6. Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Cam’s cousin was a funny little thing, but she was a bit of a babbler. Maybe she was intimidated by me. I was a man of few words, and I had a bit of an overbearing presence. It tended to keep folks at arm’s length.
Which is exactly where I liked them.
At one time, I lived with Woody, Tank, and Bode, but that actually hadn’t bothered me. We’d been in much tighter quarters when we were SEALs back in the day, so sharing a spacious house wasn’t all that bad.
Now, however, I’d been living by myself for a while, and I was set in my ways like an old man, despite being only thirty-four. I wasn’t a fan of having people in my personal space. Woody always said I was about half an inch from yelling at kids to get off my lawn.
As if reading my mind, Mallori looked up at me with huge eyes—similar to Cam’s blue ones but with a hint of green as well.
“I’m really sorry to impose on your home. I know it has to be a pain in the ass.” White teeth dented a full bottom lip as her chin dipped. Ah, fuck. I resisted the urge to place my fingers there and lift it back up.
I hadn’t been thrilled when Shiloh called and told me the situation, but Mallori was just moving to a new state by herself, and I didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable while she was staying here.
Which hopefully won’t be for long.
I brushed that errant thought away and heard myself say, “It’s no problem. I have plenty of room.”
The corners of her lips rose, and damn her face lights up when she smiles.
“Thank you. I’ll try not to be any trouble.”
“We’ll see about that. You are kin to Cam after all.”
She laughed, and it was deeper than I expected, as if the sound came from low in her belly. “That’s true. And I’m also related to Bella.”
“Jesus, please tell me you don’t make a habit of flooding people’s houses.”
“I never have before, but I bet I can figure it out,” she retorted, and I chuckled.
I liked that she seemed to be relaxing a bit more around me. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.
“Come on, and I’ll show you to your room. Then I’ll bring your stuff inside.”
“Oh, no. I can’t ask you to do that. You’re already letting—” She cut herself off as soon as I lifted my hand, palm out, and for some reason, her acquiescence made the back of my neck tingle.
“I’m not letting you carry everything by yourself,” I said simply, gesturing for her to follow me down the hallway. She did but stalled at the open door to my home gym, her eyes flitting around the room. “What’s wrong? ”
She didn’t meet my gaze, still focusing on the room with two walls of mirrors and large, arched windows.
“Did this used to be a dance studio?”
I hummed in the back of my throat. “Maybe. A man built this house for his daughters while they were in college. It’s possible one or more of them danced. I bought it from him after the last one graduated.”
Mallori’s heel lifted from the floor as if she was going to take a step, but then it flattened once again.
“You can go inside.”
Her right foot did a little stutter step before she finally crossed the threshold. The change in her was instantaneous. Her posture straightened, and she seemed lighter somehow, like being in this room lifted a weight from her. Even if I didn’t already know, I would have surmised she was a dancer as soon as I saw her in this space.
“You dance, right?”
Mallori took another couple steps into the room, slowly, like she was warring with her own feet. “I did. I mean, I guess I do, but I haven’t really. Though I still can. I think.”
“Well, that clears that up,” I said wryly, and she laughed, finally turning to face me. “You’re welcome to use the room, Mallori. For dancing, if you want. Or just to work out.”
She walked an unhurried circle, her eyes moving over the wood floor and mirrored walls. “I might.” The words were so soft, I barely heard them.
Mallori wasn’t tall, but her legs looked long and slender in fitted, ripped jeans. When she paused, her right toe pointed and swept an arc over the floor, as if testing… something. One hand lifted, fingers twisting in her long, blonde hair. Even in a ponytail, the ends reached the middle of her back.
“I haven’t danced in a while.” She spoke a little louder this time.
“Did you stop dancing because you were injured?”
She faced me and simply said, “No.” There was something in her solemn aqua-blue eyes that I couldn’t quite read. For some reason, I wanted to press and ask her what she was thinking… what had sapped the smile that had been on her face a few minutes ago.
But I didn’t. It was none of my business, so I nodded. “Okay.”
Mallori rose on her tiptoes, her body morphing into pure gracefulness for a moment before she lowered and asked, “Can you show me where I’ll be staying now?”
An hour and a half later, I knocked on Mallori’s bedroom door, and she answered, wearing denim shorts and a tangerine-colored tank top. She’d been in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt when she arrived.
“You changed clothes.”
“Yeah, it’s freaking hot down here in Texas.”
“Just wait till July,” I said with a chuckle. “Hey, I was going to order some fried chicken. What sides do you want?”
Her eyes darted to the side. “Oh, um… let me get my purse.” She wanted to give me money for the food. Cute.
I waved a dismissive hand at her. “Nah, I got it. I usually order an eight-piece box, so I have plenty. ”
“Are you—”
“I’m sure. I usually avoid the fries because they’re mushy by the time they get delivered. The chicken is always crispy though.”
“What sides do you usually get?”
“Potato salad and corn fritters.”
Her eyebrows inched closer together. “What’s a corn fritter?”
“Sweet corn that’s fried into a little ball of fucking awesomeness.”
Mallori giggled. “Not sure how I could turn that down. Sounds fine to me. Do they have spicy chicken?”
“You can get it either way.”
“Spicy, please.”
I clutched my chest, groaning, “A woman after my own heart,” and a grin spread across her face.
Damn, she’s very attractive when she smiles.
Not that I cared. She was Cam’s cousin, for Christ’s sake. His much younger cousin.
That doesn’t mean I can’t make an unbiased observation though, right?
The food arrived, and Mallori helped me spread it out on the coffee table. As we settled on the couch, I picked up the remote.
“I was just starting a movie, but I can put something else on,” I said, flicking on the television.
She smacked my chest with the back of her hand, her wide eyes fixed on the screen. “You were watching Lone Wolf McQuade ? I freaking love that movie.”
“You do? ”
She nodded, picking up a chicken leg and swirling it through the air. “Hell yes! Anything with Chuck Norris is awesome.”
I was both amused and impressed. “Did you know there is no chin behind Chuck Norris's beard? There’s only another fist.”
Mallori giggled. “I think I heard that once. Did you know that in the beginning there was nothing? Then Chuck Norris roundhouse kicked nothing and told it to get a job.”
A snort erupted from my nose. I’d never actually heard that one before. “How did you get into Chuck Norris movies? No offense, but…”
“Let me guess. Women can only watch rom-coms or chick flicks?” she asked sweetly, though her gaze held a glaring challenge.
I feigned clutching my pearls and gasped. “Heavens, no! I would never suggest anything of the sort. I was going to say I figured you for a horror movie buff.”
Mallori laughed loudly and elbowed me. “Nice save.”
“I do what I can in the name of self-preservation,” I said, forking up a bite of potato salad.
“You’re fairly well trained,” she teased. “Girlfriend?”
I wanted to laugh at that. If she only knew…
“No, a sister.”
“I always wanted a sister,” she mused.
“You can have mine,” I told her, smiling so she’d know I was totally kidding. Her eyes dipped to my mouth for a long moment.
“Is she older or younger?”
“Jennifer is two years older than me.”
“Are you close? ”
I pulled my eyes away from the TV screen where J.J. McQuade, a.k.a. Chuck Norris, was fighting three men at once. “We’re very close, even though she still lives in North Carolina. She’s the most important person to me.”
Mal’s face softened. “That’s sweet.”
“She had breast cancer,” I blurted out, and I was unsure why.
Mallori reached for the remote and paused the movie before giving me a hundred percent of her attention. “I’m sorry. How is she doing?”
“She’s in remission now. It got pretty sticky a few years back, but she pulled through.”
“Thank god,” she said on a long sigh. “Will you tell me about her?”
Biting into a corn fritter, I savored the crispy outside and the sweetness of the corn inside before speaking again. “Jen was always protective of me when we were little. Until I turned ten and outgrew her. Then the roles kinda changed, and I acted like the big bro.”
“Ahh, the protective big, little brother.”
“That was me. She’s an avid reader, but she’s not an introvert like a lot of people who are into books. Jen is a very vibrant person, kinda loud, if I’m being honest.”
Mallori smiled but didn’t say anything, just nodded encouragingly. So I continued, still uncertain as to why I was telling this stranger about my sister, other than the fact that she seemed genuinely interested.
“She’s a dancer too. All styles, but tap is her favorite, and she has her own studio and teaches now.”
“Tap is so much fun. I love the rhythms, though I wasn’t allowed to do much of it.”
“Why?”
Mallori dragged her eyes from mine and stared at the box of chicken. “You gonna eat that wing?”
“Help yourself,” I said, waiting for her to answer my question. She didn’t.
“Have you ever seen the movie Tap It ? That’s one of my favorites.” I had the feeling she was deflecting, but I wasn’t going to push and make her feel uncomfortable.
“My sister was in that movie.”
She paused with the chicken wing an inch from her lips before lowering it. “Wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait.” Her face lit up with realization. “Jennifer Gentry! Jennifer freaking Gentry is your sister?”
“That’s her.”
Her mouth formed a little O, and she shook her head back and forth. “Oh my hell! She was fantastic in that film. She really should have been the lead.”
“Agreed. She auditioned for it, but since it was her first movie, and she was only seventeen, they gave it to the other girl. And Jen was cast as Rita.”
“I still can’t believe that’s your sister,” Mallori said in awe, biting into her chicken.
“I’ll let her know she still has a fan.”
“Why wasn’t she ever in any other movies?”
I froze. Now it was my turn to clam up and change the subject. “Why don’t we finish up McQuade? I know you’re probably tired from the long drive.”
My new houseguest eyed me, speculation and curiosity shining in her eyes, but she didn’t press me any further. And I appreciated that.
Mallori’s eyes were drooping by the time we finished the movie, and I nudged her as the final credits scrolled up the screen.
“Go get some rest. Do you need anything before you turn in?”
She stood, placing her hands on her lower back and stretching, the arch forming a perfect curve. I consciously pulled my eyes from things I most assuredly should not be looking at.
“Nope. All good,” she replied and gestured to the remnants of our meal. “I’ll just clean this up.”
“I can do that.”
Her head shook vehemently. “No, you bought; I clean.”
I helped her anyway, and five minutes later, we were standing in my kitchen. Mallori rubbed her toe along one calf and blinked up at me, seeming awkward for the first time since her initial chattering when she arrived.
“Can I give you a hug?”
Smiling, I opened my arms, and she stepped into them.
“Thank you for making me feel so welcome. I know it’s a huge imposition to have a stranger in your house.”
She felt sweet and warm against me, and I gave her a squeeze. “It’s no problem at all. I had fun with you tonight.”
“Me too,” she replied, and then I felt her body shake with laughter.
“What’s so funny?”
“You’re just really big. I feel like a bumblebee being hugged by a bear.”
I gave her long ponytail a little tug as I chuckled at that. “Go to bed, Little Bee.”
Mal stepped away and grinned mischievously. As she pivoted away and headed to the living room, she called over her shoulder, “Have a good sleep, Tater Tot.”
Massaging the spot between my eyes with two fingers, I couldn’t help the smile that took over my face.
Why is she so fucking adorable?