Edge of Danger (San Antonio Security #2)

Chapter Fifteen

Telling the truth hadn’t been easy. Putting it out there and hoping Brax would understand. Leaving her life in his hands.

Tessa kissed Walker for the fiftieth time since Brax had handed him to her. Coming clean had been worth the fear. And this was her reward.

“Come on, buddy,” she whispered, guiding the bottle to Walker’s mouth. “Let’s have our dinner so you can go to bed.”

Brax was on the phone, pacing the kitchen. She could hear him down there from the nursery, though there was no making out exactly what he said.

It was enough to know he believed her. And she’d believed him when he’d told her so. This wasn’t a game to lure her into trusting him.

“There I was,” she whispered to Walker with a smile, “thinking he’d call the cops before I even finished, you know? I just knew he wouldn’t believe me. That he would take you away. But he surprised me.”

Brax’s deep voice reverberated from downstairs.

“He’s a surprising man,” she concluded as Walker finished his bottle.

She burped and changed him before putting him down to sleep. His fine hair was so soft under her fingers as she stroked his head. “I love you so much. Nobody’s going to take you away again. You know how I know? Because your uncle Brax is on it now.”

He was in the process of wrapping things up on the phone when she went downstairs. “We’ll touch base on that first thing in the morning. For now, let’s look up the paperwork involved in the custody case and follow up with CPS about the reports.”

He turned to her when she reached the doorway leading from the dining room. “They’re on it. And once my brothers decide to get to the bottom of something, consider it done.”

“I can’t thank you enough. For everything.”

He cocked an eyebrow, eyes twinkling. “What did I do?”

“Are you kidding? Or is this your way of getting me to list everything you’ve done for me so far?” She held up a hand, counting off on her fingers. “You gave me somewhere to live when I had literally nowhere to go. You believed me when you could’ve easily called the cops and turned your back on me. You called your brothers and got them on the case. And this won’t be the end of it. You’ll find ways to keep amazing me.”

It was gratifying, the way his charming smile slid into sheepishness. “Don’t worry about it. I know Robert, and I’m so very sorry he hurt you.”

There was no way to answer that, so she shrugged it off. “I’m starving. I can get something together for us.”

“Don’t bother with that.” He placed his hands on her shoulders and steered her to the table. “Take a seat. I’ll handle dinner.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“You deserve to have somebody take care of you after everything you’ve been through. It’s the least I can do.” He bent, looking through the fridge. “Though I can’t guarantee it’ll be gourmet cuisine. We’re a little low on supplies. I didn’t plan on coming back until tomorrow.”

“I don’t need anything gourmet.” She rested her head on her palm, watching him. There was something to be said for a man who knew his way around the kitchen.

Especially when the man in question looked like Brax.

He eyed her while opening a jar of spaghetti sauce. “You had a little time to talk with Mom today. Did she scare you off?”

Tessa laughed softly, since the opposite was true. “I doubt she could scare anybody off.”

“Think again. But you’re not a teenager with an attitude, so it’s probably different for you.”

“I guess she had to be pretty tough to keep you guys in line.”

“We didn’t always make it easy on her.” He poured the sauce into a pan and covered it, setting it aside while a larger pot filled with water in the sink. “But somehow, she and Dad made it work. And let me tell you, I never imagined I’d look at my brothers as anything but strangers. Now? They’re more my brothers than Robert will ever be.”

She frowned at the sound of his name. It was sort of a habit. “How the two of you could share DNA is beyond me.”

“I think being half brothers helps—and the fact that we weren’t raised together. We didn’t even know about each other until I did one of those genetic test things a few years back.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, one of those late-night impulse decisions. Ordering the test, spitting into a tube.” He lifted a shoulder like it didn’t matter, but Tessa noticed the way he averted his eyes. It had obviously mattered, finding his blood relatives.

“So you share a...”

“Father. He was an affair my mom had. Or rather, my father was already married to Robert’s mother.”

She winced. “I see.”

“He never acknowledged me. I was nine when my mother died. Without a father willing to claim me and no other family, I went into foster care.”

“I’m really sorry.”

Another shrug. He salted the pasta water before turning to the pantry. “I had a hard time. I thought I was a pretty tough kid by the time Mom and Dad took me in. The Pattersons, I mean. Two years on the streets and in some sketchy foster homes had hardened me, and life hadn’t exactly been easy before then.”

“But you came around.”

“I did. It wasn’t easy for anybody, of course, but I got there. I was one of the lucky ones.”

He turned to her with a sigh, concern etched on his handsome face. Even more handsome now that he knew about her past and hadn’t turned her away.

Before now, she couldn’t have imagined him being more attractive than he already was, since he’d been heart-stopping the second she’d laid eyes on him.

“To be honest, that’s one of the reasons we all want to help Walker. He told me you were dead. It never occurred to me to fact check that info. And if I refused to take custody or accused Robert of dropping him on me and lying about our arrangement, Walker would’ve gone into foster care. Nobody wanted that.”

She shivered at the thought. “Thank you again, then. For taking care of my son.”

“Hey, he’s a cute kid. And just about as smart as his uncle, but not quite.”

“Considering he’s barely more than five months old, I don’t know what that says about you.”

It was good to hear Brax laugh, and it felt good to laugh along with him. If it wasn’t for the whole Robert-on-the-run situation, they might be any other couple in the world enjoying a quiet night together.

Wow. Had she just thought of them as a couple?

“Like I said, nothing fancy.” Brax brought a steaming bowl of spaghetti to the table to go with the salad he’d already prepared and freshly warmed rolls.

“Nothing fancy? I lived on cereal and instant noodles for way longer than I feel comfortable admitting. This is a feast.”

Tessa attacked her food. It wasn’t until then that she realized that she hadn’t had much of an appetite for a long time. The weight of secrets and fear had been heavy.

“I have to ask you something.” He rested his elbows on the table, and she didn’t think it would be right to correct him. “What attracted you to Robert? I know you said he was charming.”

Yes, he used to be, and now that Tessa understood the specifics of his relationship to Brax, she knew their father must’ve been a real handsome devil of a man. He’d passed those looks on to both of his sons, along with his charm.

“What else did I need?” She shrugged. “Like I said, I was lonely. He must’ve seen that in me. Some people know how to home in on that and take advantage.”

“He’s the type, of that I have no doubt.” Brax shook his head in disgust as he took his plate to the sink.

Funny how his father had passed on his selfishness to Robert but not to Brax.

Brax was good. Honest. Decent. Even after being hit with some of the worst life had to offer, he hadn’t become hard and cold.

“At least let me help with the dishes,” she offered, bringing her plate to the sink. “How about you dry? I’ll wash up.”

“You won’t get an argument out of me.” He grinned. “I hate washing dishes. I’ll cook all day, but I’d have to use disposable plates.”

She only shook her head with a smile. “Let me guess, washing dishes was one of your chores as a kid.”

“How’d you know?” he asked as she giggled helplessly.

“Cooking was my chore once I was old enough to handle it. But unlike you, that only made me love it.”

“That’s because it’s possible to lend a little imagination to cooking, and it’s a lot more gratifying. There’s only so many ways to wash a dish. It’s not much fun.”

“It can be.” She shrugged, biting back a smile.

“How?”

She splashed him with sudsy water. “That’s how!”

“No fair!” He reached into the sink and splashed her, then blew a mountain of suds toward her face.

Laughing uncontrollably, she tried to duck out of the way, but the wet floor had ideas of its own. She slipped, arms pinwheeling as she lost control of her body.

“Careful!” Brax was still laughing when he caught her before she hit the floor. “See? That’s what you get for trying to be cute.”

She looked up into his shining eyes, breathless and giggling and having more fun than she’d had in a very long time. Something she saw there silenced her. She could hardly breathe.

He hooked a finger under her chin, tipping her head back. Her eyes drifted to his lips a heartbeat before those lips touched hers.

He was so different from Robert.

The fact that Robert came into her thoughts at all seemed like a sacrilege, but there was no helping the comparison at first. It came up on its own, without her consciously thinking about it.

Robert had been slick. Forcing his way into her mouth like he was staking a claim on her. Caring only about how it made him feel. Brax was in an entirely different league—no big surprise, since he was in a different league in every other way imaginable.

He took his time, moving his lips against hers in a firm but gentle way. Wanting, but not forcing. Coaxing her.

The hand under her chin cupped her cheek while the other pressed against the small of her back and pulled her closer. She reveled in it, since there was no way to be close enough to him. Her hands rested against his chest where his heart hammered away. Hers did too, slamming against her ribs, leaving her weak and fluttery.

It was the most thrilling sensation. The sort of first kiss a woman dreamed about after reading about it in books or seeing it in movies. The sort of kiss she’d never imagined anybody would give her.

When his arm tightened around her and the kiss deepened, her entire body came alive. Yes, this was what she wanted. This was right and perfect. The scent of his cologne, his warm breath on her face, the sense of safety in his strong arms.

It ended too soon.

She leaned in a little further, chasing after what he was taking away. Her heart ached almost as much as her unsatisfied body.

“I’m sorry,” Brax murmured, stroking her cheek one more time before letting his hands fall to his sides.

“Is it me?” she whispered. Was she not what he wanted?

“Oh, no. No, that’s not it at all.” He crammed his fists into his pockets, shoulders raised near his ears. “Believe me. I want you, Tessa. Badly.”

“You do?”

He managed a faint smile. “Too much, maybe. But it wouldn’t be right this way. You’re caught up in a situation beyond your control. Let’s get that settled and clear your name, and then we can focus on...us. If that’s what you want.”

That was what she wanted—that and so much more.

Before she could say anything to embarrass herself, the sound of Walker’s cries came from the monitor on the counter. It was almost a relief having an excuse to leave the kitchen and gather herself a little. She made a quick escape with her cheeks still flushed and her lips tingling from Brax’s kiss.

Just when she thought there couldn’t be more of a reason to clear her name.