Page 12 of Return By Fire

Nor was I concerned about “The Champ”—Nick Cain. Christ, it still blows my mind my sister used to hang with the most renowned MMA fighter on the planet. According to Kara, “The only time Nick wasn’t a dick was when Maris was nearby.” That comment caused my brows to wing into my hairline for hours.

I’d never admit it to her, but I’m certain I’d be most interested in having a conversation with Kody Laurence—CEO of Laurence Construction. With Kara and I saving every spare dime possible to buy our first home, I’d be curious whether he’d be a slick salesman or as honest as Kara made him out to be. “He’s one of the most humble people I know. Smart, but not in your face about it.”

I tugged at her hair. “Smarter than you?”

She rolled her eyes before moving on. “Then, well, there’s Jennings.”

John Jennings was happier untethered and in the air than held down by my sister's love for him. The man fathered her child and couldn’t be bothered to read an email from an ex despite flagging the messages as urgent. “Shit, for all he knows, she could have been warning him of some STD, not that she was pregnant,” I growl. Bastard.

But the one that bothers me the most is Kara’s best friend’s brother—Jed Smith. Maybe it’s because he also has a sister, but I can’t imagine him watching how his buddies treated the women in his life without his loyalty shifting. Yet, because he’s one of them, Kara explained, Maris has never shared about Kevin. “She can’t be certain he won’t pick up the phone and call Jennings.”

I clasped her hand. “Sweetheart, maybe that’s the best thing to happen. Kevin deserves to be supported by his father—financially, if nothing else.”

She yanked her fingers away from mine. “I’ve tried to contact him, Dean. I will not put his friends—essentially his family—in between my decision to carry my child to term.”

I glanced at the sleeping baby lying in his cradle. “And when he asks about him when he’s older?”

Her breath caught. “Then I’ll address Kevin’s questions then.”

“Kara?”

“Yes?”

“Maybe Jennings—” She cuts me off before I ask her if it’s possible Jennings could still have feelings for her.

“No. He’s the one who broke things off.”

“Still, there may be other reasons,” I argued.

The look she shot me could have refrozen the Mendenhall Glacier I swear she missed as much as she missed Jennings. “No, the subject of Jennings is closed.”

Wiping my hand across my brow, I can’t believe how much time has gone by in a blink. Kara’s pulled herself up from literally nothing to be one of the most sought-after teachers in St. John’s County in Science. My nephew, Kevin, is now twelve.

But there’s something missing.

Something that even the terror from walking into a wall of flames doesn’t give me any longer.

A spark.

A challenge.

Maybe, you just need to get laid, I think wryly.

Or at least I think I do. “Did I hear you bitch about needing to get laid?” Silver pipes in.

“Butt out, kid,” I growl.

“Sir, I was just going to offer to set you up,” the young probie continues. “Maybe we could double date. You know me and Kara and...”

“No,” I interrupt flatly. Christ, do all my male co-workers have the hots for my sister? First Axe and now this kid?

He’s about to argue when my phone rings—Kara’s ring, Taylor Swift’s “Red.” Immediately slipping my hand into my pocket, I answer, my voice softening, “Everything okay?”

“Dean, it’s Kevin! He was supposed to go camping with Brooks and his family, but they’re all down with strep.”

I slump against the side of the structure. “Shit.”

Her voice is in panicked stratospheric level. “I’m meeting Jed shortly and I can’t cancel. He’ll wonder why and figure out some way to come to the apartment.”

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