Free No Knight Needed by Stephanie Rowe Page B

was so stark that Clare almost started laughing. If, of course, she wasn’t feeling a little disgruntled that her daughter would shift from turning on her own mom to embracing a potential murderer in less than a second. But at the same time, Katie’s exuberant reaction gave her reassurance that it was okay to have Griffin there.
    Kids were perceptive, often more so than adults, and if Katie was comfortable with Griffin, then Clare would relax and trust that her own instincts about him were on target.
    “Um, yeah, no problem,” Griffin muttered. His hands were sort of stuck out at a strange angle, as if he had no idea how to hug Katie back and hadn’t the slightest clue where to put his hands.
    Suddenly, Griffin didn’t seem so intimidating. He seemed endearingly human and vulnerable, a man who was just a man, despite his money and his presence. Clare couldn’t help but smile, relaxing at the sight of her daughter making this successful businessman look so adorably awkward.
    Katie pulled back, clinging to Griffin’s arms as she grinned at him. “So, wow, that was the coolest thing ever the way you hooked us up to that harness to get us over the tree. I mean, seriously! And when the tree started to slide— My God! You got over that huge trunk to unhook me so fast! How did you learn to do that?”
    Griffin grinned at Katie, and Clare could practically see his chest puffing out with pride at her daughter’s adoration. “I did that kind of stuff as a kid. My dad knew that kind of shi— I mean, stuff.”
    “Okay, Katie.” Clare took her daughter’s hand to pry her off Griffin and give him some space. “Give Griffin a chance to get acclimated.”
    “Acclimated?” Katie’s eyes widened. “Are you our new boarder? Seriously?”
    Griffin glanced at Clare, and his eyebrows went up. Giving her one last chance to back out? Her heart softened toward him. Would she really relegate her daughter’s savior to living with rats? No chance. “Yes, Katie, Griffin’s our new renter. Just for a few days—”
    “That’s awesome!” Katie beamed at them both. “Mom, you are the coolest ever! He’s so much better than that old lady who smelled like mothballs and spent hours in the bathroom.”
    Clare laughed, relieved by her daughter’s enthusiastic response, glad to know this wasn’t going to wind up being yet another battle between them. “Yes, well, Patty was very nice and once I started washing her clothes, she smelled better.”
    Griffin gave her a speculative look. “Does that mean you’ll be washing mine?”
    Clare had a sudden vision of his undergarments in her wash. Men’s underwear mixed in with hers? “Um, that’s a little personal, I think.”
    He grinned, mischief sparking in his eyes. “You washed Patty’s.”
    “She was a woman,” Clare said, mortified by the sensation of her cheeks heating up. Was she actually blushing at the idea of washing Griffin’s underwear? “It’s different with a man.”
    “Oh, get over it, Mom,” Katie snorted. “He’s just a guy. Jeremy leaves his underwear in my laundry all the time. I don’t have a problem washing his shorts.”
    Clare looked sharply at her daughter, sudden chills running down her spine. “Why on earth is Jeremy’s underwear in your laundry hamper? How come his clothes come off at our house?” Dear Lord, she was going to pass out. “You’re fifteen!” Only three years younger than Clare had been when she became a widowed mom. It couldn’t happen to Katie, not her daughter, not becoming a mother at age eighteen.
    “Jeremy runs over here sometimes before we go out. He changes out of his running clothes after he gets here.” Katie shrugged. “Not a big deal mom. We’re just friends.”
    “Naked friends are not allowed! There will be no more naked men in this house,” Clare said, her palms breaking out into a sweat. “None!”
    Her daughter and Griffin looked at each other, and then back at her. Griffin was grinning and so was her