HAYDEN
I rollmy eyes at King’s words. I think he’s got it in his mind that his crude comments are going to annoy me but I spend half of my time in barns and fields with men, so not much affects me. I don’t think there’s anything that I haven't heard. Still even with that, I feel my face warm thinking about King actually being inside of me. The one place I’ve never let another man go. Again, because I hang out with too many of them and know that most only want one thing. Once they get what they’re after, they move on to the next. I think deep down inside, I know if I give myself over to a man I’ll turn into a stage five clinger. I get attached easily. It’s why I keep most people at arm's length. People always leave. That’s exactly what’s brought me here.
My own sister left me. Even though I knew she had to, it still hurt me. She had no choice if she wanted to be a doctor but I guess I always thought she’d come back. There wasn't really anything to go back to at this point. The closest hospital to our little town is over two hours away. So, as I’ve said before, I can totally understand why Danny chose not to come back.
I am lucky in the fact that I chose to be a veterinary technician. There is plenty of work for me in our small town. Since we are in such a rural area, I’ve had to go with my boss Sawyer a time or two to make a house call to check on actual people. The man is a veterinarian, not a human doctor. Yet we’ve stitched up more people than we probably should have over the years.
I walk over to the bed, picking up the clothes King brought me. I could use a shower. It has been a long trip. I need to think about how I am going to get my sister to come home with me. If she doesn’t want to be in the big city because of Brandon then why not just come home? This place looks almost as rural as being back home. None of it makes sense to me. I didn’t receive a warm reaction from either Cyn or King when I suggested that I was taking Danny back with me. They seemed to get very protective over her. I must say that it worries me a bit. What is this place? My sister said she was coming here to work and lay low but I think I might be missing something. They keep talking about cabins but when I pulled up it didn't look like it was a hotel or retail place. There was no sign advertising lodging.
I turn on the shower, looking through the drawers in the bathroom. I find myself grabbing the peach body wash. I pull my hair up on top of my head before undressing and stepping into the warm water. I let out a small moan as it runs over me. All of the muscle aches from driving for hours melt away. I let my mind drift to different scenarios of why my sister is choosing to stay here.
If I get her back home and douchebag Brandon decides to show up there, I could shoot him then wrap him in a little bit of chicken wire, find a lake and bam, no more Brandon to worry about. As easy as my plan sounds, I don’t actually think I could kill someone. I’m in the business of healing things, not destroying them. I still cry like a baby whenever we lose an animal at work. I don’t care if the creature was twenty years old and lived his best life. I always spring a leak. It’s the hardest part about my job.
I turn off the water after washing myself and grab a towel. None of my random shower thoughts matter. I know that if I were to off Brandon, Danny would head back to the city and I’d be left alone again. So many times I’ve debated just moving there to be with her but I’m really not sure I’d take so well to living in a big city. I always seemed to get lost or overwhelmed the few times I visited. There were too many people and no space to breathe. I don’t know how Danny does it. She said herself it can be a little much at times but if she wants to practice medicine, that is where she has to be to do it.
I head over to the bed to get the clothes King gave me. I'm not sure why but I lift the shirt to my nose, smelling it before I slip it on. It smells like him, woodsy and masculine. It’s also ten sizes too big for me but I’ll make do. I try and put on the shorts but they only fall off. The man really is a giant. I have to roll the top over and over again to get them to stay up. The shirt goes to my knees anyway.
I decide to forgo wearing underwear because let’s face it, I only have one clean pair in my purse and I’ll need those for tomorrow. I actually do have a suitcase in my truck; I just don’t want to bring it inside. I don’t know why but I have this feeling that if the suitcase comes into the house it’s never going back out.
Kings vulgar words keep fluttering through my mind. I can’t stop thinking about what it would feel like if he actually wasballsdeepinside of me. I don’t usually get turned on by dirty talk but something about him has me feeling a certain way. I do my best to shake those thoughts from my head, remembering that I’m here for one reason and that’s Danny.
I’m not here to be King’s woman. Whatever the hell that even means. Maybe it has a totally different meaning in these parts. A smile flits across my mouth. Tomorrow, I may just lie to him and say that I tried to call my boyfriend but my phone isn't getting service. I decide that I’m going to do exactly that.
I’m way too excited to see his reaction when he thinks I belong to another man. I should feel bad but I don’t since he was cocky and tried to declare that I was his. I don’t take crap from anyone and this big, giant, no first name King guy isn’t any different.
five
KING
When Weston comes downstairsthe next morning wearing my clothes, I decide that I am an utter genius. “We’ll have to burn all of your clothes.”
“Why’s that?” She frowns.
“Because you won’t be wearing anything that’s not mine anymore. Got a call from Jake and he and your sister should be here this afternoon. What do you want to eat?”
“I’m not hungry and there will be no burning of anything.” She holds up her phone with the charging cord dangling from it. “Do you have a plugin I can use? I need to call my boyfriend.”
My good mood heads straight down the shitter. “Your what?”
I thought we had already cleared the fact that she had no man in her life.
“My boyfriend. He’s an MMA fighter. Very big. Fit.” Her eyes sweep over me and I see a flicker of interest before it disappears. “Toned. Sexy.”
She throws out the one-word adjectives like she’s trying to create a shield against her attraction to me. It’s some real bullshit. I fold my arms across my chest.
“No. There are no chargers in this house.” Absolutely zero for her purpose.
She points to the wall. “Won’t that plugin over there fit?”
I spin out of my chair and snatch the charger out of the wall, throw it on the ground and crush it beneath my boot heel. Whistling tunelessly, I pretend none of that happened and say, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Her nose goes up. “Fine. It’s not like I need it. I still have fifty percent charge on my phone which is more than enough for me to have a sweet conversation with my man.”
I see two options here. Her phone gets destroyed or we go someplace where there’s no cell service. The broken plastic and wires crunch underfoot as I walk toward her. She backs up, holding her phone protectively to her chest. The back of the couch stops her progress.
I lean forward. She leans backward. She feels warm from this distance, like a little radiator that could heat you up during the cold winter nights. She smells good, too. I inhale and catch the faint hint of peaches. A smile flits across my lips. She’s not as immune to me as she pretends to be. Guess her phone is safe. If she has a man, she’ll be breaking up with him because Weston belongs to me.
“Wh-what are you doing?” She stutters.