“Appreciate the vote of confidence. Guess we’ll see.” He glances toward my bike, then back at me. “I’ve got that part for that Indian Scout you’re fixing up, but you guys know there’s a big storm rolling in today, right? Supposed to be coming in soon. They’re calling for golf ball-sized hail and bad winds. You might want to stay up at my place until it passes or head back into town until morning. News says it’s going to get real bad on account of that temperature drop we had last night.”
Fuck. Neither of those options are ideal. I want to be alone and free to touch my little kitten, however I choose. That, and if we can get out of this conversation without him circling back towhyNikki is here, that’d be ideal. The less time we’re together, the better those chances become.
“We should probably head out,” I say with a nod. “I’ll check my phone for updates and see if we can skirt around the worst of it.”
He laughs under his breath. “You won’t be skirtin’ this thing. It’s huge. Supposed to blanket the whole state of Colorado. You do you, but you better find a place to hunker down. Towns only an hour back. If I were you, I’d head home and restart the trip tomorrow.”
I nod slowly and draw in a deep breath. “Thanks for the update, man. Appreciate it.”
“Sure,” he says, walking back to the truck to grab my part out of the back. It’s a rear fender and it’ll fit perfectly in the saddlebag of my bike. “My buddy said he has other rare parts if you need them. He’s dismantling his grandpa’s scout for parts. Couldn’t get it running.”
“That’s too bad,” I say, my hand on the small of Nikki’s back. “Thanks for the help.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he says, glancing toward me. “I thought you were doing the road trip on your own?”
“I was going to, then plans changed.” I glance toward Nikki and reach for her hand, fully ready to declare our love out loud, but she steps in and cuts the moment clean, gripping hold of my arm playfully.
“Reed is taking me to shoot some pictures.” Her voice has turned so light and bubbly that two chipmunks scurry up near her feet to try and be her friend. “Turns out I’m a terrible realtor, but I was good at taking pictures once, so… we’ll see if that still stands.”
That’s not at all what’s happening.What the fuck?
One second, we’re in the tent lying in each other’s arms, content with telling the world our love is real. The next, she’s… doing whatever this is.
I stand in place, jaw tight, trying to keep my face neutral while everything inside of me knots up.
Her conversation with Kade continues, but I have no idea what they’re talking about. I can’t focus with the amount of pressure echoing in my ears.
I should shut my fucking mouth and go with the flow. I know she’s not trying to hurt me. She’s afraid. We’ve got decades between us, and I’m her dad’s best friend. Plus, Kade is a very intimidating guy. It makes sense that she’d be afraid right now.
I should be understanding, but for some reason my hands flex at my sides, my breath gets tight, and there’s a coiling heat under my sternum that claws to be let out.
Jesus Christ.
I draw in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to settle my nerves, but the more I try to calm myself, the stronger the pull to claim her gets.
Nikki giggles sweetly and stares up at me as though it’s my turn to speak, but I have no idea what we’re even talking about, so instead of answering, I lean into her ear and whisper low, “I’m going to spank your little ass so hard.”
She blinks up at me, lips threatening a smile as she continues her charade. “Yeah, I guess we should get going.”
Kade glances up at the gray clouds moving in over the pines. “Be safe out there. Looks like this thing might be moving in early. Oh, and don’t be alarmed if you see smoke on the other side of the camp. I’ve got another couple out here for a long weekend.”
“Will do, buddy.” I nod. “We’ll have to catch up again soon when we’ve got more time.”
He waves without looking back, walking with that heavy certainty he always has, his shoulders squared like the world has never seen him hesitate. I’m guessing that’s because it hasn’t, though I still don’t understand why he had to spend five years in prison for stepping in when a woman was being assaulted, but the courts said the situation looked like retaliation instead of protection, and he was lucky to get five years considering he was looking at ten.
He climbs up into his truck and slams the door with a solid thud that echoes through the trees, dust kicking up and catching in the morning light as he drives away. There’s so much we could’ve caught up on, but I’m glad he’s leaving. I have to teach my little girl a very hard lesson, and I need to teach it to her right the fuck now.
Chapter Thirteen
Nikki
Dark clouds bunch along the ridgeline, gathering like a curtain being pulled across the sky. The air is cooling fast, and though I know from living in the mountains most of my life we still have plenty of time to get back to town, the storm brewing inside of Reed is loud and clear.
“Bend over on that picnic table.” His tone is lowered and his pace is metered as he stands feet shoulder-width apart, his gaze locked on me.
I narrow my brows playfully. “What? Why?”
“I told you, I’m going to spank that little ass for being so naughty.”
