Playful Hearts (A Rocky Harbor Novel Book 4) Read online

  “You sit, mom. I can get it.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “He’s not an invalid, even though he acts like it. Maybe Mackenzie can help him with his noodles and junk.”

  Mackenzie scowled at her horseshoe partner who did nothing to hide her shit-eating grin.

  “Lucy,” Blake growled.

  “What? It’s not like we all don’t know you two are boinking behind our backs.”

  Mackenzie whipped her head around and glared at Blake. “Way to run your mouth—”

  “Easy there, Mack. I haven’t said a thing.”

  “Thanks for confirming, though.” Lucy stood and patted Blake on the shoulder.

  “You’re a pain in the ass.”

  “Uh, there are kids here.” Colton covered CJ’s ears with his hands.

  “Sorry, man.” Blake nodded toward his brother.

  Mackenzie, mortified that everyone, especially Doreen, now knew they were sleeping together, closed her eyes and hung her head.

  “Lucy’s mouth moves faster than her brain. Sorry, Kenzie, but if it makes you feel any better, this doesn’t come as a shock to any of us. Well, maybe CJ. Other than him, we all knew,” Sage offered.

  Mackenzie moaned and dropped her head into her hands.

  “We saw you making out on the four-wheeler. Couldn’t believe you didn’t hear us until we came up on you,” Rachael offered oh so sweetly.

  The brat was going to be looking for a new job.

  “I would have outed Rachael and Jake, but they’re not ready to come clean. Besides, their news is best broken by them. Your news is juicy and—”

  Blake cut Lucy off. “Okay, you’ve had your fun. Just wait until you bring a guy over. Payback’s a bitch.”

  “Ten-year-old,” Colton warned.

  “Sorry, man.” Blake placed a hand on Mackenzie’s shoulder and nodded toward the house. “Come on. Let’s give them something to talk about.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Blake took her hand anyway and pulled her out of her chair. She could either follow or lock her feet in place and risk falling on her face. Dignity won out and she scurried to her feet before her arm got torn out of its socket.

  “I have never been so humiliated.” Mackenzie yanked her hand away from Blake’s as soon as they were inside.

  He opened cabinets and drawers, taking out a plate and fork, and piled it high with leftovers from the fridge, practically ignoring Mackenzie. She crossed her arms and leaned against the kitchen sink in defiance. His family could see her through the window and would know they weren’t having a hot and heavy make out session.

  Blake sat at the table and ate hungrily, never looking up at her or engaging in conversation, the only noise coming from the scrape of his fork across his plate. When there was nothing left to shovel in his mouth, he leaned back and patted his hard, flat belly.

  “I was starved. That was good.”

  “You yanked me inside to make your family think we’re doing the down and dirty and then made me watch you pig out on twenty pounds of food. Where do you put it all?”

  She eyed him appreciatively, from his toned calves sprinkled with the perfect amount of hair to his strong thighs that bulged beneath his cargo shorts. To another bulge that was forming just north of his quads.

  “Guess I’m not the only one who’s hungry.” Blake pushed back his chair and invaded her space in two long strides, trapping her between his body and the counter. “Miss me?”

  “No.”

  “Liar.”

  “I miss the sex. I like sex.”

  “You like me too.” Blake’s gaze lowered to her mouth and she sucked in her lips.

  “Not really.”

  “What’s not to like?”

  “Your cocky attitude.” Mackenzie’s eyebrow lifted in pretend disgust.

  “You’ve got a little attitude going as well. Only I think it’s sexy as hell.” Blake tilted his hips slightly, making contact with her stomach.

  Her breath hitched and he lowered his head, leaning in to kiss her. He tasted like barbecue sauce and seduction. An odd combination that was sweet and spicy and oh, so Blake.

  He pulled back, nipping at her lip one more time before straightening himself and stepping back. “I’d like to take this further but it would only fuel the fire that’s going on out there.” He nodded behind her and Mackenzie gasped.

  “Oh my god! You did that on purpose.” She pushed him back with all her might and dipped under his arms that held her captive.

  “Uh, yeah. I kissed you on purpose. Seems you kissed me on purpose back.”

  “Not that.”

  “Confused here, cupcake.”

  Mackenzie moved away from the window and covered her face with her hands. “You kissed me in front of the window. Your whole family was probably watching. I can’t go back out there.”

  “I hate to break it to ya.” Blake stepped into her personal space, trapping her once again between the counter and his big, hard, sexy body. “That kiss was pretty tame compared to what they think we’re doing in here. Good thing they saw us or knowing my brothers, they’d have a bet going on which room I’m having my way with you in.”

  “You…you…” Mackenzie stammered, not enjoying the playful glint in his eye. “I hope your finger gets stuck in your nose and your fingernail continues to grow.” She ducked under his arm again and marched out the door and back to the nest of fools who grinned ear to ear at her as she approached.

  “Not one word or I’ll spill all your dirty secrets to your mother. I have the goods on all of you, you know. A barista hears things.” Mackenzie plopped in her chair and folded her arms across her chest in an immature sulk.

  “Here. I owe you this.” Lucy handed her a full wine glass and a smile.

  “You owe me a freaking bottle.” Mackenzie took the offered glass and slurped. She peeked out of the corner of her eye at Doreen, who seemed quite pleased with the craziness.

  This is exactly what she didn’t want. The Rileys would expect a commitment of some sort from her, from them. She didn’t need the added pressure or the look of disappointment in Doreen’s eyes when she learned Mackenzie was in it only for the sex.

  When Blake came back out, he attempted to nudge Lucy out of her seat next to Mackenzie, but thankfully the little terror didn’t budge and made Blake sit across the circle in the seat CJ vacated. He’d dumped a pile of Legos on one of the picnic tables and was deep in his fantasy world of superheroes and villains.

  “Well, since Rachael, Jake, Blake, and Mackenzie don’t want to be the center of attention, I suppose Sage and I will compete for the starring role. We have an announcement to make.” Luke stood, bringing Sage to her feet and tucking her under his arm.

  The women gasped and moved to the edge of their seats and the men sat up a bit straighter.

  “Luke and I are having a kid. A girl.” Sage held out her wine glass in a toast.

  “Oh, honey.” Doreen practically ran to them, embracing each in a tight hug, tears already streaming down her cheeks. “It went through?”

  “Yup.”

  “So Mom was in on the secret. Fill us in on the rest.” Graham hugged Maggie into one side while Katie slept on his chest.

  “She’s fifteen,” Luke said after Doreen finished her hugs and returned to her seat. “And she’s practically family.” His voice dropped from excited to soft and compassionate as he made eye contact with Blake.

  Mackenzie knew Sage wasn’t keen on the idea of being pregnant again after being a surrogate for her sister a few years ago and giving birth to her twins. She and Luke had talked about being foster parents, taking in troubled teens in a similar fashion to what Doreen and Keith Riley did. The fifteen-year-old, she guessed, was going to be their foster daughter.

  “Before we finalize any paperwork, though, we needed to talk to you about it first. To make sure you’re okay with us taking her in.”

  “Why do you need our approval?” Rachael asked.

&n
bsp; “Not yours, no offense, Rach, but Blake’s.”

  Blake bawked in surprise. “Me? What you and Sage want to do with your life is fine by me. I’ll always support you.”

  Sage took Luke’s hand in her own and squeezed tight. Mackenzie’s gazed flicked back and forth between the loving couple and Blake, as did everyone else’s. Only Doreen seemed to be in the know.

  “Her name is Natalie,” Sage said, her attention on Blake, her voice soft and gentle. Very unlike Sage. “Natalie Snyder. She’s your niece.”

  “Come again?” Blake leaned forward, his elbows digging into his knees as he cocked his head and stared up at his brother.

  “She’s Alyssa’s daughter.”

  Mackenzie was completely lost. Who was Alyssa? And then realization set in. If Natalie was his niece, and Alyssa’s daughter…Alyssa must be…his sister.

  “Shit.” Blake stood and paced outside the fire circle. “If the girl is fifteen, Alyssa must have been…sixteen when she had her.” He grabbed on to the ends of his short hair and tugged, lifting his face toward the blackened sky. “Where has she been all these years? Natalie.”

  Luke approached Blake, but didn’t get into his personal space as everyone else watched from their seats.

  “Alyssa gave her up for adoption shortly after she was born. Natalie was born addicted to heroin and it was hard to find a permanent placement for her. She lived with one family during her infancy, another one in her toddler years, and it’s been home to home to home during elementary and middle school. There are reports of behavior issues and…issues with her mother as well.”

  “With Alyssa?”

  “Yeah. Harassment. The past few homes Natalie has been in have had to file a restraining order on Alyssa. She wants her daughter back.”

  “I take it she’s still…”

  “Yeah.”

  Mackenzie’s heart hurt and her eyes threatened to burst with tears, not something they usually did. She’d never seen Blake’s demeanor anything other than panty-dropping charming, or goofy, or lust-filled. Never so sad and confused.

  Blake brushed his hand across his eyes and looked away, a poor attempt to hide the hurt and grief. Rachael got up and pressed her face into his back, hugging him from behind.

  An overwhelming urge to rush up to him and hold him in her arms took over but she held herself back. He was surrounded by family who knew his story, or at least more of it than she did. They could offer him more than she could.

  Feeling like an interloper, Mackenzie quietly got up from her seat and went inside. She found her fruit salad in the fridge and let herself out the front door, making her way to her car.

  “Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?”

  Mackenzie dropped the bowl at the sound of his voice.

  “Blake?”

  He crouched at her feet and picked up the bowl, brushing off the dirt from the driveway before handing it back to her. She took the bowl and set it on the front seat of her car.

  “I thought I’d at least get a kiss goodbye. Maybe a cheap feel or something.” The laughter didn’t quite reach his eyes.

  “I didn’t…” He didn’t want or need her pity or her questions right now. The nonchalant body language and poor attempt to be charming was a disguise to forget about the emotional news Sage and Luke just dropped on him. If he wanted a distraction, she could give him one.

  “I was thinking we’d have sex.” Mackenzie looked behind her. “My car is kinda small but my bed is pretty big. Interested?”

  Blake shoved his hands in his pockets and looked from her to the car to her again. “The only thing I feel like driving tonight is you. Mind if I leave my truck here and hop a ride in your toy car?”

  “Honey, you can ride me any way you want.

  Chapter Eleven

  Blake

  The sun hadn’t fully come up yet and shone just enough through the slits in Mackenzie’s blinds to reveal an empty bed. Blake hadn’t planned on spending the night. Yet after they made it up her stairs half-dressed and landed on her couch in a frenzy of naked limbs and clothes, he was in no hurry to leave.

  They’d played and laughed and fallen to the floor before they stopped to fully strip. And pleasure each other.

  And pleasure they did. On the floor. On the couch. In the shower and on every square inch of her mattress. For those few hours, while naked and in her arms, Blake didn’t think about his messed-up sister or the damage she’d done to her own daughter. Instead he’d lost himself in the softness and distraction of Mackenzie.

  Now alone in her cold bed, he needed to come to grip with the news that his niece and sister would soon be making their graces known. Not that he could hold anything against Natalie. She was an innocent victim in this mess, born to a drugged up teenager.

  If Alyssa had fallen into Melinda’s footsteps—and it sounded like she did—Alyssa probably had no clue who the father was.

  When Keith had shared the news years and years ago that Melinda’s body was found in a park, the victim of a self-induced drug overdose, Blake had no feeling. He wasn’t sad or even angry; that would mean he’d had cared or loved or even known Melinda Snyder.

  Instead, he remembered feeling guilty because the weight of embarrassment and shame on his shoulders had lifted and he could move on with no one and nothing hanging over his head.

  The recent break-ins and disappearing cash brought back too many memories of Melinda sneaking into his foster family’s homes stealing or begging for money. And Blake would bet his share in Rock the Gym that dear old sister had fallen into her mother’s footsteps.

  It only made sense. If Luke and Sage had started the paperwork, then the process must have begun some time ago, and somehow Alyssa found out. She’d been snooping, looking for cash. For drugs. For her next victims. It was only a matter of time before she robbed Luke and Sage. If she hadn’t already.

  And what about Natalie? Was she a mini-Mom following the path to permanent destruction as well? Maybe he should look into adopting her, since he was her uncle. But what could he offer a teenage kid? His life was anything but stable and he had next to no advice to offer anyone.

  Hell, look at his life. Blake sat up, the sheet hanging loosely on his naked body. Natalie needed role models, not a man who flitted from bed to bed. Not that he’d done any flitting lately. Just one bed. Or two if he counted his as well.

  Only one woman, though. She was enough. She was plenty. She was all he needed. Blake looked around Mackenzie’s bedroom for his jeans and didn’t see a stitch of clothing that belonged to him.

  Living room. That’s right, they didn’t make it to her bedroom for quite some time. He used the bathroom, borrowing her toothbrush and hopping in the shower while he thought about all that needed to be done today. Hopefully Colton would toss him some pity hours and cover for him this morning at the gym. Blake needed a lift home but figured he’d wait to see where things were with Mackenzie before calling around.

  He used one of her towels to dry off and tossed it on the floor when he was done. Remembering he wasn’t at home and that his mother would skin him alive if she ever found out he threw towels on the floor, he picked it up and hung it on the rack.

  Blake stilled, remembering the long, blonde hair he’d found on his towel a few weeks ago. It must have come from Alyssa. She’d been in his apartment more times than the few he’d noticed, he was sure, and it scared him more than it should have. If it was just him, he’d deal. But knowing the history, if Alyssa was going to follow in Melinda’s footsteps, Blake would need to warn his entire family to be on guard.

  Including Mackenzie.

  Plodding naked to the living room, he stopped in his tracks when the cute little brunette opened the door to her apartment and greeted him with a smile.

  “Well, what do we have here?” She sized him up from head to toe to…head, which was steadily rising. “A naked bandit?”

  “Wanna strip search me? Make sure I didn’t take anything?”

  “Lo
oks like you already took care of that for me.”

  “Nuh, uh, sweetheart. You’re the one who couldn’t get my clothes off fast enough last night.” He closed the gap between them and pulled her close. She smelled like hazelnut and vanilla and distraction.

  He kissed her, trying to keep it short and sweet, knowing she had to go back to work. When she leaned into him and lowered her hand to his stomach, he stopped her and pulled back.

  “I should get dressed and find a ride home. I know you need to get back to work as well.” Hell, since when did he become the responsible adult?

  “Oh, well.” Mackenzie stepped around him and into her kitchen space. “Diane is covering for me today. I took the rest of the day off. Do you want some coffee?”

  Blake paused mid-thigh and studied her backside as she busied herself at the sink, then continued with his boxers. “The rest of the day? It’s only nine in the morning.” He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept so late. Granted, he’d lain awake for nearly an hour with his thoughts before forcing himself into the shower this morning.

  “The morning rush has fizzled and my nephew Joey is home from college. He and Diane have everything covered. I thought we could…well, I suppose you need to get to the gym or course or whatever you’re working on.”

  “Wait a minute.” Blake yanked his shirt over his head and joined her in the kitchen. “You’re telling me you put in a few hours and then called out to spend the day with me?”

  “I’m the boss. I don’t have to call out.”

  Blake couldn’t contain his childish grin. “You want to hang out with me today.” Mackenzie shrugged. “Yeah you do. Don’t be shy about it.”

  “I’m hardly shy.” Mackenzie rolled her eyes and pushed past him.

  “Yeah you are,” he teased, following her into the bedroom.

  “If I was shy I wouldn’t do this.” Mackenzie flung off her shirt and bra and pushed Blake on the bed, climbing on top of him, smothering him with her body.

  ***