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Didn’t mean I didn’t think about all the ways I wanted to touch her in private.
I sat in the chair next to her before I did something foolish like steal a kiss.I slowly reeled in Eli’s line and tried to forget how yielding her lips had been under mine.Casting, I didn’t worry about Eli getting upset that he’d missed his chance.He had dug out his truck, and Owen was making a racetrack around a large boulder.They might be interested in fishing again in the next twenty minutes, but building a dirt jump for the toy truck was more important right now.
“Did you take pictures of the floor?”I asked.I’d had my phone ready in case she called with questions.She hadn’t.I’d almost called her just to hear her voice, but I didn’t want to seem like another overpowering force in her life.
“No, I forgot.”She started reeling Owen’s line in, her gaze on the bobber in the water.“Bruce stopped by.”
I nodded, grinding my teeth together before I forced my jaws apart.“The hour delay?”
“He insisted on mowing.I was hoping to get in a workout when I did it tomorrow.”
“Did you tell him that?”
“Not the workout part.He said it was supposed to rain tonight, and then he saw the kitchen and said he’d install the flooring too.So I told him I had a headache and needed to lie down.”
Kenny wanted to think the best of him, but I didn’t get my stubbornness solely from my mom’s side.“He’s going to be back tomorrow to do the floor.”
“I doubt it.”She squinted at me.“You think?”
I jerked the rod up to keep the hook from catching in the pebbles and weeds by the shore.“He thinks you need to be taken care of.And I’m sure it keeps him from feeling guilty about Derek.”
“I agree that’s part of it, but he and Willow welcomed me into the family.I’m like a daughter to him.”She set the rod down and slumped in the chair.“Willow’s a lot like Mom.I know how to handle her.But with Bruce… I don’t know.I feel bad even complaining.He’s done so much.”
“Relax, Kenny.It’s me, remember?Having a Barron as a father—or even a father figure—isn’t easy.”We were leaning close to each other, our heads tilted in, and it had nothing to do with keeping the kids from hearing us.I couldn’t help wanting to be close to her.“Evander left home after graduation for a reason, and Derek always complained about the pressure his dad put on him to take over the ranch.”
Derek had used Kenny as an excuse to create distance between himself and his parents as much as Kenny had used Derek to keep her mother from being a helicopter mom into adulthood.Love had been the biggest motivator in their relationship, but they each had wanted to claim their own version of happiness.I’d been more than happy to see them do it.But the problems between Derek and Bruce had gone unresolved, and Bruce was going to try to do what he did best—control his loved ones.
She brushed her fingers along my arm.An innocent touch with a hint of promise that made me want to groan.I met her gaze, her need reflecting my own.“Enough about my in-laws.How’d the talk with Grandma Gin go?”
“Short of her slapping me upside the head and asking what took me so long to realize that I had as much right to a happy life in Coal Haven as the rest of my family, it went well.”I shared a wry smile with Kenny, grateful for the warmth and acceptance.The two people I cared about the most in the world wanted me to stay.“She did ask what changed my mind.”
“You told her about the farmers market?”Kenny asked, seemingly clueless that she was any part of my motivation.It’d stay that way.This thing between us was so new, I didn’t want to scare her off.
“Yes.Told her I realized I’d rerouted my life because of my dad, and my kids shouldn’t have to do the same.”
“I’m proud of you, Liam.”
My chest damn near puffed out.But I lowered my voice to a purr.“And you find me really sexy, right?”
She laughed, tipping her head back, making me wish I could nibble along her slender neck.“News flash: most women find you sexy.But yes, I do.”
“Good.Cuz you’re sexy as hell.”
Surprise lifted her brows.“I’m not—”
I silenced her with a hot look.She bit her lip.Owen rushed over.“Did I catch anything, Kenny?”
Her cheeks were flushed when she switched her gaze to my son.“Not yet.Should we cast again?”
She stole another glance, one that said she wanted me to prove what I meant later.I’d do exactly that.
