CHAPTER FIVE
Reid
Summer looks cute, silently ignoring me from the passenger seat. She’s doing everything possible to avoid me. First, she tried to get into the back with the kid, but she couldn’t because of all the shit piled back there, then she played on her phone—until I heard it go dead.
If it wasn’t for the kid in the back, I would pull over and demand to know how she knows me once more and ask what I did that pissed her off so much. It’s bugging me that she knows me but I don’t remember a thing about her.
And I have a sinking feeling I should remember her.
I glance at her from the corner of my eye and silently wish my dick would calm down. Her bow-shaped lips pucker, and images of her on her knees, with those big doe eyes gazing up at me and those thick lips around my cock, flicker through my mind.
She’s beautiful, I’ll give her that. But I’ve had plenty of beautiful women before, so I’m not sure why being around her feels different.
There is a grace about her that I can’t help but admire.
I noticed it when I stayed in the shadows in the bed and breakfast and watched her lift the little girl into her arms. Her words, that they would be back home soon, had been soft like a lullaby, and they had goosebumps rising across my skin.
I pictured her using that tone in bed with me whilst she begged for more, and all the while, I had this strong sense of déjà vu, like my body remembered but my mind couldn’t quite grasp the memory.
Even when she tucked the girl’s hair behind her ear, I felt that like I had once been on the other end of the touch.
It’s bothering me not knowing, especially since the memory is there, trying to fight its way to the surface. I didn’t miss the hurt in her eyes when she realised I had no clue who she was either, making me wish I knew all the more.
But surely if we had fucked, I would remember her. She doesn’t seem like the type of girl one forgets.
“So when did you move here?”
I feel her gaze on the side of my face for a brief second. “I’ve always lived here,” she replies.
I clear my throat, wondering what it will take to get this girl to give me some real answers. “No, I meant the farm. I didn’t even know the Addison’s had kids, let alone grandkids. Mum did though.”
A cute sigh slips past her lips. “I’ve not long moved in. As for Mr and Mrs Addison, they didn’t have a good relationship with their son. He kept getting into trouble, and I guess they reached their breaking point and broke contact with him for a while.”
“Did your parents have a good relationship with them?”
I feel her gaze on the side of my face again as I pull into the dirt road leading to their home. “Their mum and my mum are sisters, so my parents didn’t really have a relationship with them.”
A smirk tugs at the corners of my mouth at the reluctance in her tone. “You really don’t like speaking to me, do you?”
“I don’t see the point when you’ll probably forget about it tomorrow,” she remarks bitterly.
I chuckle. “Babe...”
“Don’t call me babe.”
“Look, I’m sorry for not remembering you. But stop being mad at me about it.”
“You think that’s why I’m mad at you?” she questions before laughing. “You are something, Reid Hayes.”
I puff out my chest. “Thank you.”
“It wasn’t a compliment.”
“So let me get this straight—” I stop when the house comes into view, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. “I thought you were all at the party tonight,” I voice, the light, teasing tone gone as I flick off the headlights to the car.
“What are you doing?” she asks in a panic. “Milly is in the car.”
“Look,” I order, pointing up to the house.
The house is dark, aside from the outdoor light and the light coming from a torch inside.
“Oh my god,” she whispers, her voice trembling.
“Call the police,” I order, pulling the car over to the side of the road.
“We can’t. I can’t. The police can’t be involved.”
I close my eyes for a moment, remembering Jaxon’s comment from earlier. “If I get stabbed again, I’m going to be pissed,” I grumble, shoving open the door.
“Where are you going?” she hisses, grabbing my arm.
I glance down at where her soft flesh meets my tattooed arm then back up at her pale blue eyes. I hand her my phone, keeping my gaze on hers so she can be assured everything will be okay. “Call Jaxon if anything happens.”
Her lips part, panic filling her gorgeous eyes. “Happens?”
“Call Jaxon,” I repeat and close the door on her. I lock the car up before making my way up to the house.
“Reid!” she yells as I run toward the house. I don’t get far before the horn of my car is blasted. I stop, turning around to glare at the insufferable woman in the car.
Maybe I was wrong about her.
Maybe her beauty is all there is.
I grit my teeth before turning back to my mission, when I hear a crash and see a hooded figure climbing out of the window at the side of the house. I get a glimpse of a scar running over his cheek and chin as the torch moves, the light landing on the side of his face. I race toward him.
“Stop!” I roar.
I knew they wouldn’t stop at my words, but it was worth a shot. I mean, it wouldn’t kill them to take responsibility for their actions and take a beating like a man.
I chase him to the fence that blocks off the main house from what used to be their farm.
I stop at the fence because I know the wild will do more damage to him at this point than I could.
Running on unknown land is bad enough, but doing it in the dark while heading toward the rockery is just plain suicidal.
I trekked through that area for the Addisons when they lost their dog, and my brothers had to carry me out after spending hours looking for me because I had fallen and broken my leg.
I run my fingers through my hair, letting out a sigh.
Day one of meeting this family and already there’s trouble.
We have enough of our own shit going on.
Yet there’s no denying our shit is now linked with theirs, whether we like it or not.
Though at this very moment, I’m beginning to understand how my brothers have been feeling.
You can only help someone so much. They need to help themselves first. Summer could have gotten me fucking killed with her actions, and all because I was trying to help her.
I turn back toward the direction the house and car are, staring at the empty space like it will calm the rage boiling inside of me now that the adrenaline has worn off.
What the fuck was she thinking blasting a horn?
I jog back in the direction I came from, hoping it will burn some of the anger away.
By the time I reach the car, it ignites at seeing her.
It doesn’t matter that she looks petrified.
I unlock the car, and before she can utter a breath, I rip open the door.
She rears back in surprise, her eyes wide as saucers.
I grip the top of the door and the roof of the car as I lean in. “What the fuck was that? Do you have any idea the kind of danger you could have put us all in? There’s a fucking child in the back seat. Are you fucking stupid?”
Her beautiful blue eyes narrow on me. “One, I’d die for that child.”
I snort. “That’s good. Great even. Because after you’re dead, there’s no one to stop them from killing her. Great plan.”
Her lips press firmly together, but I see the fire behind those gorgeous, burning eyes. “They were robbing our house, not waiting to murder us.”
Is this woman serious? “Are you besties with them? Do you know that for sure?”
She rolls her eyes. “Okay, Mr Bright Ideas, let’s talk about your plan.
You left us alone without knowing if there was another person inside the house.
Secondly, and this is a big one, you told me to call Jaxon for help.
If you haven’t forgotten, the reason you are even here is because everyone’s tyres are slashed. How would he have gotten here?”
I raise my hand and hold up a finger as I list off the options. “Let’s see, there’s one of the horses, a quad bike, even the fucking mower or a push bike.”
Her shoulders slump down. “I didn’t know that,” she whispers. “I was scared something was going to happen to you and no one would be able to come and help.”
Now I feel like I’ve been sucker punched. A sly grin slips across my mouth. “You were worried about me?”
She snorts as she pushes me back, my phone still in her hand. I grab it. “Not at all, but you’re the only one here to help, and I’m more of a lover than a fighter. I wouldn’t know what to do to help you.”
I grip the top of the door until she has to lean back into the car. “Babe, I’m a lover too.” Her lips part, and I watch as her chest rises and falls in the tiny strap top she has on. “A really good lover.”
Her mouth opens and closes, and I hear the gasp of air, like she’s lost for words. It has my grin spreading into a full-on smile.
“Can I go to bed now? This is becoming awkward,” Milly, the tiny little dot in the back, mumbles through a yawn.
Summer’s cheeks redden before she quickly snatches her bag off the floor. Something about that kind of innocence coming from a smoking hot girl tugs at my attention like a glass of ice-cold water on a hot summer’s day.