Page 79 of Body Shot

“That’s okay, we ate at my place,” Hayden says.

“So, Beck. Tell us about yourself. What do you do for a living?”

I lean against a counter. “I own a bar. Conquistadors. At P.B.”

Colin’s frown reappears. “A bar? Huh.”

“Beck used to be a Navy SEAL,” Hayden adds.

Colin’s expression changes. “No kidding?”

“That’s right, sir. My two buddies and I left the Navy about a year ago and went into business together.”

“Well. How about that. Thank you for your service.”

I nod, appreciating the sentiment.

This is a weird experience for me. I’m pretty sure the last time I met a girl’s parents—or family—was in high school.

Hayden moves over beside me and says in a low voice, “Can we wait until they’re done? I want to make sure my aunt eats, and also clean up after. Otherwise she’ll try to do it.”

I nod, slipping an arm around her waist to give her a brief squeeze. “Of course.”

We chat while the older couple eats, then I help Hayden do their dishes, along with some that were already sitting on the counter. I wipe off the counter as she cleans the sink, Gina having returned to her recliner in the living room.

“I really wish they’d move out of this house,” Hayden tells me quietly. “It’s way too big for them. They can’t keep on top of it and they refuse to hire help. It’s starting to get out of control. I come and help but it’s too much for me too.”

“They don’t want to move?”

“Uncle Colin doesn’t want to give up his yard. He’s a passionate gardener.”

I nod. “I guess it’s hard to give up things like that.”

“I know. I just want them to be safe. I tried to talk to them about it once, but it didn’t go over well, and they’re not my parents . . .”

“You need to get their kids out here to talk to them.”

She shrugs and rinses out the dish sponge. “I’ve mentioned it to them. We chat on Facebook.”

I stand near her and set my hands on her hips. She lifts her chin to meet my eyes. “Yeah?”

“Sure.”

“You probably haven’t told them how bad things really are.”

“Well . . .”

“You need to do that, Hayden.”

She stares at me.

“Seriously. I understand that you love them and want to help, but you’ve got a lot on your plate. And it sounds like they know that too. Theywantyou to get out more. Theywantyou to have more fun.”

She rolls her eyes. “Everyone seems to want that.”

Warmth fills my chest. Seeing Hayden with her family, seeing how much they care about her, seeing her look after them and worry about them, makes me want to gather her up in my arms and protect her and do whatever I fucking can to help her. I also feel an unusual helplessness—there’s no way I can just move her aunt and uncle out and solve that problem for her. It annoys me unreasonably. I like solving problems and I hate that Hayden has this one.

And given that I want nothing to do with my own family, it’s even more bizarre that I’m not just brushing this off and letting her deal with it without me. But it doesn’t mean anything. I can handle this.

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