Page 34 of Power Play

That one text had changed everything.

“Do you play?” Tess asked, looking over her shoulder at me again. This time with all the hope in the world.

I knew I should say no. I wasn’t an idiot. The right thing to do here was to tuck the cash I’d brought with me under the board game and get the hell out of there. Except saying no to a kid with those big blue eyes behind pink glasses was beyond me.

To a kid who just wanted to play a game. A girl who couldn’t quite hide how lonely she was. Missing her mom. Maybe a little scared. And a whole lot bored.

I didn’t know what the hell was going on here, but I wasn’t about to say no to her.

“Yes, I do.” I said. “Set up the board and I’ll be right back.”

I walked down the hallway to the kitchen, which didn’t look any better than the living room. Instead of games, though, it was boxes of take-out food scattered around the place.

Pizza. Burgers. Bowls of what looked and smelled like clam chowder.

Come on, Liam, I thought. No kid likes clam chowder.

His back was to me as he talked on his phone. He wore a pair of gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt that clung for dear life to the muscles of his back and shoulders.

I shamelessly looked my fill and eavesdropped.

I never claimed I was a saint.

“You guys doing okay?” Liam asked whoever was on the other end of the phone, his voice in that sincere place that always made a mess of me. “No, I know you can handle your shit.”

I picked a piece of pepperoni off a piece of pizza and popped it in my mouth. My mouth immediately watered, and my stomach roared for more.

Had I eaten today? No, I realized. I hadn’t. I picked up the slice and leaned against the counter to eat it. Even cold it was really good pizza. And free.

“Yeah,” Liam said. “No. Who am I going to tell?” He blew out a breath that was half laughter, half frustration. “That was when we were in high school, man. And you’re the one who made it weird. I won’t say a word to anyone. Oh, except Dad. I told Dad. I know… but…yes…Fine. Yeah. Fuck you too.”

Liam hung up the phone.

“Did your brother really get married in Vegas?” I asked and he jumped, spinning around.

“Stop sneaking around,” he snapped.

“Hardly sneaking,” I said and helped myself to the carrot sticks that were sitting next to some chicken wings. “So? You want to tell me something? Like maybe you’re someone’s baby daddy?”

“I’m not Tess’s dad,” he snapped, real fast. Real quiet. He walked across the kitchen to me and pulled me away from the open doorway.

“I don’t think she’s listening,” I whispered, yanking my arm free once we were on the other side of the island. Oh, he had cookies over here. I grabbed one. “How do you know you’re not the daddy?” I asked. Because their scowls in the picture in the paper had been nearly identical. “Did you sleep with her mom?”

He frowned like he was going to deny it, but then remembered it was true. “Years ago.”

“Like six years?”

“Will you…” he scowled at me and I thought, yep, he definitely slept with her six years ago. “I’m not the father, okay? Janice would have told me. She knows how I feel about that shit.Yes, we used to hook up back when she was my manicurist. Then she left to be a nurse. She moved back a couple of months ago with her daughter. Said she doesn’t like to talk about the dad.”

“Let me guess, you gave her a side job to help her make ends meet as a single mother.”

He blinked. “She’s a really good manicurist and foot care is no joke.”

“Okay, so where is she now?”

“She took this temp nurse gig.”

“You mean a traveling nurse?” I nodded. “Smart. They get paid bank. I bet I could pay you back a lot faster, if I’d been a nurse.”

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