by Sandi Lynn
Two of a Kind
Kind Brothers, Book 2
Sandi Lynn
Sandi Lynn Romance, LLC
Contents
Two of a Kind
Mission Statement
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Two of a Kind
New York Times, USA Today & Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author
Sandi Lynn
Two of a Kind
Copyright © 2021 Sandi Lynn Romance, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Photo by Wander Aguiar
Model: Zakk Davis
Created with Vellum
Mission Statement
Sandi Lynn Romance
Providing readers with romance novels that will whisk them away
to another world and from the daily grind of life – one book at a time.
Chapter 1
Stefan
I looked up at Sam and Julia standing on the balcony of their bedroom and gave a small wave.
“I’m hungry, Dad.”
“Me too, baby girl. I think we’re done with this sandcastle. What do you think?”
She stood up from the sand and with a swift kick of her foot, she knocked it down.
“I don’t like it.” She turned and headed back to our house.
Sighing, I stood up, dusted the sand off me and followed her.
It had been three weeks since Nanny Kate left, and my not-so-sweet anymore nine-year-old daughter hasn’t handled it very well. The new nanny I hired last week had a few choice words for me one night when I arrived home from work. She told me my child was unbearable, misbehaved, and in need of a good reform school. Before I could toss her ass out of my home, she quit.
Back to square one.
Lily was a good girl. I’d go as far to say she had abandonment issues, which was understandable. Her mother dropped her off at my house when she was three and never returned to pick her up. Now, Nanny Kate had become ill and had no choice but to move to Maryland for medical treatment. But I would be damned if I’d let my daughter’s issues control her life like mine did.
“What say you, brother and little niece,” Simon spoke as he walked through the door.
“Hi, Uncle Simon,” Lily said in a somber voice as she looked at him.
“Hey.” I gave him a nod. “Grilled cheese?” I held up the bag of bread I took from the pantry.”
“Sure, bro. Just don’t burn it.” He went over and tickled Lily and she pushed his hand away.
“Stop, Uncle Simon.”
“Yes, ma’am.” His brows furrowed when he looked at me.
“Hey, Lily? Why don’t you go clean up your room and I’ll call you when your grilled cheese is ready?”
“I don’t want to clean up my room!”
“Do you want me to have your Uncle Sam come over here?”
She stuck her tongue out at me as she walked out of the kitchen.
“Bro, what the fuck? Are you going to let her get away with that?”
“She’s hurting right now, Simon.”
“I know she is, but she can’t behave like that. Any prospects for a new nanny yet?”
“I haven’t looked since I fired that wretched woman.”
“You mean since that wretched woman quit?” His lips formed a smirk.
“No.” I pointed at him with the spatula I held in my hand. “I fired her.”
He let out a chuckle. “If you say so.”
I took the grilled cheese sandwiches off the griddle and called Lily to come and eat.
“Did you clean up your room?” I asked.
“Sure, Dad.”
“Thank you, baby girl.” I kissed the top of her head as I set her grilled cheese in front of her.
“You burnt it.” She scowled.
“No. I didn’t. Now eat your lunch.”
“Yes. You did!” she yelled as she picked up her sandwich and threw it across the table.
“That’s it!” I yelled. “Get to your room and don’t come out until I tell you to!”
She got up from her chair and stomped all the way to her room. Then the slamming of the door happened.
I sat down at the table and ran my hands through my hair.
“I don’t know what to do, Simon.”
“Therapy, bro. You need to get her some help to cope with this situation.”
“Like I already told Sam, I’m not sending my kid to a shrink. She’ll be fine.”
“Then you’re just going to have to deal with it. Thanks for the grilled cheese. I have to get back to the station. I’m here if you need me. We all are.” He patted my back before leaving.
After I cleaned up from lunch, I opened the door to Lily’s room and stepped inside.
“Go away. You’re mean!”
“Come on, baby girl. You don’t mean that.” I sat down on the edge of the bed. “Listen, Lily, I know you’re upset about Nanny Kate. I am too.”
“I miss her, Dad.”
“I know you do. So do I. Come here.” I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into me. We’ll get through this, but I need you to help me out. Deal?”
“Okay.” She nodded.
I pressed my lips against the top of her head.
“Thank you, Lily.”
Three Days Later
I was sitting in Sam’s office on a conference call when my phone rang. Pulling it from my pocket, I let out a sigh.
“I have to take this,” I mouthed as I held my phone up.
He gave me a nod and I walked out of his office.
“Hello.”
“Mr. Kind, this is Anna Lucas, Lily’s teacher.”
“Hi, Miss Lucas.”
“When you come to pick Lily up from school, I need to speak with you.”
“Okay. What’s this about?”
“We’ll talk when you get here. Just come right to the classroom.”
“I’ll do that. Thank you.”
When I walked back into Sam’s office, he had already ended the conference call.
“Is everything okay?” he asked.
“I thought Julia was picking her up today?”
“Shit. That’s right. I’m going to have to. Can you give her a call for me and tell her?”
“Yeah. I will. Simon told me what happened the other day with the grilled cheese. I really think—”
“Sam.” I put my hand up. “I don’t want to hear it. She’ll be fine. I had a talk with her.”
“She’s a kid. She’s going to say anything to get you to shut up. Just like we used to do with our parents.”
“She’s just going through a tough time.”
“And so are you.” His brow raised.
“Man,” I shook my head, “how did Mom and Dad do it with the four of us?”
“I have no clue. We weren’t perfect angels either.”
I let out a sigh. “I need to catch up on some paperwork before I have to leave. I’ll talk to you later.”
Chapter 2
Stefan
After parking my car, I stood outside with the other parents and waited for the bell to ring before going inside.
“Hey, Stefan.” Maddie’s mom flirtatiously smiled like she always did.
“Hey, Reece. How are you?”
“I’m great.”
“Hi, Stefan.” Dylan’s mom grinned as she walked over.
Before I knew it, I had five moms standing around me with smiles on their faces.
It didn’t bother me at first because I didn’t pick Lily up that much when Nanny Kate was around. But now that I picked her up every day, it was annoying.
The school bell rang and as the children exited through the main door, I made my way inside and down to Lily’s classroom.
“Mr. Kind, thank you for coming in.” She smiled. “I sent Lily to the art room while we talk.”
“What is this about?”
“Lily hasn’t been turning in any of her homework for the past week. When I asked her about it, she said that you told her she didn’t have to do it.”
“That is not true.”
“I know it’s not. She’s become very withdrawn. She won’t answer any questions I ask and she’s putting all the wrong answers down on quizzes, even though I know she knows them. At recess, she sits on the swing alone and won’t play with the other kids. Today I asked her if she could walk some papers over to the class next door and she told me to do it myself.”
“Miss Lucas, I’m sorry. She’s been a handful at home too. I’m trying. I really am. This isn’t her. You know that.”
“I know. She’s always been a very bright and well-behaved child. She’s having trouble coping with Nanny Kate’s absence, and I think maybe she should talk to someone who can help her express her feelings in a better way.”
“I’ll take that under advisement.”
“Thank you, Mr. Kind. I told Lily that I will give her a pass this one time and let her turn in the homework she hasn’t done Monday morning.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
She reached over and placed her hand on my arm.
“Being a single parent is hard work, and I know you’re doing the best you can. But sometimes, children need a little extra help.”
After our meeting, I walked down to the art room to fetch Lily.
“Are you ready, kiddo?” I grabbed her backpack.
“Yeah.”
I waited until we got in the car to talk to her.
“Why Lily? Why did you lie to Miss Lucas about your homework?”
“Because I didn’t feel like doing it.”
“It doesn’t matter. You have to do it.”
“No. I don’t,” she spoke in angry tone.
“Actually, you do. And when we get home, you’re going to do it while I cook dinner. No TV tonight until it’s done.”
“That’s not fair!”
“No.” I pointed at her as I raised my voice. “You know what’s not fair? Your behavior! It’s unacceptable.”
She sat there with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. I pulled into the driveway and the second I put the car in park, she opened the door and climbed out.
“You go straight to your room and do your homework!”
“NO!” she yelled as she stomped up the driveway.
“Lily Rose Kind, you do as I say, or you’re grounded for the rest of your life!”
I followed her into the house, and she threw her backpack down and ran to her room.
“I’m afraid to ask,” Sebastian said as he stepped inside the house.
“She’s driving me crazy, Sebastian. I’m literally going to lose my shit!”
“Sounds to me like you already have. Have you talked to Mom about it?”
“Yeah, and you know what she said to me?”
“What?”
“Karma, Stefan. Karma.”
Sebastian let out a chuckle.
“Anyway, I wish I could stick around and help you out, but I have to get to the restaurant. I heard the yelling as I was leaving so I thought I’d check up on you.”
“I’m sure everyone down the beach heard.”
“Hang in there, brother.” He patted my shoulder.
I picked up Lily’s backpack from the floor and took it to her bedroom. When I opened the door, she was sound asleep on her bed. I grabbed the blanket that sat on the end and covered her with it. Walking over to my liquor cabinet, I pulled the key I had safely hidden, opened it and poured myself a scotch. It felt like the earth was opening and swallowing me whole. There was more going on with my daughter than just Nanny Kate, and I needed to find out what it was.
Chapter 3
Alex
My entire life I’d fantasized about the perfect man who would sweep me off my feet. My prince charming, my knight in shining armor, my person, and the one who checked off all the boxes. Reality check. A man like that didn’t exist.
I’d been on my own since I was eighteen years old. I left home on the day of my high school graduation when my alcoholic father never bothered to show up. Instead, he was in bed with my best friend. She was nineteen and he was forty-nine. Sick fucks. Both were passed out drunk as their naked bodies were sprawled across the bed and two used condoms lay on the floor. So, I threw as much as I could fit in my two suitcases, grabbed the essentials and took the photo of me and my mother from my mirror.
In the back of my closet, I kept a shoebox buried underneath a pile of old clothes with the money I’d been saving to get the hell out. Before I left, I grabbed my father’s wallet from his pants on the living room floor and took out the only money he had: two hundred dollars.
“Thanks for the graduation gift, Dad,” I said as I shoved it into my pocket.
That was seven years ago when I left and never looked back. In seven years, I’d moved more times than anyone should in their life. I’ve had short-term relationships, short-term friendships, short-term jobs. Just enough to save some money and move on. Some people would call me a drifter, but I considered myself an adventurer. Since my mother passed away when I was seven years old, I was kept in a box. A metaphor for how I lived. Which consisted of taking care of my alcoholic father and the house while trying to go to school and learn everything I could about the world outside my box. The thought of settling in one place scared the hell out of me. I was so afraid of getting stuck and the box rebuilding itself around me. So, I kept moving.
The one state I’d never traveled to was California. But that was going to change as I was about to make my next move for a guy I’d met online. His name was Ryan, and he was twenty-six years old. Surprisingly, he’d checked every one of my boxes, except for one: sex. But that was going to be checked off soon since I was driving from Seattle to California to meet and stay with him. We carried on a relationship for three months. Three months of video chats, phone calls, and daily text messages.
After throwing my two suitcases in the back of my car, I made sure I had everything and happily punched his addre
ss into the GPS. Halfway there, I ran into some trouble when I stopped to get gas. The credit card machines at the pump were out of order and the only way to pay was by going inside. So, I grabbed my wallet and my phone and paid inside. When I stepped out the door, I noticed my passenger door was open. Running to my car, my purse that was sitting on the front seat was gone.
“FUCK!” I screamed.
All the money I had was stashed in an envelope in my purse, leaving me with only a hundred bucks left in my wallet and one credit card that was practically maxed out.
I’d been driving for fourteen hours, and it was twelve a.m. when the GPS told me to turn onto a road. A road which I shouldn’t have turned down, and now I was lost.
“Damn you, GPS!” I yelled as it kept telling me to turn around but there was nowhere for me to do it. I grabbed my phone and sent a text message to Ryan.
“Hey, babe. I’m lost at the moment, but I have an hour and a half left according to the GPS.”
“Hey. I was just going to text you. I had to take my grandma to the emergency room. They think she had a heart attack so I’m not home and I don’t know when I’ll be. I’ll most likely be here all night. Go get a hotel room for the night and get some rest.”