Page 98 of A Matter of Time

He glowered at me, and I arched a brow at him as we shared a long look.

“Fine.” He threw up his hands, stalking to the refrigerator for a beer. “I don’t give a shit,” he said before he left the room.

I shrugged and looked at his mother. “I think he enjoys the complaining more than anything.”

“I would agree,” she said quietly, nodding. “I think you’ve got him pegged right.”

I went back to the dishes until I felt the hand on my back.

“Jory.”

His dad was next to me, looking at my face.

“Yessir?”

“How long have you known Sam?”

“Not too long,” I told him. “I actually got in a little trouble, and he’s helping me out.”

“I see.” He smiled warmly. “Well, thank you for speaking up. He actually owns fifty-one percent to my forty-nine, so if he wanted to, he could sell it.”

“He won’t if you don’t want him to,” I assured him. “But you know that.”

“Do I?” He indulged me. “I don’t know about that, Jory.”

“I don’t either.” One of the men moved over to hold out his hand. “Jesse Kage, man, good to meet you. This is my brother, Levi.”

I shook his hand and then his brother’s. “Good to meet you both.”

Levi smiled as he looked me straight in the eye. “And you, Jory.”

The door swung open suddenly, and Rachel, Sam’s oldest sister, came in. “Oh, Mother, how could you let your son bring that woman back over here after the last time?”

Regina chuckled. “Do you mean Paige?”

Her groan made everyone laugh. “Oh God, yes. Could she be any more condescending or conceited or…ohmygod, Mother, she’s such a bitch.”

Regina laughed out loud. “Rachel!”

“Mother,” Rachel said sharply, pointing out into the other room. “Do you have any idea what she just said to me?”

“No.” Regina giggled, unable to stop.

“She said it was wonderful that I could throw away all my dreams to stay home and raise children. You’re lucky I didn’t smack her right there!”

“She’s young, dear, and⁠—”

“Rach,” a guy began as he walked into the room, “why’re you being such a jerk to Paige?”

“Ohmygod, Mike, did you hear what she said to me?”

Michael Kage looked a lot like his brother, but where Sam’s features were fine, chiseled perfection, Mike’s were blunt and unfinished. He was still handsome—as far as I could tell, all the Kage men were—but not one of them was as drop-dead gorgeous as Detective Sam Kage.

“Yeah, I heard, Rach, and she was only responding to you asking her if she wanted kids. I mean, could you be any more obvious? Just because I’m ready to settle down and get married and start a family doesn’t mean she is. We’ve only been going out for three months. For crissakes, could ya lay off her?”

“I—”

“So she’s different from you and Jen and all your friends. Give her a break.”