Chapter Seventeen
If he paced anymore across the raw wood, Jonah might have to replace it. He stopped and gazed down. “Good, fuck him.” It was childish, immature, and Bogs didn’t give a shit. He saw a glimmer of light through the window pass. “Where the hell are they?”
He’d left immediately once he got off the phone with Jonah, barely even saying goodbye to his family. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so incensed he could actually feel the burning of his blood.
When he had gone around to the front of his dad’s house, he noticed Jonah’s pick-up was gone and there was no sight of Kenzie. He was headed up the porch stairs when Ethan and Emory walked out the door.
“Leaving?” Bogs asked.
“Yeah, I’ve got an early showing tomorrow,” Emory said, adjusting her bag over her shoulder with one hand while the other was clasped with Ethan’s.
These two had come a long way since last year.
Many people would have doubted them being together but Bogs knew from years ago that they’d one day be together, if they didn’t kill each other first.
“You see Kenzie?”
Ethan narrowed his eyes. Yes, I fucked up, I get it, asshole. Bogs glared back at his brother. He was not in the mood for another lecture, or smart-ass comments. He needed to find Kenzie and fix this fucking mess.
“She was hanging with Jonah most of the night,” Emory said. Ethan lifted his brows. “You’re an ass, Bogs.” Emory laughed. “That’s the last guy any man should leave alone with their girl.”
Both Bogs and Ethan jerked their heads in her direction. His brother beat him to saying what they were both thinking. “And why is that?” There was an edge to his voice.
Emory looked at Ethan then slowly shifted her gaze to Bogs and back to Ethan. A smile spread across her lips. “Because he’s hot as hell.”
Fuck me.
Ethan furrowed his brows. “Is that so?” Bogs wouldn’t have enjoyed hearing Kenzie refer to another man as hot either but Ethan’s face was almost comical.
She held up her free hand and rested it on his chest. “Not as hot as you, but the man is fine. Getting attention from a man like Jonah,” she smirked and aimed her glare at Bogs, “when your man is ignoring you? Just saying, can’t blame her for appreciating the attention.
Here’s a piece of advice, Bogs, you want a girl to stay loyal to you?
” She lost her smile. “Be loyal to her.”
His head was about to explode. He snapped. “I didn’t do anything with Kami. I was trying to be fucking nice.”
Emory shrugged. “Next time, try less.” She tugged at Ethan’s hand. “Let’s go, E.”
They passed by him as he remained in his spot, stewing in his own anger. Ethan whispered, “It’s not Jonah’s style to infringe on another man’s woman. He’s better than most men. Remember that for next time.”
Bogs balled his fists. “There won’t be a next time.”
Ethan smiled. “Good to hear. See ya later.”
He stormed inside and checked with a few others, none of whom had seen Kenzie in a while. He tried calling Jonah several times with no response.
He left without saying goodbye to anyone and headed to Jonah’s house, the one they were staying in. If the man knew what was good for him, he’d bring her directly there. He hopped in his truck and took off.
He called again and was almost surprised when he got an answer.
“Yeah?”
Any attempt to remain calm was fruitless, he couldn’t contain his anger. “Where the fuck is she?”
“She’s with me. Offered her a ride.”
“You offered my girl a ride without fucking mentioning it to me? What the fuck, Jonah, this how you treat friends, jumping in when ya get a chance? What the fuck kind of man does that?
“You reign that shit in, Bogs. Maybe if you’d been with her, she wouldn’t be in my truck now.”
“I don’t need you telling me shit, man. I didn’t take off with some chick. She’s mad at me, fine, but it gives you no right to step in and get in between me and Kenzie. And let me make this fucking clear Jonah, she’s mine. Friend or no friend, you mess with her, we will have problems. Ya feel me?
“Yeah, man, I hear ya. Now hear me. I’m taking your girl home.”
“Motherfucker, you better be talking about the house and not yours. Don’t underestimate me, Jonah, I will fuck you up and have no fucking regrets, asshole.”
“Not on your best day, Bogs. I’ll take her to the house. Let this be a lesson, man.” He hung up and the humor in Jonah’s voice only fueled the rage Bogs was feeling.
That had been over forty minutes ago. Where the fuck were they? Any rational thought of how he’d talk to Kenzie was completely useless at this point. He was beyond enraged. The lights shadowed into the living room and he heard the engine running.
Jonah would be smart to not come inside with how Bogs was feeling at this moment.
****
She could see his shadow in the window when they pulled into the driveway. She had no doubt he was mad. So was she. Her plan was to walk through the door and march straight upstairs. She had no intention of talking to him, at least not tonight.
She walked past him when he opened the door. She was headed for the stairs when his hand wrapped around her elbow. She pulled away but his grip was too strong.
“Let go of me,” she shouted, louder than intended.
“Not until you tell me why you thought it was a good idea to leave my house with another man.”
She shrugged and snapped. “I’m surprised you even noticed. Besides, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Now let me go, I’m tired, and I wanna go to bed. Alone.” She pulled her arm but he refused to let go.
Damn those stupid sayings.
She waited and watched his lips press together and the corner of his eyes crinkle. “What’s good for the goose…”
Her anger grew as his subsided. Mocking or making light of what she just said was the wrong thing to do. She tugged hard on her arm and this time it was freed. “Shut up, you know what it means.”
Bogs burst out laughing clutching his stomach with his hand. The sound vibrated through the room only intensifying her fury. He had the nerve to get upset with her for leaving with Jonah when he had a girl hanging on him all night and did nothing to stop her. There was no humor on her end.
“I’m going to bed, and you are not sleeping in the bed with me, so figure out another place. Maybe Kami’s bed has occupancies but mine does not.” She turned and marched to the stairs. She noticed the silence before her foot hit the first step.
“You’re jealous?” It was a challenge.
She halted mid-step. How could she not be? She turned slowly to see him standing in the center of the room with his arms folded, no longer smiling. In fact, the scowl on his face was deeply imbedded into his forehead almost making him look dangerous.
“Jealous? No.” She scoffed. “At least not anymore.” She inched forward throwing back the same glare as he was sending her. “But I’m woman enough to admit I was. Then the jealousy turned into something else.” She drew in a breath. “Hurt.”
Bogs dropped his head, looking down at the floor. His arms fell to his sides and he looked up at her. “You read it all wrong.”
She widened her eyes. “I did? ‘Cause from where I was standing it looked like she was flirting, and you were flirting back.”
He took a breath and sighed. His face softened.
“She’s a friend of Rox’s whose boyfriend just cheated on her.
Ya know what that does to someone? I wasn’t flirting to get with her, I was trying to be nice, initially.
Rox said she was taking it hard, so yeah, maybe I did give her a little extra attention.
” He stepped forward, his eyes darkening.
“But I’m not the one who took off. I really don’t like the idea that my girl fucking left with another guy. ”
“Well, then, Bogs, maybe it’s you who read it wrong.
Can’t be mad at Jonah, or even me. See, he offered me a ride ‘because I was taking it kind of hard that the guy I’m falling in love with, who brought me to his family’s house, was off consoling another girl, while I was left to fend for myself.
He didn’t like the idea that I was feeling betrayed and embarrassed while the guy I was there with was ignoring me, not giving a shit about how my feelings might be hurt that he was flirting with another woman. ”
Bogs face changed into a heated glare. “I wasn’t flirting with her.”
She gritted her teeth in frustration. “For the record, I do know what it’s like to be cheated on, and I do know how deep that cuts. I also know that when it happened to me, I wasn’t off trying to get with someone else’s man, but that’s just me.”
Bogs clenched his jaw and stepped forward. “Did you leave with Jonah to get back at me, is that it?”
“I left with Jonah because I couldn’t bear to sit by myself on the porch waiting for you to come find me. I can only take so much humiliation. The icing on the cake was watching you with her in the kitchen.” She twisted her lips in anger. “I hope you’re happy together.”
“Fuck, Kenzie. I told her to back off, told her I needed to find you.”
“Yeah, well…you were too late.”
She stormed off to the stairs and stomped away.
“That’s it? You’re just gonna take off?” he shouted. The fury was evident in his voice.
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
****
Bogs had barely slept. The couch was shit and the cold draft through the windows was making it impossible to get comfortable.
He thought about asking Kenzie to borrow a blanket but when he went upstairs to find the door locked, he knew he’d needed to give her time.
He spent half the night angry and the other half regretful.
He’d done nothing to help the situation when she came in the house.
What he should have done was kept his temper in check.
Instead, he let his own jealousy escalate and he snapped. Then she said it.
The guy I’m falling in love with.
Those words played over in his head. Did she even realize she let that slip? He’d fucked up, not purposely, but he had. He rolled over to his side and slowly sat up on the couch. The sound of a truck pulling into the driveway had his anger from last night rising to the surface again. Jonah.
Bogs leaned back on the couch, fixed on the door. It was only minutes before the key unlocked the door and the handle turned. Jonah walked in, glancing around the room and stopped on Bogs.
“Sleeping on the couch? That ain’t good.”
“Yeah, and I got you to thank, asshole.”
Jonah shook his head and smiled. “That’s your problem, Bogs. You haven’t figured out that where you slept last night was all on you, brother?”
Given the time to think last night, he did understand where she was coming from. Bogs leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His shoulders sagged in defeat.
“Look, man, nothing happened, I was just trying to help her out,” Jonah said. It was the truth. With Kenzie admitting to be in love with him and Jonah feeling indebted to him and his brothers, he knew deep down nothing happened once his jealous anger subsided. And of course, there was Rox.
Bogs shrugged. “I know nothing happened. You spent all of last night with your eyes glued to my sister, mainly her ass. I’m thinking Kenzie isn’t who I need to be worried about alone with you.” Bogs was baiting him but he wasn’t taking it.
“Got no interest in your little sister,” Jonah said, passing by the couch.
Bogs got up from the couch and followed him. “There a reason you were staring at her all night?” That may have been an exaggeration, Bogs only caught it once but the way Jonah’s shoulders tensed from the comment, he knew Jonah’s denial of interest in Roxanne was complete bullshit.
Jonah walked to the closet and Bogs was sure he was going to ignore him, which he did. Jonah rifled through the closet without answering.
“Gonna dodge my question?”
Jonah pulled away from the closet, grabbing a large tool that Bogs wasn’t familiar with and a toolbox, placing them on the counter near the sink.
“Not dodging shit.”
Bogs smirked. “Then why were you staring at her?”
Jonah turned around and leaned back on the counter. “She’s beautiful. Can’t tell me I’m the first guy to look at her, Bogs.”
“No, she gets it all the time, though being her brother, I don’t really get the appeal.” Bogs watched Jonah seeing something in his eyes. He was hiding something. “Just curious, why didn’t you make a move? Didn’t see you talk to her all night.”
Jonah stared back at him as if bored with the conversation.
He wasn’t fooling anyone. There was definitely interest. Why he was staying in denial mode, Bogs wasn’t sure.
He had no issue with Jonah and Roxanne. In fact, he kind of like the idea of his sister being with a man like Jonah.
Stone had called it. Jonah was a good guy.
Jonah crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. “Maybe I did but you were too busy with her friend to notice.”
Turning it back on him, nice try, dick. Bogs smiled. Jonah was putting a lot of effort into evading his questions about Roxanne. “No, I would have noticed. Hell, I noticed you hanging with my girl most of the night.”
“Yeah, well somebody had to. She still pissed at you?”
Bogs cocked an eyebrow. “You saw where I was sleeping, what do you think?”
Jonah snorted. “Yeah, well, she’ll forgive ya but I suggest you spend less time down here with me and more time up there with her.”
Bogs nodded and stared up at the ceiling. He hadn’t heard her moving around. He turned and headed toward the doorway. “And Jonah, just so we’re clear.” He glanced over his shoulder, slowly smiling and shrugged. “Got no problem with you and Rox. Just sayin’.”
He left the room but heard a deep intake of breath.