Page 41 of Second First Kiss

“What?” he stammered. “No! I swear. This is the first time I’ve ever…” He looked down at the spray bottle and shrugged. “Well, the second time, but the first time I used eggs.”

The kid looked ready to pee his pants, but she could see the genuine confusion in his expression. Maybe she was a sucker for a five-foot-tall rebel in skate gear, but she believed him. Whatever led him here today was personal, and the person at the center of all that hurt and anger was Nolan.

Which was something she had a hard time picturing. She’d seen Nolan with his niece, doting and patient, like a giant teddy bear with a PhD in kid speak. She’d also watched him interact with kids at the lodge. He didn’t handle them with kid gloves, instead meeting them at their level, always encouraging and supportive. And funny. Annoyingly funny in a way that only a man comfortable in his own skin could pull off.

When he wasn’t arresting teens for partying, kids actually flocked to him. If Kat were looking for a future Father of the Year, she’d be impressed by his many talents. Good thing she was immune to white-picket-fencers with mini-van dreams.

Which was what he wanted. If his last relationship hadn’t ended the way it had, he would have become an insta-dad to his girlfriend’s kids. According to his sister, Brynn, Nolan had purchased the house next door to move his ready-made family in after the wedding.

There had been no wedding. Just a handful of broken hearts. Another reason it wasn’t smart to entertain long-term. The potential for it to blow up was too great. Her parents couldn’t even deal with her stubborn, wild side. What made her think a man would? Especially a man like Nolan.

Not that she thought of him in those terms. In fact, the only reason she was thinking of him now was because of the current situation.

And his sweet gestures, her head whispered.

“You know, out of all the houses you could have picked, you picked a federal agent’s house.”

“I know.”

“So you admit you picked it on purpose?” Kat didn’t know why it was so important to get this kid talking, but there was some kind of bond between them that she couldn’t explain. So she sat down on the curb and patted the spot next to her.

The sun was ready to clock out, but the concrete was still warm from the day’s heat. Kat closed her eyes and took in a deep breath of spring air, her lungs filling with the scent of pine oil, spray paint, and long-ago summers.

“You can tell me or you can tell the cops.”

“I knew you weren’t cool.”

“I’m as cool as they come, so fess up. Why Nolan’s?”

It took him a moment, but Tommy warily sat down. “Because he told me that a real man doesn’t go back on his word, then he did.”

That didn’t sound like Nolan. He might drive her crazy with his rules, but he’d never go back on a promise. Would he?

“What kind of promise?”

“When he and my mom broke up, he promised it wouldn’t change anything between us.”

That’s why he looked so familiar. “You’re Nina’s son?” she asked, referring to Nolan’s ex. He gave a tiny, barely visible nod and her heart went out to the kid. She knew what it felt like to have a parent figure turn their back on their kids or disappear altogether. Kat lowered her voice and scooted a little closer. “The breakup must have been hard on you.”

“He promised he’d be there for birthdays and junior search and rescue and stuff, but he lied. Mom says he’s too busy and that it’s my stepdad’s job now.”

“And does your dad go to search and rescue and stuff?”

“Stepdad,” he clarified. “And sometimes. He used to when he first started dating my mom. Then . . .”

The resigned disappointment in Tommy’s voice told her that his stepdad stopped paying him attention after he won over Nina. That’s how the men in her mom’s life had been, at least when her mom had pretended to show interest in Kat. Play the doting father figure as an in with the mom, when really they never wanted to be a dad.

Kat didn’t know Nina or her new husband, but she did know enough about Nolan to know that Nina was a flat-out liar. That he’d never do something to hurt someone, especially a kid. But what did she know about the situation? Sometimes people with the best of intentions were the ones who hurt others the most.

“Now they’ve got my baby sister and there just isn’t enough time to go around,” he said, and it broke Kat’s heart because that was clearly something he’d heard from one of his parents.

“You know, Nolan might be a lot of things, but I don’t think he’s the kind of guy to go back on his word.”

Tommy remained tight-lipped.

“Maybe there is more to the story you don’t know.”

Tommy looked up with a flicker of hope in his eyes. “Really?”

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