by J. A. Little
“It’s okay. Warren invited Sara and me over for dinner, drinks, and movies tonight. We’ll probably just drink copious amounts of alcohol and pass out on the floor.” She smiles. I chuckle and kiss her again, this time a little more intensely.
“Ewwww,” Logan moans dramatically. “Two old people kissing is not something I want to see in my living room.” I growl and turn my head, ready to give him the what-for, but he’s got a huge grin on his face. “I’m just teasin’,” he laughs. “But really… That’s gross.”
“I’ll remember that next time you’re in my living room,” Kayla deadpans, pulling away from me.
We eat, finish moving the rest of the furniture, and by six o’clock, we’re done. The place looks really good. It’s not fancy and the furniture doesn’t all match, but considering it was all free, no one can complain. The boys went in together and bought a four hundred dollar flat screen and a Blu-ray player from Costco.
“All right, guys. We’re outta here,” Aiden says, throwing his arm over Emily’s shoulder. “Remember what I said. No parties, no drinking. You get kicked out of this place, and you’re out of luck!”
Both boys nod. I notice the girls aren’t moving. They’ve planted themselves on the couch comfortably. Claire looks up.
“Can we stay for awhile?” she asks, her hand rubbing over her stomach.
“Uh…” Kayla looks at me. “Caitlynn drove. Can you give me a ride home?”
“Yeah. Of course.” I slide my arm around her waist. “Let’s go.”
We say good-bye to Emily and Aiden who have to take the U-Haul truck back and are then going out to dinner. By the time we get to my car, Kayla looks a little anxious.
“What’s the matter?” I ask, reaching for a strand of hair that’s escaped from her ponytail.
She looks up at me. “I can’t just pretend I don’t know what they’re doing. So, does that mean I’m condoning it?”
“Well, what do you want to do? Lock her in her room?”
“No, but…”
“She’s seventeen, she’s pregnant, and her boyfriend has his own place. At this point, Kayla, you don’t try to keep her from doing shit. You try to make sure she’s safe, happy, and healthy.”
“You’re right, but…”
“Do you ask your foster parents to make sure the teenagers you place in their homes aren’t having sex?”
Kayla snorts. “No.”
“Because you can’t. I’d rather the boys weren’t messing around, either, but even if we never let them out, they’d find a way. We’re not prison guards. Neither are you. You’re her sister.”
Kayla purses her lips in thought. I open the car door for her and close it once she’s in.
“What’s going on with her school? You hear anything?” I ask after I slide behind the wheel.
“Yeah. They’re giving her a scholarship. Three-quarters tuition for summer school and correspondence in the fall. She’ll graduate right before the baby’s due.”
“Can you afford the rest?”
She shrugs. “Yeah, I’ll make do. She starts on Monday. She’s been really bored, so this will be good. Logan and Caitlynn both work all day, and she doesn’t have anything to do. She feels lazy. She mentioned a job, but I think school’s much better. She seems happy about it. I think she was worried she wouldn’t graduate.”
“Was there ever a doubt?”
“Maybe, but I would have worked as a night janitor at the school to pay for it. I want her to fucking show Richard she doesn’t need him. I want her to be successful in life without him.”
I seriously want to jump her right now. She’s so fucking sexy when she’s worked up. I settle for grabbing her hand and hold onto it for the rest of the drive. When we get there, Andy’s car is in the driveway.
“What’s Andy doing tonight with you ladies going out?”
“Being a guy,” she laughs. “I don’t know. I think he’s going to play poker or something. Are you going to fill Simon’s position?”
“Eventually. We have a meeting with my dad this week to talk about it. But I’ll probably have to pick up a few extra shifts.” I remember a time when I wanted nothing more than to pick up as many shifts as possible. A time when Wyatt House was my refuge. Now it blows. I’d much rather be home with Kayla. I lean over and kiss her. “Have fun. Be careful.”
“I will.”
I watch her go until she disappears through the front door.
* * *
On Sunday, we get another call for placement. This one’s an eleven-year-old with a penchant for fighting. He’s only been in care for a year, but has worked his way through six regular foster homes. This is gonna be a challenge. I hate taking on two new kids at once, but I don’t really have a choice. Brayden and Logan leaving took us down to four. Trey brought us to five, but since we’re approved for seven, it’s hard to turn away a worker desperate for placement.
Trey really hasn’t been a problem yet, but he hasn’t tried to get to know the other kids, which makes me think it’s not going to be long before his first attempt to bolt. He knows we’re keeping an eye on him, though, so I’m hoping he’ll think twice.
The new kid, Zander, takes a swing at Eric before dinner is even ready. Luckily, Curtis is standing right behind him and puts the kibosh on it before anyone gets hurt. I suddenly realize that Curtis is now the oldest in the house. This can either be a very good thing or a very bad thing. I’m hoping it means he’ll take a leadership role with the other boys, but he can be unpredictable at times, so who knows?
I alarm the house before I head to bed at eleven. It’s something I haven’t been forced to do in awhile, but with Trey being a little twitchy and Zander just arriving, I don’t want to take any chances.
Sure enough, the alarm goes off at two o’clock. I’m out of bed and in the hallway within fifteen seconds—just quick enough to hear the tail end of footsteps going up the stairs. Now they know. I reset the alarm and go back to bed. It’s silent the rest of the night, but I’m up. I stare at the ceiling wondering what Kayla’s doing, hoping the boys are settling in, thinking about all the things I need to do, and thinking about Kayla some more. I fidget for a good hour before giving in and getting up. I go over the group of applications we’d collected again and again, trying to remember why we didn’t choose this one to interview and what was the reason we didn’t like that one. By five o’clock, they’ve all blended together and I have no idea who is who anymore.
Tracey appears at eight. “Oh, honey,” she coos, seeing me sitting at Emily’s desk, probably with my eyes glazed over. “Didn’t you sleep last night?”
“Main alarm went off at two.”
She narrows her eyes. “The house alarm?” I nod sleepily. “Oh, for God’s sake. Which one?”
“I don’t know, I didn’t see. We got another new one yesterday. Could’ve been either one.” I tell her what I know about Zander. I don’t worry about Tracey’s ability to handle herself. She’s been pushed, hit, and bitten in the past, but she’s a second-degree black belt in karate. If she had to, she could probably subdue me.
“Well, go lie down. I’ll take care of breakfast.”
I shake my head. “Nah. I’m up. I’ll be fine. I’ve got a worker coming at ten for a visit.”
Tracey purses her lips together in disapproval, but doesn’t push me. “Fine. At least let me make you a cup of really strong coffee,” she concedes.
“Sure. Thanks, T.”
My dad calls a little later asking for a lunch meeting. He wants to figure out this coverage situation sooner rather than later. Aiden, Emily, and I meet him at his favorite steakhouse at noon. After ordering, my dad gets down to business.
“All right. I’m going to lay it all out there,” he starts. “I’m exceptionally disappointed with what happened with Simon. I’m angry that none of you saw what he was doing. I understand you all have your own lives, but this is your job. You cannot let your work performance suffer. Especially not when you have young lives at stake. Those kids hav
e been through enough without having anyone else take advantage of them.” We all nod our heads in agreement. “Good. Now, we obviously need to hire another person.”
“What about Kayla?” Emily chimes in.
“What about her?” I ask.
“Do you think she’d want the job?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” my dad says, shaking his head.
“Why not?” Emily asks.
“It doesn’t matter,” I scoff. “She loves the job she has.”
“It’s not that I think she wouldn’t do a great job, but that can cause all sorts of problems.” He looks at me. “Especially if it doesn’t work out.”
“Oh, please,” Emily snorts. “You said the same thing when Aiden and I started dating.”
“She. Loves. Her. Job,” I repeat.
“And I meant it,” my dad says, ignoring me and staring at Emily.
“It’s a family business. We all know it’s only a matter of time before Kayla is family.”
I slam my fist on the table. “Hello! It’s not an option. Let’s move on.” It takes me a minute to realize what Emily just said. My dad is watching me carefully. Emily frowns at me.
“I still think you should at least ask her,” she grumbles.
I notice that Aiden is staying out of this completely. He usually has something to say, but not this time. He’s tracing the design on his coaster instead.
“Are you done?”
“I guess. I just think it would be nice to have another woman in the house. The guys you hire ogle me and try to be all smooth. It’s not comfortable.”
“You have Tracey.”
“And I love her, but I want Kayla.” She grins at me.
“They ogle?” Aiden asks. Now he speaks.
“Look,” Dad says. “I’m going to widen the net and do a national posting. That’ll allow for a larger pool of applicants. Everyone’s going to have to chip in a little extra until we find someone. No settling this time.” We all nod like little kids getting scolded. “I’ll even pick up some shifts,” he adds quietly.
“You will?” I gape.
“Sure. Why not? Your mother just joined some women’s group that hosts charity events and social gatherings. There’s no point in me moping around the house while she’s gone.” Aiden and I look at each other in shock. Dad hasn’t been part of the hands-on team since before I took over as COO. “Is that okay with you guys?” he asks, leaning back as the waitress appears with our food.
“Sure,” we all answer at once.
“Good. All right!” he slaps his hands together. “Let’s eat.”
We get about halfway through lunch when Emily sets her fork down.
“What are we going to do for your birthday?” she asks, turning to me.
I groan. “Nothing.”
“Come on, Dean. You’re only going to turn thirty once.” My dad’s grinning at me from across the table, beer in hand. “Let’s do something fun, please?”
“No.”
Emily sighs. “I’m not saying some huge, stupid party. I’m thinking a nice dinner, a few drinks, maybe some clubbing.”
I roll my eyes. I’ve been trying not to think about the fact that I’m turning thirty.
“Whatever, party-pooper,” she laughs.
* * *
“Are you coming home tonight?” Kayla asks on the phone a little later in the day.
I rub my hand over my face, scratching my jaw. “Yes. Emily just went home so she could spend time with Aiden and the kids before he’s on. Maybe about ten?” I hate that it’s going to be so late, but I have to remember that Aiden and Emily are married with kids. They need to spend time as a family, too.
“Good,” she sighs. “It’s been a long day.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“No. Not right now. I’ve got a meeting in about five minutes. I just wanted to make sure.”
“Yeah, baby. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Thank you.”
I hang up and lean back in my chair. I haven’t been able to get Emily’s suggestion about Kayla working here out of my head. It would make things easier for us in terms of seeing each other more, but there’s no way she’d go for it. It would mean taking her away from her best friends and a job she’s committed to and loves.
By the time Aiden gets here, I’m ready to jump out of my skin. The boys are watching a movie. I tried to watch it with them, but I just really need to get out and see my girl.
“Sorry, man. We got the kids down, and Emily was a little worked up.” He smirks. Fucker.
“Whatever. You good?” I ask, pulling my keys from my pocket.
“Yeah. Go.”
I get to the house at about ten thirty. There’s only one light on. I’m a little worried that Kayla might have already gone to bed, but my fears are put to rest when I walk in and see her standing in the kitchen in her pajamas eating peanut butter out of the jar.
“Hey.”
She jumps, turning her head. “Jesus, you scared me. I didn’t even hear you.”
“Sorry.” I walk up behind her and kiss her neck. “So your day was shit?”
“No. Just really long. I had to schedule a really nasty visitation for next week, Logan and I got into an argument at Claire’s OB appointment, and I found out Richard’s been put on administrative leave.”
“Whoa. Why’s he on leave?”
Kayla shrugs. “Don’t know. Andy has a buddy who works in admin at the hospital. He said there’s some sort of investigation going on.”
I frown. “What happened with Logan?”
She takes another bite of peanut butter and holds up her finger. “He wanted it to just be them in the exam room. He got all pissy when I told him I wasn’t going anywhere and if he didn’t chill out, I had the right, as her guardian, to kick him out.” She takes a deep breath, leaning back into me a little. “Emily asked me what I wanted to do for your birthday.” I groan, resting my forehead against her shoulder. “She wants to go out.”
“I know. Please tell me you said no.”
“Not exactly. I told her she and Aiden should go out. Claire can babysit.”
I lift my head. She turns around in my arms so I’m caging her in against the counter. Her eyes are bright. That mischievous spark I love is back.
“I told her they should stay out really late. I’m sure Claire won’t mind spending the night.”
“Oh, yeah?” I ask, shifting my hips back a little because my dick is suddenly taking notice of this conversation.
“Mmhmm.”
“And what would we do?” I try to sound like I’m not thinking about sex, but it’s been awhile, and I’m fucking horny.
Kayla shrugs. “I don’t know. Hang out in our pajamas, play some cards. Maybe do each other’s hair.”
I lean in so my chest touches hers. Putting my knee between her legs, I bend down and press my mouth against her ear.
“I have another idea,” I murmur.
“Well,” she breathes, “it is your birthday.”
“Yes, it is.” I suck her earlobe into my mouth and scrape my teeth against it before letting go again. “Which means I get what I want, right?” She moans a little. I lift my knee, making her jerk. “Right?”
“Yeah,” she whimpers. “Anything you want.”
“Good girl.” I hope she’s ready, ‘cause God knows I am. “I want to touch you,” I whisper, sliding my hand down her side to the waistband of her pants. I press my lips against her jaw.
She pushes me away and disappointment rocks me, but then she grabs my hand. “Not here. Bedroom.” She walks backward a few steps, tugging on me. She doesn’t have to pull that hard. I’m like one of Pavlov’s dogs; mention of the bedroom has me salivating.
I’m on her before she can even get the door closed. I don’t know where I want to put my mouth first, so I don’t discriminate, but after a few minutes I find the spot on her neck where I can feel her heartbeat pounding erratically. I love this spot.
<
br /> “Dean,” she cries quietly. “Bed.” Bed. Yes. Love the bed. Need the bed. Want the bed. My mind is quickly turning to mush. My dick, however, is rock solid.
I keep my lips against her throat and pick her up so we can move across the room. In a matter of seconds, we’re horizontal, my body covering hers. Reaching a hand between her legs, I rub her. She whimpers and presses her hips upward. I use my free hand to grip one of hers. Unconsciously, my hips move against her thigh. No—I’m too turned on for that. I force myself to stop and focus on making her feel good. I slip my hand into the waistband of her pants, beneath her underwear, and touch her. She’s warm and wet—fucking perfect. I want to make her come. I feel like it’s been forever since she’s cried out for me, even though it’s only been a week. But it’s been a long fucking week.
“What’s the matter?” she asks, her forehead wrinkling. I realize I’ve stopped moving entirely and am staring down at her. I pull my hand from her pants and set it down next to her hip.
“I…I thought you were going to leave me.”
“Dean—”
“I love you.”
Her mouth opens. I hear her inhale and then stop breathing altogether.
“I don’t know why it took me so long to tell you, but I don’t want another day to go by without you knowing that I love you more than anything in this world.” My words are hurried and unromantic. I was just humping her leg and fingering her, and now I’m proclaiming my love. I wish I was better at this shit. She’s still looking at me in shock. Fuck, this is awkward. I should have waited. “Uh…”
She moves fast, sitting up and knocking me backward onto my heels before jumping into my lap. Her mouth on mine is fast and furious. Lips and tongue everywhere, inside me, claiming me. We are all over the bed as we strip each other naked. Kayla knocks something off the nightstand. It hits the floor, but we don’t stop. There is nothing I want more right now than to be inside her.
Spreading her legs with my knees, I rear up, grab my cock, and position it. In a swift move, I enter her.
“Oh, God!” she cries out, grasping at the sheets. “That feels so good.”
I stay on my knees, pulling her legs up so that they wrap around me. Her shoulders are pressed into the mattress as I hold her hips and pump into her with everything I have. The sounds she’s making urge me on—make me want to go faster and harder. When my legs start to ache, I lower her and lay down on top of her, balancing myself on my forearms.
