CHAPTER 3
Ali stabbed her fork into the overcooked noodles and burnt meat as she bit her tongue so hard that she was scared she was going to bite it off before this dinner was over. It wasn’t easy to screw up a meal as simple as Hamburger Helper, but she’d managed to do just that thanks to the man sitting across from her.
Actually, that was unfair. She was a terrible cook. Something she’d only become aware of since she’d been responsible for two growing humans. Before that, she’d lived on takeout.
Still, Kade deserved some of the blame. If not for the meal, then for her general state of instability. She was holding on by a very thin thread and Kade was a pair of scissors to her sanity.
Had no idea where he was staying my ass.
You don’t show up on someone’s doorstep with a duffle bag not expecting to stay.
Which, in all fairness, was how things had always been for them. But everything was different now. And that was his fault.
She took a large drink of water to wash down the barely edible food and scarcely contained animosity she was choking on as she listened to the boys happily tell Kade about school and life.
Of course, she could barely get five words out of Ricky and everything KJ said to her was laced with arsenic but, hey, she’d only been the one that was there every day of their lives. Why should they talk to her?
If anyone deserved full backstage passes to the twins’ life it was Kade, she thought sarcastically. The man that abandoned them and left her to pick up all the pieces.
Kade had never understood that there are consequences to his actions. And why would he? Life always worked out for him. He did whatever he wanted to do, regardless of who it hurt or inconvenienced and things still just magically fell into place for him. Seas parted. Red carpets were rolled out. Standing ovations spontaneously occurred.
Her blood was boiling but she tried not to let her nephews know how infuriating Kade’s mere presence was. She was doing her best not to show her anger on her face but she wouldn’t be surprised if steam were coming out of her ears like a cartoon character.
If she were being honest with herself, she’d have to admit that the person she was most angry at wasn’t the one that had shown up unannounced, it was herself.
In a moment of weakness, she’d allowed him to hug her. She’d known it was a mistake. Told herself to knee him in the balls when he got close enough. Instead, she’d folded like a cheap suit and melted like an ice cube on a hot tar roof.
And the worst part of all…she’d enjoyed it. More than enjoyed it, she’d loved it. Needed it. Craved it. Being in Kade’s arms and feeling his solid body had been the best thing that had happened to her in a long time, and that infuriated her. He’d disappeared a year and a half ago, with no more than an email with information for a bank account that he’d set up for the boys and instructions to call “if she needed him.” And with one hug her body was ready to forgive him.
That’s why Kade got away with everything. No one could resist his charm, his strength, or his undeniable charisma. He was a warm fire on a snowy night. He was ice cream on a hot day. He was the scratch for the unreachable itch. He had a magic way about him that made everything better.
She’d always had an incurable crush on him, but during her teen years she’d managed to build up a tolerance to him. She’d erected an invisible shield that protected her from being devastated by his voodoo magnetism by always being on the offensive. She picked fights with him, called him out on his egotistical behavior, and never let him get away with anything. But now…now she didn’t know how much fight she had left in her. She was at her most vulnerable. How could she possibly guard herself against him? Especially since he was staying in her house.
It’s fine, she told herself as she took another bite of mushy, burnt food.
Kade never stayed in town long. About the time she finished college and returned home to Whisper Lake, Kade’s MMA career took off. Since then he’d breeze through just long enough to receive all the accolades and glory that came from being a hometown hero and then he’d be gone. Off living his fast-paced life of debauchery.
All she had to do was stay strong for his pit stop and then he would be gone and she could go back to worrying about things that really mattered like keeping KJ out of jail or Ricky from shutting down completely.
She’d just have to ignore him while he was here. She would only speak to him when the boys were around and then it would only be the bare minimum, and she’d do everything she could to avoid contact at all costs. It wasn’t the best plan, but it was all she had.
“Aunt Ali didn’t want me to start taking jiu-jitsu. She tried to make me play soccer.” The horror in which KJ said the word soccer was so dramatic it made Ali’s jaw tense.
It was clear that she was being cast as the villain. She’d made plenty of mistakes over the past eighteen months but encouraging KJ to play soccer wasn’t one of them. Soccer was a good sport. KJ acted like she’d signed him up for ballet and forced him to wear a tutu and pointe shoes.
The image of her nephew dressed as a ballerina made her smile and also gave her an idea if he kept getting into trouble.
Kade took a sip of his water and set the glass down. “I played soccer growing up. Is Coach Finley still around?”
“Yeah. But now his son helps out a lot.” Ricky explained, never looking up from his book that was set beside his dinner plate.
Ali’s eyes betrayed her plan and shot directly to Kade’s, warning him not to tell the story that she feared he was about to. The last thing that KJ needed was inspiration for more trouble. Unfortunately, the memory caused her lips to twitch as she bit back the laughter that threatened. She hoped that the intensity of her stare was enough to get her point across.
The sexy, sinful grin that caused the corner of Kade’s eyes to crinkle sent a shockwave of desire rushing through her. “Timmy Finley. He still driving that Mustang?”
“That Mustang” was at the bottom of Whisper Lake. The summer before their senior year Patrick and Kade convinced Timmy that if he drove it fast enough, he could make it across the top of the water. Ali remembered the phrase “jet propulsion” being tossed around.
To this day she still couldn’t believe that her brother and Kade had actually got him to do it. They’d masterfully fed on his arrogance, cockiness, and ignorance and ended up sinking his brand new Mustang in the lake.
If Timmy hadn’t been such douchebag as a teenager, Ali would feel bad about what the boys had done. But then again, they probably wouldn’t have done it if he hadn’t been such a jerk.
“He drives a minivan.” Ricky answered, his eyes still glued to his book.
“A minivan, huh?” Kade repeated before thankfully dropping the subject. “Do you like training over at Legacy? I’ve heard good things about your coach.”
“Yeah. He’s great!” KJ enthused. “You should come tonight and meet him! Meet everyone!”
Ali’s fork stilled mid-bite at her nephew’s zealous invitation. Since he’d started taking classes she’d been asking, bargaining, and even begging to come and observe. It wasn’t like she’d stand out, since Kade’s rise to fame mixed martial arts were to Whisper Lake, Illinois like football was to Odessa, Texas. The place was packed and all the parents watched.
From the first time she’d broached the subject of her sitting and watching like all of the other parents did, his answer had always been a hard no. At first, she’d thought that it was just because he was nervous because he was new to the martial arts, but he’d been training for over a year and he hadn’t wavered on his position. He didn’t want her there. It didn’t matter what tactic she took, what strategy she used, he held his ground.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Ricky was staring at her, waiting to see what her reaction would be. She made a mental note that the chance of her having a full meltdown was what could get Ricky to stop reading.
“What? What did I miss?” Kade asked, looking back and forth between Ricky and Ali.
You mean besides the last year and a half? is what she wanted to say…instead she went with a simple, “Nothing.”
The table was quiet and Ali lifted her glass and took a large swig of Dr. Pepper, closing her eyes as the carbonated goodness washed away the nasty taste of nephew betrayal and soggy and burnt Hamburger Helper.
“Nothing?” Kade broached again.
“KJ hasn’t let Aunt Ali go to any of his classes,” Ricky hung their dirty laundry out to dry.
“It’s not a big deal,” Ali assured the table.
Logically, she knew it wasn’t. Kade was not just their “uncle” he was Kade McKnight. Of course KJ would want him to go to the gym with him. But emotionally, it felt like another slap in the face. Kade had been off…doing whatever he’d been doing…and she’d been here, in the trenches, and he was the one who got all the glory.
She’d been the one that had rushed KJ to the emergency room after she found him passed out drunk in the basement. She’d been the one that had been called to the school twenty-seven times for a variety of behavior issues and had to beg the administration not to expel him. She’d been the one that had to go down to the police station because he’d been caught vandalizing Stone Castle with his friends.
She’d been the one that had been there.
But he was Kade McKnight.
* * *
Kade watched as Ali’s eye twitched and he sensed that she was dangerously close to her breaking point.
As much as he’d love to go check out KJ’s class and meet KJ’s coach, the last thing Kade wanted to do was upset Ali. He was already skating on thin ice with her since he’d shown up out of the blue with his bag and somewhat manipulated his way into being able to stay here. Sure, it had been a dick move. But he knew that there was no way she’d willingly have let him come or invited him to stay.
Still, Ricky bringing up Patrick hadn’t been part of the plan. He actually hadn’t thought he’d need the boys’ intervention at all. He’d figured all he’d have to do was show up on the doorstep and he’d get an obligatory invitation. He hadn’t been prepared for how different things were. How different Ali was.
“See, it’s fine,” KJ insisted, pretending his aunt’s statement about it not being a big deal had been sincere.
Ali’s lips pursed as her jaw ticked. He didn’t want to disappoint KJ, but he knew that he had to tread lightly.
Hoping to smooth over the situation Kade suggested, “Why don’t we all go? And then after we can stop at Cherry On Top for ice cream.”
“It’s closed.” Ricky was back to his book.
“And they’re thirteen, not five,” Ali snarkily commented.
“I’m thirty-two and I love ice-cream.”
He could see that Ali wanted to make a crack about his maturity level but she refrained.
“I love ice cream.” KJ shot Ali a look that Kade would’ve never dared to give any adult, much less someone he cared about at KJ’s age.
He’d only been here an hour and already he could see how much the boys’ personalities had changed. Kade wondered how much of it had to do with Patrick’s death and how much of it was just being a teenager. Whatever the cause, it was clear they were having issues and he’d left Ali to deal with it all by herself.
KJ was angry. Ricky was withdrawn. He didn’t need to be a child psychologist to diagnose them.
“What about you, Ricky? Where do you stand on this controversial subject of frozen dessert?” He tried to lighten the mood and draw Ricky out. Two birds.
“It’s fine.” The kid’s eyes didn’t leave the pages.
Ali stood, her spine ramrod-stiff as she picked up her and KJ’s plates. “Go get dressed. We have to leave in ten minutes.”
“You’re coming right, Uncle Kade?” KJ asked eagerly as he stood.
Kade glanced at Ali. If she really didn’t want him to go, he’d make up an excuse so it didn’t throw her under the bus. He had a feeling she’d spent enough time getting run over by life and he wasn’t about to add to it.
Her eyes blinked in a resigned yes.
“Wouldn’t miss it, bud.”
KJ rushed upstairs and Kade pushed his chair back and began clearing the table.
“I don’t need your help.” Ali’s tone left no room for argument but he had no plans to fight with her.
“You cooked, that means we clean right, Ricky?”
Without a word, Ricky closed his book and started gathering up the dishes.
Ricky had always been the quiet one but this was more than that. Kade knew it in his gut. He sliced a look over to Ali and saw the concern brimming in her light brown eyes as she stared at her nephew.
“We got this.” Kade tried to take the plates from her hands.
She held on to them with the grip of a spider monkey before finally releasing them. “Fine.”
She reached out and ruffled Ricky’s hair. “Thanks. You da man.”
Ricky grinned and took the plates into the kitchen.
Without even a glance in his direction, Ali turned and headed up the stairs. His eyes locked on the sway of her rounded hips. She was thinner than he was used to seeing her but she still had a world-class ass. An ass he’d been a fan of for far too long.
She was supposed to be like a sister to him, and she had been up until seven years ago. Patrick had wanted to do something special for his sister’s twenty-first birthday, so he’d asked Kade if he had any Vegas connections since he’d had several fights there, and if he did could he “hook her up.”
Kade hadn’t given it a second thought. He flew her and three of her friends out first class and put them up in the Sky Villa at the Palms. He hadn’t planned on babysitting them, but he wanted to stop by and make sure that they had everything they needed. So he’d taken a short flight out of LA where he lived, and gone to check on them. Her best friend, Jess, let him into the suite, thanking him profusely for his generosity. He’d asked where the birthday girl was and the next few moments played out in a dream-like sequence…
Jess pointed to the indoor lap pool. “She’s taking a dip before we go out. There’s a pool in our room!”
Jess’s squeal faded out as he turned and—in what felt like slow motion—Ali emerged from the water like a goddess. She wore a red string bikini that accented her pinup curves and Kade’s mouth watered so much that when he tried to swallow he choked on his own spit.
Those life-changing few seconds were branded into his memory and his spank bank. It was a defining moment in his life. The moment his best friend’s little sister, the first person that had made him feel loved and valued, became the only woman that existed in the world to him. Instead of just dropping by he’d ended up spending the entire weekend with Ali and her friends. It had been under the guise of wanting them to have a good time, but the truth was he hadn’t wanted to let Ali out of his sight, and he hadn’t.
During the forty-eight hours he’d spent with her in Vegas a truth became glaringly obvious. He’d fallen in love with Ali. Head over heels, madly, deeply in love with Allison Walsh.
It wasn’t just because she’d made him choke when she’d gotten out of the pool. That might’ve sparked the fiery inferno that blazed in him for her, but—even though he had never acknowledged it—there had been a slow burn building in him since the day he’d shown up at her house after he wrecked his motorcycle.
She was breathtaking, choke-inducing hot, but it was more than that. Ali was brutally honest. She always seemed to have an opinion about how he was living his life and she never held back when she told him what he was doing wrong or how much of an ass she thought he was being. She was fiercely loyal and protective. She was fearless, funny, and his favorite person to hang out with and fight with. He never knew what was going to come out of her pretty mouth but he loved finding out.
After that weekend, Kade shortened his visits to his hometown because of those feelings for his best friend’s little sister. He’d felt guilty. Patrick and Ali had more than just a brother-sister bond. Patrick had raised her, even before their mom died. And Patrick knew just as much as Kade did, that he wasn’t good enough for Ali. Those two were the only family Kade had and he hadn’t wanted to fuck that up because he happened to be in love with her.
Seven years later, he was still trying to ignore his feelings for Allison Walsh. It hadn’t worked when he was thousands of miles away from her and he doubted living in the same house with her was going to make it any easier.