Down the Hidden Path Read online

  “That would be unfortunate.” Angie’s brows rose. “Good thing you were here.”

  Gray nodded. “Yes, he rescued me from myself.” If he’d only rescued her when she’d run into Vince Evers at the hardware store. Why had she accepted his dinner invitation? He asked, and stupid Miah McKinley ricocheted through her mind, and her mouth opened and said yes before she could even think about it.

  “Have a fabulous date, Gray.” Angie crossed the room to her and planted a kiss on her cheek. “You deserve it. Bill and I are still planning to be gone for a week at the end of the month. Can you stay at the house with David?”

  “Been planning to.”

  David hooked his thumbs on his backpack straps. “I told them I was old enough to stay alone.”

  Angie turned a sharp stare on him. “I don’t think so.”

  “When can I then?”

  “When you’re thirty.”

  David raised his hands and dropped them. “That’s ancient.”

  Gray gave him a mock-glare. “Watch it, bud.”

  “Ancient. Dinosaur old.”

  Gray rolled her eyes. “Come here, you.” She pulled him into a hug. “Don’t neglect your math. We just got through those equations. You need to practice them or we’ll have to start over.”

  He groaned.

  Angie slipped her gloves on. “I’m just glad you can help him with it. They lost me when they added letters.”

  David looked up at her. He was almost as tall as Gray, but Angie was another three or four inches taller. “I could teach you algebra, Mom. It’s not that hard.”

  From a few steps away, Gray smiled, but it was bittersweet. He was growing up. Now there was hair on his legs and his voice was deepening. David was going from boy to young man right before her eyes.

  He turned to face her. “Have a good date, Gray. See you next week.”

  They left. She listened as they backed out of her driveway. Already, the house felt emptier, colder. Lonely.

  Gray huffed. “Cat doctor.” She grabbed her coat and headed to the Neon Moon, where she’d meet her date. But the only guy who really mattered had just driven away. With his mom.

  “You sure you’re up to this?” Jeremiah asked Caleb as he threw the truck into park. It had only been a day since Caleb had arrived and a week since Gray had turned down the job offer. The Neon Moon’s new LED sign flashed like a beacon behind them, lighting the side of Caleb’s face. His hair had grown and practically covered the scar that ran along one side.

  Sometimes it took Caleb a few extra seconds to answer, as if the words had gone in jumbled and were having to be sorted. He nodded. “Charlee’s with us. I’m hungry.” From the time they’d spent at the rehab center in Tampa, Miah had learned that sometimes with brain injuries, details were left out. What Caleb probably meant was, “We’ve had this planned all day. I don’t want to disappoint Charlee”—who was in the Jeep parked beside them—“and I’m hungry.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Miah answered and wished the Neon Moon wasn’t quite so busy. It was a hopping Friday night and Caleb’s first real outing.

  Caleb fumbled with the door handle, his right hand working to clamp down. They’d taught him to try using his right hand and not letting his left do all the work. It was his right side that had been affected. His right side and his mind—which sometimes had lapses.

  Jeremiah waited patiently, busying himself by knocking the dirt off his boot.

  Caleb stepped out. “Ready.” He fell into step beside Charlee, who instantly threaded her arm through Caleb’s.

  Ian and Miah walked behind them. “How’s he seem?” Ian whispered.

  Miah tilted his head back and forth. “If you just looked at him, you’d never know what he’s been through. Other than walking a little slower and the limp.”

  Ian nodded. “Charlee’s so stoked he’s home. She floats around the house like a fairy.”

  Miah’s grinned. “Driving you nuts yet?”

  “Nah. I’m just thankful Caleb is okay.”

  Miah stopped. “He’s not okay, Ian. There’s still a long road ahead.”

  Ian nodded. “I know. That’s not what I meant. The guys in my unit, we all talked about this. So many of us going home with missing limbs or brain injuries. Real scary stuff you’re dealing with, Jeremiah. Whatever I can do to help . . .”

  Miah nodded. “Charlee needs you. I’m really glad Dad sent you to her.”

  Ian’s smile faded at the mention of the man who Miah knew had been more of a dad to Ian than his own father. “We don’t want you to feel like you’re alone in this, Miah.”

  Oh, but he was alone. His one chance of having someone . . . someone he could really count on to be there with him, had been Gray. And she’d walked right out of his lodge and his life with nothing but a smile and weak apology.

  They stepped inside to find the place throbbing with people, country music, and all the sounds of a busy restaurant. Glasses and plates clanged as tables were served and cleared, noise from a din of voices and the scent of fresh, hot food made Miah’s mouth water.

  Caleb half turned to get Miah’s attention then pointed to a booth on the far right. Miah nodded and together they made their way to the only empty table.

  Just before Miah could sit down, two guys slid past Caleb and Charlee and dropped into the booth. Charlee turned and shrugged. Miah’s gaze moved to Ian. He knew Ian didn’t much like Charlee being dissed and the last thing he needed was an indignant Ian on his hands.

  Miah watched as his brother-in-law swallowed the insult—out of character for the aggressive soldier—and turned to scope out another spot to sit.

  But it was Caleb’s hand smacking the tabletop that drew Miah’s attention. “This is our table.” His words were level, filled with anger, but controlled.

  Miah took Caleb’s arm. Shock registered on both guys’ faces and Miah knew this could spiral out of control quickly. “It’s all good, Caleb. We’ll find another one.”

  Caleb jerked free. “No. This is ours and they knew we were headed to it.” He leaned his weight on the Formica tabletop, planting his palms and looking the guys in the face. “Get up.”

  One swallowed, obviously nervous. “You should have gotten here faster.”

  Miah’s hands fisted. Outrage shot a trail into his stomach, but beating the crap out of a couple of idiots probably wasn’t the best prescription for a first outing. “You’re a real piece of work, jerk.” He took Caleb’s arm, this time gently.

  Again, Caleb pulled free. “I’m not leaving.”

  The other guy leaned back in the seat. “Fine, stand there. We’re not going anywhere.”

  Caleb hit the table again, this time drawing attention from half the restaurant. From the corner of his eye, Miah watched someone leave the bar and make his or her way over.

  He turned when he heard a husky female voice say, “Do we have a problem here?”

  One of the guys at the table pointed at Caleb. “This reject says it’s his table, but we were obviously here first.”

  Raina Hayes turned to face Caleb. Dark eyes and dark hair a perfect contrast for the Neon Moon white apron she wore. Her gaze trailed to Miah, then Charlee, then back to Caleb.

  She turned and placed her hands flat on the table in the same manner Caleb had. “Get up.”

  Indignation landed on both faces. One mumbled, “What?”

  Raina leaned forward and took ahold of one of them by the collar. “I said get up.”

  They were both too stunned to move.

  She straightened, folding her hands over her chest. “If Caleb McKinley says it’s his table, then it’s his table. And I don’t care if you’ve been sitting at it for an hour. Understand?”

  The two men slid out, cursing under their breath. They headed straight for the front door. “Better burgers down the road at Carol’s.�
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  “Good,” Raina hollered after them. “You should have no trouble getting a booth there.”

  When she turned, there were tears in her eyes. “Caleb!” She opened her arms and he moved into the hug she offered, his left arm squeezing tightly, his right doing the best it could do.

  Raina was a big fan of the McKinley boys. Especially Gabriel and Caleb. She was a good six years older than Gabe, but the two of them used to sing together on the Neon Moon’s stage on Friday and Saturday nights when the boys were in high school. Although Miah didn’t pay much attention to romance-y-type things, there’d been a powerful connection between Raina and Gabe at that time. Especially when they sang together. Caleb had always been the hang-around little brother, sitting on a barstool and eating giant bowls of ice cream.

  She squeezed his cheeks. “You look good. Miah told me you were coming home, but I didn’t know it would be this soon.”

  Caleb’s smile lit the room. He’d always had a young look about him. Of course he was the baby, but even so, he looked young, angelic even. Everyone in town loved Caleb. When their mom had died, the town sort of took it on their shoulders to watch out for him. And Caleb had learned to milk that for all it was worth. He had Charlee’s blond hair and stormy blue eyes. They both looked like their mom. Isaiah and Gabriel looked like their dad. And people told Miah he did, too but he didn’t see the resemblance.

  “Caleb was anxious to get a Neon Moon burger,” Miah said.

  Raina clasped her hands together. “I can certainly manage that. You all have a seat. I’ll have Sandy come get your drink orders. Anything you want. On the house.”

  Miah took a step to her. “You don’t have to do that, Raina.”

  “Don’t have to. Want to.”

  But Miah didn’t want pity for Caleb. That wouldn’t help him recover. “Really, it’s not necessary.”

  Her hands went back to her hips. “Did you see me throw those guys out? Don’t make me get rough with you, McKinley. It’s my place. I can do what I want.”

  “Leave her alone, Miah. She wants to give us burgers.” Caleb grinned, boyish and sweet, and it made Miah’s anger at the whole thing intensify.

  “Stay out of this, Caleb.” Miah faced him, blocking Raina, and placed a hand flat on Caleb’s chest. Caleb had always used that smile to get things for free. The poor kid whose mom died. He could turn on the charm and get whatever he wanted. But Miah knew that falling back into that pattern would only hurt his progress.

  That’s when something warm slid over Miah’s skin. A scent, dark and delicious, entered his nose. He turned to find Gray standing behind him.

  “Caleb,” she said and stepped past Miah, leaving the sultry ring of her voice to trail into his gut and wrap around the lowest part of his belly.

  “Gray.” Caleb pulled her into an embrace and Miah couldn’t help but notice the way he drew her name out as if sampling a delicacy. He also noticed Caleb’s inability to let her go.

  Miah worked the muscle in his jaw and counted to ten. Still hugging. His hands fisted at his sides for an entirely different reason than before. Now, he just wanted to peel Gray off of his brother. That’s what it would take, from the looks of things. Chest to chest, hips to thighs, her head firmly against his pecs. Miah’s hand clamped on her shoulder in an attempt to turn her. Rather than come willingly, she tucked herself under Caleb’s arm as if they were on a date.

  The goofy grin on Caleb’s face reminded Miah of when his baby brother had passed into manhood and found his first pubic hair. He’d grinned for a week about that one.

  She looked up at Caleb. “You look great, Caleb. They take good care of you at Tampa?”

  Miah’s heart sputtered. Should she bring up his rehab? Honestly, he didn’t know.

  “Food was good, but the weather wore me down.”

  She tipped her head and a stream of that night-black hair tumbled over her shoulder, feathering Caleb’s arm as it trailed. “It’s the tropics.”

  “I know. I’m a four-seasons kind of guy.”

  Finally, she stepped away from him. “Well, we’re all glad to see you back home.”

  Miah let out the breath he’d been holding.

  “Join us,” Charlee added. Until she spoke, Miah had all but forgotten his sister and Ian were there.

  Raina motioned for the server. “We can bring another chair over.”

  “Oh, no. I’m here on a . . .” Her words stopped, eyes flashed to the other side of the restaurant.

  Miah’s gaze followed to find a blond guy, about their age, staring at the spectacle that had become the McKinleys’ first outing. “A date?” he mumbled.

  Gray’s gaze dropped to the ground. “Yes. Anyway, it was great to see you.”

  Caleb’s smile was all for her. “You too, Gray. You look incredible.” Another hug.

  No. Stop it. Miah tried to quiet his mind, which had gone all kinds of vile places in the last few minutes. You’d think a veteran soldier would handle things better.

  Gray angled to face him. “Jeremiah, if you have a couple minutes, I’d really like to speak to you.”

  When he didn’t know what to say, she continued. “About the paperwork you showed me the other day. Please. Five minutes. My car is right outside.”

  Confusion forced his legs to move, though his mind hadn’t caught up. If Gray was going to try to rescind her decision to sign off on the lodge, she could forget it. He’d already sent the paper to Tampa.

  He matched her step for step until they’d passed through the front door. When they got outside, Gray stopped at her car and turned to face him. “What was that?”

  “What?” There was silver fire in her gaze, accompanied by specs of blue from the neon sign above.

  She cocked her head and her hip. “Miah, you can’t handle Caleb like that. He needs you.”

  Miah pointed behind him to the front door. “Are you kidding me? What do you think I’m doing? What Caleb doesn’t need is pity.”

  She met him toe-to-toe. “No, what Caleb doesn’t need is his brother assuming everyone is giving him pity just because they are trying to do something nice.” Tenacity looked good on her.

  “Well, if I had a therapist on board, I’d know that, wouldn’t I?”

  “If you’d stayed in the class for home care, you’d know that.”

  His anger boiled, second only to the thought that maybe on some level, she was right.

  “Look,” she said, and he could see her trying to rein in her own frustration. “When you told Caleb to stay out of it, you were shutting him out. Like he’s not capable of making his own decisions.”

  “Oh, like the decision to physically drag two guys out of a booth because Caleb laid claim to it?”

  She moved closer, head tipped and not backing down. “You told him it wasn’t any big deal.”

  Miah leaned forward, close enough to see the dark liner around her eyes. “It’s a booth.”

  “No. To him, it was a challenge. He’s a soldier, Miah. He’s a warrior. But you just brushed it off like it didn’t matter. They insulted him.”

  “What was I supposed to do? Call them out? Beat the snot out of them?” A car pulled into the parking lot and several teenagers piled out.

  She huffed. “Look, this isn’t something I can explain in a five-minute conversation.”

  “No.” Sarcasm was thick and full on his tongue. It tasted good. “Not with your date waiting.”

  Gray clamped her teeth together hard as the wind kicked up. “I’ll take it.”

  Two cars zipped past them on the road, throwing dust. It was cold outside, but Miah didn’t notice the chill until Gray wrapped her arms around herself and hugged. “Take what?”

  She cast a glance heavenward. “The job. If it’s still available.”

  That brought the world to a sudden stop. So, she wanted the job. Well,
too bad, sweetheart.

  When he didn’t answer, her face clouded, full mouth tipping into a bow shape. “Or is it filled?”

  He shrugged. “I followed your advice and put an ad in the newsletter yesterday.”

  She sent a long look to the front door of the Neon Moon and Miah almost felt bad, because on the other side of that door was a soldier who had to learn to do life all over again. It made Miah feel bad because Gray knew that too and seeing Caleb made her want to be part of the process.

  “I see,” she mumbled. “Sorry for butting in.”

  He grunted. “I’m sure you thought you were doing the right thing.”

  She attempted a smile but it died on her face. “Good-bye, Jeremiah.” Gray headed for the door just as her date was coming outside. His face was a wash of confusion, his hands holding her outstretched coat.

  Instantly, Jeremiah detested him. Too polished. Too perfect. Hollywood-white-capped teeth and a tanning-bed tan. Not the kind of man a woman like Gray needed. He was all plastic and fluff. She’d eat him alive.

  Pretty Boy smiled, but it was forced. “Everything okay out here?”

  Miah enjoyed the quiver in his voice. He obviously didn’t want to go toe-to-toe with a towering soldier. “Oh yeah. We’re having a great time.”

  Gray cut him with her eyes, then turned to face her date. “I’m really sorry, Vince. It’s just that this is—”

  Miah thrust a hand out. “Her boss.”

  Surprise flickered on Pretty Boy’s face and Miah realized he recognized this man. Couldn’t place a name, but Miah was certain he knew him from way back.

  “My boss,” Gray echoed.

  They shook hands, Pretty Boy reluctantly.

  Miah’s gaze narrowed. “Do I know you?”

  He smiled, all dazzling and toothy. “We went to school together. I was a couple years younger.”

  “Oh yeah.” Miah turned away from him to address Gray. “So, Monday morning? Or did you want to get started tomorrow since Caleb’s here?”

  She smiled, but it was forced. “No weekends, per our agreement, remember?”

  “Right. Just didn’t want to do too much damage to him in the interim.”