Page 20 of Temptation Trails

With Owen grounded, my mom or one of my brothers had been picking him up from school and taking him to my parents’ place. I was pretty sure I’d be relenting on the grounding sooner rather than later. At the very least, I wanted to give him a chance to earn back trust. If he ditched school again—especially to shoplift—he wouldn’t be using anything with wheels until he was a legal adult.

It wasn’t exactly a punishment for him to spend his afternoons with his grandparents. That had been the norm for a lot of his childhood, especially after my ex and I had split up. I felt guilty about that, but also grateful to my parents for stepping in and helping me out so often.

I did hope my dad had been making him do chores while he was there, though.

The past several days had been typical. I worked a lot. Had to put in some overtime, but that wasn’t the end of the world. I’d been able to break away for Owen’s final parent-teacher conference of the year. His recent poor judgment aside, he was doing fine in school, which was a relief. The shoplifting incident didn’t seem to represent a downward spiral in behavior.

I hadn’t been lying to Harper. He really was a good kid.

Despite plenty to occupy my mind—work, single fatherhood, my son’s recent bad choices—none of those things were in my head as I drove out to my parents’ place to pick up Owen. All I could think about was Harper Tilburn.

That smile. Those eyes. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. Her face was burned into my memory, like the afterimage of the sun. I’d stared at her too long—and too awkwardly. I couldn’t get her out of my head.

I’d never had that happen before. Sure, I’d crushed on girls when I was younger. Hell, when I was barely older than Owen, I’d been convinced I was in love with a girl at school. I’d cut her picture out of a yearbook and stuck it in the back of my binder. Until one day I saw her kissing Theo under the bleachers by the football field.

It hadn’t been Theo’s fault. He had no idea. And she probably wasn’t the only girl he’d kissed under those bleachers. I’d tossed her picture in the garbage and never looked back.

Even then, when I was young and basically an idiot, I’d never been so consumed by a woman. Especially a woman I’d only met once, and for all of five minutes.

I took the turn up my parents’ driveway, determined to think about anything but Harper. I’d missed a date with her. So, what? She’d said it herself, it was for the best. She wasn’t in a place to start dating anyone. And neither was I. Dating was not on my agenda, even if she was the most mesmerizing woman I’d ever laid eyes on.

Did she smell as good as her bakery? Were her lips as soft as they looked?

I needed to stop.

My parents lived up a long, gravel driveway. Their hand-built log home had views of Tilikum through the pine trees and I had countless memories of long days spent roaming the woods around their property.

I was one of seven kids—six boys and a girl—and we’d grown up in a kind of semi-controlled chaos. Small-town living had probably helped. We’d been a little bit feral, but there were always neighbors and extended family members around to help keep us corralled.

There were worse ways to grow up.

I parked behind my brother Theo’s truck. Next to it was a sixties-era black Chevelle. I didn’t recognize the car, but it was probably Luke’s. He restored classic cars for a living and tended to swap them out pretty regularly. It wasn’t unusual to find one or two of my brothers there at any given time. Mom’s cooking tended to attract us.

I went in without knocking and followed the sound of voices and laughter to the dining room.

My dad sat in his usual spot at the head of the table, dressed in a green flannel. His brown hair was streaked with gray, as was his thick beard. He had a solid presence, with his wide shoulders and well-muscled arms.

Whereas Paul Haven was all hard edges, my mom, Marlene, was soft—kind of like the blankets she was always knitting. She had a warm smile and kind eyes behind her blue-rimmed glasses. My sister-in-law Marigold had recently cut her hair, giving her a chin-length bob.

Rounding out the table were Owen, dressed in a blue hoodie despite the warm weather, Luke, and Theo.

Luke and I looked alike. Although his hair was a lighter brown, we had the same blue eyes and square jaw. The Bailey Customs T-shirt he wore was jarring, although the feud with the Baileys had ended years ago.

It did make me wonder if he’d lost a bet with Evan Bailey and that was the price he had to pay.

Theo wore a Tilikum High School hoodie. His hair was unkempt, like he’d been wearing a hat and Mom had made him take it off before he sat down to eat. He had broad shoulders and an athletic build. Professional football had been his dream, until an injury had sent him home to an early retirement. He’d channeled his knowledge and experience into becoming the football coach at Tilikum High School, and he was damn good at it.

“Good timing,” Mom said. “Food’s still warm if you want to make yourself a plate.”

Owen’s eyes pleaded with me not to make him go home yet. That probably meant there was dessert.

“Sounds good. Thanks, Mom.”

The kitchen was homey and familiar, with slightly faded cabinets and dishes cluttering the counters. I got a plate, dished up a healthy serving of chicken and vegetable stir fry, and took it to the dining table. There was a spot next to Owen, so I sat.

“Get your homework done?” I asked.

“Yeah, Grandma made me finish before dinner.”