Page 62 of Long Road Home

“Yeah.” She rubbed her hands together and practically skipped in that direction, grabbing my hand and pulling me along with her. “I miss him like crazy and it’s only been a day.”

We reached the edge of the garage where between one of the barns and the garage was a large slab of pavement and at the far end, all the men and boys who were here were outside, shooting hoops.

“Looks like it’s men against boys,” I said, watching as Cooper let Nathan, Andrew’s son, fake him out before missing a layup.

“Mm-hmm.”

Destiny’s eyes were wide. Cheeks a hot pink. I glanced back at the men and boys, this time Andrew made an easy layup while shouting, “Take that!” to his own kid.

A scowl twisted my lips and I bumped Destiny’s hip. “Stop staring at Cooper.”

The men had removed their shirts. The boys had too. I didn’t think that was what had snagged Destiny’s attention in such a way she looked ready to jump any of the able-bodiedtakenmen.

I did the only thing a red-blooded man prone to jealousy would do.

I stepped in front of her. She jerked, and her eyes landed on my face. “What?”

“Like what you see over there?”

“Sorry,” she whispered. Embarrassment flamed her cheeks further. “It’s just…it’s Cooper Hawke. It’s gonna take some time.”

It made sense. Cooper did more movies with his shirt off than he had with them on. I guessed the real-life version was better than the big screen.

Slowly, showing her my intent, I reached behind my neck and tugged at the collar of my shirt. I flashed her a wink right before I ripped off my shirt and held it out to her.

Her eyes dropped from my face to my chest and she gulped. Her lips parted, and the hint of her tongue peeked out. “You want someone to look at, look at me.” I held out my shirt and shook it. “Hold this for me.”

She lifted her hand and I smacked my shirt into her palm. “Okay.”

“Destiny?” She was staring at my stomach. My chest. My hips. If her gaze dropped farther, she’d notice the hardening in my shorts, something I couldn’t let happen. “My eyes are up here.”

“I know. But the view down here is so much better.”

I barked out a laugh and curled my hands around her shoulders. “Hey. Kiss me and then watch me go kick some ass.”

“I like you right where you are,” she whispered, sliding her tongue across her bottom lip. “But if you must.”

“Hey, Mom!” Toby’s voice broke through and her head whipped to the side. He was rushing toward us, pushing his dark hair off his forehead. He ran right toward her and threw his arms around her. “Hi! You made it!”

A smile brighter than the sun lit up her face and she returned the hug before pushing him back. “Gross. You’re sweaty!”

“I’m playing ball.” He smiled at me and like always, that smile sent sparks of joy through my veins. “You going to play with us too?”

“Yeah. Your mom wanted to say hi first.”

Toby’s grin went wide. “Cooper took me out on the horses last night. And then he let me drive the ATVs. It was so cool! This is like, the best place ever.”

Destiny and I both laughed, and she playfully shoved his shoulder. “Better than with me? Sounds like you didn’t miss me at all.”

“Yeah, well you’re cool and all too…”

“Thanks. Glad to know I’m cool…and all.” She drawled the words out slowly, teasingly.

Toby rolled his eyes, a move I’d seen Destiny do a hundred times. “It was horses, Mom. So cool.”

“I know. I’m glad you had fun. But I missed you.”

“That’s because I’m the bomb.” He shrugged and threw his hands out.

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