I should steal you away…”
She was overwhelmed by the clear message the song sent from those two mystery men. Summer looked up at Taylor and knew he was utterly clueless to the irony of the moment. There on the dance floor he ignored her still, dancing with her as if he were relieving himself of an obligation. She longed for those men to return and steal her away in reality.
Yep. Here I go again.
Chapter Two
Ace chuckled when he saw Kemp’s Escalade pull up in the driveway while he was working on his second cup of coffee. Kemp climbed from the SUV and ran for the porch to avoid the rain.
“What?” he asked when Ace looked at him and grinned knowingly. They were doing the security consultation as a favor to Jack and the guys, but Ace and Kemp were looking forward to it for another reason. That reason’s name was Summer Heston.
Ace shrugged and leaned against the porch railing. “You must be ready to get the day started.”
Kemp quirked a brow at him, the most he usually gave in the way of facial expressions. Kemp always looked serious, even when he was joking. “And you’re not?”
“Oh, I am. You’re just here a little early.” Ace gestured to the pressed slacks and button-down shirt Kemp wore. “And more dressed up than you normally are for a job like this.”
“I wanted to impress her. I brought a change of clothes,” he said, gesturing with a thumb to the SUV. “How long before you’re ready to get rolling?”
They went inside, Kemp fixed himself a cup of coffee while Ace got his clothes on, and they were both out the door and in Kemp’s vehicle ten minutes later.
Kemp glanced at him and said, “She won’t mind if we show up a bit early, will she?”
“A bit? More like a half hour early.”
Kemp grunted then changed the subject. “I tried to call Sis this morning.”
Kemp’s parents had been friends with Ace’s parents. When Kemp was a teenager, his entire family had been killed in an automobile accident. Kemp would’ve gone into foster care, but Ace’s parents had intervened and Kemp had joined their family with the blessing of the State of Texas.
Ace asked, “Did you get through this time?”
They’d been looking after their baby sister since his mom and dad had passed away in the last few years. She was younger than both of them and had hit a few bumps in the road before finally getting on her feet. He and Kemp took watching out for her very seriously, the way Mom and Dad would have wanted them to.
Kemp fiddled with the windshield wipers and shook his head. “Nope. Got her voice mail. Again. It seems like she’s always working. They must keep her hopping at that fancy restaurant. Seems like she’s always there.”
Ace said, “I wish she hadn’t made us swear that we wouldn’t look into her employers for her.”
Kemp replied, “I know. I would feel a whole lot better if I knew more about her situation, but I guess we have to respect that she wants to find her own path. She can’t do that if we’re constantly looking over her shoulder.”
Ace snorted. “Pfft. She called me a ‘nagging mother hen’ the last time I had her on the phone.”
Kemp choked on his laughter. “If the beak fits…”
Ace laughed with his brother, knowing they both fit that bill, but he really didn’t mind. Lydia had been like their little shadow from an early age, driving them crazy at times. So it only seemed fair that they return the favor.
Because Ace and Kemp had always been close, the logical thing to do as adults had been to go into business together. Ace was good at dealing with people where Kemp was talented at gathering information and patiently “waiting out” situations. Ace also valued Kemp’s physical strength and unimpeachable ethics. Another thing they both had in common was their zeal for standing up for the “little guy” who didn’t always have the strength to stand up for themselves. To Ace’s knowledge, Kemp had never been able to abide a bully.
Glancing at Kemp, Ace asked, “Excited to finally meet Summer in the flesh?”
Kemp groaned and replied, “Nice word choice, Ace. I just hope I don’t stick my foot in my mouth or make an idiot of myself by clamming up.”
“It’ll be fine,” Ace murmured as he slipped his phone from his pocket and pulled up Summer’s cell phone number.
* * * *
Summer juggled her mug of coffee, handbag, lunch, laptop case, cell phone, and umbrella as she locked up her house. The open, sloshing coffee mug was not a good idea, and she whined when a couple of warm droplets hit her toes as she pulled the key from the deadbolt. She looked down at her open-toed, strappy heels and debated going back inside. Looking at the time on her phone she decided against it. She could clean up with a damp paper towel at work.