All of My Soul (8 page)

“Yup,” she said as she shrugged again.

I furrowed my brows. Deacon had always seemed
like a nice guy, but he did leave a trail of women behind him.
Occasionally he would be at an event Lincoln and I attended, and he
always had a different woman on his arm. Most of them had the
classic model look. They were always super skinny, incredibly tall,
and blond. They were the exact opposite of my sister. Not that she
was unattractive by any means, but she would never be an underwear
model. She had more important things to worry about than the size
of her waistline or if her thighs touched when she walked. My heart
hurt for my sister sitting next to me at our table.

“It’s okay!” Rebecca said to me. I think she
could tell I wanted to give Deacon a piece of my mind. “It was one
night of fun. I knew that was all it would ever be the first time I
kissed him. I’m not mad at him or anything. You’re both making
something out of nothing.”

“So it won’t be awkward between you two?”
Kennedy asked.

“I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?” Rebecca
nodded toward the door. Lincoln had just walked in followed by his
teammates Deacon and Matt and Matt’s girlfriend, Kailey.

Lincoln’s eyes found me instantly through the
crowded bar, and he quickly wove in between bodies and groups of
people to make his way to our table. Everyone stood to welcome our
friends, and Lincoln immediately came to my side to kiss me.
Deacon, Matt, and Kailey were slower about getting to the table,
and when Lincoln turned away from me to shake Brian’s hand, the
three of them had just reached us. I was curious to see if Deacon
would act uncomfortable around my sister, but as soon as he reached
our little area of the restaurant, he made a beeline for Rebecca.
He crashed into her, and his mouth was instantly on hers.

Kennedy and I both gasped with surprise as
Rebecca tensed in Deacon’s arms for a moment but then melted into
the kiss. So much for avoiding awkwardness!

Everyone stared at the two of them as they
broke their kiss, and Deacon smiled down at Rebecca. They both must
have realized at the same time that we were all staring at them.
They turned to us, and Rebecca’s face went red, but Deacon didn’t
look the least bit ashamed.

“What?” he asked, seemingly surprised we were
watching them.

Lincoln chuckled and Kennedy shook her head
at Deacon with amusement. I smiled widely at my sister. For as much
as she denied having any deep connection with Deacon, I think she
had been slightly hurt he had brushed her off so easily. I didn’t
know what was going on between them, but it made me happy to see
that she still held his interest.

We had been at Patrick’s for several hours.
Empty glasses and dirty plates littered our table as we talked and
laughed with each other. I was just finishing my sixth green beer
and feeling pretty tipsy when the noise level in the bar dropped
dramatically, catching my attention. I looked up and saw my brother
and his partner standing in the doorway of the bar. It’s amazing
how quickly two uniformed policemen walking into a bar can silence
a crowd.

“Rebecca!” I said louder than I intended.
“Rebecca! It’s Elliot!” I stood up and held on to the table as I
swayed slightly. “ELLIOT!” I hollered across the bar to get my
brother’s attention.

Lincoln was immediately next to me, holding
me steady with his big strong hands. Mm… I loved those hands.

“ELLIOT!” I called out again.

“Shh… baby. He sees you. Stop yelling,”
Lincoln said into my ear.

I turned to look at him, but he was closer
than I thought, and I had trouble focusing on his face. “Was I
yelling?” I asked him with a giggle.

Lincoln smiled at me. “How many have you had
to drink?”

“S’only five… six,” I said with a slight
slur.

“Maybe you should have some water, hm?” He
offered me his half-full glass. I gladly took it and drank the
remainder before setting it down and smacking my lips. I wiped my
mouth with the back of my sleeve and smiled up at Lincoln. His eyes
sparkled with amusement.

“Hey everyone,” Elliot said as he and his
partner approached our table.

“Elliot!” I cried and scooted around the
table. I collided with him and hugged him around his neck. When I
let go of him, I fell into Lincoln’s waiting arms. “Ow,” I said
with a frown and rubbed my sternum. “Your chest hurts.”

Elliot looked at me with surprise. “It’s my
bulletproof vest.” He pulled the collar of his uniform shirt open
slightly to reveal his armor underneath. “How much has she had to
drink?” he asked Rebecca, who was now standing next to me.

“Oh, stop. She’s fine.” Rebecca had clearly
not imbibed as much as I had.

“Wait. Wait. Wait,” I said and patted
Lincoln’s hand that was on my waist. “Baby, have you met Elliot’s
partner?” I pointed to the policeman standing next to my brother.
“Oh, but not like
sexual
partner, if you know what I
mean.”

“Oh my God, Jillian.” Rebecca burst out
laughing.

Lincoln chuckled and held me tighter with one
arm while extending his other one out to my brother’s now red-faced
partner. “Good to meet you, man.”

He cleared his throat and shook Lincoln’s
hand. “Connor Kerbank. It’s an honor to meet you. I’m a big
fan.”

“Oh yeah? Well, anytime you want to go to a
game, you let Elliot know, and I’ll get you some tickets.”

“Really?” Connor’s face lit up with
excitement.

“Absolutely, man. My way of saying thanks for
watching Elliot’s back and keeping us all safe.”

A drunken thought floated through my head as
I looked up at Lincoln.
My man is so generous and amazing. I
love him so much.

“Awesome! My wife is going to flip out,”
Conner said, interrupting my silent emotional moment.

Elliot stepped slightly in front of his
partner and frowned. “All right. All right. We actually came here
for a reason.”

I reached up with both my hands and patted
his face. “My little brother. When did you get to be so serious all
the time?”

He pulled out of my reach. “Come on, Jillian.
This is serious.”

“What’s going on?” Lincoln asked as he pulled
me back into the circle of his arms.

Elliot sighed. “You should know Mackenzie was
at the parade today. She was supposed to ride on a float for one of
the sponsors of her beauty pageants.”

“What do you mean ‘supposed to’”? Rebecca
asked.

“Because of your restraining order, she was
told she couldn’t be in the parade since you were there.
Apparently, she did not react well.”

Suddenly the warm blurry feeling in my head
did not feel so good.

Lincoln’s arms tightened around me. “Did she
threaten us?”

“No,” Elliot answered. “But from what I
heard, she threw a huge fit and was very irate.”

Lincoln sighed and nodded. “All right. Thanks
for letting us know.”

Elliot nodded. “Of course. We have to get
going, but I just wanted to check in with you and make you
aware.”

“We appreciate it,” Rebecca said.

Elliot leaned down and kissed her and then me
on the cheek. “Be safe,” he ordered.

“You—” I paused as my throat tightened with
emotion. Seeing him in his uniform always reminded me of the
dangers he faced every day. Plus I’m sure the amount of alcohol in
my system was making me even more emotional. “You be safe,” I told
him seriously. “Both of you.” I pointed at Connor.

“Thank you again,” Lincoln said to Elliot as
he shook his hand.

“Great to meet you, Monaghan,” Connor
said.

Lincoln shook his hand. “I was serious about
those tickets. Don’t forget.”

Conner smiled widely. “I won’t, man. Thanks
again!”

We all watched as the two policemen left the
bar, and my head swam with the information they had given us. If
Mackenzie was the one who was behind my slashed tires and Lincoln’s
broken window, this was sure to antagonize her further. On the
other hand, if it wasn’t her, then we just disrupted Mackenzie’s
life for no reason. Not that I really cared about inconveniencing
her, but it was a pointless effort if she wasn’t the one behind all
this.

“Maybe we should call it a night,” Lincoln’s
teammate Matt said, breaking the silence that had fallen over our
table.

“No!” I said stubbornly. “I won’t let her
ruin my weekend again. I was having fun. I don’t want to go home.”
I hated how childish I sounded, but it was the truth. I never got
to have fun like this, and I didn’t want our evening to be
over.

“Okay. Wait,” Kennedy said. “How about this?
Should we move this party to our house? Emily and the kids are
already there. I don’t know about Tabitha, but I’m sure Ben and
Madison are asleep already. We can all go there and drink, and we
won’t have to worry about driving. We have plenty of beds for
everyone.”

“Do you want to do that, Princess?” Lincoln
asked me quietly.

“Can we order pizza?”

He chuckled into my ear. “We can do whatever
you want,” he said and placed a kiss on my cheek.

Chapter Six

“Carter! You made it!” I screeched as
Lincoln’s brother walked into the rec room of Kennedy and Brian’s
house. I ran over to him and hugged him while everyone else shouted
their greetings. “I’m so glad you came. Do you want something to
drink?”

Lincoln’s brother was only a year younger
than me, but you’d never know it by the way he acted. He tended to
be extremely reserved and quiet. He didn’t often join us for
parties, and when he did, he usually left early and didn’t
drink.

“No. Thank you, Jillian. It’s good to see you
too, though.”

I pointed my half-empty beer bottle at the
couple sitting on the loveseat. “You know Matt and Kailey,
right?”

“Hmm?” he replied, seeming distracted. “Oh,
yeah. I know them.” He waved.

Carter had met Rebecca previously but not my
other sister. “And that’s Emily—” I started to say while pointing
at my sister, who was talking to Deacon.

“You know, I think I will have that beer,” he
said abruptly, interrupting me.

“Oh. Okay. I’ll get us both one.” I chugged
the rest of my foamy drink and tossed the bottle into the recycling
can once I got to the kitchen.

I had lost some of my buzz on the car ride to
Kennedy’s house, and the pizza we ordered had helped too, but now
the beers were going down fast. I hadn’t planned on getting drunk,
but as Lincoln kept reminding me, this weekend was for celebrating
and relaxing.

I returned to the rec room with two bottles
and a bottle opener. After my fourth failed attempt with the bottle
opener, I gave up and made a pouty face at Lincoln. He smiled at me
with amusement and took one of the unopened bottles and the opener
from me.

“You know, if you can’t open your own drink,
maybe you should be cut off.”

“S’not my drink. It’s for Carter.”

“Uh-huh,” he said dubiously. “Then who is
that other beer for?”

“Maybe I was getting it for my boyfriend,
although he doesn’t seem too appreciative of it now.”

“Uh-huh.” Lincoln clearly didn’t believe me,
but he opened the bottles and handed one of them back to me.

I took a long drink from it before I licked
my lips and smiled at Lincoln, daring him to comment.

“I thought you said that one was for
Carter.”

“No,” I replied and pointed to the one
Lincoln was holding. “That one is Carter’s.”

“Well, then that one is mine.” He pointed to
the bottle I had just drank from.

I took a drink and shook my head. “I said
maybe. I decided I wanted it after all.” I gave him a big toothy
grin, knowing he wouldn’t let that fly.

He shook his head. “Unacceptable,” he said
with humor. “That’s mine.” He handed the beer he was holding to his
brother and took a step toward me.

I giggled and took a step backward away from
him. “Oh? And just what are you going to do about it?”

His eyes twinkled with excitement. “Hmm… I
could throw you in the pool.”

Kennedy and Brian had a pool? I had no idea.
They had a huge property, and I hadn’t ever seen a pool, but I
hadn’t explored a lot of the grounds.

I looked around our group of friends and
found everyone watching the interaction between Lincoln and me. No
backing down now.

“It’s a little cold outside for swimming,
don’t you agree?” I stepped backward again and took another long
drink from the illicit bottle.

Lincoln smirked at me and stepped forward.
“Keep it up, and you’ll find out.”

I stepped back again and guzzled half the
remaining liquid. There was only one swallow left in the
bottle.

“Give me the bottle, Jillian,” Lincoln
demanded while trying to hide his smile.

“No,” I said firmly and chugged the last
gulp, finishing the bottle in record time. Ugh, I would pay for
that later, but it was well worth it to tease Lincoln. A bubble
rose up from my stomach, and before I could contain it, a large
burped escaped loudly from my mouth in a very unladylike way.

I slapped my hand over my mouth and giggled
as Lincoln’s eyebrows flew up in surprise, and everyone around us
broke out in laughter.

“You’re going to pay for that,” he
threatened.

“Not if you can’t catch me!” I threw the
empty bottle at him and took off running out of the rec room. I
knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would catch me. He was
simply taller and stronger than I was, and he had also had way less
to drink than I had.

I only made it halfway down the hallway to
the kitchen before Lincoln’s strong arms wrapped around my waist
and pulled me against his chest, lifting me off the floor.

I screamed loudly and laughed as I tried to
twist out of his hold. I somehow ended up flopped over his
shoulder, his arm wrapped around my knees with my head dangling
down, my ass in the air. I slapped his butt through his jeans and
screamed again.