Page 45 of Reckless Curves
Chapter Fourteen
Kendra sat on a chair on the porch of the big storage building that flanked the main shop. It held their client’s expensive cars overnight for the longer jobs. During lunch or after work, the gang sat there in the shade to drink a beer and unwind. She’d helped herself to one from the fridge inside the staff workroom kitchen.
She set her bottle on the small metal lawn table next to her and unbuttoned her overalls with trembling hands. Standing up, she took the garment and her boots off, glad that she was only wearing a pair of gray workout shorts and a matching sports bra. Feeling cooler, she draped the overalls over another chair and sat back down.
Her stomach ached from stress. Or she hoped it was stress. She’d been feeling so tired the last few days. Perhaps the move had taken more out of her than she’d thought.
How had things gone so bad so quick? She should have kept her mouth shut. One minute she’d been having fun with Tom, and then she opened her big mouth. A fist formed tight in her stomach. She’d pushed because she’d wanted to test Tom. To see how committed Tom really was. Would he risk his friendship, his business for her…?
How selfish could she have been? She should have told her brother differently.
Now everything was ugly.
Kendra sat straighter as she realized something. Tom had corroborated her story, had stuck up for her. Tom and Marcus were at each other, but she couldn’t help the feeling of her heart singing in her chest. He’d stuck up for her—for them. It was enough for her to let down her defenses.
She made a decision.
She would throw herself into this relationship and give Tom her heart if he wanted it. But if he broke it again—fool me once, all on me. Fool me twice—never again. There would not be another chance.
He thinks he wants it all, wants a family, well let’s find out.
On that thought, the workshop door opened, and Tom stepped through it. He was so gorgeous she almost forgot to breathe. Just watching the man walk filled her with hunger. His muscular arms swung a little as he came towards her, his strides loose and sure. What a prize winning this man’s heart would be…
Although his gait was relaxed, his shoulders and expression were tense as he came up on the porch. “You okay?” He sat down by her and put a hand on her knee.
Kendra ignored the way her heartbeat sped up at his touch. “Yeah, I guess. Sorry to dump you in it. I am just so sick of being scared to show what I really want in this life. I’ve always held back because of all the sacrifices everyone made for me when I was ill; I’m apprehensive to say—do—what I want. I shouldn’t have to care what my brother thinks. He should love me unconditionally as I love him. But my parents didn’t and if I lost Marcus too…”
She put her hand over his and traced one vein on the back of it. “Any regrets about my announcement?” The memory of how good his caresses had felt the other night came back to her. Feeling daring, she took his wrist and pulled his hand up higher on her thigh.
He linked his fingers with hers. “Not a damn one. Marcus will calm down and if he doesn’t,” Tom shrugged. “Him and I will sort it out. This won’t destroy us. We’ve known each other too long for that. Besides, he loves you. He’s only likely to kill me if I hurt you, and I will make sure I don’t.”
She looked at him. “Is it true you’ve never had a long-term relationship? I mean, I figured as much with all the women you dated, but can you tell me why? I doubt it’s because you want sex with hundreds of women. It has to be something more.”
He let go of her hand and hung his head.
She pressed him for more. “You say you want a relationship with me—to marry me. If that is true then why is it so hard to talk to me. To share your past?”
He stood and put his hands in his pockets, his back to her. All that did was pull his jeans tight showcasing a superb backside.
“My mother walked out when I was twelve. Sam was seventeen. I can’t blame her for leaving my father, he was an unfaithful, drunk bastard—”
Kendra sucked in a breath. “But she left you too.” Tears welled. “I have Connor and I cannot understand any mother leaving their children behind—for any reason.”
He turned to face her. “I thought it was because of something I’d done. Sam tried to tell me it was because of Dad, and after a while I worked out that that was true. But to this day, I do not understand why she didn’t take me with her. I thought I was bad, or unlovable…”
“I can’t imagine what that must have felt like at such a young age.” A mother’s rejection—she of all people understood the pain. Her mother had said nothing when her father virtually threw her out when she wouldn’t reveal the identity of Connor’s father, but she was older, almost twenty-one. And she’d had Marcus to help her out. Tom was just a little boy.
“I know her leaving affected me. But it’s only now, now that I’ve reviewed my past, I’ve understood why I let no one close. I feared losing someone again. That pain of being left behind, of being rejected, is indescribable. I was protecting myself from that pain. I thought I didn’t need anyone.”
She nodded. “But now, because of Connor, it’s worth risking that pain?”
He moved to stand before her, reaching out to cup her face. “And because of you. For some reason I believe my heart will be safe with you.”
She slowly rose to her feet and slipped her arms around his neck. “It is. And always will be.”
They stood together holding each other. He slid his hands up and down her sides.
“That feels nice,” she murmured, meeting his gaze. “But it’s not what I need.”
