Worth the Fall (The McKinney Brothers, #1)(56)

“Abby. Hello. I hoped I might see you here.”

Matt turned at the male voice.

“Hi.” Abby seemed reluctant, but she made introductions, then added, “Dr. Stafford is the headmaster of the kids’ school.”

“Please, Abby. We’ve talked about this. Call me William.”

William, huh? Guy looked hot off the set of Miami Vice. “Nice to meet you, William.” Matt took the guy’s soft hand in a firm grip and was rewarded with a satisfying wince.

*. The guy tried to laugh it off as he pulled his hand away.

Matt scanned the field for Jack.

“So, Abby, are you sure you’re feeling all right? I’ve been worried.”

That got his attention.

Mr. Slick looked expectantly at Abby, who stood fidgeting with her shirt, then looked to Matt. “Thought I was going to have to get her to the doctor, but she was adamant she could drive herself.”

Matt had no idea what he was talking about. If he clenched his jaw any harder his teeth were going to crack.

“I’m fine,” Abby said. “It was nothing.”

“Well, she knows I’m here, just in case she needs someone,” William said, beaming a smile of adoration.

Matt tensed and slid his hand possessively up her back and under her hair, stopping with his hand on her neck. He met William’s eyes. “She has someone.”

“Oh sure. I just meant someone here. Where did you say you worked again? Iraq?”

“I didn’t. If you’ll excuse us. We’re here to watch Jack.” It was on the tip of his tongue to add my son.

—

Abby heard the car door close from where she stood in the backyard. The boys were back. After the game Matt had taken Charlie and Jack to run errands—“guy time,” he’d called it.

The back patio door opened and closed and Matt strode toward her like a man on a mission. No matter how she’d tried not to, she’d missed him. Exactly the reason she avoided getting close to people. She didn’t want to want anyone, but watching him draw closer, she couldn’t be anything but happy. “Hey, how was it?”

“Good. Charlie’s asleep. I laid him on the couch. Jack’s in the bathroom.” Glancing around the yard, he reached for her. “The girls?”

“Are inside.”

The man wasted no time.

Cradling her face in his hands, he took her mouth in a kiss so possessive and powerful it stole her breath. She ran her fingers through the hair at the base of his neck, pulling him closer. Kissing him deeper.

The breeze whispered through the trees, the grass was cool under her bare feet, while Matt’s warm lips and tongue moved against her own. She leaned into him, falling into the promise of his mouth, letting herself be swept away by the man.

Oh yeah, she’d missed him.

They broke apart and she rested her forehead against his chest, catching her breath.

Matt’s hands stroked down her back to her bottom, giving her a squeeze. “God, I’ve waited a long time to do that.” They stood a few seconds, just holding on.

When she looked up, the playful glint in his eyes was gone.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?”

It took her a second to catch up, then she remembered the comment at the football game. “Because I wasn’t.”

“That’s not what Easter Egg said.”

She smiled at his reference to William’s clothing style, so very different from his own worn jeans and black polo. Which was incredibly hot.

“He was going to drive you to the doctor,” he said, his voice taking on a hard edge.

“Matt.” She smoothed her hands up his body, feeling the muscle beneath. “I didn’t need anyone to drive me anywhere.”

“You didn’t even tell me.”

He was upset. She touched his neck with her fingertips in an effort to reassure him. The neck she wanted to kiss. “There was nothing to tell.” Shaking her head slightly, she slipped her arms up around his shoulders. “What could you have done anyway?”

Pain flashed across his eyes. She hadn’t meant to hurt him, she was just speaking the truth. “You have no reason to feel guilty. I don’t need you to take care of me.” With her hands on his handsome face, she stretched up to kiss him, but he pulled back.

“Jack said you told him I wasn’t coming.”

She lowered from her tiptoes and dropped her eyes to his collar. “I didn’t want him to be disappointed.”

“Neither did I,” Matt said. “Which is why I told him maybe, and only because I was ninety-nine percent sure. I tried to call you about it.”

Abby didn’t know what to say. She should have known Matt wouldn’t carelessly set the kids up for disappointment.

“Did you think I wouldn’t make it for the game, or did you think I wasn’t coming back at all?”

What could she say? He was here, his heart beating under her palm as he waited for her answer. How much should she tell him? How much could he understand? She fiddled with the buttons of his shirt and blew out a shaky breath. Some people didn’t invest their money. She didn’t put stock in people.

It felt wrong to expect the worst from Matt, but her childhood fears had blocked out a natural faith in people and replaced it with something else.