Free Full Disclosure (Homefront: The Sheridans Book 2) by Kate Aster Page A

your
brother.”
    “Brothers.” I correct her. Dylan is as
much of a junkie as Logan and me.
    “So why didn’t you do it?”
    I shrug, the answer so obvious to me that
I’m almost surprised I need to tell her. “JLS. I submitted my application to
West Point about two months before Logan got accepted to the Naval Academy. It
just killed Dad, finding out that Logan didn’t want to take up the reins at
JLS. So I did instead.”
    “So you gave up your dream to make your
dad happy.”
    It sounds pathetic when I hear it put
that way. “No. No, definitely not. I gave up my dreams so that we could
continue our heritage. The company means a lot to our family.”
    “To the whole region, actually,” she
interjects, and I’m glad to know she gets it.
    I nod. “A lot of people rely on JLS for
jobs around here. My dad could have sold the company, but there’s little chance
the headquarters would have stayed in Newton’s Creek. My family’s lived here
too long. It’s a part of us. The people who work for me now—they’re the
same people I went to high school with and a lot of their parents. I
trick-or-treated at their homes. I went to parties with their kids. I didn’t
want to see JLS move anymore than Dad did.”
    “What about Dylan?”
    “Dylan never had any interest in JLS. That
guy belongs in a gym. Not a CEO’s office.”
    She shoots me a sly smile. “Hey, I’m not
blind over here. Looks to me like you spend your share of time in a gym, too.”
    It feels good to know that she notices. “The
only gym I see these days is in my basement after Hannah’s gone to sleep. It’s
a good stress reliever. And I still fly, but not helicopters. I’ve got a Cessna
that I take up in the air any chance I get.” Taking another bite of my woefully
overcooked steak, I catch a motion out of the corner of my eye. “Hey, take a
look at our twenty-year couple over there.”
    She looks over and her expression warms
at the sight of them silently holding hands while they wait for their dessert.
    “Told you they were happy,” I say.

Chapter
6
     
    ~ KIM ~
     
    Tonight, I feel normal. And it might seem
funny that an evening out with an honest-to-God billionaire is making me feel normal because there’s nothing normal about it.
    But talking with Ryan, my hands aren’t their
usual brand of clammy when I’m around men I don’t know well. My heart isn’t
lodged in my throat like it was those few times I tried to venture into the
dating world again.
    Maybe it’s because he’s Logan’s brother.
Or maybe it’s because he’s my boss and a pillar of our community. Or maybe it’s
just because every instinct I have tells me that Ryan Sheridan is nothing but a
good guy, even though I question my instincts by default ever since that night
in college when my life changed forever.
    “I really had fun tonight,” he says into
the silence as we wait at a stoplight.
    “Me, too,” I respond, resisting the urge
to reach over and just touch his hand ever so lightly as it grips the shifter. This
isn’t a date. This is my boss.
    I glance over at him as he looks at me,
and I swear there’s nothing boss-like in the way he’s looking at me now. It
should almost frighten me, that split second when I think I see a trace of
desire in Ryan’s eyes. I haven’t felt comfortable being the object of anyone’s
desire in years. Tonight, I feel like there’s a part of me coming to life
around Ryan, a part I keep locked up tight, probably behind the same padlock
where I keep all my secrets.
    The light turns green, and the change
seems to snap him out of whatever thought process he was drifting on.
    I wish I could say the same.
    My head is swirling with emotion—a
strange concoction of confusion laced with attraction, and just a hint of fear
at feelings that I can’t deny.
    As we drive through downtown Newton’s
Creek, my thoughts drift to what awaits me at home: reality. I love my son;
don’t get me wrong. But I’m not ready to assume my role