AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And I didn’t fail at missions or bail early. I glanced back at Holden. Guess it was a good thing I had an understanding roommate lined up. He paused his conversation with Sam, the corners of his mouth turning up. Not the wide, easy grin he gave the whole damn world, but a little private smile, all for me.
The same certainty that said I needed to see to this house also said it was damn inevitable that I’d eventually find my way to asking Holden for another round of kink. Soon. And while the uncomfortable conversation had given rise to a deep need to escape my head, my certainty had more to do with the man himself. We had unfinished business, and that was a fact.
Chapter Fifteen
Holden
I arrived home in a foul temper, but the meaty smell of chicken and something spicy greeted me. My mood immediately brightened several degrees. I wasn’t coming home to an empty house, and the sounds of someone cooking were soothing enough, but that the someone was Cal? Well, that was even better. Things might be ever so slightly weird between us after the Monday afternoon kink-fest, but nothing during the following couple of days had dampened my ever-growing attraction to the man.
Consequently, I had to squash the urge to call out something absurd like Honey, I’m home. Instead, I wheeled into the kitchen, taking a moment to admire Cal in a clean white T-shirt, loose sweats, and damp hair with a fresh-looking bandage over his neck.
“Hey.” He swiveled away from the stove to greet me. “Knox sent me home with time to spare, and I knew you had a later class, so I started some dinner.”
“Thank you.” I smiled broadly, a feat I hadn’t thought possible two minutes prior. “Whatever you did to that chicken smells amazing.”
“Don’t thank me.” Cal quirked his lips, as finicky about taking a compliment as ever. “Thank that bottle of organic, local barbeque sauce in your pantry. Made my job easy. Sear, simmer, shred. Easy.”
“What can I do to help?” I asked because no way was I passing up the chance to watch Cal cook and enjoy his company, prickly though it was.
“I was debating on a vegetable.” Striding over to my fridge, he opened the freezer as easily as if he’d lived here for years. “Do you eat corn?”
“Sure. Let’s do that and broccoli.” I gestured toward the produce drawer as he opened the refrigerated section. “Marley got me in the habit of always adding something green at dinner.”
“You got it.” He handed me the package of seasoned corn to heat in the microwave while he quickly hacked up the broccoli and set it to steaming on the stovetop. “Your sister sounds smart.”
“She’s a traveling nurse. And brilliant about more than just nutrition, but I’m a biased big brother.” I grabbed a spice blend to add when the broccoli finished.
“Was it fun having siblings growing up?” His tone was offhand but with the same wistful note I’d heard from other only kids over the years.
“Hard to say. Both of mine are quite a bit younger. There was a gap after me where Mom was working on her master’s in teaching, then came Greg, then Marley was the surprise bonus baby.” I tried not to oversell the sibling experience, but my fondness for Greg and Marley shined through nevertheless. “They were both fun kids, though, and their energy really kept Mom and me going after Dad died. Later, after my accident, having them around as they did college helped me transition back to independence, and now that we’re all adults, we’re actually closer than we were as kids.”
“Nice.” He sighed like a cranky teakettle before removing a tray of potato wedges from the oven. “Being an only… It’s isolating, I guess is the best word. Been thinking all day about your friend, Worth, and how he’s all that’s left. No one to share the burden of the mess of the investigation and stuff.”
“That’s true.” I hadn’t realized the similarities between Worth and Cal until this conversation, and it spoke to Cal’s subtle empathy that he’d been dwelling on a man he’d never met. “And that aloneness is why Sam wants to plan this memorial. Worth hasn’t been back to Safe Harbor in nearly twenty years. And he’s been on his own in the bay. No partner or spouse. The news about finding his mother’s remains has to be hard on him, but he’s not one for talking.”
“Understandable.” Cal’s eyes were distant.
“Yeah, you and he are similar in that way. You do broody well.” I’d pressed Rob and Monroe both, but neither had gotten a response from Worth. Meanwhile, Sam could occasionally rouse the guy via text, but he’d also reported crickets. I was at a loss as to how to ensure his well-being short of a flight to California. But maybe someone cut from similar cloth would have answers. “I bet you’d know how we can help Worth. Is there anything we could say that would encourage him to open up?”
