Chapter 12
TUCKER
TWO DAYS.
Two fucking days.
I’ve thought about her soft skin in my hand, her round ass in that miniskirt, and the look in her eyes when she said she thought I didn’t like her. The confusion I saw on her face pissed me off.
Felix, my niece Lainey Rai’s horse, nips the collar of my shirt as I pass the broom in front of his stall and then huffs in my ear.
Trying not to encourage him, I pull my shoulder up to move his nose away from my neck.
He’s one of the most playful horses we have, but I don’t feel like playing right now.
I’ve had to stop myself from pushing the broom hard and fast like my irritatingly racing thoughts; otherwise, I’m just going to fill the air with dust, and I’ll be sneezing the rest of the day.
She shouldn’t be confused at all, I should want her to think I don’t like her.
I’ve avoided all women for the past year, the last thing I want is to feel like even more of a fucked-up cripple.
I can’t do half of the things I used to do before that goddamn bomb; it won’t take long for any woman to get tired of waiting for me or get bored because of all the things I can’t do.
Felix rubs his nose against my neck and pushes my hat off my head and then gloats about it with his head nods. Fucking horse. I stop what I’m doing and turn to look at him. He looks at me back. I can see the humor in his eyes, his head is still, almost like he’s daring me to do anything.
I want to be irritated with him. I really do. But I can’t stop the smile that breaks across my face, causing him to lift his head and huff at me. He’s like an ornery fucking human.
Leaning the broom against the stall, I grab a lead and go into his stall to hook him. He follows me out to the paddock, and I take the lead off so he can stretch his legs. His mama, Gray’s horse Frost, is already out, and she lifts her head to see what we’re doing.
She’s twenty years old now, and she’s showing her age. Felix walks over to her and playfully nips her neck, and she swings her head in his direction and shifts her ears, telling him to leave her alone.
Resting my arm on the fence, I lean and watch them.
Frost gets her name from her coat, it’s cream-colored and shiny like frost in the early morning sun.
Just like Nora’s skin is the color of cream and soft as silk.
When I saw her flinch the other night, I needed to make sure she hadn’t burned herself on my account.
Now I can’t get the memory of her slim wrist in my hand out of my head. I felt things I shouldn’t have felt, just with that one touch. The most important thing I felt was… alive. Some of the emptiness drained away, making me feel like I wasn’t a fucked-up husk of myself.
I didn’t want to let go.
I’ve got to stop thinking about her.
Lifting my ball cap off my head by the bill, I scrub my fingers through my hair and shake my head like I might be able to shake her out.
A beautiful woman like that doesn’t want a man who can’t run, can’t stand for long periods without having to rest, cranky as fuck, has nightmares almost every night, and forced into therapy to make sure he doesn’t want to off himself.
I’m the last thing she wants.
Boots clomping on the floor of the stable get my attention, and I turn to see Mason step out into the paddock. He and Dad were working in the hayloft today, and he’s covered in hay and sweat.
He stops next to me. “How’s she doing today?” Tipping his head at Frost.
“She’s short. Felix tried to play with her, but she ran him off.”
Mason slides his hands in his pockets, his eyes on Frost. “If she doesn’t perk up in the next week, we’ll need to call Breanna out.”
Our youngest sister opened a large animal emergency hospital in Owasso a couple of years ago.
She takes care of all our animals. When Lainey Rai’s dog, Wilson, got sick last year, she had to put him to sleep.
He’d been around since Breanna was a kid, it nearly killed her and Lainey Rai, but there isn’t anyone we trust more to take care of our animals.
He turns to me, squinting his eyes in the sun. “Me and Jax are taking the girls out to Stony’s for dinner tonight. Kinley and Rhys are going to meet us there, you wanna come?”
I can’t say I wasn’t already arguing with myself about going to Stony’s tonight. The pull I feel to go see her is so strong it’s pissing me off; it’s exactly the reason I shouldn’t go.
“Come on, you never go anywhere with us anymore. We want you to go.” The pleading in his voice tips the scales, and I nod my head.
He smiles and bumps his shoulder against mine. “Kinley and Marley are gonna be real happy you’re there.”
I hope I don’t regret this.
Since it’s Saturday night, the pub is busy, and the jukebox is playing loud. Nearly all the stools at the bar are taken, and there are just a couple of tables left, close to the front, that we can scoot together to fit all of us.
With all the kids at home, the girls don’t get to go out much. Gray and Elly stayed home with Dad to take care of all them with Lainey Rai.
As we sit around the tables, I take the chair that allows me to see the door and the room, and I look around for a familiar redhead as I get comfortable. It doesn’t take long to find her, she’s taking care of the tables in the back area where I usually sit.
When Trudy walks toward our table, I suppress the groan that tries to work its way up my chest. Her blue eyes shoot lasers at me as she stops between Mason and Jax’s chairs. “Tuck.” Her terse greeting is her way of making sure everyone at the table knows we have history.
The woman fucking loves drama. It’s only one of the reasons I ran for the hills.
I don’t say anything, but I also don’t look away. She won’t get the upper hand in a fucking ridiculous bid to silently brow-beat me in front of my family. Kinley is sitting next to me, and in my periphery, I see her roll her lips together to suppress her laugh.
Trudy narrows her eyes as she slices them in Kinley’s direction, which pisses me off.
She doesn’t get to be a bitch to my sister.
“Are you going to take our order or not?” I bark the question with force, and her eyes flick back to me, her face is tight, but I don’t give a shit.
Don’t start nothin’ and there won’t be nothin’.
After she takes our order, she flips her long blond hair over her shoulder and sashays away. Marley watches her for a moment before she turns to me and covers her smile with her fingers. “You left quite an impression.”
A group of guys at the bar break into loud laughter, and we all turn to look in that direction. They’re toasting a big guy in the center of their group while making groom jokes about a ball and chain as they lift shots in the air.
Kinley elbows Rhys in the ribs. “Do any of the guys you work with call me a ball and chain?” She’s tucked under his arm with her hand rubbing her round belly.
Rhys works for the FBI field office in Tulsa and manages a team of guys, all of whom have met her.
She was his protected witness when they met three years ago and, in true Kinley fashion, she didn’t back down when she didn’t like something.
The way he tells it, she made him jump through a couple of hoops.
He tightens his arm around her shoulders and smiles as he taps his finger on her nose. “Baby, they’re all too scared of you to say anything like that.”
Mason’s wife, Sloane, who is also pregnant, but not as far along, laughs from the other side of the table. “Aww, her bark is worse than her bite.” She puts on a fake serious face and nods as she says, “But she does bite.”
I wasn’t there, but I heard all about the fight Kinley and Sloane got into, sliding around on the kitchen floor covered in hot cocoa and pancake batter they threw at each other when Sloane and Mason first got together. That was almost five years ago.
“But I love you now.” Kinley blows a kiss over the table toward Sloane, who pretends to catch it in the air.
Jax pipes up next to Marley. “I would have paid money to see the cocoa and batter battle.” Which gets him an elbow in the ribs, making the team’s guy flinch.
Jax is Mason’s best friend and one of his teammates on his black ops team.
He’s always said his heart was Marley’s from the first moment he saw her.
They all keep talking and laughing, but I tune them out as I lean my elbows on the table and watch a red head move around people and tables carrying drinks.
I’ve only been watching her for a few minutes before she stiffens as she’s setting beers on a table, her fingers brushing the back of her neck.
She turns, holding her drink tray in front of her like a shield, and her eyes bounce around the room before they lock on mine.
Her thick hair is in a ponytail hanging between her shoulder blades, and the T-shirt she’s wearing tonight is light green, the Stony’s logo bending around the large globes of her breasts.
When she gives me a hesitant smile, I look away like the pussy I am.
“Hey! It’s Nora!” Kinley says as she sits up tall and starts waving her hand high in the air before she yells. “Nora!”
Fuck.
“Who is that?” Marley asks, looking between Nora, who is crossing the room, and Kinley.
“Tuck and I helped her a few weeks ago when she broke down on Highway Twenty. I’ll introduce you.”
Ducking my head, I focus on the battered wood grain on the old table I’m leaning on. Even though I’m not looking at her, I can feel her close to the table like a goddamn beacon trying to pull me in.
While Kinley is making the introductions, I lift my head enough to peek at her from under the brim of my hat. That smile. Fuck me.
She’s smiling at everyone as Kinley is rattling off everyone’s names, and then she says, “And you know Tuck.” Waving her hand in my direction, Nora’s green eyes land on me, her smile still bright on her face.