“Was there anyone following them?” Evan questioned.
“No.”
“A bunch of people were already at Dick’s. I wasn’t able to see who, but Mom and I sure could hear them,” Kayla said.
“Are y’all saying all this stuff has to do with those men yesterday?” Ginger asked.
“We think so,” Evan answered.
“And what does all of this have to do with you?” Ginger probed.
Evan’s face visibly tightened. He walked to Ginger and held her stare, “It’s a long story, darlin’.”
“Ginger, if Evan tells you any more, it’s going to put you in danger. I don’t think you really want to know,” Kayla told her.
Ginger looked at Evan with big doe eyes. “I’m already in danger.”
He smiled and kissed her on the forehead. “I see the looks on your faces. We’ve decided to take it one day at a time and see where this thing leads.” He looked directly into her eyes. “What I’m about to tell you may change how you feel about workin’ on somethin’ long term with me, though. Are you sure you’re ready to hear this, darlin’?”
“You’re scaring me, Evan. We talked. You said you’re single, straight, and not a drug user. You drink, but not too much. So unless you’re a serial killer, and I know you aren’t because of your job, I don’t know of too much more that could make me walk away,” Ginger said.
“You say that now, but we’ll see. Mitchell and Kayla know some of this, but not all of it. I told you the first night you were here that I’m a federal agent. I’m ATF and had been undercover for about a year when the organization I’d infiltrated wanted to expand to South Carolina. Because I’m a local boy and could be recognized, I had to get out. The organization was Masterson Investments.” Evan paused to take a breath and maybe decide how much more he could say.
“Oh shit,” Ginger whispered.
“Yeah. Oh shit. You’ve already heard part of what I know and what’s going on. What none of you know is that they know me as Evan Burns. After what Mitchell said about the hearing this morning, it appears Masterson has bought off some officials. I thought Curtis was dirty before I left years ago, but nothing too big. I don’t think he was ever on the federal radar. I can’t say anything else, but I’ve got to talk to Nathan.”
“How do you plan on doing that?” Mitchell asked.
“I’m workin’ on it. That bar fight might just have to happen after all,” Evan said with a chuckle.
“What bar fight?” Kayla asked.
“Nothing, ignore him. He’s talking out of his ass,” Mitchell replied.
“I’ll help any way I can,” Ginger said.
“You know I’m in,” Mitchell said.
“Me too,” Kayla chimed in.
“No!” Mitchell exclaimed.
“Mitchell, everyone knows Kayla’ll be anywhere you are so it would seem odd for her not to be,” Evan said.
“What are you thinking?” Mitchell asked.
“The River Pub on Main Street. Kayla, didn’t you say that Cat saw Dick and a bunch of out-of-town boys hangin’ in there?” Evan asked.
“Yeah. A couple of weeks ago, I guess. Why?”
“Y’all are goin’ to The River Pub to do a little drinkin’ and dancin’. Ginger, darlin’, you feel like flirtin’ a little bit?” Evan said.
“Why Ginger?” Kayla asked.
“Kayla, everyone in town knows Mitchell will kick anyone’s ass who so much as looks at you. I don’t want to screw up Cat and Thomas finally gettin’ their shit together. Plus, Ginger’s a little free-spirited but knows who she’s comin’ home to,” Evan stated as he pulled her close.
“You seem confident, man. You haven’t shown her a picture of Nathan yet. She may turn on you,” Mitchell said with a smile.
“Nah, she’s enjoyed her ridin’ lessons too much,” Evan said as he wiggled his brows.
“What do you want me to do?” Ginger asked with a serious tone. Evan had her full attention, but she didn’t seem to be in a playful mood anymore.
“I think y’all need to go to the pub and have a drink. Ginger, you need to flirt with Nathan and get his attention.” Evan’s mood chilled when those words left his mouth. Mitchell didn’t think Evan was one hundred percent on board with his own plan. “You need to lure him to the hotel. We’ll need Cat and Thomas to stay at the bar to make sure no one follows Nathan. Mitchell and Kayla will be with you at the bar and will follow you to the hotel. Don’t worry, I’ll be in the room waitin’ for ya. Once we verify no one followed ya, you’ll leave the hotel with Mitchell and Kayla. I’ll slip out sometime later, and Nathan will stay the night.” Evan started pacing again. “God, I can’t believe I’m even suggestin’ this shit. Ginger, darlin’, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
Ginger walked to Evan and stroked his arms. “Will this help you?”
He faced her, but the worry was clearly written on his face. “Yes, but it’s gonna kill me to think of you with him. Please don’t take it too far. I’d really hate to hurt a fellow agent. God, you weren’t supposed to happen,” he said as he cupped her face with both of his hands. He kissed her so gently that Mitchell couldn’t believe his own eyes.
He and Kayla sat there stunned for a few moments. Finally, he cleared his throat, “Um, Evan. You need to show Ginger the picture of Nathan.”
“I’ll show her just before y’all leave. I don’t want to think about her seein’ him just yet,” Evan said as he held her close.
“When do you think we can do this? Thomas is on a three-day rotation. He’s done on Tuesday night, which means Wednesday he won’t be good for anything. So Thursday night is the earliest we could plan this,” Kayla informed them.
Evan and Ginger sat back on the sofa. He had her wrapped so tightly in his arms they were surprised she could still breathe. “That leaves us tomorrow to secure the hotel room and get a couple burner phones,” Evan said.
“Evan, what if Ginger catches someone else’s eye? Like say, Carlos,” Mitchell said.
“She’ll know who to concentrate on. If someone steps in, that bar fight better happen. You got me, Mitchell?” Evan was in a no-nonsense mood. Mitchell had never seen him like this with a girl. Hell, he just met her on Saturday and today was only Monday.
“I got you, man. When the men leave this afternoon, I think we need to go ride the fences,” Mitchell told him. Mitchell intentionally used the saying their dad used when he needed to have a word with at least one of them. Needless to say, during their middle and high school days, they rode a lot of fences.
Evan’s head jerked up at the phrase. He looked Mitchell directly in the eyes for a second or two and nodded. Mitchell needed to know where Evan’s head was, what was going on with Ginger, and what the end game was here. He wasn’t going to let Evan put Kayla in danger. Was Evan going back undercover or was he planning on sticking around a while? Mitchell didn’t need him screwing with Kayla’s friend’s head or heart. Evan knew the deal before she arrived.
When Evan looked away, he went back to cuddling with Ginger on the sofa while Mitchell turned to Kayla and whispered, “Let’s go to the kitchen.”
18
They quietly walked to the kitchen. As soon as they were far enough away, Mitchell pulled Kayla into him. “I’m jealous they’re making out and we aren’t. Let’s go to our room for a little while,” he quietly suggested.
“So you did see what I saw? What’s going on with them? They both knew that the other wasn’t looking for long term. Did I or did I not hear Evan say something about long term?” She knew she was speaking in a stage whisper with the possibility of being heard, but she was freaking out a little because she didn’t want either of them to get hurt.
“Shhh. They’re adults, sweetheart. They have to make that decision for themselves. That’s one of the reasons Evan and I are going for a ride this afternoon.”
“But it’s only been a few days, Mitch. We danced around our feelings for years before we acted on them.”
“The first time was because of the age difference. You weren’t old enough to date. I do remember spending an awful lot of time watching TV at your parents’ house. But once we started dating, we were inseparable until you needed to get out of town. This time, I didn’t think you’d have me after what I’d done. I waited as long as I could before I said something. But that night when you could’ve been killed, I knew I couldn’t wait anymore. I almost lost you, and you thought the ranch was more important than you.” He tilted her head to look at him. “Nothing is more important than you. Do you understand me?”
“You know I left because I couldn’t breathe here. The only time I could be myself was when I was with you. I needed to spread my wings. Yes, I understand that I’m important now. It’s just, sometimes, after what you’ve experienced, I wonder if I’m enough. If I’ll always be enough for you,” she said as she shrugged a shoulder and gazed into his eyes.
“Baby, you’ve always been enough. I swear to you, you’re all I need. Shall I remind you just how enough you are for me?” He picked her up fireman style over his shoulder. She popped his butt as he walked them down the hall.
“This hurts, put me down!” He swatted her ass. “Ouch!”
“That’s for doubting my love for you.”
When they got to their room, she told him, “I’m not doubting your love for me.”
“Then what are you doubting?”
“My ability to keep you happy, satisfied in bed forever?”
“Holy hell, Mak! You’ve got to be shitting me. You. Are. It. For. Me,” he said as he peppered her face with kisses between every word. “I’ve only ever made love to you. It didn’t matter whose body was there, it was you in my mind. It was you that I saw. Please believe me. I swear I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it to you, baby.”
“I’ll take that,” she said with a smile.
“Good,” he said as he removed her shirt. “I love undressing you, but today needs to be quick.” He reached for her shorts as soon as her shirt cleared her body and toed off his boots at the same time. She moved to take her bra off, but he stopped her. “Leave your bra on for now.” She wiggled her hips, and he pushed her shorts and panties down her legs. He unfastened a few buttons on his shirt and pulled it over his head. “Slide on the bed, baby,” he said as he stripped out of his jeans. She was in the middle of the bed when he crawled over her. He kissed her hard enough that her head sank into the pillow so far she felt the mattress dip. “I want you on top so I can see you, watch you.” He rolled them over, so she was now straddling him. She slid her pussy along the hard ridge of his cock. The moans that left them reminded her of how much they were in sync. She rose to align them and felt him slip into her body. He held her hips still as he sat up and kissed her. “Let’s remove this now so I can watch your boobs.” He unclasped her bra and pulled it off as he lay back down on the bed. She rolled her hips, and he moaned again.
“Help me,” she said as she held her hands out.
“What do you want to do, baby?”
“Take my hands and support me.” He did as she asked so she moved to where she had both feet on the mattress beside his body and started moving up and down. It didn’t take long before she felt the burn in her legs, but the sensation in her pussy was out of this world.
“Oh, baby. That feels good. I can watch me go inside of you. Ahh. Mak, that’s fucking hot. Shit. I’m not going to be able to hold off for long.”
“Good. ‘Cause I’m about to come.”
“Come on, baby. I’m right there with you.” He released her hands, grabbed her hips, and buried himself inside of her. She whimpered and called his name before she fell forward catching herself on his shoulders. He loosened his grip so she could move more. When they finished, they were both panting as if they’d run a marathon. He pulled her down so she was lying on top of him.
“You’ve never done that with me before so where did you learn that move?” He asked as he caught his breath.
“I read it in a book once or twice,” she said with a wide smile.
“I don’t know what kind of books you’ve been reading, but please keep it up.”
“Oh, come on. I’m sure you’ve seen that in porn.”
“I didn’t say I haven’t seen it, I asked where you learned it.”
She giggled at his response. “You might be surprised what I’ve learned in a good book,” she said in a sassy tone.
“Speaking of what you’ve learned, when are we going to go get your toys?”
She knew he couldn’t see her, but her grin was there. She wanted him to ask her to stay. She needed to know they could be together wherever they decided to stay. “I didn’t know I’d need them. How long do you think this is going to last?”
He rolled her over and his happy attitude wasn’t so happy anymore. The look on his face was serious, maybe even angry. “What the hell do you mean ‘how long this is going to last’? This thing with Masterson or us? Masterson, I don’t know. Us, you know I want for-fucking-ever. Did you think this was only a fling, Mak? That we’d just be together as long as you were in town and then you’d just leave again? What the hell?”
“Mitch, you know when I came here I was only expecting to stay a few days. I didn’t expect this,” she said moving her index finger back and forth between them. “I know that you want us together, but I don’t know what that means. What it looks like.”
“Here, Mak. Do you think you can stay here in Riverton Crossing for me? At least part of the time? You don’t have to sell your mountain house. We can keep it. Stay here part of the time and there part of the time. Our businesses are flexible. We don’t have to be stuck anywhere to do what we do. Before you came back, this was where I felt free. My memories of you were still here, and I didn’t have to share them with anybody. When I went into town, I saw you everywhere. The old ice cream shop, the movie theater, hell, even the grocery store. Those places, I had to share you, but here…here you were all mine. As long as I have you, I can give up the memories. I’ll go wherever, baby. Just tell me what you want, where you want to be.”
Holy shit. She didn’t expect all of that. She felt the tears streaming down her face. “You’re my home, Mitch. I want to be where you are. I can stay here for you.” She ran her hand up and down his back. “Thank you for being willing to go with me because I need you there, too. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just needed to know how you saw our future.”
“I have no plans. We can write our future to be whatever we want it to be, as long as we’re together.”
She smiled through her tears. “I love that plan.”
They lay there, cuddling, for who knew how long when Evan started banging on the door. “Are y’all through in there yet? I’ve already got the horses saddled!”
Mitchell chuckled. “I guess I have to go, baby. He must need this more than I thought.” He got out of the bed as he yelled, “Coming!”
Kayla followed. She needed to talk to Ginger. The girls kissed their men goodbye before they walked out the door.
“Please stay inside until we get back. I’ve got my phone on me if anything happens,” Mitchell said as they left.
As soon as the door closed, Kayla turned to Ginger. “Okay, girl. Let’s mix a drink ‘cause you need to spill, now.”
Ginger laughed. “Evan said you’d be as bad as a dog with a good bone. You’re not going to let it go until you get all the good morsels off of it.”
“He’s close, but this isn’t a bone and I’m not a dog. I just don’t want to see either of you get hurt.”
“I know, Kayla. Look, I didn’t expect to like him so much. I was just looking for a fling, but the more we talked the more I liked him. It’s been a really long time since I’ve tried a relationship. Maybe this will still be a fling, I don’t know. We’re taking it one day at a time. If he goes back undercover, it’ll be hard. He says he can try to get short jobs where he won’t be deep undercover. He knows that sometimes I have to go where the story
is. If a magazine wants to hire me to cover a specific event, I’ll have to go. At least with my job, I have a little flexibility. I can go visit him out west when he’s not on an assignment.”
“What if he does have to go under for a while, can you stay faithful? Can he?”
“I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, I really like being with him. He makes me laugh and he takes good care of me. Both inside and outside of the bedroom,” she said with a mischievous smile. “Please just be happy for me.”
“I am happy, but I’m nervous, too.”
“I’m a big girl, Kayla. I’m walking in with both eyes open this time. I don’t think he’ll blindside me. He said a lot today. I’m still processing all of it, but if I don’t try I think I’ll regret it. Do you understand?”
“More than you know. Mitch gets me like no one ever has. I knew if I didn’t give this a chance, I’d regret it the rest of my life. And you know I live a pretty lonely life.”
“That’s exactly how I feel. I just didn’t expect to connect with Evan like I did. I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop and I find something bad around the corner.”
“Evan really is a good guy. His job, I guess, is what’s caused him to never settle down. I only ever knew him to date one girl when he was in high school. I don’t know what happened, but something did. He ended it before prom, and she became the town whore. Their Dad had died and Evan stayed to go to college, but before he finished their mother died, too. By this time, Mitch had two years left of college. He was doing well in real estate, but stayed to run the ranch. With their mom gone, I think it was easier for Evan to leave, somehow.”
“Mitchell never told you what happened between them?”
“No, I don’t even think he knows what happened.”
“Is that why he didn’t leave town with you?”
“Partially. I never asked him to. He likes living in this town, but he loves this ranch. I couldn’t ask him to give up everything for me. When his mom passed, I thought he’d call me. He didn’t so I figured he was over me and had moved on. I found out last week how wrong I was. I’ve been a fool, so in a way I’m glad you’re taking this chance with Evan. You both deserve to be happy.”
Unwelcomed Greeting: A Riverton Crossing Novel Page 13
