Raising The Stakes (Heartwarming Romance) by Karen Rock Page A

surprised him at every turn.
    “Yeah. I guess.”
    Finished with the board, they moved to the pile of lumber and carried another two-by-four to the next spot. He steadied it in place while she expertly sank nails in its base. Her aim was dead-on and the nails disappeared into the wood after two or three hits. Was it his imagination or was she smashing them harder than ever?
    He knew he should leave the topic alone, but something fragile in her tone brought out his protective streak. Had she been hurt?
    “Where’s your mom now?”
    Her hammer slammed dead center into another nail and buried it in one blow. “Don’t know. Haven’t spoken to her in ten years.”
    With her lips pressed together and her eyes narrow, all signs indicated he should change the subject, but somehow he couldn’t.
    “Why’s that?”
    “She didn’t exactly leave a forwarding number when she walked out on me and her latest husband.”
    That sounded hard. “And how old were you?”
    She stopped and gulped from her water bottle. After a long drink, she wiped her mouth and met his eyes. “Seventeen. Any more questions, Hardy boy?”
    He pulled off his sweaty T-shirt. “Not really.” He began nailing another board. “Just passing time.”
    Only he wasn’t. Every moment with Vivie intrigued him. He looked forward to seeing her more than he dared admit. More than was good for his peace of mind. Like her, he shouldn’t get attached...especially if he got that job in Yellowstone Park. He wondered when the résumé he’d emailed would get a response.
    She moved around him and held the next piece of wood as he secured it to the foundation. “So how about you? Did you grow up with the white picket fence? Have a dog and a sister?”
    “A cat and six siblings. No fence, though the Korean vegetable market on the corner had a customers-only line we couldn’t cross. Especially after my sister Mary Ann filched a mango.”
    She considered him, something spooked in her expression. “Sounds like you grew up in the city.”
    He pressed the beam, testing its stability, then pounded in another nail for good measure. “SoHo. My family owns a pub there and we lived in an apartment above it. Most of them still do. Mary Ann’s getting married there in August.”
    She lowered her hammer. “I lived in the city when I was in culinary school.”
    “Yeah? What part?”
    Her hand rose to her neck and her voice grew faint. “The Bronx.”
    Before he could ask her more, she hurried on, “So all nine of you, plus a cat, in one apartment? That must have been cramped.”
    He forced a shrug. It had been tough, but he’d been in tighter spots... The memory of Kunar punched his throat.
    “My dad died when I was seventeen, so there were only eight of us. He was a Korean War vet. It inspired my twin, Niall, and I to join the military after 9/11.”
    A soft hand fell on his arm and he studied her concerned eyes. “I’m sorry to hear that, Liam. Did your mother remarry?”
    Spots appeared in the corners of his vision. He sat on a nearby stump and took another swig of water. “My mom has Alzheimer’s. My oldest brother, Aiden, pretty much raised the rest of us.” Crazy that he was telling her so much. He’d only ever opened up to his battle buddies. He stared down at the water bottle, his chest aching. Now those buddies were all gone...the nearest he could get to them was atop a mountain, where he felt closest to heaven.
    Vivie plunked down by his feet and handed him a wrapped cookie from her backpack. “Aiden sounds like a great brother. Want one? Raisin oatmeal.”
    He bit into the chewy dessert, grateful she’d switched subjects. “Good,” he said after polishing it off in two bites.
    “Thanks. One of my stepdads owned a bakery. That’s where I got started making desserts.”
    “Guess it wasn’t all bad then, your childhood.”
    “There were worse things,” she muttered, almost to herself.
    He tried catching her eye but she stared at a copse of