by Morgan Blaze
“And I think Jonah’s idea is a good one,” he said with a touch of exasperation. “I swear I won’t mess with you.”
Gage stared at each of them in turn. “Fine,” he said. “But only to shut you two up. After she comes over—if she even wants to—I don’t want to hear another word about it. Deal?”
“Deal,” Jonah said. “So, dinner tonight?”
“Yeah, whatever.”
He whirled and stalked out of the kitchen, determined to work on something else for a while. Something far away from his brothers, the meddling bastards.
Before he could decide to finish breaking Mark’s face.
* * * *
Kyla finished all of her appointments by three in the afternoon, so Mags let her head out for the day. She didn’t mind—she planned to have a nice, long soak in the tub, maybe watch a movie, probably talk to Gage. She already looked forward to that more than almost anything, next to seeing him.
She’d gotten as far as climbing into her truck when her phone rang.
A mild pulse of worry moved through her. Gage usually texted until after five, when he’d gotten home from work. She pulled her phone out, and her heart sank a little more when she saw it was Ralph. Trying to tell herself he just wanted to check in, she answered. “Hey, Ralph.”
“Kyla, hello. I’m glad I caught you.”
She immediately sensed the strain in his voice. “What’s wrong?”
“Maybe nothing. Probably nothing.” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself. “I called because Mike had a court appointment this morning, and he didn’t show up for it.”
Her stomach churned. “He’s missing?”
“Not exactly.” Ralph sighed and hesitated a moment. “It was a routine matter, just some last-minute paperwork. No big deal. Still, technically he should’ve been there. I did some digging and found out he’d gotten a federal judge to convince the circuit judge to excuse him. He’d claimed he had to go out of the country for a business trip.”
“So…you think he’s looking for me?”
“I think he’s out of the country on a business trip.” Ralph tried to sound firm, but she detected a bit of uncertainty in his voice. “That said, I want you to be cautious for the next few days. Just in case. I’ll get in touch with you when he’s back here.”
“All right,” she managed. “Thank you, Ralph.”
They talked a few minutes longer, sticking to subjects that didn’t scare the hell out of her. After she hung up, she sat there trying to tell herself this was nothing. Mike frequently went on business trips. She knew, because she’d gone with him every time. He wouldn’t allow her to stay home by herself. This was a normal, routine thing for him, and she had no reason to worry.
But she would anyway. She’d worry until Ralph called her to say her ex-husband was back where he belonged—far away from her.
Just as she was about to start the truck, her phone rang again. Goodness, she was popular today. This time it was Gage. Odd, because she’d just been thinking he never called before five.
“Hello?”
“Hey.” Gage sounded almost as upset as she felt. “Sorry to call while you’re working.”
“It’s fine. I’m actually done for the day,” she said. “Is everything all right?”
“Yeah, just the usual. My brothers are fu—they’re morons.” He paused, and when he spoke again he seemed normal. “Anyway, I’ve got a crazy question for you,” he said.
She smiled. “What’s that?”
“Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?” Before she could respond, he plunged ahead in a rush. “You don’t have to. My brothers, they think I won’t even ask you. They’re trying to prove a point. And if you do come over, they’ll—”
“Gage.”
“What?”
“I’d love to.”
There was a brief pause. “You would?”
“Of course,” she said. In fact, she couldn’t think of anything better than spending the evening with Gage, and the rest of his family. It would keep her mind off Ralph’s ominous call. “What time should I be there?”
“Um. I guess seven works. That seems to be our time.”
“You’re right, it does,” she said. “What can I bring?”
“Just yourself.”
“No, I want to bring something.”
“Well…surprise me, then.”
“I will. See you at seven.”
“I can’t wait. Oh—fair warning, my brothers are crazy. Just ignore them.”
“I’ll try,” she said. “Should I ignore Luka, too?”
“Definitely. Don’t talk to anyone except me.”
She laughed. “Got it.”
They hung up, and she found herself feeling better already. Having dinner with a real family was a first for her. She couldn’t wait to see what it was like.
* * * *
Kyla took extra time getting ready for dinner, but it still felt like a long wait. She finally decided to leave early and pick something up at the grocery store to bring with her. She’d been debating on the still-unopened bottle of wine she had, but it really wasn’t very good.
The Stop ‘n Shop on Main Street was a good-sized store with decent prices. She knew there was another place in town, but Gage had warned her it was expensive. She found a parking spot in front of the store and headed inside to browse for a while.
Eventually she settled on dessert. But then, she had to decide which of the many choices to bring. There was a fairly large bakery section with plenty of pre-made cakes, pies, cookies, and assorted pastries. Finally, she chose a sample tray with four different kinds of cake and two dozen big, soft cookies—peanut butter and chocolate chip. She figured this way, everyone would be able to find something they liked.
By the time she checked out, it was quarter to seven. Just enough time to get to the Dawsons’ house from here, with a few minutes to spare. She asked for double paper bags, and headed outside fishing her keys from her pocket.
As she tucked the bag under one arm to open her truck door, she happened to glance across the street. And saw a man who looked a hell of a lot like Mike Finley standing on the opposite sidewalk, staring right at her.
She gasped. The bag slipped from her grasp and dropped to the pavement.
“Hey, miss. You all right?”
The voice behind her startled her. She turned to see a teenage boy straddling a bike, looking at her with concern. “I’m fine,” she said, more than a little flustered. “I just…well, I…”
“Here. Let me help you with that.” The boy flung a leg over the bike, dropped the kickstand and walked over to the bag. “Hope your groceries are okay.”
“Yes,” she said faintly. “I hope so.” Shivering inwardly, she stepped back to give the boy room, and looked across the street again.
There was no one there.
“Did you want this in the front seat?” the boy said.
She shook herself and managed to smile at him. “Yes, please.”
If he noticed the bag wasn’t nearly heavy enough to drop, he didn’t say anything about it. She was grateful for that. He leaned into the truck and shoved it over to the passenger side. “There you go,” the boy said. “Hey, are you sure you’re okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost—that’s what my mom would say, I mean.”
“Maybe I did,” she said. “Thank you for the help.”
“No problem.”
The boy went back to his bike and rode away. Kyla stood there for a moment, staring across the street. Now there was a couple walking past slowly, with the man pushing a stroller. It wasn’t the man she’d seen. She could’ve sworn it was Mike—but there was no sign of him now.
She must have imagined it. Ralph’s call had probably upset her more than she thought, and now she was having panic hallucinations. She’d just go to dinner with Gage and have a good time. Forget about her ex-husband for tonight.
Her hands only shook a little as she started the truck and drove away.
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Chapter 14
Gage peered nervously through the oven door at the giant pan of lasagna bubbling away in there. “Are you sure it’s going to be good?” he said. “I mean, you put eggs in there. That doesn’t seem right, having eggs and tomato sauce together.”
“Will you relax? I know what I’m doing.” Luka finished chopping a handful of carrots and scraped them deftly into the salad bowl. “You have no idea how to cook. If you knew half the ingredients that go into the stuff you like, you’d never eat again.”
He winced. “Do me a favor and don’t tell me.”
“I won’t.” She pointed the knife she still held at the counter next to the stove. “You need to get that garlic bread in. The lasagna’s almost done.”
“I thought I was making the punch.”
“Well, now you’re doing both.”
He sighed and grabbed a potholder. “We should’ve just had hot dogs and chips. That’s a lot easier.”
“Right. Because that would make a great impression.”
“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with hot dogs.” He slid the garlic bread into the oven, and headed back to the punch bowl. “How do you manage to get all this stuff ready at the same time, when you’re doing it yourself?”
“Oh, I just use my magic wand.” Luka smirked at him. “You know, you didn’t have to let Mark and Jonah bully you into this,” she said.
He frowned. “Didn’t I? It’s the only way to get them off my back.”
“Well, try not to worry about them scaring Kyla off. I’m pretty sure she can handle them.” Luka leaned against the counter and smiled. “She’s really something special.”
“You have no idea.” Gage sighed, turning to face his sister fully. “Luka…I’m scared.”
Her brow furrowed. “Of what?”
“Screwing this up.” He folded his arms and stared at the kitchen table. “Kyla came from a bad relationship,” he said slowly. “I can’t tell you more, because I don’t think she wants people to know about it. But it was really bad. I’m afraid I’ll do something wrong and scare her away.”
“You haven’t so far.”
“Yeah, but what if I do? I mess up all the time. And…I think I love her.” He managed to look up at last. “Actually, I know it. I love her.”
Luka smiled. “Then all you have to do is be yourself.”
A bitter laugh escaped him. “Yeah, right. That’s the last thing I should do. I suck.”
“Gage,” Luka said firmly. “I don’t know much about Kyla, but I know how she feels about you.”
“Sure,” he said. “Shop talk at the office, right?”
“Not exactly. Do you know why I apologized to you about Sunday morning?”
“Because you were rude?”
“Well, that too. But mostly because of Kyla.”
He frowned. “What about her?”
“When she came into work this morning, I confronted her. I was pretty sure you’d been at her place when I called. Turned out I didn’t even have to ask,” she said. “I mentioned I wanted to talk about you, and she said she was sorry the car was late. So I knew.”
“That was a cheap trick, Luka.”
“Yeah, I know. But listen.” She let out a long breath. “I was worried that both of you were going to get hurt. So I mentioned that you’ve never been particularly serious about anything, ever. And she went off on me.”
The statement startled a grin from him. “She did?”
“Oh, yeah. Put me right in my place.” A tiny smile played around her mouth. “She said everybody was wrong about you, including me. She even said you were wrong about you not deserving her.”
“Oh, God. She told you that?”
“She had to. Man, was she furious.” Luka straightened and met his gaze. “She’s never met your reputation. She only knows the real you, and that’s what she likes. So just…be yourself.”
Gage crossed the kitchen in four strides and caught her in a bear hug. “Thanks, Luka.”
“Ow. Okay, you’re welcome.” She laughed as he eased back. “I’m proud of you,” she said, and gave him a light shove. “Now go finish the punch.”
Just then, the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it!” Gage shouted, pivoting to sprint for the living room. “Don’t you go anywhere near that door.” He knew Jonah and Mark were out there, probably waiting to ambush Kyla before he could get there.
Miraculously, they stayed on the couch. He rushed past them, grabbed the door and opened it, a smile on his face.
The expression died at the sight of Kyla looking shaken and pale, clutching a rumpled grocery bag in both arms.
“What happened?” he said. “Are you all right?”
She nodded slowly, her gaze distant and distracted. “I think I just saw my ex-husband.”
* * * *
From Gage’s reaction, Kyla guessed she wasn’t as together as she’d hoped.
“Son of a—” He glanced over his shoulder and said, “Stay there,” then stepped outside and shut the door. “Where is he?” he said, taking the bag from her gently despite the anger in his words. “Because I’ll go after him, right now.”
“No…wait.” She drew a deep breath and tried once again to get hold of herself. “I’m not really sure what I saw,” she said. “It happened so fast.”
“All right.” Gage shifted the bag to one arm. “Tell me.”
She nodded and started from the beginning, with the phone call from Ralph. She explained how she’d only seen the man for an instant, how he’d vanished almost instantly. “I wasn’t sure it was him at all,” she said. “And now that I’m saying all this out loud, it sounds crazy. I was probably just freaked out because of Ralph calling like that.”
“Maybe,” Gage said with a frown. “But I don’t think you should assume that’s what happened. What if it really was him?”
Fresh shivers went through her. “I guess I just don’t see how,” she said. “I mean, he doesn’t even know this town exists. It wouldn’t be easy to find me.”
“Still, we should at least call the sheriff. Tell him to watch out for this guy.”
“They already are. Ralph called them.”
He shook his head. “I don’t like this.”
“Neither do I,” she admitted. “But maybe we could forget about him for now, and eat? I’m starving.”
“A woman after my own heart,” he said with a grin. “Come on in.”
He opened the door, and she followed him inside. Almost immediately, an unfamiliar male voice said, “What was that about, Gage? You backing out already?”
Gage made an irritated sound. “Jonah, make him shut up.”
“Oh, come on. That was tame.”
“You two are hopeless.” That voice, she recognized as Jonah. “Be nice. We have company.”
Gage muttered something under his breath and moved away, giving Kyla her first look at things. There was a spacious living room with a big-screen TV and a nice furniture set, and two men with black hair and green eyes standing by the couch. Mark—obviously the one who wasn’t Jonah—matched the oldest Dawson in height, but not quite in breadth. He was still powerfully built. It seemed like muscles ran in the family, too.
Stopping just behind the others, Gage sent a quick glare in their general direction. “Kyla, this is Mark,” he said, jerking a thumb at the brother in question. “You met Jonah the other day.”
“I remember,” she said with a smile. “Hello, Mark.”
Mark nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
“Same here,” she said. “Hi, Jonah.”
“Kyla.”
“All right. Enough with the introductions,” Gage said. “Come on, let’s take this in the kitchen.”
“Sure.”
She followed him out of the room, stifling a laugh. It really was adorable the way he got so jealous of his brothers. She’d have to remember to tell him later that he had nothing to worry about—because he was the only Dawson she wanted.
When they rea
ched the kitchen, she was ambushed by a warm hug. “Hey, girl,” Luka said. “I’m so glad you could come. Most of the time, there’s way too much testosterone around here.”
“Well, I’m glad to be invited,” she said, returning the hug. “You really live here with all these guys?” she said.
“Not for much longer. Once I’m married, I’m out.” She laughed as she headed for the stove. “They’ll probably starve to death when I’m gone.”
“Nah. We’ll just make Mark do all the cooking.” Gage grinned and set the bag on the table. “What’s in here, anyway?”
“Dessert,” Kyla said. “At least, I hope so.”
“You hope?”
“I kind of dropped the bag.”
“Oh.” Gage gave her an understanding look. “Well, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” he said. “Let’s have a look.”
He started pulling things out. The peanut butter cookies were intact, and a few of the chocolate chip ones looked cracked. The cake on the bottom had fared the worst, but it wasn’t completely destroyed. Just a few slices popped out of place, like a buckled sidewalk.
“Still totally edible,” Gage pronounced.
“Everything’s edible to you,” Luka said as she slid a giant pan of lasagna from the oven. “Okay. Dinner’s ready,” she said. “Gage, take this out there and tell the other two idiots to make sure the table’s set. The right way.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Gage winked at Kyla, and headed for the stove.
“Can I help with something?” Kyla said as Gage went by with the lasagna.
“No way.” Luka smiled and went back for a tray of garlic bread. “You’re a guest. All you have to do is relax and eat.”
“Luka!” Gage shouted from another room. “Jonah can’t find the napkins.”
She rolled her eyes. “Boys,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”
As she hurried from the kitchen, Kyla shrugged and sat at the small table. A moment later, she heard Luka say, “They’re right here. In the linen closet where they always are.”
A flurry of voices followed.
“Why do we have a closet just for linens? That’s stupid.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I put your circular saw in there last weekend.”
“There’s grease all over this white…thing.”
