Spooning Leads to Forking (Hot in the Kitchen #2) - Kilby Blades Page 0,102
of the ops chain a decade before. But I never stopped loving this place. Whenever I come, I keep to myself—I rent a car and drive in from Denver. I stay at the little cabin I lived in while they were building the glass house. It’s a place I spent time in with Josie. I go fishing on the river and I hike up to Bison’s Bluff. I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as the sunset up there.”
And just like that—in an instant—Dev’s anger drained away and tears sprang to his eyes. For the first time in a long time, he really missed his mom, not in that same bittersweet way his heart did every time he thought about her—in a way that kicked him in the gut.
“I’m giving you the mills,” Donovan said. “Not selling them—giving them to you freely—and not out of any misplaced guilt. My attorney in Denver doesn’t know anything about me being your father. But he sent me your pitch and he told me he vetted the credentials of the person who sent it. I knew it was right for Sapling before I knew anything about it coming from you.”
Dev hardly knew what to say. First, he needed to believe it. He didn’t know whether he believed anything that had happened to him over the past forty-eight hours.
“And the last thing I have to say...” Don continued, “…and I should’ve said it first—is that I’m sorry for what I did to your mother and to you. I never married again—never really loved again either. Lying to Josie was the biggest mistake I ever made, and I have regretted it all my life.”
Dev swallowed thickly, still unable to speak. When Donovan approached him, Dev’s heart raced. Soon, they were face-to-face, and Don Sr.’s hand was on Dev’s shoulder. Dev didn’t know what he was supposed to say. Was this all he would ever get from Donovan Packard or was this just the beginning?
“You seem like a good man and I’m grateful for that. Whoever raised you did better than I did with mine. My other son’s sitting in jail right now for crimes he probably committed. What you’re planning to do here…I couldn’t admire you more. And if you ever want to see me, my door will be open to you.”
38
The Geek
Shea
“Who are you and what have you done with the real Kendrick?”
Shea was only half-joking. She expected Kendrick to laugh in that smooth way of his as they sped away from The Big Spoon, Shea still felt tingly and shaky and numb from everything that had happened that day. She felt like she could sleep until morning and it was barely three o’clock in the afternoon.
“Oh, we’re gonna get to that,” he informed her. This was the first moment they’d been alone. When he’d arrived, they’d been in the thick of planning.
After Keenan had gone, Shea’s recap call to Tasha had taken time.
“And you’re gonna tell me why today was the first time I heard a few things about Keenan. Right now, I’m pretty sure you’re still in shock. We’re gonna go back to the house, fix a stiff drink and tell one another a few things we should have before now. And we’re gonna be honest. No half-stories or half-truths. I think we’ve passed that point?”
He tore his eyes away from the road long enough to ask the question with is expression.
“Alright. We have a deal.”
He quieted then and Shea let herself enjoy the feeling of the cool window glass against her temple, and the new leather smell of his car. Even the way her body compressed into the seat with him driving so fast and the way the car hugged the road had a hypnotic effect on her. She didn’t realize she was drifting off until the car stopped, and she was in the driveway in front of her door. Butters had been awkward and confined in the crate that was getting smaller for her the bigger she grew, and she trotted eagerly in front of Kendrick and Shea after she’d been let out.
Shea smiled through a large yawn when—two full minutes after they’d entered the house and closed the door behind them—Kendrick was still in the entryway, knee bent, petting and cooing to her dog.
Shea, for her part, had padded past the kitchen and onto the sofa, where she meant to sit and rest for just a while. That one minute was all it took for her to fall fast asleep.