Slow Burn (The Blake Boys Book 7) by Rhonda Laurel Read Free Book Online

progress.”
    “Well, I have a real problem, here. Michelle kidnapped me.”
    “You don’t say? How did she pull that off?”
    “I have no idea. I woke up in Seth’s living room at Blake Ridge chained to a couch and she made me lunch.”
    “That sounds awful. Spending time in Seth’s nice house with a girl you can’t stop thinking about who’s cooking for you.”
    “Bro, I’m chained to the couch!”
    “How do I know this isn’t some kinky game of yours gone awry?”
    “It’s no game! Michelle kidnapped me. I need someone to get out of here.”
    “Cassidy’s coming back. I gotta go.”
    “Did you not hear what I said?”
    “I heard everything. Morgan said you might be calling and to ignore you. Suck it up you big baby.”
    So Morgan knew about it! That means Sam was part of this, too. That was just great.
    “I’m going to get you for this, baby brother. Mark my words. The payback for not coming to my aid is going to be epic.”
    “Have fun. I gotta go.” Channing hung up.
    Tyler lay back on the couch and closed his eyes. This wasn’t going well. Spending time with Michelle was a good thing, especially since he’d been thinking about her so much lately. But being kidnapped and chained up was seriously uncool.
    He’d call J.J. Surely he’d put an end to it.
    J.J. answered abruptly. “Tyler, I’m on a conference call, so unless you’re dangling off a cliff, it’s going to have to wait.”
    The phone disconnected before he could utter a word.
    OK, he’d call Seth. His quarterback brother was good at persuading people to do things. He could talk to Morgan and make her tell Michelle to put an end to this nonsense.
    Morgan answered. “Hi, Tyler.”
    Tyler groaned. He wasn’t going to get anywhere with a co-conspirator around. “Hey, Morgan. Is Seth around?”
    “Right here.” Seth’s voice boomed as it became apparent they were on speaker phone.
    “Listen—”
    “I couldn’t wait until Christmas to give it to them, so I let the boys open the Christmas present you got them a little early. They love their Ty Blake racing kits! They each have a shirt, cap and the model of your car. We even went online and signed up for your racing fan club,” Morgan said.
    “Luke’s team is good with putting together things like this. He’ll make sure these decisions are a good fit with your brand,” Seth added.
    “That’s great, Seth. Really. But I’m a little tied up at the moment.”
    “We can talk about it when you get back from Denver,” Seth replied.
    “So you know where I’m at?”
    “I told him you needed a few days to unwind from all the excitement,” Morgan interrupted. “And that spending time with Michelle would be good for you.”
    “Tyler, if you don’t mind, we only have about an hour before the boys wake up,” Seth said.
    “Wait! I need your help. You can make another baby later,” he quipped.
    “You are spending time with the woman you’ve been thinking about for nearly a year. I assure you, you don’t need my help.”
    “Bye, Tyler.” Morgan snickered.
    His name being mentioned on television turned Tyler’s attention to the screen. A recap of the race he’d won was being analyzed and the commentator said he was the new kid on the block making his mark. Words like a ‘skilled’ and ‘good instincts’ floated around the table, and it was thrilling to hear. But what was even better was that no one mentioned his brothers. He was beginning to be judged on his abilities and performance on the track without the glamorous sidebars about being a Blake.
     
    * * *
     
     
    Michelle returned from the market in a good mood. Tyler figured he’d give her the silent treatment, but that didn’t seem to bother her. She was flitting about the kitchen putting things away and cooking, and she seemed to be avoiding him. Pretty strange to kidnap someone then pretend they weren’t in the room.
    A few minutes later, Michelle came into the living room with a tray of hot chocolate and