Just a Kiss: The Bradfords, Book 5 (27 page)

Nothing. Not a smile or even a glance up.

Kevin sighed and stood. He felt like he’d been sighing a lot today.

He’d reached the door when he heard, “Eve said that if God can make woodpeckers peck wood, He can also make them not peck wood.”

Yeah, that was a good point. And obviously Eve and Drew had covered this story already.

Great. He didn’t have silly string or answers to puzzling Bible facts or even fresh stories. This was going so well.

“Goodnight, Drew.”

He didn’t get a response to that either.

Shocking.

Chapter Nine

Kevin needed to leave for work at five thirty. Eve showed up at five twenty-two.

“You’re here,” he said with equal parts relief and frustration. They didn’t have time to talk now. He’d looked all over town for her earlier with no success and she hadn’t answered her phone or returned any of his messages.

“I told you I would be here whenever you needed to work,” she said with a frown.

“But you’re mad at me.”

“Yes, I am. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to show up.” She held up a jar of Nutella and a DVD of
Star Wars
. “And you’re just going to have to deal with this,” she told him.

He sighed. “No Bible study or blankets for the homeless for you tonight either, huh?”

“No. But if I see any stray dogs, I’m going to let them have your bed.”

He leaned in. “
You
better be in my bed.”

“I’m couchin’ it,” she said, stepping back. “I don’t want to get convict cooties on your sheets.”

He frowned. “Yeah, speaking of that—”

“You’d better get going,” she said, turning toward the kitchen. “Don’t want anybody in Omaha dying ’cause you’re not there.”

Damn. She was right. He was already running late.

“I’m calling you later,” he said as he shouldered his bag and pushed the screen door open. “And you better answer. We have some things to talk about.”

“Well, call after nine. I’ll have the joints rolled by then, but the orgy won’t have started yet.” She disappeared around the corner.

Hilarious, Kevin thought as he stomped to his truck. Absolutely hilarious.

“Kev! Someone to see you!”

He and all the guys swiveled to find Kayla escorting Mrs. Rosner, the caseworker for Drew, into the ER break room. He quickly got to his feet. “Mrs. Rosner.” He extended his hand.

She took it. “Mr. Campbell. How is everything going with Drew?”

That was a great question. “Fine. It’s been an adjustment for us all.”

“I can imagine.” She looked around. “Can we chat? I’d like to do a follow up and figured it was easiest to catch you here at work.”

“Sure. It’s slow right now. If you don’t mind the chance of being interrupted.”

“It’s fine.”

He gestured toward the round table to one side. “Is here all right?”

Mrs. Rosner glanced at the other men seated on the couches around the TV. None of them were looking at the screen of course.

“I don’t mind if they’re here,” Kevin said before she could ask. “They know everything anyway.”

“That’s up to you,” she said, moving toward the table.

He sat across from her. He’d forgotten about the follow up interview. And the hearing. What about that? He still wasn’t legally Drew’s guardian.

How had all of this slipped his mind?

“Things are going well with Drew then?” she asked, pulling a file from her bag.

“For the most part,” he said. He wasn’t going to mention the not talking to him, the marshmallow cream or the fact that he’d pretty much blown off picking Drew up from school because he was sleeping off a major orgasm. He shifted on his chair. “I know he isn’t thrilled with the situation, but his teacher thinks he’s managing well in class.”

“You spoke with his teacher?”

“Yes. I wanted her opinion.”

Mrs. Rosner made a notation. “And you’re living in your mom and dad’s house?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me about the routine so far. Anything consistent?”

He swallowed. Eve was the most consistent thing so far. “I’m going to be working three nights a week, not consecutive. Those days, I’ll leave after dinner with Drew. He’ll be sleeping while I work. When I get home he’ll be at school, so I can sleep. Then I’ll be there to pick him up from school and get to spend that evening and night with him, take him to school the next day, all of that.”

“And who’s staying with Drew while you’re here at work?”

“Um…” A woman with an arrest on her record. An arrest for something he still knew nothing about. Shit.

“You know,” he said conversationally. “I thought about bringing him to Omaha with me those nights and having him stay with some friends, but obviously that will mess with his school schedule too much. And I didn’t want to move him to Omaha for good…or for the six months.”

“I would agree that seems best. Who is with Drew when you work?”

His thoughts swirled. He couldn’t tell her about Eve, could he? She’d do an instant background check, Eve would fail it and then he’d not only be in trouble for having her as a caregiver, but it could ruin
his
chances of being Drew’s guardian. He had to give her a name though. Something. Someone who would not only appease Mrs. Rosner, but who might actually need to be Drew’s caregiver going forward. Drew and his secure placement with Kevin had to be the priority here.

He really only had one option and it irritated the hell out of him. Still he made himself say, “I think keeping the routine as stable as possible is best, so I think the two women he and his mother have been living with are the best options to help out.”

He tried to sound mature and confident. And not at all like he was making stuff up as he went. He hadn’t asked Lacey and Libby to help with Drew, but somehow he knew they would say yes. They were clearly a big part of his life, and, God help him, the Silly String Twins might do better on their background check than Eve would.

Mrs. Rosner nodded. “Good. I have their names right here. I’ll run the checks on them tonight.”

He swallowed hard and nodded.

“And how’s your wife?”

Ah, so she did remember that detail. Kevin worked on not choking or stammering. “Fine. We’ve…talked.” Visions of Eve in the shower, soap bubbles clinging to her nipples, water sluicing over her skin assaulted him. That’s what happened when you went eight years without sex, he supposed. But they
had
talked. Too.

“Are you working on reconciling?” Mrs. Rosner asked, watching him closely.

Until last night they certainly had been.

He still wanted to. He needed her. Not just for Drew. That was awesome, but temporary. However, in less than a week with her back in his life, he knew that he wanted it all—going home to a house where he’d find love notes with his breakfast and her little pink razor next to his big black one in the shower, the smell of her perfume lingering in his car after he took her out for dinner and strands of her hair on his pillow from where he’d made love to her the night before.

But dammit, could he really risk Drew going into foster care because he wanted to share toothpaste with Eve?

That was selfish. He couldn’t screw this up for Drew. He and Eve would have to figure it out
around
the little boy who needed them even more than he needed Eve in his bed every night. And that was saying
a lot
.

Kevin locked the rambling thoughts down. He’d had the whole drive to Omaha to think and stew and all it had accomplished was giving him a pounding headache. This wasn’t going to do him any good right now.

“No, I wouldn’t say that we were reconciling,” he told the caseworker. At least not at the moment. She was way too mad for any reconciling right now. “That’s, um…”

“Complicated?” Dooley suggested.

“Yes, a
complicated
subject,” Kevin answered, shooting his friend a grateful glance.

“I imagine it is,” Mrs. Rosner said. She made a note in the file.

Kevin resisted the urge to rip it from her hands and see what she’d written.

“To be clear, Mr. Campbell,” she said when her pen stopped moving, “if you do reconcile and your wife assumes a caregiving role with Drew on a regular basis and/or you live together, I’ll need to include her in interviews and so on.”

“I’m clear.” He was crystal clear on the fact that this was a damned mess.

He looked at Mrs. Rosner. The woman seemed nice enough but he could tell that she took her job seriously. He didn’t think she would like the arrest record. Whatever it was for.

Ten minutes later, Mrs. Rosner was satisfied with the interview. “I’ll need to come do a home visit to finish up the assessment,” she said, “then we can get the hearing scheduled.”

“Great.” He walked her to the door. “Thanks.”

When he turned back to face his friends, he knew what he would find.

“Are you
insane
?” Sam asked. “You
lied
about being involved with Eve?”

“You’re dead,” Dooley told him.

“That was cold, man,” Mac agreed.

“What the fuck was I supposed to do?” he asked.

They all stared. He never said fuck. Well, almost never.

“You might be the only guy I know who thinks clearer when he’s
not
getting laid,” Sam commented.

Kevin frowned at him. “This isn’t about getting laid. Or not getting laid.”

It wasn’t
exactly
about getting laid. But as Dooley had said just days before, sex wasn’t frosting on the cake. It was part of the cake, one of the main ingredients, and with Eve that was especially true.

And now he’d had a taste.

He was so screwed.

“So, what’s it about?” Dooley asked.

He hadn’t told them anything about Eve and Lacey and Libby. Where should he even start? Especially when he had a suspicion that he wasn’t handling it well.

“Eve and I had a fight.”

Mac tried to hide his grin behind his coffee cup, but he wasn’t fast enough. Kevin frowned at him. “What?”

“It’s nice to have you in the club, man,” Mac said.

“The club?”

“The married guys club. Don’t worry—make-up sex really is great.”

“Like you and Sara ever have make-up sex,” Dooley said. “You always let her have her way and everyone’s happy.”

Mac grinned again. “Sometimes we fight so we can make up.”

“You could buy her flowers,” Sam muttered, instantly shifting into big brother mode.

“Do you buy Dani flowers after you fight?” Mac asked.

Sam didn’t answer and they all laughed. Flowers
instead
of make-up sex? Not in Sam Bradford’s world.

“Besides, if I’m gonna spend money on something to get me on her good side, I’d better go to Tease or order from Scandalous
,
” Mac went on, naming a local adult toy and costume shop and an online erotic boutique.

Sam groaned and covered his ears. And that made Mac happy since he’d mentioned it only to torture Sam. It was especially funny though considering Sam and Dani were regulars at Tease too.

“What did you do, man?” Dooley asked Kevin. “We can help you pick out something appropriate at Tease but the gift should fit the crime.”

“
I
didn’t do anything,” he said. “It was Eve.”

The guys all sat looking at him.

“What?” he asked.

“You think it was her fault?”

“It was,” Kevin said. “No question.”

“Uh-huh,” Mac said.

“Let’s hear what you think she did,” Sam said, crossing his ankle over his knee.

“Did she run up the credit cards?” Mac asked Kevin.

“I know—she forbid you from ever seeing Dooley again, right?” Sam tossed out with a grin. “Said she could never be with a guy who had friends like him?”

“Fuck you,” Dooley shot back, but he was smiling too. “She loved me.”

“She got arrested,” Kevin blurted out.

God help him, but he couldn’t listen to them joking around when he really was feeling lost here.

All three of his friends turned to stare at him.

“Who got arrested?” Sam said, suspicious.

“Eve.”

“Last night?” Dooley demanded.

“For what?” Mac asked.

Kevin slumped into the closest chair and laid his head back. “Not last night.”

“Well, when?” Dooley asked.

“I…don’t know.”

“For
what
?” Mac repeated.

Kevin groaned. “I don’t know.”

“So you don’t really know anything?” Dooley asked. “But you’re pissed at her.”

“I’m not
pissed
. I’m…concerned.” Though that didn’t seem quite strong enough to describe his emotions.

“Dude, you’re suddenly married and raising a kid. You should totally be concerned. And I’m not talking about the arrest.”