Chapter 23 Stetson
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
stetson
Clay:
Be there later. I come bearing gifts.
Great. I’ll encourage everyone to leave.
Clay:
You know…you’ve never been funny to me…
Never claimed to be.
Clay:
Makes me wonder if you’re trying to show off for a certain someone?
I sigh, because what the hell?
Pardon?
Clay:
Your dearest friend’s daughter, Stetson. Never would have guessed that fun fact. Abbi posted a pic and the anger coming from you across the table stunk. You’ve always been horrible at faking it.
Jesus. Abigail is posting pictures online and Clay already put the pieces together.
I know who she is, Clay. Don’t forget you signed an NDA. Keep your trap shut.
Clay:
Good to see some life in you, boss. Good to see it.
“By a show of hands, who here thinks Stetson should put on a fashion show for us in honor of Forbes?”
All eyes—aside from Josh, who was volun-told to take the rear bed in my black Chevy pickup—shift to Clay, his unpredictability not doing him any favors at the moment. “Oh, come on,” he bellows, sights swinging from person to person. “I can’t be the only one who would find it entertaining.”
I’m already ready for him to leave.
Prater chimes in. “Can’t say I have any desire whatsoever to see Stetson pose for me. I think you brought enough magazines to cater to all of Waterstone with his…sex appeal,” he chokes out, causing everyone else to join him in laughter.
“So fucking funny,” I mutter, unashamedly searching for Cove’s reaction.
My chest thunders with pride at the width of her smile beaming at me.
I may have exercised my need for control a bit more than planned when Abigail mentioned taking a group to the lake just outside of the ranch for some swimming and a BBQ.
Lucky for me, Cove went along with my antics, claiming she gets carsick on bumpy roads, adamant about riding with me up front.
Austin looked hesitant, doing anything to keep her at his side, but once again, I’ve proven I’ll match his persistence, and then some, in order to have her with me.
I’m a selfish bastard, and I’m alright with that.
Because of my ungodly obsession with Cove Davenport, she’s now riding shotgun in my truck with her fake nothing of a boyfriend riding in the back with my college buddies.
I’d have been perfectly fine if the city slicker checked out of today’s events altogether.
Especially after seeing a glimmer of the bikini Cove has underneath her lace cover-up.
We may have a drowning incident in the Waterstone news come tomorrow. Not my case to solve.
And just because I can’t help myself, I rest my arm on the center console, my other hand draped across the steering wheel.
Being this close has me itching to touch her.
To reach as far as possible without giving us away.
From the cab of the truck, you’d never know we’re touching.
My hand is disguised enough to hide the brush of my fingertip across her thigh, slowly grazing her soft skin up and down, causing shivers to scatter across her flesh.
Only I can see the way Cove’s eyes fall shut under her wide-rimmed sunglasses. Or the way her breath hitches every time I absentmindedly graze her side instead, my worried mind from before now rejoicing with possession.
Mine.
“So, Cove. How long have you and Austin been together?” Prater asks. Clay snorts in response, catching on to more than I’ve disclosed to him. I slam on my brakes slightly to signal a warning.
“Not long,” Cove answers, turning to smile at him. She plays the part well, and I hate it. Hate that I can’t be the one claiming to have her in every way that counts.
“Who needs time when it’s true love?” Austin adds, and I can’t help the groan I let out. I turn the music up in an attempt to cover it, but Clay beats me to it.
“Doing okay there, Stet? Something in your throat?” Clay comments, patting my shoulder just for shits. Yeah. He’s about to eat a mouthful of shit if he doesn’t watch his fucking tongue. That or be in the market for a new job.
I know I shouldn’t, but I do it anyway. I turn the music back down and grip the wheel with two hands as I turn down the pathway leading to the lake’s entrance. My driving may be more aggressive than typical, but I need to ask this before I go insane. “Austin.”
“Yes, sir.” Jesus.
“What was it about Cove that made you fall for her? I’d imagine there are many things a woman as striking as Cove could offer.” I don’t look her way just yet. I want her to hear my words when I voice my reason, although only she will be the one who knows how dead fucking serious I am.
The truck falls silent, and I know I’ve caught everyone by surprise. Good. There’s nothing unusual about my question, whether their relationship is legit or not. I just want to know what kind of bullshit answer he’ll give me.
He clears his throat. “Well, for one, she’s hot.
Way hotter than all my other girlfriends in the past. I also knew she’d fit into my world.
You don’t grow up with a father like Nathaniel McIntosh and not have tough skin.
” Hums of understanding fill the truck, but I’m immune to disingenuity, and Austin Hartwell reeks of it.
I’m one misogynistic comment away from coming unglued.
He laughs and my skin instantly turns prickly. “Oh. How could I forget? She sucks cock like a stripper. You know those busty chicks, eager for a dollar laced with power and greed. Reminds me of those chicks.”
That’ll do it.
I slam on the brakes, all heads launching forward in my 1970s extended cab, erupting with a wail of both pain and violence. “Stetson,” Prater bites out, rubbing his sore temple. “What the hell, man?”
“Who knew my description of a stripper would touch a nerve?” Austin jokes despite the dead fucking seriousness that I know for a fact can be felt within the close confines of the truck. He’s lucky his presence is valuable to my girl, or else I’d have left him for good miles ago.
I take a deep breath through the fury filling my veins and make a slow turn to face him.
I angle my head but don’t give him my full attention until making eyes with Cove, desperate for her to know none of those things are true, and I’m about to set the record straight once and for all.
Her smile is gone as quickly as it comes, and if anything, that only makes me angrier.
“Let’s set the record straight for a minute, shall we, city boy?”
“It’s actually Austin.”
“City boy. Fan-fucking-tastic. Now, hear me out. I asked you what made you fall for Cove, and your answer was, get this”—I hold up a finger like I’m instructing the guys on city boy’s world-class debacle, and count through his mistakes—“her looks. Her ability to be a micromanaged servant in your world of corrupt businessmen. And that her so-called cock sucking skills are comparable to a stripper’s. Did I miss anything?”
This fucker has the audacity to smirk. He must think I’m a man who lets shit go. Wrong again. “Sounds about right,” he mutters his last words.
“Wrong answer,” Prater comments, and I know he expects a blowout, but I’m choosing a different route. A softer, more planned-out condemnation.
“There are very few moments in our lives where we get the opportunity to come in contact, even for the briefest of moments, with a woman like Cove Davenport.” My eyes are on her and have no intention of ever leaving.
At this point, let them all talk. I’ve got more money than I could ever need, and it’s about time I threaten to use it in order to solve life’s problems, or better yet, give myself a sliver of the good I hopelessly crave.
“I’m not sure you appreciate that enough for my liking.
So, let me remind you of the good thing you have, yet nowhere near deserve. ”
A gulp and a nod are all I get in response. Fair enough. I’m bitter when I’m angry, but I want my point to sink deep. Let him struggle to sleep tonight as he hears my words of praise for her.
“Now, I’ve only known Cove for what, a few days now?
But here’s what I can tell you. And it’s something that even the wealthiest businessman can’t.
Beauty is far more than what you could ever see with the human eye.
It’s a matter of the heart. And I’ve seen Cove treat my family as her own since the second she walked through my front door.
I’ve seen her patience shine deep with my crazy Aunt Marge, who I’m almost positive has felt up every guest—including women—at every gathering so far.
I’ve never once missed the way she not only uses my favorite coffee cup in the morning, but washes it as soon as the last sip touches her lips before putting it back in my designated spot as if it never left.
It’s rare to see a woman of such success and confidence put others before herself.
That’s not to say there isn’t a little bit of devilry underneath, but we all need some edge to balance out the predictable.
So, city boy, you’re very wrong. Cove’s outer appearance is only an accessory to her pure heart.
There’s no need to mar what’s already there with disrespect.
Not when the perfect woman already exists. ”
Silence. As expected.
But there are tears pouring from Cove’s beautiful brown eyes, making me frustrated we aren’t alone, so I could kiss her. I’d like to do more than just kiss her.
A knock on the driver’s window breaks our silence, my words still lingering in the thick of the air between us. “Let’s goooo,” Abigail chants, her child-free energy bringing a creeping smile to my face. “Kyle already shotgunned two beers. Your record isn’t looking good, Stetson.”
Children. Fifty-year-old children shotgunning beers at a lake.
He’d better take a breather because I’m feeling risky today. That’s if my current behavior indicates my actions to come.
We might not make it back home in one piece.