4 #2
Once her brother drove off, Ronna was on him. Laughing, Kam held her back. “What are you doing?”
“Getting you to pay up.” Damp lips landed on his neck, followed by a hot tongue.
“Ronna,” he chided, wondering how the hell he was going to get out of this one. “I told you, that’s a no-go.”
“I’ll convince you.” With no more warning than that, her small hand cuddled his crotch through the tux pants, making him jump.
“Hey now.” Getting his jewels well out of reach of grabby hands became a priority, good manners be damned. He felt molested.
With more force, he stepped away from her, keeping her at bay with the length of his arms which, thankfully, were long. “Haven’t
you ever heard that no means no?”
“From you?” Her smile promised wicked things. “You never say no.”
He hadn’t before, but everything was different. “I’m saying it now.”
Finally catching on, she scowled up at him. “Is that a joke?”
“I was clear, Ronna.”
She studied his face. “I thought you were playing around!”
Had it come off that way? Maybe. “I’m sorry if I confused you.”
Being a genuinely good person, Ronna gave up with a smile. “Well, damn. I already had my motor revving.”
Relieved that she wasn’t mad, or still grabbing for him, Kam relaxed. “I have no doubt there are ten guys lined up and waiting
who would be thrilled to help with that.”
“Probably twenty,” she shot back with a cocky grin. “So is it the homeowner? What was her name? Glory?” Her gaze went over
him. “Of course, it is. You’re still in your tux from the wedding.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions, hon. My brother married her cousin, so she’s family.”
With a snort, Ronna let him know what she thought of his logic. “Sell that somewhere else. I know you too well. And so we’re
clear, you still owe me.”
Forging past most of what she’d said, he agreed to owe her. “As long as you understand that I can’t pay up the way you wanted.”
“Don’t worry,” she said on the way to her car. “I’ll think of something else.”
Since Glory had already paid for the work, there was nothing for Kam to do but thank Ronna again and wave as she left.
While he waited for Glory to return, he hung her pictures and mounted the heavy mirror. He liked it. It looked good there.
Other boxes remained in the garage, and he thought they might go in the bedrooms, but without Glory’s explicit direction,
he wasn’t going in there. It’d cross a line, and he knew it.
He’d just finished putting away the tools and was stuffing himself into the uncomfortable tux shirt when a knock sounded on
Glory’s front door.
Hoping it wasn’t Ronna returning, while idly wondering if Mike the Dick would dare to show up, he went down the hall with
a purpose. When he swung the door open, it was Tanner, and he didn’t look happy.
“What the hell?” Leaning out the door, Kam looked around and quickly realized that Tanner had come alone. “Where is your wife?”
“At home with her cousin.” Tanner muscled his way in, then shoved a bag of clothes at Kam. “Get changed so we can go.”
Lost as to what was going on, he said, “Sure, thanks.” He closed and locked the door, stepped into the living room, and stripped
off the tux pants. “Want to tell me where we’re going?”
“Dan Fellows was in a car wreck last night.”
In only his boxers, jeans held loosely in his hand, Kam straightened. Misgivings swamped him, with anger hot behind it. “He
gave Glory and me a lift.”
“I know. He was on his way home when someone almost hit him. He veered to avoid the collision, slammed into a light pole, and now he has a concussion and a broken arm.”
“Jesus.” Kam’s thoughts scrambled down a dangerous path. “The other driver?”
“Never stopped.” Tanner loomed over him. “Do I have to dress you myself?”
Stepping into his jeans, then pulling on the T-shirt, Kam dressed with alacrity. “Dan’s home now?”
“Yes.” Looking around, Tanner took in Glory’s home. “This is nice.”
Kam refrained from volunteering his part in the decor. “She has good taste, doesn’t she?”
Gaze coming back to him, Tanner said, “Her car was fucked with, and then the guy who gave her a ride was run off the road.
I don’t care how good her taste is, she can’t stay here alone.”
“I don’t disagree.” He should have known Tanner would hear of the trouble. Though he might have started life as an outcast
in the town, as he’d matured, his brother had made alliances along with friendships. People respected him, and many looked
up to him.
After pulling on his socks and sneakers, Kam folded the tux pants and shirt, stuffed them in the bag, then went to the bedroom
he’d used to gather up his shoes, socks, and jacket. He turned and nearly plowed into Tanner.
“This is where you slept?”
Rolling his eyes, Kam stepped around him. “I got the feeling you were in a hurry.”
“I have a new wife at home, so yeah.”
“Glory and I didn’t want to bother you. We had a plan for the day.”
“I know, but I have a better plan.”
Giving up, Kam turned to him and said, “Enough of the big-brother act, dude. We’re both grown men.”
For only a second, Tanner grinned at him. “I like the role, so sue me.”
Yeah, other than their shaky start so many years ago—when Kam had been a complete pain in the ass—Tanner had always embraced
the idea of having a brother. “Want the quick tour?”
“Sure.”
It didn’t surprise Kam that Tanner was as impressed with the bathroom as he’d been, though the entire house was nice. As they
headed back to the living room, Kam asked, “So why are we rushing?”
“Liam’s meeting us at the hall with spares.” He gave Kam a quick glance. “We’ll take them to the garage and inspect the damage.
With luck, they can be repaired.”
“It was late when we found them flat.” With Mike hanging around. “I just wanted to get Glory home.”
“I understand that.”
Disgust at himself kept Kam frowning. “Damn, Tanner, it’s the day after your wedding.” And instead of enjoying his new life,
he’d shown up to lend a hand. “I would have figured it out today, you know.” But it would have been afternoon at the earliest.
“I don’t like the idea of your and Glory’s cars in the lot that long, not after the flats and then Dan being run off the road.”
Kam nodded at the living room. “Her window was broken, too.”
Speculative, Tanner wore his own frown, but short on time, he didn’t linger. “Come on. We can talk on the way.”
“Glory was coming back to pick me up.”
“Callie doesn’t know about Dan yet, but she knows you need help with the cars, so she’ll spend the morning with Glory and Addie.” He slid behind the wheel, and once Kam was in, he added, “I made her promise they wouldn’t go anywhere until she hears from me.”
“You think it’s that serious?”
Rolling one shoulder, Tanner said, “Got a bad feeling about it.”
“I’m not feeling too good about it myself.” And they never discounted their intuition, not since they’d learned to trust Addie.
“I’ll make sure to pay Liam for his time.”
Tanner nodded his thanks.
Liam was an almost twenty-year-old who’d gotten out on his own after a rough start in life. Overall, Tanner, Kam, and Addie
treated him like extended family. Wasn’t hard to do when Liam was so appreciative of everything ever done for him.
After a quick debate with himself, Kam said, “Some dude named Mike was hanging around last night, hoping to give Glory a ride.
She didn’t want me to say anything to you, but you already know most of it now.”
“Did he see Dan?”
“Yeah, he was there when Dan offered us a ride.”
“This gets more interesting by the second.”
It got more . . . something. Because of his promise to Glory, he wouldn’t go into any details about Mike, but with Dan being
run off the road, he had to make sure his brother was on guard. “Mike could be a problem. He’s pushy and doesn’t seem to take no for an answer.”
“No to you, or to Glory?”
“Both.” Keeping it simple, Kam added, “Keep an eye out. I don’t know if he’s still around, if he’s staying in town—”
“If he’s the clown who broke Glory’s window.”
“Exactly.” How far would Mike take it, and just how dangerous could he be? “Right now, he’s an unknown, and I don’t like it.”
“Isn’t your new apartment supposed to be around here somewhere?”
Supposed to be? Kam had no doubt that Tanner knew exactly where the place was. It was only because of the wedding that Kam
hadn’t yet moved in.
Knowing his brother liked to bait him, and that he’d get to the point soon, Kam nodded at a cross street. “It’s right there,
in that four-family.” Close enough that he could be at Glory’s in two minutes, tops. Sooner if he ran.
Seconds ticked by before Tanner gave a disgruntled huff. “I still don’t understand why you’re leaving.”
“I’m not leaving.” Wasn’t like he was abandoning his family. “I’m twenty-six. Past time I get my own place.”
The flexing of Tanner’s hands on the wheel gave away his mood. “Callie thinks it’s because of her, because she’s moving in.
She’s worried that—”
“For God’s sake. I hope you told her that was nonsense.”
“I did.”
Since Tanner’s tension didn’t ease, Kam’s annoyance grew. “Callie is a sweetheart. I enjoy her company, and more than that,
I love that you have her and that she has you. I could happily live with her around—if I hadn’t already decided that I wanted
my own space.”
That didn’t appease Tanner. “I like having my family together.”
Laughing with frustration, Kam ran his hands over his face. “There’s together, and then there’s together. I will always be
there for you and Addie, and now Callie, too.” And Glory, though he wouldn’t say that out loud. “Always.”
Because he understood Tanner, Kam knew he wanted to keep the people he loved close at hand.
The start that each of them had had in life .
. . It was the sick, twisted kind of hurt that crawled deep and lived with you the rest of your days.
By taking them in, Addie had literally saved them, showed them the type of unconditional love they hadn’t known was possible, and taught them the meaning of family.
It was important to Kam, too, but equally important was his need to prove he could make it on his own. “I’m not you, Tanner.