go.
“Um.”
“Did he cheat?”
“No, we just—”
“Hit you?” he growled.
“No! God, no, we just married too young and realized later we were better off as friends than lovers.”
“You still keep in touch?” Kade asked, needing to know where she stood with the man.
“Why are you asking?”
“No reason,” Kade answered with a grin. “So, how long have you been training dogs?”
“Since 2005. I had planned to attend Veterinary School, but those plans fell through when my mother was diagnosed with cancer. Working with IDTP was a way to fulfill part of my dream of caring for abused animals,” Harley answered. She paused for a moment, looking around the yard, then rushed out, “I recognized you that day at my dad’s shop.”
A slow grin pulled across his mouth as he raised an arm to the chain link and curled his fingers around the hot metal.
“I recognized you, too. Your eyes are hard to forget.”
“My eyes?”
“Warm. Like swimming in milk chocolate,” he explained. “Makes a man feel like he’s home.”
Her breath hitched at his words. She covered her reaction quickly by looking down at her shoes, but he didn’t miss the blush that crept in.
“I remember your smile,” she finally whispered in reply.
“My smile?” he questioned and then smiled slowly for her benefit. He watched her eyes dilate and her breathing increase as she stared at his mouth.
“Yeah,” she finally replied. “When you helped me off the ground that night at the game you smiled at me.” Harley raised her own hand to the chain-link, her hand resting next to his.
“Do you know why I got in a fight?”
“One of our players cheap shot you, right?”
Kade shook his head slowly as he moved one finger over and gently caressed the top of her hand. Her eyes moved to what he was doing and swallowed hard.
“Then why?” she whispered, not looking up from her hand.
“Because I kept looking at you all night and your lineman saw it and taunted me.”
“You fought about me?” she said, her voice soft. “What did he say?” she asked finally looking him straight in the eyes.
“To keep my eyes off you because he intended to pop your cherry.”
Her reaction was immediate and fun to watch. She sucked in a breath as if she was biting into a lemon and then tried to think back to whom he’d fought.
“Sammy,” she hissed. “Wait until I see him again.”
“I take it he didn’t pop your cherry?”
“Ah, no. My ex-husband did.”
Kade closed his eyes briefly. Jesus, she was innocent. Clean, pure, worth fighting and dying for just like he’d thought.
A whistle blew over his shoulder announcing it was lunchtime, breaking Kade from his thoughts.
“Time to go,” Kade said as he kept staring at her gorgeous face.
“Oh, right. Mealtime. I guess I’ll see you on Friday then,” she answered before looking at his bandaged arm and frowned. “Watch your back, okay?”
Before she pulled her hand from the fence, Kade put all his fingers on top of hers and squeezed. “Always,” he answered before he leaned down, hooked Buck’s lead back on his collar, and rose smiling at Harley.
“It was worth it,” he said as he backed up from the fence.
“What was?” she asked.
“Punching Sammy.”
He kept backing up, watching as a sexy grin pulled across her mouth. Before he turned around to head inside, he called out, “Friday,” to Harley and then winked, feeling better than he had in two years.
***
“Hey, Dad, where are you?”
Moving through the dining room of my father’s single-story Florida home, which backed up the Blackwater River, I headed to the back patio expecting to find him with a beer in hand watching boaters pass by on the river. I came to an abrupt halt, though, when I heard him call out from his bedroom. Dad had taken the day off work to run errands, so I hadn’t had a chance to talk to him once I returned to work.
“What’s up kiddo?” he called out as he came down the
“Um.”
“Did he cheat?”
“No, we just—”
“Hit you?” he growled.
“No! God, no, we just married too young and realized later we were better off as friends than lovers.”
“You still keep in touch?” Kade asked, needing to know where she stood with the man.
“Why are you asking?”
“No reason,” Kade answered with a grin. “So, how long have you been training dogs?”
“Since 2005. I had planned to attend Veterinary School, but those plans fell through when my mother was diagnosed with cancer. Working with IDTP was a way to fulfill part of my dream of caring for abused animals,” Harley answered. She paused for a moment, looking around the yard, then rushed out, “I recognized you that day at my dad’s shop.”
A slow grin pulled across his mouth as he raised an arm to the chain link and curled his fingers around the hot metal.
“I recognized you, too. Your eyes are hard to forget.”
“My eyes?”
“Warm. Like swimming in milk chocolate,” he explained. “Makes a man feel like he’s home.”
Her breath hitched at his words. She covered her reaction quickly by looking down at her shoes, but he didn’t miss the blush that crept in.
“I remember your smile,” she finally whispered in reply.
“My smile?” he questioned and then smiled slowly for her benefit. He watched her eyes dilate and her breathing increase as she stared at his mouth.
“Yeah,” she finally replied. “When you helped me off the ground that night at the game you smiled at me.” Harley raised her own hand to the chain-link, her hand resting next to his.
“Do you know why I got in a fight?”
“One of our players cheap shot you, right?”
Kade shook his head slowly as he moved one finger over and gently caressed the top of her hand. Her eyes moved to what he was doing and swallowed hard.
“Then why?” she whispered, not looking up from her hand.
“Because I kept looking at you all night and your lineman saw it and taunted me.”
“You fought about me?” she said, her voice soft. “What did he say?” she asked finally looking him straight in the eyes.
“To keep my eyes off you because he intended to pop your cherry.”
Her reaction was immediate and fun to watch. She sucked in a breath as if she was biting into a lemon and then tried to think back to whom he’d fought.
“Sammy,” she hissed. “Wait until I see him again.”
“I take it he didn’t pop your cherry?”
“Ah, no. My ex-husband did.”
Kade closed his eyes briefly. Jesus, she was innocent. Clean, pure, worth fighting and dying for just like he’d thought.
A whistle blew over his shoulder announcing it was lunchtime, breaking Kade from his thoughts.
“Time to go,” Kade said as he kept staring at her gorgeous face.
“Oh, right. Mealtime. I guess I’ll see you on Friday then,” she answered before looking at his bandaged arm and frowned. “Watch your back, okay?”
Before she pulled her hand from the fence, Kade put all his fingers on top of hers and squeezed. “Always,” he answered before he leaned down, hooked Buck’s lead back on his collar, and rose smiling at Harley.
“It was worth it,” he said as he backed up from the fence.
“What was?” she asked.
“Punching Sammy.”
He kept backing up, watching as a sexy grin pulled across her mouth. Before he turned around to head inside, he called out, “Friday,” to Harley and then winked, feeling better than he had in two years.
***
“Hey, Dad, where are you?”
Moving through the dining room of my father’s single-story Florida home, which backed up the Blackwater River, I headed to the back patio expecting to find him with a beer in hand watching boaters pass by on the river. I came to an abrupt halt, though, when I heard him call out from his bedroom. Dad had taken the day off work to run errands, so I hadn’t had a chance to talk to him once I returned to work.
“What’s up kiddo?” he called out as he came down the
Similar Books
