Page 56 of Threat of Danger
“Well, that gives an old woman hope.” She nodded with approval as she got up, and he had the distinct feeling that they were no longer talking about roast beef.
He was sitting at the kitchen table, ready for that lunch, when the front door opened and let in a cold blast of air. Kaylee popped in. “Hey, everybody! Fun has arrived. Brace yourselves!”
She jumped out of her boots, and peeled off her long coat, revealing blue jeans and a white hoodie underneath. The hoodie had the high school logo printed on the chest, a red hawk against the background of a green maple leaf. Derek had at least two of them somewhere at home. Man, it was still hard to believe sometimes that Kaylee was in high school now. A senior. Where the hell did time go?
“Why aren’t you in school?” Derek asked as the girl joined them in the kitchen.
“Chill, bro. No school. Teachers’ conference. Are we having lunch?” She grabbed three plates from the cupboard and set the table as if she was at home, which Derek supposed she was. She spent as much time here as she did at Chuck’s place.
“Were you looking for me?” Derek got glasses. “In need of some boy advice?”
“Sure, Gramps. Like what? How to ask a nice young man to a square dance?” Kaylee’s tone dripped with teenage sarcasm, her eyes glinting with teasing humor.
Zelda chuckled at the fridge.
“Hey.” Derek reached to grab the loose hoodie, but Kaylee danced away from him. “I know shit,” he said. “I might be a thriller writer, but I know all about romance.”
“That’s pretty obvious from your love life,” the kid sassed back. “Oh, wait. You don’t have one.” She shrugged. “Anyway. Who’d want a boy? God, they’re lame at this age.”
“Anyone giving you trouble? Want me to come to school and kick some teenage-boy ass?” he offered. “Tell the bozos you’re under Navy SEAL protection.”
“I’m pretty sure when an adult beats up a kid, the police call thatchild abuse.”
“Never mind.” He held up his hands. “I should probably offer the boys protection fromyou.”
“Wouldn’t work. You taught me all your moves.” She grinned as she executed half a dozen karate chops in the air.
Zelda shook her head as she brought the bowl of potato salad to the table. “Need one more plate. Jess’s upstairs.”
Kaylee immediately brightened and turned to run for the stairs.
Derek grabbed after her hoodie again, and succeeded catching her this time. He held her in place. “I’ll get Jess. You find another plate.”
“How many mystery writers does it take to change a light bulb?” Kaylee called after him as he walked away, but she didn’t wait for him to answer. “Two. One screws the bulb almost all the way in; then the other one gives it a surprise twist.”
“You’re still not funny.”
“Funnier than you, old man.”
As Derek headed upstairs, Kaylee turned her attention to Zelda without a pause. “Have you thought some more about selling the potato salad recipe? I could talk to the diner on your behalf. For a small commission.”
Once Derek reached the top, he could hear drawers opening and closing in Rose’s room, so he went that way. He stopped in the doorway.
Jess had her back to him, earbuds in her ears. She wore jeans that showed off long and lean legs, and a T-shirt that didn’t cover her toned arms. She moved like a fighter, compact and controlled, even when doing something as domestic as packing up clothes. Lust hit Derek, hot and sharp.
Until she’d shown up, he hadn’t realized how lonely he’d been. His relationships were few and far between. He’d been deployed nearly the whole time he’d been in the navy. The SEALs were an all-male branch. Then six months of captivity, then the VA hospital. None of it was conducive to romance. Sure, at the hospital, there were at least nurses. But he couldn’t exactly skip after them with his leg up in traction.
After he’d come home and written his first thriller, he became, if not a celebrity, then at leastof interestto the local media, and even to some national ones. His publisher had done a huge multimedia PR push for his book. People began to recognize his face, even in Burlington. That did bring around a number of women, but he soon found that most just wanted to post pictures of themselves with him on Facebook and Instagram. He got tired of all that fast. None of those women had ever mattered.
Jess did.
She didn’t go with Eliot.
Deep inside his chest, hope popped up its stubborn-as-shit head. Or maybehewas stupid as shit. She had everything in LA that she’d ever wanted. Why would she give up all that for him?
Derek cleared his throat and raised his voice so he’d be heard over the music. “Lunch?”
She yanked out the earbuds as she turned. Her expression betrayed nothing about whether or not she was happy to see him. “Hi. In a minute.”
