Heath (Wild Boys After Dark, #2)(37)

“This is where you grew up?” she asked.

“Yes. It seems small, right?” Heath asked as they followed a sidewalk from the driveway around to a postage-stamp-sized fenced-in backyard.

“A little.”

“There’s only one bedroom upstairs, which Logan and I shared. It was barely big enough for our bunk bed. Jackson and Cooper shared a bunk bed in the loft.” He led her up a set of concrete steps to a small covered porch.

“Did you mind sharing a room?” She and Amanda had each had their own room growing up, and she wasn’t sure she would have wanted the constant companionship of a roommate when she was a teenager.

“Sometimes, but it’s probably why we’re all so close. We had to work out our differences. There was no place to hide from them.” He knocked on the door and peered in the window, before walking into a tidy modern kitchen.

“Mom?” he called toward the living room, which Ally could see through an arched opening as they passed through the kitchen.

“Heath? Honey? Is that you?” Heath’s mother held on to the railing as she came down the stairs. She was a pretty woman, with dark shoulder-length hair and a warm smile. Her olive skin looked soft and youthful, though as Heath went to her side and Ally stepped closer, the fine lines around her eyes and the soft etching in her cheeks gave away her age.

“Yes, it is.” With one hand on his mother’s lower back, he held his other arm out to guide her as they descended the stairs to the living room.

“Ally is with you?” She lifted gray-blue eyes directly toward Ally.

Ally reached for her hand. “Hi. Yes, I’m right here.”

“Hi, Ally. I’m Mary Lou. What a pleasure it is to meet you.” She opened her arms and embraced her, holding her a moment longer than Ally expected.

“Won’t you please have a seat?” She motioned toward the couch, still holding Heath’s arm as he guided her around a recliner to an olive-green couch.

Ally sat in a recliner, and Heath came to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. Ally could feel nervous tension in his touch. She placed her hand over his to let him know she was okay.

“Heath tells me that you work at the hospital, too. In the lab,” Mary Lou said. Before Ally could respond, she added, “Lovey, sit down. You’re making me nervous.”

“How do you know I’m not sitting in the other recliner?” Heath said as he sank down on the other side of the couch.

Mary Lou smiled and folded her hands in her lap. “Mothers have eyes everywhere.”

Ally liked Mary Lou’s easy nature. “My mother says that she knows where we are in her house at all times by the feel of the room.”

“That is very true for me, too,” Mary Lou said. “The minute my boys walk into the house, I can sense their moods. Take Heath, for example. He’s been smiling since he arrived, yes?”

She glanced at the easy smile on Heath’s face. “Yes, he has.”

“But I can tell he’s a little nervous, too,” his mother added.

“Okay, thanks for that, Mom.” Heath shook his head.

“Well, you are a little nervous, aren’t you, honey?”

Heath sighed, and his mother waved dismissively in his direction. “When Cooper, my youngest, comes over, he’s a whirlwind of energy. I can always tell if he’s had a bad day, because the whirlwind has a heaviness to it, and it has nothing to do with losing my sight. It was the same way when they were little. I could hear the door open after school, and from the sound of the feet on the hardwood I knew who it was. Heath’s a careful stepper, soft and direct, while Logan’s steps have always been determined.” She turned toward Heath. “Don’t you agree, lovey? And Jackson, he’s a little complicated. He’s either stealthy, like he’s on the prowl, or he’s determined.”

“You have us nailed perfectly, but one day we’ll surprise you,” Heath said.

His mother reached over and felt her way along the cushion until her fingers met his leg, and she patted his thigh. “Sweetie, you boys surprise me every day.” She turned her attention to Ally. “Getting back to our conversation, you work in the lab? Do you enjoy it?”

“Yes, very much so. Every day moves faster than the one before, and I really enjoy the patient contact.” She thought about an elderly gentleman she’d taken blood from earlier that afternoon and how grumpy he’d been when she’d come into the room. He’d been in the hospital two weeks earlier, and Ally empathized with his displeasure at being stuck with another needle. He’d reminded her of her father, and when she’d noticed a book by her father’s favorite author on the nightstand, she’d been able to put him at ease by discussing what her father liked about the author’s writing style. He was smiling when she left, and she felt as though she’d brought a little sunshine to his bleak afternoon.

The roar of a motorcycle sounded out front.

“Sounds like Jackson is here,” Mary Lou said. “I think he’s got something on his mind lately, but whatever it is, he’s keeping it close to his chest.”

“Jackson always has something on his mind.” Heath rose as the front door flew open and a tall, handsome man strutted in wearing a leather jacket and a major case of helmet head. He shook his head like a puppy shakes off rain and then ran a hand through thick dark hair. He set the helmet he carried on a table by the door and lifted dark blue eyes to Heath, then shifted his gaze to Ally. A smile spread across his scruffy cheeks.