CHAPTER FOUR
My brother Way just said that chicken strips and jojos don’t need to be dipped in anything. I’m not sure you two should meet, since you believe that there is no such thing as too much sauce.
~Text from Emmett to Kinsley~
Kinsley
It’s finally moving day. School is finished, and I get to come back home.
Mary and Christy moved into our place last week, but I had to wait to finish my last couple of finals.
Now I’m done and packing up the last of my boxes.
Emmett was going to come help me move, but my dad insisted on helping.
I didn’t think this was the right time for them to meet.
The last couple of months with Emmett have been amazing. I would be lying if I said it was completely smooth sailing, but he’s shown me just how much he cares over and over again.
The only time he almost lost it on me was when I came back to town the first weekend after our first time.
I was supposed to go straight to his place, but something in me made me stop and say hi to Dad.
I was there only a few minutes when Erik ended up having a medical emergency.
Since Emmett was just finishing up his shift, he heard the call on the radio and was worried about me and started blowing up my phone.
But I was driving Dad to the hospital, so I couldn’t answer for a bit.
As soon as I dropped Dad off and went to park, I called him.
I remember that conversation like it was yesterday.
“Hey, I’m okay—” Emmet growls and interrupts me.
“Fuck, baby! You had me worried. I heard dispatch sending an ambulance to your dad’s place, and when I looked at my phone, the last text from you was that you were stopping there for just a minute before you came to my place.
” I huff at his worry, because if he heard the call, he knew it wasn’t me.
“If you heard the call, you would’ve known it was for a middle-aged man. ”
I swear there’s another growl. “I knew it wasn’t you who needed the ambulance, but I was worried that you found your dad or something.
So sue me if I worry about you. That happens when you’re in love with someone.
” What? Did he just say that? I mean, I know I was feeling that, but did he just admit that?
“Wha-what are you…you love me?” I could hear him sigh on the other end of the line.
His voice comes out much softer this time.
“This isn’t how I wanted to tell you, but yeah, sweetheart, I love you.
I’m fucking head over heels for you. I know it’s fast, but I can’t deny it’s true and very real.
” Tears spring in my eyes because this man continues to amaze me.
“I love you too. I know it’s fast, but I’m feeling what you are. ”
I made sure everything was good at the hospital, then hightailed it over to Emmett’s place, where that man showed me in person just how he felt about me.
I know I need to introduce Emmett to my dad and my family, but I like us having our own little bubble.
I know that’s gonna change, though, now that I’ll be living back in town.
Emmett’s mentioned it a couple of times, and I don’t have a good reason not to do it other than I don’t know how happy my dad is going to be that I’m dating a cop.
That, and I’ve never introduced anyone I dated to him before.
I’m honestly surprised Dad hasn’t caught on to the fact that I’m seeing someone, but I think he’s preoccupied with whatever is going on with him and Erik.
I really do hope something is going on between them, as I think they’ve both wanted it longer than I can remember.
I pack up the last box from the bathroom when there is a knock on the door.
I go to the door and open it, but it’s not just my dad on the other side.
Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb, otherwise known as my brothers Samson and Saxon, are with him.
“What are you guys doing here? I don’t have that much stuff to pack up.
This place was basically furnished when I moved in.
” All three enter, with Dad coming up and giving me a hug.
His hugs always make everything in the world fall away for me.
They always have. “These two swore you must be underestimating how much stuff you have to bring back. I told them you weren’t, but I think they just wanted to ride.
I’ll let them do all the work and bring the stuff down to my truck. ”
As soon as Dad lets me go, I’m engulfed in a brother sandwich, something they’ve done for as long as I can remember.
“Even if you don’t have a lot of shit, we’re happy to help get you moved back home.
It’ll be nice to have you living in the same town for good now.
” Saxon speaks, and Samson nods in agreement.
“I’ll get your internet and shit all set up at your new place.
I’m guessing Mary and Christy haven’t tackled that yet.
Hell, do either of them know how to use the internet?
” I smack Samson in the stomach. “Yes, they know how to use it. Christy knew some from before she moved off the mountain.. She was just posting TikToks the other day, and Mary just joined Facebook. They’re both still learning, but they catch on fast.”
Saxon, who can never let Samson be mistaken about anything without chiming in, speaks up.
“You know what they say about assuming shit, Delilah.” Samson is glaring at Saxon, and I know they are two seconds away from turning this into a physical thing.
I’m not about to lose my security deposit.
“So how’s Shandy? You both still friend-zoned?
” I get identical glares pointed in my direction, and I hear Dad chuckling behind us.
Before yet another argument can start, I give my brothers directions.
“Everything that is in boxes goes. My roommate moved out last week, so it’s just my stuff.
There are only a couple of pieces of furniture that go like that bookcase over there, and the one in my room.
That and my bed. The rest came with the apartment.
” Dad looks at us and tells my brothers, “Get to work and earn the dinner you know I’m going to buy you all.
Depending on how fast this goes, a few things from the house need to be moved to the apartment, too, since it’s not furnished.
I know Jackson and Wyatt took care of some things, but I’ve got stuff for you to take too.
” Heaven help me. Well, at least I know he’s gotten rid of that couch that was older than I am.
Grant
Watching my boys pack up my little girl to bring her back home warms my heart. Sure, she’s gonna be living on her own, but at least she’ll be in the same town.
Something is going on with her, but I can’t quite figure it out.
She’s constantly getting texts, and she smiles every time she reads them.
Erik reminds me that she’s a grown adult and will tell me when she’s ready.
Love that man, but he only has sons, and it’s a different ballgame with daughters.
She’s always going to be my little girl, and I don’t like to think she would hide things from her old man.
Oh, hush. I know it’s the pot calling the kettle black when I haven’t shared that Erik and I are together, but that’s extenuating circumstances.
She’s too young to have to deal with those.
I hear the three of them bickering and know I’m gonna have to wade in.
I’m gonna earn every beer I drink tonight.
Emmett
I’m thirty minutes late getting off shift, but that’s nothing in a day that both I and Thomas—another deputy on the force—had to deal with Ray and Wanda.
Both of them are habitual visitors, either high or drunk, and often found loitering with less than half their clothes on.
You throw into that mess two other re-offending drunks that are well known in this and the neighboring counties, and you have what I call a hectic and headache-inducing day.
When I finally get off to let the next shift deal with them, I get glares from Sandi in dispatch and Sheriff Stone.
Luckily, a rookie is working with them, so he’s going to get a proper introduction to our regulars.
There is not a single officer in the county who hasn’t seen too much of Ray and Wanda.
Hell, I think the officers in Clark and Lewis counties are almost as familiar as we are.
I’m only a couple of blocks from home when I get an incoming text from Kinsley. I hit the button on the console to have it read aloud.
Kinsley: Dad and my brothers just left, and everything is unloaded and in the apartment. I have no desire to unpack tonight. Did you want to maybe get dinner?
I pull into my driveway and pull out my phone.
Me: Dinner sounds good. You for dessert sounds even better. Wanna bring a bag and stay the night? I haven’t seen you in over a week, and that’s just too long.
Kinsley: I’ll pack a bag. Want me to pick up dinner on my way?
Me: Nah, I’ll order pizza, and yes, I will get plenty of ranch.
Kinsley: You do love me! LOL, see you in a few.
Me: Yes, I do love you and drive carefully.
She sends me a string of emojis and hearts.
I walk up the steps to the house, and as I unlock the door, I hear Murph on the other side.
Half the time, he doesn’t even get off the couch when he hears me coming.
He’s a sweet dog, but it’s not a shock that he failed out of K-9 school.
He’s more about comfort and love than being a guard dog.
He and Booker are best buddies. Murph greets me at the door with his tail wagging so fast it’s a blur.
“Hey, buddy. Your new friend is coming over tonight. How’s about you don’t take her full attention this time and let me sit next to her?
” He just wiggles and takes off down the hallway, no doubt chasing the invisible mouse he is always after.