Too Hot to Handle E-Book

Jennifer Bernard

• Herausgeber: Jennifer Bernard
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

Single father Kevin O’Donnell would do anything to give his daughter Holly a stable life—including leave the Air Force and take a job working at Knight and Day Flight Tours in charming Jupiter Point, California. After his wild daredevil past, he’s sworn off relationships until Holly turns eighteen. Just three more years. No problem; he’s got this under control. Until a chance encounter with a smart, sassy bombshell—who just happens to be his new boss’s sister.
Since her father’s unsolved murder, Cassie Knight has spent over a decade on the road with her mother, memories chasing the fragile woman from town to town…or so Cassie thought. Only after returning to Jupiter Point does she learn something—or someone—all too real triggered their life on the run. Now, with her brother closing in on their father’s killer, Cassie’s free to pursue her own happiness for the first time. Enter smart, sexy, funny Kevin O’Donnell.
Of course they’ll have to keep it light. There’s a big off-limits sign on Kevin’s heart, and Cassie’s ready to hit the road the minute her father’s killer is found. She can do light—no problem. But she didn’t count on their sizzling chemistry…Holly’s suddenly odd behavior…and a killer who’s more cunning than the Knight family ever suspected. Too hot to handle? There’s only one way to find out.

Leseprobe

Too Hot to Handle

Jennifer Bernard

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

About the Author

Also by Jennifer Bernard

Acknowledgments

1

Cassie Knight had a theory about small towns—that you could never really leave. No matter how long you were gone, people still treated you as if you’d been there all along. As if the only parts of her life that counted were the sixteen years she’d spent here in Jupiter Point, rather than the twelve she’d been gone. As if she hadn’t grown into adulthood, traveled around the country, and had a million different experiences since she’d driven away in that old Chevy Chevette with her mother sobbing at the wheel.

Take the bartender at Barstow’s Brews, for example. She remembered him perfectly. He used to buy six-packs for her and her friends while they waited outside the grocery store. Gary Knox, still plying liquor, though at least he was doing so legally now.

He squinted at her as he uncapped the Belgian beer she’d ordered. “Aren’t you the little sister? Of the Knight brothers? Cathy or Cammie, right?”

Yup, here in Jupiter Point, she was still—and always would be—Cassie Knight, little sister of the notorious Knight Brothers, not the freewheeling, independent woman she’d become since she left.

“Do I know you?” She shoved a twenty across the bar, cocking her head at him. “You don’t look familiar.” She frowned, as if searching her memory. “Nope, not ringing a bell.”

“Aw, come on, babe. You’re breaking my heart. After all I used to do for you back then. First beer? Parking lot outside the Quickie Mart? It’s Gary Knox. You remember me.”

“Right. It’s coming back to me now. Quite the fond memories. The good old days of putting teenagers on the path to perdition.”

“The path to what now?” Gary cupped his ear as if he hadn’t quite heard right. Which would be understandable, since Barstow’s was rocking tonight. Loud laughter, shouts from the direction of the dartboard, the jostle and clink of beer bottles.

“Perdition. You know, that town down the coast.”

He nodded as if he understood and turned away to serve another customer.

Cassie hated herself a little right then. But she had a perfect right to toy with Gary. That first beer in the parking lot had gotten her in big trouble with her father, who’d had a zero-tolerance policy.

Gary was pouring a shot of tequila for a man at the other end of the bar. When Cassie realized who it was, she got another nasty flashback. Brad White. The last time she’d heard anything about Brad, he’d been running for political office. Then he’d been forced to end his campaign because he’d been screwing his underage intern.

What was with guys? Why did they all have to be such jackasses?

She must have mumbled something to that effect out loud, because someone actually answered her question.

“I wouldn’t call it a requirement, more of an optional thing.”

She glanced to her right, at the man who was sliding onto the barstool next to hers. Good Lord. If you could bottle up male charm and sell it by the case, this man would make a fortune. Twinkling deep-green eyes set off by the longest eyelashes she’d ever seen on a man, dark, sexy scruff, a dimple in his cheek. Well-built, nice smile, big working-man’s hands. Black leather jacket, worn jeans.

In a word, hot.

Best of all, she’d never seen him before. He wasn’t one of those ghosts from her past wandering around Jupiter Point.

But still, she was in a mood. The same general mood she’d been in since she got back to Jupiter Point. Slightly crabby with a side of what-am-I-doing-here.

“So you’re saying you have the option of being a jackass and instead of deciding, nah, I think I’ll be a good guy today, you beat your chest and go all in on being a jerk?”

The man’s dimple deepened. “Some of us skip the chest-beating. That’s gotta hurt.”

“Aww. I guess being a jackass comes with side effects.”

He laughed and settled his elbows on the bar. “I’d like to meet the man who did you wrong. I think he tangled with the wrong woman.”

That got a reluctant smile out of her. “This isn’t about me. It’s about the male gender in general. I’m merely going on personal observation.”

“No skin in the game, huh? Never got your heart broken?”

She twirled the stool so she faced him and propped one elbow on the bar. “That’s an awfully personal question, considering we’ve only been talking for about a minute.”

“Yes, but it’s been such a fun conversation. I feel we can skip all the preliminaries and go straight to the main point.” Did he have a trace of an accent, some kind of vague drawl? She liked listening to him, she realized. His voice was teasing and resonant. His whole manner drew her in, despite her bad mood.

She took a sip of her beer. “Which is?”

“Why you’re sitting at the best brew pub in the sweetest little town on the West Coast, looking like you’d rather be anywhere else.” He gave her an encouraging smile. “Seems like there’s gotta be something I can say to lift your spirits.”

“Sure. How about this. ‘You look like you’d rather drink your beer in peace, so I’ll let you be now. Carry on.’”

He tilted his head, acknowledging her point with a rueful laugh. “Fair enough. You got me. Just because I’m enjoying the conversation doesn’t mean it’s mutual. Enjoy your drink. I’ll be right over there, not beating my chest.” The stool next to his had just opened up, so he slid over to it.

Gary finally made it over to the newcomer and took his order. Cassie overheard something about beer and a basket of nachos with extra jalapeños.

She loved jalapeños.

And honestly, she hated drinking alone. And her brothers were late.

And he was so, so cute.

She slid over onto the stool the stranger had just vacated. “Can you make that two baskets of nachos with extra jalapeños?” she asked Gary.

The cute stranger looked over at her in surprise. “I get a second chance, huh? What did it? My charm? My nice-guy attitude? Lack of chest-beating?”

“Your good taste in bar snacks. No one else seems to appreciate jalapeños the way I do.”

He shook his head sadly. “What is wrong with people? Just can’t take the heat, can they?”

“Right?” She grinned at him. “I’m Cassie.”

“Kevin.” He clicked his bottle against hers. “Welcome back.”

They both took a sip from their beer bottles.

Cassie checked in with her inner bad-guy radar system. She wasn’t a big drinker or bar-hopper. But she’d had a huge responsibility thrust upon her at an early age, and she often needed a break. Since the age of sixteen, she’d been her troubled mother’s…what…guardian? Caretaker? Something like that. Indulging in a drink at the nearest, dingiest bar was a guaranteed way to relieve the stress. She never had more than one drink, which she nursed slowly all evening. The point wasn’t to get drunk. It was to exist in the company of other people who’d known tough times.

That was why she always avoided pick-up spots; why she’d chosen Barstow’s Brews instead of the upscale Orbit Lounge.

In time, she’d developed a surefire warning system when it came to her fellow bar customers. She could tell when someone was going to be trouble. She knew within a few seconds if she should switch seats or leave altogether. On the other hand, if someone was going to be good company, tell entertaining stories that would offer relief from her day, she could figure that out pretty quickly too.

Kevin?

Definitely in the good-company category. None of her early warning alerts were going off. She liked sitting next to him and got zero sense of anything uncomfortable or awkward. The only alarm bell going off was the one that said, “dangerously attractive, proceed with caution.”

“So, Kevin, are you from around here?”

“Nope, just moved to town recently. How about you?”

“Cassie’s got Jupiter Point blood running through her veins,” said Gary, as he dropped off their nachos.

“Please don’t talk about my blood,” she told him. “My blood is none of your business. And where are our extra jalapeños?”

“Oops. It’s not my fault; no one ever asks for that.” Gary hurried away.

Kevin was watching her with one corner of his mouth twitching upwards. “Old friend of yours?”

“Old something.” She took a quick sip of her drink, then decided there was no harm in elaborating. “This is my life right now. Every time I turn around, I see someone I used to know and don’t particularly want to know again.”

He tilted his bottle to his lips. “I think I’m getting the picture. Big plus for me that I’m not a local.”

“Yes, that might be your main selling point.” She laughed a little. “That sounds mean. It’s not as if you’re trying to sell me on something. We’re just sitting next to each other eating nachos.”

“Well, personally, I plan to wait for the jalapeños. But you’re right. We’re just contemporaneously drinking beers in each other’s vicinity. Nothing more.”

“Contemporaneously?”

“It means in the same time frame.”

“Are you an English teacher?”

He laughed. “Nope. I just like words. Always have. I mean, think about it. Have you ever opened the dictionary and looked at everything that’s in there? So many words you never heard of. Why not? They exist. They mean something. Why don’t we use them?”

She realized that she was leaning closer to watch him talk and pulled herself back. “Probably because no one would understand what you’re saying.”

“And that’s the sad part, right there. You’d think that with all the high-tech ways people have to communicate, we’d all understand each other better. It’s kind of the opposite though.”

“You’re quite the philosopher, huh?”

“Philosopher, from the Greek words for lover and wisdom.” He winked at her. “At least I got half of that covered.”

She shook a scolding finger at him. “I’m not even going to ask which half. Because this is not a flirtation, just so you know. I’m setting the record straight right from the start.”

“Got it. No flirtation, just nachos and philosophy. Right up my alley.”

He seemed completely unfazed by her rejection of flirting. She tried not to be irked by his lack of interest. It made things easier, after all. Back when she and her mother had moved around so much, she’d avoided deep attachments because of the inevitable breakups. She always made it clear from the start that things weren’t going to last long. But now that she was back in Jupiter Point, she didn’t have the built-in excuse of a gypsy lifestyle anymore.

Gary arrived with a large bowl overflowing with sliced jalapeños. “On the house. Eat up,” he smirked.

Cassie leaned over the bowl and sniffed. With so many hot peppers piled together, the fumes made her eyes water.

“Too hot to handle, huh?” Kevin teased.

“Is that a dare?” Cassie popped a slice of pepper in her mouth and chewed happily. “Remind me to tell you about the time my brothers dared me to drink from a bottle of Tabasco sauce. They meant one swallow, but I went ahead and downed half the bottle.”

“I can beat that.” Kevin dropped a stack of five jalapeños in his mouth. “When I was in the Air Force, I got third-degree burns on my tongue from a curry I ate in Thailand.”

“Air Force?” Cassie stiffened. Her brother Ben used to be in the Air Force too, but there had to be thousands of people in that category. Before she could ask if he happened to know Ben, someone jostled her elbow, nearly causing her to knock over her drink. “Hey, watch it there.”

“Sorry about th—” The woman turned—and froze when she saw Cassie. “Cassie?”

Cassie felt all the blood drain out of her face. Deirdre Sullivan had made her life a living hell for the last six months that she’d lived in Jupiter Point. She’d stolen the boy Cassie was in love with, mocked her behind her back, spread rumors about her.

Deirdre was one of the reasons she’d wanted to leave Jupiter Point. Of course, it figured Cassie would run into her just when she was starting to relax. And she couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. Because all that humiliation came rushing back full force.

“I heard you were moving back,” Deirdre said. Her shining chestnut hair was shorter, with flirty layers, but her eyes were just as big and blue as ever. She still had a tough-girl, rebel edge to her.

Cassie finally managed to make her mouth work. “Moving is overstating it.”

Deirdre’s gaze traveled past Cassie to Kevin—who Cassie had forgotten about in the shock of seeing the worst of all the ghosts from her past. “Well, even so, welcome back. Looks like things are going great for you.”

Cassie gritted her teeth. Going great? She’d spent the past twelve years babysitting her mother, and now was back to help her brothers find the man who had killed their father. By what crazy definition did that count as “going great”?

Then she realized what Deirdre must be talking about.

Kevin. The handsome stranger. Who’d just moved to town and therefore was unfamiliar to Deirdre.

Cassie leaned back until she made contact with Kevin, his hard chest warm against her shoulder blades. “Oh yes, things have been amazing. Really incredible. This is Kevin, by the way. Kevin, darling, this is Deirdre.”

She was putting complete faith in Kevin’s quick-wittedness. Would he come through? Would he want to come through? Just to emphasize the point, she put a hand on his knee. The feel of hard muscles under denim sent a thrill through her.

“Nice to meet you, Deirdre.” Kevin offered her a handshake, which meant he had to lean past Cassie in the process. The little hairs on Cassie’s skin rose up in response. He smelled really, really good. There was a clean, spicy aftershave involved, and then a hint of motor oil, which happened to be one of Cassie’s favorite smells. “Cassie’s told me so much about—” She twitched a little, enough to let him know he was on the wrong track, that she and Deirdre were not friends. Seamlessly, he switched gears. “Jupiter Point. It’s a pleasure to finally see it.”

“It’s a nice little town, great place to grow up, right Cassie?” Deirdre smiled at her a little ruefully.

Cassie stared in disbelief. Didn’t Deirdre remember all the crap she’d pulled, how she’d tormented her?

“That’s, uh…one way to put it,” she muttered.

Deirdre pulled a little face. Apology? Regret? None of the above? “Things changed a lot after you left. Maybe we can have lunch sometime and catch up.”

What the heck was Deirdre up to? Based on their past history, Cassie didn’t trust her for a second. Hell would freeze over and she’d be ice skating with the devil before she shared a meal with Deirdre. “Oh, well, I’m going to be pretty busy, but we’ll see.”

Deirdre actually looked disappointed. “Working with your brothers?”

“They want me to, but I’ll probably pass on that. I’m used to fending for myself.”

“You always were a tough cookie. You got lucky, Kevin…” She drew it out as a question.

“Kevin O’Donnell.”

He put a warm hand on the curve of Cassie’s neck, where it met her shoulder. It rested lightly there, as if sending her a message. Relax. We got this. You’re all right. Normally, she wouldn’t be too crazy about a strange man putting his hand on her neck. But this felt good. Comforting.

“And are you two—” Deirdre glanced from one to the other of them.

“Absolutely,” Kevin said before she could finish the sentence.

“Oh yes.” Cassie nodded. “Definitely.”

Deirdre looked confused, probably because she hadn’t actually asked a question. “That’s cool. Honestly, you look really happy together. That’s great. It’s kind of a load off my mind, Cassie.”

What Cassie wouldn’t give to throat punch her right now. Why was it her job to relieve Deirdre’s guilty conscience? But now that she’d started down this path, she had to play it to the hilt. “Yup, it’s amazing how great sex can completely transform your life.” She reached up and touched Kevin’s jaw, her fingers passing lightly across the grain of his scruff.

On the back of her neck, his thumb made a slow, leisurely circle. “Oh come on, Cassie,” he murmured. “Sure, sex is important, but don’t forget the romance. That’s the real key,” he told Deirdre. “Those romantic gestures, mutual respect and adoration, always having each other’s backs, that’s what makes it work, you know?”

Deirdre sighed, as if his words had completely hypnotized her. “Wow. Where did you find him, Cassie?”

On a barstool at Barstow’s about ten minutes ago… “I guess I was just in the right place at the right time.”

“When it’s right, it’s right,” Kevin added. That thumb was driving her crazy. But she didn’t move for fear he would stop. It just felt so good. “Doesn’t take long once you find the right one.”

“Well, you have no idea how lucky you are,” said Deirdre. “I’m genuinely happy for you.”

Cassie scrutinized her face, but saw nothing other than an honest smile. Weird. Deirdre had never wished her well in the past.

“So, what do you do?” Deirdre looked from one to the other again, somewhat wistfully. Cassie couldn’t tell if she meant her or Kevin, and in her own case, it was a complicated question. She’d had many jobs over the years, most of them unskilled. But recently she’d completed her training to become a licensed auto mechanic. That was the job she was the most proud of, so why not show it off?

“I’m a mechanic,” she said, at the same time that Kevin said the exact same words.

She must have imagined it.

“Mechanic,” she repeated.

“Airplane mechanic,” he said at the same time.

“You’re both mechanics? Well, isn’t that a romance for the ages? I’d love to hear the story behind that.”

Cassie turned around to stare at Kevin, completely forgetting about their half-assed charade. “Wait, wha⁠—?”

Eyes gleaming, either with warning or amusement, he put his finger on her lips.

For a moment she stared at him, taking in all kinds of new details. The laugh lines fanning from his eyes, the slight shadows under them, the bump in his nose where it might have gotten broken.

Then a ghost of a wink brought her back to the mission. Get Deirdre off her back.

She turned back to face her old nemesis and nestled herself against the big warm body behind her. “It’s definitely quite a story. You probably wouldn’t believe it if we told it, but that’s all ancient history now. Good running into you, Deirdre. Maybe we’ll see you around.”

In a dismissive move, she turned back toward Kevin just as his arm came around her. Hopefully Deirdre would get the message that they wanted to be alone.

He bent his head and whispered in her ear. “She’s not leaving yet. Looks like she still has something to say.”

What the heck? What would it take to get rid of the woman?

Time for extreme measures.

She slid her hands up Kevin’s chest and tilted her head. With her back now entirely turned toward Deirdre, she mouthed a message to him. Kiss me?

His eyes widened as he took in her meaning. He wouldn’t mind, would he? Kissing a strange woman wouldn’t be a chore, would it? He’d spoken to her first, after all.

Unless he was married. She hadn’t noticed a wedding ring. But he could have a girlfriend. Or be gay.

Yeah, this was stupid. She could handle this on her own. She could face Deirdre without a human crutch.

Just as Kevin was moving in for the kiss, his sexy, stubble-framed lips hovering above hers, she spun her stool around. “Sorry about that, Deirdre. We get a little carried away with the PDAs sometimes, you know how it is. I’ll call you about lunch.”

2

Okay then. So much for obliging a damsel in distress. Kevin wondered just how stupid he looked hanging over Cassie, his lips formed for a kiss, ready and willing. More than willing.

He sat back and grabbed his beer bottle. Maybe it would hide his red face.

The other woman said goodbye and left, wending her way through the crowd. Cassie spun the stool back to face him. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have put you in that position, and I realized it at the last minute, and you’re a champ for going along with it as far as you did. Buy you a beer?”

She twisted her face in an expression of abject, almost comical apology. Something about her really tickled his funny bone. Even though she was pretty, with long strawberry-blond hair tucked behind her ears, sunny blue eyes, a tomboyish quality and a killer body, he’d been drawn to her by something else. A wry, feisty attitude, with a hint of loneliness. The contrast intrigued him.

Or maybe she just seemed like good company to pass the time with until he had to pick up Holly.

“No thanks on the beer. One’s my limit.”

Instead of mocking him for that non-chest-beating kind of statement, she cocked her head at him. “Me too. I never drink more than one.”

“Looks like we really are soul mates. Jalapeños don’t lie.” He dragged a tortilla through melted cheese, then topped it with a few peppers. The combination set his mouth on fire. If he couldn’t kiss Cassie, he’d have to make do with nachos. “So what’s the story with you and your friend?”

“Not a friend. Believe me. She…” Cassie looked away and took a swig from her beer. “If you’ve ever seen Mean Girls, you got the basics. She hated me in high school. Stole the guy I liked. Broke my heart.”

“Ouch. Baby’s first heartbreak. No fun. We’ve all been there.” He tilted his bottle against hers for a sympathetic clink. “Here’s to broken hearts. May they make us better humans.”

She crinkled her forehead at him. “You’re a very unusual guy.”

“No, I’m not. Haven’t you listened to any country music lately? Without broken hearts there wouldn’t be much to sing about.”

“Okay, so who broke your heart?”

Oh no. He wasn’t about to get too personal too quickly. She’d just left him hanging in mid-almost-kiss. “Whoa there, Nellie. I thought we were just contemporaneously drinking here.”

“That was before.” She popped another jalapeño onto her tongue, not even bothering with the cheese to temper it. He had to admit he was impressed.

“Before I came to your rescue? You’re welcome, by the way. Not that I minded. I’m a rescuer at heart. You can count on me for any future rescues from awkward situations, especially if they involve kissing. Or almost-kissing.”

She laughed. It had an amazing effect on her face, that laugh, as if someone had just turned on a light inside her.

He’d considered her attractive before, but under the full force of that smile, his heart stuttered, like a plane hitting an air pocket. He wouldn’t mind seeing that smile and hearing that laugh again. And again.

“You’re a great almost-kisser, by the way,” she told him. “I think that was the best almost-kiss I’ve ever experienced.”

“Just scratching the surface, lady. The almost version ain’t nothing compared to the real thing.” He winked at her. “I know why you stopped, by the way.”

“Um, because I didn’t want to take advantage of a stranger in a bar? Or maybe I didn’t want to kiss someone I’d only met ten minutes earlier?”

He squinted at her and reached for another sliced jalapeño. “While those are very good, logical reasons, I’m not buying it. You stopped because us kissing would have been just like this pepper. Too hot to handle.”

She arched one eyebrow, then plucked the jalapeño from his fingers and tossed it into her mouth. Cool as an ocean breeze, she swallowed it down. “I guess we’ll never know, will we?”

Damn. This girl was trouble.

His cell buzzed. Must be Holly, finally ready for her pickup from the movies. Just when things were getting interesting, too.

He dug out his phone and looked at his daughter’s message. Movie’s done, but can I hang out a little more?

“Excuse me,” he said to Cassie as he composed his answer. She shrugged and turned away. The bartender appeared and said something to her that Kevin couldn’t hear. She glanced over her shoulder at the crowd, then nodded and pulled out her wallet.

Crap, she was going to disappear. He didn’t want her to disappear. He wanted her to stay next to him on that barstool and smile some more.

His phone rang. Holly, calling to reinforce her request. He answered with a, “Hang on a sec, Holly.”

Then he turned to Cassie, who was in the midst of putting a twenty-dollar bill on the bar. “Are you leaving?”

“No, that’s the whole point, I don’t want to leave! Can I stay a little more?” asked Holly, in her best ‘I’m fifteen and my dad’s an idiot’ voice.

“Will you just give me a second?” he answered, still looking at Cassie.

She gave him a perplexed frown. “Okay. What’s up?”

“How can I find you?”

“I’m at the movie theater!” Holly said in his ear. “Right where you dropped me off! Jeez, Dad, what’s wrong with you?”

“Stop answering my questions,” he told Holly.

Cassie laughed and gave him a little wave. “I’ll leave you to your phone call. Hey, maybe I’ll see you around. It’s a small town.”

She slid off the stool, and for the first time he noticed what she was wearing. Jean short-shorts hugged her ass, while patterned leggings clung to her long legs. She was somewhere between tomboy and bombshell—casual, sexy, and hot as hell. His moment of silence while he soaked in the sight of her cost him. She was a few steps away before he could ask her for more specifics, like a phone number or some other way to find her.

“Shit,” he muttered.

“Dad. Do we need to set up another swear jar?” Holly laughed on the other end of the phone.

Giving up on his efforts with Cassie, he turned back to the bar and focused on his daughter.

“So this hanging out you’re talking about…what exactly does it mean?” Their neighbor’s teenage daughter had invited Holly to join her pack of friends at the movies. Holly had jumped at the offer, since moving to a new town just before the end of the school year was tough.

“It means we’re going to walk two blocks to the Milky Way Ice Cream Parlor and order a fudge sundae, right after we knock over an ATM for some extra cash.”

“You’re hilarious. Fine. I’ll pick you up at the Milky Way in half an hour. It’s still a school night, remember.”

Holly muttered something and hung up. Even though he didn’t like being grumbled at, he usually let it slide. He didn’t see any upside in getting upset about the little stuff, especially as a single parent. In the old days, when Sylvie was still around, they could pull a bad cop-good cop routine. Now that it was just him, he picked his battles a lot more carefully.

God knew he was a flawed parent. He’d basically missed the first eight years of Holly’s life. Now his only mission was basically not to screw things up even more. If he could manage to give his kid a decent childhood, despite everything working against her, he’d consider himself a big success.

As he finished his beer, he casually listened in on the conversations taking place around him. Normal small-town stuff. Plans for a fishing trip. Discussion of the new steakhouse that had just opened. Speculation about the movie star Savannah St. James, who had just moved back to town.

Then he heard another name—Cassie. His ears perked up.

His Cassie? The Cassie he’d almost kissed?

He strained to hear the rest of the conversation. He caught the word “murder” and the phrase “went off the deep end.”

Uh-oh. That was definitely not what he was expecting.

Maybe it would better if he didn’t run into Cassie again after all.

He finished his beer as slowly as he could, then paid and made his way toward the exit. He thought he caught a glimpse of long strawberry-blond hair out of the corner of his eye, but when he looked that way, all he saw were the Knight brothers, Tobias and Ben—his new bosses. Tobias caught his eye and lifted his beer in greeting. He nodded in response, but didn’t stop to say hello. He didn’t want to be late to pick up Holly, and he’d be seeing plenty of the Knight brothers in the near future.

In his 1969 Lamborghini Islero—the one indulgence he’d kept from his freewheeling stunt pilot days—he drove to the historic downtown area of Jupiter Point, soaking in the tranquility and charm of the town. This was what he wanted for Holly. A nice, stable life in a town where people looked out for each other. Obviously no town was perfect—he had no illusions about that. But surely a coastal town that catered to honeymooners and whose motto was “Remember to Look Up at the Stars” would be a step up from a military base.

Outside the Milky Way Ice Cream Parlor, Holly stood with a small group of girls who all seemed to be talking and laughing at once. She caught sight of his car and said something to the others, then ran toward him. Once inside, she settled her little backpack on her lap.

“Let’s go,” she said.

So, apparently he was playing chauffeur tonight. “Did you have fun?”

“Yeah. They’re nice. They said I should sit with them at lunch tomorrow.” She fiddled with her shell bracelet, which she’d gotten on their first post-Sylvie trip to Hawaii. “It felt like an outtake of Mean Girls. ‘On Wednesdays, we wear pink.’”

Huh. Second time tonight that movie had gotten a mention. He flashed on the image of Cassie, her face tilted under his, her pink lips parted, awaiting his kiss. Damn, now he was going to be tormented with curiosity about the kiss that could have been.

“Maybe it’s from a sequel called Nice Girls.”

“Yeah, no, Dad. Don’t even try with the jokes. Why do fathers think they’re funny?”

“The real question is, why don’t their daughters?”

She made a sassy face at him and searched through her backpack for her phone. Lately she’d been disappearing into her ear buds for hours at a time. He missed talking to her, although he wanted to respect her desire for alone time.

“What are you doing?”

“Posting about the movie.”

“Of course. The sacred ritual. Unless you post about it, it doesn’t count.”

“What did I just say about the jokes?” But her smile took the edge off her jibe. Puberty sucked, he reminded himself. So did being the new kid in town. So did being abandoned by your mother. So many things in Holly’s life were difficult, and it was hard not to blame himself for everything except the puberty part.

In just a few minutes, they’d reached the waterfront, where their new apartment was located. He’d left the final choice of home up to Holly. She’d passed on the sweet little suburban bungalow and chosen a loft in a converted warehouse. Ornery girl. But at least it had a covered parking garage for his Lamborghini.

Inside the loft, they both went right to the kitchen and he pulled out the makings for her favorite snack, cheese quesadillas. Lately, she was always hungry, so he was anticipating another growth spurt. It was unnerving how fast she was maturing.

“So you liked the girls, you have someone to sit with tomorrow at lunch, what other big news is there?”

“Well, I’m considering becoming a Goth.”

“Huh.”

Don’t be too quick to criticize your teenager’s wardrobe choices. Accept that they might want to explore parts of their identity. Don’t overreact. The pan sizzled as he flipped the tortilla and sprinkled grated cheese on top.

“I’m just kidding. I’m really not sure that look would work for me. Besides, makeup makes my skin break out, thanks to Mom’s super-sensitive Asian skin that she just had to pass on.”

“Any look would work for you,” he said loyally. “Not that I’m rooting for Goth, unless that’s really what you want, in which case, hey, sounds fun.” He slid the quesadilla over to her.

“Nice try. I did think about it, just because I get tired of people telling me to smile. If you’re a Goth, you’re not expected to smile. That’s the whole point. You’re angsty and morose, and you’re constantly thinking deep thoughts and processing trauma or something. You’d never dare tell a Goth to smile, would you?”

“Nope. I might tell her to eat her quesadilla though.”

She grabbed the hot sauce they kept prominently on their kitchen table—which of course made him think of Cassie and her love for jalapeños. He hadn’t even gotten her last name, but chatting with her had been the highlight of his brief time in Jupiter Point so far. She’d made him laugh, she’d gotten under his skin, she’d gotten him hot under the collar. Who was she and where could he find her again?

That is, if she wasn’t involved in murder and going off the deep end.

“Dad.” Holly was snapping her fingers at him. “Let me guess. You met someone while I was at the movies.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because every time I’m not with you, some woman comes onto you. Like clockwork. It’s so predictable.”

“That’s not true, but if it were, who can blame them?” He preened, striking a goofy male model pose.

She rolled her eyes. “Get over yourself. Besides, you promised.”

“I did. And I keep my promises. How old are you again?”

“Fifteen. Only three more years to go.” She grinned at him and picked up her quesadilla. With her plate in one hand, phone in the other, she wandered out of the kitchen.

Three more years He could make that work, right? For Holly, he could do it.

Since he and Sylvie had split, Holly had watched a trail of her mom’s boyfriends come and go. When she’d first come to live with him, after he’d left the Air Force for good, she used to wake up from nightmares about being abandoned in a warehouse, or in an underground tunnel system, or in the middle of the ocean. The settings changed, but the feeling remained the same. Loneliness, terror, abandonment.

So when he gained sole custody, he’d promised Holly that he would put her first in his life. No matter what. That meant no serious relationships. Not until Holly turned eighteen.

That didn’t rule out sex, fortunately. He found his ways. “Relationships” didn’t have to be part of the picture. Plenty of women were fine with casual companionship and hot times between the sheets. As long as both parties were on board with the plan, it wasn’t a problem.

So far he’d had no trouble keeping his promise to Holly. He hadn’t been tempted to do anything beyond casual sex.

He picked up the bottle of Tabasco and put a drop on his tongue. Had Cassie really downed an entire half bottle of this stuff? On a dare from her brothers?

She—and her brothers—sounded like a lot of fun. He’d really screwed up, not getting her number.

Maybe it was for the best. Even if he did run into Cassie again, it couldn’t go anywhere. Holly came first. She had to. If he caused any more emotional harm to his poor daughter, he’d never forgive himself.

Just don’t screw it up, O’Donnell. Is that so hard?

Honestly, his time in the Air Force was a breeze compared to raising a daughter on his own.

3

For the past twelve years, ever since the murder of Robert Knight, the Knight family had been scattered in all directions. Will, the oldest, had stayed in Jupiter Point to raise Aiden, the baby of the family. Ben had been in the Air Force, Tobias in the Army. Meanwhile, Cassie had left town with their mother.

But now, finally, they were all back in Jupiter Point, except for Aiden who was just finishing up his first year in college. It wasn’t just a family reunion, though. Will was closer than ever to finding Dad’s killer. That was why Mom had wanted to come back, and Cassie had agreed. Twelve years of no answers was enough.

And twelve years away from her brothers had made her forget how much fun they were—on a good day.

This was a good day.

“Just a few more steps,” Ben said in a teasing voice. At least Cassie assumed it was Ben; she couldn’t see him because she was wearing a blindfold. Her crazy brothers had insisted that she wear one so she could be completely surprised by the amazing gift they were giving her. For days they’d been talking about it. Now, finally, it had arrived—whatever it was.

Cassie knew they’d driven to the little airstrip where Knight and Day Flight Tours was located. She knew her brothers had guided her into the hangar. Beyond that, she had no earthly idea what this alleged spectacular present could possibly be. After all these years apart, her brothers barely knew her anymore. What were the chances that this present lived up to the hype?

“Why do you have to make such a big deal out of this?” Even though she grumbled, she was actually pretty touched by the whole thing.

“We have to make up for all those years of missing your birthday,” said Tobias. He had the deepest voice, befitting his tough-guy appearance. Of course, anyone who knew him saw past the muscular exterior to the loyal family guy inside.

“Are you kidding? This will make up for all future birthday presents, too,” Will chimed in.

“None of us will ever owe you another present after this one,” Ben added.

Cassie laughed behind the blindfold. “You guys are just torturing me, aren’t you? That’s what’s really going on. You’re making up for all that lost teasing time.”

“Hmm, I didn’t think of that, but you make a good point. We’ll get on that. Right after we give you…drumroll please…” Ben made a drumming sound, while the other brothers banged on something—a metal wall, maybe?

Ben worked at the knot in the cloth around her eyes. “Presenting…damn it, who tied this thing?”

“You really have to work on your kidnapping skills,” Cassie teased.

“Things you don’t expect your little sister to tell you.” The cloth loosened, and a sliver of light appeared. “One more time, guys. Presenting…”

The cloth fell away, and Cassie blinked at the onslaught of fluorescent light. It took her a moment for her eyesight to adjust, and for her to orient herself.

Knight and Day, check. Hangar, check. Cessna 206, check. And that other item, taking up an entire corner of the hangar…

She whirled on her brothers. “A lift? Seriously, you got me a lift?”

Tobias smiled smugly. “A Dannmar two-post symmetric lift, to be exact. That’s not all. There’s a floor jack in there too.”

“And a creeper, and a catalogue to order the rest of what you need,” said Will. “The guys have a pretty well-stocked shop here already, but you can add whatever you need.”

She gaped at her older brothers, three big handsome men grinning like kids. “So you’re saying…”

“Welcome to the crew.” Ben was smiling so hard it looked like his face might split open. “Since airplanes aren’t your thing, we figured you could squeeze some cars in here.”

“We’re trying to inspire you to stay a while longer.” Will’s penetrating gray eyes seemed to see right into her secret antsiness. “You can still do whatever you want, obviously. But it might be hard to leave this baby behind.” He gestured at the lift. “Twelve thousand pound capacity, steel pulleys. It’s a beauty.”

She stared at the gleaming masterpiece of mechanical craftsmanship, then back at her three brothers. “You guys really do know me.”

“Not as well as we used to, but I remember how you used to help Dad out with his rigs. You changed my rotors when you were fifteen, remember that? And it was hard to miss the way you bragged about your certification.” Ben ruffled her hair, an annoying brotherly gesture if ever there was one.

“I didn’t brag.”

“You’re right. You gloated,” said Tobias with a smirk. “As you should. It’s a hell of an accomplishment. My little sister, the mechanic. It’s just too bad you don’t work on planes, or we would have tried to hire you.”

Cassie tried to imagine working for her testosterone-loaded brothers. Even though Ben and Tobias, who ran Knight and Day, were warm and thoughtful men, they were still her big brothers. “It’s probably better this way.”

“We figured as much. You don’t have to keep the lift here, but the space is yours if you want it.”

She breathed in the familiar shop smell of fuel and hand cleaner. That aroma always made her feel at home, in a bittersweet way. It made her feel close to her father again. “But how could you afford something like this?”

“Dad’s insurance,” Will explained.

For a moment, they all fell silent. After Robert Knight’s murder had fractured their lives, they’d each received a payout from his life insurance. Tobias and Ben had used theirs to start Knight and Day; Will had used his to provide the best possible home for Aiden. She’d used hers to keep her and Mom afloat through crisis after crisis. She was surprised any of those funds were left.

“I still can’t even believe this.” She stepped across the concrete floor toward the gleaming, brand-new lift. “I think this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

Her brothers followed. Ben put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She couldn’t help thinking of Kevin from the bar, and the way his hand had felt on the back of her neck. Not like this brotherly touch—not at all.

Tobias shoved his hands in his pockets and surveyed the Dannmar lift admiringly. “We were trying to think of names you could use for your shop. Cassie’s Corner, because it’s in the corner of the hangar.”

“Knight Rider, of course,” said Ben, making them all laugh.

“I like Cars by Cassie,” Will said.

“When your car’s got trouble, Cassie’s your lassie,” sang Tobias.

Still laughing, Cassie ran the last few steps to the lift and hugged the blue-painted steel post. “That’s perfect for an ad, Tobias!” She broke into a little tap dance and continued the song. “When your rotors need a-changing, Cassie’s your lassie. When your engine needs a tune-up, Cassie’s your lassie.”

Ben tap-danced alongside her, a big, goofy backup singer. “She might be kind of sassy, but she’s always extra classy.”

Cassie clapped in delight and kept tap-dancing. “And if you don’t behave, she’ll kick you in the ass-y!”

All the brothers burst out laughing. Cassie ended her dance with a jazz-hands pose and a big grin—and that was when she caught sight of the man who had just walked into the hangar.