Cynthia had finally agreed, after a lot of influence from her mother, and they’d been married in a civil ceremony at city hall as soon as the school year ended. They’d decided to have their second child shortly after the first so she wouldn’t have to interrupt her schooling again later with another pregnancy.

They’d had their issues in the beginning, both too young and headstrong to have any idea how to navigate marriage and parenthood. But in the end, no matter what problems they’d had, raising their sons right had been the one thing they’d always agreed on.

Not everyone believed in the old-fashioned methods, but he wanted his boys to grow up with memories like the ones he had; playing outside with his brothers, eating dinner together as a family each night and having respect for his elders. He intended to raise his kids the same way.

Even if he had to do it alone.

“Are you guys playing in Miss Raina’s yard while she’s out of town?”

Their newest neighbor, Raina, was a fashion model. She’d walked up one afternoon and introduced herself before inviting the boys to come see her fish. Jackson had been so stunned at first that he hadn’t even responded. Most women who looked like Raina weren’t overly fond of rambunctious, messy, little boys. This was something that Jackson had learned through experience over and over again in recent years.

Raina, however, actually seemed to enjoy their energy. Once he’d recovered enough to give his consent, she’d answered the boys’ million and one questions with aplomb as they walked to her yard. Most impressive of all, she didn’t even blink when Jase jumped in the pond fully dressed, splashing them all in the process.

It was no surprise to him that both of his boys had become instantly fascinated with her. They had a new story about “Miss Raina” every other day it seemed.

“Yeah, daddy. She ate the fish. Then she fell down.” Jase put his thumb in his mouth and bounced excitedly in his lap.

Matt leaned closer. “Did he say she fell down? Wait, here comes Chris.”

They watched as his oldest son, Christopher, came tearing across the yard. He skidded to a stop right in front of them.

“She won’t wake up!” He took a deep breath, his chest heaving after his mad dash across the yard. “Miss Raina’s hurt! She fell down and she won’t wake up!”

Jackson got up and the other guys followed. Raina’s yard wasn’t directly behind his, rather two yards over and separated by a small creek. As soon as he got to the end of his yard though, he could see the small figure slumped on the ground.

“Look!” He pointed toward Raina’s yard.

“There she is.” Matt vaulted over the creek and Jackson followed. He could hear the other guys behind him, and the kids shouting. By the time he reached Raina’s yard, Matt already had his fingers on her pulse.

“Her heartbeat is strong.” He looked over his shoulder at Jackson. “She doesn’t look like she’s having any trouble breathing, either. But we should definitely call for an ambulance. People don’t just pass out for no reason.” Matt was a sergeant in the Army and trained in first aid so Jackson was more than willing to trust his judgment.

Trent pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’ll call 911.”

Jackson knelt down next to Matt. “Look at her arms,” he whispered.

Matt lifted her arm and pulled back her long sleeve to expose her skin. Bruises wrapped around her wrist, extending halfway up her arm.

“Is Miss Raina okay?” Chris’ voice wobbled.

He turned around. Usually the boys were right underneath him but even they could sense the gravity of the situation and were a few feet back, holding Nick’s hands. When he caught his brother’s eye, he was surprised to see that Nick looked deeply shaken.

“She’s okay. Maybe you should take the boys back to the house.”

Nick nodded mutely but didn’t move. It was odd to see his usually jovial brother so disturbed. Although, if he was honest, he was disturbed as well.

Violence wasn’t something they’d ever had to deal with. Seeing the effects on a woman he knew, even if it was only a casual acquaintance, made his stomach turn.

“Raina isn’t even supposed to be in town. She told me just a few days ago that she’d be gone for two weeks straight. She had a bunch of modeling jobs booked in Asia. She seemed really excited about—”

Matt held up a hand and he halted mid-speech. “She’s waking up.”

They all watched as Raina turned on her side and exhaled a long, slow breath. When her eyes opened, they darted around wildly. When she noticed Matt right next to her, she started scrabbling backward.

“Easy, it’s okay.” Matt backed away.

She got to her knees and blinked rapidly.

“Raina?”

She held up a hand as if the sunlight was too bright. He wondered if she could even see them.

“It’s Jackson. Are you okay?”

Her wide, brown eyes locked on his face. She stared at him for a minute, then glanced away before looking back. Then her lips curled up into a small smile.

His stomach dropped. The sensation was like falling while standing still.

Shock forced him to take a step back. He’d never had this reaction to Raina before, despite the fact that she was an extremely beautiful woman. When she was dressed impeccably and made up like she was going to a photo shoot, he’d only felt the general attraction that most red-blooded men feel around gorgeous women.