Chapter 12
Verity leaned back against the door, her stomach in knots.
She refused to cry.
Opening her eyes wide, she blinked and blinked and blinked. Gave a soft, pitiful sniff that Reed would only hear if he was pressed against his side of the door and had supersonic hearing.
She would not break down over something Reed Walsh said. Not after she’d promised herself weeks ago she’d never cry over him again.
But, oh, God, he was right. She’d been a brat.
Shame washed over her, thick and heavy, clinging to her like a second skin. She hated to be in the wrong, and yet she’d jumped smack dab into the middle of it.
Now she had to fix it.
Ian came out of the kitchen, head down as he took slow, careful steps, one of the bowls they used for her yellow Lab, Bella, filled with water in his outstretched hands.
Like, filled to the brim.
Not for long, though.
Each step he took, water sloshed out over the side and onto the hardwood floor. At this rate, the bowl would be empty, and she’d have a small flood on her hands by the time he reached the door.
Ian stopped a few feet from where she was pressed against the door. “I got the water.”
“So I see.” Straightening, she peered into the bowl. “Did you manage to keep any in the bowl?”
He glanced down, then nodded.
Must be nice to be so immune to sarcasm.
“Can I give that guy’s dog some of Bella’s treats?” he asked.
Verity brought Bella with her most days during the week, so Kat had a stash of dog bowls, food, treats and toys. “That guy’s name is Reed. And, yes, if it’s okay with him.”
“I’ll get them,” he said, shoving the water bowl at her, forcing her to take it before he took off toward the kitchen.
Leaving her with a half-full water bowl, a wet spot on her shirt and an irritating moral dilemma.
With a sigh, she pocketed Tabitha’s key and opened the door.
Only to have Reed, standing in the same exact spot he’d been when she’d fled moments ago, duck his head.
Like he hadn’t been staring at the door waiting for her to come back outside.
This boy and his mixed signals.
He killed her.
Head held high, she stepped onto the porch, shut the door behind her, then handed him the water—without looking at his face—before heading down the porch steps.
And she’d thought Tabitha sneaking out of Miles’s house last month had been a walk of shame.
Oh, how young, how na?ve she’d been!
That was nothing compared to this.
Humbling oneself sucked, even if it was deserved.
Especiallywhen it was deserved.
When she reached Tabitha, the other woman had just ended a phone call.
“Was that Mr. Roberts?” Verity asked.
Tabitha studied her a moment, not hostile, exactly, but not even close to warm and fuzzy, either. “It was the place I rented the truck from.”
Paying for an extra hour or two of a rental wouldn’t be a big deal to you because you wouldn’t be the one paying for it. But to her? It’s a hell of a big deal.
The guilt. It would. Not. Stop.
Throat tight, Verity dug the key from her front pocket and held it out to Tabitha. “If the rental place charges you extra,” she said as Tabitha took the key, “I’ll pay for it.”
With her own money, thank you very much. She may not have to pay for her car or her insurance or anything necessary for her own survival, but she wasn’t completely spoiled.
Just mostly spoiled.
But Tabitha was already walking away. She stopped on the sidewalk to talk to Reed while Titus, at Reed’s side, lapped up the water Ian had gotten him.
Verity headed toward the other woman with slow, dragging steps. She noticed Ian on all fours on the porch, the bag of dog treats at his side forgotten as he studied a spider in its web between porch posts.
Verity wished she was that easily distracted.
Being in your own world meant you didn’t have to deal with people in this one.
“—sorry for the delay,” Tabitha was saying to Reed when Verity reached them.
“No problem,” he said, way nicer than he ever spoke to Verity. “It’s not like it was your fault.”
And he sent a pointed look Verity’s way.
God. Hit her over the head, why don’t you?
Tabitha glanced her way, too, but with a lot less smirkiness. “Maybe not,” she said. “But as the one who hired you, I feel responsible all the same.”
Reed lifted his chin in Verity’s direction, a stupid smirk on his stupid handsome face. “You got something you want to add?”
She did. Absolutely.
And she’d rather put that spider Ian was so fascinated with in her hair than say it in front of Reed.
“Could I speak with you for a minute?” she asked Tabitha. Now she was the one who sent Reed a pointed glance. “Alone?”
Titus chose that moment to bounce over and give Verity a head bump against her thigh, his entire body vibrating in excitement.
At least someone there still liked her.
“Actually,” Tabitha said, “I should start unloading my stuff.”
And she turned and took off down the sidewalk at a fast clip.
“Guess I’m not the only brat here,” Verity muttered.
“It’s still just you, princess. She’s scared of Titus.”
Oh. Of course. That actually made sense, what with Tabitha keeping her distance from Reed and his dog and the wary glances she kept giving Titus.
Without a word—when you had no defense, the best option was retreat—she turned and walked toward the blonde, Titus trotting after her until Reed snapped his fingers. “Titus. Stay.”
Titus immediately obeyed.
This time, when Verity reached Tabitha, the blonde was opening the truck’s passenger side door. Not wanting to give her another chance to brush her off, Verity dove right in.
“I’m sorry.”
At her words—blurted, rushed, and overly loud as they were—Tabitha stilled, then slowly faced her.
Verity forced herself to hold the other woman’s gaze. “I’m sorry for not giving you the key before and for causing you any problems with the rental place. And I’m really sorry for being so rude to you.”
Tabitha nodded, expression unreadable, and Verity couldn’t tell if that nod was an acceptance of her apology or just an acknowledgement of it. “Thank you for saying that.”
Okay. Acknowledgement it was.
Which was fine. She couldn’t force the blonde to forgive her. She’d done the right thing by apologizing, had owned up to her mistakes, and admitted her bad behavior.
Her brothers would be very proud of her.
“I was only trying to protect Miles.”
Tabitha tipped her head to the side, something in the way she studied Verity unsettling.
And weirdly familiar.
“It’s very important for you to share your thoughts with others, isn’t it?” Tabitha asked. “To give your opinions?”
Not everyone cares to know what you think or how you feel about every goddamn thing.
What? Was she stuck in a time loop, destined to have the same conversations with people over and over again?
“Honest, open communication is important to me,” Verity corrected.
And not because of the reasons Reed had accused.
You want to prove how special you are. How smart. How much better than everyone else.
Jerk.
“Well, then,” Tabitha said, “in the spirit of being honest and open, let me assure you that I’m not out to hurt Miles. And while I think it’s commendable that you want to protect your brother, Miles is more than capable of taking care of himself.”
“Just because you don’t mean to hurt someone, just because you don’t want to hurt them, doesn’t mean you won’t.”
Tabitha inclined her head, a silent touché. “I really do need to get this truck unloaded, so if there’s nothing else…”
“You didn’t accept my apology,” Verity blurted.
“Do you need me to accept it?”
Why did that sound like a trick question?
Or something a therapist would ask?
Verity shifted. Crossed her arms. “I guess not. It’s just…” She let her arms drop. “I meant it. You know, in case you thought I wasn’t being sincere. Because I was. I am.”
“It’s very clear you say exactly what you mean.”
Verity tossed up her hands. “Why does everyone make that seem like a bad thing?”
“Everyone? Or a certain someone?”
Then she sent a long look at Reed.
“He’s just one of many,” Verity grumbled.
Tabitha’s expression softened. “I have no doubt of your sincerity and I do accept your apology.”
Relief flowed through Verity. “Thank you.”
But when she turned and walked away, she made it only two steps before whirling back around. “And I know Miles can take care of himself. It’s just that in my family, we all look out for each other.”
More than that, her brothers have always taken care of her. And now that she was finally old enough, she wanted to do the same for them.
“You’re all very lucky then,” Tabitha told her softly. “Most people have to look out for themselves.”
The way she said it made Verity think Tabitha was one of those not-so-lucky ones.
Verity once more glanced at Reed.
Just like someone else she knew.
***
“In,” Reed told Titus, holding the truck door open with one hand and gesturing for his dog to get into the truck with the other.
Titus whined. Ducked his head and plodded toward the truck—a dog walking his last mile. At the door, he sat and shot Reed a pitiful, pleading look.
“It’s an hour. You’ll survive.”
And while letting his dog sit in the truck that long wasn’t ideal, it was better than leaving him at the trailer.
Pete Walsh was a mean bastard when he was sober. When he was drunk?
He was a fucking demon.
And Pete was always drunk.
“Come on,” Reed said, pretending not to notice Verity’s bare legs in those goddamn shorts, the sway of her hips, or the bounce of her breasts as she walked toward him. “Get in.”
He expected her to walk on by, nose in the air like she’d smelled something shitty. Not so much as glancing his way.
Not giving him the time of day or an ounce of her attention.
He found himself braced for it, her ignoring him. Bit back the urge to spout off some smartass remark to see if he could get a reaction.
To get some of that time and attention, both of which he wanted a little too much.
She was getting closer. Her gaze straight ahead, her arms crossed under her lush tits which lifted the hem of her cropped shirt another inch, showing more of her pale skin.
He was in hell.
And his dog was being an asshole.
He felt stupid enough around Verity. Lacking in every way that counted. The last thing he needed was for his own dog to disobey him in front of her.
“Titus,” he snapped. “In.”
Head hanging even lower, Titus crouched on his hind legs, ready to leap into the truck when Verity, two steps past them, sighed heavily, then whirled around.
“How is Titus with kids?”
At the sound of his name or, more than likely, simply because of the girl who’d said it, Titus tried to course correct midleap, turning toward her while in the air, only to end up sprawled on the sidewalk when he landed.
“Oh no,” Verity crooned, dropping to a crouch. She took Titus’s head in both hands and looked into his eyes, her thumbs stroking over his cheeks. “Are you okay?”
Titus whimpered, then flopped over onto his back, legs up, belly exposed.
“For Christ’s sake,” Reed muttered. “Have some pride.”
But Titus just looked up at him with a doggy smirk.
Why shouldn’t he? He was the one who had Verity Jennings on her knees stroking his belly and murmuring to him how sweet he was.
Like Reed said.
Asshole.
“Well?” Verity asked, prissy and pissy as she looked up at him.
And his mind went blank. Just… emptied of all thought.
Except one.
She looked so pretty on her knees before him.
His dick twitched and he shifted. Curled his fingers into his palms and squeezed hard. The last thing he needed was to get a hard-on right now.
This girl held too much power over him as it was.
No sense handing more to her on a fucking platter.
“Well what?”
She huffed out a breath, irritated at his grumpy tone or maybe just impatient with his inability to keep up with her superior intellect. “How is Titus with kids?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“He’s never been around kids.”
Sitting back on her heels, she gaped at him, mouth open and forming a perfect circle.
Forget twitching, his cock went rock hard, wanting nothing more than to slide between those pretty pink lips.
He spun toward his truck, practically throwing his upper body across the passenger seat as he pretended to look for something.
She sighed again. And while he knew damn well it was more of her irritation and impatience with him, with his body hard and aching for her, and the very clear image of how she’d look with his cock in her mouth in his head, it didn’t sound that way.
It sounded like a sigh of satisfaction. The type of sound he dreamt of drawing from her with his hands. His mouth.
Now he had even more images filling his mind. Of her beneath him. On top of him. Of him on his knees before her, those creamy thighs of hers spread wide.
His dick surged against the zipper of his jeans.
So much for getting that fucker to stand down.
“I’m sure you don’t care,” Verity said, “seeing as how you’re a rebel against manners in general and polite society specifically, what with its silly customs and norms and respectable ways and all, but it’s extremely rude to ignore someone who’s talking to you.”
Jesus. Not even her snippy tone was enough to deflate his raging hard on.
It was making it worse.
This girl drove him crazy. Made him forget why he was there in the first place. Why he should steer clear of her.
Made him wish things were different.
That he was someone different.
But wishing had never gotten him anything but disappointment, so he grabbed his work gloves, then eased out of the truck to face her. “Not ignoring you,” he said, holding up the gloves, making sure his smirk and his tone made it clear he didn’t think she wasn’t worth the effort it would take to ignore her. “Just getting ready to work. Not everyone’s like you. Some of us have to pay our own way.”
“Yes,” she said from between her teeth, “you made your opinion of me crystal clear. Now if you could try and follow along with the actual conversation we’re having, right now, in the present and not the one we concluded ten minutes ago, that’d be great.”
He shrugged, and yeah, it was partly to piss her off and partly to let her know he couldn’t give a shit about their conversation.
But mostly it was because he had no idea what they’d been talking about. How the hell was he supposed to keep up when she rambled on like that? The girl could talk.
How was he supposed to think clearly when she looked like that? All lush curves and pale exposed skin and those blue eyes that saw right through him?
“We were discussing Titus’s behavior,” she reminded him. “How is he with strangers in general?”
Reed shrugged and had Verity looking at him like she wanted to kick his shin.
“What about delivery drivers?” she pressed. “His vet? People walking down the street?”
“He’s fine.”
“What a ringing endorsement. Okay, let’s try it this way. Do you think Ian will be safe around him?”
Reed bristled, offended both personally and for Titus. His dog might not be purebred or have a fancy pedigree, but he was loyal and smart and obedient.
He glanced at Titus, who sat between him and Verity, head swinging back and forth when they spoke, as if he was following their conversation. “He’s a good boy.”
Her breath caught, but before he could figure out why, before he could read too much into it, she dropped her eyes.
Clearing her throat, she called to her nephew, “Ian?”
The kid was flat on his stomach on the porch, his head on his folded hands facing away from them.
He didn’t move. At all.
Verity’s hands went to her hips. “Seriously? Am I invisible? Or just easy to ignore?”
Reed couldn’t help it. He snorted yet again.
When she slid him a narrow-eyed glare, he wanted to tell her she was far from invisible. That this summer it seemed like she was all he saw. Even when she wasn’t around.
But while he might not be nearly as smart as her, he wasn’t always a complete dumbass.
“Nothing easy about you, princess.”
She opened her mouth, probably to lay him low with some big words and snooty attitude, but then she snapped her mouth shut. “You know what? I’m just going to take that as a compliment.” She turned back to the porch. “Ian!” Still nothing. “Ian Joseph Jennings!”
The kid slowly lifted his head. But it took him another five seconds before he turned toward them. “What?” At the look Verity sent him the kid, scrambled up to his knees—smart kid. She could be scary. “I mean… yes?”
“Could you come down here? And bring the treats, please.”
Everything the kid did was in slow motion. Getting to his feet. Picking the bag of treats off the floor. Walking down the steps.
When he finally reached them, Verity put her hand on his shoulder and nodded toward Titus. “Ian, this is Titus.” She looked at Reed. “Can he give Titus a treat?”
He shrugged again.
“That’s actually a yes or no question. As in you literally have to answer either yes or no.” She paused and pursed her lips. He quickly dropped his gaze so his dick didn’t get any more ideas. “And grunts don’t count.”
Hadn’t he just said there was nothing easy about her?
“Yeah,” he grunted.
Her eyes narrowed.
Fuck, but he liked pushing her buttons.
Just one of the many, many problems he had when it came to her.
Ian held out the back of his hand and Titus sniffed it politely before nudging it with his snout. The kid patted his head then dug into his bag and held out a treat. Titus gently nipped it from the kid’s fingers.
Reed couldn’t help shooting a smug look Verity’s way.
He’d told her Titus was a good boy.
Verity watched Ian pet Titus, his dog vibrating with excitement over the attention, her expression dark, mouth pinched.
Like this whole scene wasn’t entirely her fault for stopping to talk to him then calling her nephew over here.
“We’ll watch Titus while you’re unloading the truck,” she said, like she was doing him and his dog a favor.
Which she would be.
And that was the last thing he needed.
“He’s fine in my truck.”
“You’d really let your dog suffer just because you don’t like me?”
He didn’t answer. Couldn’t. Better to let her believe what she wanted.
“We’ll take good care of him,” she continued, soft like a promise. “He’s safe with me.”
He ducked his head, dropped his gaze to the sidewalk.
Shit. Didn’t he already know she saw too much? She’d obviously figured out he didn’t trust his old man around his dog.
He didn’t trust his father, but he did trust her.
He slapped his gloves against his hand. “What’ll I owe you?”
“What?”
“For watching Titus. What’ll I owe you?”
It was what he’d do. Demand repayment for favors given.
Hell, it was what he had done at the beginning of summer when he helped get her car out of that ditch. Then he’d held that debt over her head until he’d used it as an excuse to get her to dance with him at Patton’s wedding.
“I guess you will owe me,” she said, slow and thoughtful, like he’d just given her a great idea.
Even Princesses could sink low if the price was high enough.
“What do you want?”
“I want this” —she gestured between them— “to not happen again. If you see me, don’t talk to me. If we’re in the same space, leave. You’re good at walking away from me,” she added, words soft, tone snide. “Should be easy enough for you to do.”
He studied her. Told himself it was to poke at her a bit more with his silence and his sneer. Not because he was memorizing her features, taking note of each freckle dotting her nose and upper cheeks, that patch of brown in her right eye, the fullness of her lower lip, the perfect bow of her upper one.
“You’re right, princess. That will be easy for me to do.”
To prove it, he shut his truck’s door, then turned and headed toward the blonde without a word.
But it was another lie. The biggest one yet.
Because walking away from her had never been easy.
And it was getting harder and harder to do.