Page 69 of One Touch

For her.

Duke came through the door with a rap of his knuckles. “Hello? It’s me.”

I tipped my chin in greeting, and Duke looked over at his father. “Hey, Dad. I thought you were going to wait in the truck.”

Red scowled at his son. “Why would I do that?”

I stepped toward Red. “Can I walk you around? Show you the work we’ve done?”

Duke offered me a flat smile. We still hadn’t talked about the fact that I was sleeping with his little sister. He didn’t know that whatever was happening between Kate and me was a hell of a lot more than fucking for fun, but I was not yet prepared to have that conversation in front of her dad.

It would be hard enough to look Duke in the eye, knowing the kinky shit Kate and I had gotten ourselves into.

“I don’t need someone walking me around my own damn house.” Red walked past me and ducked behind the long plastic sheeting that protected the living room from construction dust.

Laughing softly, I followed him. Room by room, we walked as he took in the subtle changes Kate and the crew and I had made to the farmhouse. He seemed to like the addition of the windows in the living room and didn’t have an opinion on the wall color Tootie had chosen. The kitchen was still in a bit of disarray as we waited for the countertops, but the walls were freshly painted, new windows had been installed, and the custom cabinets were spectacular.

“This is different.” A deep furrow settled in Red’s forehead.

“Yes, sir. It is. The wall that was here”—I gestured to the now wide-open space that allowed room for a kitchen island—“was taken down.”

He examined the work we’d done. His arms crossed over his chest. “Juney always wanted me to fix it up.” He shook his head. “Never found the time.”

My mouth felt dry. Red loved his wife deeply, but when she passed, he was consumed with busting his ass to raise the kids and keep the family farm afloat. Duke had been old enough to recall lifebefore, and it was painful. Back then, the Sullivans were close, happy,complete.

“Well, you’re welcome to give me a hand anytime.” I glanced at Duke, whose eyes looked wary, but I was unaffected. Surely I could handle a few hours here and there. I had known Red to be handy, and he had a wealth of knowledge and experience. It was the least I could do for a man I had so much respect for. It might make Kate happy, too, to spend some time with her dad.

Red nodded. “I might do that.”

Duke cleared his throat. “Okay, Dad, we should get the box for Tootie and head over to drop it off.” He looked at me. “Looking for a box markedHooker Supplies?”

A laugh burst from me.

“I don’t know,” Duke cut in. “She promised it was knitting supplies, but I’m not looking in that box.”

I nodded. “According to your sister, they got bored when packing up.” I tipped my head down the hallway. “They stacked a bunch of things in the back bedroom.”

“I’ll look.” Red strode off down the hallway.

“We need to leave in five!” Duke called behind him.

Red waved his hand in dismissal. “All right, don’t rush me. And keep your voice down,” Red hollered back. “You’ll wake the baby.”

My heart sank, and a prickly ball formed in my throat.

The baby. Shit.

Some days—like today, apparently—it was easy for Red to fool you into thinking his memory was less affected than it truly was. Sometimes he seemed so unchanged from the man I knew growing up. Other times his memories crashed and melted into one another and it was hard to tease out where his mind was. I couldn’t imagine how scary and confusing that must have been for him.

Duke sighed. “One of those days.”

I nodded. “A bad one? He seemed okay at first.”

“Not great, but we’ve had worse. Just mostly irritable.”

My eyes cast downward. There wasn’t much else to say about it. Awkward silence settled over us.

“Got a call from Haven Pines. Dad was having an off day and could use familiar scenery. Figured he could tag along for a few errands.” Duke was rambling, but I knew it was only because neither of us wanted to talk about his sister.

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