Forever Thrown: Forever Bluegrass #16

by Kathleen Brooks

“I bet we could make him cry in under a minute,” Talon said. “After all, Greer is like the entire FBI Hostage Rescue’s little sister.”

  “Because Jackson threatened everyone who would have asked her out,” Porter said, feeling the need to stick up for his cousin, who was also his best friend.

  “Don’t get all high and mighty,” Jackson warned Porter. “You were out there giving Matt and Carter hell when they were dating your sisters.”

  Porter was about to say “true” when he saw a shadow move in the distance. He narrowed his eyes and scanned the area. “Hey, guys,” he began to say.

  “Nope, everyone has to earn their way into the family, especially the guys. I don’t care if Aunt Annie or Bridget call me sexist, but what kind of big brother would I be if I didn’t threaten my little sister’s boyfriend?” Jackson said as he glared.

  “I think we’re about to be attacked,” Porter said as he backed up from the window.

  Miles was beside Porter instantly, looking out as Cy handed him a pair of night vision goggles. “It’s a tactical team,” Miles said excitedly. “This is not a drill! We got a standard two-by-two formation coming in the front and I’d also bet at the side and back. Get into positions!”

  “Porter dear,” his grandmother called out as his grandfather escorted her into the hidden shelter of the safe room Cade had put in thirty years ago. “Grab my nice dishes and the pie. Wouldn’t want them shot. Thanks, dear.”

  The lights went out, night vision goggles were shoved into Porter’s hands, and he ran to secure the pie and dishes. He bounded up the stairs to meet his brother. “You think you still got it in you?” Parker asked as he shoved a rifle and ammunition at Porter.

  “Do I? I think the better question is whether you can keep up,” Porter taunted as they opened the bedroom window on the backside of the house. The large maple tree provided cover and Porter climbed onto the tree and upward until he could easily jump onto the roof.

  Porter’s mind went straight to Willa, but before he could get to her, he needed to take this team out. They were after him so hopefully Willa was safe for now. Porter lay on the roof with the chimney as cover while Parker did the same on the back end of the house.

  Porter scanned the area and found the team using the cars to hide their approach. To his side he saw three dark figures break from the house and run low to the ground. That had to be Jackson, Talon, and Lucas moving in to flank the team coming approaching the front door.

  Porter took a deep breath and waited as the men crossed into the open area before he started firing. He fired the first shot, then it sounded like an arsenal went off as the uncles and cousins joined in. The men who tried to retreat were met by Jackson and his team.

  It was over in a matter of seconds. The team never stood a chance against the Davies family.

  “Willa,” Porter called out to Parker. “I have to make sure she’s safe.”

  “We got it covered. Go!”

  Porter raced across the roof, leapt into the tree, and in seconds was running off into the darkness to look for Willa.

  “Did you hear something?” Willa asked as she held the knife she was using to compete with Sophie and Annie. She was currently trying to kill a straw dummy with the knife as Sophie and Annie attacked with foam pads. Layne was sitting back, watching them as she tapped a spoon menacingly against her palm.

  “Hey, did you all hear something?” Katelyn asked as she, Tammy, and Sydney jogged up with their axes.

  “I thought I did,” Willa answered.

  “Hey, y’all, did you just hear something?” Greer asked as she and her mother joined the group with their guns in large carrying cases. “I could have sworn I heard gunfire.”

  “It was probably just the guys having a competition of their own,” Layne said with a shrug.

  Suddenly an arrow landed in the middle of the women.

  “What the hell?” Annie muttered. “Cassidy isn’t supposed to be shooting her arrows at us.”

  “Wait a second,” Sophie said as she pulled out a gun from what looked like a diaper bag. She took off the protective cover from the scope and scanned the area. “Night vision. We have company.”

  Sophie handed the gun to Greer who did her own sweep. “Tactical forces. Call the others. This interrogation just turned real, Willa. If you survive, you’re in.”

  “No!” Riley groaned as she, Reagan, and their mother, Gemma, jogged over. “I wanted my time in hand-to-hand combat with Willa.”

  “What’s going on? We thought we heard something,” Gemma asked, ignoring her daughter.

  “We’re under attack. For real,” Greer told her as she looked around. “Is everyone armed?”

  Willa grabbed a shotgun and nodded even as her heart beat a mile a minute.

  “Hey!” Cassidy whispered as she ran forward with her older sister, Piper, and their aunt Morgan. All three were carrying bows and arrows. “Did you see them?”

  “Yeah. Everyone break apart and hide among the dummies and targets. I need sharpshooters behind the mounds back there. They’re elevated to keep the bullets in the range,” Greer ordered. “Archers, fall back to where Cassidy was shooting at Willa.”

  Willa looked around as people nodded and then ran off into the darkness.

  “We have to assume the sound of gunfire from the main house was hostile and not the guys just messing around,” Greer told them. “Whoever these people are, they are willing to shoot so don’t be a target. Knives and axes get behind the dummies. Throw and then fall back. The sharpshooters will provide cover.”

  Gemma grabbed the other shotgun. “I’ll stay with Willa.”

  “Get behind the two hundred and fifty yard targets,” Greer instructed. “We’ll cover you if you need to run. Let’s go.”

  Willa nodded and gave one last glance in the direction of the farmhouse. She just hoped Porter was safe. In this short amount of time she couldn’t imagine her life without him.

  “Thinking about Porter?” Gemma whispered as they ran. Willa could only nod. She couldn’t put the fear she felt into words. “You love him, don’t you? But you’re scared.”

  Willa nodded again.

  “I know the feeling well. Any woman who loves and is loved by a Davies is a lucky woman. Even if the force of the feelings we have can be overwhelming. Well, and you usually end up in a gunfight at some point. I didn’t get to interrogate you, but that was going to be my question, whether you loved my son. If you do, that’s all that matters to me. The love you share will only grow and develop until it’s an unbreakable bond. You just have to be open to it.”

  Willa and Gemma ducked behind the target and Willa thumbed in two shotgun shells and snapped the barrel closed. “I’m ready to fight for it, that’s for sure.”

  The two women sat in silence. They were on the ground, sitting with their backs against the large target. She looked into the darkness and could barely see the mound of earth Greer was behind.

  It was eerily quiet. Even the footfalls she knew to be coming couldn’t be heard. Then suddenly three shots boomed out from behind the earth mound. Willa’s heart pounded as she heard people yelling in a language she didn’t recognize.

  “Fall back!” Annie yelled.

  Willa heard the sound of running from all around them as Katelyn, Sydney, Tammy, Annie, and Layne raced by.

  “Down!” Sophie yelled from where she was next to Greer.

  The group fell to the ground and the sharpshooters began to return fire.

  “Here!” Willa called as she reached for Sydney’s hand and tugged her behind the target along with Sydney’s mother, Katelyn. The others crawled behind the target ten feet away as a volley of shots was exchanged.

  Willa took a chance and looked around the far side of the target. Three people dressed in black were crawling on the ground toward them.

  “Gemma, there’s three coming on the ground. Two are going wide and one is just to the right of the center path.”

  An arrow dropped from the sky and skew
ered the person in the middle.

  “Okay, so now there’s two,” Willa said.

  Gemma nodded. “You take the one on this side. Are you able to do that? If not, any of the girls can. We’ve had extensive training.”

  Willa thought about it. She could hand off her shotgun, but then a figure slowly rose behind the second target.

  “Get down,” Willa said as she shoved Gemma to the ground with one hand and aimed her shotgun over Gemma.

  Willa didn’t hesitate. She shot as the man pointed his gun at Layne. The blast hit the figure and sent him sprawling back. All of a sudden it sounded as if gunfire was everywhere, but then a shot boomed behind Willa.

  Willa spun around ready to shoot only to find Porter standing over another body. “Willa!”

  “Porter! Get down!” Willa cried, fear racing through her as he stood out in the open, rifle in hand.

  “Gemma!” Willa heard Cy roar as men filled the area from all directions.

  Willa choked back a sob as she realized it was over. They were safe and Porter was alive.

  Willa scrambled to her feet and then she was in Porter’s arms. His hands were on her face and his lips were on hers.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice tight with worry.

  Willa shook her head. “I was so worried about you.”

  They both talked simultaneously as they ran their hands over each other to reassure themselves they were not hurt.

  “I love you. God, Willa, I love you and the thought that you were hurt or kidnapped aged me ten years. I don’t think I have taken a full breath until now.” Porter was talking in between kissing her.

  Willa’s heart had been pumping a mile a minute from fear, but now it was for a different reason. She speared her fingers into his hair and pulled Porter’s head back until she could look him in the eyes. She needed him to know this wasn’t a heat-of-the-moment thing. “I love you, too, Porter.”

  Willa slipped her arms around his neck as Porter leaned forward and kissed her so soundly it made her knees weak.

  “This was an interesting beginning to family dinner. Never a dull moment for us,” Grandma Marcy called out from an old pickup truck. “Now, I take it Willa has passed whatever test was thrown at her and we can enjoy our dinner.”

  “Willa saved my life,” Layne told the group as she came up to give her a hug. “Thank you. You have my vote, even if I didn’t get to see you kill a dummy with a spoon.”

  “Is everyone okay?” Sienna, Ryan’s psychologist wife, asked as she rushed forward. “The one dinner I was late for. I’d ask if y’all needed to talk, but you’ve done that. Willa, I’m here to talk if you need anything.”

  “How about some apple pie?” Willa joked.

  Grandma Marcy honked her horn and people started to climb into the bed of the truck. “Come up here and talk to me, dear. Porter can tough it out in the back.”

  Willa reluctantly let go of Porter and climbed into the truck. Marcy pushed something across the seat at her and winked. “Something special for you.”

  Willa opened up the round Tupperware and was hit with the intoxicating aroma of apples and cinnamon. “Have I died and gone to heaven?”

  Marcy chuckled as she drove back to the farmhouse. “I think you deserve it after the night you’ve had. Welcome to the family, dear. You give me a great-grandbaby before I die and I’ll give you more pies.”

  “Are you bribing me with apple pie to get pregnant?” Willa asked with a giggle, feeling the tension melt away.

  “After you taste it, let me know when I should place my bet at the café,” Marcy said with full confidence in her baby-making pie.

  “Are all family dinners like this?” Willa asked.

  “Would it bother you if they were?” Marcy asked instead of answering.

  Willa thought about it. “It was scary being under attack, but the rest was fun. There’s a lot of teasing, but it’s because they care.”

  Marcy nodded as they approached the farmhouse. “You’re a good girl, Willa. I’m glad I picked you.”

  “Picked me?” Willa asked even as she broke off a piece of the flaky crust and popped it into her mouth.

  “To have you over for dinner, dear,” Marcy said with a smile. “You sure livened it up. Now, let me tell you a thing or two about my grandson.”

  Willa laughed as Marcy launched into a story about three-year-old Porter running around the farm naked because horses don’t have clothes so he shouldn’t have to have them either.

  22

  Willa had survived a shoot-out and the family dinner. Porter couldn’t believe he’d just spouted out that he loved her in front of everyone. However, when he saw that soldier reaching for her his emotions had taken over.

  “Two separate countries attacked the dinner?” Willa asked as they walked up the stairs to his house.

  “North Korea attacked the house and Iran attacked you ladies. We don’t have identities yet, but Cassidy heard the men attacking you all and recognized their dialect. She speaks a million languages.”

  Porter held the door open as she walked in—a house that would seem empty when it was time for Willa to leave. The thought weighed on him as she tossed her purse on the counter.

  The high of being in love was colliding with the reality of who they were and that fact that they lived many states apart.

  “Porter,” Willa said as she fidgeted with her fingers. “I know you might have said you loved me because of the life-or-death situation. If you did, I understand. It’s only been a week.”

  “Is that what you’re worried about?” Porter asked with a laugh. “Not the assassins from North Korea and Iran? Not the interrogation the ladies put you through? Not the thirty-minute lecture Uncle Miles gave you on the use of a spoon as a deadly weapon?”

  He watched Willa’s lips twitch on that last one. Uncle Miles had practically launched a Power Point presentation on the versatility of the spoon while they ate apple pie. However, Porter also saw the nervousness.

  “I’m not a teenager anymore, Willa. I’m a decade past lust and love being confused as only teenagers can. I love you. You, Willa. The horse-loving, smart as hell, funny, slightly dirty-minded woman,” Porter said before wrapping his arms around her, bending down, and capturing her lips with his.

  “I love you, too,” Willa managed to say between kisses.

  Porter soared. He knew how lucky he was to be loved by Willa. He was even luckier when she reached down and yanked his shirt from his jeans and said, “I want you. Now.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Porter said with a grin as he lifted her into his arms and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

  Their lips clashed, their tongues caressed, and their bodies pressed tightly together as he carried her down the hall toward the room they’d been sharing. Only this time, it was different. There would be no stopping tonight. Tonight Porter was going to love her, body and soul.

  The second Porter set Willa down she was pulling the clothes free from his body. Porter didn’t waste any time. He had her black shirt up and over her head as fast as he could. Willa was already working on his boxer briefs when he tackled the black running pants she had on.

  “Did you paint these on?” Porter muttered as he fought to get hold of them.

  Willa laughed and pushed down his boxer briefs. “See, easy.”

  Porter finally wedged a finger under the tight compression band of the running pants and grunted. “Not easy.”

  Porter gave up and used the palms of his hands to try to roll down the pants. He made it until he had to get them over the flare of her hips and the curve of her beautiful ass. Then the pants seemed to stop.

  “You want me to do this? I thought it was bra clasps that gave men problems, not pants,” Willa teased.

  “These aren’t pants,” Porter said seriously. They were modern day chastity pants. “These are suctioned to you, but I have a solution.”

  Porter reached down to his discarded jeans and pulled out a knife.

  Wi
lla gasped. “No way! These are my favorite pair of running pants. You have thirty seconds to get them off or I’m sleeping alone tonight. I will have serious doubts about a man defeated by running pants.”

  “Never doubt me,” Porter told her as he knelt down, grabbed the slightly rolled waistband, and yanked down as hard as he could. Willa put her hand on his shoulders to steady herself as he yanked and pulled the tight material down past her knees. Willa was giggling but she wasn’t laughing anymore when he pushed her back onto the bed and grinned down at her.

  “I don’t even need ropes to get you where I want you. It’s a shame. I’m very good with ropes,” Porter said, peering down at her pants around her calves, trapping her. “No underwear? I like it, Miss Aldridge.”

  Willa’s breathing hitched in a way that made him even harder than he thought possible. Porter got on the bed next to her, grabbed Willa’s wrists and pulled them above her head to prevent her from pulling the running pants all the way off her legs. “I take back every bad thing I said about those pants.”

  Porter trailed his fingers to the sports bra covering her breasts. His lips followed and soon Willa was breathing heavy and moaning his name. “I hope you’re not too attached to this bra. I’m not wasting any more time on Satan’s clothing line. I let you keep the pants, but this contraption is dangerous. Your breasts are suffocating and need to be rescued.”

  “What?” Willa muttered from her lust-induced haze.

  Porter took the knife, wedged it between her breasts, and in one quick motion sliced the sports bra open.

  “Porter!” Willa said in surprise as she sat up.

  Damn, Willa was perfect. The curves of her breasts, the flare of her hips, her muscled legs . . . and he was the man lucky enough to have her love.

  Porter pushed the straps of her torn sports bra off her shoulder and used his body to push Willa back into the bed as her anger over the destroyed sports bra melted from the heat of his kisses.

  “I take back everything bad I said about Satan’s clothes. Now, Willa, let’s see what you think about ever sleeping alone again.”

  Willa’s eyes shot open as she realized she was bound by her own clothing. Her pants kept her legs in place and Porter had used her sports bra to tie her hands together. “What are you—?”