Free Saving a Legend: A Kavanagh Legends Novel by Sarah Robinson

because I definitely want to pick you up.” He smiled before glancing over to check that Shea wasn’t listening. He didn’t really think he had to worry about that, though, because she was absorbed in her reading and was wearing her heavy-duty, pale pink headgear. He spent most of their walk stopping Shea before they neared an intersection, or moving her to the side if something was in the sidewalk, because otherwise she’d plow right into it without hesitation.
    “We may have accidentally spent some time together during the last three days, but you’re still a mystery to me,” Fiona explained.
    Kieran shrugged and glanced at her sideways. “Well, what would you like to know?”
    She tapped her index finger to her lip like he’d seen her do a few times before, a unique motion to her that made him want her even more. He tried to push further thoughts of her perfect pink lips away and concentrate on her as she looked at him closely.

    “All right, well, why do you work construction? You’re definitely smart, so I’m sure you could be doing something else if you wanted,” she asked.
    “I’m helping out my older brother. He owns the rescue, and they’re renovating the entire thing, making it much bigger and adding a clinic. It’s scheduled to be done in a few weeks. He and his girl love dogs, so they take in ex-fighter dogs and rehabilitate them. He needed the extra help, and I had some time on my hands.” He knew full well that he wasn’t exactly telling the truth, leaving out anything that related to his time in prison, but he wasn’t lying, either.
    “You’re just helping your brother? Oh, that’s kind.” She seemed pleased with his answer, and he loved the warm smile that appeared on her face. “Then you’ll go back to finance or something in a few weeks?”
    “Probably, haven’t really decided yet. I’ve got plenty saved up to give me a little time to figure it out.”
    “Figure what out? What were you doing before this?” she pried further.
    Kieran looked away from her and saw Shea climbing the steps up to a small stoop in front of a ratty, run-down building.
    “Is this your house?” he asked, avoiding her question.
    “One fourth of the top floor is, yeah.” She opened her purse to fish out her keys and follow Shea up the steps. She turned when she got halfway up. “Thanks for walking us, and for the yogurt. That was really kind of you.”

    “Anytime, Fi,” he said, and was rewarded with another wide smile. Note to self, she likes the nickname.
    “Shea, say thank you,” Fiona instructed her little sister, pulling on one side of her earmuffs to talk to her.
    “Thank you, Kieran.”
    Fiona beamed down at her sister, unmistakable pride on her face, then she turned to give him a small wave before they both went inside.
    Kieran turned to head back toward the youth center, where his car was parked. He glanced around the neighborhood they were in, and he didn’t like what he saw. He worried about the two of them here but tried to push away his discomfort. That only led to more questions in his mind.
    He’d known this woman for three days, and he had already seen her more times than he’d seen his own family. Not even on purpose—she just kept popping up everywhere he was. And he loved it. He was looking forward to it, hoping to run into her again and again.
    He had to wonder if he was feeling this way only because he’d been locked away from all women for two years. Maybe it was possible that he’d literally picked the first woman he met out of prison and clung to her, as if she was some symbol of the freedom he’d lost the last few years of his life.
    Somehow, he knew that wasn’t the case, though. This woman was different, and she made him feel different. Maybe because she didn’t know he was a felon, a topic he’d barely dodged tonight, or maybe it was because she didn’t know what a screwup he was. Or maybe it was in the way Fiona smiled at her sister, as if the world started