“How many were there?”
“Five.”
“Five kids your age?”
“Two were Tanner’s age, the others a year younger.” Which had made them all older than him—not that he’d let that slow him down. Back then, he’d always been looking for a reason to brawl. Punks egging the house? Good enough for him.
Her disbelieving snort tickled him.
“You don’t believe me?”
“Five against two?”
Lifting a shoulder, he made it clear it hadn’t mattered. “A pissed-off Tanner is worth three men. And I held my own.”
“Braggart.”
He doctored her coffee the way he knew she liked it. “One of them started crying. Can you believe that? I let him go. Addie would have—”
Interrupting, Glory said, “Do you realize that anytime you do something nice, you blame Addie?”
“Because it’s her fault.”
“Or to her credit.”
“That, too.” He slid the mug of steaming coffee in front of her, then took the stool beside her, angling her way so that his knees almost touched her thigh. “Let me know if that’s sweet enough.”
Cautiously, she turned her head and eyed him. As if deciding he was sincere, she gave her attention to the coffee, sipped, and sighed. “Perfect, thank you.”
“Low-fat creamer is nasty.” But it was all she’d had in her fridge.
She’d just about taken another drink, but at his comment, she dropped her head and laughed. “You do that on purpose, don’t you? Mix in an obnoxious comment with a nice word or act.”
“Keeps you guessing.” Because he knew she liked Addie, he said, “I have to constantly fight my demons, but these days, they’re easier to battle because of Addie.”
Curious, she half turned to face him, too. “You have demons?”
Oh, that gentle curiosity mixed with understanding. “Don’t we all?” He figured Glory knew a thing or two about that, otherwise she wouldn’t always be so defensive.
“I know she adopted you and Tanner.”
“Guess God figured I could use an angel, so he sent Addie my way.”
She hesitated so long Kam found himself wondering what she’d say.
Reserved, cautious, she asked, “Is that because you had a rough childhood?”
“It sucked, yeah.” And that was as detailed as he was going to get. “I dealt with it by being a nonstop asshole. Got me knocked around a lot, but that was easier than thinking, even for a minute, that things would improve.” He smirked a little, remembering when Addie first took him in. “She already had Tanner, so I felt like I was horning in, even though Addie swore they both wanted me.” That memory got him caught up in a chuckle.
“What?”
“Sometimes I’d catch Tanner giving me the side-eye, you know? Hell, he was a kid, too, and he wasn’t sure what to make of me.” Years later, Tanner told him that it felt like Addie had brought a rabid raccoon into the house. Thinking of how he’d been back then, the description was apt.
“But now the two of you are close.”
“Yeah.” These days, he’d die—or kill—for Tanner, if necessary. Addie, too. Having the worst of families first had taught him to recognize the best of families once he had one. “How about you?”
“What do you mean?”
