Kale gripped the man’s thick hand and noted that he had a strong, firm handshake. Kale had always been a good judge of character, and Nick’s handshake and direct eye contact spoke volumes. He studied Nick for a moment longer, assessing him. The plow truck’s concern for his sister’s well-being was evident in the way he rubbed his beefy hand up and down her arm, offering his warmth. Kale noted with an equal measure of surprise and respect that the guy had enough balls to even touch his little sister in front of him. Maybe she’d found herself one of the good guys. Someone who was willing to go against his own best interests to put her needs and desires first.
“And she’s told me nothing about you,” Kale countered, turning his scowl on his sister. Just then the front door of the bungalow swung open and his mother’s voice sounded over the wind.
“Come in here you three, before you catch your death of cold,” Grace called out.
Kale chuckled and threw his arm around his sister’s waist. “And you think I’m overprotective. Come on. Let’s go. I’m starving.”
The aroma of freshly baked shortbread cookies reached his nostrils and brought back memories of his youth as he stepped inside. Life hadn’t always been easy after their father’s sudden heart attack fifteen years ago. Working part-time, maintaining his grades, and shouldering the responsibility of his two younger sisters over the years had been challenging to say the least.
He shrugged his coat off, draped it over the wooden stair rail, and inhaled the delectable scents coming from the kitchen. Jenna, his youngest sister, met him at the door.
As he studied his sister he realized things had changed drastically since his last visit. Dressed entirely in black, with spiked hair to match and a choker chain that resembled a dog collar, Jenna punched him on the shoulder. “Hey bro.”
How charming.
He dipped his head to meet her gaze. “Hey Jenna,” he returned. Cocking his head, he regarded her for an extra moment. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets, resisting the urge to rip that piercing out of her eyebrow. “How’s your last year of high school working out for you? Have you decided on a college yet?”
She gave a very unladylike snort, and then grunted something incoherent before she sauntered back into the living room. Kale turned to his mother and arched a questioning brow.
“What—”
Her palms out, his mother’s blue eyes glistened as she cut him off. “It’s just another stage. You all went through them. She’ll get over it.” Grace pushed back her silvery hair and gestured with a nod. “Now come on, dinner is getting cold.” Waving her hands, she herded them all to the dining room table.
Following his mother down the short hallway, Kale couldn’t manage to tamp down his concerns. He knew at times he could be overprotective, too controlling of those he cared about, but it was that control that had gotten them through the rough times. And there had been many rough times over the years.
Kale moved into the cozy dining room and inhaled the familiar scents of his mother’s home cooking. Listening to a Bing Crosby Christmas carol coming from the living room stereo, he lowered himself onto a plush dining room chair and perused his childhood home, orienting himself.
Homemade Christmas decorations adorned every wall while linen Santa placemats and matching napkins covered the old oaken table. He noted how his condo seemed so sterile, so cold in comparison. In all honesty, he didn’t spend a lot of time there. When he wasn’t waking up in some passing interest’s bed, he was at the lab. Lately, however, he acknowledged that most of his nights were spent at the research center, not between some woman’s silky sheets.
Of course, his current probationary status at the center was a direct result of the late hours he kept. He’d fucked up. Plain and simple. Late one night in a haze of exhaustion, he’d fallen asleep on the old cot in the back of his lab and had forgotten to lock up. Because of his carelessness, a couple of vials of the serum that he and his team had been working on had gone missing. It could have cost him his job. By all rights it should have. The only thing that saved his ass was that his boss had a soft spot for him, right in the middle of her mattress. But he’d been duly warned, regardless of his impeccable work ethic, that if he fucked up again, at Castech or during his stint at the subsidiary center in Iowa, he could kiss his career good-bye.
Jenna plunked herself down on his left. The movement pulled him back to the present. Lisa and Nick grabbed the seat across the table facing him. As they all situated themselves, Kale uncorked the wine and filled the glasses as his mother brought in the last serving dish and took her seat at the end of the table.
Kale’s stomach growled. “It all looks great,” he said, his mouth salivating for a home-cooked meal.
His mother grinned at the endorsement. “Yes, well, I have to fatten you up. You’re looking too thin.”
Kale scoffed at the remark. Damn, he kept himself in great shape. In fact, he worked out regularly at the health club. But if you were comparing him to the plow truck on the other side of the table, well, hell yeah, he looked thin. Anyone would.
As his mother’s gaze fixed on him, her eyes softened. Kale could only imagine what was running through her mind, visions of a daughter-in-law and the splendor of a child’s laughter in the house once again. He’d heard those comments numerous times over the last few years, but the timing had never been right before. He’d been far too
