Dawson's Stand (Welcome to Covendale Book 4) (13 page)

Luka gaped at her.

“I know all about his reputation.” She was working hard not to get angry, because she understood that Luka was trying to protect both of them. But it did upset her that his own sister had written him off. “In fact, that’s all he could talk about for half the night,” she said. “How it’s true what everybody says about him—that he’s a lowlife Dawson, just a pretty face that women use between real relationships. That he doesn’t deserve me.”

“Oh, God.” Luka’s voice shook a little. “My
brother
said that?”

She nodded. “The Gage I know isn’t the same one everybody else does,” she said. “He’s sweet, and funny, and so self-deprecating that he doesn’t even know how badly he’s been hurt.”

“He’d rather take on the world than let anyone in,” Luka said. “Jesus, I am so sorry. He tried to tell me, but…I didn’t take him seriously.”

“I understand,” she said. “And don’t worry. I know you guys all act like you hate each other, but you’d have each other’s backs in a second when it counts. I’ve seen it in all of you—well, except Mark. I haven’t met the legendary stick in the mud yet.”

Luka laughed. “Oh my God. That is definitely Mark,” she said. “I’m going to have to start calling him that.”

“Long as you don’t tell him where you got it from.”

“Mum’s the word.” She smirked and said, “Well, I guess I have to apologize to Gage—again. He’ll love that. But the other two are going to give him hell, anyway.”

“They are?”

“Yeah. They’re such a bunch of…boys.”

Kyla snorted laughter. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard
boys
sound like a dirty word.”

“That’s because you’ve never heard it in reference to my brothers.”

She smiled. “Still friends?”

“You’d better believe it.”

Kyla managed to relax. Now she could look forward to the rest of the day—and maybe Gage could, too.

Chapter 13

By Tuesday morning, Gage thought he was safe. Luka had given him a little grief when he brought the car back, because he wouldn’t tell her where he’d been. She’d finally dropped it. And neither of his brothers had said anything about it.

But then he found out it was only because Mark hadn’t gathered enough information to really yell at him. Until now.

He was in the kitchen hanging the last piece of sheetrock when Mark cornered him and said, “We need to talk.”

“Really? I could’ve sworn you said you weren’t paying us to stand around and talk.”

“Don’t push me, Gage. I will put you on your ass.”

“Not while I’m holding a hammer.” He met his brother’s hot stare unflinching. “What the hell do you want, Mark?”

“I want you to grow the fuck up.”

“Excuse me?”

Mark’s jaw clenched. “Luka told me you’re screwing around with the girl they just hired at the salon.”

“Did she.” The rage that washed over him was cold. “How about that.”

His brother must’ve sensed how furious he really was, because he backed up half a step. “You’ve got to stop this shit,” he said. “Have a little self-control. Otherwise, you’re the one who’s going to end up fucked—and you won’t enjoy it.”

It took every ounce of self-control he possessed not to break Mark’s face. “You listen to me,” he said, his voice low and strained. “First of all, Luka doesn’t have a fucking clue what’s going on with Kyla and me. Which means you don’t either.” He took a step forward, and his brother’s eyes widened. “Second of all, even if I was, it’s none of your goddamned business. Any of you.”

“Hey, it’s my business when you drag the rest of us down with you.”

“Third of all,” he spat through clenched teeth. “If you fuck this up for me, I will kill you. I’m not even kidding.”

Mark stared at him. “What’s gotten into you?” he said. “Does this girl blow like a vacuum or something? Or maybe you haven’t scored yet, and you’re trying to move in before somebody warns her about you.”

Without warning, Gage sprang at him.

Mark was too surprised to react fast enough. He went down, and Gage landed a blow to his jaw. But before he could strike again, Mark caught his wrist and flipped him over, rolling with him to plant a knee in his gut.

Snarling, Gage swung his free arm up and caught Mark on the chin.

He shook his head, and Gage pushed him off and scrambled to his feet, fists raised. “I told you I wasn’t kidding,” he said. “Don’t you dare talk about her like that. In fact, don’t fucking talk about her at all.”

“Knock it off.”

Jonah’s voice boomed into the kitchen, freezing them both. He strode toward them with a heavy frown. “The hell are you two clowns doing?” he said. “Look what you did to the floor.”

“Nothing.” Mark glared at Gage and wiped a thin stream of blood from his mouth. “You done?”

“Not even close.”

Jonah cleared his throat. “Somebody start talking. Now.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Gage said. “Maybe I’m just sick of people assuming they know more than me about what I’m doing.”

“Stop being so goddamned transparent, then,” Mark muttered.

“All right,” Jonah said. “Is this about that girl Luka mentioned? The mail carrier?”

“Jesus Christ. She told you, too?”

“She’s worried. About both of you.” He folded his arms. “Tell you what, Gage. Why don’t you invite her over for dinner?”

Mark flashed a cold smile. “Good idea,” he said. “That should put a stop to this.”

“And Mark will be on his best behavior.” Jonah glared at him. “We all will. Then everyone can stop worrying.”

Gage shook his head. “Hell, no. I don’t trust him.”

“Gage…” Mark sighed. “Look, I’m sorry. I mean it. Obviously, you’re a little more involved than I thought.”

“Oh, you noticed.”

“And I think Jonah’s idea is a good one,” he said with a touch of exasperation. “I swear I won’t mess with you.”

Gage stared at each of them in turn. “Fine,” he said. “But only to shut you two up. After she comes over—if she even wants to—I don’t want to hear another word about it. Deal?”

“Deal,” Jonah said. “So, dinner tonight?”

“Yeah, whatever.”

He whirled and stalked out of the kitchen, determined to work on something else for a while. Something far away from his brothers, the meddling bastards.

Before he could decide to finish breaking Mark’s face.

* * * *

Kyla finished all of her appointments by three in the afternoon, so Mags let her head out for the day. She didn’t mind—she planned to have a nice, long soak in the tub, maybe watch a movie, probably talk to Gage. She already looked forward to that more than almost anything, next to seeing him.

She’d gotten as far as climbing into her truck when her phone rang.

A mild pulse of worry moved through her. Gage usually texted until after five, when he’d gotten home from work. She pulled her phone out, and her heart sank a little more when she saw it was Ralph. Trying to tell herself he just wanted to check in, she answered. “Hey, Ralph.”

“Kyla, hello. I’m glad I caught you.”

She immediately sensed the strain in his voice. “What’s wrong?”

“Maybe nothing. Probably nothing.” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself. “I called because Mike had a court appointment this morning, and he didn’t show up for it.”

Her stomach churned. “He’s missing?”

“Not exactly.” Ralph sighed and hesitated a moment. “It was a routine matter, just some last-minute paperwork. No big deal. Still, technically he should’ve been there. I did some digging and found out he’d gotten a federal judge to convince the circuit judge to excuse him. He’d claimed he had to go out of the country for a business trip.”

“So…you think he’s looking for me?”

“I think he’s out of the country on a business trip.” Ralph tried to sound firm, but she detected a bit of uncertainty in his voice. “That said, I want you to be cautious for the next few days. Just in case. I’ll get in touch with you when he’s back here.”

“All right,” she managed. “Thank you, Ralph.”

They talked a few minutes longer, sticking to subjects that didn’t scare the hell out of her. After she hung up, she sat there trying to tell herself this was nothing. Mike frequently went on business trips. She knew, because she’d gone with him every time. He wouldn’t allow her to stay home by herself. This was a normal, routine thing for him, and she had no reason to worry.

But she would anyway. She’d worry until Ralph called her to say her ex-husband was back where he belonged—far away from her.

Just as she was about to start the truck, her phone rang again. Goodness, she was popular today. This time it was Gage. Odd, because she’d just been thinking he never called before five.

“Hello?”

“Hey.” Gage sounded almost as upset as she felt. “Sorry to call while you’re working.”

“It’s fine. I’m actually done for the day,” she said. “Is everything all right?”

“Yeah, just the usual. My brothers are fu—they’re morons.” He paused, and when he spoke again he seemed normal. “Anyway, I’ve got a crazy question for you,” he said.

She smiled. “What’s that?”

“Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?” Before she could respond, he plunged ahead in a rush. “You don’t have to. My brothers, they think I won’t even ask you. They’re trying to prove a point. And if you do come over, they’ll—”

“Gage.”

“What?”

“I’d love to.”

There was a brief pause. “You would?”

“Of course,” she said. In fact, she couldn’t think of anything better than spending the evening with Gage, and the rest of his family. It would keep her mind off Ralph’s ominous call. “What time should I be there?”

“Um. I guess seven works. That seems to be our time.”

“You’re right, it does,” she said. “What can I bring?”

“Just yourself.”

“No, I want to bring something.”

“Well…surprise me, then.”

“I will. See you at seven.”

“I can’t wait. Oh—fair warning, my brothers are crazy. Just ignore them.”

“I’ll try,” she said. “Should I ignore Luka, too?”

“Definitely. Don’t talk to anyone except me.”

She laughed. “Got it.”

They hung up, and she found herself feeling better already. Having dinner with a real family was a first for her. She couldn’t wait to see what it was like.

* * * *

Kyla took extra time getting ready for dinner, but it still felt like a long wait. She finally decided to leave early and pick something up at the grocery store to bring with her. She’d been debating on the still-unopened bottle of wine she had, but it really wasn’t very good.

The Stop ‘n Shop on Main Street was a good-sized store with decent prices. She knew there was another place in town, but Gage had warned her it was expensive. She found a parking spot in front of the store and headed inside to browse for a while.

Eventually she settled on dessert. But then, she had to decide which of the many choices to bring. There was a fairly large bakery section with plenty of pre-made cakes, pies, cookies, and assorted pastries. Finally, she chose a sample tray with four different kinds of cake and two dozen big, soft cookies—peanut butter and chocolate chip. She figured this way, everyone would be able to find something they liked.

By the time she checked out, it was quarter to seven. Just enough time to get to the Dawsons’ house from here, with a few minutes to spare. She asked for double paper bags, and headed outside fishing her keys from her pocket.

As she tucked the bag under one arm to open her truck door, she happened to glance across the street. And saw a man who looked a hell of a lot like Mike Finley standing on the opposite sidewalk, staring right at her.

She gasped. The bag slipped from her grasp and dropped to the pavement.

“Hey, miss. You all right?”

The voice behind her startled her. She turned to see a teenage boy straddling a bike, looking at her with concern. “I’m fine,” she said, more than a little flustered. “I just…well, I…”

“Here. Let me help you with that.” The boy flung a leg over the bike, dropped the kickstand and walked over to the bag. “Hope your groceries are okay.”

“Yes,” she said faintly. “I hope so.” Shivering inwardly, she stepped back to give the boy room, and looked across the street again.

There was no one there.

“Did you want this in the front seat?” the boy said.

She shook herself and managed to smile at him. “Yes, please.”

If he noticed the bag wasn’t nearly heavy enough to drop, he didn’t say anything about it. She was grateful for that. He leaned into the truck and shoved it over to the passenger side. “There you go,” the boy said. “Hey, are you sure you’re okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost—that’s what my mom would say, I mean.”

“Maybe I did,” she said. “Thank you for the help.”

“No problem.”

The boy went back to his bike and rode away. Kyla stood there for a moment, staring across the street. Now there was a couple walking past slowly, with the man pushing a stroller. It wasn’t the man she’d seen. She could’ve sworn it was Mike—but there was no sign of him now.

She must have imagined it. Ralph’s call had probably upset her more than she thought, and now she was having panic hallucinations. She’d just go to dinner with Gage and have a good time. Forget about her ex-husband for tonight.

Her hands only shook a little as she started the truck and drove away.

Chapter 14

Gage peered nervously through the oven door at the giant pan of lasagna bubbling away in there. “Are you sure it’s going to be good?” he said. “I mean, you put eggs in there. That doesn’t seem right, having eggs and tomato sauce together.”

“Will you relax? I know what I’m doing.” Luka finished chopping a handful of carrots and scraped them deftly into the salad bowl. “You have no idea how to cook. If you knew half the ingredients that go into the stuff you like, you’d never eat again.”

He winced. “Do me a favor and don’t tell me.”

“I won’t.” She pointed the knife she still held at the counter next to the stove. “You need to get that garlic bread in. The lasagna’s almost done.”