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“You called me Winnie. Again.”
“It’s your name, baby,” I huffed a laugh.
“I know, I mean everyone calls me Winnie, but not you. You always call me Fred, no matter how many times I have asked you not to. It’s almost like you are my bro…” she stopped herself before she could say the word.
“Your brother? I can assure you, baby, that the way I feel about you is not brotherly in the least. Maybe before, when you were too young for me to look at you as anything else. But it has been years, years, Winnie, of me wanting more.” I wasn’t ready to explain why I called her Fred, maybe when I truly had her and she couldn’t run away.
“Come home with me,” I rubbed my nose against hers.
She groaned, “I wish I could but my parents are watching Daisy this week for Gray and I am closing until he gets back.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. “You aren’t alone at night, are you? Did your parents discuss the new security protocols with you?”
“Yes, Kane,” she rolled her eyes. “They told me about everything. No, I won’t be alone at close. Uncle Jim will be here tonight and he has already offered to help me shut everything down and walk me to my car.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. Jim was the cook at the diner when Winnie’s dad couldn’t be there. He wasn’t really her uncle but rather her father’s best friend. They had met in the Marines and after his career was over, he moved to Little Falls to be near his old friend and his family. He always said retirement was never really for him so he liked to stay busy working.
Even though he was in his early sixties, Jim was a big fucking guy. He rivaled me for height and had fists that looked like they could punch through a steel door. I saw him flip a pancake once and the spatula looked like a toy in his big paw. Winnie would be safe if Jim was looking out for her.
“Tonight then? Right after you close up? I want to cook for you.”
“You cook?” she asked, surprised.
“Of course I cook, baby. I live alone and if I don’t cook, I don’t eat.”
“All right, I will go home and change after work then come over.”
“No,” I said stubbornly. “Shower at my place. I want as much time with you tonight as I can get.”
“I’ll need clean clothes, Kane,” she smiled up at me again. Winnie was gorgeous, her eyes sparkling with happiness, and it was because of me. I felt my chest get tight and I wanted to kiss her again, desperately.
“I have clothes you can wear.” The thought of Winnie in my home, with my things and wearing my clothes made me hard as rock, but this was about convincing her I wanted more than a quick hook-up. I kissed her on the nose and stepped back.
“I’ll see you tonight, baby,” I left before she could find another excuse with the biggest fucking smile on my face. Sure, Gray was probably going to murder me when he found out, but I was done holding back. Winifred James was going to be mine, and both she and Gray would just have to accept that.
9
Winnie
Ipulled my old Jeep into the parking lot behind Falls Security. Gray and Kane had converted the second story of the building into lofts and Sam and Roe lived up there, too. Now that Daisy was getting older, Gray was saving for a house for the two of them. He wanted her to have a yard and a dog to play with like we had growing up.
My hands gripped and released the steering wheel, I was nervous about going inside Kane’s home for the first time. He seemed like a completely different person at the diner that morning. The way he touched me and spoke to me was completely different from the Kane I had known. I was confused but excited to see him.
I had floated through the day genuinely smiling at even the crankiest of customers. This felt big, him inviting me into his private space. I chewed on my lower lip.Suck it up, James, you are a big girl and you are going to go after what you want.
I turned off the ignition, grabbed my bag and went to the back door that led to the lofts. Punching in the ten digits that would give me access, I wished they used keys like normal people. Gray had given me an individual code to get to the living spaces since I helped out with Daisy. I told him it was unnecessary and he could just give me his but apparently that ‘goes against protocol.’
The building was locked down like a fortress and there was no way for me to get inside otherwise. Cameras, keypads and thick steel doors guarded every entrance and honestly, I was surprised I didn’t have to give a retinal scan and a blood sample before I could pass.
Little Falls was one of those leave your back door unlocked just in case your neighbors wanted to stop by towns. One time I mentioned how over the top it was to Gray and he said, “When you have seen what I have, Winnie, you do what it takes to keep your family safe.”
Feeling grateful that Gray was gone for the week since his and Daisy’s door was directly across from Kane’s, I climbed the stairs slowly. The last thing I wanted was to have to explain to my big brother and my niece why I was there.
I chewed on my thumb nail as I stared at his door, which Kane would I get tonight? The grumpy one who I wanted to punch in the throat every time he made an assumption about me or the sexy one that had called me baby and made my legs weak? Bolstering my courage and lifting my fist to knock on his door, it suddenly flew open and Kane wrapped me up in his huge arms and claimed my mouth. He dragged me into his home while kissing me thoroughly, making my nerves disappear as I kissed him back just as hungrily.
“Fuck, I missed you,” he bit my lower lip gently.
“You saw me this morning, Kane,” I said, breathless from his kisses.
