“I can come back later if you’re not finished,” I say once my vocal cords decide to finally work.
He drops his hand and shakes his head. “Nah. I’ll bring him home when we’re done. Unless there’s some kind of rule against that?”
Today is Haley’s shift at HoH. Haley is twenty-two with long blonde hair, flawless skin, and a body to die for. Oh, and she’s one of those Instagram-famous makeup tutorial/perfect hair girls that make me question everything I thought I ever knew about being a female. Together, she and Blaze would make beautiful babies. The thought of that being a serious possibility once he drops Liam off and meets her makes my stomach drop.
“Nope, no rules. That would be great.” My voice cracks, exposing my lie. “I’ll grab a piece of paper and write down the address.”
He tugs the glove off one hand and pulls his cell phone from his back pocket with a smirk. It’s the sexiest thing I’ve seen since I stared at the sweat on his chest. “Or I could just text you when we’re on our way.”
I swallow. Hard. Then I rattle off the digits, and he stores them in his phone while I focus on appearing unaffected by the fact that he lowkey just asked for my number.
I look around at the mess. Thick beams of wood lie on the ground, blackened and charred. Black dust hangs in the air. Shattered glass litters the ground, and there are scattered piles of twisted metal that was once furniture I assume. It’s funny how the aftermath of something that once blazed bright with heat can be so gray and cold.
“I can’t believe he did this. If that deputy would’ve told me he’d caught Liam doing anything else, it would be easier to understand. I could at least try to wrap my head around it. Drugs. Fighting. Breaking and entering. But a fire? I just don’t get it.” I stare out into the distance, not even sure who I’m talking to. The Universe. Blaze. Myself. Maybe all three. I push down the knot in my throat and look back at Blaze. “You’re sure there was no one else here with him when it happened?”
He shakes his head, slow and deliberate. “No. Just him standing next to an empty gas can.”
I try to imagine it, but all I can come up with are images of the terrified teenage boy that showed up at HoH three months ago.
“His parents died in a fire.” I don’t know why I tell Blaze that. I just do. Maybe a part of me needs him to understand. Maybe I don’t want to try to figure this all out alone. “For weeks after he came to the house, I couldn’t even burn a candle. I wish he would just talk to me.” My voice is hoarse as I swallow back unshed tears.
Blaze places his hand on my shoulder, my bare shoulder. The second his skin touches mine he inhales a sharp breath. His eyes fall to the spot where he’s touching me. He runs his fingers from the curve in my neck all the way across the top of my shoulder, his gaze never leaving where his hand trails. It’s like he’s touching a woman for the first time. I watch him like I’m being touched for the first time. His massive fingers, strong hands, thick veins all leading to the sexiest ink-covered forearm I’ve ever seen. God. Am I breathing?
A long stretch of silence passes before he speaks. When he does, his voice is soft. It’s a strong contradiction to the hard man in front of me.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” He takes my chin between his thumb and index finger. “He’s a kid. He fucked up.” His hand falls away, and his mouth twitches. There’s a sparkle in his eyes. “Sorry. I forgot you hate that word.”
“Oh my God, stop. I like that word.”
He tips his head to one side then swipes his thumb across his bottom lip and arches his brows. His mouth turns up in a half-smile. So cocky, so presumptuous, so… sexy.
My skin feels hot, and I have no doubt I’m blushing for the second time in five minutes. That’s got to be a new record.
“That came out wrong,” I say. Blaze straightens his head but keeps staring at me with that smirk. God, that smirk. “I don’t hate the word. I just don’t like using it in front of the boys.” I take a breath then sigh. “It probably sounds stupid, but I want to shield them, give them some of their innocence back. And I’m not naÏve enough to believe that by not dropping an F-bomb here and there, these boys will somehow feel like they’ve had a normal childhood with normal overprotective parents. But it makes me feel like I’m at least trying.” I shake my head, shaking off my words, shaking off the idea that something so simple can make any kind of difference, shaking off the fact that I’m entirely too comfortable sharing this with a guy I hardly know. “Like I said, it’s probably stupid.”
His golden-brown eyes pierce mine, searching and finding, all-knowing and intense. I feel it all the way to my bones. That stare is going to be my undoing.
“That doesn’t sound stupid at all,” he says.
My tongue snakes out involuntarily and wets my lips. “Thank you. Not just for saying that but for listening.” I rock back on my heels, feeling nervous all of a sudden because the other guy is off his phone and staring at us with his mouth open. “I should let you guys get back at it.”
Blaze notices it too but doesn’t seem the least bit affected by having an audience for what felt like an intimate conversation—at least for me. He glances over his shoulder at Liam, who hasn’t stopped working for even a second, then back at me. “You were right, you know. He’s a good kid.” I can’t help but smile at his words. His gaze drops to my lips for just a moment. Then he clears his throat and looks over my shoulder rather than directly at me when he speaks again. “I promise to have him home by dinner.”
I yell across the parking lot to Liam. “You’re doing awesome.” He answers with a grin and a thumbs up. “Blaze is going to bring you home later.” Another thumbs up. I laugh and shake my head. “I’m surprised you can get any work out of that chatterbox,” I say, bringing my attention back to Blaze.
He smiles. “The words will come when he’s ready.”
My heart hammers in my chest. According to every assumption I’ve made about this man, he should know nothing about the world Liam lives in—the world I live in. Yet here he is, standing in the middle of it and turning it upside down.
Right after Brody called to tell me everything was fine with the board and that we’re both still employed, Haley called to ask me to take her shift due to a family emergency. I don’t know whether to thank fate or curse it.
Kai finally replied to my email with a thank you and a recommendation that Liam seeks professional counseling. He doesn’t need therapy. He needs guidance. But I don’t tell Kai that.
The boys are outside shooting basketball while I cook dinner and wait for the last load of laundry to finish. Just as I slide a pan of garlic bread in the oven, Jake walks through the front door. He’s dressed in jeans and a casual polo that hugs his biceps and brings out the blue in his eyes.
Shit.
I forgot all about him.
“Damn,” he says as soon as he sees me.
I wipe my hands on a nearby dishtowel then toss it onto the counter. “I thought you were going to call.” A thought occurs to me. “Unless you came to see Haley, in which case, sorry to disappoint you, but she isn’t here.”