Page 10 of Second First Kiss

“You aren’t her legal guardian,” he pointed out.

“Technically no. But?—”

“Then technically I can’t release her to you.” He started toward his SUV and Kat ran to keep pace with him.

“You know I’m in the process of gaining custody and it’s almost handled. The system is just slow.”

“I understand and I feel for you. I really do. But the law is the law.”

Something that would be a non-issue for any other kid there. But everyone in town knew that Kat was trying for guardianship and her dad was fighting it tooth and nail. Only her closest friends knew just how close she was to losing her sister and she wanted to keep it that way. But if she had any chance of winning Nolan to her side, she had to be honest and pray he didn’t use it against her.

“My dad’s not home. He hasn’t been for six weeks. If you bring her in, they’ll know and then you’ll have to call CPS and it can ruin my chances,” she said and felt emotion clog her throat. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Milly told me a little about what’s going on,” he said, referring to her sister-from-another-mister and his soon to be sister-in-law—whom Kat would never, in a million years, have imagined spilling her secrets to anyone—let alone an officer of the law.

Embarrassment flamed in her cheeks, and desperation shook her body hard. This was where other people would ask for and receive help. Life had never really worked that way for Kat, which was why she never asked for assistance. But she was willing to take a chance that maybe Nolan would be the exception in her life.

“Then you know that this moment, which in the grand scheme of things is nothing, can lead to a huge something in my family’s life. I’m not asking you to break any laws. I’m just asking you, this once, to look the other way.”

He was considering it. She could tell.

An unfamiliar sensation bubbled up in her belly. It was hope.

Nolan closed the distance between them, coming so close Kat could feel his body’s heat engulf her, his confidence surrounding her like a blanket, and his strong hand wrapped around hers. All she’d have to do was lean forward and she’d be in his big arms. She wondered if this was what it felt like to be under someone’s protection. To have someone other than herself give a shit about what would happen to her sister.

“I can’t,” he said softly, and she had to shake her head to make sure she heard him correctly.

“What?” she asked, because she’d asked for help and his badge and superhero complex said that he was the one to follow through. It was in his job description, right? Protect and serve.

But while she needed protection, he was about to serve her up to the courts as an unfit guardian.

“You can. It’s a choice, Nolan.” Please choose me.

“A gun was fired in the middle of a group of teens. Last month two kids ended up in the hospital because of some designer party drugs. Your sister might be a witness.”

All her words dried up in her mouth because she was terrified for Tessa. She got that he was doing his job, but she was trying to do hers as the grownup. Tessa was in the wrong place and made a stupid decision.

So many people had failed Tessa when it came to love and structure, and Kat didn’t want to be the latest in a long line.

She lifted a dismissive hand. “You know what? Never mind. I’ll see you at the station.” Kat grabbed Tiny Dancer by the leash and led him to the car. She flung open the door and paused. “Oh, and don’t call me Kitten.”

3

Nolan Carmichael knew from the age of twelve what he wanted to be—a special agent for the US Forest Service, Investigative Service Branch. After all, it was an ISB agent who located him and his kid sister when he’d gotten turned around in the woods during a brutal winter storm. That officer not only built a shelter to protect them from the worst of the blizzard, he’d taught Nolan how to use the land as a tool, and saved their lives. That moment defined the direction of Nolan’s life.

He was already a protector by nature, but serving his community became a passion. Didn’t mean that he wanted to spend his night off dealing with a bunch of pissed off PTA parents, who’d come down to the station to collect their drunk kids after curfew.

But he wasn’t after the kids, he was after one kid.

He’d been investigating this case for three months and still had no hard proof of who was involved. Nolan had his suspicions, but a petty thief like R. J. wasn’t smart enough to pull off this kind of operation. Missing game consoles from the back dock of a local electronics shop, sure. Selling fake IDs to high schoolers? Right up his alley. But dealing in homemade ecstasy? Way out of his league. Which meant he had to be working with someone else. And the only way to get to that someone else was through R. J.

Sitting in his cruiser outside the station with Tessa, he was having a hard time convincing her R. J. was not what he seemed.

“What I’m going to tell you is not public knowledge, but I want you to know the kind of guy you’re sneaking around to see. He’s wanted in connection to a ring of drug dealers and a shooting that involves a federal agent. My former partner to be exact. And we both know it was the same gun R. J. had at the party.”

She remained silent. Then said, “What do you want from me?”

“Just if you hear or see anything sketchy, promise you’ll call me first.”

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