53. Wentworth
FIFTY-THREE
Wentworth
LEAVING KAIT ASLEEP IN OUR BED, I HEAD DOWN THE hall to my studio to call my pilot to tell him to prep the plane and to schedule a flight plan for Montana. Since the days of me just being able to disappear for weeks on end without consequences are unfortunately long behind me, I spend the next hour tying up loose ends so I can focus on Kait for the next few days.
Texting my assistant at Hawthorne International, I let him know I’ll be unreachable for the next few days and to reassure him that I’ll be back for the shareholder’s meeting next week. After that, I use my burner to text the tattoo appointments I have on the books for this week to tell them the shop will be closed and they can either cancel or reschedule. Unsurprisingly, they all decide to reschedule.
After I have my businesses squared away, I text my brother to let him know we’re on our way.
Me: We’re leaving for Montana in a few hours. See you when we land.
Damien texts me back a few minutes later.
Damien: I won’t be able to pick you up from the airstrip this time. Just let me know when you get to the ranch.
Me: What’s going on? Is everything okay?
Damien: Everything is fine. I’m in the field today. Can’t get away. LMK when you get there.
Reading and rereading his message because something is off, I decide to ask him what’s going on in person, rather than push it.
Me: Okay. TTYL
Twenty minutes later, I’m wrapping up some last-minute details when I catch movement in the corner of my eye. Looking up to find Kait standing in the open doorway, in nothing but one of my T-shirts and a major case of bedhead, I can’t help but smile.
“What are you doing?”
“Waiting for you to wake up,” I say, flashing her a quick grin. “Race red or agate black?”
“Black.”
Making my final selections, I hit send before looking up at her again. She’s still standing in the doorway. Still watching me like she doesn’t know what she’s supposed to do next. Which version of me she woke up to and I hate myself for doing that to her. “We’ll need to leave for the airport in a few hours if we want to make it to the ranch by nightfall,” I say, reminding her that what I said last night stands.
I’m going back to Barrett with her.
Instead of arguing with me, Kate nods. “I have to go home and get Mook. I can’t leave him. He’s good for an overnight with Molly every now and then but?—”
“Come see me, Sunshine.” Tossing my phone on my desk, I swivel my desk chair to face her before I sit back in my seat so I can watch her cross the room to stand in front of me.
Running my hands up the backs of her bare legs, I feel my dick twitch when her nipples visibly tighten under the thin fabric of her borrowed shirt. Growling softly at her response, I remind myself that Kait and I are out of practice and she’s undoubtedly sore from last night. Even though I know if I slipped my fingers between her legs right now I’d find her willing and more than ready for me, I don’t.
Instead, I pull her into my lap, situating her across it to drape her legs over the arm of my chair. Barely able to stifle a groan, my cock stiffens the instant her ass settles against it. “Six years later and still not morning wood,” I tell her with a smirk when she looks up at me with wide eyes. “That pretty, pink pussy of mine sore?”
Blushing, she rests her cheek on my shoulder and gives me a shrug. “Maybe a little.”
Because I know a little means a lot, I feel my face fall into a frown while I start to move toward the kitchenette behind me. “Do you need?—”
“No.” Tightening the arm she has looped around my neck, Kait shakes her head. “This is all I need right now.”
Making a noise in the back of my throat that tells her I’m willing to let it go for now, I look down at her. “Is everything okay?” It’s a stupid question. I know it’s not. She’s been called back to the place she ran away from by a dying father who hates her and even after last night, things between us still feel uncertain. When she doesn’t answer me right away, I lift my hand off her hip to tuck the crook of my finger under her chin to lift her bright blue gaze up to meet mine. “Talk to me, Sunshine,” I encourage her quietly. “Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”
Watching her bottom lip roll between her teeth, I fully expect her to tell me it’s nothing. That everything is fine, but she doesn’t. “It’s a lot,” she tells me instead. “I don’t know where to start.”
“Just pick one.” Slipping my hand from under her chin, I resettle it on her hip before stroking the other one down her back. “We’ll work through them together.”
Letting her cheek rest on my chest again, Kait loosens her arm from around my neck to let her hand slide across my shoulder while light fingers trace over the ink tattooed into my skin. “What’s going to happen to my mom and Abbey after my father dies?”
“Your mom and sister are going to be okay. Nothing has to change unless they want it to.” I’ve already decided that I’ll buy the ranch after Kait’s father dies and do whatever I have to financially to keep it afloat if that’s what it takes. “I’ll make sure of it.” Dropping a kiss onto the top of her head, I give her hip a squeeze. “Next worry.”
She hesitates, but only for a moment. “Your mother doesn’t like me,” she whispers against my chest before she looks up at me again. “She’s never going to like me, Went.”
“I don’t care.” Giving her a crooked smirk, I shake my head. “Astrid’s opinion stopped mattering to me a long time ago, Sunshine.”
Frowning up at me, the fingers skimming across my chest stop moving. “But?—”
“Silver liked you very much and I know Delilah is going to adore you. That’s enough for me,” I reassure her. When the look on her face doesn’t soften, I lean down to kiss the frown lines on her forehead. “There’re more worries in there—I can see them. Give it up.”
She hesitates, but only for a moment before she looks down at my chest and her fingers start to trace across it again. “I don’t think I have a job anymore.”
“Why?” It comes out hard and demanding. When she doesn’t answer me, I fit my hands under her arms to reposition her until we’re face to face and she’s straddling my lap. “Answer me, Kait. Did Ryan fire you? Did he?—”
“He and Grace bought a house,” she says, gaze resting on my cheek. “They’re adopting Henry and Allison.”
“You lost me,” I tell her, my face falling into a confused frown. “What does that have to do with?—”
“He had plans to build an apartment for me and Mook above the garage of their new house but…” Letting herself trail off, she forces herself to look up at me. “He doesn’t need me anymore, even if he refuses to admit it.”
As soon as I understand what she’s saying, I feel my shoulders relax under her hands and I let out a laugh. “So what you’re saying is that you fired yourself.”
Giving me an exasperated sigh, Kait shakes her head. “I can’t let Henley just keep signing checks for care her brother obviously doesn’t need.” Face falling into another frown, her shoulders slump. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
I want to tell her that her job, from now until the day she dies, is to let me take care of her. That she doesn’t need to worry about anything else, ever again. Instead, I reach up to brush the hair out of her face on a smile because saying something like that to a woman like Kait would just unleash a whole new pack of worries. “What do you want to do?” I ask her plainly.
“I can probably work at the center.” She shakes her head, brow still crumpled. “Nearly two-thirds of the?—”
Taking her face in my hands, I look down at her. “I didn’t ask you what you can do. I asked you what you want to do, Sunshine.”
When I say it, she faulters. Rolls that lower lip of hers between her teeth before she looks up at me and sighs. “I don’t know.”
“That’s okay. All that matters is that you let me know when you figure it out.” Leaning in, I press a soft kiss against her slightly parted lips. “Is that all?”
Kait gives me a wobbly smile while she shakes her head no. “I’m… I mean… what are we doing?” As soon as she says it, she frowns. Looks irritated with herself for even asking. “Shit. Never?—”
“Nope.” I shake my head, lifting my hand to brush her hair out of her face. “I’ll tell you what we’re not doing—we’re not doing that. We’re not not going to talk about how we feel.” Hooking my hand around the back of her neck, I press my thumb against the underside of her chin, angling her gaze up to meet mine. “I’m fucking goddamned crazy, out of my mind in love with you and you’re in love with me, so that’s what we’re doing.” Pressing my mouth against hers, I feel like I slayed a goddamned dragon when she melts against me. Pulling back, I look her in the eye. “We’re loving each other, Sunshine and I’m willing to tell you that a hundred times a day if that’s what you need from me. We can take it as slow as you need to. I’m not going anywhere.” Giving her a crooked smile, I shake my head. “Are we all out of worries?”
Looking up at me, Kait nods her head, her bright blue eyes glistening with unshed tears. “For now…”
“Okay.” Brushing my mouth against hers, I nod. “Now let’s go get your dog. We’ve got a plane to catch.”