“Thank you, Kayla.”
19
Evan must’ve gone to the barn as soon as he saw the last truck leave the ranch. They walked outside and the two horses standing there grazing didn’t look to have been worked today. That was good. They wouldn’t be tired. The men mounted and rode toward the far side of the property by the Hamilton place. Mitchell noticed Evan wore his cowboy hat. Mitchell didn’t know if it was so no one would recognize his face or to block the setting sun, but couldn’t remember the last time he saw Evan wear it.
They didn’t talk on the ride from the house to the fence because they let the horses stretch their legs in an all-out run. Once they got to the fence, they slowed to a walk so they could look at the barbed wire. Mitchell could tell Evan was thinking through what he wanted to say so Mitchell stayed quiet until he was ready.
“When Kayla mentioned a friend comin’ to stay, I thought it would be a good way to burn my time here. I was just lookin’ for some fun, ya know?” he said.
“Yeah, I know. So what happened?”
“That first night after you and Kayla went to your room, we talked. At first with Thomas and Cat, until it was apparent where their night was headed. We went inside with them so it didn’t feel awkward. We weren’t drunk, but maybe a little happy. We went to my room and both agreed we were just lookin’ for a little fling, nothin’ serious. I won’t disrespect her by sayin’ I fucked her, but we did have sex.” He paused for a minute, then chuckled. “You were right, though. Redheads are full of passion.”
“So she rocked your world.”
“Mitchell, I’ve never felt anything like it. It started as just gettin’ us both off, but somewhere in the middle it changed. I looked down at her and the expression on her face was pure rapture. I’ve never wanted to please someone so much in my life. Hell, normally when the deed’s done, I’m puttin’ on my pants and headin’ for the door without a second thought. But that night…that night I wanted to stay and hold her. For the first time, I wanted pillow talk. Since we were in my room, I really couldn’t leave and that helped. She offered to go, but I asked her not to.” He ran his hand over his face and took a deep breath. “The next mornin’ when I woke and she was still in my bed, part of me was scared shitless. The other part was happy. She had told me the night before that even though she’d grown up in the South, she’d never gone horseback ridin’. That mornin’ I knew I wanted to be the first person to experience that with her.” A smile spread across his face as he recalled that morning. “Once we got her in the saddle, her face just glowed. Shit, I sound like a pussy. Each time she was able to guide the horse to do what she wanted, the excitement in her eyes grew. And I was just as excited for her.”
“Sounds like y’all had fun.”
“We were until we came across that steer. She got upset, and I didn’t want her to get off the horse because I didn’t know what I was gonna find. I knew if something bad was there I needed her to be able to get back to the house. If she was on the ground, it would take longer to get her goin’. The fear and concern in her eyes told me the kind of person she was. I wasn’t lookin’ for her. I didn’t expect this to come into my life. Not yet. Now, I can’t let her go, and I don’t want to.”
“Damn, man. I get it. Remember when we were kids, we hung with Thomas and Mak all the time. Hell, she was right under my nose for ten years. Then one day when she was about twelve, she came home from shopping with her mom and walked in wearing a pink dress. That day she was no longer the girl who followed us around. No longer Thomas’ little sister. She was no longer Kayla to me. That day was the day I started calling her Mak because I needed something special with her. I knew that day she was it for me. I was fourteen fucking years old. I may sound like a pussy for remembering what she wore that day, but that memory is just as vivid in my head as if it were yesterday. Dude, I get it.” Mitchell paused before he continued, “My only concern here is if things go south between y’all, I don’t want Mak caught in the middle. I plan on asking her to marry me when all this shit with Masterson is over. I don’t need you screwing that up.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“How is this going to work when you go back to work?”
“I don’t know. She says her job has flexibility and she can come spend time with me out there.”
“And if you go undercover?”
“I don’t know yet. We’ll figure that out when the time comes, I guess.”
“You really want to give this a go with her, then?”
“Yeah, man. I really do.”
“You have my blessing. You may want to let Mak know you’re serious and not just using her friend, though.”
Evan gave Mitchell a contemplative nod to let him know he’d figure that out, too. They rode in silence for a few minutes in the direction the steer was found. When they got there, they walked around the area.
“He was shot with an assault rifle. There were too many bullet holes. The one through the head was to show accuracy. The other three were to show the rifle in semi-automatic mode. Three quick shots with one pull of the trigger. Good for close combat or urban warfare,” Evan said.
“The first three pops we heard.”
Evan nodded as they walked so their backs were to the house and they faced the river. When they looked up, there was an SUV sitting on the ridge across the way. A couple of guys were standing beside the vehicle and appeared to be facing them.
“Looks like we’ve got spectators,” Mitchell said.
“Yeah. I think he was shot from that direction.” Evan pulled the brim of his hat further down on his face as he bowed his head to look at the ground better.
“That’s a wildlife preserve. Shooting out-of-season animals is illegal.”
“It’s not illegal to shoot from there. What’s illegal is shooting a domesticated animal on private, posted property. Let’s head on back to the house.”
As they rode back, Mitchell made a mental note to have the men check the rest of the fences tomorrow. No one needed to figure out that Evan was here. It was getting late by the time they got the horses settled in the barn and walked to the house. Dinner was ready and the girls had hit the wine fairly hard. They heard the laughter coming from the kitchen. Mitchell didn’t care what women said, he knew they talked about sex more than men did. When the laughter subsided Mitchell heard Kayla asking, “So, is Evan sweet and romantic in bed or a little kinky?” What the hell? Why would she even want to know that?
“He’s been both,” Ginger said with a little giggle. “But it’s his dominant side that really gets to me. What about Mitchell? I think he’d want to be in control.”
Evan’s smile had left his face this time. He whispered, “We need to get in there before this conversation goes any further.”
Mitchell made their presence known by clearing his throat just as Kayla was saying, “He can…” She didn’t finish that sentence, but when she looked at him she had mischief in her beautiful green eyes. She knew they heard them and didn’t care. She kept her eyes on him but stage whispered to Ginger, “Yes, and I love it.” The smile never left her face.
Mitchell growled in her ear, “Stop it.” He kissed her then looked into her eyes. “How much have y’all had to drink?”
She pointed to the wine bottle. “Just that.”
The whole bottle was gone so he and Evan had bourbon on the rocks. They lingered after dinner because they all knew what the next day held.
They all slept in the next morning. The girls moved a little slowly. That bottle of wine must’ve really done them in. Evan already had the coffee going when Mitchell walked into the kitchen.
“Morning,” Mitchell mumbled.
“Mornin’,” he replied.
Mitchell sat across from him. Evan played with his coffee mug even though there was nothing in it. Mitchell watched him for a minute because he knew they had a lot to discuss. He grabbed a mug and sneaked a cup before he settled down for the conversation they were about to have.
“Pour me one, too,” Evan said as he handed his mug to Mitchell.
“Sure.”
“Let me have a few sips to jump start my brain,” he commented.
“Mmmm. I was thinking the same thing.”
A few minutes later, Evan started as he continued to eye his mug, “You need to go with the girls into town. Nobody’ll know Ginger, so it makes the most sense for her to make the purchases. Take her to the big box store on Highway sixty-one. She needs to buy two burner phones with cash. Then take her to the hotel over there, too. She needs to get a room using a fake name and pay cash there as well. No paper trail, Mitchell. Understand?” Evan eyed Mitchell to make sure he had his full attention. “She needs to book it for two nights – tonight and tomorrow – and get two room keys. Tonight, you and I’ll take her car and check out the room. We’ll get Thomas and Cat to come stay with the girls while we’re gone.”
Mitchell looked at his brother. The stress on his face was apparent. He was worried about Ginger and wanted her in as little danger as possible. The only time she’d be in danger was at the bar with the other guys around. Mitchell wanted to give him as much peace as he could. “I’ll be close by, Evan. I’m not going to let anything happen to her.”
“I know.”
“Why the hotel over there? Why not the one a couple blocks from the bar?”
“I can get there without goin’ through town or bein’ seen. Plus, it’s a far enough drive for us to know if Nathan’s bein’ followed but close enough that it won’t take too long. I don’t want her alone with him any longer than necessary.”
“Nothing’s going to happen between them. You know that, right? I was just kidding around yesterday.”
“Probably.” He looked at Mitchell when he said, “I’ve never felt this protective over a girl before. It’s freakin’ me the fuck out.”
“I’ve got your back. Nothing is happening to her.”
They heard the girls coming, so they changed the subject to something a little more palatable. They tried to greet them with smiles on their faces, but based on the girls’ expressions, Mitchell thought they failed miserably.
20
If they thought those fake smiles could fool Kayla, the Riverton boys didn’t know her very well. She could see right through them. She could tell they’d been talking about today and maybe even tomorrow. She wasn’t stupid and neither was Ginger. Mitchell opened his arms for her just as Evan did for Ginger. It had to be in their DNA because their men nuzzled their necks.
Kayla whispered in Mitchell’s ear, “You can’t hide your worry from me. I love you, please don’t keep me out.”
He squeezed her tighter. “I love you, too, Mak.”
When Mitchell released her, Evan and Ginger had their foreheads together just breathing each other in. It was a sweet moment for all of them, because they knew it was going to get sketchy over the next couple of days.
Kayla was the first to speak out loud. “I guess I need to text Thomas and Cat to make sure they’re up for tomorrow night. I haven’t done that yet.”
“Would you ask them if they’d mind comin’ over here tonight, too?” Evan asked.
“Why would they need to come over tonight?” Kayla questioned.
“We’ll explain everything. I know I need to ply you with coffee first, sweetheart. Do you want some, too, Ginger?”
“Yes, please.”
“Cream and sugar like Mak?”
“Just cream, please.” Then Ginger asked, “Kayla, why is Mitch the only person who calls you ‘Mak’?”
“I don’t know. He just has since I was in middle school.” She shrugged and noticed both Mitchell and Evan smiling. “Is there something to this story I don’t know?”
“No, sweetheart,” Mitchell said. “Ginger, since Mak was twelve, I knew she was mine. So I decided to give her a nickname that was specific to me and only me.”
“Oh my gosh. You never told me that. Are you serious? That’s why you’ve called me Mak all this time?”
“Yes, baby, I’m serious.”
“That’s one of the sweetest things you’ve ever told me.” She hugged him tight when he brought her coffee. “I cannot believe you’ve never told me,” she said against his lips before she kissed him.
“That really is sweet, Mitchell. I’ve also noticed she’s the only one to call you Mitch,” Ginger said.
Mitchell just shrugged.
“I started calling him Mitch when he started calling me Mak. It just felt right. Plus that way we were M&M.”
“Your favorite candy at the time, if I remember correctly,” Mitchell said with a smile.
“Only because there was an ‘m’ on every one, and that reminded me of you. I had a crush on you then, but you’d just started high school. I didn’t want to be teased for crushing on someone that would never notice me. It was my way of keeping you close.”
“Are you kidding me right now? Never notice you? Mak…” He said with an exasperated tone. Evan was laughing, and she didn’t know why.
“What’s so funny? That is so sweet,” Ginger said, nudging his shoulder.
“Yeah, sweet,” he said, trying to curb his laughter.
“What?” Kayla asked.
“Are you gonna tell her or am I?” Evan inquired, looking directly at Mitchell.
“Fine,” he said through a sigh. Mitchell recited the story of when he started calling her ‘Mak’ down to the color of her dress. “That was the day I fell completely in love with you. That night was the first time I jerked off thinking of you and you’ve had me under your spell ever since.”
She stood there with her mouth gaping open. “I can’t believe you just said that in front of other people.”
“So how does it feel, Kayla, to know my brother has been jerkin’ off to you for thirteen years,” Evan was laughing his ass off. “Oh, I wouldn’t tell that story in front of Thomas if I were you, though.”
“Bro, we talked about a lot of shit yesterday. I think I’d stop while I was ahead if I were you,” Mitchell said.
Evan immediately got serious. He held his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t bring it up, man.”
“Baby, why don’t y’all get dressed so we can discuss what needs to happen today. Did you text Thomas and Cat yet?”
“I’ve sent them a text, but they haven’t replied. Thomas just got off work, so maybe he’ll text when he’s home. What do we have to do today?”
“We’ve got some errands to run to prepare for tomorrow. We’ll tell you about it when y’all get back.”
Ginger went toward Evan’s bathroom and Kayla toward theirs. She hoped they had a good plan in place. She couldn’t believe Ginger agreed to any of this. Apparently, she liked Evan more than she’d let on.
Kayla’s phone pinged with an incoming text just as they sat down to eat.
Cat: What time do you want to us come over? Thomas just went to bed.
Kayla: Is he with you?
Cat: He’s at my house if that’s what you’re asking.
Kayla: How’s that going?
Cat: Purrr-fect.
Kayla: Ok. Don’t need that image in my head. Come over when he wakes up. We’ll do dinner.
Cat: LOL! I leave work at 5. He’ll be back up around 6. See you then.
Kayla: You’re terrible!
“They’re coming around six. I told them we’d have dinner. Since you said we were running errands, I thought we could stop by the store,” she said.
“We can make that work,” Mitchell answered.
The girls watched the guys as they seemed to be lost in thought. Someone needed to start speaking before Kayla’s imagination had her doing something that’d cause her to work on a chain gang. She looked at Mitchell and cocked an eyebrow in hopes he’d start talking. Evan was chewing his thumb nail as if it were a T-bone steak.
“It’s your plan, Evan. You want to lay it out for them?” Mitchell prodded.
“Today isn’t bad, but we’ve got to do some things for tomorrow nigh
t to run more smoothly. I’m just thinkin’ about the best way to work today,” he said.
“Okay. Just tell us your plan,” Ginger said.
“My first concern is keepin’ you two safe,” Evan said as he pointed to Ginger and Kayla.
“I know,” Ginger said. “I trust that you will.”
Evan looked at her with an expression that said with everything that was in him. “Thank you for your confidence, darlin’.” He took a fortifying breath before he began, “The thing here is that everyone who grew up in this town knows Kayla, Mitchell, and me. Since people have seen Mitchell and Kayla together, they’ll expect them to be together.”
“As much as I love Mitch, we’re not attached at the hip. I can go out with Ginger and people won’t think anything. The only thing that would make people flip would be if they were to see me with another man,” Kayla interjected.
“How many times have you been in town without Mitchell since you were almost run over?” Evan asked.
“None,” she said.
“Exactly. How many people know that you and Ginger know each other?” he questioned.
She looked at Mitchell. “The only person other than my family to see us together was my cousin, Brenda.” She could feel the flush wash over her skin. Mitchell’s eyes looked sad for a moment so she entwined their fingers. He squeezed her hand then raised it to kiss the back.
“Perfect,” Evan said. “I think Ginger needs to drive her car. Mitchell, you and Kayla take your truck. Like we discussed this mornin’, y’all need to go to the big box store on Highway sixty-one. Let Ginger go in the first entrance and you go in the second. Ginger, you’ll need to find a parkin’ place in the middle of a group of other cars. Don’t park off by yourself, you’ll be spotted. You want to blend in. Mitchell, you’ll need to park a couple of rows away from her, but close enough to keep an eye on her. Let her walk in front of you at all times. Y’all need to go in different entrances. Is the pre-paid phone place still at the front of the store?”
Unwelcomed Greeting: A Riverton Crossing Novel Page 14
