Free Point of Contention (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Louisa Neil Page B

her
    hand through it. He steeled himself for some horrible reason.
    “I gave up my legal career because I didn’t like it. I still have a
    sincere appreciation for the law, when it’s handled properly. I still
    believe in everyone’s fundamental rights. For me the problem was
    more of pushing paper than helping mankind.”
    “That’s not a full answer. You could have left the public
    defender’s office, gone with an established firm, or started your own.
    Surely there had to be other aspects of the law that you were drawn
    to?”
    “I was always drawn to the idealism of the law. The reality of it
    generally sucks.”
    “So you were disillusioned?”
    “Basically.” She hesitated, and he knew she was deciding what to
    tell him. Would she open up to him or shut down and push him away?
    She let out a heavy breath. “I always wanted to be a chef.”
    “Then why law school? I don’t understand you at all.”
    “That’s a two-way street, Mr. Drake. Why don’t we start with
    you?”
    “I’m a closed book, Kay. A baseball pitcher with a blown
    shoulder isn’t worth much to any team. After that, I got lucky in the
    computer market. I got luckier selling out when I did. The profits
    allowed me to buy this land and build the lodge.”
    “All right, why the lodge?”
    “That, my dear woman, would take much too long to answer.”
    Silently, he added, And it would tell you too much about my personal life. More than he was comfortable sharing.
    “Is it that you just don’t want to answer at all, or is it only to me?”
    “Why is it we always seem to wind up challenging one another?”
    “I think it’s chemical, Stu.” She waited for an explosion at the
    shortening of his name but didn’t get one. Instead, she got his
    standard answer.
    Point of Contention
    58
    “My name is Stuart, and I don’t answer to Stu or any other form
    of it. Understood?”
    “Understood,” she told him, biting back a smile.
    “Kind of like how you must feel when your husband calls you
    Katie?” This time he kept her look, taunting her with his words.
    “How did you know he called me Katie?”
    “That’s how he asked for you on the phone,” he told her quickly,
    hoping to cover his stupid slip.
    “Katie bothers me because of the way he uses it, not necessarily
    the name itself. Besides, why my parents decided to name me
    Kadence is still a mystery to us all. Neither of my parents have any
    musical talent or military training. My father always said Mom liked
    the way it sounded, Kadence Farrell, and he decided it was easier to
    go along with her than to fight since he didn’t have a better suggestion to fight for.”
    “You love them deeply, don’t you? And you respect them as
    people, too,” he added.
    “Yes, I got lucky. I was blessed with hardworking, reasonably
    normal parents who wanted the best out of life for themselves and me
    and not necessarily just monetarily. I was taught to see the good in the small things in life.”
    “I envy you that, Kay. My mother wasn’t a strong woman. When
    my father died, she just dissolved. If I’d been any younger, my life
    would probably have been very different.”
    “How old were you when he died?”
    “Just turned seven. Old enough to take it to heart when people told
    me I was the new man of the house, and young enough to be scared to
    hell by the prospect of it all.”
    “And that’s why you never married, afraid something similar
    would happen to your children?” They’d reached the garage building,
    and Stuart knew she’d leave him soon.
    “That’s another long story, too long for standing here when the
    mosquitoes are about to descend on us.”
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    Louisa Neil
    Kadence held his gaze for a long time before answering him. “For
    another time, then.” Her hand reached slowly toward the beast Stuart
    straddled, hesitant yet determined. At first he thought she was
    reaching to him, then realized in time she was going to stroke the
    horse. He pushed back the