Page 13 of Keystrokes and Kittens

I held up my hand. “Quinta’s away at university.”

He squinted. “Okay—you’re going to have to explain that to me. Because unless you had her when you were like, ten…?”

“Nah.” I drew in a deep breath.I can do this. “Quinta’s my niece. My brother- and sister-in-law were her parents. There was a crash—” I swallowed. “I was nineteen and with them. Along with my parents. Quinta was home with a babysitter. Head-on crash with a huge pickup truck. Everyone died…except me.”

Soren’s face took on that expression I was so familiar with. Pity. Or maybe just empathy—with the sad eyes and the down-turned mouth. “That has to have been rough.”

“Yeah. I was in rehab for a while. Quinta was in foster care, so I had an incentive to recover as quickly as I could. As soon as I could, I took custody of her. I was, like, nineteen. She was nine.” I scratched my jaw again. “I’m not going to lie and say we had it easy. We didn’t. We were both mired in grief and scared shitless. Oh, sorry.”

He waved me off. “I’ve said a whole lot worse. Look, how about you put the carrier on the table? There’s an outlet where we can plug in the heating pad. Then we’ll eat, and Noah will be here in no time.”

I blinked. Appreciative. I was grateful.He just acted like losing my family wasn’t a big deal. No…he chose not to dwell on it.For that, I could be thankful.

“Heating pad and then food—I can get into that.”

“Perfect. I’ll put your bag in the bedroom upstairs.” He pointed to one of the two staircases—one next to the primary bedroom door and one next to his office door. As my gaze followed them, Ispotted several doors on the second level. “Bedroom, bathroom, and another bedroom. Everything you need is ready for you. Back in a flash.” He headed up the set of stairs next to his den and disappeared into what I assumed was one of the spare bedrooms.

I did some quick calculations in my mind. Yep. That room would have the same stunning view.I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.Yeah. Except Soren was a flesh-and-blood man, and I had weeks ahead of me where I’d need to deny the sexual attraction.

Easy-peasy.

Or not.

Chapter Four

Soren

Ihad never rambled so often in my life. Every time Sam said something, I suddenly had ten questions. A niece he cared for? An accident that devastated his family? A workout routine?

Yeah, I’d noticed he was trimmer. He’d never been that overweight. He’d been…cute. Cuddly. Now, though? Smoking hot. With the unique hairstyle to emphasize his high cheekbones. My body kept sayingyes please—him again.My mind reminded said libido that things hadn’t ended well the last time, and I’d do well to remember that. He and the kittens were here under my protection.

I placed the suitcase on the floor and turned on the lamp on the nightstand. In case night had fallen before he came upstairs. I’d already changed the sheets and put out fresh towels in the bathroom. Anything I could do to ensure he felt welcomed.

The scent of pasta reached me as I hustled down the stairs.

Sam sat on the couch with the box in his lap, and he appeared to be stroking the kittens.

“Hey, how about we eat while sitting on the couch tonight? Informal, right?”Just two guys shooting the shit…

“You don’t mind?” Sam frowned. “They seem to have survived the trip, and I’ve got the heating pad plugged in and warming up, but I’m still worried.”

“Well, let’s not stress about dinner. I’ll grab you a plate. What would you like to drink?”

“Water would be amazing.”

“Done.” I grinned as I headed into the kitchen. Having Sam so readily agree to my idea helped buoy me. I’d still have to be careful not to run roughshod over him. He was here, and that was all that mattered.He has to control the terms or he’ll likely run again.

I dished up two plates. “Parmesan?” I sort of yelled that and belatedly realized I might wake the kittens.

Tibby was being the awesome pup I knew her to be and was hanging out in my bedroom without whining or barking. Probably not happy—but behaving herself.

“That would be great.” Sam answered—although his volume was a bit lower than mine.

I added the parmesan as well as the meatballs. Then I prepared two glasses of ice water. I headed into the great room with a plate of steaming pasta, cutlery, and the water.

Sam gently put the box to the side, cleaned his hands with a wipe, and accepted the plate with a huge grin.

I put the water on a coaster on the side table. “Everything okay?” I gazed at him. “You didn’t eat lunch, did you? I remembered when I got to Foggy Basin that I’d forgotten my promise to feed you.”