Games of the Heart (The 'Burg #4)(48)

And it needed to happen because it was a little weird reading it but there was no denying his Aunt Dusty really, really liked Mr. Haines. And the way she did, he knew, he didn’t know how but he still knew that kind of feeling didn’t die.

So it needed to happen for Aunt Dusty.

It was late. He was supposed to be asleep. But he didn’t hesitate grabbing his cell and scrolling to Aunt Dusty.

She answered on the first ring, her musical voice he always thought was kick-freaking-ass was heavy with obvious concern, “Hey, honey. It’s late. You okay?”

Fin took in a deep breath.

Then he said, “No.”

*

Like she was waiting for it, which she was, the minute her cell vibrated on her nightstand, Clarisse’s eyes opened and she snatched it up.

The display said, “Fin Calling”.

She’d turned off her ringer, just in case. And set it on her nightstand with more hope than certainty and when she said hope, she meant a whole lot of it.

And the call came.

She was breathing funny when she hit the button and put it to her ear.

“Hey.”

“Hey. It’s all good.”

She felt her belly flip and not just because dark-haired, tall, broad-shouldered, deep-voiced, available junior Fin Holliday was talking to her at past eleven at night when she was in bed in the dark. But also because he said it’s all good.

“Is she coming back?” Clarisse asked.

“Oh yeah.”

“When?”

“Soon.”

“For how long?”

“Well, she’s bringin’ her horses and her kilns with her so, my guess, a while.”

“What?” Clarisse asked, not understanding.

“She makes pottery and has to fire it in kilns. And she has horses she likes to ride. So, what I’m sayin’ is, she’s comin’ up here long enough to stay a while, work a while and I know this because she isn’t leavin’ her kilns or her animals behind.”

Clarisse’s belly flipped again and she whispered, “Awesome.”

“You’re up, babe.”

Ohmigod! Fin Holliday called her “babe”!

“What?” she breathed.

“She gets here, you gotta get your Dad over here. I’ll make the coast clear, get Mom and Kirb out for a while. I’ll text you. She says she needs a week or so to sort shit out down in Texas. But at lunch tomorrow, we’ll plan.”

That was practically a date!

“Okay,” she whispered.

“Cool. Later Rees.”

“Later, Fin.”

She hit the button to disconnect.

Then she put her phone back on the nightstand.

Then she stared at its shadow through the dark and she did this a long, long time.

Finally, feeling better about just about everything, Clarisse Haines fell asleep smiling.

Chapter Seven

All It Ever Felt Was Right

Mike turned his head and watched his daughter wander up the backyard, Layla bouncing at her side.

For the last ten minutes she’d been out there at the back gate, the gate open, standing in it, her hand lifted, cell to her ear.

Something new was going on with Clarisse. Instead of seeming lost, being lazy and lying, she seemed focused, he just didn’t know on what, full of energy and secretive.

He could not say he didn’t like this change, except the last. She got her homework done before he asked her. Her grades which had started to take a turn for the worse, except for English which never dropped, were improving. She texted him nearly every night to ask when he was due home. Then, when he got home, she was in the kitchen cooking. Before he went to bed at night, the dishes were done and even the counters were wiped clean. For over two weeks, he hadn’t done a single piece of laundry and all his clothes were clean, folded and put away. Both his kids got their chores done without him having to get on them. No had even asked for money because Reesee had written out a grocery list of what they needed and he’d volunteered to go. Three times.

All this and she hadn’t asked him for her allowance even though she knew she wasn’t going to get it. She had five weeks left on her backlog. She also hadn’t been to the mall with her girls. Not once.

And she was on the phone, a lot. And texting, a lot. This was not abnormal. She did this with her girl posse. But what was abnormal was the little smile he did not like that played at her mouth during some of the texting. He also did not like the light that hit her eyes both after her phone binged with texts she’d just read or after she wandered down from upstairs and he knew she’d had some call.

He let her alone about this. First because she was a teenage girl and as much as he didn’t like it, he knew it eventually would happen. And he knew exactly what was happening from that smile and the light in her eyes that was far from difficult to read. Second because he did not want to know.

But the rest was a mystery.

He figured, since her birthday was imminent, she was buttering him up. He asked his kids for wish lists every year for birthdays and Christmas and hers this year for her birthday was long.

Her roping No into helping out, though, was overkill.

Maybe she’d sorted herself out.

Or maybe she had a boy who was interested in her and she was riding that high and spreading the joy.

He figured with those little smiles and the light in her eyes, it was both. And thinking his pretty daughter who was turning fifteen had a guy on her hook made him wish something he never thought he’d f**king wish. And that was that Reesee was back at lost, lazy and lying.