The Deputy and His Enforcer (Kincaid Pack #3) - Kiki Clark Page 0,3

was practically swallowed up by everything around her. But her dark brown eyes, just like his own, were brighter than he’d seen since he’d been home.

“Yeah, Hector called me and told me the news. I thought we weren’t getting together to work on stuff for a few days though?” He carefully tiptoed through the piles of things until he reached the multilevel white stand off to the side, eyeing it carefully. “What’s this for?”

“The cupcake display. Now, mi sol, would you be a dear and get the rest of the stuff from the garage?”

“There’s more?” He looked around the room, then pegged his mom with a stern look. “Mamá, how much have you spent on this shower already?”

“Don’t worry about it. I had some money tucked away for things like this.” She pushed herself up and gracefully stepped around everything until she was right next to him, setting a hand on his forearm. “Will you be able to come to the shower?”

“Isn’t it usually just for women?”

Snorting, she squeezed his arm and moved past him. “Your sister wants her family there. Who cares what people usually do.”

He couldn’t help but shake his head as he followed her to the large kitchen at the back of the house. That sounded just like Reesa—fuck what anyone else says or thinks. “Yeah, okay. Just get me the day and time and I’ll make sure I have it off.”

Which wouldn’t be a problem. He was lucky if he worked three shifts a week. After his request to follow Kincaid and his people was vehemently denied, he’d run a few searches through the database and gotten some names. And he’d noticed his hours had been cut for that schedule and the next. Even though he’d been promised when he was hired that he’d get at least four shifts a week until a full-time position opened up in a year or so.

If the trend continued, he’d need to get a second job. And somehow hide it from his mom, who would insist she go back to working full-time instead.

Eyeing him, she opened the fridge and pulled out some things. “Are you staying? Or are you running off to see your gentleman again?”

Coughing, he glared at her smirk. “I don’t have a gentleman. What are you talking about?”

Walking by him, she reached up and patted his cheek, making a face at his facial hair. “I know, mi sol. You’ve been disappearing and staying gone for hours at a time. What’s his name? When do we get to meet him?”

He groaned as he settled at the kitchen table and rubbed at his eyes. “Mamá, no. I don’t have a secret boyfriend…”

At her confused face, he stopped. How else would he explain where he’d been?

“What I mean is… We haven’t labeled it or anything.” He slid his eyes away at her little shriek of happiness, guilt already pooling in his stomach. He mumbled, “But I do have to head out soon.”

She gave his forehead a kiss, then quickly made him a sandwich. “Here, eat this so you have plenty of energy for your man.”

“Mamá!”

She laughed like a deranged Tinker Bell as she set the plate with a turkey sandwich in front of him. Luckily for him, the back door opened and his brother Mateo stepped inside, covered in dust and muck.

Mateo eyed their laughing mom with wide eyes and a smile. “I got the skid steer running. But we may need to replace it sooner than we thought.”

His mom fussed over the mess Mateo was tracking in as Robson’s eyes dropped to his food, appetite gone. He had some money saved from when he was in the military, but he’d been hoping to use it for his own place one day, once his mom didn’t need so much help with the house and farm and his siblings. Hell, Mateo had taken over running the farm side of things basically before their dad was even sick, so really Robson had just thought he’d need to stick around in the house and help with bills while Annalisse and Valentina were still in school and living there.

“Robito? Teo is going to get the other boxes so you can get going as soon as you’re done eating.” His mom threw a wink at him and giggled at his groan.

“Hot date, huh?” Mateo grinned as he stepped into the laundry room off the kitchen and began to strip down to his underwear, throwing the clothes in the wash. He’d been wearing them probably since