21. McKenna
McKenna
I t’s been four days of Austin coddling me.
Four days of homemade meals, heating pads, ice cold water, so many packs of gum I could swim in a pool of them.
Four nights of steaming baths in his arms, foot rubs with CBD lotion, gentle callused fingers applying ointment to cuts.
Four sleeps with a strong, warm chest pressed against my back, whispered reassurances when I’d inevitably relive the crash in my sleep.
My four days with Austin made me dream of a lifetime with him, and the thoughts were…
unsettling. I was falling into a routine that wasn’t permanent, and thinking that far ahead wasn’t logical.
He was here to take care of me, to ensure I was safe until this stalker was caught.
There was nothing more to it, and yet every time he looked at me, I saw it in his eyes too.
Saw the desire for permanence in the comfortable environment we’d unknowingly created for each other.
I shook my head at the BLT sandwich on my plate. This was probably only us bonding over shared trauma .
“Sandwich say something mean to you?” Austin teased, putting away the last of the glasses from the dishwasher.
“If it did, are you going to stab it to death?” I raised a skeptical brow in his direction.
He leaned his forearms on the counter across from me, veins protruding through his tan skin. Ugh . “If that would make you happy.”
“I’m happy regardless of the amount of sandwich-stabbing you partake in.”
It was his turn to arch a brow. “Now I know you’re lying. You’re never happy.”
I frowned. “Does the stabbing offer pertain to you as well? Because that’d make me extremely happy.”
He pulled a long blade from the sheath on his belt and set it between us. Why he needed to carry that inside my house was beyond me. “I know you’re dying for the honor of doing that yourself.”
I stared at the knife, my chest feeling tight. When did my home become so unsafe that we had to keep weapons with us at all times?
“McKenna,” Austin started at the same time my phone began ringing beside the plate. Booker had retrieved my belongings from my car the night of the crash. Thankfully, my cell survived with barely a crack in the screen.
He glanced at it, probably hoping I wouldn’t answer so we could discuss whatever he was about to go on about, but talking about hard things was the last thing I wanted to do right now.
Ignore and avoid.
Those were my middle names now, apparently.
“Hey,” I answered, pressing the phone to my ear .
Austin watched me carefully as Brynne asked, “Are you ready to go?”
I took account of my baggy gray sweats—I think they were Austin’s, now that I was really looking at them—and oversized shirt—again, probably Austin’s. “Give me five minutes?”
I didn’t have to look to know Austin was clenching his jaw, per usual.
I could practically feel his disapproval of my leaving the house, but I was going stir crazy.
I didn’t have work for another three days, much to Austin’s refusal of me going back when my mandatory rest period was up.
But still, going to the grocery store with Brynne was harmless.
Besides, Booker and Austin had demanded they join us when they heard us making the plans last night.
Some may say those two were adoringly overprotective, but I considered them annoyingly overbearing.
“I’ll be waiting outside!” Brynne said cheerfully, though I could hear the force behind it. She was worried. They all were.
I was numb.
After hanging up the phone and changing into my white dress with strawberries spread throughout the material, I threw on a denim jacket before the two of us joined Booker and Brynne in his truck where it was waiting out front.
Booker was behind the wheel, so I took the space behind Brynne on the passenger side.
Rather than taking the other seat behind Booker, Austin slid into the middle and slung an arm around my shoulders.
I refused to lean into him, but mere seconds into the drive, Booker turned a little hard and I had no choice. Austin took the opportunity to lock me in place, so I purposefully positioned my elbow so it was digging into his ribs.
“Dan keeps asking if you’re alright,” Brynne said, turning in her seat to look back at me. She visibly took note of Austin’s proximity, and I shot mental daggers at her for the smile on her lips. “I think he has a favorite.”
“The cook, or my stalker?” I asked innocently.
“Which stalker?” Booker chimed from the driver’s seat.
“Don’t you have a road to focus on?” I shot back.
Brynne’s eyes widened a fraction.
So the subject was clearly sensitive to me. So what?
“And Monica,” Brynne went on, trying but failing to hide her grin, “is getting the hang of things. She broke a couple glasses the other night, so she’s been banned from clearing tables or bringing people drinks.
At least, that’s what Dan said. He said he doesn’t want to cut his hands on the broken glass in the sink.
I think he just hates how hands-on she’s trying to be. ”
“Who’s Monica?” Austin piped in when Brynne paused to take a breath. Clearly, she had a lot to fill me in on.
I dramatically gasped, plastering my not-squished hand over my heart. “My annoying stalker doesn’t know who one of my coworkers is? I’m shocked.”
“Well, technically, she’s not your coworker,” Brynne corrected, grabbing the seat belt to pull it away from her shoulder.
Booker shot her a frown at that and reached out, prying her hand off the material and making her face forward.
See, he might be more on the overbearingly sweet scale.
Austin? Plain annoying. Or at least that’s what I kept trying to remind myself. “She’s our boss.”
Austin gave me a look that promised he’d make me pay for not telling him this information later. He was well aware Booker had found Marv’s daughter online and proceeded to contact her. If he’d remained anonymous or not, I wasn’t sure.
I rolled my eyes. “Booker was the one who left the note. He knew she’d be coming, which meant you did too. Don’t look at me like that,” I snapped.
He kept looking at me like that.
I elbowed him harder.
His eyes moved to my mouth as I chewed my gum.
I think his dick got hard.
“We didn’t expect her to show so soon,” Booker clarified. I caught him glancing at us in the rearview mirror. Austin’s now-very-apparent boner didn’t seem to mind.
I blew a bubble with my gum and popped it. “I could have gone a few weeks without meeting her. The lady’s weird.”
“I don’t want to say this and act like you haven’t been to work in ages.” Brynne looked around the headrest at me. “And don’t think I’m replacing you because you’re my best friend for life.” Her eyes narrowed before she went on “But she’s kind of grown on me.”
My chewing ceased for a moment. “Marv’s daughter is growing on you ?”
“Ever since that first day, she hasn’t been as weird,” Brynne added like that made it any better.
“How was she weird?” Austin interrupted, skeptical as always.
I set a hand on his thigh, patting it reassuringly as I tried to ignore the clear indent of his cock through his dark jeans. “Don’t be jealous, cowboy. It’s not cute. ”
His knee bumped mine. “I have nothing to be jealous of.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“I’d kill anyone who dared think they had a shot with you.”
My mouth popped open, gum almost toppling out. Austin’s eyes tracked the movement, and I swear his pupils dilated.
“Booker,” I said a little too loudly, pulling myself out of my incredulous state, “please put a choke collar on your dog.”
Booker simply glanced in the rearview mirror before moving his focus back to the road. I’d be tired of Austin’s shit already, too. Hell, I was tired of it weeks ago.
Brynne went on to fill me in on everything I’d missed since I came home to recover—which was surprisingly a lot, given that nothing really happened in Whiskey Ridge—like how Booker was teaching her to rope and do a bunch of other things I couldn’t even begin to comprehend.
The ranch life was not for me.
As Booker pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store, Austin leaned closer, his breath tickling the shell of my ear.
Goosebumps erupted over my neck as he murmured, “The only one allowed to put a leash on me is you, kitten.” Then he grabbed my elbow—which was still jabbing him in the ribs—and easily moved it to a more comfortable position.
“Unless you’d like the situation to be reversed. ”
I looked down and faced him, forehead nearly touching his. “Careful, Austin. I may lock you in a cage and never let you leave. ”
“Being your prisoner would be my greatest honor,” he practically purred.
The idea shot tingles down my spine, lighting my core on fire. My thighs pressed together and his eyes tracked the movement. Someone must’ve cranked the heater, because suddenly, I was sweating.
The truck shifting into park pulled me from my crazed trance, and I didn’t waste time as I shoved open the door, unbuckled my seat belt, and practically fell to the asphalt. The late fall air was pure bliss on my flaming cheeks.
Since when did I get flustered so fucking easily?
“I made a list,” Brynne announced as Booker beeped the locks on the truck. She passed a paper to Booker, pointing to something on it. “You and Austin are to grab the blue lines. McKenna and I will grab the pink stuff.”
“Brynne, baby.” Booker looked down at her with love shining in his eyes. I was thoroughly convinced the man had no emotions until he met her. “We’re not splitting up.”
Her eyes narrowed up at him. Anyone else, and they’d cower and agree. But Brynne was his kryptonite, and he’d accepted that fact, given he seemed to be the one seceding. “Fine,” he huffed. “Austin and I will grab the appetizer.” Brynne gleamed. “But that’s it.”
She reached up to land a quick peck on his cheek. “I love you.”
To my left, Austin crossed his arms.