I frowned. He’d been my high school crush. I’d stared at him in the cafeteria and dreamed about what it would be like if he talked to me. He was loud, funny, and charming. “I never would’ve guessed. I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “Nothing for you to be sorry about, sweetness. I got out. I have a family now. Sure, none of them are blood, but they’re so much more than that. I’d do anything for them, and I know they have my back in the same way. I’ve been through hell with most of them. War with one. They are what matters to me. They are my family.”
I smiled and my heart warmed for Kiernan, but there was also a twinge there. A little bit of pain. I had Daphne and she was the greatest friend I’d ever had, but I didn’t have anyone filling that family role. I had my family, but they mostly caused pain. “Do you hear from your mom often?”
He snorted. “When she needs money. She works two jobs, refuses to leave my dad. He’s a lazy drunk, doesn’t work, and ruins most of her jobs until whatever place she’s at fires her. He’ll show up drunk and asking for money. He doesn’t allow her to talk to me, and she abides by that unless he spent all their money on booze or strip clubs or gambling.”
“She needs money?” I asked. My fingers massaged the tense muscles in his neck. He groaned softly.
“As usual,” he muttered. “He owes someone five grand. I have the money. I can give it to her, but fuck. They’ll eventually bleed me dry.”
“I have some money. I could help.”
Kiernan groaned again, shaking his head before leaning against my shoulder. “So damn sweet.” He placed a kiss on my shoulder. Kiernan had swooped in and been my hero several times in the past two months. He was my knight in a shining pickup truck. I wanted to be able to do the same for him. I wanted to take his pain away and shoulder the burden of it with him. I wanted to find out everything he’d missed out on because of his difficult home life and give it all to him.
He was making me crave a life with someone. With him.
“I don’t need your money, sweetness.”
“You know, you told me not that long ago that if someone doesn’t see how great I am then they don’t deserve to be in my life. You said that about my parents and my sister. The same goes for you, Kiernan. You don’t have to be the guy everyone leans on without getting anything back. You’re a wonderful man. I hate imagining how awful your mother’s situation might be, but you’ve given her an outlet and I know you. There’s no expiration date on that offer.”
He shook his head. “There’s not. She could choose not to call for ten years and then show up on my stoop. I’d let her in and take care of her. Same doesn’t go for that bastard.”
I shook my head. “Didn’t expect it to. But you don’t have to give every time she calls. One day…” I paused, a little bit of fear chasing up my spine. I knew Kiernan wanted to explore our chemistry and relationship, but I wasn’t sure how far that extended. If I mentioned his having a future with someone, would he take off out the door? I was trying my best to quash the girl that thought the cute boy was too good for her and take the man at his word, but a little part of me still didn’t understand how a man like him could go for a woman like me. “One day you might have a family with someone, and they’ll be your priority. You may have to say no one day.”
“I wish I could say no now,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m pretty sure she gives him the money I give her for whatever he wants.” Kiernan’s head fell back against the chair again, and he chuckled quietly. It sounded like he was in disbelief about something. “I’ve never told anyone that before.”
My brows rose. “Really?”
He shook his head. “No one in my life knows about them. I just don’t talk about it.”
“Thank you for trusting me,” I whispered.
“You trust me.”
I nodded and Kiernan stared at me. Stared straight through to my soul. “No one has ever looked at me the way you do,” I said.
“Like how?”
“Like I matter.”
“You do.”
27 Kiernan
“They’re going to love it, I swear,” Tate said and stood on her tiptoes, pressing a kiss against her husband’s cheek. James was quiet, as usual, but he was scowling at Pepper Jack. My dog was by my side now, but a minute ago, we’d caught him eating the peach cobbler Harper had made. It had been in James’s office, on his leather couch. The sweet mixture was spread all over the leather.
James’s scowl didn’t faze Pepper Jack. He stared right back without blinking and looked thoroughly unimpressed with the angry giant. I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. It hadn’t been my idea to bring Pepper Jack along; it had been Tate’s.
Once a month James hosted a community dinner at his gym. Any family was welcome to come for the free meal, and they could sign up for gym memberships and classes. Tate had thought the kids would love to play with Pepper Jack, so I’d brought him along.
Tate apparently hadn’t told her husband about her bright plan. James shifted his scowl from Pepper Jack to Tate. Her smile widened. He shook his head. “Fine, sunshine,” he muttered.
Tate squeezed James around his waist. “Thank you. I promise the kids are going to love him.”
He arched a brow and turned to me. “He’ll be able to handle kids, right?”
“He’s good with kids,” I confirmed and rolled my eyes. “You’ve seen him with Avery and Caden. He’s great with kids. Other dogs, not
