by Karen Rock
“No.” The screams of fallen video avatars resumed, and Niall strained to catch the last of Josh’s answer. “It’s not bleeding so much anymore.”
Niall’s stomach filled with acid and ice. “What’s bleeding?”
Kayleigh passed him on her way back with the girl. She gently steered the girl ahead, then stayed behind, her eyes wide. “Is Josh hurt?”
She raised her hand to knock, but Niall took hold of it, her delicate fingers soft against his palm. He let her go as fast as he stopped her, the feel of her lingering. “I think so. But it’s better if only one of us talks to him at a time. Do you trust me?”
She swallowed hard and ducked her head a little, causing her long hair to cascade off her shoulder. “I always have.” When her grave eyes met his, he couldn’t look away, his lungs trapping his breath. It touched him that, despite everything, she felt she could depend on him.
A sudden ache, a wish that she’d never find out about what’d happened when Chris died, seized him. But she deserved the truth. To know that he wasn’t a guy she should trust or admire. Once he finished the app, he’d give back his stake in the company and disappear from her life. It shouldn’t matter that she’d think the worst of him, yet somehow it did.
At last, with a final nod, she walked away, leaving the fresh, springtime scent of her lingering in the air. He turned back to the door.
“Josh. Open up. Now.”
“No.”
He eyed the thin wood and knocked again, hearing a faint echo when he pressed his ear to it. A hollow core. “Then stand back from the door.”
“What?” Surprise made Josh’s voice squeak.
“Get away from the door. Now.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He squared his shoulders and loosened his muscles, readying himself for one of the dumbest things he’d ever do. But he was out of options with an injured kid he couldn’t reach.
“It’s locked, but whatever.” Josh’s casual tone didn’t fool him. Hopefully, he was taking Niall seriously.
“You away from the door?” He shook the excess energy out of his arms as adrenaline rushed through him.
“This is stupid.” Josh’s voice sounded resigned and more distant, as though he had moved. “Yes. I’m not near the dumb door.”
“What are you going to do?” Kayleigh’s concerned voice reached him from the kitchen, but he barely heard her. His focused mind sank to a still, quiet place he’d found during his years of martial arts training.
He eyed the door, and his muscles calculated the force needed to kick it open. With a jab that was more instinct than thought, his right foot slammed into the space directly beneath the doorknob. The door crashed in and, too late, he realized that he’d balanced on his prosthetic leg, a poor prosthetic at that. His limbs felt loose, and his head spun. He staggered forward, off balance, but he managed to catch the edge of Josh’s bedpost and kept himself upright be sheer force of will. Biting pain flared from his knee up to his hip, but he didn’t cry out. In fact, the pain seemed to be coming from a long way off as he turned his attention to Josh.
Josh’s eyes looked larger than his face could hold. “Wow,” he whispered. “How did you do that?”
“Tae kwan do. What’s bleeding, Josh?”
The boy held up his grazed elbow. “Are you a black belt?”
Niall examined the superficial scrape and relief flooded him. For the first time in several minutes, he felt like he was able to take a full lungful of air. He steered Josh to the hallway, a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Yes. Let’s get this cleaned up.”
Josh’s words tumbled over each other as Niall led him to the bathroom. “Can you teach me how to do that? You were like a Power Ranger. Bet no one messes with you.”
“What’s going on?” Kayleigh hurried after them, and Niall wiped the dampness from his brow before turning.
Josh glanced from one adult to the other, excitement dancing in his eyes. “Mr. Walsh was showing me some tae kwan do.”
Her eyes narrowed as she turned back and studied the broken doorknob. “That’s an unconventional approach. Josh, are you hurt?”
He held up his arm. “I banged it when Sam fell, but I didn’t want to show Mom because she was already upset. Plus, it was my fault.” His voice lowered. “How’s Sam?”
Kayleigh held up her cell phone. “I just called, and they’re finishing up at the clinic. You mom said that he only has a slight concussion and should be fine by tomorrow. I’ll phone Grandma and let her know.”
Josh’s defensive posture left him, and he sagged against the wall. “I’m glad he’s okay.”
“I know, sweetie.” Kayleigh wrapped an arm around Josh and pulled the unresisting boy close.
“Is lunch ready yet?” one of the kids called.
“Almost!” Kayleigh yelled over her shoulder, then let go of Josh. She followed them to the bathroom doorway, watched as Niall helped Josh rinse his arm in the sink and mouthed, “Thank you.” This time there was no denying it. She looked impressed. And he couldn’t deny that it felt amazing to be the good guy, even if it was another lie.
“So will you teach me how to do that?” Josh asked once Kayleigh disappeared to call her concerned mother.
Niall thought about his former martial arts center. How would they react if he came back after all these years? He couldn’t stand their pity, and he was no longer the fighter he’d been. As for teaching Josh on his own—without a better prosthetic, he couldn’t show him much. But if he had a better one, one tailored for martial arts, a voice whispered, he could do it....
He held out a towel and shook his head. “Impossible.”
Josh’s stormy gaze was reflected in the mirror. “You said you could teach me some defense stuff.”
Niall held in a sigh. The kid was right. He had made that offer on the Fourth of July.
Then a thought occurred. One that could solve many of the Renshaw family’s problems, though it’d force him further into the outside world he avoided. Kayleigh had said he needed to be more open. While he wouldn’t do it for himself, he’d be there for Josh. “If you went to anger management, I’d consider it.”
Josh dried his arm and stood still as Niall applied antiseptic and a bandage, his hair hanging in his face and obscuring his expression.
“Okay,” he mumbled at last. When he lifted his gaze, Niall was shocked to see the shimmer of tears in the boy’s eyes. Protectiveness swept over him, a fierce need to care for this angry, lost, misunderstood boy. Anger management was a step in the right direction, and if tae kwan do would be the carrot that led Josh to attend therapy, then Niall had to offer it.
“That’s a smart decision.”
“If you teach me tae kwan do.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking hard. He could get that better prosthetic, if only to help this kid. Chris’s son. He’d take him to his old martial arts studio and work with him outside of class, too.
“I’ll sign you up for lessons, and we’ll practice on days you go to anger management if your mother approves. How’s that sound?”
Josh grinned and kicked his leg through the open bathroom doorway. “Will you teach me to do that move?”
Niall followed him outside and dropped a hand on his shoulder. “Yes. But I’ve got something else to teach you first.”
Josh’s face looked bright, happier than Niall had seen it yet. “What?”
“How to replace a lock and a few lightbulbs.”
“I’ll get Dad’s toolbox!” Josh scrambled farther down the hall, and Kayleigh reappeared with a platter of sandwiches.
“How’d it go?”
He grabbed a square off the pile, bologna never tasting better.
“I’d say he’s back on track.”
She let out a breath. “Good. Let’s hope it stays that way.”
She laid a hand on his wrist, her touch hitting the speed pedal on his pulse. “I couldn’t have done this without you, Niall. Thank you. For everything.”
He nodded, a heaviness settling in his chest as he watched her walk away to join the children. As long as Senator Gillibrand’s intervention didn’t come too soon, things could stay this way.
But if it did...the news would ruin everything he was trying to do for Kayleigh and Chris’s family. It would set off an explosion that would cause more casualties, he suspected, than the last.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
AT THE BASE of an arched, wooden footbridge, Kayleigh yanked Niall to a stop and pointed.
“Japanese water iris. They’re so beautiful.” She leaned over a slatted barrier and gazed at the purple blooms rimming a languid green pond. A summer breeze swayed the branches of Japanese maple trees and ruffled pink-blossomed bushes, the smell of apricots perfuming the air. Her eyes half closed against the afternoon sun reflecting off stone lanterns, and she sighed.
Only the pristine Adirondack Mountains and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden made her feel this peaceful. Nature swept away the stress, worry and doubts like a good spring cleaning. It was why she’d asked Niall to join her here for their weekly meeting. After rejections from each of their recent financial investment pitches, they needed to regroup. She did her best to ignore the part of her that simply wanted to walk outside with him on a beautiful day.
Niall rested his elbows beside her, the soft hairs of his arms tickling her skin. “Purple’s your favorite color.”
His breath whispered past her ear and made her shiver in awareness. “You remembered.”
Dark eyes slid sideways, a golden twinkle in their depths. “You used to wear it at camp every day.”
She shoved his shoulder, not budging him an inch. “Not true.”
He held up his long fingers and curled one with each word. “Purple shorts, purple tops, purple bathing suit, purple socks, purple headbands, purple backpack, purple-flowered flip-flops.” Her pulse raced at his teasing expression. He was so handsome when he let down his guard. “Am I missing anything?”
“It was a phase.” She followed his eyes to her purple tote bag and smiled. “Mostly. And you remember my flip-flops?”
He turned and stared directly into her eyes, his level gaze devastating. “I remember a lot about you, Kayleigh.”
“Oh.” Not her most articulate, but who could think when a gorgeous man focused all of his attention on you? It could go to a girl’s head—if she let it. And she wouldn’t. Niall was a friend and now business partner, she firmly reminded herself. Nothing more. Not ever. At what point, however, would her stubborn heart get the message? She hoped it’d be soon. The way he’d opened up at Beth’s house had disarmed her. More and more, she saw facets of him that matched the kind of man she wanted in her future. And being around Niall was making it harder each day to hide her growing feelings.
She tore her gaze away and studied a pagoda across the water, its scarlet reflection shimmering against the pond’s surface. “Did you know the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden was the first public Japanese garden ever created in America?”
Niall’s eyebrow quirked, the left side of his mouth lifting in a way that stole her breath as easily as their stunning surroundings.
“Landscape artist Takeo Shiota designed it, and it opened to the public in 1915.” His grin deepened at her scowl. “You’re dealing with Otter Creek Camp’s former Trivial Pursuit champion—”
Whatever she’d been about to say dissolved in her brain when he leaned farther against the railing, their hands touching. One more inch and she could slip her palm into his the way they had as kids, singing camp songs and holding hands by the bonfire. Yet that’d been harmless fun, and this felt much more dangerous.
“Look at that turtle,” she said to distract her treacherous thoughts. When she started to edge away, his arm slipped around her, trapping her in a cage she didn’t want to escape.
“There’s a couple more sunning on the rock island.”
She followed his pointing finger to a pile of pebbles curving out of the rippling water, forcing her mind to focus on the creatures rather than the exhilarating feel of him beside her, the clean, outdoorsy scent of him that reminded her of mountain summits and forest air.
“It’s a good day for sun.” She squinted up at the cloudless sky, grateful that the air felt light, an escape from the dense humidity that had gripped the city this week.
“Not a good day for a koi fish. Watch that crane.”
A tall, white-feathered bird suddenly dived into the water and came up with a squirming, bright orange fish. In two gulps, it vanished down the bird’s gullet.
“I think I know how that fish feels.” She sighed and turned her back to lean on the fence. An uncomfortable look crossed Niall’s face, and he snatched his arm from around her as if only now realizing where he’d placed it. “We’ve struck out with all three investors this week, and I need to put a deposit on...well...we need to get financial backing quick.”
Niall opened his mouth, looking as though he were about to say something, then clamped it shut and crossed his arms over his chest. His deep green T-shirt blended with his surroundings, bringing out the burnished strands in his dark hair.
“We have another potential investor meeting next week.” Niall’s confident tone sounded reassuring, only she felt a pulse of fear when she imagined what would happen after that. She was running through funds fast, and without a capital infusion, High Dive Enterprises might close before it ever started up.
Brett would be right about her being an ideas-only person, and she’d realize her worst fears—that she never should have stretched herself, left her comfort zone and taken a high dive. Worst of all, she’d have no excuse to see Niall again. Would he at least still want to be friends? Spend time together?
An iridescent green dragonfly buzzed in front of her, its translucent double wings beating the air in a soft whirring sound. She froze, mesmerized. It hovered before her, then darted to her shoulder, alighting there.
“I think it likes me,” she whispered, trying not to move as its tiny legs crawled along her bare shoulder.
“How could it resist?” Niall’s eyes dropped at her surprised glance.
“Can you take a picture?” She gestured to the small bag on the ground holding her iPhone, her pulse dancing in her veins at his unexpected compliment. “My mother is always looking for interesting portraits to paint.” In fact, her mother’s call this morning had included such a request.
Niall nodded, grabbed the sack and pulled out her device. The dragonfly crept closer to her neck, and she tried not to jitter at the feathery sensation in case she startled it away. As it was, her insides were a quivering mess given the intense way Niall studied her, moving to view her from different angles. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t taken pictures of her before, but somehow this felt different. Disorienting.
“Smile,” Niall ordered when he’d found a spot that suited him. He raised the phone to his eye.
“I’m going for a mystical look.” She schooled her features to look distant and faraway, tough to do when his scrutiny felt like a physical caress. But her mom liked painting fairies, and more than once she’d used Kayleigh as her subject.
After a few snaps, Niall raised his own phone. “Now smile for me.”
And unable to resist, her mouth lifted at the sparkle in his eyes, a giddy feeling swimming through her bloodstream. He wanted a picture of her. In the recent past, it had seemed as though he saw her as an intrusion, but she’d seen a subtle change this week since they’d visited Beth’s. He’d been less grim when attending the finance meetings, more willing to linger at coffee shops to analyze what had happened, and today he’d accepted her offer to visit the botanical gardens.
The dragonfly took flight from h
er neck, buzzed her nose and flew away, startling her from her thoughts.
“Would you two like a picture?” asked an elderly man wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a linen suit jacket despite the eighty-degree temperature. His craggy face was friendly, his deep-set eyes crinkling.
She glanced at Niall, who spread his hands and shrugged. Who could deny a sweet, elderly man? “Sure. That would be kind of you.”
“Do you want me to set it up?” Niall handed the man his phone instead of hers, she noticed. Interesting...although she would have preferred to have the picture. A keepsake of this time if they went their separate ways again. Over coffee, Niall had mentioned his plans to give back his shares. The thought had made her ache, as if she’d lost him already.
The old man’s skin folds stretched into a vibrant smile. “My grandkids got me one of these things. I’m okay.”
Niall handed him the phone and joined Kayleigh at the fence.
“Closer, you two,” the man directed.
Her skin felt as though it glowed wherever Niall’s shoulder touched hers.
The senior lowered the phone and frowned. “Put your arm around her, son. You two are in love.”
She glanced sharply at Niall and met his surprised look. They stared wonderingly at each other before the old man snapped his fingers. “Time’s wasting. And when you’re my age, that’s the most precious thing you’ve got.”
Niall’s arm wrapped around her with a solid warmth that made her heart flutter. His hand encircled her upper arm, drawing her close to his muscular side.
“Got it!” The stranger lowered the camera, his eyes shining. “That picture could be on the cover of one of those romance books my wife reads.” He handed over the phone when Niall let go of her. An empty sensation crawled along her side when he left, as though a piece of her had been torn away. “Nothing does a body more good than to see two youngsters in love.”
“We’re just business partners. Friends,” she blurted, needing it to be true, no matter what her heart whispered.