Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
HUDSON
By the time Kenna and I had reached the summit where we’d decided to set up camp for the night, dusk had settled in, the chill in the air seeping through our layers and making us desperate to start a fire.
Though I had fully intended to set up the tent Kenna had brought for herself, we’d spent valuable daylight minutes chasing after our new canine companion when a squirrel had captured her attention and she’d taken off into the brush.
I’d managed to erect one of the tents while Kenna had gathered wood and made us a fire. And damn if watching her so calm and self-assured didn’t make me want to kiss the hell out of her. Made me want to do a whole lot more than just kiss her…
I strode over, perching beside her on the log she sat on, the dog sound asleep in her lap. The fire roared in front of us, warming us up after the temperature had dropped twenty degrees since sunset.
“Sorry we didn’t have time to get both tents set up. If it makes you more comfortable, I can sleep out here.”
She slid me a glance out of the corner of her eye. “Don’t be stupid.”
I huffed out a laugh, rubbing my hands together where they rested between my spread knees. “Not stupid. Just wanna make sure you’re okay with it.”
“Well, I mean…it’s not like you’re gonna steal my virtue.” She elbowed me in the ribs. “You nabbed that sucker a long time ago.”
“Actually, I think it was you who stole mine.”
Extending her legs, she pointed her toes toward the fire, no doubt trying to soak up the warmth. “Okay, buddy. Whatever you have to tell yourself.”
My smile widened, and I reached out to squeeze her knee. “There was an equal amount of virtue-stealing happenin’, I think. Although I’m pretty sure I got the better end of that bargain. Sorry ’bout that.”
She laughed under her breath and shrugged. “I think you’re in the clear since you’ve more than made up for it.”
We locked eyes, a dozen memories of our single weekend together before we’d gone our separate ways passing between us. That time with her had been pure bliss spent between her thighs, her moans a near-constant cadence in my ears.
I’d still had the crescent-moon indents from her nails in my skin when she’d driven off. I’d gotten myself off to memories of that weekend more times than I could count.
Annnnd…great, now I was hard.
Kenna’s lips parted as she stared at me, her eyes dropping to my mouth. Her tongue flicking out over her bottom lip might as well have been a red flag, daring me to come closer. I couldn’t stop myself from reaching up to cup her face, my thumb tracing the line of her jaw. With the slightest pressure of my fingers against the back of her head, I tugged her toward me, needing to feel her mouth against mine.
Just as our eyes fluttered closed, our lips a breath apart, the dog whimpered out a bark, her legs twitching and managing to kick us both. Kenna and I froze where we were, our eyes focused on the dog who settled down within moments, obviously deep in a dream, but the spell between us had been broken.
I rested my forehead against hers and breathed out a laugh. This damn dog had cockblocked me twice, but I couldn’t be mad at the tiny thing—she was too cute. And even with that cockblocker, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this…settled. This content.
I pressed a soft kiss to Kenna’s lips before pulling back. “Thanks for doin’ this with me.”
She shot me a smirk. “Yeah, well, the bet said I had to.”
“Ah, I see. The bet’s the only thing that got you out here, huh?”
Kenna sat quiet for long moments, the only sounds the crackling of the fire and the distant calls of a coyote. She ducked her head and lifted her eyes to meet mine. “Maybe not the only thing.”
It wasn’t exactly a declaration, but it felt like we were finally getting somewhere. Maybe my sister had been right, and all Kenna needed was to get away from it all. To be reminded of what we’d had at one time.
“I’m glad Will got your shifts covered,” I said. “I didn’t even ask about the town hall stuff, but I assume no one’s settin’ up meetings with the actin’ mayor on a Saturday.”
She snorted. “No one’s settin’ up meetings with me, period. I’m basically a toddler, you know. Too young to know how to do anything. Besides that, I’m a girl .” She rolled her eyes. “They’d ‘feel more comfortable waitin’ till Richard’s back,’” she mocked, affecting a deep, stiff tone. “Antiquated, misogynistic bastards.”
I blew out a breath, shaking my head. “That’s complete bullshit. And I’d like to say I’m surprised by that, but, well…it’s Havenbrook.”
Which was to say it wasn’t exactly a beacon of progressiveness, and some of the men running the town had been doing so since before either Kenna or I had been born. It was no doubt challenging for them to have someone they’d once seen in diapers suddenly in charge of the town. Didn’t make it right or fair, though, but many things weren’t when you were dealing with the delicate egos of small men.
“Yeah, me neither.” She rested her hand on the dog’s head, stroking softly. “Doesn’t make me like it any better. I’m supposed to be helpin’ with things, but I feel like I’m just gettin’ in the way more than anything. It feels like no one takes me seriously. And my mark as the black sheep of the family doesn’t help matters.”
“Black sheep? Why the hell would they think that?”
“I know, right? I figured Nat had me beat in that department, but apparently droppin’ out of college and comin’ back home with my tail between my legs is worse than leavin’ and never comin’ back at all.”
I hummed, trying to reconcile the Kenna I knew with this version of her that she—and the town, apparently—saw. “Well, you know what I say in situations like that.”
“What’s that?”
“Fuck ’em.”
She huffed out a laugh, the fire reflecting in her eyes as she looked at me, something like surprise written in their depths. “That’s it?”
“What more is there? No use wastin’ your time worryin’ about what people who don’t matter think of you.”
“No…” She shook her head. “I mean you’re not gonna say anything about the whole droppin’ out of college thing?”
I furrowed my brow, reaching up to scratch my jaw. “What would I say about it? I dropped out too, remember?”
“But you…” She gestured with her hands as if to encompass everything around us. “You went on to serve our country.”
“Yeah, and you went on to become a role model for hundreds of kids who desperately needed one.” I slipped my arm around her waist and tugged her toward me, tucking her into my side. “Sounds like we both did okay.”
She made a hum of acquiescence, but otherwise didn’t say a word.
“Do you want to tell me why you left?” I glanced down at her, the firelight painting shadows on her face.
She pressed her lips together, her shoulder brushing against my chest in a shrug. “Didn’t really feel like me, I guess.”
I could understand that. After all, it’d been the same reason I’d left, too. I’d tried for a year to make it work, but I hadn’t been able to escape the fire under my skin urging me for something else. According to my momma, Kenna had lasted for two.
“How about now?” I asked, my cheek resting on the crown of her head, my lips just brushing her forehead. “Do you feel like you now?”
She stilled under me, so quiet I wondered if she was holding her breath. Then a log popped in the fire, causing her to startle at my side.
Quietly, she said, “I’m not sure. But I think I might be getting there.”