“Baby,” Grant called from the ground, “this is a fantastic view of your perfect ass, but I gotta tell you, you’re freaking me out.”

She laughed and dropped her hand from the roof’s eve to press a hand to her stomach, aching from all the laughing she’d done with him today. And all the sexual gymnastics he’d put her through the night before. “Would you stop? I’m almost finished and it’s getting dark.”

“You’re not almost finished,” he complained. “You still have the whole front, which includes three more gables. But you’re right about it getting dark. I swear my heart’s not going to make it through this. If you hurt yourself, you won’t be able to set up for the Winter—whatchamacallit.”

“Winter Wonderland,” she corrected him for the third time.

“I don’t care. Get your beautiful self down here. I’ll finish the rest.”

Grinning, she hooked the end of the light string to the corner of the gable, then twisted to look down at him. He was standing at the base of the ladder, holding it stable with one gloved hand, aiming the video camera at her with the other. He looked adorable all bundled up in his parka, a knit hat warming his head, his dark hair sneaking out from underneath the edges, and a few days of scruff darkening his jaw.

“You may have gotten away with telling me what to do last night,” she said, “but don’t expect that to continue during the day.”

He lowered the camera with a big, bright grin cutting across his face. “Is that right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. And you’d better be able to dub over that tape like you promised or all this effort is going to be wasted.”

“Someone’s getting bossy,” he told her as she climbed down the ladder. “Sounds like she needs a spanking.”

As soon as she got within his reach, Grant slapped her ass. Hard.

Faith gasped. “Ow,” she half-laughed the complaint and shot a scowl over her shoulder. “You little—“

Another crack stung her cheek. Her sex clenched and flooded with heat, shocking her.

“No name calling,” he told her.

Faith gritted her teeth against the flare of desire. This had been happening all day—these sudden, intense bursts of lust, erupting out of nowhere like the strike of a match. She’d chalked it up to residual hunger from their wicked night, a desire awoken from hibernation and greedy for fuel. And after a day of close proximity and teasing, she was seriously ready to do something reckless for a fix.

She continued down the ladder, stopping a couple rungs from the bottom to turn to face him, eye-to-eye. He circled her in his arms and stepped close until their jacket-clad bodies pressed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stroked her hand across his rough cheek. “I may be laying down a few of my own rules tonight, Saber. So don’t get too comfortable with all this control.”

“Mmm.” He set the camera on a higher wrung and squeezed her butt, pulling her closer. “I like the sound of that.”

And he kissed her.

The move had become familiar over the course of the day. He’d hatched this plan to film her rigging—what Grant called—Dwayne’s Christmas Fantasia during lulls in their sexual activity the night before. And later, after the store had closed and he finished with the high school hockey practice, he’d promised to show her how to take the video from camera to YouTube.

Before Faith had even stirred from their non-stop night of bliss, Grant had repaired the broken pipe in her basement, then driven into Ashville, the next largest city, to buy a video camera and video editing software. And he’d followed her with that damn camera all afternoon, recording non-stop.

He’d also been touching her non-stop, kissing her non-stop and smiling non-stop. Her passion had built and built, filling her with an ache she wanted him to ease. And the way he was adding to that fire with his teasing, talented tongue wasn’t helping her ignore her desire.

Faith slowly, reluctantly pulled from the kiss and stroked his jaw, running her thumb over his bottom lip. “Have I mentioned you’re the best kisser in the entire universe?”

Grinning, he pressed his lips to her forehead. “Maybe, but I doubt anyone could hear that enough.”

His lips trailed over her cheek and down her neck. Faith hummed in pleasure. “Have I mentioned last night was the best night of my life, and that I can’t wait to get you naked again?”

“Maybe,” he murmured against her throat, gripped her ass with both hands and pulled her hips against his, making her groan. “But tell me again.” He lifted his head, brushed her hair off her forehead and cradled her jaw. “Tell me in a way you haven’t told me before.”

She sighed. Her gut ached. Her body yearned. Faith met his eyes. “Last night...opened a new chapter in my life. You make me feel...strong and treasured and beautiful in a way I’ve never felt before. You make me realize there’s more to life than Holly and St. Nicholas Hardware. I was starting to believe I wasn’t capable of handling things on my own. You changed that.”

His devilish smile had softened into a look of surprise. He didn’t say anything for a long moment, just searched her eyes. “Really?”

“Really.”

“I...don’t know what to say. No one’s ever...”

She shook her head and kiss him lightly. “Don’t say anything. You asked, I answered. Now let me go, so I can move the ladder. The sooner I get this done, the sooner I can get you back to bed. And I’m dying to get you back to bed.”

She stepped to the ground and turned toward the ladder. Gripping the sides, she pulled it carefully away from the house.

Grant’s hands covered hers and pushed the ladder back against the house with a clatter.

“Grant...” she said, annoyed.

She cut a look over her shoulder just as one of his arms circled her waist and hauled her up against him, forcing all the air from her lungs. But there was no mistaking the erection pressed against the curve of her ass. Or the rasp of desire in his voice when he put his lips to her temple and said, “Why wait?”

Faith fought to pull her gray matter back together. “Why wait for what?”

“To take the edge off that need.”

She groaned and rubbed against him. “Because you have practice in half an hour, I have to close the store, and there are lights hanging off Dwayne’s roof. If you’d stop distracting me, I’d get it done.”

“If you let me do it, it would get done faster.”

“Says you.”

“I don’t want you up on that ladder in the dark.”

“Same. And you need to let your shoulder rest. You’re supposed to be recuperating, remember?”

“I stopped by another store while I was in Ashland.” One of his hands moved lower, pressed between her legs and closed over her sex.

Shock and excitement twined and skipped through her chest. She sucked a breath and rocked away from his hand, only to meet with more pressure behind her from his hips...and that iron swell. “Grant, Dwayne’s going to be home soon.” She glanced around the front yard, to the quiet street and the houses with lights shining in the windows surrounding them. “And we’re in public.”

“Don’t you want to know which store?”

He gripped her sex tighter and all the built up lust from the last twenty-four hours spilled between her legs. A groan ebbed from Faith’s throat.

“Naughty,” he whispered with wicked glee at her ear. “Bet you didn’t even know it was there. I swear it was like a speakeasy, the front door off an alley and unmarked.”

He clenched and released her sex as he spoke, and within thirty seconds, Faith was dizzy with the same clawing need he’d instilled in her the night before.

Without warning, his hand disappeared from between her legs, and while a minute ago all she’d been able to think about was getting him to stop, now all she could think about was getting his touch back.

The man seriously messed with her mind.

“I want to show you one of the little treats I picked up for you.”

While he reached into his pocket, Faith forced her head clear. She pushed at his arm wrapped around her waist, but he held her in a vice. And the more she moved, the more she rubbed his erection, exciting them both.

“I want to see it,” she told him, “after I’m done with the lights.”

“I can’t wait that long.” He reached around her with the other hand and jerked at the button on her jeans, making her gasp. “And I don’t think you can either.”

“Grant, what in the hell—“

His bare hand pushed against her belly and slid down, down, down. Beneath her panties and deep between her legs. The warmth and pressure combined to swamp Faith with pleasure and lust and a need so rabid it clawed at her.

She grabbed a rung of the ladder with one hand and curled the fingers of the other around Grant’s wrist. But that didn’t keep her from rocking against his hand as if she had no control over her body. “Ah...my God.”

“That’s just the beginning,” he rasped at her ear. He did something with his fingers, kicking off a vibration.

“Wh—what—“

He opened his mouth on her neck, and pushed his hand deep with a low groan. Something attached to one or two of his fingers vibrated over her sex.

“H-holy—“ A wicked and wild pleasure cut off any ability to think. “Oh my God.”

“You can’t wait, can you?” he asked.

She couldn’t answer. The only thing she could focus on was the buzz between her legs making her go cross-eyed.

He stroked circles around and around her opening. Faith’s mouth dropped open and her breathing grew choppy. Holy fuck. Holy fuck. Holy fuck. She would have said the words if she’d been able to speak. This level of pleasure was unthinkable until this moment. And just when she thought it couldn’t get and better, just when she saw the horizon of that delicious orgasm she’d been craving for hours, Grant pushed two fingers past her opening and up into her pussy.

Two thick, vibrating fingers.

She cried out in pleasure, in shock, in need.

“Shh, shh...” Grant’s whisper at her ear dragged her back down to earth. “We’re in public, remember?”

Holy shit. She forced her eyes to focus. The night had grown a little darker, but not dark enough for Faith to be letting him do what he was doing. Nor did she have any intention of stopping him. And just how twisted was that?

“Need more room.” The hand at her waist pushed her zipper down and wiggled her jeans lower on her hips. Then he stroked over her ass, down her thigh and caught her behind the knee. And lifted her foot to the second ladder rung. “There we go...”

The hands inside her moved freely, pushing deep, immediately finding that place he’d discovered inside her that made her moan and whimper and bed and shatter and manipulating it mercilessly with those soft vibrating fingertips.

The sensation gushing through her pulled Faith into an arch with a high-pitched “Oh God...” Her head dropped back against Grant’s shoulder, mouth open with sounds she absolutely could not control. “Yes, yes, yes.”

God she used that word a lot over the last twenty-four hours. Yes and more and please. More than she’d used them in all her years combined.

Grant covered her hand curled around his wrist and pried her fingers loose. “I need more room, baby.”

With his hand over hers, he pushed them both beneath the hem of her tee, up her abdomen and beneath one bra cup, so her own hand covered her breast. She barely noticed when his other hand pushed even deeper inside her and Grant finger fucked her in long, slow, deep, vibrating strokes.

He thrust deep, rubbing her back wall with the vibration and rasping, “You are so fucking sexy.” Then twisted his hand and pulled out half way, holding there to circle and circle and circle. “I can’t wait to get you naked and use this all over your body.”

“Don’t stop, don’t stop,” she begged.

“Touch yourself, Faith,” he whispered at her ear. “Pinch and roll your nipple.”

She did, without question, without resistance. He’d broken down barrier after sexual barrier in one twenty-four hour period and conditioned her for pleasure. And his murmured “Good girl” tipped her closer to the edge.

“Oh, fuck, please, Grant. Harder, harder, harder.”

“Mmmm, damn, baby, you’re a trip.”

He thrust deep and hard and pleasure exploded through her body. “Yes, yes, yes. More, more, more.”

“Talk dirty to me, Faith.”

Always pushing her. This was how he did it. He got her to this place where she needed release, craved the pleasure, then pushed her for one more inch.

“Give it to me,” she said, her voice thin and rough. “If you’re going to fuck me, fuck me, don’t play with me.”

His laugh was quick and hot followed by a growl of fire and deep, steady, hard thrusts of vibration.

“Ah, God... Don’t stop. Don’t fucking stop. So good. Mmm, so good. Can’t wait, can’t—“

She shattered with a scream of shock and ecstasy—one Grant cut off with his hand over her mouth. One he perpetuated with continued hard thrusts and manipulation of her G-spot. Faith could have been in the middle of a crowd and not given a damn at that moment. All that mattered was soaking up every last drop of bliss spilling through her body.

Faith was panting and still shaking when her mind came to a sluggish focus. She leaned against him, while Grant’s hand stayed between her legs and continued to explore her. “I love how wet you get.”

“What...in the hell...is that?” she asked, barely able to keep her eyes open. Her skin tingled everywhere he touched, and he was getting adventurous.

“A fucking fantastic investment is what this is.” His fingers stroked her perineum and her blood kicked right back to simmer. She rocked her hips back against him, and he groaned. “Imagine having me inside you, filling you, stretching you, hammering you, while I run these over your body.”

That thought pushed her breath right out of her lungs. “How long until Dwayne gets back?”

He chuckled, low and hot. Leaning over her, kissed her throat, grazed the skin with his teeth and pushed his fingers further back, vibrating a path between her cheeks.

A zing of sexual current cut through her ass and she gasped. He worked circles over the pucker there and shot Faith right back toward climax. “Oh, fuck... Grant...”

Her whine was wasted on him. His mouth bit paths along her neck while his vibrating fingers stimulated a whole new and intense response. And he dragged her hand, still beneath his own, into her pants and placed her fingers over her cit.

“Touch,” he said.

“Grant—“

“Touch.” His order was final, and he maneuvered her fingers to the very top of her clit where his fingers joined hers in searching for that place—

He found it first and his touch pushed more pleasure into Faith’s sex from a whole different direction. She was bombarded with sensations so wildly thrilling she wanted to drown in them. Swim in them. She whimpered, but let Grant place his fingers with hers. Let him guide her movement. Let herself rise with the feel of her own touch creating the intense thrill in her body.

When Grant’s hand lifted from hers and she continued to rub and tease what felt like an expanding bubble, his touch grew more deliberate. More driven. More demanding.

He lowered his chin, putting his lips at her ear. “Do you have any idea how fucking hot it makes me to watch you touch yourself?”

Faith’s chest filled with a whole different kind of pleasure. She pried her eyes open and found his handsome face in the darkening shadows, creased with desire and intensity.

“Now you can find pleasure and satisfaction any time you want it, Faith. No more denying yourself.”

Emotion rolled through her, intense and sharp. Emotion she didn’t understand. She released the ladder and curved her arm back and around Grant’s head, pulling his mouth to hers. And gifted him with and erotic example of what she hoped he’d do to her when they had more privacy.

He drank her in, added passion to the kiss and devoured her while his fingers parted, pushed Faith’s out of the way and shocked her clit with and orgasm that burned right to her core. Grant added pressure to her mouth to keep her from pulling away and muffled her cries as he drove orgasm after sweet orgasm through her body until she dropped back against him limp.

Grant still had his hand down her pants when headlights turned the corner and started down the street.

“You, Miss Nicholas, have been saved by the cavalry.” He dragged his hand back and jerked her jacket into place a moment before Dwayne turned into his drive. And pushed the ecstasy vibrating fingertips into his jacket pocket. “Because I was just about ready to do you in the front yard. Damn you make me do the craziest thing, woman.”

Grant was teasing, but in her exhausted state, it struck her extremely funny. She was holding herself up with the ladder, still laughing when Dwayne climbed from his car, grinning.

“What are you two up to?” he wanted to know.

“Faith just lost at rock paper scissors,” Grant told him, taking Faith by the arm and sitting her on the front steps. “Now she’s got to sit on her ass while I finish the gables.”

“Hey...” she complained, then started laughing again. “That’s only because you wouldn’t let me go for three out of five.” And she added a sweet, “The offer’s still open.”

That made Grant bust up laughing. “I promise to take you up on that another time. But not right this minute.” He grabbed the ladder and walked it to the next gable, telling Dwayne, “we’ll be ready for a show in ten minutes. Get your popcorn ready.”

* * *

“Okay, here we go, boys,” Grant called once the kids were in position for their last drill of the night. “Remember, you’re passing while you’re moving, so make sure to whip that puck hard to get it in front of your teammate. Then pivot, catch the shot from the next man down the line and shoot it up the ice.”

He blew his whistle, and the kids glided into action. Grant floated on the edge of the rink and rolled his shoulder while his gaze focused on the kids’ feet and hands, on pivots and shots.

Dwayne paced the sidelines. “Stay low in your turns, boys. Keep movin’, keep movin’, shoot.”

“Talk it up, guys,” Grant told them. “You should always be talkin’ to each other out there. If you want something, call for it. Pick up the pace, boys. Giddy-up, let’s go.”

“Giddy-up?” Dwayne said, shooting him an incredulous grin. “Is that the shit they teach you in the big leagues?”

“Shut up.” Grant grinned. “Parker, move those feet. Whoa, Healy, what the hell was that? You control the puck, the puck doesn’t control you.”

That brought some laughter. “Good.” He called out encouragement. “Nice.” And as the last few members of the team passed up the ice, Grant clapped to get the team’s attention. “Other way, same drill. Speed, accuracy, focus. Go.”

His phone chimed. Without looking away from the boys, he answered, but instead of saying hello, he lowered the mouthpiece and yelled, “Jordy, you here to socialize or practice? Cut the bullshit. If I have to tell you again, the whole team’s gonna be doing sprints.”

A collective groan rolled through the group, and Jordy received a number of shoulder shoves, which shut him right up.

Smiling, Grant lifted the phone to his mouth. “Grant.”

“Hey.” A male voice that he didn’t immediately recognize sounded over the line. “Sounds like you’re as much of a hard-ass with teenagers as you are with grown men.”

By the time he finished speaking, Grant recognized his younger brother’s voice. “Do you mean on the ice or with you? Cause I haven’t seen you enough to be a hard-ass yet.”

“I know,” Patrick said, “that’s why I’m here to take you for a beer when you’re done.”

Grant heard stereo and turned to find his younger brother strolling toward the rink, one hand in his pocket, huddled in a parka. Patrick grinned and lowered his phone. Grant had mixed feelings about his brother’s appearance. On the one hand, he was the reason their parents had even entertained the idea of seeing one of Grant’s games. On the other, Grant really wanted to go straight back to the store, pack in some quality Faith time—preferably buried deep inside her driving her to scream his name the way she had last night, then teach her how to edit video and set up her YouTube account. And, yeah, then work on more screaming.

Damn, his cock was already half-hard just thinking about it.

“Patrick?” Dwayne turned and held his hand out to Grant’s brother, but he didn’t look all that happy to see him. Still Patrick stepped up and shook Dwayne’s hand. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Yeah.” He released Dwayne’s hand and scraped it through his hair, looking at the ground. “Well, I’m sure no one missed me.” He looked up and met Dwayne’s eyes. “But I’m clean and sober, eight months now.”

Shock hit Grant in the stomach. He’d known Patrick had a problem, but not that it had been legitimized or that he’d sought help or that he’d been successful at battling the addiction.

“Congratulations, kid.”

Patrick grinned. “Thanks, thanks.”

“Grant, you go on,” Dwayne said. “I’ve got this. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Grant nodded. “Thanks.”

He sat down, threw on his blade guards and started unlacing his skates.

“Thank you,” Dwayne said. “And tell Faith thank you again too. I’ve been getting all sorts of calls and texts about the lights. You made a lot of people happy tonight.”

Dwayne skated toward the kids calling directions while Grant pushed into tennis shoes.

“What lights?” Patrick asked.

“The ones on his house. The system’s been down since MaryAnn passed and we helped him get it up and running again.”

He set his skates in his duffle, tossed it over his shoulder and started toward the parking lot with Patrick, but his mind was on how happy Faith would be to hear how the lights were affecting the community.

His brother wrapped a playful arm around Grant’s neck and wrestled him, singing, “Someone’s got a crush...”

Grant laughed and pushed Patrick off. “You’re still not big enough to do that.”

Patrick straightened, making a face at how he topped Grant’s height by two inches.

“Old enough,” Grant corrected. “You’ll always be my baby brother.”

“Who’s Faith?”

“Let’s talk about you. Why did you invite me for a beer if you’re sober?”

“Because it’s the socially polite thing to do. And because it’s good practice. And because I always feel a little stronger when I walk out of a bar still able to count backwards from one-hundred. Who’s Faith?”

Grant ignored his last Faith inquiry and focused on the glimmer of the good-natured kid his brother had once been. That made Grant smile.

They agreed to take separate cars and meet at Yuletide Spirits. Grant planned on walking from there to Faith’s and staying with her tonight, and he didn’t want anything interfering with that plan.

As he pulled out of the parking lot, he dialed Faith.

“Hey handsome,” she answered. “Hope you didn’t send any of the kids home with marks.”

“Not a one.”

“Good boy.”

And here came their first test. “So...my brother found me at the rink. We’re going to grab a beer.”

“Really?” She sounded surprised, but in a good way. Grant held his hopes back, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “Which one?”

“Patrick.”

“That’s great.”

He was still waiting. “Why is that great? You don’t like my brothers.”

“I don’t like how your brothers act. I don’t know your brothers as people, so I couldn’t tell you whether I like them or not. And it’s great because I have no doubt you’ll be a positive influence for him. Have fun.”

He frowned, a little unsure what to do without conflict to deal with. “What are you doing?”

“Well,” she said, sounding far too chipper for a woman who’d been up all night, worked all day and been dealt two ginormous orgasms a couple of hours ago. “I finished making notes on the instructions I want to record over the video, and I just started putting supplies together for the festival. My back room looks like Parties Unlimited USA.”

He smiled. “I’ll help when I get there.”

“I’ve got it. You don’t get to see your family much and you don’t have much time left in town. Enjoy yourself.” A familiar bell rang in the background. “I’ve got to run to the front. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Yeah. Sure. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Grant stopped at a red light behind his brother’s Mercedes SUV and frowned at his phone where it rested on his thigh. “Have fun?”

Where was the self-invitation to join them? The pissy attitude over him going out without her? The pouting?

“Enjoy myself?”

The light turned green and he continued toward town. Halfway there, he caught himself trying to twist her words into something negative. And laughed at himself, relieved he was making it up. “God, I’m an idiot.”

But that relief didn’t last long, because then he was thinking about her “You don’t have much time left in town”.

He really didn’t. The team was off for the holidays now, but they’d head back to practice in less than a week. Then they’d head into a grueling schedule of games, practices and special events, packed into nearly every day straight through the middle of June.

And Grant would be with them.

He couldn’t wait. Couldn’t wait to be with his guys. Back on a schedule. Battling for every play on the ice.

But it also meant he had to leave Faith. His first thought was to ask her if she’d continue seeing him, but Grant didn’t have to look at a schedule to know there would only be one short break over the next six months when he’d be able to fly here and see her. Nor did he have to fathom a guess of how often she’d be free to come see him. Not with a struggling store, limited funds and that damn iron pride of hers. He had no doubt they’d end up in a fight if he even brought up the subject of paying for her travel. Beyond that, she hadn’t shown any serious interest in hockey. She listened to him talk about his career and his buddies, but when he started talking strategy, her eyes glazed over.

Not that it mattered... Did it?

“Why in the hell am I even thinking these things?” he asked the empty car.

After a moment, his mind answered: Because he knew that by June, when he could come spend the summer with her, she’d be gone. If not physically gone because she’d sold the store, she’d be taken by some young stud who knew a good thing when he saw it.

Grant’s chest tightened uncomfortably, and his mood plummeted. The discomfort only added to his stress. He shouldn’t be this affected by a woman he’d known for a week and a half. That was ludicrous.

He pulled into a spot in front of Faith’s store, while his brother pulled in a block away at the bar. Grant cut the engine and the lights and stared inside at the light glowing in the back. He wanted to bail on Patrick and go help Faith. He wanted to be with Faith.

He hadn’t realized how long he’d been sitting there until Patrick strolled up to his door.

“Dude.” His voice sounded muffled through the glass. “Are you drunk already? The bar is over there. This is—“ A look came over Patrick’s face. He darted a glance at the hardware store, then looked back at Grant. “Ooooh, wait.” He pointed to the store. “Is this the Faith you’re crushing on?”

“Shut up.” Grant climbed from the car, increasingly annoyed. “Just tell the whole town.”

Patrick chuckled and turned in a slow circle. “Bro, look around you.”

True, there wasn’t a damn sole on the frozen street. And, yes, that just irritated Grant more.

“Huh,” Patrick said, an amused look of confusion crossing his face. “I didn’t see that one coming.”

Grant wondered what Patrick saw that he didn’t. “Why not?”

He shrugged. “You’ve always gone for the hoity-toity type.”

“How do you know who I date?”

Now Patrick lifted his brows. “Hel-lo. Have you not heard of this new fangled thing called the Internet? Have you also not noticed that you are one of the top fifty best-paid NHL players in the nation? I keep telling everyone I’m not as dumb as I look. Nobody listens. Anyway, I’m sure you’re already aware of this, but you may want to know for future reference that every time you date someone, the press wants to sneak into your bedroom and take pictures. So, yeah, I know you go for the high-maintenance chicks. Faith’s real pretty. She’s just kinda...I don’t know, simple, in comparison. But then we are in Holly, North Carolina, not Washington, D.C. What’s a guy gonna do?”

While Grant was surprised and, yeah, even pleased, that his brother had developed enough interest in Grant’s career to actually look him up, there was also enough truth to Patrick’s statement to turn Grant downright surly. But he couldn’t blame anyone for that except himself.

Still, he shoved Patrick’s shoulder in the direction of the bar. “Do you want me to buy you a tonic and lime or not.”

“Ho, look at you, big spender. But I actually prefer root beer now-a-days. Think you could manage a root beer?”

Grant laughed.

“And maybe some pretzels?” Patrick asked.

“Okay, now you’re pushing it.”

Patrick thought that was hilarious and laughed his way toward Yuletide Spirits.

Grant followed, grinning reluctantly. His brother had come back from the brink of disaster and not just survived, but thrived. It seemed like he might have even become fun again.

“And, for the record,” Patrick said as they came up to the bar’s front door, “I’m all for you looking at changing the type of women you see.” He paused at the steps and turned to Grant. “My girlfriend and I have been together six months. She’s nothing like the women I usually drifted toward, but she’s at least half the reason I was successful at rehab, about twenty percent of the reason I’m still sober and accounts for ninety-five percent of my happiness. She’s the best fuckin’ thing that ever happened to me.”

Grant grinned. “Hey, man. That’s great.”

Patrick nodded and continued up the stairs to the doors. “Faith’s always been a real nice girl. Even when I wasn’t so nice to her, she believed I could be and do better. She’s worth taking a long, hard look at, bro.”

His brother pushed into the bar, but Grant stood there a moment, absorbing the wisdom his little brother had just bestowed upon him. Grant already knew Faith was beautiful—inside and out. But his brother’s experience of internal transformation with the love of the right woman, spoke to something Grant had been trying to pin down for the last couple of days.

When Grant got a minute to himself, he was going to have to start thinking about his own life and how he might manage to pull his head out of his ass.