Bri,
but she’s not hearing any of my excuses. She says I’m a bad influence on the
boys. Can you believe that?” Ryan asked, chuckling. “Me? A bad influence!”
    Caleb had just met Ryan a few hours ago,
and he already knew he had the potential to stir up trouble just to amuse
himself. “Yeah, but she loves you anyway, right?”
    “Sure, that’s what marriage is all about.
Finding someone who’ll love you in spite of your shortcomings.” Ryan propped
his elbows on the bar. “You ever been married, Caleb?”
    “No.”
    “Ever been tempted?”
    “A time or two,” Caleb said. “I don’t know,
maybe someday.”
    “You and Elle, huh?”
    “Did I mention I was seeing Elle?” Caleb
asked, knowing he hadn’t.
    “My brother may have said something about
it,” Ryan admitted, looking chagrined.
    “Ah, so he sent you over here to see if you
could find out what’s going on between us. Isn’t that why he invited me here
tonight, to get some insight into what I’m thinking and how I’m feeling about
Elle?”
    Ryan smiled. “Paranoid much? I don’t think
my brother had some big plan. Drake’s a friend of ours; you’re a friend of his.
Besides, Ev thought it might be good for your business to rub shoulders with
some of these people.”
    Caleb’s business didn’t need any help, but
he couldn’t deny he’d made some good contacts. “I don’t mean to offend you or
your brother, but when I met Evan the other night, I got the feeling he was on
a fishing expedition.”
    “He probably was. He cares about Elle. We
all do. Her last boyfriend was a jackass, and none of us want to see her get
mixed up with another loser like that.”
    “I think it’s up to Elle to decide who she
dates, don’t you?” Caleb had never been intimidated by money or power,
especially now that he had both. The Spencer brothers may be considered royalty
in this town, but he could hold his own. The sooner they realized that, the
better.
    Ryan quirked an eyebrow. “You’re right, but
here’s the thing—I protect my own. So does my brother. It may piss off our
friends and family from time to time, but they deal with it because they know
our hearts are in the right place. Elle is no exception. We may have crossed
the line a few times, but we love her. I refuse to apologize or make excuses
for that.”
    “I get that. Elle’s lucky to have friends
like you looking out for her.”
    “She doesn’t really have anyone else,” Ryan
said, tipping back his beer bottle. “Ev and I have a big family and a large
circle of friends who are always there for us, but not everyone is that lucky.”
    “You’re right.”
    “It’s tough to go it alone in this
business, especially if you don’t have anyone to guide you through it. When
Elle joined the Titan family and we realized she was pretty much on her own, we
took her in, made her one of us. So when anyone messes with her, they mess with
us.”
    Caleb straightened to his full height,
taking advantage of the few inches he had on Ryan. “Lose the passive-aggressive
shit, Ryan. You made your point.”
    “That’s all I wanted to do.” Ryan offered
his hand. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re a good guy. As long as you treat
Elle right, we won’t have any problems. But if you break her heart, I will hunt
you down.”
    Caleb thought that was the first time he’d
ever smiled at a