Page 95 of Rock Chick Bonus Tracks

He didn’t know how to read that, so, with no other choice at that moment, he let it be.

“It’s the best outfit in the Rocky Mountain region,” Julien bragged.

“I’ve heard of them,” Judith put in. “There’s books written about them, right?”

“Books you’re not allowed to read,” Moses warned.

“Whatever, Dad,” she mumbled, aiming the side eye at her sister that was meant for him.

Two teenage girls, he knew what the side eye meant. Absolutely.

“What do you do there?” Alice asked Roman.

“I’m the office manager,” Shirleen cut in swiftly so Roman couldn’t continue to charm Moses’s youngest with his ultra-cool badassness.

“I bet that’s interesting,” Judith said with a tentative smile at Shirleen.

“It sure is, pretty thing,” Shirleen replied.

Judith’s smile became less tentative, and it moved to her dad.

Right, okay.

That smile was all good.

The server came to take their drink orders.

“What’s everyone getting to eat?” Moses asked when the server left.

The girls chimed in, Roman and Julien had never been there, so they took his cue to study their menus, as did Shirleen, even though he knew she’d already decided what she wanted. His woman was good at online research when it came to menus.

Things smoothed out from there, mostly because Julien demonstrated that he was, indeed, simply growing up. Or at least that was what Moses read in theJesus, man, cool it!looks he was aiming Roman’s way.

Reading these looks, Roman checked back in to what was happening and its importance, which was both good and bad.

Good, because Moses no longer had to bear witness to his daughter’s yearning gazes at Shirleen’s son.

Bad, because Roman was no longer returning those gazes, so Alice seemed confused he’d suddenly lost interest.

Which might be why, when their entrees were served, she tried to learn more about the boy who caught her eye.

“So, I don’t want to be nosy, but we’re all kinda in this together, and Dad told us you guys were adopted.” She gave a sweet smile to Julien and added, “I mean, it’s also kinda obvious, you know.”

Julien smiled back. “Yeah.”

“We were runaways,” Roman announced, his attention fixed to Alice.

Her attention shifted right to him, then she sat completely still and stared at him.

Judith’s gaze raced to her dad.

Shirleen’s hand curled around Moses’s thigh.

“I got shot,” Roman continued.

Judith gasped.

Alice put her hand on the table like she needed to steady herself or she’d fall out of her chair.

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