14. Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Kora
“W hat the flying fuck are you doing, Percy?” Percy was on top of the trash can that held their food, and I had to nudge him to get him off so I could feed them. I finally succeeded, but before I could open the can, he jumped back up. “You’re being a pain in my ass today.” I patted his neck and then gave him a hard shove, causing him to jump off. Thank God.
“Baaa,” Percy retorted.
“Whatever. Be mad at me all you want. I can’t feed you if you’re standing on top of your food. Now go.” I shooed him away and was able to scoop goat feed from the container and latched down the lid.
“Baa,” Percy said again before he munched away on the food I poured into his feed trough.
“See, I told you. I can get things done so much quicker if you don’t help me. Be more like Jackson. He stays out of the way.”
“Baa,” Percy answered.
“Dumbass goat. It’s a good thing I love you.”
“Arguing with farm animals is a thing with you. First a cow, now a goat. What did the goat do?”
Kai. My heart did a flutter thing as I turned away from the goats, and there he was, leaning on the gate, one arm draped on the top rung and the other in his back pocket. That man was a picture of perfection.
“Mind if I come in?”
I shook my head, and he unlatched the gate.
My gaze swept over him, and I liked what I saw.
Damn. Just looking at him made me weak in the knees and warm in the belly. He was built just enough, but not overly buff. Then that face with a couple days of scruff, and those eyes and the way they popped underneath the halo of his black hair.
Yeah, well, I could just stare at him forever, and that was just what I was doing.
He walked with a swagger to his hips and slipped his thumb into his front pockets. “You left before I could say goodbye last night.”
I wrung my hands, not sure what to do with them, then slid them into my back pockets. “You were busy, and there was an emergency.”
“I wasn’t that busy. It was just a dance.”
“But it was Chloe. She has a way of getting her nails in a man and not letting go.”
“Only one woman has had her nails in me recently, and I’d love to get them to dig into me again.”
My eyes went wide, and my stomach flopped massively “Well, you seemed really into Chloe, and we didn’t say anything about last night being a date, so I didn’t want to push you if you weren’t interested. And . . .” I stopped because Kai had closed the space between us and placed his hand on my arm. Heat seeped into my skin.
He tipped my chin up, and our eyes met. He was serious. “I wasn’t interested in Chloe at all. I wanted to spend time with you last night. I would have come over last night—I wanted to come over last night—if you would’ve asked.”
I took a deep breath in and blew it out slowly. It had been a long while since a man made my insides melt. Maybe even never, but they melted under his gaze, and I swallowed hard. “I didn’t want to bother you.”
“I don’t know what’s going on between us, but I know I’ve thought of you a lot since I changed your tire.” He held my face in his hands and forced me to gaze into those eyes. Those eyes. I swallowed the lump that had lodged in my throat. “I had a lot of fun Friday night. I’d really like to get to know you more, but I need to know that’s what you want also.”
He smelled so good, like aftershave and outdoors. I lifted my hands to his arms. Was this what I wanted?
Yes, it was.
I wanted to get to know him as much as a bear wanted honey. I nodded, not sure if my voice would work.
His mouth ticked up and that dimple appeared.
“I love that dimple,” I whispered.
“You told me that Friday night.”
“Yeah, well, Friday night I was a little drunk. Words tend to spew from my mouth without thought. I wanted to make sure you knew I meant it.”
He pulled me into his arms. “How much of what you said Friday night was because you were drunk?”
A feeling of intoxication came over me when I looked into his eyes. I swallowed, and my voice came out as a whisper. “I wasn’t that drunk.”
Our lips touched lightly. The kiss was soft, warm, and sweet.
I wanted to feel this last night, but seeing him dance with Chloe got me upset, and that phone call about the escaped goats was a great excuse to not have to face my feelings.
Now, though, was another issue. My body reacted immediately as a tingle rushed from my lips to between my thighs. My body knew exactly what it wanted even if my heart wasn’t sure. How could I want him this badly when I hardly even knew him?
My mind flew backward and sifted through my memories like a filing cabinet. Where did he come from? Why was he here?
My mind sorted through the chaos going on inside it when he broke the kiss. That was probably a good thing.
“What’s wrong?” Kai asked as he brushed my hair behind my neck.
When his fingers touched my skin, an electric pulse sent the throbbing between my legs into overdrive. This was crazy. I needed to get a hold of these feelings. “We hardly know each other.” I put some much-needed space between us.
“Then, I guess we need to get to know each other. What can we do for fun around here?”
I guessed I was getting what I wanted.
It was a perfect May day, pleasantly warm and sunny with a very slight breeze. I stared across the field. “We could go kayaking down the Red River,” I said with excitement. Nothing was better than the relaxing current of the river on a day like today.
“Sounds fun,” he replied and gave me a wicked grin.
That grin. I shook my head. I’d love to show him Orlinda Valley from the river. It was so pretty and peaceful, but being that close and alone . . .
Maybe going into town and spending some time window shopping on Main Street and stopping for a hot dog and shake at Orlinda Valley Pharmacy would be a better choice. Or even a walk in the park. With little league going on, we would be alone, yet not in total privacy. “Or, even better, I could show you around my little town. Let you get to know more than Shear Perfection and Jerry’s Pub. We can save kayaking down the Red River for another time.”
“Whatever you want. I’m game as long as I get to spend time with you.”
I watched him and shook my head. Hot, handsome, and uber sweet. He was the entire package. “First, help me fix the hole in the fence so these goats will stay put, then we’ll go get lunch in town. Orlinda Valley Pharmacy has amazing hot dogs and milkshakes. There are more places in this town to eat outside of Jerry’s Pub. Then we can walk around the square and see what stores are open on Sunday.”
We worked well together, and soon the gate was fixed—again—and we headed for town. Kai parked Matilda in a spot in the lot next to city hall.
As we walked across the square, he held my hand, and our fingers curled together perfectly. When we entered the pharmacy, eyes turned. I knew most people in town, and seeing me with a man was big news, and I’m sure Tonya was going to hear about it soon enough. I nodded and smiled at some of the customers I knew and led Kai to the counter. If we were eating at an old-fashioned soda fountain, we were going to eat at the counter.
“Hi, Ms. Mitchell. What can I get you?” Eileen, the teenage server, turned shyly toward Kai, her brows raised in question.
“Hi, Eileen.” My gaze went from Eileen, who was staring at Kai, to Kai, who was biting the inside of his cheek. “I think I’ll take a sweet tea. Kai, what do you want?”
“Sweet tea sounds good.” When his dimple popped, Eileen blushed and hurried away.
“Seems as if you make all the females blush,” I said, not bothering to hide the amusement in my voice.
“Yes, Ms. Mitchell .” Kai swept my hair from my shoulder. “That was sweet, but she couldn’t have been one of your students. You haven’t been teaching that long.”
Eileen placed our sweet teas in front of us. “My first class was fourth grade, and Eileen was one of my students. You’re finishing up your junior year, aren’t you Eileen?”
“Yes, ma’am,” she answered. “Are you ready to order?”
“You want a hot dog, fries, and a shake? It’s the best ever.” I raised my brow. Nothing judged a person’s character like a hot dog and shake from the pharmacy. If he refused, there was nothing more I could do here.
“So, you say.” Kai turned toward Eileen. “What do you think? Are they the best ever?”
Eileen’s eyes went wide. “Uh, yes, sir?” Her words raised in a question, and she still wouldn’t make eye contact with him.
“Sounds good,” Kai concluded. “I’ll take a hot dog, fries, and chocolate shake.”
“And I’ll take the same. Thank you, Eileen.”
Eileen nodded and walked away.
Kai sipped his iced tea. “So, you’ve been teaching, what? Seven years?”
“Yep,” I answered. “I spent five years in college, got my master’s, and came home to teach. I taught fourth grade my first year before moving to third grade, and I’ve been teaching third grade ever since.”
“Did you ever want to teach anywhere else?” he asked.
I thought about that. Yes, I did consider getting a job in Clarksville, where I went to college, but that was a much bigger town than Orlinda Valley. I loved it here. I stirred my shake. “I thought about it and considered other places, but Darlene got hired to teach fifth grade at OV Elementary and called me about an available position. Working at the school I went to and with my best friend was a dream come true. I applied and was hired.”
Eileen dropped off their food and smiled shyly at Kai before walking away.
We became quiet while we ate.
This was, hands down, the best hot dog ever. They were so good that Jerry’s didn’t bother putting hot dogs on their menu. I wasn’t sure what kind the pharmacy used or how they were cooked, but they were always plump and juicy, and with the fries and a shake, this could easily rank right up there with the best meal ever.
“How about you?” I asked as I swallowed a mouthful of hot dog. “What did you want to do after you graduated? Did you go to college or anything?” I wanted to know more about this man who grabbed hold of my heart so quickly. It amazed me that it had been only two weeks since I first met him. In that short time, he’d already rocked my world in a way that I really hoped would happen again.
Kai shook his head and took another bite of his hot dog. The muscle in his jaw ticked, and a faraway look clouded his features.
“Kai?” My heart sped up with concern. I wiped my hands on a napkin and reached out to touch his arm. “Hey, is everything okay?” My voice was soft. My concerned teacher voice is what Darlene called it.
His tight-lipped smile was forced. “Let’s just say getting out of high school was a challenge due to a far from perfect home life. I wanted to go to college, but I needed to stay close to keep an eye on my younger siblings, so I took a construction job and have been working construction ever since. No college for me.” Kai took a sip of his shake, and some light entered his eyes. “Damn, you were right. This shake’s amazing.”
I couldn’t tell if that’s what he really thought or he was just trying to change the subject, but he wasn’t lying about one thing. The shake was amazing.