Angel of Redemption (36 page)

“
Slightly burnt.
”

“
My kinda man,
”
I blurt out. I don
’
t look at him for fear that he
’
ll see my embarrassment. Instead, I
watch the coils in the toaster go from black to red. When the edges of the
Pop-Tarts start to darken, I flip the trigger, launching them upward. After
putting them onto plates, we sit down at the small, round table.

“
You make some good Pop-Tart, woman,
”
he groans, biting into one.

“
Thanks,
”
I laugh.
“
It
’
s good to know I didn
’
t slave over a hot toaster for a bad breakfast.
”

He
takes another bite and gulps his coffee.
“
So, I can take you back to your car. Do you want to take a
shower before you leave?
”

Now
he looks like a little boy asking an embarrassing question. It
’
s very cute. Although the idea of getting naked in Dean
’
s apartment is appealing, I
’
m not sure it
’
s such a good idea. There
’
s only so much unresolved sexual
tension a girl can take.

“
I have to go home and change anyway.
”
I shrug.

“
Okay.
”

As
we finish breakfast, Dean tells me about the incident with Jax. He
’
s worried about where he
’
ll
end up. He doesn
’
t come right out and ask, but I think
he
’
s hoping I
’
ll be able to find something out. I also think he
’
s talking about work so that we can forget what happened
this morning.

Afterward,
I grab my clothes and slip them on in the bathroom while Dean gets dressed in
his bedroom before taking me back to The Carlyle. He parks and walks me to my
car.

“
I
’
ll call you later,
”
he says quietly as I climb in.

“
Okay.
”
I smile at him and am rewarded with a sexy little smirk.
“
Dean?
”

“
Yeah?
”

“
Thanks for coming to my rescue.
”

He
chuckles.
“
Anytime, sweetheart.
”

Kayla

The very first thing I do when I get into my office is look
up the Bible verse scripted across Dean
’
s
chest.

I
frown. Now that I know about the accident, his guilt makes sense.

“
What in the world are you looking at?
”
Dana asks, startling me.

“
Nothing,
”
I mutter, closing my browser.
“
What
’
s up?
”

I
keep busy enough during the day to sort of keep my mind off Dean
—
at least for a little while. I return phone calls, schedule
visits, and write up reports. I also do a little digging. Jaxon Hedrick
’
s caseworker is Frances Williams. I
don
’
t
know her that well, but I think Dana does.

Sara
wanders in around lunchtime, sipping from a Subway cup.

“
And where were you last night, missy?
”
she asks, putting one hand on her
hip.

“
What do you mean?
”
I ask innocently.

“
I was talking to Andy this morning,
and he said you went to your mom
’
s and never made it home.
”

“
Why were you talking to Andy?
”

“
We were at court. Stop trying to
change the subject. He asked me if you were seeing someone.
”

“
I
’
m not seeing anyone,
”
I laugh.

“
So, where were you?
”

She
’
s not going to give this up. I have no
reason to lie to her. I
’
ve crashed at both Sara and Warren
’
s houses because I was too drunk, too
tired, or just didn
’
t want to go home. It
’
s no big deal.

“
With Dean Wyatt.
”

Sara
’
s mouth opens slightly. She licks her
lips and then smacks them together a few times.
“
I
’
m sorry, say that again?
”

“
I was with Dean Wyatt,
”
I repeat.

“
At Wyatt House?
”

“
No, at his place.
”

“
Holy shit! Really? When did you start dating him?
”
she asks excitedly.

“
No, no, no. Not dating. We
’
re not dating,
”
I rush out.

“
You
’
re just sleeping with him?
”
she whispers.
“
Oh my God, Kayla. Why didn
’
t you tell me?
”

“
Sara! I
’
m not sleeping with him, either.
”

“
But you said
—
”

“
I said I was
with
him. My mom and Richard totally fucked me up last night and I accidentally
called Dean instead of Andy. We
’
re friends. He came and picked me up and took me to his
place. Nothing happened.
”

“
Wait, what? What happened with your mom and Richard? No,
hold up, I want to hear about Dean first. You stayed the night?
”

“
Yeah. He slept on the couch.
”

“
No way.
”
She shakes her head furiously.
“
A guy like him doesn
’
t bring a girl back to his place just
to talk.
”

I
think back to his comment about the women he
’
s slept with and frown.

“
Apparently, he does. We talked until about two, he lent me
some clothes, and we slept in separate rooms.
”

Sara
takes a long, slow sip of her soda without taking her eyes off of me.
“
Why?
”

“
What do you mean
‘
why?
’
”

“
Kayla,
”
she says seriously, taking a deep breath through her nose.
“
The man is freaking gorgeous and you
haven
’
t
gotten any in a long, long time. I know it went through your mind.
”

“
We aren
’
t like that, Sara. We work together.
”

“
First of all, no, you don
’
t. Second, even if you did, who cares?
”

“
Um, the administration.
”

“
Oh my God. They may not
‘
approve
’
of it,
”
she says, using air quotes.
“
But
it
’
s not against any rules. People have
workplace romances all the time. He
’
s not your boss, you
’
re not his. It
’
s totally doable.
”
She giggles.
“
He
’
s doable.
”

“
How old are you?
”

“
Shut up. You know you were thinking it, too. Seriously,
Kay, why not?
”

I
look around nervously. There
’
s no one else in the office. Sara
’
s my best friend. If I can
’
t tell her, who else can I tell?

“
I want him bad,
”
I groan, resting my head on my desk.

“
See?
”
she grins.
“
There
’
s my girl. So what
’
s stopping you?
”

“
He is,
”
I answer. Sara looks confused.
“
He just wants to be friends.
”

“
Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?
Jesus Christ, Kayla. No guy ever just wants to be friends.
”

I
shake my head.
“
I
don
’
t
know, Sara. That
’
s
what he said. I
’
m
not going to force it.
”

“
You don
’
t have to force it, but that doesn
’
t mean you can
’
t show him what he
’
s missing.
”
She sticks her tongue out and bites
down on it while waggling her eyebrows at me. It makes me laugh.
“
What
’
d you guys talk about until two in the
morning anyway?
”

Now
that
is not something I
’
m going to tell her.

“
I guess two of his kids got into a fight last weekend over
a girl and death threats were thrown around.
”

“
No shit? Wow. Kid get removed?
”

“
Yeah, and Dean
’
s upset about it. Like, really upset. The kid
’
s been there for three years.
”

“
That sucks. What else?
”

“
He listened to me babble about my messed-up family.
”

“
Oh, yeah. What the hell happened?
”

I
spend the next twenty minutes recounting what
’
s been going on with my sister and my
mom and Richard.

“
Wow.
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
You really turned down five G
’
s?
”

“
Sara!
”

She
laughs, but it
’
s
shortly followed by a sympathetic smile.
“
I
’
m sorry, Kay. I know it
’
s not funny. Why don
’
t you tell them to go fuck themselves
and just be done with it? I mean, really, they
’
re not worth it.
”

“
Claire.
”

She
nods in understanding. I can
’
t abandon my sister. Something
’
s going on with her, and she needs me
around. I just need to figure out how to help her survive the next fourteen
months of her life in a household with Richard Graeme, asshole extraordinaire.

The
rest of the day passes with little action, but I know that
’
s about to change when I walk through the door and find
Andy waiting for me.

“
I texted you,
”
I say before he has a chance to open his mouth.

“
One text, saying you were with a friend. No text saying you
were staying out. Nothing to give me any idea of where to look if you didn
’
t come home.
”

“
Oh, come on, Andy. I went to The Carlyle.
”

“
To drop off Claire!
”
he says, raising his voice.
“
And then you didn
’
t come home. Where the hell did you
go?
”

“
You wanna know every time I hook up with a guy? Jesus,
Andy, I
’
m
twenty-seven years old. If I want to stay out all night, I will.
”

“
I just want to know you
’
re safe.
”
His voice softens.
“
You have no idea how much I worry
about you.
”
The sincerity in his expression is enough to squelch my defensiveness. I wrap
my arms around his waist and hug him tightly.

“
I
’
m sorry. I do know. I should have called.
”
I know he
’
s waiting for me to tell him where I
was, but I
’
m
not going to. It
’
s
not about trust
—
I trust him, but I know how protective
Andy can get, and I don
’
t want him confronting Dean.

“What’s for dinner?” I ask, letting go of him and
wandering to the fridge. Andy sighs, but he lets it go.

* * *

“
This is Kayla.
”

“
Hi, it
’
s Emily.
”

“
Hey, Em. What
’
s
up?

“
Maria finally conned me into helping out with this freaking
gala.
”

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
I groan, trying not to laugh.
“
How did that happen?
”

“
I don
’
t know,
”
she cries.
“
She
’
s just too convincing when she
’
s offering to babysit for a whole week
so Aiden and I can finally go on a vacation all by ourselves.
”