Page 67 of Justified Fear

“Is your mother an artist too?”

He chuckled.“God, no.My mother is too analytical.She has the talent, but she always thinks it sucks.She and my father run a practice together.”

“Practice?”

“They’re both therapists.Dad specializes in helping people with PTSD, and Mom works with teenagers.She excels at it.”

“Is that why you seem so balanced?”

“No.It’s despite that,” he said, another chuckle slipping through.

He picked up half of his sandwich.After taking a healthy bite, he moaned.Keely wanted to fan her face because all of a sudden, she was overheating.Why?Because some guy enjoyed her cooking?She’d cooked for lots of guys, and their enjoyment never turned her on like this.

“Good?”She almost didn’t recognize her voice.

“No.It’s amazing.Jesus.Your place must have been packed.”

She took a bite and enjoyed it.Still, it wasn’t the same.“I like the tacos better.I guess it’s because I’ll always have Texas in my soul.Plus, when we made them, we flavored the tortillas to match the lobster.”

“I would probably expire from happiness then, because this is amazing.”

“Thank you.”

She heard the clickity clack of Maya making her way down the hall to them.

“So, you have three older brothers and none of them played?”

“Football?”she asked.He nodded.“Naw.None of my brothers were that interested in the game.They were big enough, but two of them played baseball, and my oldest brother would rather ride horses all day.Dad didn’t want them playing.All the injuries took a toll on his body.One of his best friends was Eddie McDougal.”

Uncle Eddie had been a wide receiver like her dad, but he’d had too many concussions.He ended his own life four years after he retired.It had made news because he had spent the last two months of his life making a documentary about his concussions and what they had done to him.

“Oh, wow.Yeah, now I remember your dad put out a statement when Eddie died.”

“So, yeah, Dad always considered himself lucky.He had his concussions, but never like Eddie did.”

After that, the conversation turned more to living in Hawai’i.They talked about waking up before dawn for months after the move and about island fever.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but sometimes, I just need a change of scenery.So, I usually just hop over to one of the other islands,” she said.

“Which other island do you like?”

“Hawai’i.I love that it gets cold enough to wear long pants, and yes, I have been up to the observatory.I mainly love the black sand beaches and the turtles, but I enjoy the Volcano Park too.”

He nodded.“I haven’t made it to Kauai yet.”

“Oh, youhaveto go.They have so many feral chickens.I know they freak a lot of people out, but I love them.”

“That makes sense.”

“What?That I love feral chickens?”

“That you would take enjoyment in something like that.Those chickens, they’re independent.”

And just like that, something clicked for her.How did this guy get her so easily?She had been with Chad for three years, and he never understood her.In fact, he’d been disgusted with her worldview.But this man, who barely knew her, seemed to understand her on some level that other men never did.And why did that scare her?

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

She blinked.“Sorry.”