Page 49 of No First Kisses

“I’m not naming my child after you, heathen.” I slap his hand away. “Stop trying to use your Jedi mind tricks to make it happen.”

Laughing, Sam sets his helmet inside on the couch. “So where are we going?”

I grab my purse, hitting him dramatically with it. “Oops.” I smile. “Didn’t mean to do that.”

“Sure, you didn’t, P.” He holds the front door for me, while he strips out of his cut, the leather jacket that declares him a member of his club. “You gonna tell me where we’re going or not?”

I pull keys out of my purse and hand them to him after he hangs up the leather jacket on one of the hangers by the door. “First, we’re gonna pick up some tacos. Then I need you to take me a few places to run some errands.”

Once I manage to get into the passenger side of my ride, after trying twice and giving up only to have Sam help me in, I buckle and wait for him.

“Tacos?” he asks when we are driving away. “You hate tacos.”

“Blame Logan’s demon spawn, Sammy. It’s terrible. I keep eating pizza with taco toppings, but even that doesn’t taste as good as regular tacos for this little boy.” I rest my head against the cool glass of the window and take a deep breath.

“Demon spawn?” Sam laughs. “Why in the hell are you calling your baby, a baby that you would kill someone for hurting, something like that?”

“Because I can’t have pizza and really enjoy it.” I whine, yes. But Sam is my brother. He is used to it. He’s been putting up with it for thirty years, and I’ve also been there for him every single time he felt like whining about his life. “Speaking of your life, when are you going to settle down? You know, find a nice woman whom I can bring into our family and pawn off my child on you two for a date night when it comes.”

Sam raises an eyebrow but doesn’t take his eyes off the road. “We weren’t speaking of my life. Which means your crazy brain went on a tangent again. I’m not settling down. Not until I find someone who makes me hate the thought of being on the back of my bike halfway across the state when I’m not needed at home.”

“Humph.” I pout. “What if I find you someone?”

Sam shook his head and then turned into the Taco Bell parking lot. “It’s not gonna happen. Now, let’s get your food so you can tell me what we’re doing.”

“Okay.” I sigh heavily and wait for him to roll down his window so I can embarrass him by ordering half the restaurant.

When we pull around and he has to pay for all my food, I slap him on the arm. “Don’t forget my fire sauce. I need the fire sauce, too.”

“You hate fire sauce,” he hisses but asks for fire sauce all the same.

“Demon. Spawn,” I remind him.

Then he takes the massive plastic bag full of tacos and plops it in my lap, carefully avoiding my belly.

“Thank you.” I smile at him and tear into the food. Instead of driving away, Sam pulls into one of the parking spots and shifts my SUV into park.

“Okay, P. Time to spill the beans. You could have had food delivered by one of those apps. Why did you ask me to come get you?”

I finish the first taco and burp loudly.

“Damn, girl.” He claps lightly. “A solid nine points for that one.”

“I wish Lo were here to see you say that because he tried to tell me that my burp game is weak. And we both know it would be ten times better if I didn’t have a baby taking up all the space in my lungs and stomach right now, giving me heartburn that would make a grown man faint.”

“You didn’t answer the question.” Sam sighs. “Come on, Poppy. You got me out of bed, where a more than willing woman would have stayed all day if I let her, and you dragged me along on this journey. You might as well tell me what we’re doing. I’m in. I’m here. I’m not gonna leave you on the side of the road.”

With a sigh, I pull the necklace out of the pocket on the side of my leggings and hold it out to him.

“Okay? Are we going jewelry shopping?” He holds out his hand and I hand him the old locket. “Why does this look so familiar?” Sam turns it over in his hand and inspects the clasp. When he opens it and there is nothing there, he holds it back out for me to take.

“Mom gave me this when I was little. Just some random piece she found at an estate sale or an antique store. But it was cute, and I loved it. I gave it to Lettie for her sixteenth birthday.”

The explanation gets him, and Sam freezes almost comically.

“I never got it back.” I put the bag of tacos down by my feet and hold the locket in both hands. “It came in the mail, delivered to the station. And Logan lied to me about it. So I know there’s something going on. Before he brings everyone and their brother down on my head so that he can protect me, I need to take this back to Lettie.”

Yes, I’m being completely irrational and hormonal. But it has to be done. She was my best friend when I was sixteen years old, and I believe in ghosts. If she had the locket on when she died, that means it’s haunted. I need to give it back to her.

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