Rocked (The Everyday Heroes World) - Julia Wolf Page 0,100

the eye. “I’m glad you’ve found your place. That’s important. And I’m sure Veego will let you stay in the cottage longer if you don’t find something permanent in the next week.”

From behind me, Ellie shrieked. “Devon! You’re here!”

She launched herself at him, and he caught her easily, laughing as he swung her in a circle. “Hey, little sister,” he mumbled into her hair.

When he set her down, she beamed at me. “Mom, Devon’s here.”

“I noticed.”

“Can he stay for dinner?” She looked up at him. “We’re having tacos.”

His eyes were soft when they met mine. “Of course you are. It’s Tuesday. Think I could stay?”

No, you fucking can’t.

“All right,” I said.

Somehow, somehow, I’d have to get through making dinner side-by-side with the man who’d left me in the rubble of my crumbled walls.

When he walked right behind me into the house, his chest so close to my back, his body heat seeping into my skin, I wondered when I’d turned into a masochist. There was no doubt this was going to hurt.

Thirty

Devon

The first time I walked through Kat Murphy’s front door, I thought her house was small. I couldn’t picture living there comfortably. This time, I could’ve been walking into a great estate, Kat the regal lady of the manor. She looked beautiful and sad, but also proud. My hands twitched to grab her, feel her, ensure she was real. From the anger just under her surface, I had a feeling if I tried it, I’d be the one walking away scarred.

I took what I could get. Kat made Ellie stay and help cook dinner, so she constantly kept a buffer between us. I told them about recording with Horse and revealed his real name after making them swear to secrecy. Ellie asked a lot of questions about the recording process, while Kat busied herself cooking and looking anywhere but me.

Dinner was a lot of the same. Ellie chattering, sometimes in lengthy monologues, sometimes peppering me with question after question. She informed me Simon had given her paper flowers when she went back to school after her reaction. His mom had offered to buy real ones, but Simon had been concerned Ellie might be allergic to them, so he made the paper ones himself.

I nodded in appreciation. “Simon is a cool cat.”

Ellie flushed adorably, pushing up her glasses. “I told him I’m not allergic to roses, for future reference.”

I offered her my fist, which she bumped with her own, then we both made an exploding noise. “You’ve got game, little sister.”

That made her giggle. “I know, right?”

The rest of dinner went by fast. I tried to help clean up, but Kat turned me down flat, and I found myself being ushered to the door. I’d come to her with no plan, only hoping she’d be willing to let me say all I should have said a week ago. Seemed I wouldn’t be getting the chance, not tonight.

She basically shoved me onto her porch without touching me and moved to close the door in my face. Reaching out, I stopped it from swinging shut with my hand.

“You working tomorrow?” I asked.

“No.”

“Can we talk when the kid goes to school?”

She sighed, glancing at Ellie and Leroy snug on the couch in the living room, just a few feet away. “Okay.”

With a sharp bob of my head, I let my hand fall. “I really did miss the hell out of you. I know you don’t like me much right now, but I’m grateful you let me spend time with you and Ellie tonight.”

Her grip on the door was firm, her gaze even firmer. “You don’t have to do that. That’s too thick.”

“You don’t know, Kat. You just don’t know.” With a slap on the doorframe, I backed away, not taking my eyes off her until I nearly fell off the porch. Only then did I turn around to walk down the steps, and by the time I turned back, she’d closed the door.

Sleep wasn’t coming. Not when I hadn’t made it clear to Kat why I’d come back. Near midnight, I gave up the ghost and climbed out of my bed. It was probably crazy, but I didn’t think I could wait until tomorrow to talk to her.

I threw on shoes and a hoodie and slipped into her backyard. A soft light shined through a crack in her curtains. She wasn’t much of a night owl, so the wishful part of me thought maybe I was on her mind as much as she