Taking It Slow - Reese Knightley Page 0,22
leave Spencer much for essentials. What did Spencer’s mother do with the money he gave her? Wesley sure as hell wasn’t getting enough food, and Liam had a sneaky suspicion that Wesley was lying to his brother about it.
Fuck. He wanted to help so badly, but he was smart enough to know Spencer would balk. The man was hell bent on not taking anything he considered charity. It had hit home when Spencer left him money after Wesley had stayed the night.
Liam hadn’t known until his front gate guard had delivered the twenty with the note that simply said, “Thanks.” That was the same twenty Liam had handed to Wesley the morning after breakfast. Now that he thought about it, if it kept the boy fed, then it was worth it. He’d sneak money to Wesley every damned time he saw him if it kept food in the boy’s belly. He could only imagine Spencer’s reaction to that.
He glanced at his watch and frowned. Adam and Jessica should have already been there. Sliding on his socks and shoes, he headed out the front door.
Anna was just pulling through the gate and he returned her wave and pointed to the house next door. She gave him a thumbs up.
Taking the small paved path that connected the property, he reached the front door and found it locked.
“That’s weird,” he muttered and knocked. After a minute with no answer, he laid on the doorbell.
A few more minutes went by before Rick opened the door.
“Hey, Liam.”
“Where’s Adam and Jessica?”
“In their rooms.”
“Get them. They’re staying the weekend at my place.”
“Yeah, okay,” Rick sniffled and shrugged.
“Got a cold?”
Rick shrugged again. Fury hit Liam so hard, he felt his face go hot.
“Are you doing drugs?” he snarled, moving in, crowding Rick away from the door and making him stumble.
“Hey! You can’t just come in here like you own the place!” Rick argued.
“News flash, I do own the place. Are you doing drugs?” Liam squeezed his fists.
“What’s going on?” a stranger’s voice asked from the kitchen doorway.
Liam leveled the guy with a look, taking in everything from his height, muscle, and prison tattoos, to the overgrown beard and mustache on his face.
“Who are you?” He scowled at the guy.
“He’s just a friend,” Rick cut in before the guy could answer. “And to answer your question, Liam, no, I’m not.”
He spun on Rick and squinted, taking in every inch of his face, looking for signs. He couldn’t be sure, and rather than prolong this, he wanted to get the kids and get out of there. He’d come back later and deal with Rick and him letting strangers in the house.
He turned toward the hallway, but kept an eye on the stranger in the kitchen doorway. Every single cell in his body was on alert. Once a good distance away, Liam strode down the hallway, skirting around the mess. He felt sorry for Mrs. Walters and made a mental note to give her a raise.
Reaching Adam’s door, he pushed it open and found both kids sitting on the bed with scared faces. Jessica had been crying. Adam looked somewhere between scared and angry.
They ran to him and he drew them into the safety of his arms.
“They wouldn’t let us leave,” Adam gulped.
“Liam?” Rick said from behind him.
He turned and spotted the stranger at the end of the hallway.
“You need to mind your own business on this one,” Rick whispered. “Okay?”
“These two are my business.”
“Just take the kids and go home.”
“That’s not very hospitable,” the stranger said, stepping into the hallway. His big body filled up the space. “I think we all should have a beer.”
“You need to back the fuck up,” Liam growled and eased Adam and Jessica behind him and let his gaze go flat. He aimed his look at the stranger, the bigger threat.
The air in the hallway grew tense, sweat settled between his shoulder blades, and his stomach tightened.
“You know that thing you do,” Adam whispered to Jessica so quietly that Liam was sure only he could hear them.
“What thing?” she whispered back.
“You know the one,” Adam urged.
“Oh that,” she said, drawing in a deep breath.
Spencer
Nodding to the guard at the gate, he pulled down the small street. There was plenty of room in the driveway, but instead of pulling behind Liam’s truck, he parked near the side of the house, sort of out of the way in case they took Liam’s truck somewhere that weekend. He couldn’t help it, he felt as excited as Wesley did