Worth It All (The McKinney Brothers #3) by Claudia Connor Page A

you want to wear it? Is it hurting you again?”
    “No.”
    Paige barely contained her sigh. She hated how much she wanted Casey to get over this. Hated how badly she needed Casey to go to kindergarten and be happy so that she could go to school herself. “Get it anyway. Jake wants to watch you walk in it.”
    “Why?”
    “So he can make sure it fits okay.”
    “Is he wearing his?”
    “Of course. Have you ever seen him not wear his?” She started to point out that Jake couldn’t cartwheel and forward roll around work, like she couldn’t do in kindergarten, but she didn’t. She was already afraid some misplaced comment about kindergarten had started this attitude toward her prosthesis.
    “Okay. I’ll wear it.”
    Paige waited for her to put it on, then followed her outside. “How are you going to get Leon to come out?”
    “He’ll come. He lives in his ’partment under there.” She pointed under the trailer.
    Paige had never actually seen the turtle, not that it mattered. Casey was happy enough whether he was real or imagined as she picked blades of grass for a bed or a snack, whichever Leon might choose.
    The front side of the trailer blocked the afternoon sun and the breeze was warm and dry. She should put her hair up. She pulled a hair band from her wrist and did so, rolling her eyes at herself for the reason she’d left it down. No matter how attracted she was to Jake, no matter how much she liked him, she needed to remember that wasn’t part of her plan. Casey, work, school, better job. No time to get sidetracked.
    Minutes passed and Casey sighed. “There’s not enough nature in our yard.”
    Nope. And there wasn’t much of a yard either, which got her mind solidly back on track.
    Paige moved down to sit beside Casey and picked up a tiny pebble. “Does Leon like chicken nuggets?” She dropped the rock into Casey’s hand, starting her on a new quest.
    Jenny joined her on the step and whipped out her cherry-flavored roll-on lip gloss.
    “Me too!” Casey said, reaching, always ready for Jenny’s makeup.
    “Yes. You too, my little diva.” Jenny handed it to Casey and they watched her roll on the clear shine.
    She smiled at her daughter’s excitement and grown-up look. She’d be big soon. All the more reason to stay focused.
    A minute later, Jake arrived. Paige took a breath as he parked on the road at the end of the open space and got out amid Casey’s squeals of joy and Jenny’s deep, woman-smitten sighs. He had a quiet, easy way about him. There was no swagger, he didn’t saunter—though looking like he did, he most definitely could have. Could have sauntered, sashayed, skipped, or even flown, and any woman in his vicinity would have fallen into his arms, their eyes glassing over.
    It was army green cargo shorts and a black polo-style shirt today, and she wondered if he’d worn shorts for Casey’s benefit. She hadn’t known him long, but it seemed like something he would do.
    She stood, dusted off her bottom, then squeezed Jenny’s hand when she stood up beside her. “Do not run off and leave me.”
    “What? Casey’s not enough of a chaperone? Afraid you’ll maul the man? I would be.” She sighed dramatically. “So hot.”
    “I mean it, Jenny.”
    “Of course you do.” Jenny sent her a too-sweet smile. “Here. Put on some lip gloss and simmer down.”
    She definitely needed to simmer down. After years of not wanting a man’s touch—an opinion Jenny frequently called ludicrous—she was shocked by how much she wanted Jake’s.
    “Hi, Jake,” Jenny said, meeting him halfway. “I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced.” Jake met her with a handshake, let Casey grab onto his other hand, and smiled at Paige still some feet away. Was it possible to
feel
a smile?
    If she was looking to rid herself of butterflies, or feeling like a leaf shaking precariously at the end of a branch, Jake McKinney and his earth-shattering kisses, his smile, and his sweetness were not the