Meet Me Under The Mistletoe (O'Rourke Family 5) Read Online Free PDF Page B

bother him. It was the subtle, vulnerable part of her that had him ready to bark at the moon.
    Yet even as the thought formed, Alex shook his head in denial. He doubted there was a vulnerable cell in Shannon O’Rourke’s delectable body. She was bright and fiery, like the shining surface of a diamond. Sure, she had a soft spot for his son and seemed to care about people who were less fortunate, but vulnerable?
    Not a chance.
    “I’ve learned to like most everything, too, with all the traveling I’ve done,” he said. “But if you hope Jeremy will try something new, I’d get mild.” He nearly added and don’t get your hopes up , then decided Shannon would find out soon enough about his son’s preference for unimaginative food.
    She picked up the phone. “That’s fine. I’ll ask them to put some crushed red pepper on the side.”
    In a short time she’d ordered a number of dishes and sweet-talked the manager into having the delivery driver pick up a burger, fries and a carton of milk.
    “I think you ordered too much,” Alex said.
    “Not if you have a big appetite like my brothers.”
    Shannon’s comfortable references to her family made Alex uneasily aware that he rarely spoke to his own relatives, even during the holidays.
    “You’re close to them, aren’t you?” he asked curiously.
    “Of course I am. Naturally they drive me crazy trying to interfere with my life. And Kane takes his position as head of the family way too seriously, but they aren’t bad for big lugs with the mentality of cavemen.”
    His eyebrows shot upward. “Cavemen?”
    “Completely. You should have seen the way they acted when I started dating.”
    Alex smiled. “That bad, eh?”
    “Worse. I swear that Kane or Neil or Patrick followed me on every date for the first six months. Even Dylan and Connor were weird about it. Do you know what it’s like to be unable to enjoy your first kiss for fear one of your brothers is going to pounce?”
    “Not really.” Alex choked, fighting a laugh.
    Shannon was trying to sound aggrieved, but he could tell she was touched by her brothers’ protectiveness. Yet he sobered quickly, wondering if his own sister had ever had trouble when she started dating, and if she’d ever wished her brothers were there to protect her.
    He’d been long gone to college and building his career by the time Gail was old enough to start going out with boys.
    “Did you ever have trouble on a date? One you needed help handling?” he murmured.
    “Me? Not a chance. I take care of myself.”
    Something flashed through Shannon’s eyes so quickly, it was gone almost before it registered.
    She was lying.
    Not in a bad way. Just covering up something she didn’t like remembering, or didn’t want to confess.
    It bothered him that Shannon might not be as tough as she appeared—maybe because her brothers were still protecting her, while he’d seen Gail just once in the past three years. Gail was tough, too; you didn’t grow up in the McKenzie household without developing a protective shell. But what if his sister wasn’t as tough as he thought?
    Because it raised a confusing array of emotions thatAlex didn’t want to feel, he sat next to Jeremy, who was playing once again with Shannon’s Christmas train set.
    “Choo, choo,” Jeremy chanted. Mr. Tibbles had been leaned up against one of the miniature Victorian houses, and he looked decidedly tipsy with one of his long ears flopped over a black button eye.
    Sometimes Alex hated that rabbit.
    It represented the dark days, the loss his little boy never should have suffered. Only the introduction of Shannon into their lives had lessened his fierce attachment to Mr. Tibbles.
    Shannon…
    Sighing to himself, Alex glanced across the room. She’d knelt by the fireplace and was lighting a neatly laid stack of logs. The sway of her hips beneath her formfitting jeans made him uncomfortably warm. Her impact on his senses was the most likely explanation for his agreeing to