Page 49 of Son of a Preacher Man

Loving how she looked with a child in her arms, Kodiak smiled. “That’s because you don’t know her like I do.”

Gently depositing Emery on her father’s lap, the grateful tot rewarded Kelly with a kiss for her efforts. Lacing her fingers with his, she returned to her seat beside him. “What a sweet, little girl. I sure hope when…”

He squeezed her hand, urging her to continue. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“It was something.” Kodiak turned her chin in his direction. “Tell me, Snicks. What is it you’re hoping for?”

“Fine.” Releasing a sigh, she rolled her eyes. “If I ever have a kid, I hope she’s like her.”

“When.” He grinned. “You said, when.”

Maybe she hadn’t meant to say it, but she did. Still, his offer stood. When Kelly wanted to have a baby, he’d be more than happy to give her one. No turkey baster required.

Kodiak didn’t get to tell her that, though. Kit brought out some old photo albums. The bright purple couch becoming crowded, they slid over, squished together against the end.

Chloe turned the pages. She came upon an old image, taken in what looked to be a basement, of the Venery boys as teenagers.

“Look, Emmy.” Bo pointed to his bare-chested self seated behind a drum kit. “That’s Daddy when he had nice hair.”

Even then it was down to his waist.

Hooking his arm around the drummer’s neck, Kodiak ruffled his locks. “Aww, Bo-Bo, it’s still pretty.”

“I don’t know, man,” he said, running his fingers through it. “Seems thinner to me.”

Fuck’s sake.

Rolling his eyes from where he sat on the floor, Sloan quipped, “Better start the Rogaine now then, dude. David Draiman, you ain’t.”

Covering his daughter’s eyes, Bo flipped him the bird.

“Oh, that’s Courtney.” Four heads snapped up, each member of Venery turning their gaze toward Kit. “My wife.”

“Damn,” Bo mumbled low. “Can’t believe he kept a picture of her.”

Leaning across Kodiak, Kelly whispered, “Why?”

The three of them huddled together, Bo didn’t answer until Kit left the room to put the photo albums away. “He took her to our eighth grade dance. First girl he ever kissed, and as far as I know, she’s the only one.”

The hell? Now that was news to him. He’d seen Kit with a lot of women, and usually a couple of them at once. At the club, the guy spent most of his time downstairs in the playpen, but come to think of it, Kodiak couldn’t recall ever seeing him kiss a single one.

“They were glued to each other all through high school,” Bo continued. “We all warned him not to do it, but Kit refused to listen. Married her right after graduation. Didn’t last a year. She did him dirty—like real dirty. It was bad, man.”

“How bad?” Kelly wanted to know.

“Bad enough. Kit hasn’t so much as breathed her name ever since.”

Once football was over, for the most part, Thanksgiving was too. Dillon saw his sister home. Chloe and Katie stayed behind to help Kit. Kevin opted to go hang out with Brendan, much to his aunt’s chagrin. And with the late evening air cold and damp, Kodiak kept Kelly close, bundling her to his side.

“It smells like snow.”

“When doesn’t it?” Sniggering, he entered the code into the keypad. “I think it’s supposed to.” Again.

She held onto his arm with both hands as they began their stroll through Coventry Park. “I wonder what happened.”

Not following, Kodiak angled his head.

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