Brute's Strength

by Karen Renee

  He choked on laughter, forcing me to look at him.

  “What?”

  He looked from my toes to me. “Hope you didn’t pay much for that pedicure.”

  I smiled at my hot-pink and ‘frosted-sunshine’ striped toes before I looked at him. “Nope. Aubrey wanted to paint my toes, and since she’d been so bummed about the change of plans with her Dad, it was the least I could do.”

  His expression turned guarded. “Her name’s Aubrey?”

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  He exhaled, making a strange sound as he did. Then he ambled toward the stairs. I followed, wondering if this was where things turned awkward and ultimately ended.

  Before he set off down the stairs, he took my shoes from me, carrying them on two fingers, and with his other hand he grabbed mine. Then we went down to the beach, holding hands.

  My expectations to walk along the shore were dashed when he steered us in the opposite direction. We wound our way along the pilings and beams holding up the restaurant deck. His eyes kept scanning the area, and when he was satisfied nobody else was around, he faced me. Then he guided me, so my back was to one of the pilings.

  “Haven’t been able to stop thinking about kissing you again for five fuckin’ days, Zee. You mind if I kiss you?”

  My runaway mouth overpowered my instinct to nod. “I’d mind more if you didn’t, Brute.”

  He leaned down and his lips softly touched mine before his tongue darted out and instinctively, I opened my mouth. This kiss was just as toe-curling as our first. My fingers gripped the edges of his leather vest; he’d told me was called a cut. While I hung on for the ride, I heard something fall to the ground. I knew it was my shoes when his arms circled me, holding me closer. I made a high-pitched noise and his arms moved. One glided lower so he could squeeze my ass while the other slid higher. He moved that hand around to cup my breast and his thumb toyed with my nipple through my blouse and bra. I couldn’t disengage my hands from his cut, so I rose on my toes and pushed into his body.

  His hand at my breast came up to slide into my hair. That morning, knowing I’d be on a motorcycle, I’d put my hair into a chignon. His long, thick fingers tangled in it. Even though it was inadvertent, him pulling on the base of my hairline revved me up even further.

  He broke the kiss, but trailed his lips along my jaw to my ear. “Knew you’d be fun, but fuck, Zee. I’m willing to risk public indecency, you light up like this from just my kiss.”

  “Our kiss,” I corrected, my voice husky.

  He leaned back enough to make eye contact. My heart skipped a beat at his devilish grin. “Right, Zee. ‘Our kiss’.”

  “Why ‘Zee’?” I whispered.

  He smiled. “Your name, you’re Kenzie, shortened it to Zee, baby.”

  Ordinarily, I hated it when men called me ‘baby,’ but whether it was his size or his rough demeanor, there was something about Brute calling me ‘baby’ that thrilled me. I bent to grab my shoes and to hide my satisfied smile.

  After I picked up my shoes, his hand wrapped around mine and he led me out from under the deck. He yanked his phone from a holder at his side, checked the time and shook his head. “Hate to say it, but if you gotta punch the clock, I gotta get you back.”

  “Technically, I don’t have to punch a clock, but I do have to relieve a woman who punches the clock and is probably hungry enough to chew her arm off.”

  He chuckled. “Sounds hazardous to her career if she chews her arm off. How’s she gonna key in numbers or count money?”

  “You’re right, so I guess we better hurry.”

  Fifteen minutes later, when Brute put the kickstand down on his bike, I dismounted as gracefully as possible. While I took off his helmet, he powered down the bike and swung off.

  I held out the helmet for him. “What are you doing? I figured you had places to go and people to see.”

  He put the helmet on the seat, and before I knew what he was about, he wrapped his arms around my waist and my breasts were pressed to him. “Not right to end a date and not see you back safe to wherever you’re going, whether that’s home or work, Zee.”

  I liked that so much it wasn’t funny.

  “Thanks,” I murmured.

  One arm unwrapped from me. His fingers came to my chin and he tilted my face up toward his. “You’re free this weekend, text me.”

  I nodded, but his fingers didn’t budge from my chin. His eyes danced over my face before he bent and gave me a kiss that was almost as good as the one at the beach. ‘Almost’ because it was far more brief and he didn’t let his hands wander, which was disappointing, but understandable, too.

  “Have a good afternoon, Kenzie.”

  “You too, Sam.”

  Chapter Three

  Don’t Make Excuses

  Kenzie

  I walked into the bank with my cheeks aflame. Even though I had noticed Lydia standing outside her office like a bad sentry before I walked inside, I ignored her. Just before my foot cleared the threshold of my office, she called out, “You owe me, Whitehall!”

  I resisted whirling around to her, and stowed my purse before relieving Trisha, the teller who always took a late lunch.

  As she grabbed her phone and keys, Trisha muttered, “I don’t care if you ‘owe’ Lydia. If that man has a brother, I call dibs.”

  I laughed while she left the building.

  Half an hour later, one of our regular business customers trudged into the building. He ran a hot-dog cart and did surprisingly well for himself. Even though he could’ve done his transaction at the drive-thru, unless it was raining, he always came inside to deposit his cash. For some reason he liked dealing with me back when I was a counter teller, and his face lit up when he saw me at a window.

  “My Wednesday’s lookin’ up!” he said, walking straight to me.

  I smiled. “How can I help you today?”

  He put a pile of bills down along with a deposit slip. “I need to deposit that and you can tell me why your cheeks are so rosy. It’s a good look, but I know that isn’t blush.”

  I chuckled. “You’re right. I ate outside today, that’s all.”

  His brow arched. “If that’s the case, you need to wear your suntan lotion.”

  The teller next to me chuckled. “More like she needs a face guard.”

  I nearly lost count of the money. “Sheree!”

  “Well, you’re tryin’ to pull wool over Mr. Baer’s eyes.” Since she was between customers, she leaned toward us. “Kenzie rode on a motorcycle to lunch today. That’s why she’s flushed.”

  Mr. Baer made a tsk-ing sound. “You better be careful, Kenzie. But a glow in your cheeks looks lovely.”

  I printed his deposit receipt and he left.

  Sheree tried to ply me for information about my lunch, but Trisha returned earlier than usual and I dodged the inquisition.

  At four-thirty Caleb called.

  “I’ll be back on Friday morning. If you don’t mind, I’ll pick up Aubrey after school.”

  My sigh escaped against my will. “I don’t mind,” I muttered.

  “Then what’s with the sigh?”

  “Sorry, it just slipped. But, I’ll notify the extended-day staff about the change.”

  “Tell her teacher, instead. I’m going to pick her up in the car-rider line.”

  My jaw clenched, but I unclenched it to say, “You email Mrs. Winnett about that.”

  “Kenzie—”

  “No, Caleb. I’m not your secretary, and my time is just as valuable as yours. It would do you good to be in contact with her first-grade teacher. I’ll tell Aubrey she gets to go home with you Friday afternoon. Is that everything?”

  He paused. “What is your problem? Been a long time since you’ve gone PMS on me.”

  I took in a huge breath through my mouth.

  He spoke before I could. “Whatever. I’ll contact the damn teacher.”

  The tell-tale beeping made me want to hurl my phone across the room, but I tamped do
wn the urge.

  “Jesus, are you okay?”

  I looked up to see Brute filling my doorway. My smile was lackluster, I knew, but I enjoyed seeing him back here. “I will be. Just an unpleasant phone call.”

  He folded his arms across his bulky chest. “Then block that number, baby. Nobody needs that shit.”

  I snorted. “Would if I could, Brute. But ex-husbands aren’t people you can block, if there’s a child involved.”

  He grunted. Then he came into my office and sat down.

  I checked my computer. “What are you doing? I’m supposed to have an appointment soon, so—”

  “Yeah. A four-thirty appointment for a new business account. That’s me,” he said, thumping his chest with his thumb.

  I laughed. “You’re for real?”

  His brown eyes widened. “Damn straight, I’m for real.”

  I shook my head. “Then why didn’t you just handle this at lunchtime?”

  He arched a brow. “No way. I wanted your full lunch hour. We did this shit, it might infringe on my time with you.”

  Feeling shy and flattered, I glanced away for a second. “So, you need a business checking account?”

  He nodded. I grabbed some paperwork from a drawer and slid it in front of him.

  “Your ex always a pain in your ass?” he asked.

  My lips twisted. “Not normally. He’s just... in some ways, more self-absorbed than most. But, he is dealing with some crap at work.”

  His expression went skeptical. “Like all of us don’t deal with crap at work? That’s lame, and you know it.”

  I nodded, and opened the right program to create his new account. Looking at him from the corner of my eye, I asked, “Do you really need a new account, or is this a ruse to spend more time with me?”

  He shook his head. “I definitely need a new account. I’m with a big national bank now and they’re giving me some serious run-around. It’s complete bullshit, and it’s making it hard for me to do business even though they’re supposed to be helping with my business by providing this account. Fuckers.”

  I bit back my grin, and took care of as much on the computer as I could while he filled out the forms.

  With his head bent to the desk, he said, “Couldn’t help but overhear, but you’re gonna be free on Friday?”

  “Yes, I should be.”

  He looked up and his brown eyes caught my blue ones. “Then I’m pickin’ you up at six-thirty.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t get off until six-thirty.”

  He gave a low groan. “Fine. I’ll swing by your place at seven-thirty.”

  I grimaced. “Maybe I should meet you somewhere.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “I’m being cautious.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not a psycho asshole who’s gonna hurt you or force you to do a damn thing you don’t want to do.”

  His eyes were intent on mine.

  I nodded. “You’re right. It’s second-nature. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I get it, but you need to get me.”

  I smiled. “I’m starting to, Sam. So, Friday?”

  He grinned. “Yep. Seven-thirty.” He paused and his lips got pouty while he deliberated something. Then, “Wear whatever you want. I’ll pick you up in my truck.”

  MY PHONE INDICATED I had two minutes to pick up Aubrey as I jogged up the sidewalk. Or jogged as much as possible in my strappy sandals. I flung open the door and Mrs. Ferris gave me a reluctant grin.

  “You’re in the nick of time, Mom.”

  I signed Aubrey out, and on our way back to the car, I knew something was up. She didn’t say how her day was, she hardly gave me hug, and her eyes seemed a little dull.

  When we were both buckled, I watched her in the rearview mirror. “You feelin’ okay, pumpkin?”

  She looked up. “Yes.”

  I twisted to look in her eyes. “Then what’s wrong?”

  I could see her warring with herself. Finally her little chest puffed as she took a deep breath. “Can we call Ronnie?”

  I nibbled the inside of my lip for a moment. “Does this have to do with the candy?”

  “No. When daddy travels, Ronnie gets lonely.”

  My lips pressed together so I didn’t blurt out that Ronnie was perfectly good at filling her own time. I smiled. “You know, she’s probably working longer hours since your dad’s out of town.”

  “Can you call her anyway? Please?”

  She had hit me with a triple whammy: her forlorn tone, manners, and the doe eyes she’d perfected around age three.

  “Fine,” I said, and with the phone on speaker, I called Veronica.

  She answered on the second ring. “Don’t have time for you, Kenzie. I’m sure you know Caleb’s out of town.”

  With a deep breath, I reminded myself to be the better adult. Aubrey was watching me, after all. “Yes, well, Aubrey wanted to call you. She thought you might be lonely and she—”

  Veronica barked out a laugh. “I might be lonely. Out of the mouths of babes. I’ve been lonely the past ten months, and I decided to do something about it. Sorry, but I’m setting up my new apartment. Caleb’s been served papers already.”

  I quickly took the call off speaker, but by the expression on Aubrey’s face, the damage was done.

  I put the phone to my ear, and heard Veronica say, “I would love to see your daughter again, but I’m not the right person to break this news to her.”

  Indeed, she was not.

  I sighed. “I’m sorry to hear that, Veronica.”

  Her tone was snide when she asked, “Are you really though?”

  Her snotty question gave me a vision of Chris Hemsworth, and it was the only thing keeping me from rising to her bait. “I am, actually. But, I wish you well. Goodbye.”

  “What else did she say? That didn’t sound right, Mommy.”

  I certainly wasn’t raising a dummy.

  “You’re right, my dear. Ronnie loved that you thought she might be lonely, but she wanted me to tell you she isn’t. She’s working tonight.”

  That last was technically true –working on setting up a new home– and I decided the first was simply something Veronica didn’t know she felt yet.

  “So, we can’t invite her over or anything tonight.”

  Aubrey hung her head. “Okay.”

  “Listen, pumpkin, I know you’re all hot to trot for this candy, but we’ve still got a couple cookies left. Let’s get home and polish those off.”

  Facing forward, I had put my foot on the brake, when Aubrey said, “Mommy, what does ‘served papers’ mean?”

  My foot slipped and I thanked God I hadn’t put the car in gear.

  I sighed. “Let’s talk about it at home.”

  “They’re getting divorced, aren’t they? I heard a third grader say that papers came before divorce.”

  Dammit to hell!

  I shook my head. “Yes, dear. Papers come before divorces, but I don’t know if they’re getting divorced just yet. Sometimes adults work things out.”

  “I want you and Daddy to work things out.”

  My head hit the seat with a thud. “Pumpkin, your daddy and Ronnie might fix it. I don’t know. I know that I’m not part of that, and you need to wait until Daddy or Ronnie says something to you.”

  “But I heard her say it to you.”

  I turned to face her again.

  “Yes, you did, but she didn’t know we were on speakerphone. Which means you weren’t meant to hear it.”

  She looked down at her lap.

  “Look at Mommy, honey.” When she looked at me, I said, “I love you very much. Daddy and Ronnie love you very much. You’re loved no matter what changes might happen, you know that, right?”

  She nodded.

  “Okay. You remember that.”

  “All right, Mommy. But do we have to eat the pot roast tonight?”

  I laughed at her question. Leave it to my girl to try finagling her way out of pot
roast. “Yeah, pumpkin. We do. Food’s expensive, and besides, I whip up some mashed potatoes, you’ll love your pot roast.”

  “Don’t count on it,” she mumbled, and I laughed as we drove down the road.

  GETTING HOME SO LATE pushed our entire routine back by half an hour at least. But, by nine-thirty, I knew Aubrey was out for the count. Still, I went into my bedroom and closed the door with my cell phone in hand.

  I settled with my back to the headboard and made sure my glass of wine was within easy reach before I called Caleb. I hated that I had to do this, but if papers had already been served, then the least he could’ve done was give me a heads-up. Of course, that might have required his head to not be lodged up his own ass.

  I shook my head to get rid of the bitchy thought.

  He answered on the second ring, “Something wrong with Aubrey?”

  If I said no, he’d launch into a diatribe and hang up, so I stretched things a touch. “You could say that. She knows you were served papers and that papers come before a divorce.”

  “How the hell... no, why the hell did you tell her that?”

  “I didn’t, Caleb. She asked me to call Ronnie because she thought her step-mom might be lonely, and Ronnie let it slip.”

  “You had her on speaker?”

  “Yes, but that isn’t the point. The last thing I expected was that information. If you had kept me in the loop, I might have known better than to casually call your wife, who your daughter cares about!”

  The line went silent for a moment. “Yeah. Got served three weeks ago and having work accounts shuffled is more stress when I’d rather work on saving my marriage.”

  “So, you’re going to try to save it?”

  “Takes two for that, Kenz. Haven’t been in town much to know if Veronica is willing to try.”

  I nodded. “Okay. But so you know, Aubrey’s words to me were, ‘I want you and Daddy to work it out, Mommy.’ I’m not putting that in her head. I told her you two might fix things. But, I didn’t want you to be blindsided.” Like I was, I did not say.

  He blew out a sigh. “Right. Thanks for the warning. Did you—”