Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

KYLEN

"There's something wrong with her," Grace said, and Kylen immediately felt anger racing up his spine. They'd been arguing for the last two weeks about Flora's diet, and he knew that it was a problem, but he just didn't have the strength to deal with it.

He and his sister had been raised on the philosophy of when a kid is hungry enough, they'll eat whatever you give them. And while it had been true in his case—he'd eaten so many meals that made him feel sick to his stomach—he wasn't going to put that on his daughter.

He wasn't going to let his sister start using food as punishment.

"She eats what she eats, and if you don't like it, you can leave," he told her.

Grace sniffed. "I bet CPS?—"

"Shut the fuck up," Kylen snapped at her, and the way her cheeks turned red, he could tell she knew she'd crossed a line. "CPS isn't going to do jack shit about a man who feeds his child frozen food."

Flora was in front of the TV, happily nibbling on a frozen waffle. She liked them that way, and while he couldn't fathom eating it the way she did, at least she was eating.

With a sigh, Grace spun away from him and put the finishing touches on her salad. "She's going to be maladjusted. She's not going to get away with this stuff in the real world."

"This is the real world. My house isn't make-believe," Kylen told her. "And she's not going to go into the world incapable of taking care of herself or fulfilling her own responsibilities because she has food preferences."

"The bath thing," Grace started.

Flora could only use unscented soap and would only get in the water if it was tepid. She also had one specific towel she liked to use—no others. And, okay, she had issues with her socks, and he had to cut the tags off all her T-shirts. And she didn't like things too loud or too quiet or too hard or too soft.

His mother called her spoiled.

Grace called her stubborn.

Kylen was starting to suspect it was something else, but he didn't have the energy to think about it, and he certainly wasn't going to delve further into it with his sister there. He couldn't stand her judgment. He missed Dani fiercely. He missed the peace and quiet of his own home, where their routine hadn't been disrupted.

"Does your boyfriend think something's off?" Grace asked, putting the salad on the table.

Kylen felt his stomach swoop at the mention of Dallas. "That's none of your business."

She smirked at him, and he turned away from her, grabbing the chicken out of the oven and setting it to the side. It was perfectly brown, slightly crusted with spices—his sister hated it that way, but he'd made himself a promise to stop eating unseasoned beige dinners as soon as he was capable of cooking for himself.

"Can you please get the plates down?" he asked her in the tense silence. As Grace moved toward the cabinet, the doorbell rang, and Kylen damn near jumped out of his skin. He shook the nerves from his hands as he moved into the living room and glanced over at Flora, who hadn't moved from her spot.

That was a blessing because once she realized Dallas was there, she was going to want all his attention, and Kylen needed a moment. He needed several moments with Dallas.

Cracking the door open, he grinned and stepped out, closing it behind him.

"Secret meeting?" Dallas asked with a small smile.

Kylen went warm in his cheeks. "My sister's picking a fight, and Flora's refusing to eat anything but frozen waffles. It's been kind of an evening already."

Dallas's face fell. "Oh, honey."

Kylen swallowed thickly, then shrugged. "It's fine. I'm glad you're here. I just need you to be on my side right now."

"I will always be on your side." His promise hit Kylen deep, and then he lifted a hand and cupped it around the side of Kylen's neck, giving him an out-of-body moment. "What can I do right now?"

It took Kylen a good ten seconds to regain his composure. "Just don't let my sister get to you. And don't judge me too hard for letting my kid eat crap."

"Frozen waffles are fortified," Dallas said. He stroked his thumb over Kylen's pulse. "And your sister won't get to me. I teach five-year-olds for a living. There's little she could say that will hurt me worse than when they come after me. You should have heard them when I showed up to work with green socks."

Kylen let out a soft laugh and tipped his head forward, letting his head rest against Dallas's chest. Maybe it was too much, but he supposed they needed to get used to some casual touches. He wanted this to feel natural. Grace would figure it out if it wasn't.

"Come on," Dallas said after a beat. "I can see Grace spying on us. She's got her face in the window."

"Waiting to see us kiss," Kylen murmured, not looking over. When he realized what he said, he flushed. Hard. "Not that we should."

Dallas hummed softly, then moved his hand to Kylen's cheek. "I brushed my teeth."

"I—oh." Kylen bit his lip. "With mint-flavored stuff?"

"Yes. I outgrew bubble gum when I was six," Dallas said, his face far too serious for that answer.

Kylen laughed again, but the sound died in his throat as Dallas leaned forward, then stopped. He was going to make Kylen meet him halfway. He was dying a little inside because this was not how he wanted their first kiss. He wanted something real. He craved Dallas's lips, but only when they were desperate for Kylen's.

And yet, he couldn't stop himself.

He pushed up onto his toes, and their lips met in a lingering, soft, chaste kiss. Dallas's mouth was plush and warm and so fucking tender it made Kylen's toes curl. He wanted to deepen it, to taste him, to put his hands all over him.

Instead, he pulled back. His vision was a little blurry, and his heartbeat was too fast. Dallas's hand lingered on his cheek, and there was something in his eyes, but it didn't last.

Kylen lifted onto his toes again and murmured against Dallas's ear, "First kiss with a man?"

Dallas cleared his throat softly. "First real kiss, yeah."

"Out of ten?"

Throwing his head back, Dallas laughed and took a step back. "Seven point five. Room for improvement." Before Kylen could react, Dallas breezed past him and went inside.

Grace was unusually quiet during dinner, which was making Kylen feel uneasy. He wondered if she'd been put off by what she'd seen when she was spying. He hadn't bothered bringing guys home when he was younger, and having never been in a real relationship as he got older, it was probably the first time she'd ever seen him be affectionate with a man.

Dallas seemed to pick up on it, though, because he was laying it on thick. After getting Flora set up with her plate—another waffle and two small pieces of chicken she refused to touch—he draped his arm over the back of Kylen's chair.

His fingers toyed with the nape of his neck, making shivers race up and down Kylen's spine. He wanted to run from it, but he also wanted to lean in. He wanted to tease and flirt back and make it so Dallas would stay long after Grace went back to her rental and Flora went to bed.

But that wasn't what this was.

And he knew the tension was eventually going to snap.

"Can I watch some TV?" Flora asked, kicking her feet.

"Yes," Kylen said at the same time as Grace said, "Absolutely not. "

Kylen glared at her. "Yes, sweetpea. Go watch TV before your bath."

Flora cheered, then tugged on Dallas's hand. "Want to come wiff?"

"I think I should stay with the grown-ups, but how about I read you a story before I go?"

"Jeanie Jones, Jeanie Jones!" Flora chanted as she let Dallas go and raced back to the living room.

Kylen raised a brow at Dallas, who rolled his eyes. "We're reading Junie B. Jones next week, and she's been excited for it since I announced the next book in the list."

Grace's eyes narrowed. "Isn't that a little old for them?"

"Weren't you reading Anne Rice in fifth grade?" Kylen fired back.

Grace flushed and folded her hands under her chin to prop it up. "I took it without Mom's permission. It wasn't like she was sitting me down and reading me chapters."

Dallas gave her a flat look. "Well, last time I checked, no one gets eaten in Junie B. Jones, so I think the kids can handle it."

Grace looked like she wanted to say more, but Kylen was grateful she just thinned her lips and stayed silent. At least for a moment.

"Do you think something's wrong with my niece, Mr. Reed?"

Dallas, who had taken a sip of water, choked. He swiped the back of his hand over his mouth and blinked at her. "I'm sorry?"

"I don't mean to be crass," Grace said with a sharp smile directed at Kylen, "but my brother seems to think all of Flora's little quirks are normal. I was wondering what your professional opinion is."

"My professional opinion is that I don't discuss things like this in someone's home when I've been invited for dinner."

"Your boyfriend, you mean," Grace said. Fuck, there was a loose thread, and she was tugging. "So, you're going to get involved with my brother—your student's father—and you won't voice your concerns?"

"I won't discuss something like this outside of a professional meeting, no," Dallas said, all the humor gone from his tone. "I'm not a psychiatrist. I'm not a school counselor. When my students undergo assessments, I fill out a worksheet, and I attend the meeting so I'm available for questions. And I certainly don't discuss it with noncustodial family members over casual dinner."

Kylen wanted to kiss him again. But he also wanted to corner him and demand a real answer the moment Grace was gone because there was something in Dallas's tone that told him Grace had hit a tender spot.

Was something wrong with his daughter?

Christ.

His fingers began to tremble, and he hid them under the table. "Well, if that's all?—"

"When you join us for camping, I hope you know you'll get more questions like this. It might be better to prepare some answers," Grace said.

Dallas laughed, but there wasn't a hint of a smile in his eyes. "Like I'm on trial."

"We've got the dishes from here," Kylen cut in. "Feel free to leave."

"That's rude," Grace said.

Kylen scoffed. "No, you're being rude. This was a courtesy because you seemed so fixated on the fact that I'm finally seeing someone you wouldn't leave well enough alone. You've never respected me, and I hoped that once you had proof that I'm not into women?—"

"You fucked one! You had a kid with one!"

"I was drunk and horny," Kylen hissed. He felt like a broken record with her. "I could have gotten it up for a sex doll."

Grace pulled a face and stood up. "I've heard enough."

"Good. Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out," Kylen growled. He sat back, trying to calm himself down as he heard Grace step into the living room to say goodbye to Flora.

Luckily, his daughter was too engrossed in her show to give Grace much attention, and it wasn't long before the front door opened, then slammed shut.

"She's such a fucking child," Kylen moaned, putting his hands over his face.

A beat later, he felt a warm touch on the back of his neck. He didn't understand why Dallas was still so close—why he was still being so kind. The show was over. "You handled that a lot better than I would have."

Kylen dropped his hands and looked at him. "Is there something wrong with my daughter?"

Dallas's expression fell. "I'm not a professional?—"

"Please," Kylen begged.

Dallas let out a slow breath. "I haven't been doing this long, but Flora does share some signs of maybe not being entirely neurotypical. But before you panic, that doesn't mean anything bad, okay? My nephew—a kid I love more than anything in the world—is totally blind and autistic. Frey's son is Deaf. Adele's son has ADHD. They're all amazing kids with bright futures ahead of them. If Flora's got a little spice in her brain, she's not alone. And she's going to be fine. "

Kylen tried for a laugh, but it came out like a sob. "Do you think it was me? Because I tried to do this alone?"

Dallas cupped Kylen's face between his hands. "I think you're one of the best parents I've ever met. And I'm not saying this because I like you and want to be able to see you again, but she's probably my favorite student."

Kylen didn't have words for the feeling that gave him. "Teacher's pet, huh?"

Dallas laughed as he pulled his hands away, and fuck, Kylen missed their warmth. "She's one of the best listeners. And she doesn't do well with change, but she's capable, and she's willing to try anything I put in front of her. And she's funny, Ky. She makes all the other kids laugh."

"That won't last, will it?" Kylen asked him. He was giving voice to all the quiet worries that were coming to the surface. The ones that he'd been repressing for a while now. "Kids are going to be awful to her."

"They might be, but it's not like when we were kids, okay? Don't go into disaster mode now. Just breathe. I can make a couple calls to schedule an evaluation if you want one, but right now, she's okay."

"Am I a monster if I want to wait a little while?"

Dallas laughed. "No, honey. You're a tired single father with a difficult family and a lot on his plate. Take the time you need."