Sexy Bastards Anthology: Bad Boy, Biker, Alpha, Motorcycle Club, Contemporary Romance Collection Read Online Free PDF Page B

they weren’t all great. Like the day his mother had dropped them off without a goodbye and never came back. Or the day half the neighborhood had come back to Honey’s house for sandwiches and casserole the day they’d buried her the year before. But dammit, she had given them their first real home here. One filled with hot meals, and hugs good night and stern warnings about being late. No matter how much trouble he got into, no matter how much he fought it, she’d loved him until he couldn’t help but love her back.
    And now they were selling her house.
    The grief that had been dulled over the passing of seasons came back sharp as ever, cutting cleanly to his core.
    Maybe this was a bad idea. Sure, Honey had told them not to hang on to it out of sentiment. She was practical to the core, and knew that with Rick’s job, he’d land in a big city eventually and Mike needed to be closer to the shop. And the realtor said it would be an easy sale in this neighborhood if they did a quick remodel. Rick even offered to give Mike a majority of the money they’d make off it for putting in the labor.
    But was the cash really worth throwing away the only reminder of the happy years of his childhood?
    “AHHHHHHHH!”
    Mike dropped his putty knife and nearly jumped out of his shoes. Kitty’s scream sent a chill up his spine. He sprinted to the front door and threw the door open to find her in the middle of the yard, high-stepping around like she was walking on hot coals, as five powerful sprinklers soaked her from head to toe with each pass.
    Shit. She’d told him a few days before to turn off the timer and he’d totally flaked on it.
    His lips twitched, and the ice that had formed in his gut began to melt.
    “Hey,” he called out from the deck, “no playing around on the job.”
    Kitty looked up, her makeup a runny mess and her red hair sticking in clumps to her face.
    “Fuck you, Mike,” she yelled over the jets of water slapping across her body as she scurried to get clear of the sprinkler. “You did this on purpose.”
    He tried not to laugh. He really did, but Jesus, it was funny. With all the tension between them after last night, what were the odds that something like this would happen when she was already so pissed at him? It was like Murphy’s Law and laughing was all he could do.
    “I swear, Kitty, I didn’t.”
    Her brows rose almost comically. She was clearly not buying it.
    “You expect me to believe that? This is just like you to do something to yank my chain after--” She broke off and bit her bottom lip, refusing to meet his gaze.
    The laughter died in his throat as he realized her feelings were actually hurt. “I swear I’m telling the truth. I really forgot to turn the timer off.”
    She just crossed her arms around her chest, jaw clenched.
    “Come get on the porch, I’ll get you a towel.”
    After a few moments of searching through the nearly torn-apart house, he found a clean towel and hustled back to the front porch. But she was gone.
    Great, now I really pissed her off.
    Part of him wanted to go after her. Tell her that he would never do something like that to her, especially after last night, and wipe the hurt look off her face. But maybe that was the problem. They’d both already stepped one foot into a rabbit hole that led to nothing but trouble. Maybe if they pretended like last night never happened it would be better for both of them. Then they could go back to their regularly scheduled program of ball breaking and she could go after Rick if she wanted him so bad.
    The thought left a sour taste in his mouth.
    “Oh, c’mon Kitty,” he yelled out. “I told you it wasn’t on purpose. You’re being overdramatic.”
    Nothing.
    “You’re not getting paid to mope around, you know,” he yelled in the direction of her house, figuring she’d gone back. That would get her pissed off and talking back, since she was hardly getting paid at all.
    “Hey, jackass,” she called from