Finding Faith (Return of the Dragons)

He didn’t know. What he did know was that he wanted to find out—and he was going to do everything in his power to do just that.

“It’s par for the course,” she replied with a little shrug. “My luck hasn’t been very good lately. What time can you be there in the morning?”

He wanted to follow up on her comment about luck, but he bit his questions back. It wasn’t the time. Some of the wariness in her gaze had faded the longer they spoke, but it was still there, and something told him not to push her.

“Will ten work?”

“Yeah. I guess I don’t need to give you the address,” she said, her smile turning more natural, even reaching her eyes a tiny bit as he chuckled and shook his head. “I’ll see you then. It was nice meeting you, Cody.”

“You too, Olivia.”

She gave him one last smile before turning to walk out. He wanted to rush over and open the door for her, but he knew that might put him on creep status. That was the last thing he wanted.

For some reason, earning her trust suddenly became the most important thing in the world to him. And he wasn’t going to do anything that might make her wary of him.

Still, he couldn’t stop his eyes from dropping to her ass as she walked out. Damn, she filled out those jeans even better than he’d imagined.

He watched as she walked to her truck, but he made himself turn away then. Mind whirling with thoughts, he walked into the workshop, still consumed by her.

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

Cody looked for his grandfather at his gravelly words and found him sanding an old rocking chair. Exhaling, he shoved his hand through his hair as he made his way over to his workbench.

“Done what, Pops?”

“Agreed to go out there for an estimate tomorrow. You’re not even sure just how much work that house is, but you practically already agreed to do the job. That was foolish. Call and cancel. Or just don’t show up.”

“Why would I turn down a perfectly good job? I know that house needs a massive overhaul, but isn’t that what we’re here for? It’s a paycheck, and a damned good one.”

Pops snorted. “Like we need the money. You need to turn this one down,” he insisted, his gaze still locked on the rocker as he worked. “She’s a stranger. We don’t know anything about her or her people. Or the friends she says are living in that deathtrap with her.”

Mouth tightening, he dropped the hammer he’d picked up, ignoring the thud as it hit the table. Turning, he faced his grandfather, crossing his arms as he frowned.

“Is that what this is about? She’s a stranger? You keep insisting that there’s a threat around us, that we keep to ourselves and those we know. But I’ve yet to see anything remotely suspicious or threatening. And now you think an innocent human woman, and a small one at that, is somehow going to hurt us?”

An incredulous laugh escaped Cody’s throat after he said the words. The whole notion felt ludicrous. He’d just met her, but he couldn’t see Olivia hurting a fly, let alone an actual human being.

Pops shook his head, glancing at him with disappointment in his eyes. “You’re too trusting, boy, and it’s going to get you killed. Hell, not just you. Everyone who trusts you to lead, too. Just because she’s a small human woman, that doesn’t mean she’s not out to do harm.”

“And you’re too cynical and suspicious to realize not everyone is out to get us.”

&nb

sp; “It’s coming, Cody. I feel it. You need to cancel and stay away from her.”

The thought of staying away from her caused a rumble to rise up in his chest. He didn’t even try to stop it, he just let it go until it slowed to a growl and faded away. And as he looked at his grandfather, his frustration seeped out of him, replaced by sadness… and something much like pity.

He and Pops had never seen eye to eye. Hell, that was the understatement of the century. They disagreed on nearly everything, and their arguments were so explosive that it nearly tore them all apart.

But in that moment, his grandfather didn’t look like the powerful leader with a dominating, oftentimes abrasive, personality he’d always been. He looked like an old man who’d grown so suspicious and distrusting that he thought an innocent, tiny human woman could hurt them.

“You’re attracted to her, aren’t you?” Pops asked, his voice gravelly with age, his attention still on the chair he was sanding.

“That’s irrelevant.”

Finally putting down the sandpaper, Pops turned to face him, his eyes shrewdly assessing his face. “It’s not. You’re willing to put all of us—hell, the whole town—at jeopardy because you’re lusting over a strange woman.”

“That’s not it at all. This is big job for the company, so we should take it. And being a stranger doesn’t make her dangerous.” Pausing, Cody’s eyes narrowed as he stared at his grandfather. “That’s really what this is about, isn’t it? You think being attracted to her means I’ll fall for her, and the agenda you keep pushing on me will fall apart. All your plans will have been for nothing and you can’t stand that, even though I’ve already told you I want nothing to do with them. That’s really why you want me to turn down this job.”