Canon (Klein Brothers 2)

“What was that about?” Naomi whispered, her eyes wide as she stared back at me.

Refusing to make eye contact with her, I mumbled, “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Your eyes had sex with his wiener, girl.” She fanned her face, “It was kind of hot.”

Glancing at the time, I cringed. “We need to get going, or we’ll be late for class.”

The whole reason I was even over here was to take her to our pole dancing class, and I hated being late. Keeping to a schedule was one of the most important things to me, and being late would only make me feel anxious, so I avoided it as much as I could. Some might say that was OCD, and according to my doctor, they’d be right as it was one of my triggers.

“Shanti,” she called as we waited next to the door for the little girl. “You look after Carter and Canon, and don’t let them get up to any trouble. We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

Saluting us, Shanti started bouncing up and down. “Can I come with you to slide down a big pole?”

Umm…. That sentence coming out of her mouth might have been my bad this time. I’d found out from little Miss Shanti that no matter how softly you whispered something, kids had radar hearing when it suited them.

“Not this time and remember what we said about how you said that sentence. It’s a form of working out and strengthening our muscles, so we get fit.”

Pouting, Shanti looked up at me accusingly. “Aunt Jacinda gets to say it, though.”

Clearing my throat, I gestured with my thumb out at where my car was in their driveway. “I’ll just… I’ll meet you at the car.”

This time when I avoided eye contact, it was because I was practically running to the safety of my vehicle. God damn it, I’d said that about three months ago to Sayla. How could she remember that but not remember to use soap to wash her hands every day?

Kids.

The next night…

“Gotta say, ladies, when I came here, I envisioned those small American towns you see on television, with one bar and lots of ZZ Top looking men,” Cyn said as she giggled at a couple of men competing to see who could drink their pints of beer the fastest at the bar. “This is just like being at home.”

Leaning on her elbows on the table, Sayla looked away from the men and back at our new friend. “Do you miss the UK?”

“Yes, and no.” Cyn shrugged her shoulder. “Dad’s always lived here, and we visited him every year. It’s almost like a home away from home. Plus, my sister lives in Florida now, so it’s just our brother who’s there, and he gets to visit whenever he has time off from the Navy.”

Now that I was facing her and could see her mannerisms in a more relaxed way than at the salon, something was hitting me as really familiar about her. I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was.

“Where does your dad live?” Evie asked, waving at her brother as he walked past.

Sayla, who’d had the biggest crush on Roque for as long as I could remember, looked surreptitiously in the opposite direction. That was probably due to the fact he was with another woman—a petite, hot brunette—who was giving Evie the stink eye, obviously not knowing they were related.

“In Austin, but he—”

Whatever else she said afterward was lost on me as the reason she looked familiar hit me.

“Holy shit! Your dad’s Ned Dahl.”

Her eyes widened at my interruption, but she didn’t deny it. Instead, she swallowed awkwardly and looked over my shoulder as she replied. “I understand if that means you guys might have reservations about getting to know me or doing this again. A lot of people either get scared because of who Dad is and don’t want to be associated with me, or they voted for the other guy, so they resent him for being elected. That’s part of the reason why Wick’s dad isn’t in the picture now, too.”

Reaching over, I squeezed her hand. “Honey, no. I’ve got nothing to be scared about him finding out about me, and I’m beyond grateful he was elected. Your dad and cousin helped save my life.”

“What?” she breathed, her shoulders visibly dropping with relief. “When?”

“Years ago, I wasn’t in a good relationship. I didn’t know my ex’s neighbor was the governor’s nephew, but when he called for help after my ex abused me and left me chained to a pipe in his apartment, your dad got involved and helped me get justice. He was even there when I went to court, and all of my old roommates were giving me shit for standing up to a former Marine for what he’d done.”