CHAPTER NINETEEN
A FEW HOURS later, as they unloaded several bags of groceries and the new Crock-Pot Avery had chosen, Rowdy thought how domestic it felt.
He’d always been a neat freak, maybe in contrast to the filth he’d grown up in—though that theory didn’t apply to Pepper. Before moving in with Logan, she’d been a real clutter bug. Maybe that had more to do with her being unhappy than anything else. Now that she’d married, she and Logan kept their place up real nice.
On top of groceries, Avery had chosen some new shampoo and lotion, a potted plant and a sun catcher for one of the big windows.
Watching her move around his place—move in his place—had a profound effect on him. It felt like forever since he’d had her.
She went to the sink and began preparing stew for the Crock-Pot. As she cut up the beef, she said, “With you right next door, we could maybe grab a real lunch.”
Rowdy caught her hips and stepped in close, breathing her in, absorbing her nearness. “You don’t like Jones’s cooking?”
“Ha! You got a great catch when you hired him. But the menu gets tiresome.”
“Maybe if we scoot over here for lunch, we could also grab a quickie.” He kissed her neck, her shoulder. “Help me make it through the night.”
“Like you ever need help. Your energy level amazes me.” She dropped the beef in the pot, seasoned it and plugged in the Crock-Pot. After washing her hands, she turned in his arms. “Do you cook?”
“Do I look like I’m starving?”
“No.” Her hands went up and over his shoulders. “But you could be eating fast food every day, or living off cold cuts.”
“I know how to cook simple stuff. Steaks, chops, breakfast, sometimes chili when I just mix up stuff from a can with ground beef.”
“A man of many talents.”
“Speaking of talents...” He touched her chin. “You were good with Marcus today.”
“He breaks my heart.” Probably drawing nonsense comparisons, she hugged him. “I’m so glad he has you.”
“I’m glad he has Alice and Reese.” Those two had fallen into the perfect partnership. The love was there, so obvious that even a cynic like him couldn’t miss it. Reese was exactly what Alice needed, and vice versa. Much like his sister and Logan.
And now they had Marcus, such a terrific little guy who’d probably never expected, or even dared hope for, a family like them. Surely it would make a difference.
Rowdy didn’t want Marcus to be like him. He wanted much more for him than that.
If he could help from the periphery, then he’d be happy to. While he wasn’t the influence Marcus needed, he would sure as hell be the backup if it ever became necessary.
The faint thought of Avery with a kid danced through his mind, disturbing him, making him edgy in ways he didn’t recognize because it had nothing to do with lust or anger or any of the other powerful emotions that usually dominated him.
Rowdy slipped his hands down her back to her ass, snuggling her in, rocking her a little. He wanted her, but he also enjoyed this, just holding her, talking. Getting to know her better each and every day, though he already felt like he’d known her a lifetime.
“I’d like to take you to Dash’s lake house. I can see you under the hot summer sun, lying out in a bikini—”
Laughing, she leaned back in his arms. “Sorry, but I’m more a one-piece kind of woman.”
Modest, sexy, smart and sweet. She was the kind of woman who’d gotten a toehold on his heart when most would deny he had one. “Then maybe I could talk you into leaving the one-piece behind and we could run with nature.”
“Skinny-dipping?”
She looked so scandalized that Rowdy smiled. “There’s no one around to see.”
“There’d be you!” She laughed and slipped away from him, but caught his hand, tugging him along.
“Where are we going?”
“To bed.” She looked over her shoulder at him. “I have some payback to give, remember? No time like the present.”
It took little from Avery, a look, a promise, and he was straining his jeans.
For him, sex had always been a way to cope, to get by, to fill the time with pure, mind-numbing physical release. But now, with Avery, sex was so much more. It had nothing to do with forgetting the past or dealing with the present.
It was about enjoyment—of each and every moment.
* * *
LYING IN BED, Avery half sprawled over his chest, their legs entwined, was about as nice as it got. His body was still damp, relaxed, as he stroked his fingers through her hair. He could feel each slow, heavy beat of her heart until it almost felt like his started to match it, their hearts aligned.
Idly, she pressed her soft mouth to his ribs in a warm kiss, then rubbed her small nose against him. On a sigh, she whispered, “I could just stay like this...” Her voice trailed off, but in his head, he heard the rest.
Forever.
Apparently, Avery didn’t want to say it out loud any more than he did.
He lifted her small hand, rubbing his thumb over calluses that a woman like her shouldn’t have. That thought led to another. “What will you do about your mother?”
She drew her slim thigh over his. “I’ll call her later today. I want to find out a good time to visit again.” Wrapping her fingers around his, she pulled herself up higher atop him. “Okay?”
It was hard to think with her shifting around on him. “That you talk to your mom? Yeah, sure.”
Teasing lights entered her eyes. “You are a complete stud, Rowdy. My entire body is still tingling. But you’re not so good that my brain has been pickled.”
He had no idea what she was talking about, so he just raised a brow and waited.
“I’m not going to ask permission to run my personal life.” She kissed his chest to soften that rebuke. “I was asking if this position is okay for you. I don’t want to add my weight if your back is starting to—”
“Tell you what, honey.” Ready to do his own teasing, Rowdy hauled her up atop him, arranging her so that she draped him like a blanket. “You don’t ask me about my back anymore, and I won’t do this.” His hand smacked her backside, making her jump.
“Ow!” Half giggling, half protesting, she tried to reach back to rub the spot, but Rowdy held her hands locked together behind her.
“Rowdy!”
With his other hand, he cupped her now-warm cheek. “Mmm?” He kissed her stubborn chin, the corner of her mouth. He grinned, but he was also fast getting turned on again. It was insane how she kept him so fired up. “Want me to kiss it and make it all better?”
“Give me another hour and...maybe.”
Before he got too distracted with need, Rowdy brought her hands up to his shoulders and wrapped his arms around her. “At the risk of offending your independent spirit, can I get a promise that you won’t go back to see your mother without me?”
“You’re worried about Fisher or Meyer being there?”
“I don’t like to take chances.” Especially not with someone I care about. “If you want time alone with your mom, I’ll go along but stay out of the way. I can even sit in the car if that helps. But I want to be nearby.” Just in case you need me.
Cupping his face, Avery repeatedly kissed him as a way to punctuate outrageous compliments. “You are the most amazing—” Kiss. “—giving—” Kiss. “—wonderful—”
“You looking for another spank, woman?”
She snickered. “With you wounded, I can’t fight back.”
In one fast move, Rowdy turned to pin her under him. “Promise me you won’t go back there alone.”
The laughter faded. Very solemn, she nodded. “I promise.”
When she looked at him like that, with so much admiration, it made him feel desperate. He wanted to be inside her again, losing himself and clearing his mind of conflict.
“Rowdy?” She drew him down and hugged him tight, staying like that for half a minute before finally, her voice full with emotion, she whispered, “Thank you for caring.”
It was the oddest damn thing, having Avery’s gratitude.
And, if he believed her, her love.
For the first time that he could ever remember, the future looked pretty damned bright.
* * *
A MELLOW MOOD stayed with Rowdy as he and Avery headed for the bar late Monday morning. She’d spent Sunday wringing him out, emotionally and physically. He knew every inch of her body, but she’d been no less determined to explore every inch of his, as well.
They’d talked about everything—except for a future together. He just didn’t know what to say about that. Around her he felt like a new person. A person he barely knew.
For the longest time he’d believed that once he had her, things would get back to normal. He’d get her out of his system and be able to focus again.
But instead, he kept thinking of the ways he hadn’t yet had her.
He wanted to teach her to play cards.
She wanted to take him to the zoo.
He wanted to swim with her.
She wanted to curl on the couch together to watch a scary movie.
They talked endlessly...and didn’t run out of things to say.
How the hell was a guy supposed to understand that shit?
He’d just unlocked the door into the bar when her cell phone rang. Rowdy waited until he realized it was her mom. Avery had called Sonya yesterday, but the woman kept a very busy schedule.
If she was ailing during her treatment, she hid it well.
When he saw Avery smile, Rowdy smiled, too. She and her mother were close, and for some reason, that made him feel really good. Obviously her mother wasn’t perfect, but given his own experience with parents, imperfections didn’t matter as long as there was caring and support.
He was about to follow her into the bar when Reese pulled up, so he waited for him.
Reese parked at the curb and joined him. “I was hoping to catch you here. Nothing’s wrong, but I wanted to talk a minute if you have the time.”
“I always get here a few hours early. I’d rather have everything set up before customers arrive than have to rush.” Rowdy led the way through the bar. “Want a drink?”
“I’m good. I’d rather look around while we talk.”
Few men towered over Rowdy, but Reese was so damn big that he threw a shadow over everyone else. “Help yourself.”
Reese gravitated to the back room and the billiard tables. He rolled the cue ball, letting it clack against the rest, sending them to scatter and drop into pockets. “The place looks better every time I see it.”
“Those have been here awhile now.” Maybe, Rowdy thought, he could teach Avery to play. “The younger crowd likes it more than the regulars.”
“The night I filled in for you, you had so much business I couldn’t leave the bar long enough to look around.”
“We’ve been fortunate.” Wondering why Reese had come to visit, Rowdy folded his arms and leaned back on the wall, ready to wait him out.
“And you run a good business.” Reese checked out the jukebox. “Alice wants to come back some night, too. Maybe after we get settled in the new house.”
“Alice doesn’t belong here.”
Reese turned to face him. “And Avery does?”
There went his mellow mood. “If you’ve got something to say, Reese, say it.”
“All right.” Reese propped a hip on the side of a pool table. “You’re remembering the dive it was. It’s better now. Nicer. If you weren’t so close to it, you’d probably see that yourself.”
“Did you come here to nettle me or to schmooze?”
“Neither, actually.” He picked up a chalk cube and shook it in his hand. “Here’s the thing. You’re good with Marcus.”
Rowdy straightened away from the wall. “What’s happening?”
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit.”
Grumbling, Reese set aside the chalk and stood. “Alice and I would like to name you as one of Marcus’s guardians. You know, for emergencies and stuff. If something should happen—”
Alarm sent a rush of heat down his spine. “What would happen?”
“Hell, Rowdy, I don’t know. Your own parents died in a car wreck, right?”
“They were drunks.”
“Well, I’m a cop. I know how fragile life can be. I’m not expecting anything to happen, but if it did—”
Panic throbbed in his temples. “You have Logan and Pepper.”
“Yes, we do. And they’d be great. But Marcus...” Reese pinched the bridge of his nose, then dropped his hand to pin Rowdy with his stare. “The kid admires you a lot. In rapid order you’ve become a hero, a pseudouncle and a friend to him. I want him, and the courts, to know that you are in fact his family in every way that matters. That includes putting you in a will.”
Anger started to edge out other more disturbing sensations. “What the fuck, Reese? Are you on your period?”
Reese scowled.
“What’s with all the morbid shit?”
“Reality is not morbid, damn it.”
For Rowdy it always had been. Until Avery. And now...
“I love Alice,” Reese said, his voice raised. “And I’m determined to make things right for Marcus. That means I’m going to do everything in my power to see it so—including binding you to them.”
“You’re not making sense.”
Annoyance growing, Reese loomed closer. “I don’t want you getting some harebrained idea about packing up and leaving again. You have roots here. You’ll have more roots if you know you’re partially responsible for Marcus. Is that too much to ask?”
Rowdy went tense from his ears to the soles of his feet. He wanted to stay and be settled and plan...things.
Carrying a crate, Cannon went past the entry to the billiard room. If he listened, Rowdy could hear Jones rattling pots and pans in the kitchen. Ella would be showing up soon.
And Avery... She’d be behind the bar by now, setting up her station and for some insane reason, happy to do it.
He shook his head at Reese. “No.”
“No what, damn it?”
“It’s not too much.” Hell, he had a life here now. A good life. He thought of Avery again and almost smiled. “I’m honored that you’d think of me.”
“Well.” Reese seemed surprised by the sudden turnaround, but didn’t question it. “Good. You’ll have some papers to sign.”
“No problem.” He leveled a look on Reese. “But be careful so it’s never necessary for me to do more than be around, taking part. Got it?”
“That’s the plan.” He reached in his pocket for a piece of paper. “In other news, I got a name to go with those plates.” He flipped open the paper and looked at it. “Fisher Holloway. Know him?”
“Yeah, sorry. It’s old news.” He’d totally forgotten that Reese was checking on things for him. “I know who the bastard is and I’m taking care of it.” Rowdy started out of the room.
Reese caught his arm. “No.”
Looking at that hand on his arm, Rowdy raised his brows. “’Fraid so.” He freed himself from Reese’s hold and walked away.
“Damn it, Rowdy.” Reese kept pace with him. “You can’t always do things your way. There are laws.”
Rowdy laughed. What did Reese expect him to do? Murder and mayhem?
Fuming, Reese asked, “Who is it?”
“Avery’s ex.” Though that wasn’t accurate since, according to Avery, they’d never really been together. “Don’t worry about it.”
“You involved me,” Reese insisted. “I’m here. If she’s having problems with some bozo, tell me. I can—”
“Not happening.” Rowdy got out the whiteboard to write up the day’s specials.
“Fine. Have it your way.” Reese pulled out his phone. “I’ll call Pepper. And Logan.”
Rowdy frowned at him.
“Might as well tell Alice, too.”
Of all the idiotic...
“I assume Avery knows what you have planned?”
Temper sparked, Rowdy set the board aside. “I don’t know what the fuck you think you’re doing, but—”
“Rowdy?” Her gaze going back and forth between them, Avery approached. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s fine.”
Reese snorted.
Avery smiled at him. “I couldn’t help but overhear you guys bickering.”
That annoyed the hell out of Rowdy. “We weren’t bickering.”
“Actually,” Reese said, “I was trying to convince Rowdy not to be so pigheaded.”
“Good luck with that.” Avery laughed at his expression. “I’m just teasing. I’m sure you’ll be entirely circumspect and cautious in all you do.”
“Avery,” he warned.
Grinning, she took his hand. “My mother is busy for the entire week, but she said she’d love for us to visit next Sunday. Does that work for you?”
“Whatever you want, honey.”
“Okay, I’ll let her know.” She went on tiptoe to kiss him. “Thank you.”
After she went back to the bar, Reese dropped back against the wall and stared.
“What’s your problem now?” Rowdy asked.
“I’m in shock.” He blinked twice. “Did you actually say you were heading home with her to meet her mother?”
“Already met her.” Rowdy began lowering chairs off the tables. “She’s nice enough. Jury is still out on her stepdad.”
“You’re kidding me.” Reese pitched in with the chairs. “And the ex? Did you meet him, too?”
“Grade-A prick.” The next chair landed a little harder than he meant for it to. “Her folks like him, though.”
Reese shrugged that off. “I’ll take your judgment over theirs any day.”
Rowdy hated to admit how much that meant to him. “He says he followed us out of concern for Avery. You know, just checking up on her to make sure she was okay.”
“Right.” Being facetious, Reese said, “I’m sure he had only altruistic motives.”
Without thinking about it, Rowdy shared another concern. “It’s been a rough time for her. She’s struggling with some things.”
Reese clapped him on the shoulder. “I think you’re doing a little struggling of your own.”
Ready to flatten him, Rowdy said, “Go bug someone else, will you?”
Grinning, Reese pointed at him. “Don’t do anything with her ex. If he bothers her again, let me know. If you murder him, you’ll be the one in jail and Avery will be alone. Then how will she feel?”
Yeah, maybe something to think about. “You made your point.”
“Several points actually.” He waved to Avery. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“The same.” Rowdy walked with Reese to the door.
As long as Fisher left Avery alone, he wouldn’t have to deal with him.
But if the bastard ever thought about hurting her again, all bets were off.
* * *
CANNON ENJOYED WALKING. It was good exercise, gave him an excuse to look around the area and check on things and it freed his mind.
Even on an overcast day, he could fill his lungs with fresh air, watch a bird fly by and hear the buzz of the neighborhood.
Hands in his pockets, his stocking hat pulled down over his ears, he checked out every building, those closed up and those still trying to get by.
At a small, family-run pawnshop, Cannon watched an elderly man sweep leaves away from the front door. Cannon knew everyone, at least well enough to wave and exchange a greeting, so he was already aware of the owner’s eighteen-year-old granddaughter, Yvette.
She spotted him and immediately started to flirt. Though barely legal, she was old enough to know how to look at a guy to get the biggest reaction.
Although amused, Cannon kept his nod reserved, polite, but nothing more. Yvette was at the age where she liked attention a little too much, always flirting with danger. Being stacked and really cute, she could find that danger whenever she wanted, but she wouldn’t find it with him.
At the corner, gangly youths hung out, probably because of the girl. They hadn’t yet caused any real trouble, but they were at risk of getting recruited by the real thugs. If he got his gym opened soon, that might help. He’d need another six months or so. Possibly longer, depending on how his next fight went.
When the boys noticed him, they called out. Grinning, Cannon lifted a hand—and his gaze got caught by a luxury sedan coasting slowly toward the bar. Not the silver hybrid this time, but a new model Audi.
Like money on wheels.
Even as the hairs on the back of his neck prickled, tinted windows kept him from seeing inside.
The boys noticed the car and made a big fuss about it. Cannon didn’t want them to draw attention, so with a final wave he jogged the rest of the way to the bar. They wouldn’t open for another forty-five minutes. Why would a slick ride like that be hanging around?
Instead of going to the front entrance, Cannon went down one building more then cut through the alley and around to the back door. He was always cautious, and he didn’t want to let the driver of the car know he’d been noticed.
He tapped once, and then waited until Jones let him in through the kitchen.
Pulling off his hat, Cannon asked, “Where’s Rowdy?”
Always busy, Jones went back to his stove and the massive pot of soup he had cooking. “Last I saw him he was in his office going over some invoices.”
“Thanks.” He skirted past Jones, anxious to reach Rowdy before the Audi took off again.
Rowdy was just stepping out when Cannon reached him. “We have trouble. C’mon.”
Without asking questions, Rowdy followed.
“New car,” Cannon explained. “An Audi. Probably seventy-five thou.”
“Here?” Rowdy asked with a load of suspicion.
“Hanging around, yeah. Watching the bar.” Cannon glanced at him. “Did you scare off the silver BMW?”
“Maybe.” Rowdy’s face tightened. “I confronted the bastard.”
“So you know who that was?”
Full of bad intentions, Rowdy snarled, “I know.”
“Wish I’d been there to see that.” Cannon sensed there was more to the story, but it wasn’t in his nature to pry. “So now there’s a new car. Hell of a coincidence, ya know?”
“Or an outright taunt.”
“Could be,” Cannon agreed as they neared the front window. “If someone wanted to be sly, that is not the sedan to drive.”
Scowling in indecision, Rowdy stood back—out of view from anyone on the street. “Which way out front?”
“I walked up South Street, which brought me up behind it.” Because he knew something was going on, Cannon asked, “What do you want me to do?”
“Stay here with Avery while I check it out.”
“Sure.”
Rowdy had just turned to go toward the back when Avery came out from behind the bar. “Rowdy!”
Her tone stopped them both.
Holding the bar phone, her face pale, she said, “The police just called.”
Cannon watched Rowdy switch priorities in a heartbeat. It was one of the things he respected most about him—how quickly he adapted to changing situations. That bespoke experience and the calm detachment needed to deal with crisis situations.
Admirable traits, as far as Cannon was concerned, traits that would come in handy while working in this neighborhood.
Rowdy reached Avery in only a few long strides. “Logan or Reese?”
“Not them, no.”
“Then who?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think I got a name.”
Going hot around the collar, Rowdy asked, “What did they want?”
Brows pinched with disbelief, Avery shook her head. “I’m not sure I buy it, but they said my apartment was broken into.”
When Rowdy took the phone from her, Avery said, “They already hung up, but, Rowdy, they wanted me to meet them there as soon as possible.”
Wow. Knowing a setup when he heard it, Cannon whistled.
Like a prizefighter, Rowdy bunched up. His killing mood showed as clearly in his physical stance as it did in the black glare he sent toward the Audi waiting on the street outside.
Someone was messing with Avery, and if Rowdy had his way, they’d soon be paying the price for that error.
Cannon wasn’t a betting man, but if he was, he’d put all his money on Rowdy.