“Why not?” she asked.
Jeff merely shook his head, his eyes sliding down to the ground between them.
“What’s goin’ on?”
“Nothin’ for you to worry about,” he stated firmly.
The doors to the bar opened and out walked two old men Kennedy recognized. They were talking, neither of them paying any attention to Kennedy and her father standing there.
“That’s how it goes down. That damn resort has screwed up this town. How many more will turn gay?”
What the fuck? Kennedy watched the two old men pass by and she knew her mouth was hanging open. Turn gay? Were they serious?
“Now it’s Mack,” one of the men said. “Next, hell, who knows who it’ll be?”
“Mack?” Kennedy whispered, her eyes meeting her father’s.
“Someone started a rumor,” he said roughly, his eyes pulling away from hers as he looked past her, in the direction Sawyer’s car had gone. “If I had to guess, he’s the one.”
“Why would he do that?” she asked defensively. Kennedy knew how protective Sawyer was of his brothers, and both Travis and Ethan were gay. How would Sawyer benefit from starting a rumor like that?
“Maybe he’s bored. Needs to stir up some shit. Either way, you need to stay away from him, Kennedy.”
Kennedy snapped her mouth shut, not sure what she wanted to say to that. Her father was telling her to stay away from Sawyer Walker because . . . “Why?”
“He’s . . .” Jeff met her eyes again. “He just can’t be trusted, Kennedy.”
With that, her father turned around and went back inside the bar, leaving Kennedy standing on the porch, wondering just what the hell had happened.
chapter TEN
One month later
After dinner, Kennedy helped her father and Mack clean up, but she didn’t linger. It wasn’t that she hadn’t wanted to sit around and talk with the two of them, but Mack had informed them that he did have to get back to the bar—after all, it was Friday. And that meant, what little time he did have off, he probably would’ve preferred to spend it alone with her father. For the last month, ever since the night Kennedy ran into her father and Sawyer arguing on the front porch of Moonshiners, it seemed that Mack and Jeff were spending a lot of time together, but they were trying to keep things on the down low.
She figured it probably had a lot to do with the fact that word was spreading that Mack was gay and the two men were doing their best to stay far away from one another in public. Kennedy hated what they were going through, but she understood.
Sort of.
However, she didn’t understand why Sawyer would’ve done what her father accused him of doing. She’d had more than one conversation with her father since that night and he insisted that Sawyer was the one who’d spread the rumor about Mack. When she had questioned him repeatedly, her father finally broke down and told her about their visit to AI.
“Mack’s always been curious about that place,” Jeff explained.
“The hotel? Or the sex part?”
Jeff glared at her, not answering either question. “I guess his curiosity got the best of him, so he questioned Kaleb one night. That’s when Kaleb offered him an invitation. When Mack asked me to go with him, I told him it wasn’t a good idea. See where that got me?”
“No one has mentioned your name,” she told him abruptly.
“Not yet. But I’m sure they will.”
“Why would they?” she asked. “I don’t understand.”
“There’s nothin’ to understand, girl. Sawyer’s lookin’ for publicity. This is his way of gettin’ it. That’s all this damn town’s talkin’ about these days.”
At first, she’d been floored that he would step foot into the place after all the warnings he’d bestowed on her about staying far, far away from there. From what she could tell, Sawyer wasn’t defending himself against the accusations that he’d been the one to spread the rumor, but she hadn’t talked to him once since that night, so she really didn’t know.
But tonight, Kennedy was happy to oblige her father and give him the space they both needed, which was how she found herself walking into her big, empty house alone, at nine o’clock on a Friday night. Ever since Christmas, she’d spent quite a bit of time alone. Unless, of course, she was working, which she always seemed to be doing. They were still down a tech, and the receptionist she’d hired had been more trouble than she was worth, which was why Kennedy had let her go on Monday of that week, opting to battle the phones herself rather than deal with the issues the girl had presented during her short time there.
“Sheesh, you’re quite the party animal, aren’t you?” she said to the silent room, wondering when she’d become such a bore. It didn’t say much that she worked too much, or spent a significant amount of time with her father and his . . .
What was Mack to her father? His boyfriend? Were they serious enough to refer to one another that way?
Those were questions that pinged around in Kennedy’s head as she made her way to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. A hot bath sounded like heaven at that point and she was hoping both the bath and the wine would help her sleep. More accurately, she hoped it would help her sleep without dreaming. For the past month, she’d been plagued with dreams of Sawyer. Some of them still reflected back on high school, where apparently her subconscious was still trying to rewrite history, the others were about present day and the things she wished he’d do to her.
Not that she should’ve been dreaming about him at all. It seemed as though he’d finally given up his pursuit of her. Although she should’ve been happy with that knowledge, she wasn’t. In fact, she was disappointed. When Sawyer had been courting her—for lack of a better term—Kennedy at least had had something to look forward to. Now she just had . . . an empty life.
As she made her way to the bathroom, slipping off her shoes, then her clothes one piece at a time, Kennedy thought back to the conversation she’d had with her father and Mack at dinner. It had been relatively easy tonight, the two of them were obviously getting closer, despite some tension she sensed between them. As with all of the dinners she was invited to, it took both of them a few minutes to loosen up around her, but she figured that was because they were still uncomfortable with others knowing about their relationship. But once the two of them got going, they carried on as though they’d been together for a lifetime. She wondered if they would be.
“I should’ve asked,” she said aloud as she stepped into the warm water that was beginning to fill the tub. Setting her wineglass on the edge, she lowered herself in, getting situated before picking it back up.
She sipped her wine, closing her eyes, which was her first mistake. As soon as her eyes were closed, thoughts of Sawyer invaded. She popped them open, glancing around the bathroom. She settled on counting the tiles on the wall while the water continued to pour into the tub, rising higher and higher, soothing her aching muscles.
When the water was up to her chest, Kennedy twisted the knobs with her toes, effectively cutting it off. The room was then eerily silent and she’d forgotten that she had settled on counting tiles and immediately her mind drifted back to Sawyer.
God, she hadn’t seen him in a little over a month. Not one time. Even earlier in the month, when Buster was due for his shots, Sawyer had passed that task off to his mother, who had brought the little dog in. Lorrie had been overly chatty that day, talking about all the things they’d done for Christmas, spending time with her grandchildren and the dogs, but never once did she mention Sawyer’s name.
Kennedy wondered why that was. There was a rumor that Lorrie Walker enjoyed meddling in her son’s love lives, purposely interfering in order to help move things alone.
Now that Kennedy thought about it, she wondered if Lorrie was happy that Kennedy and Sawyer weren’t a thing. Maybe the other woman knew something Kennedy didn’t.
Then again, Kennedy wasn’t supposed to want to be with Sawyer, but after all the cat-and-
mouse games they’d played for so long, apparently she’d gotten used to him being in her life. It kind of sucked now that he was keeping his distance.
Once again, Kennedy tried to count the tiles, wanting nothing more than to think about something else. She and Sawyer had ended before they ever began and she had to accept that. It was for the best, she knew. After all, he wasn’t much different now than he was in high school. If her father was correct, which she hadn’t determined for herself just yet, Sawyer still couldn’t be trusted.
Sighing, Kennedy started at the top of the wall. One . . . two . . . three . . . four . . .
Was Sawyer seeing someone else?
Five . . . six . . . seven . . . eight . . .
Was that why she hadn’t heard from him anymore?
While she would’ve preferred doing algebra problems in her head over thinking about Sawyer Walker, Kennedy finally gave in when it was clear she was going to exert more effort not thinking about him, which led her to the memory of Zane and V’s wedding.
“May I have this dance?”
Kennedy turned to see the tall, sexy cowboy standing behind her, the same one she’d been dodging ever since she walked into the club. She had told herself she was there because Zane and V had invited her, not because there was the possibility that she would see Sawyer. As much as she wanted to believe that, the possibility had just turned into a reality and she wasn’t sure why she was so happy about that.
It didn’t stop her from turning him down.
“Thank you, but no thank you,” she told Sawyer kindly.
“Come on, Kennedy. Just one dance.”
Just one dance. Right. As if there was any such thing as just one dance with this man. If she said yes, she would find herself out on the dance floor and four songs later she would be dead on her feet. She’d learned her lesson at Ethan and Beau’s reception when she’d given in to Sawyer’s persuasive request.
But she had also learned that telling this man no was much easier said than done. Rather than wasting precious time, Kennedy nodded her head and then slid her fingers into his palm when he held his hand out to her.
As Kennedy remembered that night, she thought about the way it felt to be in Sawyer’s arms. That thought led to the kiss they’d shared in the parking lot of the hospital the night she’d been the twins’ designated driver.
Why hadn’t he called her? Why hadn’t he stopped by the office? She just couldn’t fathom why all of a sudden he was gone from her life when he’d become such a constant that she hadn’t even realized how much she had been looking forward to seeing him.
God, she was so screwed.
Just when she was about to give herself a mental lashing for even allowing her thoughts to drift to Sawyer, her cell phone rang. She set her glass on the edge of the tub and leaned over, sloshing water over the edge as she looked for her pants that were lying on the floor near the tub. She managed to stretch far enough to reach them, finally locating her phone.
“Hello?” she greeted the caller breathlessly. Leaning over the tub took some effort, that was for sure.
“You sound a little breathless. That because you were expectin’ me to call?”
Kennedy’s heart stopped beating briefly and then kicked into high gear. Maybe she’d fallen asleep in the bathtub and this was all a dream. There was only one way to find out.
“What do you want, Sawyer?” she asked, trying to sound unaffected by the fact that he was calling her.
Leaning back in the tub and closing her eyes, she pictured him in her head again. Yeah, she was doomed. She’d already given over to her thoughts of him for the last half hour—what were a few more when she could sit there and listen to the rich baritone of his voice as it washed over her like warm silk?
Maybe it really was a dream.
“What are you doin’?” he asked.
Kennedy could hear Buster growling in the background. He sounded like he was playing. That or trying to get Sawyer’s attention.
“I’m in the bath,” she told him honestly, wishing she could see his face.
Instead, she had to listen to the silence as he paused, his sharp inhale the only sign she received that he’d actually heard what she said.
“In the bath?”
“Yes.” Kennedy smiled to herself. “What did you need, Sawyer?” she repeated.
“I was just . . . uh . . . Are you seriously in the bathtub?”
“Yes,” she said, a hint of amusement in her tone. “And until a moment ago, I was actually relaxing.” It was a lie, but there was no way he would know that.
“I’m on my way over.”
Kennedy sat up quickly, splashing water over the side of the tub once more. “No. You can’t come over here.”
Sawyer’s sexy chuckle made the hairs on her arms stand on end.
“I’m kiddin’. Unless of course you wanna invite me over. Maybe you need someone to help you wash your back.”
“No, I can manage quite well on my own, thank you very much,” she replied, hoping she didn’t sound as panicked as she felt. The thought of Sawyer showing up on her doorstep right about now wasn’t as bad as she wished it was.
She shoved that idea right out of her head.
“Are you gonna be at work tomorrow?” Sawyer asked.
“Of course. Why? Is somethin’ wrong?”
“Nope. Just wanted to make sure. Buster and I’ll be stoppin’ by to see you.”
“What? Why?”
“Because.” Sawyer’s tone sounded more reserved than before. “I . . . Because I can’t stay away anymore.”
Kennedy’s heart did a little dance in her chest, her stomach churning excitedly. Why did that make her happy? Not that she wanted him to know that it did.
“I’m kinda busy tomorrow,” she told him, trying to recall whether that was actually true or not. She knew she had appointments lined up for most of the day, but she wasn’t sure what they entailed.
“Well, if you’re busy, we’ll wait for you.”
“Sawyer . . .” Kennedy knew she needed to tell him that this wasn’t a good idea. A month had passed since the last time she saw him, and Kennedy knew it would be better not to backtrack, no matter how much she continued to think about him. He needed to let it go, because no matter what, she wasn’t going to go out with him, no matter how much charm he tossed at her. She just wasn’t going to do that to herself.
But before she could say anything, he spoke up.
“Don’t bother warnin’ me off, Kennedy. We’ve been doin’ this little song and dance for long enough.”
“Not for the last month we haven’t,” Kennedy mumbled to herself, following up with a question loud enough for Sawyer to hear. “What song and dance is that?”
“The one where I hit on you, then you pretend you’re not affected by me. But see, I happen to know that’s not entirely true.”
“And just how do you know that?” The second the words were out, Kennedy realized just how much she’d revealed.
He chuckled again and she was tempted to hang up on him.
But she didn’t.
“I can’t give up now.”
Kennedy wasn’t sure if he’d been talking to her or just saying the words out loud, but they did strange things to her nonetheless.
Although there was a lot of hope building up inside her, Kennedy wasn’t about to let him know that. “Keep dreamin’,” she told him. “You can keep layin’ on the charm, Sawyer, it’s not gonna make a bit of difference. In the end, I’m still not gonna go out with you. How do you know I haven’t moved on?”
“Have you?” he asked, his voice low.
“No,” she said far too quickly. Damn it.
“Good. Then it’s time we get back to where we were.”
“And where was that?” she asked.
“The point where you were gonna go out with me.”
“I was never gonna go out with you, Sawyer.”
Liar, liar, pants on fire.
“Are you sure abou
t that?” he questioned.
“Very,” Kennedy told him, reminding herself that she hadn’t heard from him in weeks. There was absolutely no reason she should give in to him.
“But you had thought about it, hadn’t you?” he cajoled.
Kennedy opened her mouth, snapped it shut. She didn’t want to lie to him, but she certainly didn’t want him to know that she’d actually been considering it. Instead, she said, “It’s possible that I thought about it. But I’m sure I was just delusional at the time.”
“Considerin’ you’re the most rational person I know, I highly doubt that,” Sawyer replied, amusement resonating in his words.
Before she could make another argument against going out with him, Sawyer added, “Remember what I said, Kennedy. I’m not gonna give up, so you might as well just agree now. And I’ll make sure to win you over this time. Have a good night, Kennedy.”
With that, Sawyer disconnected the call and Kennedy sat there staring at her phone.
Good grief.
Why? Why did she do this to herself?
chapter ELEVEN
Sawyer was up with the sun on Saturday, thanks to Buster. The little guy was as rambunctious as they came and it seemed that as soon as light began filtering through the windows, he was ready to get the day started. No matter how late Sawyer kept him up the night before, Buster never failed to wake him long before he was ready.
Then again, Sawyer was feeling a little of that energy today. For the first time in the last month, he had a sense of determination. Actually, that had started the night before, when he’d given in and called Kennedy. He hadn’t known what to expect from her when he dialed her number, but he’d been pleasantly surprised. After the falling-out he had with Kennedy’s father a month ago, he’d retreated from pursuing her. It just didn’t seem right. Not until he could figure out just what the hell happened. It was hard enough to try to get her to trust him because of his reputation in high school, but for her to think he’d deceive anyone that way . . . It was more than Sawyer was comfortable with.
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