Would Will applaud her choices or chastise her for not following her dreams?
The answer to that question hit way too close to the heart of the matter.
* * * * *
Bruiser dreaded his mother’s dinners. Not only was Eunice a barely passable cook, but his sister craved drama more than a reality show producer. Add to that an hour ferry ride both ways alone in a car with Mac, and it was a recipe for pure torture.
He needed to make something happen before training camp because images of Mac really fucked with his sleep. Running it off every morning and evening didn’t help either. If anything, the exercise honed his edge instead of filing it down. Pulling into Mac’s driveway, he hadn’t even put his SUV in park when Mac bounded out the door, blonde hair streaming behind her and a purse slung over her shoulder. She was settled in the seat before he could get out to open the car door for her. God, she looked like heaven with a heavy dose of sin on top.
“Thanks for giving me a ride.” She smiled at him, one of those pure heartwarming smiles. He found himself smiling back. She’d turned him into a sorry-assed sap eager for any crumb of her attention.
“It’d be pointless for both of us to drive.” Bruiser took in her little top and skirt, along with the makeup. She looked damn cute. Sexy as hell.
“My, aren’t we grumpy this afternoon. What’s got your boxers in a wad?”
“I’m always like this when I’m about to visit my family.” Which was the truth.
“I like your family. They’re a hoot.”
“Yeah, well, that’s because they aren’t related to you.” Bruiser headed for downtown Seattle across the floating bridge.
“What’s your problem with them?” Talk about getting to the point. He liked and hated that about Mac.
“They’re just pains in my ass. They bitch at me all the time, try to control me, make demands of me.”
“Are you the baby?”
“Yeah, what was your first clue? Other than they treat me like one.” Except when they wanted his money. “Sometimes I wish they’d just go away and leave me alone.”
“Don’t ever say that. You never know when you won’t have them around anymore.” Mac swallowed and made this little hiccupping sound. Bruiser felt like a shit because he was one.
“Hey, that was an asshole thing for me to say, and I’m sorry. I don’t want them to go away; I just want them to lay off.”
“It’s okay, you don’t need to walk on eggshells around me regarding that subject. It is what it is.”
Bruiser looked over at her and felt helpless at the pain on her face. He reached over and took her hand. “Then tell me. I’d like to hear. Maybe a pair of fresh eyes and ears would help.”
As they drove, she told him the whole story, about her brother and how he left work one Friday afternoon and was never seen again, and about her father, who seemed to lose his grip with reality a little more each day. The pain in her voice went right through his heart like a javelin. Finally, her voice trailed off, and she looked at him with such a sad expression he just wanted to hold her and tell her it would be all right. But he knew it wouldn’t, just like it would never be okay with Brice.
He cleared his throat. “If I can do anything, just say the word. I don’t have any experience with detective work, but I’m tenacious and stubborn.”
Bruiser didn’t let go of her hand, and she didn’t pull away. He liked her hand in his, even if it wasn’t as soft and smooth as most women’s hands. He felt safe with her, like he was finally at home after a long trip away. Being with her seemed right, and he’d never had such a feeling before.
And he liked the idea that she trusted him enough to reveal something so painfully personal. Yeah, he liked that.
A lot.
He didn’t trust easily, so he understood how hard it was to trust another when you’ve been screwed over by people. Yet, she trusted him.
And perhaps he trusted her, too.
* * * * *
A few hours later, Mac sat in the passenger seat as Bruiser drove his SUV back onto the ferry, where it was wedged between a semitruck and the interior wall. Mac couldn’t see a thing beyond the vehicles crammed on three sides of them. Washington State Ferry workers were known for their ability to fill every square inch of car deck space. If they had to abandon ship, Mac wasn’t sure she could squeeze out the door.
Lunch had proven to be, uh, interesting to say the least, between Eunice’s pink and purple décor, Shanna’s biker boyfriend, and the family’s constant badgering of Bruiser. She’d been fascinated by the screwed-up dynamics. Bruiser didn’t have it any better than the rest of the world; he just hid it well.
“Thank God that’s over.” Bruiser stretched in the seat. He spread his arms wide in an arc, his fingers grazing her cheek. Mac suppressed a shiver even as she warned herself against taking such an accidental touch seriously.
“Want to go up top? Enjoy the salt air?” He grinned at her, one of those full-on grins that punched her in the stomach with a heavy dose of desire garnished with hard-to-deny chemistry.
Like she could get out if she wanted. “I’m fine. It’s dark and rainy anyway. Not much to see.”
She half expected him to head upstairs without her, but he didn’t. Instead, his gaze traveled lazily up and down her body, coming to rest on her face.
“I like the view here better.”
“You’re so full of shit.” Mac snorted, her voice extra loud after one too many margaritas. “Your family is
