Chapter 4
Kat
Iclosed the door to Dad’s bedroom, taking a deep breath. And another one. And a few more. The conversation at the hospital had thrown me for a loop. I knew my dad was getting on in years, but I didn’t realize what that fully meant. Or maybe I hadn’t wanted to.
My eyes filled with tears again, which was quickly becoming my new normal.
But how could I not feel like a complete cunt?
My dad had no one. I was an only child. He’d never remarried.
And I left him to rot in this great big two-story house on fifty acres of land in the middle of nowhere.
Of course this was too much for a sixty-five-year-old man to take care of.
What was I thinking? Why didn’t I step in sooner?
I took another deep breath and wiped my eyes. There was nothing I could do about the past, but I was here now. I pulled out my phone and jotted down a quick to-do list. I crossed off the first item—bring Dad home. The relief was instant.
Over the next six weeks, we would solidify his diagnosis and set him up for success in a new home with an amazing staff.
He could spend his days with his buddies and do crafts or go bowling or whatever people did in those places.
I’d make a plan and everything would work out great.
And now to tackle the next item on my list—finding that damn dog.
I changed into Ralph Lauren jeans and a pair of Burberry boots, deciding my work slacks and blouse weren’t appropriate for a romp in the woods.
I was pretty sure Noodle would be somewhere close by.
She was a bird dog, through and through.
Limitless energy, always chasing small animals, and in a constant battle with her bladder.
Although that could have been more of a Noodle thing than a breed thing.
Dad had had her for about ten years and she was spoiled rotten.
Ate at the table with him, slept in his bed, the works.
I’d only been in the house twenty minutes and I was already picking fur off my clothes.
There’s no way that princess would have run away.
But she was his constant companion, which was a heck of a lot more than anyone could say about me.
I was determined to find that dog, even if the sound of my voice would probably send her in the opposite direction.
I’d tried to get along with her, but the only time I spent around dogs was at my dad’s house.
I thought I liked them well enough, but then she came along and peed on my shoes one too many times.
If she’d been human, I’d have accused her of being jealous.
But surely dogs weren’t petty like that.
I stepped between the pine trees and started down the path that led to the pig pen.
Not much had changed over the years. When I was younger, Dad would take me out on the boat and we’d fish for bass and crappie.
My heart warmed as I remembered the thrill of catching our dinner.
He’d insisted I bait my own hook, with a wriggling worm from a plastic tub.
It usually took me a while to warm up to country living, but by the end of the two weeks, I hated to leave.
“Noodle!” I called. “Time to come home!” Hopefully, it wouldn’t take too long to find her. She was a dog, after all. You called. She answered. The end.
I trudged deeper, careful to avoid the mud.
Red pine straw from seasons past covered the ground, making for a pleasant walk.
It had been years since I’d run outside of a gym.
I usually ran a couple miles a day, and more on weekends.
Since Dad didn’t own a treadmill, these paths would work well enough.
“Noodle! Come on, girl! Quit hanging with those wild dogs and get your butt home!” I refused to consider any other explanation for her disappearance. Dad had been through enough. She was out there somewhere, enjoying her freedom.
As if conjured by my positive thoughts, I heard barking ahead. The smell of mud and shit was stronger, letting me know the pigs were on the other side of the bend. She might have been hanging out with them if she was lonely. Hopefully, from outside the fence. I was not dressed for a dog bath.
Her barking increased as I got closer. As I turned the corner, relief flooded me as I saw her safe and healthy, bouncing around like her usual self.
But it wasn’t just the pigs keeping her company.
Someone in a black leather vest and an exceptionally well-worn pair of jeans was tossing scraps into the pen.
I squinted my eyes and read the patch on the back of his vest: Exiled Reapers Motorcycle Club.
Dad had mentioned there was an MC next door to his property, but I never paid it much attention as it didn’t affect me.
It was affecting me now, though. I squeezed my thighs.
When was the last time I’d gotten laid? Clearly too long.
And now I had at least another six weeks of dry spell to look forward to until I could get back and make a call to my roster.
The man emptied out the rest of his bucket and turned around. He pulled off a pair of latex gloves and dropped them into the bucket, then placed a lid over the top.
“You just gonna stand there checking out my ass, or are you planning to introduce yourself?”
My eyes widened. I was at least thirty feet away. He must have crazy spatial awareness. Impressive. But so was I.
I rolled my shoulders back and walked forward with my best boss bitch energy. Dad couldn’t defend himself right now, so it was up to me to handle whatever this was. “Considering you’re on my land, with my dog, I think you’re the one that owes me an introduction.”
His eyes roamed my body, head to toe and back up again. His eyes lingered on my breasts, but I wasn’t offended. It was only fair after I’d checked out his ass first.
“I heard Ol’ Larry went missing for a few days. I was worried he might have hurt himself so I came to check on him. And to bring this girl home.” His head tilted. “Are you Larry’s new—” he waggled his eyebrows “—lady friend?”
“Eww! Gross. Larry’s my father.” I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. “And I’m not anybody’s lady friend.” Not sure why I felt the need to tack on that last part.
His grin turned cocky. “Oh really?”
Moving on. “He had a health scare, so I came down to help out for a bit.”
“You’re the daughter from DC.” He ran a hand through his dark faux hawk.
I’d never been a fan of that hairstyle, but on this guy, it worked.
Although, with those muscles and tattoos and chiseled jaw, I had a feeling he could wear a rainbow clown wig and still be hotter than hell.
“You work in accounting, right? Or some kind of numbers shit?”
My eyes widened. “That’s pretty close, actually. I live in Maryland and I’m a CFO. How do you know all that?”
He leaned his hip against the wooden post of the pig pen. Which should not have been sexy, but I was tired and overwhelmed. So yeah, the biker slash pig farmer vibe was hitting me pretty hard.
“Larry and I are neighbors. Might not mean much in the big city where you come from, but down here, it means we look after each other, hang out, talk… One of your dad’s favorite topics is bragging on his daughter.”
My hand moved to my heart. Dad bragged about me? To other people?
He snapped his finger. “Kelly.”
“Kelly?” My head jerked back. Who the fuck was Kelly?
His cocky smile floundered. “Kandy?”
I crossed my arms over my chest and shook my head.
He tapped his fingers along the bucket. “Oh, I remember!” He licked his lips and his eyes drifted toward my waist. “Kitty!”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop the twitch in my lips. The sexy biker was trying. “It’s Katherine, but everyone calls me Kat.”
His gaze lifted. “Well, Kitty Kat, I’m Maverick. I live at the other end of this path in the Exiled Reapers’ clubhouse.”
“Maverick? Did your mother name you that?”
He lifted a brow. “My dad, actually.”
Not everyone could have pulled that name off, but it worked for this guy. His energy was playful but with a hard edge of masculinity that warned he wasn’t someone to fuck around with.
“It’s good to finally meet you,” he said.
“Don’t be alarmed if you see other guys walking around with this cut.
” He motioned toward his leather vest. “Larry lets us come over to hunt and fish in exchange for helping him keep an eye on things. I’ll make sure the brothers know you’re staying here and to introduce themselves if they come over. ”
That was actually thoughtful, but my mind was racing with so many things at the moment, it was hard to keep track. I should ask more questions, make sure they weren’t taking advantage of Dad. But maybe tomorrow.
“And you feed his pigs, too?” Not that I was complaining. That sounded like a pretty good deal, and one less thing I had to worry about.
He smirked. “Yeah. Like composting. It keeps stuff from filling up the landfills. We’re real Earth-friendly.” There was a gleam in his eye I chose to ignore. As long as I didn’t have to feed them, I didn’t care what was in that bucket.
My energy was fading fast. I could probably go for a nap too, now that I’d found Noodle. “I’ve been worried this property was too much for Dad to handle on his own. It’s good to know he has some guys nearby to help out.”
Maverick smiled, and the taut lines of his face relaxed. “He’s a good man. We wouldn’t let him come to harm.”
Noodle finally noticed me and jumped on her hind legs to say hi.
“Oof! Down girl. It’s nice to see you too, but I can’t have you mucking up my clothes.
” I ruffled her head as she licked my hands and face.
Maybe I had missed her. A little bit. “Thanks for bringing her back. Dad will be relieved to know she’s okay. Or he will when he wakes up.”
Maverick scratched the dark stubble along his angular jaw. “Do you know how she got out?”
I shrugged. “I assume he left her out when he went to see the doctor. It wasn’t supposed to be a three-day affair.”
Maverick shook his head. “Nah, that doesn’t sound like Larry. He’s very protective of that dog. If she’s not with him when he leaves, he always puts her inside. He’s too worried about her running into the road or getting attacked by a bobcat.”
“A bobcat?” I glanced around, suddenly feeling very awake. “Is that a new thing?” I didn’t remember anything about bobcats during my teenage visits.
“I’ve never seen one, just the tracks. But we’re in the country, darlin’.” His accent thickened, as if I needed a further reminder of where I was. “There’s also cougars, coyotes, and angry bucks.”
My eyes widened. Definitely time to go back inside.
“Not trying to scare you, but if Larry left her inside like he normally would, that means either she found a way out, or someone let her out. The area is fairly safe, especially with us on the other side of the property line, but I wouldn’t rule out the occasional opportunist taking a shot at an empty house. ”
My heart dropped. “You think someone might have broken in? The doors were locked when I brought him home. Well, the front and back were. I didn’t go out to the garage yet. But maybe he did leave her out. It seems he hasn’t been quite himself lately.”
His eyes softened. “Yeah, we’ve noticed that. If you like, I can come take a look and make sure nothing’s been tampered with.”
I nibbled my bottom lip, considering his offer. Bringing home a complete stranger I’d met in the woods seemed like asking to star in a Dateline special. But on the other hand, Noodle clearly knew who he was. And he almost knew my name.
I rubbed my forehead. Give me a spreadsheet of data and I could come back with a ten-year strategic plan with goals and financial projections across five departments. But this shit? Peopling? Caregiving? Landownering? I was in way over my head.
“Babe.” Maverick’s deep voice pulled me back to the present situation. “You’re thinking so loud it’s hurting my eardrums. I just want to make sure you and your dad are safe. That’s all. You can say no, and I’ll head back to the clubhouse. No harm, no foul.”
I chewed my lower lip. Maverick did seem genuine, and surely he wouldn’t be feeding Dad’s pigs unless they were friends.
I couldn’t imagine any scenario where I would feed random pigs in the middle of the woods.
That had to be upper-level friendship. Dad was cranky enough that I knew he wouldn’t let just anyone over to hunt or fish on his property.
I looked over at Noodle. She liked the guy well enough, and he had a point about how she’d gotten out.
Now that the idea of a burglar being in Dad’s house had entered my mind, I wouldn’t be able to sleep until I was certain there was no secret entry.
I took a deep breath, hoping I wouldn’t regret this decision about the sexy biker. “Okay, yes, thank you. I would like your help.”