Forsaken Duty (Red Team #9)(102)

She couldn’t think about that now, or she’d be all tongue-tied when she saw him.

Uncle Angel opened the door to Miss Wynn’s. “Hello, Casey. You look very beautiful. Here to help Miss Wynn with the boys?”

“Yup. Is she ready?”

“I am!” Miss Wynn called from her kitchen. Casey heard the oven doors close and went to see what she was doing. The whole apartment smelled of cinnamon and apples. Wynn grinned at Casey as she set a Dutch apple pie on the counter next to another two already cooling.

“I promised Russ I’d make the pies for today. Three Dutch apple, three pumpkin pie, three pecan.”

“Yum. I might skip the turkey and go right for dessert,” Casey said, smiling. “Are you coming with us, Uncle Angel?”

None of Dad’s men were truly uncles, except for Rocco, since he was married to Dad’s sister. But Zavi called them all aunts and uncles, so she did too. It was a big family she had now, something she used to only dream about when she and Mom were alone.

“Not me,” Uncle Angel said. “I’m the pie delivery boy.”

Miss Wynn kissed him. “Let the apple pies cool a little first.”

He caught her around the waist and drew her back to him before she could hurry off. “Hey. Happy Thanksgiving. Our first together.”

Miss Wynn’s eyes got teary before she hugged him. “Thank you.”

Uncle Angel laughed. “No, ma’am. Thank you.”

Miss Wynn smiled at her as they stepped through the door.

“Why did you thank him?” Casey asked in the hallway.

“Because I’m grateful he came into my life, brought me in to the big family we have today. That’s what Thanksgiving’s all about, isn’t it? Being thankful?”

“Yeah. Do you think the boys figured out their ties?”

“We’ll see. Some of them seemed to have it figured out. Knowing Lion, they probably practiced it a lot when we weren’t there.”

The boys were all in the basketball court, where their classes were held. They all looked different than they did wearing their wild-boy clothes. Today, they were all wearing beige khaki trousers, white Oxford shirts, blue jackets, and blue striped ties.

A couple of free-standing mirrors had been set up for them to use during their tie-tying lessons. The younger boys couldn’t figure it out, but had made interesting knots and seemed satisfied with that. Some of the older boys did have their ties properly done, but were having a devil of a time helping others tie theirs.

Lion wasn’t one of those. Her heart stopped for a whole beat when she saw that he did need help. Miss Wynn gave her a small smile that made warmth rise on Casey’s neck. She didn’t hear what the teacher said, but the boys having problems crowded close for help. She fixed three of them. Then Fox was there, tugging at his shirt and jacket.

“You look very handsome, Fox,” Casey told him.

“I don’t care about that. I hate this. I can’t move. I can’t run or fight.”

“But it’s a party. You don’t have to do those things,” Casey said.

He yanked his tie out to the side and mimicked choking. “Our enemies could hang us with these.”

“No one’s going to hang you today,” Uncle Max said as he joined them. “And if you want to look like a human, you have to dress like one. Besides, the rest of your pride—and all of us—are wearing suits.”

Casey’s heart fell when Uncle Max went straight toward Lion, but Miss Wynn redirected him. “Max, can you untangle Owl’s tie? Somehow he’s gotten it in a knot.”

Oh, God. That meant that Casey really was going to get to help Lion with his. Her mouth went dry as she went up to him. Would he notice how her curves stood out so nicely in this dress? Or the lemon-scented bath wash she’d used?

“Can’t do it?” she asked, trying not to smile as she looked at him.

“No.” He looked disgruntled.

“Want some help?”

“You ever wear a tie before?”

“Sometimes. Girls can wear anything they want.” She couldn’t let him know she’d been practicing for this very moment.

He put his hands on his hips. “Do your worst. It has to be better than my worst. Which is every damned time.”

She smiled. He handed her the tie. She reached up to unbutton the wings of his collar. It seemed he’d gotten taller than when she’d first met him. And she was wearing heels today. His body was hard beneath her wrists. She tried not to linger, shooting him a quick glance to see if he’d noticed her touching him. She flipped his collar up. “You have to bend closer so I can get this around your neck.”

He did. She almost fainted…and then he sniffed her, making her skin tingle. “You smell good. Is that lemon?” he asked.

Casey knew she had to be blushing because her neck and face felt on fire. “Yes.” She made short work of doing his tie, then drew him close so she could fold his collar over his tie and button it down again. She didn’t lift her gaze above his neck the whole time. And when she finished that, she adjusted the lie of the tie, smoothing her hand over it down his chest.

“Thanks, sweet pea. Your best is a whole lot better than my worst.”

“Sure.” She stepped back, wishing, wishing that had taken a lot longer to do. The rest of the boys were all tidied up. She met Max’s gaze and got a raised eyebrow from him.