Page 22

The furniture store has come and gone, leaving each room filled with a modest amount of stuff. Trevor and Jenna each got to pick out their bedroom furniture last week when we went shopping. We did a large haul at the local linen store and the rest over at Target. I make a mental note to suspend the kids’ college fund payments the next couple months so I can get my credit cards paid down.

“Come on, you two, this is the last of the boxes,” I tell them as I pull the hatch of my SUV open. We’ve cleared out the storage unit, and the stockpile from my brother’s house. The kids each brought items from Heath’s over so they can keep them with me. It didn’t get past me that a lot of it was dirty laundry. I’m sure they think I’ll break down and wash their clothes, but they each have another thing coming.

“I thought Uncle Tony and Will were supposed to help us?” Jenna whines.

“They did,” I say as I hand Trevor a box.

“They didn’t help us till the end,” Jenna complains.

“They did enough– Here.” I hand her a box that I know she won’t drop. “Take them inside. They go in my room,” I yell at their retreating forms.

I stretch my body into the back of the car, my fingertips barely grasping at the brown cardboard. “Come on, you sucker,” I say through clenched teeth. My hamstrings burn as I continue to reach, but once I get a firm grip relief floods my body. “I seriously need to workout.” I grab the box, moving my hands under it. I hike my leg up trying to get a firm hold on the teetering case. My leg drops as I’m about to lose my balance, causing the box to slip down my thighs.

“Mother–”

“Here.”

A deep voice comes up from behind me, making me gasp and lose my grip on the box completely, lucky that the deep voice has cat-like reflexes because he swoops in from behind and grabs the box with a grunt before it hits the ground.

“Jesus, what do you have in here? A body?”

“Don’t be silly. A body wouldn’t fit. There’s just body parts in…”

My sentence dies when I turn around and see who saved my books from becoming bent up piles of trash. “Holy shit…” I utter under my breath, but apparently not quite enough because my reaction gets a chuckle out of him. It’s Liam Prescott, Ben’s father. I’d recognize that face anywhere. His sandy brown shaggy hair and beard is the complete opposite of what the military usually demands, but when you’re in the middle east, they like the soldiers to try to fit in. I notice that he and Ben both share the same seafoam green eyes. To put it simply, he’s stunning.

With a smile, he shifts the box to get a better hold. “Where can I put the body parts?”

I swallow, trying to clear my mind of some serious lust induced fog. “Yeah, um… Inside?”

He laughs again. “Are you not sure where you want this?”

I shake my head and laugh. “I’m sorry, yeah, follow me.” I step around him and head into the condo. I’m such a ditz sometimes.

When I enter, it’s quiet, which means the kids are probably in their rooms unpacking. More than likely they’re in their rooms so they don’t have to do any more physical labor, but they’re not getting off that easy. I survey the room, trying to figure out where the box can go. “Anywhere?”

I spin around and see Liam standing at the threshold of my door. “Yeah, you can drop it anywhere. They’re just books.”

“You a big reader?”

“What–No? Oh, I’m an author.” I stop at my confession. “Shoot. Pretend you didn’t hear that.”

The box slides down his arms as he carefully sets it on the floor next to his feet. “Is there anything else you didn’t want me to hear?”

I scrunch my nose. “What?” He jabs his thumb over his shoulder towards the door to where my car is, and that’s when it hits me. He’s talking about the ‘holy shit’ comment. Closing my eyes, I will the embarrassment to stop as it creeps up my neck.

“So why do you want me to pretend I didn’t hear the last part?”

“Mom!” Jenna shouts from her room before coming down the hall. Her steps falter a bit when she sees Liam in the living room. “Oh. Um, you’re Dillon’s dad, right?”

He nods, shoving his hands in his pockets and smiles. “Yep, that’s me.” There’s a slight blush that hit his cheeks.

“Sup,” I hear Trevor say from behind me, and the low baritone of his voice startles me. When I turn to look at him his brows are furrowed. He’s not happy with our guest. I want to laugh, and then I want to ruffle his hair and tell him I’m proud that he’s protective of me.

“Hey.” Liam gives a small wave while smiling.

The room falls silent. Okay, this entire situation is a bit awkward.

“So, anyway,” I say trying to break the tension, “I’m Whitney James. I’m Ben’s teacher.” I step towards him and extend my hand. He immediately takes it with a firm but gentle handshake. There’s a familiarity when my skin touches his.