Chapter 9 Lofton #2
Terry plopped down in the chair beside him. “Actually, I passed her on the way out. Said she was headed to the grocery store. Mind if I join you for breakfast?” He snapped off a piece of bacon and popped it into his mouth.
My father’s jaw just about came unhinged. “Yes, I fucking do mind. Get the hell out of my house.”
Totally unfazed, Terry grinned. “Okay, but I’m taking Jenn with me. You gonna be good with Lofton for a while?”
My father’s back shot straight, his whole face sparking to life. “Lofton’s coming home?”
I stepped forward and rested a hand on his shoulder. “I’m right here, Daddy.”
His excitement was immediately extinguished. “Your name’s Lofton too? That’s my little girl’s name.”
I pretended it didn’t feel like a knife to the gut.
I pretended it was sweet that he remembered he had a daughter at all.
But most of all, I pretended I wasn’t a broken and drowning thirty-two-year-old woman who desperately needed her father back.
“What a coincidence,” I replied quietly.
Oblivious to the shards of my heart shattering on the floor at my feet, he silently went back to picking at his food.
“Can I borrow you for a minute?” Jenn said, grabbing my arm. “Terry, can you…” She waved a finger between him and my dad.
“On it,” Terry replied, leaning back in the chair. He was no doubt about to get cussed up one wall and down the other, but such was life with this version of Lawrence Beck.
I followed my sister out the back door and into the grass where we’d be safely hidden from the windows—and my father.
Devon rounded the house, his dark gaze scanning me from head to toe.
“It’s all good,” I told him. “He’s calm now and eating breakfast.”
He nodded, his long, muscular legs devouring the distance between us. He didn’t touch me when he stopped in front of me, but his scrutiny was tangible.
As he loomed over me, my pulse quickened. Not romantic. Not sexual. Just biology being seriously inconvenient.
“And what about you?” he asked in a quiet rumble. “You good too?”
His concern made my stomach dip.
Great, my pulse and my stomach betraying me at the same time.
Super seriously inconvenient.
“Yeah. I’m okay. Thanks.”
Jenn flicked her gaze between us. “Who are you? And why are you so damn hot?”
I would have laughed, but I was too busy trying not to go up in flames from the aforementioned temperature.
He kept his gaze on me for a beat longer, and then looked to her, his hand extended. “Devon Grant.”
“Jenn Gotham.” She took his hand for a quick shake, dropping it as Apollo wandered over, a cigarette dangling in his fingers. Her eyes narrowed on him. “What did I tell you about coming inside in slacks?”
“These are jeans!” he defended.
The minute he got close enough, my sister snatched the cigarette and snuffed it out on the ground.
“Those things will kill you, but worse, my dad thinks I’m a teenager today and if go back in there smelling like smoke, his head will explode.
” She pointed a finger at his pants. “And those are designer black jeans that look like dress pants. Don’t even get me started on that stupid button-down.
Workers don’t wear that crap. What happened to that pair of Terry’s Levi’s I gave you? ”
“I wasn’t expecting to be inside today, but someone covered the camera with a piece of duct tape last night.
” The blonde twenty-something crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to the side.
“Funny enough, it went dark about the time Terry used a ladder to sneak into the bedroom. You’re an adult. Use the fucking door.”
My brows shot up, and I had to bite my lip to stifle a laugh.
Jenn’s face flashed through a spectrum of reds. Everything from a pink blush to an embarrassed shade of cherry, but unfortunately for Apollo, it ended on an angry crimson. “You shouldn’t have cameras in the bedroom to begin with.”
He scoffed, and dragged a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. “If only you could have done us all a favor and killed the mic too.”
My sister slapped the pack out of his hand and stomped on it, grinding it into the dirt as she held his gaze.
Jenn could be seriously scary, so while Apollo looked like he wanted to argue, he didn’t make a peep as he slapped his hands against his thighs and shot Devon an incredulous stare.
“All right, everyone just calm the hell down,” Devon rumbled. “Apollo briefed me on our resources. Cameras should only be active in the bedroom in the case of an emergency.” He swung a menacing glare at Apollo.
Apollo rolled his eyes. “I’m not an idiot. I wasn’t watching them. It’s bad enough I had to wear Terry’s jeans. Trust me, I have no interest in seeing him take them off. But just so we’re all aware, an alarm goes off on my end anytime a camera is blocked, whether it’s active or not. Got it?”
I nodded, bumping Jenn with my shoulder.
“Whatever,” she relented. “I can’t wait to get out of here and have sex with my husband in my own damn house again.”
Nerves awakened inside me. “Wait, you aren’t leaving today, are you? Daddy doesn’t even recognize me yet.”
“Relax,” she replied. “I won’t leave until you’re ready. No rush. Terry just drove in from Nashville to make sure I was safe after everything that happened with you.”
I arched a brow. “Terry came to protect you?”
She shrugged. “Yep, he left the girls at his parents’ and rushed to my side. It was sweet…and hot. Hence the late-night visit.”
Shaking my head, I ignored all thoughts of her late-night visit. “I know you’re ready to get back home. Maybe if you could just stay a day or two until he gets comfortable with me again?”
I hated I was gone for such long stretches of time. I tried to pop in as much as I could, but I’d been filming nonstop hoping to be able to stay home for most of the summer. My biggest fear was that one day I’d come home and he wouldn’t remember me at all—permanently.
Jenn smiled. “Of course. It won’t take long to get back into the swing of things.
” She tucked her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and tipped her chin at Devon.
“I’m assuming your entourage is gonna need a place to stay, so after Daddy goes to bed, I’ll shack up with Terry at the hotel and come back before he wakes up in the morning. That work for you?”
“Yeah. That sounds great.” I gave her arm a squeeze.
“Great. Moving on,” Devon declared, as if the tender moment between me and my sister was too much for him to handle.
“I need all the details on your father. I was aware he lived here, but not of his condition. And while you’re at it, I also need to know why the hell Apollo has been wearing another man’s pants. ”
I laughed. “Because Dad assumes all men are farmhands or FBI agents.”
Jenn shrugged. “Honestly, he doesn’t love either, but he usually only loses it on the FBI. So, if you’re going to be Lofton’s shadow for the foreseeable future, I’d suggest you ditch the khakis and try to look the part.”
Devon scrubbed a hand over the stubble growing on his jaw. “Right. I’ve got a duffel and some gear in the truck. I’ll grab it and change.”
“The bathroom in the barn’s probably your best bet,” Jenn told him, pointing past the paddock. “Just… stay away from Salty’s stall. He bites.” She gnashed her teeth at him.
Devon muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like a string of curses. “Apollo, help me with the bags.”
He scoffed. “Pretty sure that’s not my job.”
Devon stopped mid-stride and leveled him with a dangerous scowl.
“For fuck’s sake,” Apollo grumbled. As he passed Jenn, he pointed at the crushed cigarette pack in the dirt. “You owe me for those.”
She waved him off. “Sure, just add it to Lofton’s bill.”
I rolled my eyes, but didn’t bother arguing. There was no point. It was always Lofton’s bill. I’d be shocked if she hadn’t already sent me a Venmo request for the price of the Levi’s she'd given Apollo.
As the men walked away, my attention was once again drawn to Devon. His backside was every bit as mouthwatering as the front. I had to admit, I wasn’t mad at the idea of him in a rugged pair of Wranglers.
Intoxicated by the thoughts, my brain wandered off to a place where Devon returned in tight denim and a tank top.
Tan shoulders and thick biceps on full display.
Sweat trailed slowly down the corded muscle of his throat until he was forced to lift the hem of his shirt to wipe it away, exposing his rock-hard abs and a V that cut into—
“Holy shit,” Jenn breathed.
“What?” I questioned, breathless even to my own ears.
She stared at me with wide eyes and a face full of amusement. “Were you checking him out?”
“Absolutely not,” I stated, and it wasn’t a lie because I pretended she was talking about Apollo.
She narrowed her eyes. “Devon, not Apollo.”
Dammit!
I turned away and started back toward the house. “Yes, fine. He’s attractive. He’s also my bodyguard and a dick.”
Laughing, she followed behind me. “Hey, no judgment here. I’m the queen of ‘look but don’t touch.’”
I trotted up the three porch steps and paused before opening the door. “Does Terry know about your royal status?”
She flashed me a wicked grin. “No. And if you keep my secret, Devon will never find out about yours either, Princess Looks-A-Lot.”