Page 23 of Son of a Preacher Man
“Trust me, Snicks, you aren’t ready to hear it yet.” Small doses, right? Kodiak turned the tables. “That’s three you owe me now.”
“Three what?”
“Truths.” And he grinned. “My turn.”
“Okay, okay.” Kelly smiled, her blue eyes twinkling in the lantern’s light. “But our food’s going to get cold, so can we eat first?”
They never did make it to the movies. Sharing fajitas and stories and drinking beer, the hours spent up on the rooftop flew. He learned her favorite ice cream was strawberry, pineapples don’t belong on pizza, and she wanted to be a veterinarian when she was six.
Walking home arm in arm, Kodiak asked her, “How’d you go from puppy shots to triple shot lattes?”
“Turns out I’m allergic to cats.” Biting her lip, Kelly shrugged. “Most pet dander, really, but especially cats. Shame, because I always wanted a puppy.”
“So, get one.” His fingertips traced over her hand holding onto his arm. “There’s hypoallergenic breeds, you know.”
“I’m hardly ever home.”
“Hire more people. Spend more time at home. Do whatever makes you happy.” Having reached the alley, Kodiak stopped walking. Pulling Kelly with him, he leaned against the brick wall and tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear. “Life is too short to live it with regrets. Get the dog.”
“Maybe someday.”
“And one day, you wake up realizing you’re all out of them.” Lowering his forehead to hers, he gripped her shoulders. “Do it now.”
“Once I get Stacy paid off, I can afford to hire more people. Then I can be home more and have a dog.” Not waiting for him to respond, she ran her fingers through his hair and placed a kiss beneath his jaw. “Someday’s going to be one day, okay?”
“When’s your next sometimes?” Tightening his arms around her, he kissed the tip of her nose.
“Huh?”
“Night off.” With a dip of his chin, Kodiak chuckled. “I still owe you a movie.”
“Ohhh, that sometimes.” Sinking her teeth into her lip, Kelly giggled. “I’ve got Kevin’s game next Saturday, but my morning is free. How about breakfast?”
His mornings belonged to his sister. Linnea needed him, didn’t she? But he wanted time with Kelly. Somehow, he’d make it work. “I like my eggs over easy, whole-wheat toast, and my steak medium rare.”
“Guess you want me to do the cooking, huh?”
“Yup.” Brushing the hair back from her face, Kodiak looked into her sultry blue eyes. “Truth for a truth, Kelly. You sure you want to be my friend?”
Long lashes fluttering, she smiled. “I do.”
“Good.” He smiled back.
Then he kissed her.
He looked at the all-too-familiar address, and swiping left, deleted the email without reading it. Fuck you. Kodiak wasn’t the least bit interested in anything the man had to say. Leaving his phone behind, he stepped out onto the sidewalk to stretch his muscles and set off on his morning run.
While he had yet to see a single snowflake, Kelly’s prediction had come to pass. The October air had turned brisk. He could see his breath when he exhaled. A plume of white in the shadowy darkness. Moonlight giving way to the dawn.
His favorite time of day. It was the quietude of it. With most of the city still tucked in bed asleep, the only sounds to be heard were the leaves falling from the trees to skitter along the curb, the wind whirring past him, his heart pumping in his chest.
Third lap around the trail, the endorphins kicked in. A small measure of peace, he let them consume him. The email he’d deleted, and its sender, forgotten.
By the time he was finished, ribbons of pink unfurled in the eastern sky. Hands at his waist, Kodiak propped his foot up on a bench, stretching out his hamstring. He repeated the process with the other, then after paying equal attention to his quads and glutes, made the short trek home.
Any other day, he’d hit the weights set up in the spare room, but he was going to meet up with Kelly this morning, so he hit the shower instead. He was excited to see her again. This friend thing just might work, and dammit, he wanted it to. Needed it to. Sure, he wanted to fuck her. And he would. But his desire ran deeper than that.
Kodiak wanted to get inside that pretty little head of hers. To uncover every facet of Kelly Matthews. What parts of herself was she hiding from him? It didn’t matter. Because little by little, he’d slice his way through all her layers. Just as eventually, he’d allow her to painfully peel away every last one of his.
