Chapter 6
Stormy
“I’ll stay,” I agree only because I’m tired and don’t like driving when I’m that way. I also don’t like feeling so confused by Kannen.
“Come on in then. The place is a wreck because I’m in the middle of renovations, but at least the bedroom is set up.”
I walk toward his house by his side and wait while he opens the front door.
“Watch your step,” he says.
The walls are stripped to the studs and where part of the living room ceiling should be, there’s a tarp coving a gaping hole.
“They really let this place go,” I say. “That’s sad. It used to be beautiful.”
“Their adult kids let it fall apart after the owners moved into assisted living.”
“Anything that’s been damaged can be restored with enough time and patience.”
I glance at him to see if his words are hinting that I’m what’s damaged, but he’s walking toward the kitchen.
I pick my way through the tools and stacks of hardwood flooring waiting to be set in place.
He gestures to one of the stacks with the bottom of a water bottle he holds out to me. “One of the neighbors put in new flooring, and they were tossing those out. I was in the right place at the right time.”
I yawn and he motions for me to follow him down the hall to an impressively huge bedroom. “You’re keeping those as is?”
He glances at the beams on the ceiling. “Maybe. I have to get up there and check the condition of everything. There was a wet circle that showed up the last time it rained. I patched that but I want to make sure there’s no rot anywhere.”
“Makes sense.” I hate how awkward I feel. I’ve shown this man every inch of my body and now I’m acting like an old maid braced for a wild penis stampede? I really am bad at intimacy. I have a hard time trusting because I don’t know when that trust might come back and kick me in the teeth.
“You okay? You’re quiet,” Kannen says.
I don’t want to lay my wounds bare. They’re mine to deal with. “I’m just tired.”
“Then go ahead and get in bed. I put clean sheets on this morning. I want to shower after my stint as a felon.”
“A felon.” I can’t help but laugh as he moves around the room gathering a pair of drawstring shorts and a T-shirt.
He hands them to me. “It’s all I’ve got right now.”
I accept the clothes and he chooses another T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants for himself.
Sweatpants. My downfall. That’s right, Stormy. Think about his body. Think about sex. Think about how good it was. Focus on that and keep your heart safe.
I’m still wide awake when he returns from the bathroom. His hair is damp and tousled. The T-shirt clearly shrunk from the steam of the shower because it clings to him, outlining every part of his six-pack.
“If you prefer to sleep alone, I can take the floor.”
“We’ve shared bodies. There’s no problem with us sharing a bed.”
He smiles at that and shuts off the light. Then the mattress dips from his weight. The moon shines through one of the windows, bathing the room in light.
“Sorry. I don’t have curtains yet,” he says.
“It’s okay. I like the moon.” I like everything about this place and that same familiar peace it gave me back in high school washes over me again. I relax, feeling the weight of the world leave me.
We’re side by side, close but not touching.
I search for something to say because though I was tired, now I’m not. “I know your family moved to Dallas after you graduated. Are they all still there?”
“They are.”
“It must have been difficult for you to go through what you did. Finding out after all this time that you were adopted.”
“Yeah. It knocked me for a loop.” He’s quiet for a moment, then says, “After I found out, I started looking at faces everywhere I went wondering who my biological parents might be.” He rolls onto his side and pulls me into his arms. “And it must have been hard for you to go through what you did with your dad and then your ex.”
“It was, and it’s still hard sometimes with my dad. He struts around with that floozy as my momma calls her and then chaos always follows.” I look up at him.
I’ve never told anyone this but for some reason, I want to share it with Kannen. “With my ex, it wasn’t just the betrayal of my trust as far as him cheating, but he also took a picture of me.”
“A picture? What happened?”
“Once when I was asleep, he stuck his phone under my shirt and took a picture of me without a bra on and texted it to all his friends.”
Kannen bolts upright in bed. “He fucking did what?”
I sit up as well. “I didn’t tell my family because I knew my sisters would go after him and with all the shit going on with my family, I didn’t want to add to that mess.”
“Are you okay now?” He smooths my hair.
“I am. I filed a report, but he’d already deleted the image and so did his friends. It was my word against his.”
He runs his hands down my arm.
“Anyway, so there’s that.”
“The friends of his, are they here in town?”
I shake my head. “No. They’re in Clover County.”
“And that asshole struts around town acting like he’s a good guy,” Kannen says. “He needs to be taught a lesson.”
I blink at his tone. “Don’t you dare go hit him.”
“I won’t.”
I put my hands on his face. “Swear it.”
“I swear I won’t punch that asshole.”
He stretches back out in bed and puts his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.
I can tell he’s still thinking about what I told him. To get his mind off that, I say, “You want to hear something I just remembered about you from when we were in school?”
“What?”
“You used to leave snacks on my desk all the time. And when I lost my cap right before the graduation ceremony, you handed me yours then walked off.”
“I remember that.”
I study his handsome face. The snacks, the cap…and there were other things. Him shoulder checking a jock who kept asking me out even after I said no repeatedly.
I wonder what else he did for me that I didn’t realize. Something comes to mind and I ask, “When my parents were screaming at each other in the school parking lot, it was recorded and shared everywhere. Someone pulled those videos almost overnight. Did you do that?”
He shrugs. “I just asked someone else to do it. It’s not like I did anything.”
Not like he did anything. He did a lot for me. “I know this is coming years after the fact but thank you for looking out for me.” I lean over and kiss him.
“Always will,” he says and kisses me back. Then he tucks me close to his warm body.
He always will? I feel protected and safe, but I can’t lower my guard. The cuts and bruises my heart took taught me that there will always be another blow.
Feelings come and go. My father was the greatest dad in the world. Until he changed. My ex was kind. Until he wasn’t. Love is an illusion.
And that’s why I can’t let Kannen in. He might think being with me is good now, but it won’t stay that way, I’m sure of it.
Tomorrow, I’ll end this.
When I wake the next morning, the sun isn’t up yet. I lie in the stillness, trying to figure out what woke me. Then I see Kannen walking softly toward the bedroom door.
I sit and call his name.
He turns. “I didn’t mean to disturb your sleep. It’s only a little past four, so get some more sleep if you can.”
I pat the side of the bed. “Give me a minute, please.”
Kannen sits and reaches for one of my hands.
I take a breath and force the words out that I don’t really want to say but it’s better to be safe than sorry.” The night we shared was wild and fun. But it can’t mean anything.”
“Can’t?” he asks quietly.
“Doesn’t,” I amend.
“I see.” His gaze searches my face, and I have to look away. He stands. “Alright then.”
As soon as the front door shuts, I scramble up and dress, then hurry to leave the ranch. I drive away clutching the steering wheel, my chest feeling heavy. I refuse to look in the rearview mirror. I’ve got to keep moving forward.
I kept my heart safe and his too. I did the right thing. Love is an illusion. I believe that.
Then why the hell do I feel so miserable?
The thought sticks with me as shower and even later as I eat half a bagel. It’s still lingering when my doorbell rings just after ten.
My sisters stand in the doorway. At this time of day, Sunny should be at the veterinarian practice she owns. Rainee should be at her shop where she makes custom furniture. Tempest is on vacation this week. My heart squeezes. If they’re all three here, something is wrong.
“Why didn’t you answer any of my texts?” Rainee asks.
“My phone died. I plugged it in to charge a few minutes ago.”
“That explains why though I called you repeatedly you didn’t answer,” Tempest adds. “We wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
“What is it? Did something happen?” I’m hoping it’s not another public fight between my parents. I thought the divorce would have ended that, but it only got worse.
“Something did happen,” Sunny says while scrolling on her phone. She shows me the screen.
It’s Kannen looking damn fine in a mugshot.
I grab the phone and scan the sheriff’s social media post. There are more than five hundred thousand likes as well as thousands of comments.
“And that’s just on one platform,” Rainee says.
“It’s also all over the local and national news social media,” Sunny says.
I’d like to invite him to my house when he’s wearing nothing but that hat, I read one of the comments aloud. I move on to the next one. Throw me in jail with him. I’ll teach him how to be a good boy.
I clench my teeth. I’ll ride that cowboy and save my horse, lol. I could teach him a lot of things.
I grip the phone harder. “She sounds like a cougar.”
“Cougars gotta eat, too,” Tempest jokes.
“That’s…” Pissing me off? Why? He’s not mine.
That’s right. I ended this before it could start a heartbreak.
I pass the phone back to Sunny. “They’re asking for his number and one woman said she’d make a trip to Lucky River to meet him and treat him to a long, hot night.
” Something feral in me wants to snatch her bald.
“He’s good looking. Can you blame them?” Tempest asks.
Yes. Hell, yes, I can blame them because…because…fuck it. Because I can.
“The funny thing is, the post says he was arrested in this vicinity.” Rainee lifts her brows at me. “As in by your house.”
“Naked,” Sunny adds.
“Very naked,” Rainee says.
“With an impressive package,” Tempest says.
“He was clearly on a night delivery,” Rainee says with a laugh.
“If that’s true, where can I sign up for a dick delivery?” Tempest asks and they all laugh.
“Yeah, what happened?” Sunny moves to the sofa and plops down.
“Nothing.”
“Then how’d he’d end up here?” Rainee asks.
My sisters give me their we-know-better-than-that look.
“Fine.” I spill everything from what I realized about Kannen looking out for me in school to the wild night we shared.
“He always had my back even when I didn’t know,” I say, feeling more miserable than I did before.
Sunny clicks her tongue and grins. “And another weather girl bites the dust.”
“What do you…no. Nothing more is going to happen between us.”
“Why can’t it?” Rainee demands.
“Hold on a second before you imagine her halfway down the aisle. I think she’s right. Nothing should happen between them,” Tempest argues. “Stormy needs to let Kannen be an eat and run. Just because the two of you got lucky in love doesn’t mean it’s for all of us.”
“But Kannen’s a good man,” Sunny says firmly. “He’s not Likes Glue.”
“That asshole,” they all say in unison.
I laugh, then I burst into tears. I’m upset that I hurt. I’m upset that I’ve had years of taking punches to the heart. I’m upset that I never noticed Kannen looking out for me before now.
My sisters gather around me in a group hug.
“I can’t let myself fall for Kannen,” I sob, upset that my heart is considering that option. I thought I ended that possibility.
Rainee pats my back. “Oh honey, I think it’s too late for that.”