“I love you, Blaine, and I get it, but if you keep treating him this way, you will lose me, because that whole protective, no-boundaries thing is part of who I am, too.” Knowing she had to come across just as strong as him, she headed back inside with her heart in her throat, hoping she was doing the right thing.

Her mother was waiting by the kitchen door. “I saw you two hug, but you don’t look happy. Are things better?”

“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “I think we’re getting there, but sometimes I think it would be easier if we were brought up like other families, where brothers and sisters stay out of each other’s business.”

“Oh, honey, your brothers love you.”

“I know, and I love them, but this is hard. I just want him and Tobias to get along.”

“Want me and Chloe to have Gunner and Maverick take Blaine out and beat him into submission?” Sid offered.

“No,” Madigan said solemnly. “Not when one wrong punch can lead to tragedy.”

“We could kidnap him and leave him in the desert until he agrees to get along with Tobias,” Chloe suggested.

“You’re not borrowing our Wicked Rescue van,” Sid said.

“Darn it,” Chloe complained.

“There’s always waterboarding,” Sid suggested.

They all looked at her like she’d lost her mind.

“I think you’ve been watching too many action movies,” Madigan said.

“We can do what we used to do with the boys when they were young and lock them in a room until they get along,” Ginger suggested.

“It’s a wonder they all made it out alive,” Sid said.

Madigan’s mother picked up the plate of brownies and held it out toward her. “How about we just have some brownies and let the guys figure it out?”

BEFORE LEAVING FOR their ride, Blaine, Baz, and Gunner strung twinkling lights around the backyard. Madigan had hoped Blaine might seek her out, but he hadn’t, and by the time she and the girls finished preparing the food and went outside to decorate, they were gone.

Now it was almost after six, and the baby shower was in full swing. Ginger and Conroy’s backyard was bustling with happy chatter and little-girl giggles. Green and yellow balloons danced from long strings tied to the backs of chairs, and pink and blue lanterns hung from the trees around the edge of the yard. Tables were draped in yellow tablecloths, and children’s books were stacked as centerpieces, each topped with a stuffed animal for Tank and Leah’s new baby.

On the table with the gifts was a jar for guests to guess the name of the baby. Madigan would bet everything she had that most of those guesses included the names of Leah’s father and brother, Leo and River. But Leah was giving nothing away as far as names went.