Page 10 of Driven to Love

“I better go find some dry clothes.” She skirted around him and made a beeline for Laney’s room.

“Addison.”

She stopped at the hallway, turning just enough to see him with his hands in his pockets, relaxed.

At first, Nash didn’t speak. Not in words, but those eyes conveyed way more than Addison wanted to hear. It felt like hours before he broke the visual connection and gave a subtle head tip. “See you outside.”

Addison held stiff until he slipped out the backdoor. At the sound of the latch, she slumped against the wall. If she wasn’t careful, Nash Steele would be the end of her.

Five minutes after Addison left the kitchen, Nash still stood with his feet glued to the ground. The current from Addison’s proximity still flowed through him. It crackled like a bug zapper on a Minnesota summer night.

There was something about that woman. He snagged a cherry tomato from the tray on the table and popped it into his mouth. With one last look at the house where Addison was changing right now, he bit back the pull telling him to go back inside. Instead, he returned to his post at the grill.

“Did you bring me a beer?” Sawyer, Laney’s brother, asked as he flipped the burgers with the ease of a short-order cook.

Nash detoured to the cooler and snagged two beers, tossing one to Sawyer.

“Burn any?” Nash eyed the patties.

“No, but I take requests. One or two?” Sawyer placed two in the center of the grill, as Nash indicated, moving the rest of the burgers onto the tray to be taken to the food table.

Nash liked his burgers just this side of briquettes. Davey did two. Like father, like son.

A couple of kids ran by with squirt guns and water balloons. A sadness festered in his gut. He wished Davey was here. His son would have had a blast, as there were several kids his age at the party.

Moms started corralling their kids to come grab a plate of food. Nash chuckled. Herding cats would have been easier.

The hair on his arms rose. He didn’t need to see her to know that Addison had reentered the party. Like a magnet, his attention was drawn to the door. Their gazes met for the briefest of moments before she turned away. Her perfect smile was now in place.

“Is it me? Or did the temperature just drop from the cold shoulder she gave you?” Sawyer asked.

“I suggested we try to get along for Cade and Laney. She begrudgingly agreed. I think she just needs time to warm to the idea.” He watched as she helped little Jimmy, Cade’s nephew, get a plate.

Sawyer nodded. “I don’t know what you did, but I haven’t seen Addison give anyone the ice princess routine in a long time.”

“What can I say? I’m special.”

Chapter 4

The humidity was so thick Nash could taste it. Condensation clung to the windows when he started the truck this morning. The temperature on the dash read eighty-six and was well on its way to a high of ninety-five. Nash dreaded sitting in the scorching sun all day, but no way he’d miss one of Davey’s games.

His parents, though? That worried him. He made sure to bring extra water and sunscreen. His mom was fair-skinned and burned easily. And while he and his father shared the ability to tan, Dad’s recent heart problems made Nash question if a day in the July heat was a good idea. But he couldn’t say no to his parents or his son, and all three of them were excited for today’s game.

Nash pulled off the freeway and weaved through the streets of his old neighborhood. He loved growing up here. It never felt like the big city, not back then. But when he moved to Gray Duck Grove, he found his new home and loved it just as much. The only thing that would make it better was if Davey lived with him full-time.

Nash passed one of St. Paul’s prestigious universities and several historic houses. A few more turns, and he was in a modest, middle-class neighborhood. He parked in front of his parents’ blue and white bungalow. Cade’s old house was across the street. A smile tugged at his cheek as memories of their childhood antics came back to him.

Pulling his attention back to his parents’ house, Nash frowned. The bushes in the front were overgrown and needed trimming. One more thing to add to his list when he came up to pick up Davey next weekend.

He opened the truck door, and his sunglasses fogged from the heat. Good thing he brought one of those big sunshades. He clicked the key fob and restarted the vehicle as he walked to the front door. Anything to keep the interior cool.

Reaching for the bell, he noticed the faded paint. He made a mental note to add it to his list. His repair list was growing by the second, and he hadn’t even entered the house yet.

“Hi, honey. You’re early.” Georgia Steele stretched up to hug him.

At five-eleven, Nash wasn’t exceptionally tall, but he felt like an NBA player when his mom hugged him.

“Your father is in the garage pulling out the chairs.”