Angel of Redemption (38 page)

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Authors: J. A. Little

BOOK: Angel of Redemption
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Logan
coughs loudly, causing me to look over at him. He

s shooting daggers at his brother.
This confirms that he

s hiding stuff from me, which I already expected. But what
concerns me more is this interaction between him and his brother. I knew
something was off when Matty told Dean about Logan sneaking out, and now he

s provoking his brother to his face.


No, you

re not. And I appreciate that,

Dean states.

But the fact remains that you

re in deep trouble at school and
unless you shape up, you

re going to be sent to remedial classes.


What are those?

Matty asks, furrowing his brow.


The basics, Matthew,

I chime in.

Like how to read and write and do addition and subtraction.


That

s stupid. I know all that crap.


So show them!

Dean barks.

Kayla and I have to sit in a meeting next week and tell
them why we don

t
think you need special education. How are we supposed to do that if you blow
everything off?


Fuck that! I

m not going into special ed.

Matty is not one who swears much

at least not in front of adults

so I know we

re finally getting through to him.


Then start making an effort!

Matty rolls his eyes, but I think he gets it. At least I
hope he does.


Are we done?

he mumbles.


Yeah. Do you have homework?

Dean asks.


I have a report on Romeo and Juliet due on Monday.


Go work on it.


I

m on dinner duty tonight.


That

s fine. I

ll come get you when we

re ready.

Matty
gets up and mopes out of the room. Logan gets up to follow him.


You just here to enjoy the show?

Dean bites.


Whatever,

Logan snorts.

He

s my little brother. I want to know what

s going on with him.

I

m about to ask him about Matty

s accusations when a loud knock stops
me, and I turn to see a strange guy standing in the doorway.


Shit,

Dean grumbles under his breath.


I was told there

s someone here I should meet.

His eyes flash toward me and he gives
me a wide smile.


Well, that

s my cue.

Logan slithers past me and out the door. The guy walks toward
me and holds out his hand.


Simon Waterford.


Kayla Brooks.

He
tilts his head.

Nice
to meet you, Kayla.

I
feel Dean come up behind me. Simon briefly acknowledges him before focusing on
me again. He

s
still holding my hand despite the fact that I

ve tried to pull it back a couple of
times.


So, you

re the Davidson boys

caseworker?


Yes, I am.


What

s their deal?


Simon,

Dean growls.


I

m going to leave it up to Dean and Aiden to give you that
information,

I say, trying to be polite.


Okay. Just thought I

d get it from the source while you

re here. I

m working primarily night shifts. Will
I be seeing much of you, Kayla?


You know what, we

ve got shit to do before Ms. Brooks has to go home,

Dean interrupts.

Did
you get everything I needed you to get?

Simon
finally lets go of my hand.

Yeah, man, I did, but the hardware store you sent me to
closed at five. Who the hell closes at five? I had to run all over town. And
you have about two tons of coffee in the pantry. You really didn

t need any more.


Huh. Go figure.

I
don

t
even need to look at Dean to know he

s smirking. He puts his hand on my back, guiding me away
from Simon.


It was nice to meet you, Kayla Brooks. I look forward to
working with you.

I
smile and nod.

You,
too, Simon.

Dean
pushes me a little harder. When we get to his office and he shuts the door, I
flip around.


Ms. Brooks?

I ask. He shrugs.

That was not sly at all,

I laugh.

Did you send that man on a wild-goose
chase to avoid introducing me to him?


Are we in professional or personal mode right now?


Personal.


He

s a dick, Kayla. I was trying to spare you. He was hitting
on you.


He was not,

I scoff, rolling my eyes but secretly thrilled that the
idea of someone hitting on me irritates Dean.


Yes, he was.


Well, thanks for being so thoughtful.
Why

d
you hire him?


He was the least of all the evils

and Aiden and Emily were tired of me picking apart all the
candidates.


Well, you know me. I like to see who

s going to be around my boys. Besides,
I

m going to have to work with him
occasionally, right?


Not if I can help it,

he grumbles. I have to admit, I

m a little happy about what

s happening here, although I

m not sure if he

s jealous or simply being protective.


I have news for you,

I say, leaning against the corner of his desk.


News?


I found out that Jax is in an RTC.


Shit! Which one?


You know better than that,

I scold. Dean takes a couple of steps
forward so that he

s in front of me and looks down. I take notice of the way
he

s
hovering.

He

s okay. That

s all I can really tell you.


That

s all?

he asks, his voice low and gravelly.

I
nod and smile up at him.

That

s it.


Fine,

he says, backing up. His lower lip is sticking out a
little, which makes him look like he

s pouting. Hell, maybe he is.

You

ll keep an eye on him for me?


Of course. But you know I can

t tell you much.


I know. I appreciate it, though.

I
stand up, putting my hand on his arm and pulling him down a little to kiss him
on the cheek.


I gotta go home. I

ll see you later.


Later,

he repeats.

Opening
the door, I let out a squeak. Simon is standing on the other side.


Oh, hey, I was just about to knock.

Dean
scoffs a little behind me.

Sure you were. Come on in.


Bye, guys.

I wave and wink at Dean. He pretends to scratch his
forehead, but he

s
inconspicuously flipping me the bird. I laugh and turn to leave, catching a
glimpse of his sexy smile on my way out.

As
much as I

m
enjoying the friendship that

s growing between us, I have to remind myself

and my hormones

that

s all it is. Friendship.

Chapter
25

Kayla

 


Finished.


You think Maria will like them?

I ask, staring at the computer
screen.


Yeah, I think she

ll be happy. She wouldn

t have asked me to do it if she
thought it

d
be shit.


I actually enjoyed that,

Sara giggles, sipping on her red
wine.


You would,

I snort.


Great!

Emily cheers.

Can I send her your way for Christmas?


I would love that.

Sara

s eyes widen in excitement.

We

ve been designing the invitations
online for about three hours. The wine certainly didn

t help the pace of our creative
endeavors.

The
door shuts loudly, and we hear laughing.

“Hey, I have a house full of beautiful women. What
did I do to deserve this?” Aiden grins as he walks into the room with Dean by
his side.


You married me,

Emily coos, jumping up to give her husband a kiss.

Dean
makes a gagging noise and is immediately backhanded by his brother.


Where are the kids?

Emily asks, looking behind the guys.


Sleeping. Dean was on such good behavior tonight that Mom
was generous enough to let them spend the night.


Shut up,

Dean laughs.

They fell asleep watching some princess movie. Mom told
Aiden to leave them.


Well, hell, let

s
go do something!

Emily cheers.


Sugar, I have to pick up the kids at the asscrack of dawn.


Then you can be the DD.


Yeah, brother, you can be the DD.

Dean slaps Aiden on the back. I feel
Sara nudge my elbow. She nods toward Dean.


Oh. Uh, Dean, Aiden, this is Sara.
Sara, Dean and Aiden.


Hi,

Sara says shyly.


Nice to meet you,

Aiden says, smiling. Dean

s
eyes dart to me first and then to Sara.


Yes, nice to meet you,

he purrs, offering her a sexy smile.
I feel a stab of jealousy. I want to yell

He

s mine!

but he

s
not. He

s free to flirt with whomever he wants.


So, are we going out?

Emily asks.

There

s a brew pub not too far from here. They have live music on
Tuesdays and Fridays, right, babe?

Emily looks up at Aiden, who is whispering to his brother.

Aiden?


What?


Whatever. Let

s go.

As
we

re heading out the door, I stop in
front of Dean.


Are we okay?

I ask, shoving my thumbnail between my teeth. He looks down
at me and then wraps his long fingers around my wrist, pulling my hand away
from my mouth.


We

re
fine.


Are you sure?

His
expression is so blank, I can

t figure out what he

s thinking. Then he smiles.


Yes.

I
wait for him to say more, but, per usual, Dean leaves me wanting. He puts his
hand on my back to lead me out. I think I feel it slip down over my butt
slightly, but then it

s back up on my shoulder and I can

t be sure it wasn

t
just my own overactive imagination.

We
all climb into Aiden

s car. Dean opens the back door for Sara and me, and I

m about to get in when she pulls me
back.


I want the window.

She grins at me and climbs in. I follow her and Dean is
the last in. It

s
cramped. Even though Sara and I aren

t big girls, Dean is forced to rest his arm behind my head.
Not that I

m
complaining.

The
brew pub is packed. They

re still serving food, so I

m hoping some of the people will go
away, but I doubt it.


Jesus Christ,

Dean gripes as we push through the mass of bodies. I feel
like I

m
about to be swallowed alive by the crowd when I feel his warm hand grab mine.


Stay close,

he yells over the noise. I turn around and grab Sara

s hand as well and we train our way to
the bar.

At
ten thirty the food service shuts down and the band starts warming up. We

re able to snag a high top when a
group leaves. It

s
still really loud, and I

m having trouble hearing the conversation between Sara and
Emily, but I

m
not sure I could concentrate on it anyway. Dean

s mouth is right next to my ear. I can
feel his warm breath against my neck. It almost feels like he

s whispering something.


Are you whispering dirty things in my ear?

I ask, teasing. I just can

t seem to help flirting with him. Dean doesn

t seem to mind. He laughs loudly.


Yeah. That

s exactly what I

m doing.


Oh, okay. Proceed then,

I grin. He smirks but doesn

t continue. The band starts up and all
conversation is halted.

We
drink and laugh and flirt. Dean seems so laid-back. I catch Aiden staring at
his brother a couple of times, but Dean ignores him and brings more drinks. It

s getting hot and my ears are ringing.
I realize I

m
quite drunk.


I need some air,

I breathe, a little too close to Dean

s face. I stumble off my stool, and he
catches me.


I

ll go with you.


I

m okay! I

m okay.


Yeah. I

m still going with you,

he insists, grabbing our coats. He
helps me put mine on before we go outside. I guess that

s a good idea.

He
opens the patio door, and a cold blast of air hits us. I shiver, zipping up my
coat. Dean reaches into the inside pocket of his jacket, pulls out his hat, and
tugs it roughly over his head.


Dean, as much as I love that hat, you just ruined the hair!

I can hear the slight slur in my
voice. I think I

d better stop drinking.


Ruined the hair?


Most men would die for that mess you

ve got up there,

I explain. I don

t think he has a clue what I

m talking about.


It

s hair, Kayla.


It

s sex hair.


Huh?

I
reach up, ignoring his customary flinch, and pull off his hat.


Here, hold this,

I demand, shoving the hat back into his hand. He

s looking at me as if I

ve
lost my mind. I move closer and lift up on my tiptoes. Dean looks a little
dazed and confused.

Wrapping
my arms around his shoulders, I run my hands through his hair and grip. He grunts
a little at my tugs.


When a girl does this, over and over again in the throes of
passion,

I whisper, pressing my cheek against his.

The result is sex hair. And you

ve got it all the time.

I
feel Dean

s
jaw move and turn my face to see him smiling. I smile back, giving him a quick
peck and pulling away.

I
lean against the railing, watching people walk around. Dean stands next to me
silently. I

m bumped into a couple of times by
some guys who are much more drunk than I am. Dean puts his hands up to keep
them from knocking me over, but finally he gives up, caging me in his arms
against the railing.


Well, this is cozy,

I giggle.


Mmhmm,

he hums.

The
rough-housing guys hit Dean full force, bumping him into me and crushing me
against the railing.


Owwww!

I cry. Dean

s weight disappears as he whips around and starts yelling.


Dude, calm down.

I turn and see Dean staring down the dickhead who
must have bumped into us. Another guy stands between them. Dean’s clearly
pissed.


Come on, come on, come on,

I beg, grabbing his arm.

I

m fine. Let

s go back inside.


Yeah, man. Listen to your woman. It

d be a shame for you to get hurt. I
might have to take her home for you, and I can

t guarantee I

ll return her in the same condition.

His eyes scan over my body.


Fuck you!

Dean yells at the guy as I pull him away. We make it
inside, and I turn to face him.


Why are you always getting into fights for me?


He was an asshole!

Dean defends.


They

re all assholes.


Then I guess I

m going to be getting into a lot of fights, huh?

He looks so serious, and I

m so drunk. I burst out laughing. Dean
rolls his eyes and puts his arm around my shoulder, leading me back to our
table.

 

* * *

 


I have a favor to ask,

Dean says as we

re sitting at a burger joint on our way
back to Wyatt House the next day. After Sarah took a cab home early from the
bar, I passed out in Aiden

s car. I woke up in the guest bedroom,
although I have no memory of how I got there. Dean was still asleep on the
couch when I wandered into the kitchen to find Aiden and a very strong cup of
coffee.

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