Finding Faith (Return of the Dragons)

Not because he was ashamed. The opposite, really. He just wanted Olivia, and his feelings for her, to belong to only him for a little while longer.

“Just heading into town in a little bit.”

Her brown eyes, so like his, turned even more knowing if that were possible, and it irked him to no end. “And who are you going with?”

“Who says I’m going with anyone?” he replied. Her look said she knew better and was losing patience, so he shrugged, doing his best to appear casual. “I’m just taking Olivia to the movies.”

Lindsey’s resulting squeal had him drawing his shoulders up around his ears. For the love of all that was holy, did she have to do that? And how did she get her voice that high? That had to have reached a level at the end that only dogs could hear.

“I knew it!” she crowed. “I knew you had a thing for her. It’s about time you went on a date. It’s been forever, and I really like her so far.”

“It’s not a date.” His protest rang false to his ears. It was totally a date in his eyes, but he didn’t want his sister making an even bigger deal of it than she already was. “I’m just being neighborly and showing her what there is to do around New Leaf.”

After rolling her eyes, she gave him a look that said she wasn’t buying a word of it. “Uh huh, sure. It’s not like there’s a lot to do around here. You could have just told her about the drive-in. From what I hear, she has plenty of friends at home she could go with if she wanted to.”

Hesitating, he ran his hand through his hair, trying to think of a reply—any reply—to that statement, but apparently she didn’t need one.

“Don’t even try to deny it, big brother. I already figured you had a thing for her.”

“And why did you think that?” he asked, brows pulled in a frown as he stared at her.

She gave him a look that said he was stupid. “I do the paperwork for Aaron’s, remember? The estimates rolled across my desk. I saw what you quoted her. Not only did you give her a family discount, but you didn’t even charge for your personal labor, Cody.

“You’ve never done that before, and I knew immediately it meant she was special in some way. I met her yesterday, you know. She’s an extremely beautiful woman, and better, she’s one of those who doesn’t even realize it. I put two and two together. You like her, and you’re also protective of those you care about. So, you want her house fixed, because we all know it’s falling apart, and you also want an excuse to spend more time with her. Lowballing the estimates is a sure way of hedging your bets.”

Cody stared at his sister, stunned. He hadn’t realized she was so perceptive, that she saw so much. He really should have, though. He’d been blind to underestimate her so much.

“Lindsey…” he began before trailing off. He honestly didn’t even know how to reply.

Her eyes and smile turned soft. “None of that was a diss to you. I love how much you care, how you put your all into everything—including pursuing the woman you’re interested in. And I think it’s great, I really do. I liked what I saw of her, and you deserve to be happy, Cody. More than anyone I know, you deserve that.”

His throat tightened and he swallowed hard, trying to loosen it to no avail. He wanted to tell Lindsey she was just as amazing as she was making him out to be—even though he wasn’t; she was just looking at him through the lens of someone who loved him unconditionally—but he was still having trouble finding his words.

He was just opening his mouth to reply when his grandfather stalked in, a scowl on his face. Snapping his mouth closed, he felt himself stiffen, his body automatically preparing for whatever his Pops was going to spew.

He’d seen him look like this too many times, so he knew what was coming. His grandfather was about to tear into either him or Lindsey, and it wouldn’t be pretty.

And Cody wouldn’t let it be his sister. She’d been through enough already. If Pops wanted to lay into her for something, Cody would do whatever it took to deflect it upon himself.

“I heard some of what your sister said,” Pops bit out, turning his glare on him. “One woman? You want one woman, who I bet isn’t on the list of acceptable females I gave you. This can’t happen, Cody. I won’t let it.”

Grinding his molars nearly to dust, he took a moment to rein in his temper. “You have no say in it, Pops.”

Ignoring his words, his grandfather narrowed his eyes, his glare hot enough to burn him to ash. “It’s that stranger who came into the shop the other day, isn’t it? I told you then she wasn’t acceptable as one of your females, Cody. You’re better than that.”

Blood boiling at the suggestion that Olivia wasn’t good enough, he briefly inhaled and exhaled as he tried to find his calm. Normally, he did whatever it took to hold his tongue with his grandfather, because he didn’t want to say something he’d regret.

It wasn’t even about that this time, though. He didn’t care if he said something he might not be able to take back. Hell, anything he said would be the truth, anyway.

But this time, he was worried if he let his temper out, the monster inside of him would take that as an invitation. And the

n the beast would make him destroy everything in his path.

When he opened his eyes, his gaze fell on his sister. She gave him a worried, remorseful look, mouthing, “I’m sorry.” He tried to show her that he didn’t blame her, but he wasn’t sure he succeeded. He knew the anger he felt inside him was the dominant emotion on his face right now.

He’d make sure he told her later that this wasn’t her fault. It was their grandfather who was the problem, with his pigheadedness, stubbornness, and belief that he was always right and therefore could run their lives.

“I’m not going to say this again” he told his grandfather sternly. “I have zero interest in having multiple women at my beck and call. And I really like Olivia. I feel a connection to her I’ve never felt before, and you should be happy for me. Not trying to order me away from her. For as long as she’ll have me, I won’t give her up. Not even for you.”