by R. Linda
She smiled. “I love watching them together,” she said, a strange look on her face.
“Uh-oh.”
“What?” she asked as she opened the front door for me.
“Someone’s getting clucky,” I teased.
“I am not.” She bit her lip to hide her smile.
I raised an eyebrow and stared at her.
“I’m not. I love Cole, that’s it. Ryder is so good with him, and he’d—” Her eyes widened, and she gasped.
“And he’d be the best dad,” I finished for her. Because he would. Any kid would be lucky to have Ryder as their father.
She nodded.
I grinned and patted her cheek. “Just promise you’ll at least wait until my son isn’t in the house before you try to make Ryder Junior,” I said and skipped down the path to my car before she could respond.
Jeremy
There was a dude sitting on the steps of the apartment building when I pulled up out the front. I’d never seen him before but figured he must have been waiting for someone. Ignoring him, I went inside and made my way upstairs. I’d decided to go for a run. Fitness had become a huge thing for me in prison. There wasn’t much else to do to pass the time. I changed into my running gear, grabbed my headphones, and left. The guy was still waiting.
“You all right, man?” I turned and asked him once I hit the street.
“Yeah. Just waiting for a friend to get home from work.” He checked his watch. “She shouldn’t be too much longer.”
“Okay.” I shrugged. It was none of my business. I just didn’t want any shady people hanging around.
I put my earphones in and took off down the street, my feet pounding the pavement as I rounded the corner onto the main street. I jogged past all the stores, the single bar in town, and headed to the beach. I wasn’t much of a swimmer, but I had begun to enjoy running in the sand. It really worked your muscles.
I ran for a good hour before going home. My legs ached, and my chest burned as I approached the building. I noticed the curls first. The blonde mass of hair could only belong to one person. I slowed to a light jog as I realised Kenzie was talking to the guy who had been waiting outside.
She gave me a quick glance as I walked up the steps, one side of her mouth pulled into a brief half smile before ignoring me and talking to her friend again. “I told you before. No.” She crossed her arms defiantly.
I paused on the top step and wondered if I should say anything. She looked uncomfortable and as though she was getting annoyed with the guy, but I thought better of it and decided to leave them alone to sort out whatever was going on. It wasn’t my place to interfere. I didn’t know her well enough to make any assumptions. And I had no idea who he was. But I was sure she was capable of looking after herself.
I’d barely made it up the first flight of stairs when I heard her voice. Loud and clear. She was yelling at the guy and telling him to leave her and her son alone. Realisation hit me like a tonne of bricks. He must have been her ex. The one who had been stalking her for the past few weeks.
I sat on the stairs and pulled out my phone to call my sister.
“Harper?”
“Yes?” she answered slowly.
“Does Kenzie have a boyfriend?” I asked, wanting confirmation that I wasn’t going to interrupt a domestic dispute or something.
“I told you, Jeremy! No, stay away from my friend.”
“Just shut up and answer me. I’m not asking for that reason.”
“No, she doesn’t. Why?”
“Because I want to make sure I won’t cause any more trouble for her when I go out there and drag her back inside.” My fingers tightened around the phone as his voice echoed through the apartment building, yelling at Kenzie.
“Huh? What are you talking about? Out where?”
“What does her ex look like?” I stood and walked back down the stairs to peer out the door so I could get a better look at the guy arguing with Kenzie.
“A Ken doll.”
“What the hell is a Ken doll?”
“You know, Barbie’s boyfriend. Umm, perfect. Handsome—” She was cut off by Nate talking in the background. “Not as perfect or handsome as you, friend,” she said to Nate, muffling the phone at the same time.
Dammit.
“Harper. Focus!”
“Sorry. Well dressed. Looks like he sleeps in a tanning bed every night and spends more time on his hair than Nate.”
Nate’s voice travelled through the phone again. “I resent that.”
“You know it’s true.” Harper laughed then focused her attention back on me. “Why?”
“Because I think he’s out the front arguing with her right now.” I eyed him curiously. It was definitely him. His skin was too tanned. His hair didn’t even move in the breeze, like it was plastic. His teeth were blindingly white.
“Crap. Jeremy, you have to go out there and stop it before things get worse. She’ll call Ryder and—”
“I’ll take care of it,” I told her.
“Call me later and tell me what happened.”
“Yeah.”
“Bye.”
I ended the call and pushed open the front doors. “Hey, Kenz, don’t mean to interrupt,” I said, trying to sound sincere when all I wanted to do was grab the Ken doll by the scruff of his…was that a purple shirt, or maybe pink? And shove him into the wall.
Kenzie actually looked relieved to see me. Not like the last couple of times we’d spoken when she couldn’t get away fast enough. A grateful smile spread across her face, and she took a step back from the douche towering over her. I was impressed by her determination to stand up to him, though.
He turned and glared at me, like I’d be intimidated by him. I squared my shoulders and looked directly at Kenzie as though he didn’t exist. “I locked myself out of my apartment. Mind if I use your phone to call the landlord to come open the door for me?”
“Ah, sure.” Her lips pinched together as she dug through her bag to pull out her phone and hand it to me.
“Don’t suppose you have his number saved in here? I don’t know it.” I said, silently begging her to say no.
“Oh, no, it’s upstairs on the fridge.” She shot a nervous glance at her ex. “I’ll get it for you.”
“You’re a lifesaver. Thanks.” I smiled at her before facing Chace. “Sorry, man.”
“We’re done here. You can leave now,” she said to Chace and stormed inside with me following her.
“Kenzie!” he called out, but she ignored him and stomped up the stairs, threw her apartment door open, and ripped a piece of paper off the fridge.
“Here,” she said.
I took the paper from her hands, placed it back on the fridge, and set her phone on the counter.
“What are you doing? I thought you needed to call him.”
I reached into the pocket of my shorts and pulled out my keys, dangling them in front of her face with a grin. “Guess I forgot where I left them.”
She crossed her arms, and her eyebrows pulled together. “I’m not in the mood for games, Jeremy.”
“No games, babe. I swear.” I held up my hands in defence.
She growled at my nickname for her but couldn’t hide the small smile appearing on her face. “Really? Still with the babe?”
“It’s a term of endearment. I like it.”
“I don’t.”
“You will.” I smirked.
“Doubtful.”
I walked away from her and sat down on her sofa. It was much softer than mine. Her apartment looked like a home, while mine looked not much different than a prison cell.
“What do you think you’re doing?” She followed me into the living room and took a seat at the other end of the sofa.
“Sitting. I just ran for an hour, and I’m kinda tired.”
“You could go home since you have your keys.” She raised her eyebrows and waved at the door. “Why did you lie, anyway?”
“Because I didn’t like the way h
e was talking to you and couldn’t think of a good enough excuse to get you away from him. So, it was either I locked myself out, or I was going to walk out there, throw you over my shoulder, slap your arse, and tell him not to wait up.”
Her jaw dropped. I leaned over, pinched her chin between my thumb and forefinger, and closed her mouth. “Figured my balls would stay intact if I went with the first option.”
“Good choice.” She leaned back and rubbed her palms on her pants. “Umm, thanks. For that.”
“Any time. Besides, Harper would have killed me if I’d not done something.”
“True.” She laughed. “She hates Chace almost as much as I do.” Her laugh died in her throat, and her face became serious again.
“Does it really get that bad?”
“Bad enough that I sent my son to his uncle’s house for a few days.” Her gaze dropped, and she chewed on her bottom lip. “Or that my brother is one arrest away from being locked up.”
“Shit. What’s this guy’s problem, anyway?” I only knew the few details Harper had told me, but it didn’t seem to be the full story.
“Chace?”
I nodded.
“He’s an entitled, self-centered asshole who cares about no one but himself.” She laughed bitterly.
“Is there a chance he actually cares about Cole?” I only asked because he appeared to be going to an awful lot of trouble to see a kid he supposedly wanted nothing to do with.
“No! Not at all. Look, Jeremy, I appreciate your help out there, but you have no idea what is really going on here, so I think maybe you should mind your own business,” Kenzie snapped.
Feisty.
“No can do, babe. Harper would have me strung up and tortured if I ignored what was going on. And I feel it’s entirely my business when some crazy Ken doll hangs around unwanted out the front of the building where I live. I have a right to feel safe in my own home too, you know.” I smirked. Chace didn’t scare me at all. Not much did anymore. But I was hoping to at least get a smile or something from her. Instead, I got a wince.
“Sorry. I didn’t think how it would affect the neighbours.”
“I’m joking.” I held up my hand to stop her speaking further. “But I am concerned about him causing trouble for you and anyone else in the building, so…care to tell me the story?”
“No. I don’t want—” She paused and stared at her fingernails. “Why do you care, anyway?” She lifted her bright green eyes to meet mine.
I shrugged. I didn’t care. But I knew my sister would be a pain in my ass if I didn’t look out for her friend when I lived next door. And I guessed…I couldn’t save Harper when we were young, but maybe I could do something for Kenzie and Cole. Kind of make up for screwing up my sister’s life.
“I don’t care. I’m just curious.”
Kenzie blew out a breath and stood. Resting her hands on her hips, she turned to me. “Fine. If I’m going to do this, I’ll need wine.” She walked into the kitchen. Her ass swayed from side to side, not at all hidden by the oversized hospital scrubs she still wore and somehow managed to make look fucking hot.
I was still staring at her ass when she turned around and asked, “Do you want a beer?”
“Sure.” I cleared my throat and averted my gaze but knew she’d seen me. She turned back to the fridge and bent over to get a beer from the bottom shelf. Hell.
“Quit looking at my ass,” Kenzie called.
I laughed. “Don’t flatter yourself, babe.”
“No, you do that enough for me.” She walked back into the living room, fluttering her eyelashes with exaggerated movements.
“You aiming for the ‘I got dust in my eye’ look?” I teased and took the beer from her hands as she sat back down on the sofa beside me.
“I’m trying to be sexy. Is this not sexy?” She pouted her lips and rapidly blinked her eyelids again.
“No. Just stop, before you sprain an eyelash or something.”
She threw a cushion at my face. “Jerk.”
“You asked. And just so you know…you don’t have to try to be sexy.”
“I don’t?” She frowned, that dimple appearing on her left cheek. I didn’t understand her. She didn’t like when I called her babe but looked disappointed when I tell her she doesn’t have to be sexy.
“No. It just comes naturally for you.” I took a swig of beer before I said something Harper or Kenzie would make me regret.
She stared at me curiously, almost as though she was trying to figure out if I was being sincere.
“I believe you have a story to tell me,” I said before she made things weird. She needed to learn how to take a compliment and move on.
“We’re going to be here all night.” Kenzie sighed.
I leaned back and stretched out, making myself comfortable. “Got nowhere else to be, babe.”
Kenzie
He called me babe again. In fact, he’d called me babe numerous times, and the surprising thing was, I wasn’t actually pissed off about it. It had been a hell of a long time since anyone referred to me as sexy, and no one had ever called me babe before. I’d watched everyone else give each other stupid nicknames and thought they were pathetic, my brother included. He and Bailey preferred “baby,” while Indie and Linc had their own special nicknames that meant something to them, and Harper and Nate called each other “friend” because they had denied they were anything but friends for so long, even though they’d been sleeping together behind everyone’s backs for months.
Maybe it was his hair, the shaggy black locks that hung in his eyes. Or maybe it was his ocean blue eyes, framed by thick dark lashes. No, it was definitely his sharp cheekbones when he smiled that made babe sound so much better.
My thoughts drifted to Chace as I watched Jeremy curiously. I wondered how on earth I was ever attracted to a pretentious ass like Chace, when guys like Jeremy existed. I blamed it on immaturity.
“Babe?” He said it again. I suppressed my smile. I really needed to be careful around Jeremy.
“Okay.” I took a deep breath and prepared to tell him everything. I wasn’t even sure Harper knew everything. Not all the details. She knew most of what had happened. The only people I had told absolutely every detail to were Mum and Ryder, and, of course, Bailey over the years. “Before I start, you need to know Chace and Ryder were best friends growing up.” I took a sip of wine.
“Ryder’s your brother, right?”
I nodded. “And it’s important you know that, so you can understand Ryder’s reaction, or overreaction to Chace most of the time.”
Jeremy took a mouthful of beer, his Adam’s apple bobbing, but didn’t say a word.
“They were like chalk and cheese. Chace was outgoing and popular, the centre of attention and absolutely gorgeous. Ryder, on the other hand, was quiet, reserved. He blended into the background, hated the spotlight. He wasn’t always the hothead he is today. But Chace changed that. I don’t know whether it was just brotherly protection, or some freaky twin thing we have going on…”
“You’re twins? I didn’t know that,” Jeremy said, leaning forward with eyebrows raised.
“As identical as opposite sexes can be. Yep.” I nodded in confirmation. “When we were kids, Ryder had blond hair too, and there was no way to tell us apart. The dimples. The curls, the green eyes. It wasn’t until we matured and lost the baby look that our features became more distinguished. My face was softer, more feminine, while Ryder’s features became more prominent, angled, and masculine. And, you know, I grew boobs.”
Jeremy choked on his beer, spluttering everywhere. He banged a fist to his chest. “I’m well aware of that fact, babe.”
I laughed. It was easy talking to Jeremy, comfortable, like we’d been friends for a long time, which was crazy. I’d only known him for a month, since he moved to town to be closer to his sister.
“Anyway, I think it was more the freaky twin thing than anything. It doesn’t happen often, only when emotions are strong, but we feel what the
other is feeling. So, when I found out I was pregnant at fifteen, Ryder knew something was wrong. He came home to find me crying on the bathroom floor after feeling my emotions. He was pissed that his friend would be so careless, but it wasn’t just Chace’s fault. I was stupid too. But then Ryder went into full supportive mode. Was with me when I told my mother and offered to go with me when I told Chace he was going to be a daddy.” I paused and gulped down my wine.
“How’d your mum take it?”
“She was disappointed, but supportive. Told me she’d be there no matter what I chose.”
“Meaning, whether you wanted to keep—” Jeremy screwed his face up.
“Yeah. I told her there was no choice, I wanted my baby. It goes against everything I am to terminate a pregnancy. That little life didn’t ask to be born, and I had no right to take it away. I thought Chace would agree. I thought he’d feel the same way. Only he didn’t. He completely flipped out. Accused me of cheating on him, because we’d always been careful. I was fifteen, for fuck’s sake. I wasn’t sleeping around. He demanded that I get rid of ‘it.’ He couldn’t even say the word ‘baby.’”
More wine.
Jeremy’s fingers tightened around his beer bottle, his jaw clenched and mouth set in a firm line. I’d seen that look on Ryder so often. He was trying to control his temper. I wasn’t even angry or upset about it anymore. I’d moved on. I was happy. I was just annoyed that Chace wouldn’t leave us alone. And worried he’d do something stupid.
“I tried to talk to Chace, to get him to understand, but he wouldn’t. His parents offered me money to terminate. I refused. They sent me a cheque every month for two years. It was hush money. ‘Don’t tell anyone our son knocked you up and left you.’”
“Are you fucking kidding?”
“I wish I was. They dragged my name, my family, through dirt. I felt so alone. I couldn’t even leave the house without fear of what people were saying about me. So, I moved away. I went and stayed with my aunt. She was wonderful. Supported me as much as possible. Ryder was always there for me. He missed so much school, he became a completely different person. He was angry all the time, and it took me months to figure out why because he wouldn’t talk about it. Seemed the minute I left town, Chace started dating Bailey.”
