by Marie Harte
Daniel glanced at his friend. “Really? Because they helped my mom’s—my sister’s—friend move a few days ago.” He inwardly winced. He usually did much better at calling Kenzie his sister. But he’d been calling her Mom forever, and sometimes he relapsed.
“Cool.”
“Yeah. But the moving guy was giving my sister looks.” Daniel had stopped that right away. His “crazy chick” stories usually worked in his favor. Kenzie didn’t need more crying jags or a man treating her like dirt. Why deal with that nonsense when you could stop it before it began?
But Kenzie’s actions had been…strange, even for his sister. She hadn’t so much as looked at a guy since jackhole Bryce. Yet she’d seemed seriously interested in the moving dude. Daniel knew her tells, the way she worked so hard not to show that she liked a guy. He decided it wouldn’t hurt to get more information about the “hunky mover with the nice ass.”
God, if he had to hear Lila say that one more time he’d puke.
“What kind of looks?” Rafi’s eyes widened, then he nodded and sighed. “Oh, right. Kenzie.”
“Ew.”
Rafi grinned. “Come on, man, she’s hot. And she’s not your mom, so it’s normal she have a life, right?”
“You like to think of your sister with some guy?”
“I have two sisters. One’s engaged to a jerk, and the other’s in love with some huge, badass Marine.” Rafi snorted. “Some guy? Jordan just moved in with ‘some guy.’ But he’s not so bad, really. He took care of Juan for me and beat up some gangbangers.”
“Really?” Daniel frowned. Evan hadn’t seemed all that badass, but he was big. And driving that truck, he had to be some kind of service member. Maybe a Marine. How great would it be if he was the guy actually shacking up with Jordan? Then Daniel could tell his sister what a loser Evan was. “What’s the guy’s name your sister’s living with?”
“Cash Griffith.”
Bummer. But Griffith was Evan’s last name, according to his cell phone. “The guy checking out Kenzie was Evan Griffith. Is Cash his brother?”
“Cousin, I think. Reid is Cash’s brother.”
Daniel smirked. “I swiped his phone and set him up.”
“Nice.” Rafi slurped his soda. “You want me to see what I can find on the guy? I’ll talk to Jordan, but all casual-like.”
“Yeah.” Daniel moved his fingers over the keys, never as at home as he was when typing on a keyboard. While Rafi messed with his phone, Daniel pulled up Evan’s name, found out a few particulars, then did a more detailed search.
In seconds he had Evan’s address, phone number, and places of business at hand. Kenzie had been a little too emphatic about how much she didn’t like the guy. Unfortunately, Daniel had seen her looking pretty hard at Evan when the guy had been bitching about his phone.
Kenzie hadn’t so much as looked at a man since she’d broken up with Bryce over a year ago. As usual, thoughts about Bryce hurt. Made Daniel feel that same old guilt for ruining his sister’s life.
So he did what made him feel good and tapped into a locked system—the school’s admin server.
“What schedule do you want for this upcoming year?”
Rafi put his phone down and said through a mouth of pretzel, “I registered last term.”
“Yeah, but we can make sure you get what you wanted.”
Rafi swallowed and leaned closer. “Well, I know I don’t want French with Mathison. Can you hook me up with Mr. Charbeau instead?”
“Don’t you mean Monsieur Charbeau?” Daniel asked as he made some changes, rearranging Rafi’s schedule so he had more classes with friends. Then he did the same for himself.
Some time later, he checked his phone and saw a few messages from Kenzie. “Shoot. Gotta go.”
Rafi nodded, pleased. The guy had been a lot happier lately since moving back home with his folks. Rafi didn’t seem to realize how lucky he was to have a choice. Daniel had one home, no parents, no other family to stay with but Kenzie. If he didn’t include Lila, Rachel, and now Will.
And who knew how long Will would last with Rachel? Bryce had said he loved Kenzie. He’d lived with them, had hung out with Daniel like a best friend. Then he’d left and hadn’t come back.
Daniel hated thinking about Bryce. “See you tomorrow?”
Rafi nodded. “After my tutor. Got math and science to make up.”
“Summer school’s gotta suck.”
Rafi sighed. “Yeah. But at least I don’t have Simpson to worry about. What a tool.”
Daniel stood and left, but before going home, he made a decision he hoped wouldn’t have negative consequences.
* * *
Evan counted to ten in his head. Then out loud. Smith truly had a superpower because it took a lot to get on Evan’s last nerve.
“You like numbers, eh?” Smith pulled the truck into the warehouse garage, where they’d keep it overnight before offloading the next morning into the Hillfords’ first storage facility. The customer had three different storage lots to contain the possessions filling the nine-thousand-square-foot home they’d recently put up for sale.
“I love numbers,” Evan muttered. “I can’t stand know-it-alls who don’t know when to shut up. I thought you didn’t talk.”
“I don’t. Normally.” Smith gave him a wicked smile. “But then, I had no idea you had an alter ego… Nice ass.” He snickered for the millionth time that day.
Not only had that Daniel kid given Evan a new ringtone, he’d also made it so that anytime Evan’s number appeared on anyone’s contact list, it now read Sexy Movin’ Man with a Nice Ass. And Smith had been all over that all day long.
In fact, everyone had something to say about it. They’d been brutal. And his mother… He flushed. She’d laughed and laughed, so hard he thought she’d choke. He had to get his phone fixed, stat.
He slammed out of the truck and checked the back to make sure it remained locked. And then he heard that voice. The bane of his existence.
“Um, is Evan Griffith here? I need to talk to him.”
Smith said, “Who wants to know?”
“Look, no-neck. Is he here or not?” Daniel Sykes didn’t have a lick of sense.
Silence.
Evan moved around the truck and saw Daniel Sykes nervously studying Smith, who stood propped against the front of the truck, his huge arms crossed over his chest.
“Yo, Evan, somebody here looking for you.” Smith didn’t move. “And he’s got a big mouth.”
Daniel blinked at Smith, in awe. “Are you Cash Griffith?”
Smith straightened, and Evan saw the fury in his face. Even Daniel took a step back.
“Fuck no. That asshole’s not here today. Instead I’m stuck with him.” He nodded to Evan then left, fiddling with something in the back of the truck.
Daniel seemed to sag in relief then stiffened when he realized Evan was watching him.
Evan adopted Smith’s pose, waiting for the boy to speak. He wanted to ring the kid’s neck…then slap him on the back and congratulate him for a prank well done. Hey, Evan might be annoyed, but he had a sense of humor. ABBA had been bad enough, but the new moniker was inspired…as long as someone else became the butt of the joke. Evan actually couldn’t wait to try it on his fellow employees.
“I, uh, I’m sorry.” Daniel let out in a rush, “About before. I can fix your phone if you want.”
Evan just watched him.
The kid fidgeted. “It was just a prank, okay? And you started it.”
“How did I start it?”
“You were eye-fucking my sister.”
“You mean your mother?”
“Don’t be a dick. You know what I mean.”
Evan blinked. “First of all, nice mouth. Second, I was more interested in your sister wielding a knife and getting my phone back than anything else.” A total
lie, but he couldn’t admit he found her attractive after the kid had caught him checking her out. “Besides, someone told me she was crazy.”
“I was protecting her from a perv.”
Evan sighed. “Is this an apology you worked on, or are you winging it?”
Daniel flushed. “I’m sorry I screwed with your phone. So are you into my sister or not?”
“Sorry, kid. I have too much on my plate to be dating.” Like a mother who needed help to doctors’ appointments and pharmacies when she wasn’t making out with some stranger in public. “Even someone as amazing as your sister surely is.”
Daniel seemed to relax. “Oh. Okay then. Give me your phone, and I’ll put it back the way it was.”
Evan knew he’d be a fool to trust the boy again, but what worse thing could the kid do? Besides, he wanted it fixed before he had to check in with his old job at Peterman & Campbell Accounting for some consulting work they wanted done. While Evan did have a nice ass, he didn’t think it professional to announce it to his old firm or his remaining clients.
He handed over his phone and watched Daniel. “So do you screw with all your sister’s guys the way you messed with me? And before you get started, I don’t mean anything by ‘guy’ in my case. I was just there to do a job, and I did it.”
So remember that the next time you fantasize about kissing her, he ordered himself. Don’t be a leering hypocrite.
“Maybe I do. But they aren’t her guys, just wannabes.” A pause. “Kenzie, guys? Right.” The boy’s lips thinned, and he handed back the phone. Then he hit a button and showed Evan his proper screen name and played back his normal ringtone.
“Where the hell did you get ABBA, anyway? Isn’t that before your time?”
“Kenzie, Rachel, and Lila have odd tastes in music.” Daniel looked around. “So you’re a mover? Like, you do this for a living?”
“Yeah. It’s not bad. Hard work, but it’s brainless.” Evan realized how that sounded. “I mean, I use my brain of course. But it’s less mentally taxing than accounting.”
Daniel frowned. “You’re an accountant?”
Evan’s growing headache killed his desire to prolong the conversation. “It’s late, and I’m getting ready to call it a day. Is there something else you needed?”
“Ah, no.” The boy looked disappointed.
Great. Now Evan felt like an ogre. “Do you have a ride home?”
“I took the bus.”
“Come on. I’ll drive you.”
“Nah. I’m good.”
“Jesus, kid. I’m not going to jump your sister. I’m just going to give you a ride home then leave and never come back.”
Daniel narrowed his eyes. “You swear?”
Evan blew out a breath. “Does crazy run in the family?”
At that, Daniel grinned. “Had you going though, didn’t I?”
Evan smiled back. “Yeah, you little punk. You did.”
“Kenzie calls me that sometimes. A little punk.”
“Well, it’s better than a little shit. That didn’t sound so nice the first time I thought about you that way.”
“Daniel! You’d better be here, you little punk.”
Daniel’s laugh turned into a groan at the sound of his sister’s voice. “See?” He covered his eyes with his hand. “She found me.”
Kenzie Sykes stormed into the bay, looking as fine as she had two days ago. Sadly, Evan had committed her features to memory, and he hadn’t been wrong. For a woman with brown hair and brown eyes, average in height and build, she should have been, well, average.
Yet she fascinated him. Even her voice, husky, sensual… Hell. Not interested, he kept reminding himself.
She spotted him and stopped in her tracks.
Daniel stared from Kenzie to Evan and frowned. “How did you find me?”
“The finder app. I snuck it onto that phone I told you not to take out of the house. You know, the one you’re not supposed to be using?”
He blushed. “I was hanging with a friend. I took it for emergency only. Didn’t even use it.”
“Uh-huh.” She held out her hand and waited for him to give it back. Then she turned to Evan, stared, and said nothing.
He stared back, waiting.
“What the hell is this?” Smith boomed and took in the scene. He gave the woman what passed for a smile on his grim face. “Well, hi there.”
“H-hello.” She cleared her throat and focused on Evan once more. “Evan? That’s your name, right?”
Evan nodded.
“I just wanted to apologize for that scene the other day. My brother can be a little much sometimes.” She smacked Daniel in the back of the head.
“Ow.”
“Apologize,” she ordered between gritted teeth.
“I did already—ow,” he said again when she smacked him once more. “Okay, okay. Sorry, Evan. My bad.”
“No problem.” He bit back a grin, having himself been smacked in the back of the head once or twice by his mom. “So is Rachel all moved out, then?”
Kenzie nodded. “Yeah. It’s weird. She’s lived next to us for the past seven years. We miss her.”
He felt an irresistible pull to comfort her. A woman he didn’t know, whose brother had actively asked him to stay away from. “Oh, well, that happens.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, nervous and not sure what else to say. A first for him.
“So…yeah.” Kenzie shuffled her feet. “I guess we should get going. I just wanted to… Can I buy you coffee or something? To apologize, I mean?”
As soon as she said it, her cheeks blazed with color.
Her brother stared at her, looking horrified.
“Forget him. You can buy me a beer,” Smith offered with a laugh.
Evan ignored him. “No apologies needed. Don’t worry about Daniel. Younger brothers are like that.” He glanced at Smith, the epitome of all younger brothers. “Or so I’ve heard.”
Smith shot him a wary glance.
Kenzie tugged on her brother’s arm. “Well then. We’ll be on our way. I wish he hadn’t bothered you before. But he’s very sorry.”
“I’m right here, Kenzie.” Daniel tried to tug his arm free.
She wouldn’t let him.
Evan didn’t want her to go, but he had no reason to keep her near. Well, not that didn’t sound strange. No, stay. Let me stare into your beautiful eyes for the rest of my life. Yeah, because that’s not creepy at all.
Hell, where were these thoughts coming from? He hadn’t wanted to do anything more with a woman than take in a movie or enjoy dinner for months. In a dry slump, as Reid had called it. But Evan didn’t want superficial dating and meaningless sex. Then again, had he ever?
Rita’s image sat hazy in his mind’s eye, her loss growing more distant with each passing day. Guilt rode him for not remembering the way he used to, but he pushed it aside. Rita would want him to be happy. Maybe he should try again, start fresh with a woman looking for a meaningful relationship. Not Sheila though. Maybe…Kenzie.
But she was halfway to her car, Daniel in tow.
Evan had missed his opportunity. “Not meant to be.”
“You know what else isn’t meant to be? You and me as partners,” Smith said, his hands tucked into his pockets.
“You got that right,” Evan agreed, out of sorts. Tired of dealing with Smith’s attitude, he let go of the filters normally guarding his mouth. “You’re a huge pain to work with. I’m stuck with you because no one else wants to work with you.”
“Bull.” Was that a flash of hurt in Smith’s green eyes? “Jordan likes me. Hector’s okay.”
“Jordan is tired of your negative attitude. And so is Saint Hector.” Hector tolerated everyone and had a smile that warmed the frostiest of attitudes. And lately even he’d wanted a pass when it came to partnering with Smit
h. “You don’t like it here? Quit. But stop complaining all the time.” Then feeling bad for kicking at Smith, even if the truth did hurt, he added, “You work hard. You do the job. You’re a Marine. That alone makes you better than most everyone I know. Now act like it.”
Always the pacifier, that was Evan. He sighed, even as he accepted that about himself. But being a nice guy only went so far. He turned and left before he said something he’d regret.
Like asking Smith to join him for a beer after work.
* * *
Kenzie couldn’t believe she’d asked Evan on a date. For coffee, but still. And in front of everyone! The invitation had slipped out. Lost in that sexy face and body, she’d been unable to look away. Or to think.
God. I really need to get busier at work. Or get laid. No, work harder. It’s easier in the long run and much more profitable.
Daniel remained strangely silent for most of the ride home. “So you like this guy.”
“What?” She swallowed. “I do not. I feel bad for the way we treated him. Frankly, I don’t know him well enough to like or not like him.”
“But you’d like to get to know him better. You asked him to coffee, Kenzie.”
“So what?”
“So you never ask guys to coffee. Not since Bryce.”
The name still had the power to hurt. “Bryce is gone.” She pretended to be more carefree than she felt. “It wasn’t meant to be and wouldn’t have worked anyway.”
“Because of me.”
“Because he and I wanted different things from life,” she corrected. “With or without you, Daniel, I don’t want to travel the world by backpack, train, or horseback. That’s something you do when you’re in college, not as a grown adult. At least, not for me.”
“So if you found out he was engaged, it wouldn’t matter?”
She felt sick and tightened her hands on the wheel. “Bryce is engaged?”
“No, but the fact you look like you want to cry isn’t good. He’s a loser who dumped us. Who needs him?”
Everything her brother said was true, mostly. But Bryce had never been a loser. He’d been a kind man, one she’d loved with her whole heart. He’d done his best, but he’d never signed on to help raise a teenager not his own. Life with Kenzie would never be just the two of them, not when she was all Daniel had left in the world. She’d explained that up front, and Bryce had tried. But the reality of her life hadn’t worked for him.