Page 10 of Tempt (Peachwood Falls #1)

C hase

Mom stands as I walk in and shoots me a dirty look.

“What are you looking at me like that for?” I ask, the words coming out snippy.

“She better come back.”

I glance around the room as I barrel my way to the refrigerator.

Mom trails me across the kitchen. “Want to know why I’m looking at you like this? It’s because I’m excited to hear about your plan. You just ran off your help for the next four weeks, so I’d love to know how you plan on finding someone to cover for me. I leave on Monday morning, you know.”

Yeah, I know.

I wish it didn’t have to be this way—that I didn’t need to rely on people to make things work.

And if Kennedy wasn’t freshly fourteen and had a greater sense of her own mortality, I might chance it.

But she’s making emotional decisions, seems to think she’s immortal, and I’m waiting on the call that I’m back on the traveling crew again.

I would never leave her overnight or for days at a time.

No fucking way. She’s never been alone one night, as a matter of fact.

I take the orange juice out of the refrigerator and pour myself a glass. I need something to do and drinking a glass of juice is the only thing I can do that I won’t regret later.

“I’ll figure something out,” I mumble.

“You better figure something out.”

“Where’s Kennedy?” I ask, not wanting to have this discussion in front of her.

“She went with your father down to the lake.”

The drink is sweet and smooth as it slides down my throat. But, unfortunately, it does nothing to help dissipate the heat and frustration inside me—frustration at myself more than anything.

My heart pumps so hard that the pulse is evident in my neck.

“You know,” Mom says, straightening the toaster, “I would understand if she was a stranger. And I know you don’t know her. I get that. But do you think I would allow someone who might hurt or neglect Kennedy in any way into this house?”

I hang my head.

“I love that little girl just as much as you do, Chase.”

Dammit .

“Mom, I know,” I say, sighing before my gaze rises to hers. “I know you do. I didn’t mean to insinuate that you didn’t.”

She shoves a hip into a cabinet and crosses her arms over her chest. Then she does the one thing I hate more than anything else—the Mom guilt look.

Three seconds of that stare has me backtracking. I hope I have that kind of power with Kennedy someday .

“I’m sure …” I clear my throat. “I’m sure Megan is great.”

In so many ways .

“She’s wonderful, Chase. So smart and kind—and she won’t be bowled over by Kennedy.”

I believe that .

Mom sighs. “I don’t know what all that was about with Megan, Chase, but you need to get your head on straight.

Megan is exactly what your daughter needs right now.

Someone young, someone fun—someone to model herself after.

” She shoves off the cabinet. “That polish brand that Kennedy was talking about? Megan was the head color designer there for several years.”

Was she? I set my glass on the counter.

“She’s been around the world,” Mom says. “She’s met people and seen things. And she’s willing to come into your house and help your child for a month.” She snorts. “She doesn’t need this shit, Chase. But she’s doing it for her mom. For me. For you .”

“Why? Why would someone like that want to come here and deal with a teenager?”

Mom shrugs. “I know she got laid off. Iyala is a smaller business, from what I understand, and they had to restructure to stay afloat. Megan moved from Los Angeles to Dallas while she figured out her next move. Nail polish designers aren’t in high demand.”

The fact that this all makes sense is even more frustrating. Why couldn’t she have some massive flaw that makes it easy to justify not wanting her here? Why does she have to be perfect on paper?

And probably fucking everywhere else …

I have enough problems on my hands. There’s zero doubt that Megan would be another. It’s not hard to imagine the thirty days ending, and Kennedy has fallen in love with her and then acting out even more because Megan leaves.

Nor is it difficult to imagine that I would struggle to keep my hands off her if we shared the same living space …

But I have to do something.

I have to stop being selfish and do what’s right for my family. And, right now, that’s the little minx that has me tied up.

I grin. Things that I wish were true .

“Chase, honey,” Mom says, placing a hand on my shoulder. “You’re a good daddy?—”

“Hey, everybody …” Luke stops on the threshold and looks at Mom, then at me. He grimaces. “I’ll come back later.”

I motion toward the table. “ No. Sit. Stay .”

“Yeah, see … this looks like one of those conversations where Mom is about to let you have it,” Luke says.

“I’m familiar with the lead-up. While it would bring me joy to watch someone else get reamed for once, I’m afraid that sticking around might change the focus to me, and I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life today. ”

Mom snorts and kisses my brother on the cheek. “You act like I’m always … what did you say? Reaming you?”

“Um, you are ,” Luke says, ducking to avoid her swat. “I came to your house on Monday, and what happened? Oh, that’s right— you yelled at me .”

“You brought your dirty laundry to my house and shoved half of a load in the washer.”

“Isn’t that where it goes?”

“Not when there’s already washed laundry in there that needs to go in the dryer.”

Luke cringes.

“Really, Luke?” I ask.

“I didn’t see it.”

“How could you not?” Mom asks, her voice rising. “Lucas, I love you. I’ve loved you since the day you were born. But you’ll have to grow up at some point.” She looks at me. “Where did I go wrong with him?”

Luke gasps. “Excuse me, Mrs. Marshall?”

“You call me Mrs. Marshall again, little boy, and see what happens?—”

“Hey, Uncle Luke!” Kennedy comes in from the mudroom and taps my brother on the back as she walks by. “Pap and I are going fishing.” She lowers her voice. “It’s not what I want to do today, but he’s acting like he’s never going to see me again after tomorrow, and I feel bad.”

We all laugh.

“Wanna come?” Kennedy asks, taking three water bottles from the refrigerator.

“Yeah, I’ll come down there. Gavin tried getting me to go dirt biking with him this afternoon. Maybe I can talk him into fishing instead.”

Kennedy grabs another water bottle. “Cool.” She looks at me with a little grin as she walks toward the door. “I can’t wait to tell you about my new babysitter.”

My stomach drops. I fire her a look to be careful, but she ignores the warning in typical Kennedy fashion.

“Oh, that’s right,” Luke says, suddenly interested in my parenting decisions. “She was starting today. Is she here?”

“Nope,” Kennedy says. “She just left. You should ask my dad about her. She’s hot.”

“ Ken …”

She ducks out of the room, laughing. “See you at the lake, Uncle Luke! I’ll tell you all about it. Love you, Gram!”

“That kid,” Mom says, chuckling.

That kid, all right . I heave a breath.

Discussing this with Luke was not on my agenda today—or ever. But now that he’s been clued in on a hot nanny , there’s no way to avoid the conversation.

“ Okay ,” Luke says, smirking like the bastard he is. “Let’s talk about this nanny.”

“Yes, let’s,” Mom chimes in.

“Let’s not.”

“She’s hot?” he asks, taunting me. “She must be smokin’ hot to elicit this kind of a response.”

“You’re wrong, Luke. She’s not hot— she’s beautiful .” Mom’s mocking tone is as irritating as my brother’s. “You should see her. Blond hair. Blue eyes. Built like a … what do they say? A shit house? A brick house?”

Luke snickers.

“ Mom ,” I say, exasperated. “Please don’t do this.”

She turns to me. “Don’t do what? Tell your brother how delightful the woman is? The same woman you ran off from here, for some reason unbeknownst to me?”

“You ran her off?” Luke asks, his eyes bugging out. “ I can’t wait to hear this .”

“He did,” Mom says, egging him on. “She’s staying in town. Maybe you should get her, Luke, and see if she needs someone to take her to dinner.”

I fire a glare at my brother. This only makes him laugh.

Mom launches into a second-by-second replay of our meeting with Megan. I gaze out the window and mentally chastise myself.

I’m being ridiculous. I’ve let this whole thing get out of control, and even I am embarrassed at this point.

I block out my family’s conversation and close my eyes.

The two most important things are that Mom gets a break and that Kennedy doesn’t steal a car and head to Mexico with a motorcycle club while I’m gone. My feelings are completely irrelevant.

I hold my forehead.

“I mean, I can watch her on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” Luke says, chiding me. “But I’m gonna need money for dinner.”

Mom smacks his arm.

“There’s no need for that. Chase is going to march his ass over to The Ridges and talk to Megan,” Mom says.

I look at her.

“It does seem like the perfect solution,” Luke says, smug. “What’s the problem?”

My brother knows the problem. I can tell by the glimmer in his eye. He manages not to notice obvious things that don’t benefit him, like clean laundry in the washer. But give him the slightest detail that allows him to ride my ass, and he’s all over it like some genius.

Mom’s phone rings. She pulls it out of her bra, her face brightening.

“It’s Kate. I’m going to take it outside.” She starts toward the door. “Talk some sense into your brother, Luke.” She tugs the door open. “I can’t believe I just said that. What’s this world coming to?”

“I heard you,” Luke calls after Mom. Then he flops into a chair and makes himself at home.

“Whatcha gonna do?” he asks, settling in for the long haul. “If it were me, I’d go get the girl and enjoy my thirty days. She sounds like a stunner.”

I sit across from him.

“What’s the problem?” he asks. “Or is that the problem?”

The levity slowly melts from his features, and in its place is a seriousness that Luke doesn’t often possess.

I start to admit that the idea of having Megan in my house feels like a terrible idea. It makes something deep inside me uncomfortable in the most comfortable of ways. It’s as though she absolutely should be here, which is why she shouldn’t be.

I’ve spent an hour with the woman—if that. I have no reason to suggest I don’t trust her. Lame excuse, Marshall . But I have made it an absolute hard limit not to have women around.

That rule exists for a reason.

Kennedy was in first grade when I ended a relationship with a woman I’d seen for a couple of years. Watching my child lose yet another woman she’d come to love was ugly and heartbreaking. Devastating . I vowed never to do it to her again.

And I haven’t.

I sigh. But Megan won’t be here for you. She’ll be here for her . I imagine Megan getting all over my daughter’s ass for acting up. Kennedy will hate her before it’s over anyway.

It’s thirty days. I can deal with jacking off in the shower for thirty days.

“I’m being a jackass,” I say, resting my forearms on the table.

“Yeah, well, you’re a jackass every day.”

“You know what I mean.”

He leans forward, mirroring my posture. “I do. And as much as I’d like to rib you about it, you don’t have much time to spare. Mom leaves Monday. Who knows when your nanny will skip town?”

Yeah. I know.

I need to find Megan and ask her to stay.

My body tightens, struggling against the chaos erupting inside me.

“I’m going to take a shower and find something to eat,” I say, my jaw tensing. “Then I’m going to figure this out.”

“ And ?”

“And go into town,” I say.

“ And ?”

“Fuck off, Luke.”

“Are you gonna grovel?” He laughs, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “You are, aren’t you? She has you groveling, and you haven’t even touched her yet. This is amazing.”

“Please leave.”

Luke snickers and gets to his feet. “Fine. I’ll be over on Monday to meet the new nanny.”

I hold my head in my hands.

How can one thing simultaneously feel like the right and wrong answer?