It’s the way he liked it, he assured himself, as he quietly checked on the twins, then moved through the darkened house like a caged tiger looking for the easiest escape. He found it as he walked through the kitchen, opening the back door and stepping into the smartphone-size backyard.
He pulled in a deep breath of the cool night air and held it inside, hoping that it might swamp the fires still raging within. Naturally, it didn’t, and he was left to burn as he took a seat on the steps and stared up at the sky.
Colt was still trying to come to grips with what had just happened. Being with Penny had rocked him right down to his bones. He was used to desire. Used to slaking that desire with whatever woman was handy. What he wasn’t used to was what happened to him with Penny.
Over the last couple of years, he’d convinced himself that the memories he carried of his week with Penny were exaggerated. That no one could be that amazing. That the...connection he felt with her didn’t really exist. Well, those lies had just been smashed.
His heart felt like a jackhammer in his chest and his mind was filled with a jumble of thoughts he couldn’t sort through.
Sex with Penny was staggering. No other way to put it or think of it.
Stars spilled across the blackness and a quarter moon looked like a child’s teeter-totter. Child. The twins’ features swam into his mind and he felt himself tighten up. Thoughts of sex dissolved as he considered the reason he was here. Those two kids deserved better than this cramped, too-short-for-real-people house. They were Kings. He could admire Penny for all she’d accomplished on her own, but now that he was in the picture, things were going to change.
He was putting his own life and business on hold to be here for Penny and the twins, but that couldn’t last. He had places he had to be—Mount Etna, to be specific.
That thought quickly spiraled into another and from there, his brain raced with ideas. A slow smile spread across his face as he considered one notion in particular. Hell, he could go to Etna this week. And Penny and the kids could go to Sicily with him. The twins could see some of the world—never too young to experience different things. Then Penny could take photos of his BASE jumps to be used in advertising and that would help her business.
Smiling to himself, he nodded thoughtfully as the plan came together.
* * *
“You must be out of your mind entirely.” Penny stared at him the next morning, astonished at what he’d just said.
Colt spooned more yogurt into two waiting mouths and flicked her a glance. “Not at all. This is perfect. I get my work done, you get some advertising for your business and the kids get to fly on a private jet. A win all the way around.”
Shaking her head, Penny grabbed her cup of coffee and took a long drink, hoping that caffeine would give her the strength to deal with Colt. She’d awakened that morning alone in her bed, and though she was disappointed, she hadn’t been surprised. Colt wasn’t the snuggling kind of man and she knew it. And still there was a flicker of pain when she was forced to acknowledge that he was keeping a distance between them—even after what they’d shared.
But this was nuts.
“You can’t really expect us to go to Sicily with you.”
“Why not?” He shrugged, wiped Riley’s mouth with a paper towel, then shoveled more yogurt into her. “We’ll give it another week. You should be good to go by then.”
Was it really so easy for him? Just make a decision and go? She had responsibilities. The twins to think of. A business to build. A house to take care of. Which she told him.
“The house will be fine. The twins will be with us,” he looked at her again. “As for your business, it’s at a standstill and you know it. I looked into your files this morning while you were sleeping. You’re barely covering expenses.”
Outrage and embarrassment tangled inside her, convulsing into tight knots that felt like balls of ice in the pit of her stomach. Not only had he delved into her bank account and her bills, he’d snooped through her business. He’d riffled through her records and all he’d seen was the bottom line. He hadn’t noticed the hard work, the hopes, the dreams.
“I can’t believe you did that,” she murmured, then laughed shortly at her own naïveté. Of course he’d intruded. Of course he’d stuck his nose into her business. Look what he’d done to her life!
The night before, she’d allowed herself to forget just how wide a gulf separated them. She’d indulged her senses and put her logical self on the back burner. But now Sensible Penny was back in charge.
Keeping her voice light so the twins wouldn’t pick up on any tension, she focused a laser glare on Colt. “My business isn’t any of yours.”
“Wrong,” he said easily. Then before she could argue, he continued. “I’m not looking for a battle here, Penny. I’m just saying, your business could use a good boost—and taking pictures for King’s Extreme Adventures would give you that.”
She slumped back in her kitchen chair. Sunlight fell through the windows and lay across the table and the old oak flooring. “Yes, because nothing says ‘I’ll take great pictures of your toddler’ like doing a photo spread of an insane man jumping off a volcano.”
A wry grin touched his mouth briefly and she felt the punch of it to her middle. But she wouldn’t be seduced again.
“Colt, I didn’t ask for your help and I don’t need it.”
“That’s a matter of opinion.”
“But mine is the only one I’m concerned with.”
He sprinkled a few Cheerios onto the twins’ tray tables and finally turned to meet her gaze squarely. “I’m offering you a job. It pays well. And,” he added with a slow smile, “there are other benefits.”
That swirl of something hot and wicked punched her low again and even melted a couple of the ice knots. But enough of them remained to keep her on course.
“We are not taking the babies on an excursion to a volcano. And no,” she added, “I don’t want to take pictures of you risking your safety, much less have my children witness that. Do you want them scarred for life?”
He snorted. “I don’t remember you being so squeamish. When we met you were into sports photography. You wanted to travel the world, capturing danger and excitement with your camera.” Shaking his head, he looked at her quizzically. “Now you’re happy to take pictures of suburbia? What happened to all of the big dreams?”
“I became a mom,” she said, trying to make him understand, though she doubted he ever would. “Plans change. Dreams change.”
Her words were soft but powerful, and he acknowledged that with a brief nod for her. Then Colt looked at the twins and she watched his features soften and his eyes warm. She knew that his children had reached him in a way she’d never been able to. But she also knew that this time in her cottage was a blip on his radar screen. It didn’t matter how much he cared for the twins.
Colton King, as he’d told her himself, was not the staying kind.
* * *
Friday morning, Rafe King from King Construction was at Penny’s house bright and early. Colt was glad for the distraction. Since his brilliant plan had been shot down the day before by Penny, the two of them had been staying out of each other’s way. Which wasn’t easy in a house no bigger than a good-sized garden shed.
Carrying two cups of coffee with him, Colt strode out of the house and met his cousin as he climbed down from his truck.
“Coffee.” Rafe grinned as he reached for it. “You always were my favorite cousin.”
“And your wife’s my favorite cousin-in-law.” Colt looked past Rafe into the cab of the truck. “Did Katie take pity on me and send cookies?”
Rafe’s wife, widely known as “Katie King the Cookie Queen,” ran her own business out of her home while taking care of their daughter, Becca, and their newborn son, Braden. She also baked cookies for th
e legions of King cousins who adored her.
“Nice to see you, too,” Rafe said wryly. After taking a sip of coffee, he reached into the truck and came back out with a white bakery box stamped “Cookie Queen.”
Colt made a grab for it but Rafe whipped it out of reach. “Not for you,” he said, and seemed to enjoy the moment. “Katie sent these to Penny. Along with her commiseration on being involved with a King.”
Scowling, Colt pointed out, “Doesn’t say much for you, does it?”
“Nah,” Rafe said with a grin and a shrug. “She likes me.”
“Great.” His gaze locked on the pastry box. “What kind?”
“White chocolate macadamia.”
“That’s just mean,” Colt said.
“My wife’s good.”
“That she is.” Colt looked at Rafe and thought about it. Not that long ago, Rafe had been as determinedly single as Colt was and yet now he was happily married to a great woman and had two kids. He thought about taking a step back just in case commitment was contagious. On the other hand, he was already hip-deep in familyland, wasn’t he?
“How’s Katie and the new baby?”
Rafe’s grin got wider. “Amazing. He’s gorgeous and Katie’s...even better than amazing. We’re gonna have a big party for the christening. You and Con’ll be there, right?”
“Absolutely.” Colt had been to more christenings in the last few years than he had in all the years before. But every King birth was celebrated. Every new member to the family had to be welcomed with a barbecue and lots of food and laughs.
Which reminded him, he should talk to Penny about introducing the twins to the rest of the Kings. Not that they could have a King-size party at the cottage. They’d never be able to shoehorn everyone in. But they could hold it at his place. God knew there was plenty of room.
Funny, he’d never realized before that the house he bought three years ago was really meant for a big family. He’d thought at the time that it was a good investment. It still was, of course, but now he had to wonder how Penny and the twins would like it there. It would be better for them, he thought. More room. Big yard. Close to the beach.
He gave his head a hard shake. Seriously, he was beginning to worry about himself.
Rafe asked suddenly, “So, how’s your new baby? Wait a minute. Babies.”
“Not exactly new,” Colt said. “They’re eight months old.”
“Right.” Rafe leaned against the truck. “Con told me. That couldn’t have been easy.”
“No, it wasn’t.” And it wasn’t getting any easier, either.
He was feeling nothing but conflicted about this whole situation. He wanted those kids happy and safe. But to keep them that way, he knew that he couldn’t stick around. He couldn’t be here, let them learn to count on him only to risk letting them down when they most needed him. The thought of not being there to hear their first words or to watch them learning to walk tore at him. The thought of never seeing Penny again hit him much harder than he wanted to admit.
But there was no place for him here in this tiny house with a family. Because to stay would mean that they would come to depend on him. And he would, eventually, let them down. Hell, that’s the one thing he could agree with Penny on. She was worried that he would disappoint his children—and so was he.
“How you doin’ with all of it?”
“I’m all right.” And not interested in talking about this. Even with a cousin. “Really appreciate you moving on the roof this fast.”
“Not a problem. Anything for a King.” Rafe shot a look at the roof on Penny’s cottage and frowned. “That roof’s in sad shape.”
Hell, most of the house was in sad shape. He knew Penny loved it, but he had to wonder if the real reason she was living there was because it didn’t cost her anything. The rooms were too small and the twins were going to outgrow it soon. There was no room for them to play and with only one bathroom, things were going to get ugly at some point.
And why was he suddenly thinking about things like that? When did he ever do future planning or worry about yard size or whether a roof was going to make it through another winter? What the hell was happening to him?
Scowling to himself, he muttered, “Check for termites too, will ya? I’ve got a feeling this place is a buffet lunch for the damn things.”
“Okay, I’ll get the ladder off the truck, do an inspection, then come find you.”
“Like I said, I appreciate this.” Colt took another sip of his coffee and tried to put aside the disturbing Suburban Dad thoughts.
Rafe grinned. “What’s family for?” He handed over the box of cookies. “Here. Take these in to Penny. I’ll see you both in a bit.”
“Okay. How soon can you get started on the work?”
“Typical King,” Rafe mused. “Why were we all born impatient?”
“Just lucky, I guess.” Colt shrugged.
Nodding, Rafe said, “Let me take a look and some measurements. Check for termite damage. Once we’ve got that I can lay out the plan for you. But I can have a crew here by Monday if that’s what you want.”
“The quicker the better.” He couldn’t leave until he knew that Penny and the kids were going to be safe and as comfortable in this tiny dollhouse as it was possible to be. And he knew that with Rafe and his brothers’ company on the job, the work would not only be done fast, but well.
With King Construction handling the work, he could assure Penny everything would be taken care of the right way. As for Rafe—he and his brothers ran such a successful construction and contracting business that they seldom had to go out on calls themselves. But the Kings were always there for family, so it didn’t surprise Colt at all that Rafe had shown up personally.
So, if the Kings were always there for family and he was planning on getting out of his kids’ lives as fast as possible, just what kind of King did that make him?
Eight
Of course there were termites.
And not just a few, either. No, this was a regular condo association of termites. They had community leaders, Miss California Termite pageants and apparently, never-ending appetites for the wood holding up her roof.
Penny sighed and grabbed Riley before the baby could crawl off the quilt spread on the lawn in the backyard. Reid was busily tearing apart one of his books, but Riley wasn’t as easily contained. Absently, Penny handed her daughter a busy box and then looked up at the men on her roof. Rafe was a sweetie and yes, it was...nice of Colt to arrange all of this.
But at the heart of everything, Penny just kept sinking deeper and deeper into the “I owe Colton King” hole. But the worst part was, she wasn’t even angry about owing him. She was just too relieved to have some of the bigger worries in her life smoothed over. So what did that make her? A hypocrite?
She accused Colt of using his money to make his own path easier. She was outraged when he interfered and paid off her credit cards just before dropping a fortune into her bank account. And she’d been furious about him arranging for a new roof. Or at least, that’s how she’d acted. But the truth was, she was grateful and she hated to admit that.
She was both relieved and resentful—not exactly rational. But then she’d never been completely rational when it came to Colton King. Besides, putting her own confusing feelings aside, she knew Colt well enough to know exactly why he was doing all of this. He was taking care of everything he thought needed doing so that he could disappear with a clear conscience.
Penny took a deep breath and tried to steady herself as a wave of disappointment and dread washed through her. Two nights ago, she and Colt had come together and the passion had been staggering. What was between them was so strong, so overpowering, that even remembering what they’d shared shook her right to the bone.
But neither of them had so much as talked abo
ut it. She could almost believe it hadn’t happened at all. Except for the fact that her body was in a constant state of low burn from a fire that had been reignited. Being with Colt again had not only reawakened her body, but her dreams. Nearly two years ago, when they’d first met, Penny had fallen in love so quickly, so completely, she had looked at their shared future and seen only the magic and the joy. Soon enough, reality had crashed down on her, leaving her brokenhearted and alone. It hadn’t been easy to recover, to move on. And now, she knew instinctively that this time, recovery was going to be so much harder.
She’d known, of course, that she still loved Colt. Love just wasn’t something that ended. At least, not for Penny. And being here with him, seeing him with the twins, had only etched him deeper into her heart than he had been before. Which was, she knew, a recipe for disaster.
She could already feel him pulling away from her. From the twins. It was as if the closer to being healed Penny became, the faster Colt was drawing back. She only wished it was that easy to turn down her feelings for him. The sad truth was, she still loved him. She’d never stopped loving him. But at least until this week, she’d taught herself to live without him in her life.
Now he was back and it was harder than ever to imagine going on without him. Her heart ached with the might-have-beens that rotated through her brain at all hours of the day and night. She looked at her babies and felt desolate that their father would be only a visitor in their lives. They would miss out on so much—and so would Colt. He didn’t even realize it, but in leaving, he was cheating himself. She knew he didn’t see it that way, though. There was something driving Colt. He was a warm, funny, intelligent man who was determined to live his life alone. Why? What was it in his past that kept him from seeing a chance at a future?
Reid turned his face up to hers at just that moment. A sweet smile curved his little mouth; his blue eyes were shining with love and trust and sheer joy. His soft black hair blew across his forehead and his chubby hands lifted his book to his mouth. Penny’s aching heart melted a little and she wished suddenly that Colt could see just what he was running from. That he would discover the truth in time. But she wasn’t holding her breath.
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