SURGE (Kenshaw Ranch #2)

by Piper Frost

  She blinks a few times, staring at the wood grain of the table. Her eyebrows push together, and when she finally looks up at me her eyes are glistening. "So what do we do? I just learn to live in constant fear that when you're out doing...whatever it is you're doing, that you may not come home?"

  "Kinlee." I rinse the beer bottle and walk it over to the recycling bin. "You ain't gonna change me. If it were a sport, I'd kill it. It's in me, it'll always be in me." I kiss her cheek, ready to head out because we're not going to agree on anything and she's using it as a way to break up. "I'll always come home to you," I tell her, headed for the front door.

  "Promise?" she says from behind me as I reach for the door handle. "Promise me you're always coming home to me, Bo. I'm not asking you not to be you, but I'm asking you to promise at the end of the day you're not...dead."

  "Is that really a promise I can make?" I turn around and pull her against me. I know she lost her parents and lives in fear because of it, but accidents happen. "I promise I'll never do somethin' I know will get me killed."

  Her arms wrap around me tight. "I love you too much, Bo Hart," she mumbles into my shirt.

  "I love you too and I'm finally where I want to be in life. I'm not trying to ruin that. This." I point to my stitches. "Shouldn't have got you so hot this afternoon. It was an accident and unpreventable. I ain't out there dreamin' up ways to piss you off."

  "It's the accidents that scare me. And when I get scared, I get angry. It's easier for me to be mad at you for killing yourself than it is to accept it happened."

  "I didn't kill myself and I won't. Maybe be a little nicer when I'm bleeding out at a hospital next time though." I run my fingers through her soft blonde hair and try to take a deep breath but it hurts like a bitch.

  "I'm sorry for being mean to you when you needed to be coddled." She smirks up at me.

  I chuckle and bite her neck. "I'd like to be coddled," I mutter, traveling to her jaw.

  Her body pushes harder against mine. "You poor thing," she says, her hands sliding under my shirt. My lips on her jaw and neck make her wriggle. "Maybe stay and I’ll see what I can do about that. In the bedroom." She grins and pushes me back a bit before scrunching her nose. "But the kids are probably still awake."

  "Then we should probably use something to muffle your moans," I tell her, pulling her to her bedroom.

  When she crosses the doorway, I close it and push her against it, kissing her harder and ignoring the slight burn to my stitched nose. I swipe her shirt over her head then take a moment to admire her bra.

  "Like it? It's new. Makes my boobs look huge."

  "It's a cute bra, darlin." I reach to her back, unsnapping the strap. "But I prefer it off."

  As she slides it down her arms I yank my shirt off then pin her again. My chest pushes against her full tits and I groan, kissing her. My hands slide from her tits to the button on her jeans. When I slide them down her legs, I turn her around and kiss down her backside before bending her over, pulling my tongue from her clit to her ass. She squeaks with a laugh and I chuckle.

  "Shh." I grab her hips and walk her to the bed.

  Bending her over, I spread her legs, getting to my knees to taste her again. She moans, her face dropping to the bed as she pushes back on my mouth, her hands gripping the comforter. I could stay down here awhile but she's panting heavily and quickly stands, moving onto the bed. Her legs spread and the look on her face is hot as hell so I kick my boots off and shove my jeans to the floor. Her fingers slowly trace over her pussy and I start to stroke my hard dick, loving and hating this torture all the same. I want to be inside her, but that look on her face, and what she's doing keeps me standing at the end of her bed a few minutes longer. When she moans and her head drops back, I dive for her, my mouth going to her throat and I growl like an animal while I claim my girl.

  "Bo!" she calls out and I put my hand over her mouth, plunging inside her.

  "Quiet, darlin'," I groan in her ear and push deeper, removing my hand from her mouth. "Look at me."

  Her eyes flutter open and she bites her lip while I push deep.

  "I love you, Kinlee." I thrust and her hands grab my arms, her nails digging into me.

  "I love you," she moans and arches to get me deep again. "Yes."

  "Stay quiet, baby." I grin and kiss over her neck, pushing until her pussy stops me.

  "I can't," she squeaks. "Oh god, I can't," she whispers then lets out a moan I'm sure the kids might have heard.

  I put my hand over her mouth and push deeper, biting her ear. "Shh. Or I'll stop," I warn her, pumping harder, feeling my dick start to swell even more.

  She bites onto my hand, small moans coming out of her but she squeezes her eyes closed and her nails claw at my arms. I slam harder into her. Keeping quiet while fucking Kinlee is the hardest fuckin' thing I've done. I'm just thankful her bed isn't loud. When her moans build behind my hand and her body starts to tremble I know I'm going to lose it with her, but I try to keep my focus long enough to keep her moans quiet. I clench my jaw and squeeze my eyes closed as her pussy throbs around me.

  "Fuck," I grunt, taking a final thrust and shudder as I fill her. Sex with the woman I love is way better than any surge I need to feel. "Fuck," I huff, dropping my face to the nape of her neck.

  "I love you," she whispers, kissing my jaw and I wrap my arms around her, never wanting to let go.

  "Alright, now just go slow but when you get to the end of the ramp, floor it." I grin at Will while holding the boards to this ramp together. We probably should have secured them, but there was no time and we just want to see if our idea works.

  "You ready?" he calls through his helmet.

  "Hit it." I grin and everything goes smooth up until the point he revs the throttle.

  The board twists and pins my hand between the other one and I try to yank away, but the four-wheeler's still on it.

  "Shit!" I holler and wait it out until Will's on the other side of this piece of shit ramp. "Well damn." Laughing I look at him as he stares over his shoulder at me.

  "You alright?"

  "Naw." I laugh and hold my wrist, whispering, "Shit." Kinlee's gonna kill me. "Do me a favor," I mumble, looking at my unnaturally bent finger then jut out my hip. "Grab my phone." When he curls his lip at me 'cause I'm asking him to go in my pocket, I roll my eyes and scold him, "Don't be weird. Grab my phone and text your sister."

  BO: I think I broke my finger. Gonna take Will up to the clinic with me.

  She replies immediately.

  Kinlee: Want me to meet you two there?

  When Will reads it to me, I chuckle and shake my head.

  "Just tell her no. It ain't bad. Probably a sprain." Looking at my black and blue hand that changed colors immediately, I know it ain't a sprain.

  When I call her that night, I'm waiting for the lecture.

  "How was your day?" I ask, looking at my casted hand.

  "Just peachy. How's your hand?" The background noise sounds like she's slamming shit around.

  "Uh, not bad. Just couple knuckles and my ring finger. It's alright though." I crushed my knuckles and will be in this cast for six weeks. I'll tell her about that if she ever asks. "Hey, listen, my mama wants us to come for dinner tomorrow. She invited the twins as well."

  I hear her groan. "You're not even going to tell me what you did to break your hand, Bo? And I work tomorrow night. Remember? I work pretty much every night this week."

  I pause. It seems like if we ain't fuckin', we're fightin' lately and that ain't no way to carry on this relationship.

  "I'll reschedule, or just tell her no. She just wanted to meet my girl. She don't remember you from when we were kids. My folks didn't pay much attention to my friends."

  She hums and the line goes quiet for a moment before she clears her throat. "I can see if Candace can take my shift. I'd like to meet your folks. And I kinda miss you."

  "Would be nice to spend more than an hour in a bed with you," I mumble. "Not that I min
d." I chuckle. "Not at all. But I'll make the time, when you have it, Kinlee. I ain't trying to change your schedule around."

  "Summer break's soon. Things'll calm down then. Then we can spend all kinds of time together, I promise. What time tomorrow?"

  "Well, they eat early, but I can tell them any time I want. A normal dinner would be at five."

  "That's perfect."

  We sit in silence again. She's awfully quiet tonight. Usually she talks my ear off about the kids at school.

  "You alright, Kinlee?"

  "How'd you break your hand, Bo?" She takes an audible breath and lets it out, groaning. "I'm sorry. I said I wasn't going to ask, but it's eating at me real bad."

  "I'm fixin' to bring Will home. I'll bring the x-rays and explain it all." Getting her face to face to go over these mishaps is easier because, I hate to say it, but when she gets pissed, it's easier to calm her down with sex.

  "Kinlee is gonna be pissed." Will laughs at me. "When you got rope burn the other day she almost lost her shit."

  "What's wrong with that?" I ask and glance at him while I hit their driveway. "You jealous she's concerned about me?" I smile, knowing that ain't the case, and it worries me that the twins see her pulling away from me. "You go on in to shower. You smell like motor oil. And I told you you couldn't bypass oil." I grin.

  "Don't you worry, I'll get around a few things," he promises before jumping out of the truck.

  I grab the x-ray and get out of the truck, moving slow because when I crushed my hand earlier, I twisted my back trying to get out of the position. I take a deep breath before climbing the couple of stairs and walk in the front door to a dim house. It's just goin' on eleven and I should have gotten Will home a little while ago, but I was dreading facing Kinlee.

  "Hey, beautiful." I find her in the kitchen and tug her against me, kissing the side of her head.

  She spins in my arms and smiles up at me. "I didn't know if you were comin' in or not. Will looked pretty excited from workin' on the car all day. How's that going for you guys?"

  "Real good. Kid's smart as a whip." I try to keep my casted hand behind her back because she hasn't seen it yet. "How was your day? You know what would be nice? If you were comin' home to me."

  She scrunches her face and smiles, letting out a chuckle. "You're on a whole lot of pain pills, Bo Hart." She pulls back and takes my hand from behind her, shaking her head as she softly traces the tips of my fingers. "You wouldn't live three days with these teenagers."

  "Now, hold on, that ain't true. I have yet to let one of them get hurt."

  Her loud laugh fills the house before her eyes hit mine. "I'm not talking about keeping them safe. I'm talking about being in a house with two teenagers that bicker like they're four. It takes a toll on your mental state. Trust me."

  "Well, they're respectful around me. They're used to you being the sister, not the adult. It'll take time, but they'll learn." I kiss her and slide the x-ray envelope onto the table, hoping we can forget about my hand.

  "I don't need to look at those, Bo." Her smile's gone but she's trying. "I'm just happy you're okay. I told you I'll figure out how to live with the accidents, and I am." At the fridge, she looks back at me and catches me looking at her ass. She laughs. "Beer?"

  "Yeah. Please." When she walks toward me, I pull her to sit on my lap and hold my hand up. "I made a ramp for the four-wheeler and we were testing if it was sturdy. Wasn't too sturdy and I got my hand caught." I shoulda lied and told her I was fixin' somethin', but I'll never lie to her.

  "So I'm guessing we won't be using that ramp?" She smirks at me.

  "Maybe with a little more re-securing. It'll make a sweet jump, Kinlee." I grin at her while she tries to keep this smile on her face, but she ain't happy.

  "Well, I'm happy it was only your hand. Albeit, this cast is god awful." She laughs and kisses my nose that's still recovering. "And I'm happy that it wasn't Will that got hurt." She brings my hand to her lips and kisses my fingertips. "Thanks for messaging me about it. It's a little less scary coming from you than coming from someone else."

  "Listen." I shift her to straddle me and glance toward the kitchen doorway, making sure no kids are around. "I may pull some stupid shit, but I won't let Will. I'm tryin' to teach him. And I know it's dumb." I look away. "But usually after everything I do, I tell him not to try it. I should just stop doin' it." I rub my face tiredly then push a smile to my lips, but I'm tired. Tired of waiting to see how long Kinlee will take this. "But adrenaline...the surge." I shrug.

  "I'm tired, Bo," she whispers and stands, taking my good hand. "Stay with me tonight. Please."

  "I'd love to," I admit, because I wasn't messin' around when I said I wish she was comin' home to me daily.

  I'm up at six and start breakfast. When Wendy walks into the kitchen, she's all groans and grunts.

  "Well, why'd you get up so early?" I laugh at her.

  "School alarm in my head. I can never sleep in on the weekend." She drinks a glass of juice and scrolls through her phone while I continue with the bacon and sausage. "Okay. I'm not a zombie anymore. I can help."

  I smirk and nod to the pancake mix. "Get to pourin'." I set out the griddle on the stove. "So, what's up with you and Ryan? Will was goin' on 'bout you two the other night."

  "Nothin' really." She rolls her eyes. "Ryan's been my friend for a long time too, ya know!"

  "No need to get defensive on me. I just want to be involved with your lives."

  "Will's being a freaking baby. Ryan isn't only his best friend. He's mine too. He was my best friend before Will's!" She spins with her hand on her hip and her elbow hits the griddle. "Oh shoot!" She jumps back and I twist to grab it from falling and scalding her. I catch it in time but the pop in my back sends me to my knees. "Bo!" She grabs my shoulder and tries to yank me up.

  "It's fine, sweetheart, it's fine," I groan. "Unplug the griddle and make sure it won't fall." I inhale a breath but it feels like my lungs seized. "Shit. Wendy, can you go get Kinlee?" I ask through shallow breaths, trying to breathe evenly but I need to sit in a chair and I can't move. With Wendy frantically hopping around, she ain't helpin' nothin'.

  I hear Kinlee barrel down the hallway and when she gets to me, she drops to her knees in front of me. "What's happened? Your back?" She looks frantic, and tired as hell.

  "Wendy, turn the stove off," I tell her, hearing her at my back whimpering and sniffling. "Kinlee, can you pull the chair over? I twisted too fast. I'm okay," I lie. This'll have me walkin' crooked for two days.

  She moves quick, grabbing a chair and sliding it over to me. "Here, let me help." She huffs, and I can tell there's a lot more she wants to get out but isn't right now, but I also know it's coming. She was up all night tossin' and turnin'. I thought for sure after what we did, she'd be out like a light. And she was for the first hour, but it was downhill real quick after that.

  I grip the seat and she grabs under my arm, helping me get into it. As soon as I sit, I feel the pops and shifts in my back and it immediately relieves the pressure, but I need pills for this one.

  "Breakfast's ready." I chuckle but when I look from Wendy to Kinlee, neither woman has a trace of a smile and Wendy has that same look Kinlee is wearing right now.

  I got a shit storm comin'.

  "What happened?" Kinlee finally asks, arms crossed in front of her and her glare moves from me to Wendy, then back to me.

  "Wendy, go wrangle Will out of bed. It's 'bout time to eat," I tell her. I wait until she's out of the kitchen before I take a deep breath and slowly exhale. "I moved to grab the griddle that was fallin' onto Wendy. Ain't no big deal," I mumble and move to try and stand, but I'm not goin' anywhere for a few minutes yet.

  "You moved to grab the griddle? That's it? And this happened?" Her eyebrows furrow and she shakes her head. Her hands rub at her face. "God, Bo, one small twist in a kitchen brought you to your knees. You're not fine, you'll never be perfect again, but doesn't this show you you're not fine?" She sniffles th
en groans and leans against the counter. "Think how bad this would be if you were on the four-wheeler. Or the horse. Or something with a lot more impact than a twist."

  I got pain coursing through my back and anger starting to fill my head. I don't know what she's getting at and she's got no foot to stand on. I force myself out of the chair and grit my teeth. "And what, Kinlee?" I blurt a little louder than intended. "What is your damn point?"

  "My damn point is that you're not invincible! Even when you're being safe and innocent, you're still at risk of getting hurt! Every time you go out having the time of your life with death defying stunts, you jam that back just a little more. Then something as simple as catching a falling griddle brings you to your knees. You don't even see it. You don't see the stress you put on everyone you love. The sleepless nights. The nightmares. The daylong anxiety. I can deal with things like today, and sadly I'm learning to deal with the bigger ones, but I won't be able to deal when you're paralyzed, Bo. You won't even admit to me when your back's sore. God knows how you'll be when you're paralyzed." She rubs her eyes before walking over to the coffee pot. A shaking hand pours her a mug and I can't pull my eyes from her, trying to kill the anger inside me. "What then Bo? What if your back kills you?"

  "My fucking back ain't gonna kill me!" My scream echoes and she whips her head to look at me wide eyed. I'm docile but not when I'm losing the thing I love most. "What's easier on you, Kinlee? You want to call this all off because I won't act crippled like you want? What do you want from me?" My adrenaline is through the roof right now as the scariest stunt in my life is happening in this kitchen. Took me forever to get here. To get Kinlee to want me, love me. And now she's regretting being with me.

  She lets a tear slip down her cheek and her head shakes furiously. "That's not fair, Bo," she whispers. "You can't make me fall in love with you, then not fight for us when shit gets rough. I'm fighting every damn day. Every day I wake up from a shit night's sleep, praying to myself that you text me. That everything's okay. Every day at work, I worry, but I'm trying. Sure, I slip and get mad, but that's no reason to call this quits. Right?" She blinks away a few tears. "Right?" Her voice squeaks.