3
“You big faker!”
“Me?” Kam turned with a smile, but it froze when he saw that she’d not only dressed, but also wore makeup. And here he’d thought
he might see the real Glory for once. He’d been anticipating it, damn it.
Glory, soft and sleepy, her hair messy, her defenses down. Sign him up.
Instead, she’d put on all her usual armor and looked ready to take on the world.
He couldn’t recall ever seeing her when she wasn’t fully put together. The woman did not allow herself to be anything less,
and it pissed him off. If she kept herself elevated above mortal man, how could he get close? If he wanted close, of course.
And he kind of did.
“It’s barely seven a.m.”
“You can tell time? Bravo.” Her eyes narrowed. “Most would consider it far too early to be finagling dates.”
“Finagling, huh? Well, Ms. Snoopy, what you listened in on was me turning down a date.”
She huffed. “As if that could be called a date.”
Starting to enjoy himself, Kam asked, “What does that mean?”
“You know you weren’t talking about dinner or a movie.”
Forgetting about the box he’d planned to unload, Kam stalked closer to her. “No? What do you think you heard, Glory?”
Her gaze stayed desperately locked on his. “You know.”
“Afraid I don’t.” When he was close enough to touch her, he stopped and looked down into her wide eyes. He also breathed in
the scent of toothpaste, floral lotion, and warm woman. “Spell it out for me.”
Indecision appeared first, then her chin notched up and she stated in a whisper, “Sex.”
“Sex?” he whispered right back.
“You and that woman.”
“Her name is Ronna.”
Glory’s eyes flared even more. “I don’t care what her name is.”
“She works at the hardware store.”
“I have no idea why you’re telling me—”
“Her brother is a glazier, so she’s hooking me up.”
“With her brother?” Glory looked ready to smack him.
“No.” Biting back a grin, Kam explained, “They’re coming by to replace the broken glass in your window.”
Her mouth opened, then smashed shut again. In her eyes, irritation warred with gratitude until, finally, she gave a brisk
nod. “Thank you. I could have handled that.”
“Oh? You know who to call in Hoker to get home repairs?”
“Well . . . Normally, I would have asked Tanner, but since he’s obviously busy—”
“Obviously.”
“I would have asked Addie.”
“Ah. Anyone but me, huh?” He held out his arms. “Even though I’m right here?”
Her gaze took a quick trip along one arm, over his torso, to the fingertips of his other arm, with some lingering in between,
before she cleared her throat. “I can’t think when you’re standing there like that.”
“Shirtless?”
“Flaunting yourself.” Half turning away, she waved a hand at his body. “And with your pants undone.”
He glanced down. No, he hadn’t completely fastened the tux pants. They weren’t comfortable. “I’d have been happier just hanging
in my shorts—”
Incredulity fueled her loud gasp.
“But since I was in and out of the yard, I figured you’d want me to put on something, and the stiff tux pants are all I have.”
In slow motion, she turned to face him again. “You were in my yard looking like that?”
He took evil delight in saying, “You have some nice neighbors.”
Hot color crept up her neck to her cheeks and then to her forehead. In a barely there rasp, she asked, “You met Mrs. Simmons?”
“Yeah. She came over to talk to me.”
Glory closed her eyes. “I’m sure she did.”
Enjoying himself, Kam inched a little closer still. Already, he craved her closeness. “She has to be mid-seventies, right?
Yet she was awful curious about you having a man over.”
Her throat worked when she gulped.
“Kept staring at my chest, too. Practically made me feel naked.”
Lashes lifted, and the blue of Glory’s eyes glowed like a flame. “Know why? Because you’re practically naked.”
Those last two words had ended on a high note, making him grin.
After throwing up her hands, Glory took a moment to collect herself.
It was something to see, the way she inhaled, slowly exhaled. Smoothed her already-smooth top. Shook out her hands. Flexed
her neck. And finally curved her lips into a smile that conveyed mere curiosity. “Why, exactly, were you in the yard?”
Kam couldn’t imagine having that much control. She’d gone from near implosion to cool composure. “Neat trick,” he said, even
while wishing he’d seen her really let go.
Without her lips moving, she said, “Kam,” and there was no missing the warning.
“I had to back out the car so I could unload your garage.”
Her eyes nearly crossed. “Why, if you don’t mind me asking, did you unload my garage?”
Funny. For a woman who could irritate the hell out of him, she suddenly seemed really . . . cute. Frazzled, for sure. Annoyed,
absolutely. But also a little unsure, and the fact that she couldn’t keep her gaze off his body spurred him on.
“You know what, Glory? You look like a woman who could use a cup of coffee.” Opening a hand to the small of her back, he guided
her past the garage door entrance to the hall that led to the kitchen. “Take a seat and I’ll serve you.”
She propped her sexy rump up on a barstool and put her head in her hands. “What did you tell Nosy Old Lady Simmons?”
Struck by that description, he paused. “That’s great. Nosy Old Lady Simmons. It suits her. She grilled me as if she’d found
me using a battering ram on the door. I played nice, though—Addie would skin me if I didn’t. I explained that someone had
broken your window, and I’d camped out to ensure you’d be safe in case the vandals returned.”
“Naturally, she saw you as a hero.”
“Of course. She also said another neighbor had recently had a tree papered, and someone else had eggs busted on their door.”
“A tree papered?”
“Glory, don’t tell me you’ve never indulged in knuckleheaded youth pranks? No? So you’ve never taken rolls of toilet paper
and thrown them all through the branches of a neighbor’s trees?”
Fascinated, she shook her head. “Have you?”
“Ha! You think I’d chance you tattling to Addie? Even now, she’d get after me. Once, though, Tanner and I busted some assholes
who were throwing eggs at the house.”
“Did you call the cops?”
“We’re not snitches.”
She leveled him with a stern look. “I won’t believe you didn’t retaliate.”
“Naturally not. We chased them down and pounded on them.”
“How many were there?”
“Five.”
“Five kids your age?”
“Two were Tanner’s age, the others a year younger.” Which had made them all older than him—not that he’d let that slow him
down. Back then, he’d always been looking for a reason to brawl. Punks egging the house? Good enough for him.
Her disbelieving snort tickled him.
“You don’t believe me?”
“Five against two?”
Lifting a shoulder, he made it clear it hadn’t mattered. “A pissed-off Tanner is worth three men. And I held my own.”
“Braggart.”
He doctored her coffee the way he knew she liked it. “One of them started crying. Can you believe that? I let him go. Addie
would have—”
Interrupting, Glory said, “Do you realize that anytime you do something nice, you blame Addie?”
“Because it’s her fault.”
“Or to her credit.”
“That, too.” He slid the mug of steaming coffee in front of her, then took the stool beside her, angling her way so that his
knees almost touched her thigh. “Let me know if that’s sweet enough.”
Cautiously, she turned her head and eyed him. As if deciding he was sincere, she gave her attention to the coffee, sipped,
and sighed. “Perfect, thank you.”
“Low-fat creamer is nasty.” But it was all she’d had in her fridge.
She’d just about taken another drink, but at his comment, she dropped her head and laughed. “You do that on purpose, don’t
you? Mix in an obnoxious comment with a nice word or act.”
“Keeps you guessing.” Because he knew she liked Addie, he said, “I have to constantly fight my demons, but these days, they’re
easier to battle because of Addie.”
Curious, she half turned to face him, too. “You have demons?”
Oh, that gentle curiosity mixed with understanding. “Don’t we all?” He figured Glory knew a thing or two about that, otherwise
she wouldn’t always be so defensive.
“I know she adopted you and Tanner.”
“Guess God figured I could use an angel, so he sent Addie my way.”
She hesitated so long Kam found himself wondering what she’d say.
Reserved, cautious, she asked, “Is that because you had a rough childhood?”
“It sucked, yeah.” And that was as detailed as he was going to get. “I dealt with it by being a nonstop asshole. Got me knocked
around a lot, but that was easier than thinking, even for a minute, that things would improve.” He smirked a little, remembering
when Addie first took him in. “She already had Tanner, so I felt like I was horning in, even though Addie swore they both
wanted me.” That memory got him caught up in a chuckle.
“What?”
“Sometimes I’d catch Tanner giving me the side-eye, you know? Hell, he was a kid, too, and he wasn’t sure what to make of
me.” Years later, Tanner told him that it felt like Addie had brought a rabid raccoon into the house. Thinking of how he’d
been back then, the description was apt.
“But now the two of you are close.”
“Yeah.” These days, he’d die—or kill—for Tanner, if necessary. Addie, too. Having the worst of families first had taught him
to recognize the best of families once he had one. “How about you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You were raised with Callie and her folks, right?”
In a flash, Glory turned her attention back to her coffee.
Gently, he said, “Don’t want to talk about it, huh? I get that. How about we leave it alone for now?”
“I just . . . I don’t know how . . .”
Kam slipped his hand under the cool weight of her hair to the back of her neck, and for one brief moment, he touched his forehead
to her temple. “Hey, I get it. Too many times I feel the same.” Memories could be a motherfucker. Sometimes they had the power
to transport a person right back to a fiery hell.