14. Reid
Reid
Throwing my hard hat into the toolbox in the back of my truck, I picked up my phone to double-check that I still had enough time.
I needed a shower before I picked Everly up for our date.
We hadn’t gotten to go out the day she’d had that bad allergic reaction.
Between our work schedules, everything going on with Evie, and life in general, we hadn’t had an official date yet.
Everly needed to be close to her sister, and given all the things she’d told me about their past, I understood why she was concerned.
She’d unburdened herself to me about her mom, William, Aunt Mildred, and even her connection to Vaughn.
I’d never thought I would appreciate Elias’s brother-in-law as much as I did, but he forever had my respect and loyalty after how he’d saved Evie for Everly.
It didn’t matter that he only did it because of Abi. He did it, plain and simple.
But I couldn’t bear to sleep anywhere Ev wasn’t, which meant I basically lived with her, camping out on her couch. Every night, she fell asleep with Evie in their bed, but by morning, she moved into the living room and snuggled on top of me.
That was the best part of my day. Getting to hold her, feel her, kiss her. Best damn sleep of my life.
Plus, staying on their couch gave me peace of mind with the whole Evie not being able to function unless the front door was open thing.
I needed to figure out a new situation for us, because I couldn’t let that girl keep living like that once Everly and I eventually moved back to my place.
If something happened to Evie, it would destroy my Ev.
I’d been working on rough plans for a house, but I wanted to talk to Everly about it before I turned the official blueprints over to Sammy.
My brother was a better architect than me, without a doubt.
Sammy, however, had a better concept of the security features I needed to implement to give Everly her dream home and offer Evie the freedoms she needed without giving me a heart attack worrying about her.
Those two couldn’t be away from each other, and I would never suggest anything that might separate them.
Our home was going to be big enough for my woman’s sister and all the babies I was ready to fill the halls with as soon as Ev gave me the green light.
An added bonus was that the land I planned on building our new house on was right beside my parents.
Which meant Mom could continue to baby the girls like she’d been doing the past few weeks, and my dad could help me watch over them.
Ev adored my dad, and vice versa. Between Sammy, my woman, and her twin, Tanner Reid should have been a girl dad.
That man was wrapped around their fingers tight, and my brother and I loved it.
Mom enjoyed getting to spoil all of them too.
To her, she had three daughters now. After Everly got over her initial embarrassment with her, they began to bond.
Evie was included in everything they did, with Sammy tagging along more often than not when they went shopping or just hung out painting their nails.
Plenty of times, I’d come home from work or Church to find Mom cuddled up on the couch with the twins, Daisy in Evie’s lap while they watched some rom-com because they were kitty-sitting.
On those days, the door stayed shut and Evie didn’t have a panic attack.
We were one big happy family.
Or we would have been if Chance could figure things out with Evie.
I wasn’t getting involved in their shit, though.
That was his mess. He could either figure it out or fuck off.
As her future brother-in-law, I kept Evie under my protection.
Even if she was the most stubborn woman I’d ever met.
Not that she didn’t have reason to be. I respected how she handled herself with my cousin.
She knew her worth, and Chance hadn’t earned it yet.
But Christ, she could make a grown man cry with her vicious tongue. Something she’d accomplished more than once with that prick. Everly had tried hard to help Chance put things right between him and her sister on more than one occasion, but Rory kept screwing that shit up.
If Everly didn’t like the idea of building a house for all of us, I’d think of something else. Whatever it took to keep them both safe, I’d find a way.
After making one quick stop, I drove home.
Seeing only one Jeep in the parking lot, I poked my head into the first-floor apartment.
Even with the shower running, I didn’t need to check the tag on the vehicle to know which sister was home, not with the door slightly ajar.
I dropped the box of donuts I’d stopped to pick up on the counter.
There was a shop near my current job site that Everly was obsessed with, and I’d gotten a dozen of her favorites.
Leaving them on the counter, I was almost to the door when it opened.
Everly kicked her shoes off as soon as she walked in.
Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail with some complicated braids.
She’d worked all day at the boutique, but even though she must have been tired, she looked as beautiful as always.
“You’re home!” she squealed.
I barely had time to catch her when she jumped into my arms, wrapping her legs around my waist. “Hey, sweetness.” I smacked a kiss on her lips.
Damn, I wanted more. Wanted to taste her deeper, every-fucking-where.
Keeping my hands to myself was difficult.
First, it was because she was recovering, and then she wanted to wait for her birth control to become effective.
If she’d asked me to wait forever, I would have, but I was praying she didn’t make me wait that long.
“I need a shower, and then I’ll be down to get you for our date,” I told her, carrying her to the door with me.
She tilted her head back. “Or…”
Pausing on the threshold, I slipped my hands from her waist to her perfect ass, squeezing. “Or…what, sweetness?”
Everly bit her lip, her eyes glittering at me.
“Do not play with me, woman.”
Giggling, she pulled me in for a deeper kiss.
Groaning, I pressed her up against the wall beside the door.
When I could bring myself to lift my head, we were both breathing hard.
She chased my kiss, but I was covered in sweat and dust. We were doing this thing right.
“I need a shower. You get your beautiful ass ready. I’ll be back in twenty minutes. ”
“Twenty!” she shrieked. “That’s not enough time.”
I placed her on her feet. “Make it work, sweetness. That’s all you’re getting. Now, go.”
“Reid!” she cried from the door as I stomped toward the stairs.
“Nineteen minutes.”
“Rude!” she yelled after me.
“Tick-tock, baby.”
Her squeak made me laugh. I wished she would shut the damn front door, and lock it, but I knew better than to even suggest it.
The last time I’d insisted, Evie’d had a panic attack that sent everyone in the building running at midnight, including Elias and Sammy.
Startling Sammy awake was not healthy for anyone, ever.
As I passed Chance’s apartment, I could hear him moving around inside. I stopped and knocked. He opened the door with a bottle of beer in one hand. “What?” he groused.
“Go down and stand in front of their door while I shower.”
“She’s home?” I cocked a brow at him, turning to look into the parking lot to emphasize the point that there were now two very-pink Jeeps in their normal spots.
“I don’t know what time Evie got home, but Ev just got here.”
“Evie’s…home? She’s been home?” I shrugged, not sure what he wanted me to say. He groaned. “I thought that was Everly. She didn’t smell like peaches.”
“Stop sniffing them. You really are a fucking bloodhound. Weirdo. Go stand at their door. I need a shower. I’m taking Ev to dinner.” Knowing he would do it, I continued to my apartment.
Other than showering and changing clothes, I was never there.
If Everly liked the house idea, then both our apartments would be ready to rent once we moved in.
I had other projects that needed my attention, but as soon as the plans were official, I had a team ready to break ground.
It was my top priority, with only our best crew members to make up the team that would work on my house.
Our home was the most important structure I’d ever build.
Fifteen minutes later, I was clean and dressed.
Pulling on my cut, I locked up and went to get my woman.
Chance was sitting on the ground outside the first-floor apartment, an empty beer bottle beside him and a fresh one in his hand.
He looked pathetic, and he had no one else to blame but his own damn self.
“You know you’re an idiot, right?”
He lifted the beer to his lips, ignoring me.
“That’s a definite yes.” Shaking my head at him, I tapped on the door to alert the girls to my presence. A sense of déjà vu hit me when I heard them talking animatedly and laughing from the bedroom. “Sweetness, you ready?”
“I still have three minutes, you tyrant,” she whined, appearing in the doorway with her lipstick in hand. “Evie is helping me with my makeup.”
“You don’t need makeup to be perfect to me, babe.
” I ate up the sight of her in her jeans and top.
When she’d asked me to take her on my bike, I’d told her she couldn’t wear a dress.
Those jeans were just as dangerous as her flirty skirts, though.
They teased me with how ripe her ass was. And those long legs of hers. Christ.
Her eyes sparkled at me as I moved toward her.
“Awwwww,” Evie gushed behind her, appearing in the doorway.
She was dressed exactly like her twin, but her hair was still wet from her shower and she didn’t have any makeup on.
Over the last few weeks, they had continued to match each other in appearance more often than not.
Even when they were twinning at their hardest, though, I could always tell which one was my Everly.
“Hims is so in wub with you,” Evie teased, forming a heart with her hands, making her sister shush her and me laugh.
“Go on, Evy. You look amazing. And do not—I repeat—do not come back here tonight. Abi and Sammy are coming over for a movie marathon. They promised me that all the cinematic action will be heavy on the hot guys.”
Relief filled me. I’d been worried about her being alone. No matter how safe Creswell Springs was, there was always that small chance that something could happen. Sammy knew about my date with Everly, and her squishy heart must have been worried about Evie being by herself too.
“Have fun,” I told her, grabbing Everly’s hand. “Don’t do anything that might get you arrested.”
She snorted out a laugh. “Same. And also, same. I’m not bailing you out of jail. Evy, sure. But you’re out of luck, bro.”
Everly grabbed her jacket and slung her crossbody over her shoulder on our way out the door.
When she saw Chance still sitting where I’d left him, now with another empty beer bottle on the ground beside him, she stopped.
Crouching down, she patted him on top of his head.
“Cheer up, fleabag. You’ll figure it out. ”