I let go of her hand and kiss the top of her head, half expecting him to let off a warning shot.
A moment later, I hear Kade's diesel truck, the low, throaty rumble cutting through the quiet like a warning. Tires snap over twigs and pop over gravel, muffling the sound of the thickening clouds.
“Look,” I nod back toward the jacked-up Chevy driving toward us, “you’ve been my friend for a damn long time, so I’m going to give you a head’s up. That man whose property you just rolled onto just spent the last five years in prison, and I’m sure his guns are a lot bigger and a lot less traceable than that little handgun you’re playing with. I don’t want bad things to happen here today, but I reckon you best apologize to your daughter and drive the fuck away before your life ends right here on this dusty, old, mountain road.”
He stares at me as Kade slows before us, his engine cutting out quickly before he hops out with a shotgun already cocked.
For a moment, Pete holds steady, his hand shaking as though years of paper deals have made him soft to real confrontation.
“Dad!” Nikki groans. “Come on. It’s not worth it. Go home.”
He shakes his head and lowers the gun. “Your mother would hate this for you, Nikki. You’resucha disappointment.”
If I had a gun in my fucking hand, I’d shoot it myself. He deserves a bullet hole or two for that one, at least.
What the fuck happened to him?
I squeeze my girl tighter as Pete tucks the gun back into his jeans and turns back toward Kade, who’s currently barking out orders.
“Get in your vehicle. I know where you live, I know where you work, and I expect there to be fucking cash at my door tomorrow morning to pay for the damage you just did tomy gate. Oh, and make sure there’s a little extra to cover the inconvenience of it all. I’d hate to let these trigger-happy urges I’m feeling linger.”
Pete nods once and turns away, climbing up into his truck without a single look back, and I know now that’s where this ends. There’s no friendship here anymore. No reason for me to keep trying with him. He’s hurt my girl one too many times, and he can rot in hell for all I care.
Kade lowers his gun and steps out from behind his truck, though he doesn’t say another word.
“I’m so sorry,” Nikki says, wrapping herself against my chest. “He’s—”
“We’ve all got some bad apples on the family tree. He’ll pay for the damages, so don’t worry. I get the feeling he likes breathing.” Kade offers a soft smile as he says, “You two better get out of here. That storm is coming in fast. There are already reports of downed power lines in Whiskey Falls.”
Shit. I glance up at the sky to see that the black, churning clouds are moving in closer. He’s right. We need to move now!
“You got a lot of folks out here camping tonight?” I ask, climbing up onto my bike before reaching for my girl.
“Nah. Just that couple up on the hill, and a solo camper looking to get away for the weekend.” He nods toward me and turns back to his truck, the rain picking up. “You two stay out of trouble.”
Nikki climbs onto the bike in front of me, leaning back into my chest as though she’s done this a hundred times. I thumb the ignition, and the engine vibrates as I kick up the stand.
The sky above is nearly black now, swallowing the last of the daylight as wind pushes in from the side. If we were going in any other direction, I’d say we were fucked. But right now, the road home is blue skies ahead, and I’ve never been more excited to get there.
Epilogue
Two Years Later
Nikki
Reed grips my arm and tugs me into the woods with a primal sort of snarl he reserves for playtime.
“What’s gotten into you today?” I grin and pound against his chest playfully, pretending I want to be let go, though I totally don’t. “I’ve been on Daddy’s lap twice already. Don’t you need a break to restock or something?”
He leans in and growls low, spreading wet heat into the crook of my neck. “There’s something about this pregnant body. I can’t get enough.”
“Yeah?” I bite back a smile and rub my hand over my expanded stomach with a groan. “What do you love more? My swollen ankles, the fact that I can’t bend over, or the constant mood swings?”
“All of it.” His voice drops low as his teeth scrape against the lobe of my ear when he whispers, “Now grab hold of that tree there. Daddy needs to feel his little kitten.”
He’s barking out directions, though he doesn’t wait for me to comply before he takes over. Positioning me where he wants me, between the fallen log and the standing pine, Reed tugs my bikini bottom to the side, bends me forward, and sinks into my pussy, growling low. It’s then that he fucks me like an animal. A wild, feral, primal beast whose needs are never satisfied as boatshum peacefully on the quiet lake where we have our annual family barbeque.
It’s not a huge event, but every year for the past two years, we rent out the lake houses the guys renovated for a weekend, and we all catch up on life. I’d love to say we could do that through Friday night game nights and random fishing trips, but now that everyone has kids, it’s harder and harder to make time for the things we used to. This little getaway has been the perfect opportunity to reconnect everyone. Plus, the rentals are cheap considering I snagged them up myself. I never thought I’d go back into real estate, but after I sold a few sunset photos on my website, folks started asking where they were taken, and the buzz started from there. A month later, I contacted the new realty company that took over the listings and offered asking. I had plenty of connections with lenders given our history. Now, it’s passive income while I spend my days taking pictures.
