Chapter 7 #2
“No!” Rarely was I faced with him being a little kid, either in throwing a tantrum or allowing any sadness. Once upon a time when he was four and had seen me cry, he’d promised to be my protector. Since then, I’d seen him tear up once.
On the night his bastard of a father had dared tell me to my face that he couldn’t give a shit about a kid he’d never wanted. And Damon had been listening. My beautiful little boy, who’d been so eager to see his daddy that he’d changed clothes three times, had been devastated.
I’d never seen anyone so hurt and I’d wanted to rush after Kenny, screaming at him that he’d never have the privilege of seeing his boy again because my son was too good for him.
I’d refrained, something I now regretted.
I’d handled that later in the court systems, but my little man, my rock didn’t need to know just how horrible his biological sperm donor truly was.
The man was a piece of shit, not a father, but he’d given me the greatest gift I could ever imagine.
He rubbed his eyes with his small fists, a highly thoughtful look on his face. “Maybe.”
“Well, why don’t you take Zorro in and find out?” I prayed he’d find it or I’d be combing the woods on my hands and knees.
“Okay.” He nodded a few times, his shoulders rising and falling in a dramatic sigh. “Come on, Zorro. I need to show you our room anyway.”
As the two of them scampered away, I had to face the fact I’d just adopted a dog. Now I could only pray the pup didn’t belong to somebody.
Other than the horrible neighbor.
I was now the one sighing as I stood, a slight chill scouring my bones. It was June and I was freezing, which meant my nerves were overactive.
If Damon didn’t find the car, I’d need to keep his mind off the disappearance until I could figure out what to do. Maybe I could find a metal detector in town. Were the cars even made of metal? Ugh. This was turning out to be a horrible day.
I’d barely made it into the living room when I heard a loud boom, as if a cannon had been smacked against the front door. Jumping, I bit back a shriek while staring at the door. Was someone trying to break in or bring me a fruit basket as a welcome?
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The fruit basket was doubtful with the knock being so impatient. I debated answering the door but soon wouldn’t be able to hide. Not with what I was trying to do.
More likely the horrible man had called the police. I wouldn’t mind giving them an earful.
As soon as I unlocked and threw the door open, prepared for a bear, I regretted doing so.
“Oh, it’s you.” My neighbor stood in all his glory, studying me with what I’d heard was called a shit-eating grin on his face.
He was still wearing the same worn but form-fitting jeans.
His mop of dark chocolate hair still had the Just Been Fucked look.
All I could think of was running my fingers through the thick tufts.
And the scruff on his face was even sexier than I’d remembered, outlining a square jaw chiseled from the finest slab of granite.
Thankfully, he’d slipped into a red tee shirt, but it was practically painted on his muscular body.
Forget about his arms, they were bigger than my calves, enough ink on both I could spend hours tracing the lines with my finger.
Even though every inch of him was gorgeous, his eyes captured my full attention.
Well, most of it anyway.
They were hazel in some light while being bright spring green in another, both completely luminous.
He was also still barefoot.
Arms of steel.
Thunderous thighs.
My mind was clearly working overtime as I envisioned Superman all of a sudden.
“Now, you’re going to give me a complex if you keep addressing me like that.” His voice was much deeper than before, the resonance all male.
Just like the rest of him.
The tinge of anger from before had disappeared, replaced with a lush, husky tone that matched his bedhead perfectly. Maybe I could repair this relationship after all. “What do you need?”
“Well, how about your name in exchange.”
“In exchange for what? Your name? I don’t know if that’s necessary.” I wasn’t off to a great start, my typical cynical self taking over as always.
“You know how to hurt a guy’s feelings.” His left hand was now flexed open and placed over his heart.
I snuck a glance to ensure he wasn’t married.
While I might not know his name, I’d tried to find him on social media.
Since not once had he been tagged, I had a feeling he wasn’t on Facebook or Instagram. Just a hunch.
How was that even possible? Hell, my son had a Facebook page. Monitored, of course.
“You’ll live. Are you here to accuse my son of some other horrible deed?” I quirked my eyebrows, enjoying sparring with him more than I should.
“I won’t if you won’t accuse me of being cruel to an animal, which I would never do.”
“How do I know for certain?”
“Scout’s honor.” He held up three fingers, pouting as if I was going to deny him.
“You were a Boy Scout. Really?”
“Nope. But my brother was.” When I wasn’t buying it, he leaned on the door jamb, his actions suggesting casual ownership.
“Seriously. I’ve never seen the pup before.
I was gone for a few days on business. Somehow in that timeframe, he managed to show up and get tangled in the lines.
I don’t even know how the rope got there. ”
“Uh-huh, and don’t ‘Scout’s honor’ me again.” Exhaling, I shifted my mind space to the calendar and the conundrum I’d gotten myself into. Perhaps a bridge over troubled water. “Alright. Fair enough. You’re my neighbor. I guess I should make nice.”
“Yep, I’m your handy dandy neighbor and making nice sounds like fun.” He was taller than I remembered, standing several inches over me and I was a tall woman. His shoulders also barely fit in the doorway, which created a few butterflies in my stomach.
Don’t get your hopes up, buddy. I eat men for breakfast.
He was doing exactly the same thing I was doing to him, scanning me as someone did with an object they were thinking about purchasing.
Or consuming.
Whole.
Now that we’d decided on a truce, the awkwardness between us was as electric as the single touch had been before.
I wasn’t entirely certain what to say to him or if I should invite him in.
I’d never felt so awkward. “Um. What did you need?” Fantastic.
My voice even cracked, an indication of weakness.
Which in turn allowed his grin to widen. He shoved his hand into his pocket. “I’m going to guess this is something special Damon needs to see.” As soon as he pulled out the magical little red car, there was a squeal from behind me.
Except with the puppy, I hadn’t heard my son sound so happy in a very long time. His feet pounded on the hardwood floor as he rushed into the living room, the puppy bounding on his heels.
A moment of chaos ensued, and I was smart enough to take a step away from the door, watching as the stranger bent over, holding the car in his palm as if protecting a precious jewel.
The man’s eyes were as dazzling as my son’s, his smirk turning into a full smile when Damon gingerly accepted the car as if it were a gift.
“What do you say to him, Damon?”
The handsome stranger knelt to my son’s level as I’d done before, enjoying petting the pup as much as he was in returning my child’s favorite item.
Damon wasn’t himself, not even close. He was acting like a seven-year-old kid at Christmas. I was seriously thinking the aliens had arrived. “Thank you, mister.”
“Makes me feel old. How about this? You can call me Steel and you’re very welcome. Just so you’re aware, this is one valuable car.”
“Really?” Damon was interested. “Mom can’t afford much, but this meant a lot one Christmas.”
And my kid was sharing how poor we were. Heat tickled my face and I looked away before the not-so-mysterious stranger noticed.
Steel chuckled in a dark tone. “Yep. It’s also one that I’ve always wanted to have in my collection.”
“You have a collection?”
“I sure do. About a hundred and fifty cool vehicles. Even a couple planes.”
My son’s eyes opened wide. “Can I see them one day?”
Steel was suddenly in a very awkward position, lifting his gaze and searching for something, likely an out.
“Remember, honey, we’re not staying very long in town and I’m sure… Steel has a life. And hopefully a job.” If he was no longer a smokejumper, wouldn’t that be a kick in the ass? “We can’t bother him with a request like that.”
“Oh, it’s no problem. My mom and dad have them stored in their attic. I can bring ‘em by one day this week. I mean if that’s okay with your mom. And if she doesn’t beat me with a hammer.” The last few words were meant entirely for me. Thankfully, they seemed to go over Damon’s head.
Steel’s grin had shifted into a combination of conniving and dangerous, but only dangerous to me personally. But it was an in with him, an opening that I couldn’t ignore or pass up.
I kept my arms folded, cocking my head so he could tell how irritated I was. “That would be fine.”
Hearing the man state his name made me wish the calendars could be interactive. Hmmm… I had another idea, a brilliant one if I said so myself. I chewed on my lip as he said something to Damon that I wasn’t even paying attention to, far too busy ogling Steel’s physique.
I think we were both shocked when Damon threw his arms around Steel, squeezing him in an entirely different way than he’d ever done with me.
I was typically doing the hugging and not the other way around.
Seeing Steel stiffen was a decent reminder that I had to be careful in placing my trust in anyone, especially a man.
My child came first.
“Why don’t you go get your room set up, bud? We’re going to take a ride into town to get some food. Okay?”
Damon pulled away, frowning, which I was used to and could handle. His huff pushed me into laughter, which I tried to hide with a cough. “Fine, Mom. Oh, this is Zorro. He’s my dog now.”
“Okay then,” Steel said as he stood, all six foot four or so of him.