It had split right along the seam.Dried glue globs had curled, and sharp nails pointed this way and that.He aligned the parts, trying to figure out how to mesh them back up.The two pieces had been made for each other, but now there was so much crap in the way.What had held them together was now keeping them apart.
He was no cobbler.It was going to take special tools and probably a jig of some sort to fix this.It was a shame, because she’d been right.
They were pretty kick-ass.
The sound of padding feet made him lift his head.Roxie stood in the bedroom doorway, rubbing her eyes.
“You fixed my coffeemaker?”she asked, sniffing the air hopefully.
His gaze stuck on her.She was wearing his Harley tee.It draped like a dress over her smaller form and came down to midthigh.The thing covered her completely, but the soft material didn’t hide the shape of her nipples.They were perky and alert.
He cleared his throat.“The nozzle was plugged.”
“Mmm,” she hummed as she stretched her arms overhead.
Billy slowly put the broken boot pieces back on the floor.The T-shirt had lifted high on her legs with the move, and his mouth had gone dry.
She wasn’t wearing anything underneath it.
He watched as she walked into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee.The damn breakfast bar hid her from the waist down, but he saw the pleasure that crossed her face when she tasted the strong brew.Her hair was wild across her shoulders, and her eyes were still sleepy.
She took another sip before she felt his stare.
Watching him, she leaned forward and braced her elbows on the kitchen island that separated them.“Are we calling a truce today?”
Right now, he’d do about anything she wanted.
He nodded.“I’ll show you how I worked the computer search.”
They’d just get that out of the way and be done with it.
“Is that how you found your mother?”
He shrugged.“I went out and talked to people who knew people.”
“Why can’t we do that?”
“Who do you want to talk to?”
She scowled and her attention dropped back to her coffee.
Right, that’s what he’d thought.“Use the computer to find people who might know something.You can nose around town afterwards.Better yet, let me do that part.”
He didn’t like the thought of her running around confronting strangers.The scenes he’d encountered as he’d followed the trail to that bridge in Minnesota hadn’t been pretty.She was tough, but he didn’t want her to be in danger.
She frowned and set her mug aside.As much as she wanted answers, he could tell she wasn’t looking forward to the process of finding them.Patience had never been one of her virtues.
When she wanted something, she wanted it now.
Pushing her hair over her shoulder, she looked at him again.Her eyes were more alert, and her cheeks were pink.That bird outside had finally gone silent, but Billy could have sworn the sound of a pulse filled the room.He felt her gaze draw slowly down his bare chest to his belly and then his jeans.
Right on cue, he was hard again.
“Where’s your duffel bag?”she asked.
“In the apartment downstairs.”
“Do you want to bring it up here?”
