Chapter 8 #2
When they enter the kitchen, Hallie talks excitedly about going antique shopping for an old table to fit the small dining area and about finding gingham curtains for the big window over the kitchen sink.
I have no idea what the fuck gingham is, but Emma seems to, and gasps, “Oh my god, yes. Totally!” There’s a single large bedroom with sliding glass doors that lead to a small patio facing the woods, where Hallie and Emma plan to get a little table, chairs, flower pots, and fairy lights to make an oasis.
The only moment of seeming disappointment is when she pokes her head into the small bathroom.
“There’s no tub?” she says, raising an eyebrow. I never really noticed this place had no tub, but suddenly, my mind is racing toward visions of Hallie, her hair in a mess on top of her head, sunk into a vat of bubbles, water steaming around her.
I clear my throat and shrug before answering. “Mom and Dad built this for Madden. Believe it or not, he’s not really a tub kind of guy.”
She scrunches up her nose, and I watch as the constellation of freckles across it shifts and changes.
“We have a tub,” Emma says while I’m distracted, and Hallie and I both turn to look at her.
“Lucky you,” Hallie says deadpan.
“You could come use it whenever you want,” I say without meaning to, and when her head snaps to me, the burn of a blush forms on my cheeks, and I stutter out an answer.
“Because it’s closer than my parents. Or you could go there.
Either way. Uh, you know. Wherever you want.
I just mean…there are options if it’s a deal breaker.
” A small smile plays on Hallie’s lips, typical since she loves to see people uncomfortable, especially me.
“We also have a hot tub,” Emma says, a calculating look written across her face.
“A hot tub?” Hallie asks before I can step in, raising a speculative eyebrow at me. “You have a hot tub? Where?”
I shrug, suddenly nervous. “Out back. It was a marketplace find that I was surprised actually worked. It’s nothing special, just a nice place to relax once in a while.”
“You use a hot tub? To relax?”
My blush deepens, and her smile widens, but before she can continue her teasing or I can try and redeem myself, Emma speaks.
“You can totally relax in our hot tub whenever you want.”
Hallie turns to my daughter and grins, winking as she steps out of the small bathroom and toward the living room and back out the front door.
It’s nearly pitch black outside, though I’m happy to see the front light works when I flip it on.
Mentally, I think to look in the storage barn tomorrow and grab some of the solar walkway lights to add around her walkway and parking area.
To keep her safe, of course. Because technically, she’ll be a tenant of my parents, which means her getting hurt would be their problem.
That’s the only reason I care.
I lock the door behind us, not that it’s really needed around here, then turn to Hallie, who’s looking at the little home with unmasked glee.
“All right. Well, I guess…I guess I’ll take it.”
“We’ll be neighbors!” Emma squeals with excitement, hopping up and down.
Hallie looks in the distance, where the lights for our place are visible, not too far off, then looks back at my daughter. “We will, won’t we?”
“Not to rush you, but you really should start moving in soon and get it done with before the storm on Tuesday. You don’t have to bring everything tomorrow, but you might as well bring the basics.”
She nods, that excitement turning more serious.
“I should head home, then. Start packing.” I nod, and then the three of us move down the gravel driveway toward my house and her car.
As we walk, she turns to me. “I know you’ve got a lot on your plate tomorrow, getting ready for the storm, but do you think it would be okay if Emma tagged along with me? I could leave her with your mom, but—”
“If Emma doesn’t get to help, she’ll be disappointed,” I finish.
“Yes, I will!” Emma agrees.
“I’ll pack up my car tonight and head this way tomorrow morning. You can help me get those unloaded, and then we’ll head back to my place to do another trip?” she asks.
Emma nods, but I shake my head.
“Dad texted the family group chat to ask when you want him and Madden there to help you bring things over. Emma will come with them, and with Dad’s truck and a trailer, you four should be able to get it all in one load, unless you have a ton of stuff.”
Her face pales, though her cheeks stay pink with the cold, and she shakes her head. “Oh, no, I don’t need—”
My steps slow as we approach her car until all three of us stop.
“Hallie, if you think telling my mom no is hard, you know by now that telling my dad no is going to be like hitting a brick wall.”
Hallie sighs, then, dramatic as ever, looking to the night sky with a shake of her head. “You Kings are so damn stubborn.”
“Yeah, well, you should be used to it by now. Come on, I’ll walk you to your car.” I turn to Emma before Hallie can argue and toss her the house keys. “You go inside and get ready for a shower.” She opens her mouth to argue, but as I’m learning is her way, Hallie chimes in.
“You’ve gotta wash the makeup off your face. Put your hair in a bun and keep it out of the water, and it’ll stay dry.” Emma looks to Hallie for another minute, and I expect an argument, but instead, she nods, then waves.
“Later, Hallie. See you tomorrow!” And then she’s off without an argument, unlocking and opening the door before slamming it shut behind her.
“I don’t know how you do that,” I say with a shake of my head, clear awe in the words.
“It’s not magic: I just know how she thinks.
I get her. Hell, I’ve been her,” she says, stepping toward her car as she digs distractedly in her bag for her keys.
I’m about to ask her what she means by that, but before I can, her foot hits a patch of ice, and the shoes with no grip slip, her entire body jolting as she starts to fall.
Instantly, I’m there, grabbing her and pulling her up and stopping her from falling on her ass.
My hands are on her shoulders, and her green eyes are wide with panic before it slowly recedes.
Once she’s steady, I glance down at those stupid fucking shoes before glaring at her.
“You need better fucking shoes.” She’s so close, her head tipped up, her breath caressing over my chin and down my neck, causing a chill I can’t seem to fight off to roll down my spine. “If you’re going to be on the farm a lot, especially in winter, those aren’t going to cut it.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“You almost fell on your ass.”
“Well, thank goodness I had a big, strong, handsome man to catch me, huh?”
I stand there, frozen in place with her words, like a kid who just had the popular girl compliment him, and she uses my stillness to get away.
She dips under my arm to get away and nearly slips again, but I reach out in time, settling my hands on her waist and pulling her up and toward me.
Her hands move to my chest to steady herself, and her eyes are wide, but it doesn’t look like panic this time.
Instead, it’s something I can’t quite identify.
“See? What have I told you about those goddamn shoes?” My voice is low and gravelly to my own ears, and even though I try to make it sound annoyed, I don’t know if I succeed.
“Just because I work on a farm does not mean I have to look ugly, Jesse.” Her words are breathy, nerves and irritation intertwined.
You could never look ugly, I don’t say, thankfully.
“They’re inappropriate if you’re going to be living here. Get new fucking shoes.”
Fire flares in her eyes before she narrows them at me, her fingers digging a bit into my chest, something I feel even beneath my jacket.
“You don’t get to deem what I’m wearing inappropriate; I am not yours.”
Without coming to any kind of understanding of what I’m doing, my body moving without the permission of my mind, I step closer, and Hallie takes one step back, her back bumping against the car.
Her eyes widen as I move, and even though some rational part of my brain knows I should stop, should step away, should run to my house, I don’t.
I can’t.
Instead, I speak once I have her pinned to her car with my body. “Trust me, Hallie, I am incredibly aware you are not mine.” A moment passes before the tiniest smirk plays on her lips, almost like it’s calculated, a show, some facade she’s putting on, but I can’t put my finger on why.
“Thank God for that,” she says.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She tilts her head a bit, a look I’ve seen her use in Colt’s bar a dozen times when someone hits on her that she’s not interested in, almost like she pities him.
“You couldn’t handle a woman like me, Jesse.”
My cock twitches with the challenge, both in her words and on her face.
“Oh, I could handle you, Hallie Young.” Her tongue darts out, wetting her lips, and a panting breath leaves them, coasting along my own lips
It wouldn’t take much to bend down and kiss her.
To prove to her I could handle her, that I could more than handle her.
“Dad!” my daughter calls from the front door, and I step back as if she'd burned me. “Dad! The hot water isn’t working!”
I sigh and nod, taking a step toward the house.
“Give me a sec, I’ll be right there,” I call, and the door slams shut again without another word.
When I turn back to Hallie, whatever moment we almost had is clearly over, her door open as she slides in and starts the car.
Still, she looks over her shoulder, something so similar to regret on her face.
“Too bad we’ll never find out.”
And then she’s slamming the door and driving away, leaving me to watch her leave, fully confused.
Later that night, after I get Emma to bed, for the first time in a year, I allow myself to remember that night almost a year ago—the last time she left me feeling confused as she walked away from me.