LITMIR.BIZ

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her the once-over and arched a brow, wordlessly communicating that a woman like Erin had no business following David McCay out into the night.

      Normally Erin would agree, but this was more than her hidden crush on the man. It was about helping a troubled five-year-old boy. Erin’s students were family to her, and she took her responsibility to heart. She had a Spidey sense for the ones who needed a little extra; whether it was the child or their family circumstances, Erin made it her mission to connect with every student in her care.

      From the moment Rhett McCay had slunk into her classroom clutching his beautiful mother’s arm, Erin’s radar had been on high alert. Jenna McCay clearly loved her son, yet the woman seemed high-strung and flighty. Erin had the impression Rhett’s home life was anything but stable.

      She might not have the guts to talk to David on her own, but she was fearless when it came to one of her kids.

      A huge black Chevy truck idled near the curb, and she knew David was behind the wheel. Not that she was a stalker or anything, but Crimson was a small town and she’d seen him drop off and pick up Rhett at school several times.

      “I’m fearless,” she whispered to herself when her legs wanted to stop on the sidewalk. It was late September and the evening air was crisp, the changing season scenting the breeze.

      If Erin were an ice cream flavor, she would be straight-up vanilla. Everything about her life was ordinary, ordered and infinitely normal. Somehow she knew getting into David’s truck was going to add a whole slew of strange toppings to the mix. She might long for adventure, but this wasn’t what she had in mind.

      She conjured up Rhett’s sweet face, with his shaggy blond bowl cut and mischievous blue eyes. With a calming breath she moved forward, opened the passenger-side door and climbed in.

      “You ready?” David asked in that deep, hot-caramel-syrup voice of his.

      Absolutely not, Erin thought.

      “I’m ready,” she answered.

      * * *

      David was going to kill his little sister, if she didn’t manage the task on her own first.

      He concentrated on navigating the route from the bar to Jenna’s small apartment complex on the outskirts of Crimson as fast as he could without breaking any laws. He took slow breaths in and out to calm himself. Of course any thoughts of doing her harm were a joke, although she seemed hell-bent on getting into as much trouble as she could find.

      Which had been one thing when they were teenagers, but Jenna had Rhett now. The constant stream of dead-end jobs, loser boyfriends and wild partying wasn’t only hurting her. The thought that Rhett would end up somehow irreparably scarred kept David up more nights than he cared to admit.

      He’d moved to Crimson from Pittsburgh almost two years ago to watch out for them. But between the hours he’d put in opening the brewery and Jenna’s resentment over what she saw as his attempts to control her life, he hadn’t spent nearly as much time with them as he wanted.

      His greatest fear was that he would fail his nephew the same way he’d failed Jenna.

      “I’m guessing you and your sister are pretty close?”

      David blinked and glanced at the woman sitting next to him in the truck’s cab. Lost in his own thoughts, he’d almost forgotten about his uninvited passenger. What the hell had possessed him to allow Rhett’s kindergarten teacher to come along on this mission anyway?

      David was a master at keeping everyone in his life at arm’s length, even Jenna and Rhett. How had this tiny woman with the thick ponytail the color of maple syrup and big eyes to match managed to slip through his defenses?

      “We’re Irish twins,” he offered as an answer. “Ten months apart.”

      “That must have been fun growing up,” she said, her voice gentle. The exact kind of voice that could lull a classroom of restless kids into sitting in a quiet circle to learn. Most kids anyway. He still had trouble believing Rhett could calm his squirmy body enough to sit still.

      “Not for our mom.”

      She gave a small laugh. “If Rhett takes after the two of you, your mother had her hands full.”

      “Yeah,” he agreed, and felt the knot in his chest loosen slightly at the affection in her voice. David had no problem with his nephew’s rambunctious personality, but he was normally in the minority.

      He didn’t say anything more, and Erin didn’t speak for a few minutes. David liked quiet, but other than Tracie at the bar, most women he knew couldn’t tolerate it. The silence that filled his truck now was strangely comforting, like an extra blanket thrown over the bed on a cold winter night. Like all good things, it didn’t last.

      “What happened tonight? Is your sister in trouble? Is Rhett okay?”

      David sighed. He knew the questions were coming, and he owed the soft-spoken teacher an explanation before they reached the apartment. “How much did you overhear from Cole?”

      “No details. Just that there was a problem and Rhett wasn’t cooperating.”

      “He’s hiding,” he said, trying in vain to stop the anger and frustration from trickling into his voice. He could feel it seeping through his pores, making his blood run hot and raging. “Apparently he’s wedged under the kitchen sink. Jenna had a party, and things got out of hand. The cops busted it up and found drugs.”

      Erin gave a sharp intake of breath, rousing his temper even further, like a backdraft making a fire blaze out of control. “Jenna loves that boy with all her heart, but she’s in a bad way. It’s why I moved to Crimson in the first place.”

      “To help your sister?”

      To save her, he wanted to answer, but he only nodded. David knew his limitations better than anyone, and he was nobody’s hero.

      “She’s been clean for almost two years,” he said without emotion. “It’s been tough, but I thought she had her demons under control. Cole took everyone to the station. They didn’t realize Rhett was there until the place was empty and he made a noise. The deputies tried to get him out, but he freaked and scratched one of the officers. I know Cole so he called me before the social worker.”

      He bit the inside of his cheek and waited for the recrimination he deserved. He should have seen the signs that Jenna was teetering on the edge. He knew her better than anyone. Why the hell couldn’t he keep her safe?

      He pulled into the parking lot of the shabby apartment complex. There were two buildings, both with faded siding and balconies that looked like they wouldn’t hold the weight of a litter of kittens. He’d begged Jenna to let him help her move to a better place, but his sister was stubborn and resented any time he tried to “take control” of her life.

      “We’ll make sure he’s safe,” Erin said as he turned off the truck’s engine.

      Safe. The word had haunted him—and tainted every relationship in his life—for over a decade. Now this too-sweet-for-her-own-good woman offered it to his nephew like she had that kind of power. Damn if David didn’t want to believe it was true.

      He shifted to face her, the dim light of the parking lot illuminating her face so that her creamy skin looked like something out of a dream. Unable to resist, he ran the pad of his thumb over the ridge of her cheekbone, marveling at how soft her skin felt.

      The inherent goodness radiating from her drew him in at the same time he knew he should push her away. Someone like Erin MacDonald had no business knowing the ugly details of his sister’s struggles. She was Rhett’s teacher and nothing more. But he couldn’t let her go quite yet. Tonight she was his talisman. He had to believe having her close would keep the darkness always skirting the edges of his life at bay.

      He dropped his hand and they got out of the truck and started toward Jenna’s apartment. Toward the little boy David was determined to keep safe, by any means necessary.

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