Zack looked at Chelsea, who nodded. “Chelsea thinks we can try to convince the dweeb that you’re the main man in Aunt Teresa’s life. That ought to intimidate him enough to hit the road for good. I saw him trying to kiss her earlier, but she wasn’t having it.”
“Kiss her? What the hell? Oh—sorry,” Shane said chagrined, his face flushing as Sara squealed.
“Shaney—you said a bad word,” she accused, smiling at a guilty faced Shane.
“Yes I did. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” Shane declared, not really minding the way Zack and Chelsea laughed at his blunder. On the other hand, he was not crazy about Sara’s nickname for him.
“Now you have to stand in the corner until you are very, very sorry,” Sara informed him.
“You’re right. I need a time out to think about things. Can I do it after we chase the dweeb away?” Shane asked in a whisper, making his voice rough and pleading to Sara, who giggled.
“Okay,” she whispered back.
“So what’s the plan?” Zack asked, laughing at Shane’s shock. “Well, you’re the hero. We’re just the sidekicks.”
Shane looked at his snarky grin and narrowed his eyes.
“Take your sister,” Shane ordered, passing Sara to Zack.
He took out his phone and his wallet. He dialed a number and handed Chelsea two twenty dollar bills.
“We’re going to pretend we do this all the time and that I’ve been dating your aunt for a while. What do you guys like on your pizza?” Shane asked.
Zack and Chelsea high fived. “Pizza!”
“You’re not snowballing me with the dweeb story just for pizza, are you?” Shane asked, the thought he was being deceived by two teenagers just occurring to him. He thought of all the tricks he and Michael had played on their parents.
“Dude—have some faith,” Zack said. “Pizza is just a perk. We wouldn’t be teenagers if we didn’t celebrate pizza.”
Shane laughed. He couldn’t help it. He really liked Zack Lansing. He was a great kid.
“Okay. So is one of you going to fill in your brother on the plan?” Shane asked.
“No need,” Zack said confidently. “Brian never comes out of his room unless it’s to eat. He’ll go along with anything for pizza. I know my bro.”
“So what’s going to happen if your Aunt Teresa doesn’t go along?” Shane asked, speaking his greatest fear aloud. “I came here to talk her into dating me, not run some other guy off. She could kick me out as well as him.”
“What are you worried about? The Winged Protector isn’t afraid of anything,” Zack taunted, making Sara giggle again at his tone. “Is Shane Larson afraid?”
“Yeah—are you afraid?” Chelsea chimed in, shushing when Shane’s irritated gaze fell on her.
“No—I am not afraid. For future reference though, do not get used to talking me into things,” Shane told them firmly, their quiet snickers telling him he had wasted his breath. His respect for his father tripled with their laughter.
“Now pass Sara back to me,” Shane said, taking Sara and settling her on his hip. “Girl, you are heavy. You really do need to walk.”
“Can I hold your hand if I walk?” Sara asked.
Shane nodded. “Sure.”
“Can I wear my dancing shoes?” Sara asked.
Shane looked to Chelsea, who nodded.
“Yes,” Shane said firmly. “You may wear your dancing shoes.”
“Then I will walk and be a princess for you,” Sara said.
“Well, let’s hold off on that until we all get inside,” Shane said, motioning for Chelsea to open the door.
Chapter 4
“Brent, I haven’t changed my mind about the children,” Reesa said, sipping her ice water as she studied the man she had not too long ago planned to marry.
Brentwood Addison was thirty-five, successful, and a partner in the investment company where she used to work as an accountant. He was also handsome, very good in bed, and yet not even interesting to her anymore. Evidently, a year of living with Brent had gone right out of her memory the minute she’d let a tattooed Viking throwback with a mesmerizing voice put his hands on her.
“I want you back,” Brent told her sincerely, reaching out for her hand, surprised when Reesa pulled hers away and eluded his grasp.
“I heard you were dating other women, so I figured we were done. As far I’m concerned, there is no going back,” Reesa said firmly, taking another sip of her water.
Saying it out loud didn’t sting at all even though she’d cried in the shower for a couple of months when Brent hadn’t even tried to make things up with her after she’d moved out. Those first couple months with the kids had been sad, lonely, and hard to deal with on her own. Now she would do whatever it took to keep what was left of her family together.
Truth was sex with Brent had lost its appeal the moment Shane Larson had carried her into his house. Just sitting in Shane’s lap and laughing had changed her requirements for intimacy. Even if Shane hadn’t come looking for her, she would always want the kind of connection that she had found with him that night.
She studied Brent now, still slightly amazed that not even a flicker of interest remained. What that said about her, she wasn’t sure, but there was no denying Shane Larson had raised the bar for all future bedmates.
And to think she’d once thought Brent was the best. Wow—it’s really amazing how a couple of weeks can change your life. Her thoughts went to Shane Larson demanding to know where she liked to be kissed and then doing it precisely—very, very precisely—proficiently even.
“Reesa? Are you hearing me at all?” Brent asked, irritated that Reesa kept drifting off from their discussion.
Sure, Brent thought, he had dated and slept with other women after Reesa had moved out, but no other woman had ever come close to the kind of focused attention she had given him. When he hadn’t gotten over her in six months, Brent had decided to have her in his life whatever it took. He just had to figure out a way around the obstacles between them—obstacles otherwise known as her dead sister’s four children.
There had to be some way to get Reesa to compromise. They all didn’t have to live with them. Brent was willing to pay for boarding school for the strange child that locked himself in his room, if that’s what it took. What better help could Reesa want?
Brent couldn’t see how she could refuse him. He could give her back the life she’d had if she’d just work with him. He only regretted that it had taken six months for him to realize that she was worth whatever money it took to buy her freedom.
“I’m sorry, Brent. It’s been a long day and now I need to get dinner. You’re welcome to stay and eat with us if you like,” Reesa said politely. “But it’s only fair to tell you that I can’t date you again. I’m interested in someone else.”
Which was a true statement, Reesa thought. Shane might be more trouble than Brent, but at least he hadn’t run away at the sight of her with four kids. That made him ten times more interesting. She was just trying to run him away for his own good.
The irony of wanting to chase away the handsome, settled business man, and letting the semi-employed college student into her life instead made her smile at her odd luck, but it didn’t make her wish less true. When Reesa came out of her thoughts of Shane this time, Brent was glaring and she sighed.
“Interested in someone else? Come on, Reesa, you haven’t even been dating,” Brent said pointedly, looking at her skeptically. “You don’t have to lie about it. I can see how busy you are.”
Reesa stood and narrowed her gaze, glaring at Brent in return. “Have I ever lied to you or said something I didn’t mean?”
“No—no you haven’t. Sorry I implied it,” Brent said hastily, remembering the temper Reesa possessed and rarely unleashed. “But you’re not really dating are you?”
For one blinding moment, Reesa wished more than anything that she could have told him yes. “No, I guess technically I’m not dating. That doesn’t mean
I’m not interested in someone,” she said tightly, sounding more defensive than she liked.
Brent sighed and had the grace to be ashamed for a moment, not that he believed for an instant that there was any other man in Teresa Callahan’s life. A man couldn’t wedge himself into the crowd inside this house, much less gain enough of Reesa’s attention to get her into bed.
There was a sudden commotion from the living room. Reesa sighed as she heard the kids slam the front door. They just never thought to close it softly.
“Hi, honey. I’m home,” Shane sang out loudly, walking into the kitchen with as much bravado as he could, carrying a giggling Sara. He immediately lowered her to the floor. “Walk now, princess. Go put on your dancing shoes.”
“Yes, Shaney,” Sara said, scurrying out of the kitchen and down the hall.
Pretending to ignore the man sitting at the table, Shane walked to Reesa and bent to brush a quick kiss over her lips still parted in shock at the sight of him. Unfortunately, he was too nervous to even enjoy getting to kiss her again after dreaming about it for two weeks.
“I ordered pizza. Zack and Chelsea are on the lookout for the delivery man,” Shane said as casually as he could.
Then he turned just as casually and pretended to be surprised at the man sitting at the table. The man was Michael’s height, dressed in clothes that definitely fit the car in the driveway, and reeked of successful male. Shane hated that someone so picture perfect was the last guy, but he suddenly understood why Reesa had passed up Mr. Preppie that night in the bar.
Lucky break for me, Shane decided, not feeling as bad about his T-shirt and faded jeans as maybe he should have. Apparently, she had gotten tired of the dweeb before he met her. The thought made him smile at the man who was history.
“Hello,” Shane said. “Sorry. I didn’t see you sitting there.”
Not looking to see if Reesa was furious with him or not, Shane walked to the table, slid into a chair next to the man, and held out his hand. “I’m Shane Larson—and you are?”
“Brentwood Addison—Teresa’s fiancée,” Brent said firmly, shaking Shane’s hand as he wondered why Reesa would let a man who looked like him hang around impressionable kids. He was unshaven, needed a haircut, and his clothes had definitely seen better days. Was that an eyebrow piercing? Shit—the guy was a hoodlum. What was Reesa thinking?
“Fiancée? Reesa, I thought you said you two broke up?” Shane asked sincerely, swinging a questioning gaze to Reesa, hoping she answered right. Otherwise, Shane might have to reconsider taking lethal action and declaring death to the dweeb.
“Brent and I broke things off months ago—many months ago,” Reesa said firmly, narrowing her eyes at both men, but she saw Shane get the message she was sending.
But what is Shane up to, and why were the kids acting like they know him?
“Hey, Shane—how much are we supposed to tip the pizza guy?” Zack asked, coming into the kitchen and looking at Shane while avoiding his Aunt’s piercing gaze drilling a hole through his skull.
“Five will do it,” Shane told Zack, sensing Reesa’s urge to ask what the hell was going on. “Tell Chelsea I want my change this time.”
Zack grinned at Shane’s over-acting and joined in to show his support. “I’ll tell her—don’t know if it will do any good.”
Shane watched Zack disappear and fought the urge to sigh at a ruse that could fall apart any second.
“What’s going on, Shane?” Reesa asked, gathering her wits and aiming a laser sharp green-eyed gaze in his direction.
Shane shrugged, hoping Addison didn’t see him swallowing hard. “I got conned into buying pizza. You didn’t start cooking already, did you? Geez—I’m sorry, Reesa. I should have called to ask on my way over. I wasn’t thinking clearly when I talked to Zack and Chelsea.” There—that was mostly truth.
“How long have you and Teresa been dating?” Brent demanded, looking at Shane and wondering what was going on.
There was no way Reesa was dating a kid with tattoos and piercings. Only Larson’s height and body build saved him from looking like one of Zack’s friends.
“Two weeks—well, if you want to call what we’re doing dating. I don’t know what to call it yet,” Reesa said, surprising both men and herself.
At the disbelief in Brent’s gaze, Reesa made a decision to side with the kids, even if that decision did indirectly align her with Shane as well. Shane she could handle. She knew he was far more intelligent and reasonable than he looked.
“I keep telling Shane that I really don’t have time for dating. He just keeps showing up at my door anyway. The kids seem to like him. I’m still trying to make up my mind,” Reesa said truthfully, moving from the middle of the kitchen floor to lean against a cabinet. She suddenly needed the support to hold her up.
“You want me to get rid of him for you?” Brent said, eyeing the scruffy giant with dislike.
Reesa snorted, fighting back a laugh.
Shane heard her snort and grinned. It would take three of Brentwood on a good day to extricate him from Reesa Callahan’s kitchen if he didn’t want to leave.
“Reesa knows all she has to do is tell me to go and really mean it,” Shane said easily. “I’m not as scary as I look.”
Reesa rolled her eyes at Shane’s statement just as Sara bounced back into the room in her princess get-up and her pink ballet slippers.
Shane rose from his seat and bowed low to Sara, who giggled again.
“Princess Sara,” he said, his deep baritone ringing out in the kitchen. “I see you found your dancing shoes. I am glad for Her Majesty.”
“Yes—I did find my dancing shoes,” Sara declared, matching her tone to Shane’s and making her voice as deep as possible.
Reesa snickered at the faux haughty exchange, and then gave in and laughed. “Would the princess like popcorn with her pizza this evening?”
“Yes, please,” Sara said graciously, walking by Brent and stopping. “You may go home now. Shaney is here. He will take care of us.”
Shane bit the edge of his lip to keep from laughing. He glanced at Reesa, who was standing hands-on-hip looking at Sara in obvious shock, but she said nothing in rebuke of the little blonde vixen.
God, when he got his hands on Reesa Callahan again, he was not letting go this time, Shane decided. He wanted that irritation aimed at him just so he would have a chance to soothe it. He wanted to kiss her until she laughed, which instinct told him she would. He wanted to know how deep she’d had to dig inside herself for what it took to hang tough with the kids.
He wanted to know all of her.
Brent looked at Shane, who eased back down into his chair after Sara left. “Two weeks, huh? You’re awfully comfortable around here for a man who’s only known Reesa for two weeks.”
A tall boy Shane had never seen before came into the kitchen. He was not as tall as Zack, but was as tall as Chelsea. “Hey—are we really having pizza tonight?”
“Yes,” Reesa said, putting an arm around his waist and hugging.
Shane watched the boy he guessed was the missing “Brian” freeze then relax in Reesa’s arms.
“Hey, Brian. How’s it going?” Shane asked, hoping the kid wouldn’t blow it for him.
Brian could see the man’s nervousness even through the confidence he exuded. Fortunately for Shane Larson, Brian was as anti-dweeb as the rest of his siblings. His aunt’s old boyfriend deserved cement shoes for trying to split them up, not to mention wanting to ship him off to boarding school. Thankfully, Aunt Teresa had chosen them over the man. Which was a good thing, because from what he’d read, killing a man could be really messy. He looked at Shane, studying his size. Larson looked capable of doing it.
“Was pizza your idea?” Brian asked, checking out Shane’s scraggy appearance as he waited politely for a reply.
“Yes, but I’m in trouble over it. I forgot to tell your aunt I was bringing dinner,” Shane said, relieved when the kid offered a grin.
“You�
�ll hear about that later,” Brian said in warning.
“Nah,” Shane denied, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. “I got ways to get around the ladies. Want me to share my secrets with you sometime?”
Brian laughed at the brag he hadn’t seen coming.
This time Shane noticed it was Reesa who froze as she stared at Brian’s grin. But it was the expression on Reesa’s face that had Shane thinking it best that Brian not catch her.
“Do me a favor, Brian. Go make sure your sister doesn’t keep my change,” Shane ordered. “Zack didn’t give me much confidence in being able to enforce it.”
“Do I look like your MADLAM?” Brian asked.
“I don’t know. Do you? What’s a MADLAM?” Shane asked seriously, fascinated and forgetting that his role in the household was just a ruse.
“Muscle And Down Low Activity Man,” Brian said, deadpan. “You know—hired muscle, dude.”
“Well—dude—do I look like I need more muscle? That thinking is seriously messed up for someone your age,” Shane said, narrowing his eyes.
“I get that a lot,” Brian answered. “I’ll talk to Chelsea, but I’m keeping a percent of the take.”
“My change is history, isn’t it?” Shane asked sarcastically.
“Pretty much,” Brian stated, leaving the room.
“You got him to laugh,” Reesa whispered, turning a teary gaze on Shane.
Shane rose from his chair and went to Reesa. Brentwood Addison be damned. Whatever the story about the kids’ parents, there was no doubt that Reesa genuinely loved and cared for them.
Shane held her face in his hands, smiling at her teary eyes.
“Sorry—it’s just that he really laughed. Wow, Brian hasn’t laughed in a long time,” Reesa said quietly, her voice almost a whisper.
“I’m getting a doctorate from Johns Hopkins in Psychology that my parents mostly paid for. Please don’t tell them I was using it to encourage your nephew’s illusion of being a hit man,” Shane said, brushing tears away with his thumbs, as she laughed over his plea.
Captured In Ink (Art of Love Series) Page 4