His Every Move by Kelly Favor Read Free Book Online Page A

gate.
    “Dad’s on his way,” Red announced.
    “Great,” Nicole said, rolling her eyes. “Let’s roll out the red carpet.”
    “Nicole, take it easy,” Red said.
    “Don’t tell me what to do. Not tonight.”
    He sighed in frustration. Then he looked to Kallie. “I’m going to be depending on you the next day or two. Don’t get rattled, no matter what happens.”
    “I’ll do my best,” Kallie replied.
    “We’ll all be good little soldiers, don’t you worry,” Nicole said.
    Red looked at both of them, ignoring Nicole’s sarcasm. “Dad can be a little strange,” he said. “Just a word of warning. I haven’t seen him in years, but if he’s anything like he was the last time I saw him…well…let’s just say that he can be a bit eccentric.”
    As if in response to his warning, the doorbell chimed loudly. Kallie went to answer the door, but Red stopped her. “I’ll get it,” he said. He walked to the front door and she heard him answering it.
    She expected the usual sounds of a son and father reuniting after time apart. Loud voices, laughter, remarks about how the other looked. But there was nothing, just some low guttural grunting exchanges. And then Red led his father into the kitchen for introductions.
    His father was shorter than Red, with dark, curly hair, and a big, rather unkempt beard. He was like the polar opposite of Red, Kallie decided. As much as Red was slick and put together, his dad seemed to have just woken up and thrown on some dirty looking clothes, not bothering to shave or even comb his hair.
    He wasn’t particularly fit, although he had a certain brute strength to his appearance. He wore patched jeans and a denim jacket that couldn’t have been made any later than 1995. A green army duffel bag was slung over one shoulder.
    He nodded at Kallie. “You must be Nicole,” he said, coming toward her with his hand out. “You’re even more beautiful than I imagined.”
    Kallie blushed and shook her head. “No, no—“
    Red grimaced. “Dad, that’s our nanny, Kallie. Nicole is right here.”
    His father made a face. “A nanny? What do you need one of those for?”
    Nicole came around the counter to shake hands with Red’s dad. “So nice to finally meet you Mister Jameson,” she said.
    “Call me Ray,” he said, shaking her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Nicole.”
    And then silence descended on the room. It was as if they’d been conversing for hours and hours, and finally run out of interesting topics. Only, they’d all just met seconds ago. The awkwardness was palpable.
    “Did you drive in?” Kallie said, just to break the tension.
    Ray spun and nodded. “I did. I drove from my farm in Vermont. It’s about five and a half hours. Not too bad, actually.”
    “Oh, you live on a farm?” Kallie said. “That must be beautiful.”
    He nodded. “It’s no mansion in Connecticut, but it does me just fine.”
    She couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, so Kallie just smiled.
    “Dad, want to bring your bag to your bedroom?” Red asked.
    “Sure. I was figuring I’d sleep in one bedroom and I could go number two in another room entirely. I mean, why else have two dozen rooms if you can’t shit in a different bathroom each day, right?”
    “You can have as many rooms as you require,” Red replied, and escorted him down the hallway.
    When they were gone, Nicole looked at Kallie and made a face. “I keep telling myself it’s only going to be a couple of days.”
    Just then, Kallie felt a buzz in her pocket. She took out her cell phone. It was a text from Levi.
    Watching Keeping up with the Kardashians and thinking of u. what r u up to?
    Kallie smiled as she read it.
    “Hunter?” Nicole asked, and then caught herself. “Sorry. None of my business.”
    Kallie put the phone back in her pocket. “No, it’s…just my brother. Something silly.”
    Nicole nodded, and raised her eyebrows, as if that explained everything.

    ***
    Over the next few hours, Ray had gotten a