Page 21 of Crossing Every Line


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“Are you warning me off?”

“I’ve known him for ten years. And I can tell you right now that he’s not the same guy he was two weeks ago. He just lost everything and a father he loved so much that he would rather keep his own happiness buried in a workshop than disappoint his old man.”

Kendall looked down at the perfect hardwood floor. The quick prick of tears came with a lump in the center of her chest. “That’s a Lawrence Justice I just don’t know.”

“Shit. I’m sorry. You’d think I would stop making that mistake. You’re like the mini-fairy hot version of Larry.”

She snorted. “Thanks.”

He laughed. “No, I mean the coloring and the hair—definitely the hair but not the eyes.”

“My mom’s Italian.”

“That explains that one. Boy, you got everything else from Larry, though.”

“DNA doesn’t lie,” she said with a shrug.

“That’s the thing. I can’t wrap my brain around the fact that he had a daughter and never told anyone. Shane is—was—the center of his world.”

Kendall rubbed the heel of her hand along her breastbone. The lump felt larger and heavier. She’d made her peace with the fact that her father hadn’t wanted her a long time ago. Why did that man have to drag her into this? What gave her father the right to take the only thing he’d ever given her and make her share it with Shane?

Kain stepped closer, his large hands gentle on her shoulders. His light touch was comforting as he rubbed up and down her arm. “And I’m not helping at all.”

“It’s okay. I’m not one of those broken girls who misses her daddy. My mom was enough. She loved my father, and he walked away from us. He got in his car and drove away one day without saying good-bye. At least to me. He broke her heart into a million pieces. I don’t mourn for that man.” She looked up at Kain. “I’m sorry, I don’t. But I do know that Shane does. And I can see that you do too.”

His brows were snapped together in confusion. “It’s just not the Larry I know.”

“Maybe he changed. Maybe Shane became the perfect family he’d always wanted.”

Kain shook his head. “I don’t know. I do know that Shane lost his mom when he was sixteen. It’s only been him and Larry for a long time.”

“You love him a lot.” That she could understand. Her best friend was just as important. Bells was like a sister to her. Blood definitely wasn’t the qualifier for love.

“I loved both of them. My father wasn’t an easy man. His empire in Hawaii was all that mattered. The N’ai name and the power behind it were his sole focus. Larry was a great guy who cooked burgers on the grill and took Shane camping. He welcomed me into the family like a…well, like a son.”

“Sometimes family isn’t about blood,” Kendall said quietly.

“No, it’s not. And that’s why it’s hard to see Shane like this. He’s always the serious one but never like this.”

She’d had a feeling Shane wasn’t exactly the angry type. There were far too many laugh lines that didn’t match the somber-faced Shane she’d met today. It didn’t make sense for her to want to go upstairs and check in on him. If he wasn’t talking to his best friend, why would he talk to her—a complete stranger?

She sighed. “I suppose you’re the charming one?”

He grinned. “I’ve been known to be charming.” He dropped his hand to her lower back, turning her toward the island.

She climbed onto the stool in front of her. Everything in the kitchen was outfitted for a giant. “I bet.”

“Not interested?”

She laughed. “If I were a smart woman, I would be.”

He arched a brow. “You’re not?”

Yeah, he was a pussycat. A Bengal tiger-sized pussycat but harmless. She leaned on her propped hand and couldn’t fight a giggle.

“Good thing I have a healthy—”

“Ego?”

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