by Alison Paige
“Fine.” He stood, then jabbed a thumb toward Joe. “What about him? If I go, he goes.”
Joe dropped his hands to his hips and opened his mouth for a blunt retort. But Clayton beat him to it when he emerged from the hallway to the kitchen.
“Garity’s gotta grab a few things he forgot in his room. Like his shirt and shoes. They’ll both be down later, buddy. Happy birthday, Kate honey. I’ll take care of this.” Clayton winked at her and steered Eddy by the shoulders toward the archway to the front foyer.
“Happy birthday, Kate,” Eddy said over his shoulder then glared at Joe. “Don’t understand why it’s okay for him to wander around the Thorndike house and not me.”
“She’s his girlfriend.”
“So?”
“Maybe we should have a talk about what girlfriend and boyfriend means at their age?” Clayton said before distance muffled the rest of the conversation.
Kate’s belly fluttered. Girlfriend. Was she? It was too foreign a concept to consider. She glanced at Joe who was still glaring at Eddy as the front door closed behind him.
“He’s just a kid,” Kate said.
“Wrong.”
“Well, he’s like a kid.” She walked around Joe, through the hallway to the kitchen, trying to keep the strange word from her mind. She passed by the long center island to the far end of the kitchen and into a short hall. There was a pantry to the left and a narrow twisting staircase on the right.
She started up the stairs. “Eddy’s had a hard life. Abuse, abandonment, you name it. But he’s innocent. It’s like he’s stuck in a perpetual childhood and I’m kind of his…big sister.”
“No. You’re not.”
Kate led the way down the long hall, past the center staircase and on to her room. “Yeah. Okay, you’re right. But he is very naïve. I doubt he even understood what he saw when he opened my door. Besides, he needs friends.”
Joe closed the door behind them then leaned against it, reaching a hand up to massage the tense muscles at the back of his neck. “I’m not buying it. Somethin’s off about that guy. Doesn’t feel right.”
She riffled through her suitcase on top of the dresser, grabbing a bra, underwear, her charcoal gray riding breeches and coral button blouse. There were a sprinkling of clothes she’d left behind in the dresser and closet, but the silk robe she had on was likely the only thing she’d wear that she hadn’t brought with her.
Kate rolled her eyes at Joe as she headed for the bathroom, trying to seem casually unaffected when she was nothing of the sort. “You said the same thing about Clayton.”
“Right.”
She cringed but swallowed the expression before she turned to face him. “Okay. Maybe you were right about Clayton. But even if Eddy is a few bales short of a full barn, I think I can handle him. I mean, he weighs, what, sixty pounds?”
“More like one-sixty. About sixty pounds more than you.” Joe pushed from the door and strolled toward her, dropping his hands to hook his thumbs on the back pockets of his jeans.
Awareness hummed over Kate’s body, a primal, acutely feminine sense responding to the approaching male. Her gaze skittered over his body, the round muscles of his arms and chest, the angled lines at his hips, the open vee of his jeans and the spray of dark hair hinting to his sex. Her heart skipped then set a faster pace, muscles tensing low in her body. Her palms went hot and moist like the lips between her thighs, and her breasts tingled against the cool silk of her robe.
Good lord, she was in deep, deeper than she’d been in years. She cared too much, what he thought, how he felt. Girlfriend. She wished she didn’t want it so much. But he’d said he cared. That was big, right? It was something. Worth a little faith, especially with someone who made her feel comfortable and exhilarated at the same time—strange.
Joe was the one, if ever there was a one for a woman like Kate. She took the gamble, allowed herself to believe in the possibility of love, to believe in Joe. He had a huge chunk of her heart snug in the back pocket of those damn jeans. Maybe he had her whole heart and she just couldn’t admit it yet.
Shoot, this is gonna hurt if I’m wrong.
“I didn’t forget.” He closed the distance.
“Forget?”
He reached for the collar of her robe, running his hands along the fold down between her breasts, knuckles brushing the puckered edge of her nipples. Tingles rushed over her skin like a million tiny caterpillar feet. Her breath trembled.
“About your birthday. Just didn’t get you anything.”
“Oh.” She wasn’t expecting a gift. But geez, saying it kind of felt like he’d kicked her dog.
“I’m no good at that sort of thing. Couldn’t think of the right thing to give you, so I didn’t get anything.”
“That’s okay. It’s fine. Really. I’m gonna take a shower. You’ll be here when I’m done?” She edged backward into the bathroom hoping the no-gift conversation was over.
He hadn’t let go of her robe and when she moved his fists tightened. He yanked the collar and she stumbled into him. In one seamless move Joe caught her mouth in a kiss and stroked his knuckles up over the sensitive press of her nipples. She gasped at the sudden touch and he broke the kiss.
“I swear I didn’t forget,” he whispered, his forehead resting on hers.
She caught her breath and smiled. “I believe you.”
Kate could tell it was important to him that she understood. He cared what she thought. That was big. Kate leaned back and kissed his forehead. He let her go, turning without meeting her eyes. She closed the door.
When she’d finished, forty-five minutes later, Joe sat on the edge of her unmade bed twisting his academy ring around his finger. His dark eyes swung up to her when she opened the door, then dropped back to the ring. He started talking as though they’d been in the middle of a conversation.
“You’re right. I don’t know how to relate to women, not really. The example I had, it wasn’t the best. My mom, she was used to getting what she wanted. Didn’t like settling. Said she was a daddy’s girl and she’d never had to.” He laughed at that.
“Never met her dad. Guess once she got knocked up, Daddy wasn’t so proud of his little girl anymore.” Joe shrugged, twisting his academy ring. “The guys she dated never measured up. Didn’t make enough money, didn’t spend enough money, couldn’t read her mind, whatever. It was nuts. Some of them really loved her, really tried. She dumped them anyway. I mean, what’s the point, right?”
Kate leaned against the bed beside him, wanting to touch him, not sure she should. Despite his casual tone she could see the tension along his shoulders, the tightness in his arms. He wasn’t enjoying rehashing his past. So why was he doing it?
“Anyway, the drinking just made it worse. She used to say I was the only man in the world worth a damn. I was fuckin’ six. By the time I was ten, I’d failed her too.”
His dark eyes swung up to Kate’s, glistening. He forced a smile so at odds with his true feelings his lips trembled trying to hold it. “Pretty pathetic when a kid can’t even make his mother happy.”
“I’m sure she didn’t mean it.”
“She meant it.” He looked back to his ring, twisting. “Thought Tom Riley helped me get past all that, the anger, the lashing out. Never realized how truly screwed up I am.”
Kate stroked his hair, she had to touch him, brushing it back from his eyes. “You’re not screwed up, Joe. You’re one of the most clearheaded, insightful men I’ve ever met. Your mother was selfish and inconsiderate. Her father obviously spoiled her.”
“So?” He looked at her. “Your father spoiled you. Least he tried. Gave you everything. Her father stopped loving her when she got pregnant. Your father wasn’t much better, loving you when it suited him.”
Kate hadn’t come out of her childhood unscathed. But for the first time in her life she felt she’d begun to heal the wounds—thanks to Joe. She wasn’t sure she would’ve come as far without him. “Your mom was wrong to make you fee
l responsible for her happiness. It wasn’t fair. But I’m sure her problems had more to do with her than you.”
“No, her problem was she didn’t know what she wanted. Even when she had it, she didn’t know. Or she was too much of a chicken shit to admit it.” His gaze slid up to hers. “I’m not my mother’s son.”
Kate’s heart pinched. “What’d you mean?”
His gaze dropped to his hands and Kate’s followed. He twisted his academy ring one last time then tugged it off his finger. “This was the first thing I ever did that was worth a damn. The only thing I gave a shit about.”
Joe took her hand, fumbled for her ring finger and slipped his beloved ring over it. “Happy birthday, Kate.”
She held out her hand, staring. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t swallow her heart out of her throat. The ring was too big. She didn’t care. Her brain was spinning, her chest tight, her knees trembling. This couldn’t mean what she thought it meant.
Kate smiled, easy, playful, despite the tears stinging her eyes. “What, we going steady now?”
Joe held her gaze. “Something like that. As long as you have that ring, Kate, you have me.”
“And if I never want to take it off?” she asked, butterflies rioting in her belly.
“Then I’m a lucky man.” He stood in one liquid smooth move, framed her face with his hands and kissed her.
Kate gasped at the suddenness of it, lost her breath and kissed him back anyway. Her hands went to his hips, squeezed his warm flesh, felt his fat ring separating her fingers. And it was good, very good.
When their lips parted, his expression turned serious, brows low over the darkest blue eyes she’d ever seen. “Promise me one thing. If I screw this up, you won’t cut out on me.”
“Oh, honey. You screw this up and I will kick your ass.” She pushed up on her tips toes and kissed him quick. “That’s a promise.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Surprise!” The indoor arena echoed the roar of a hundred happy partygoers.
Kate’s hand jerked and squeezed his, even though she knew it was coming. Joe laughed. He let her go the instant he felt her grip open. Rug rats swarmed around her, hugging her hips and waist, nudging Joe out of the way.
“Happy birthday, Miss Kate,” Tony said, his pointy birthday hat perched at the crown of his head.
Delmar, Nisha and Carmen sang together, “Happy birthday.”
“You look older today,” Garon said.
Savion elbowed him without uncrossing his arms. “She is old, stupid.”
He and Garon were part of the too-cool few who didn’t rush Kate. They fringed the edges of the group, jaded in all their ten to twelve years of hard life. Pointy party hats pressed into their mussed hair and creased around each of their solemn faces, hinting to the little girls and boys buried deep inside.
All the camp had turned out, including kids Joe had only seen in passing over the past two weeks. Nearly fifty children and almost as many adults counting counselors and farm staff.
Joe scanned the faces, allowed himself to be nudged four feet from Kate but no farther. Conversation and laughter echoed off the metal walls and ceiling. Somewhere in the large open building music blasted. Four lines of colored paper streamers hung in twelve-foot swags along the walls, and an enormous balloon arch stretched over a raised platform where the cake and refreshment tables sat.
“Put a lot of work into this,” Clayton said from behind him.
Joe glanced over his shoulder. “Right.”
Clayton stepped beside him. “Nothing but friends and family. People who love her. You can dial back the eight-hundred-pound-gorilla look. No one’s gonna hurt her here.”
He looked at Clayton again, raised a brow. “That a fact?”
“Yeah. You think you’re the only one who wants to protect her?”
“Just the only one who knows how.”
“Christ, you’re an arrogant ass.”
“I know.” Joe stepped forward, hoping to end the conversation. There were too many people here, too many faces he didn’t know. He should be paying attention to Kate, to the people getting too close to her, not measuring dicks with Clayton.
Joe scanned the arena, noticed all the horses were tied at the far end, including Sunshine. He did a double take. Were they wearing party hats? Big, horse-size party hats and their hooves were painted colors to match the riot of helium balloons tied to the walls and hitching rail. They didn’t seem to mind.
His attention shifted back to the people strolling in and out through the huge opened doors on either side of the arena. Other partygoers squeezed in around Kate, hugging and touching and shifting her a yard farther away without notice.
Joe pushed at the little shoulders closest to him. He wanted to shrink the distance, but then didn’t. They were kids. What’d he think they’d do, gnaw her ankles? Shit. Maybe he was being an eight-hundred-pound gorilla. His feelings for Kate were clouding his judgment, throwing up red flags out of fear instead of tactic and logic.
The whole scenario set off Joe’s internal alarms, but for the first time in his career he wasn’t sure he could trust them. And that really pissed him off.
“Yeah. Probably best. For now.”
Joe startled at the sound of Clayton’s voice. He’d nearly forgotten he was there. “What?”
“You being all hovering and suspicious.” Clayton rocked back on his heels beside him. “’Course once this is all over, it’s gonna drive her crazy.”
Joe slid his gaze sideways to Clayton. “You think?”
Clayton wrinkled his chin and nodded, arms folded across his chest. “Oh, yeah. Kate’s not the type to be tied down. Never able to stomach a guy for long, especially the clingy ones. Usually bolts. Just sayin’.”
“Thanks. I’ll keep it in mind.” Joe’s gut twisted. Would he ever be able to dial back his protective impulses when it came to Kate? The thought of losing her made his chest tight. Whether she walked away or was taken, he couldn’t stop one without risking the other. Jeezus, he couldn’t think about it. How did a person survive caring about someone this much?
“Hey, that’s Joe’s ring.”
Joe turned, Clayton stepped around him, both focused on Tony. The curly-topped boy stood with his nose inches from Kate’s paper cup and the hand on which she wore Joe’s academy ring. Her gaze flicked to Joe as Tony called in a second opinion.
Savion took Kate’s wrist and turned it, nearly toppled her drink before she managed to switch it to the other hand. Several more campers, Delmar, Nisha, Carmen, gathered so close Kate’s arm was lost behind bowed heads.
“Yep. That’s his ring alright,” Savion announced.
All eyes turned to Kate and hers held Joe’s. A smile flittered across her lips, cheeks flushed, ears redder still. Her brows creased up to a point, a mix of tempered happiness washing her face.
“This mean you’re his girlfriend?” Tony asked.
Kate’s mouth fluttered opened and shut. She shrugged still looking to Joe. “I’m…I mean, we’re…”
“Yeah. That’s what it means,” Joe said trying hard to hold his scowl and failing miserably. Man, he wasn’t prepared for how much he’d like saying it out loud.
Kate’s smile spread full bloom to match his, lighting her eyes, turning them that unreal green that made it hard for him to breathe.
Ginny crowded close beside her, reaching for her ringed hand. “Was it a birthday gift?”
Kate nodded, turning to follow her appendage while most of the female staff and a few of the males ogled Joe’s ring.
“Says police academy.” Eddy swung his bug eyes behind his glasses to Joe. “You a cop?”
“Used to be.” Joe slipped his hands into the front pockets of his jeans to the knuckles, shifting gears from pleased new boyfriend to undercover bodyguard in a heartbeat.
“What’s that mean?”
“I’m retired. Injured in the line,” Joe said.
Eddy shoved his glasses up the bridge of his nose an
d eyed Joe from head to foot. “Don’t look injured.”
“That right?”
“He was hurt very badly,” Kate said. “Almost died. Joe’s a very brave, strong-willed man.”
She sounded proud and damn if he didn’t like it.
“More like old and lucky.” Eddy glanced back at the ring. “Probably turn your finger green.”
No one seemed to pay Eddy any mind as he turned and left. Ashley slipped into his spot beside Ginny like water, leaving no sign he’d ever been there.
Ginny threw Joe a wink. “I’d take it if he’d offered it to me.”
“Yeah. Ya got any little brothers at home?” Ashley said.
“Sorry ladies, Joe’s one of a kind,” Kate said.
“Thank the lord for small favors,” Clayton grumbled. “We gonna get this show on the road or not? Time to cut the cake. Garity’s not the only one who got you a gift.”
The crowd moved like a school of fish, all of them swarming around Kate. En masse they swept up onto the platform stage, squeezing in around the cake table as they sang and watched her blow out the candles. Joe hadn’t even made it up the small steps. He could’ve forced his way to her side, should’ve, but didn’t.
She was safe. He was close enough. These people weren’t a threat to her. He said the words in his head, but the impulse to throw his body over hers like a shield and whisk her away from the pushy crowd nearly choked him.
Thumbs hooked on his pockets, Joe fisted his hands, dug his nails into his palms and moved around to the front of the platform. At least here he had a clear line of sight, albeit a level below and ten feet away with the thin metal railing edging the stage between them.
If things went south he’d never make it to her in time. Unacceptable. Joe shifted his weight back toward the steps then stopped when he caught Clayton watching him from the stage. How the hell had he made it to the cake table?
Dammit. If either of them should be standing on that stage next to her while she passed out cake and opened gifts it was Joe. After everything they’d been through, all the hang-ups and misunderstandings they’d overcome, they’d earned their chance together. He’d be damned if he’d let Clayton bogart even a second of his time with her.