“Okay. After you show me what it is you do, I’ll let you manage the accounts for me. If you think you can make them grow, that is.” He didn’t enjoy accounting anyway, so if she could get his money to grow and keep it in order, he was all for it.
She beamed at him like he’d just bought her a flying unicorn. “Great.”
He cleared his throat, not wanting her gratitude to settle as warmth in his gut. “Two?”
“Two?” Kiki’s eyes widened. “Right. I’d like to help with those two mares, even if it’s just to help muck out stalls or what not.”
“You want to wade in manure?” Lena chuckled.
Derrick scowled at Lena. She’d grown so cynical and biting since Ethan had died. She may have an edge on her, but that didn’t mean she had to be so cutting on everyone else, Kiki especially.
“Yeah, y’all, I want to.” Kiki motioned her hand in the barn’s direction. “Spending time with those animals today made me happy, like maybe my fear of the colossal beasts was all for nothing. I want to help, even if it means I get covered from head to toe in poo.”
“You’ll have to get work clothes.” Lena motioned her finger up and down Kiki’s body. “Your idea of a cowgirl get-up won’t work in the stables.”
Kiki shrugged. “You’ll be gone. I’ll just borrow some of your clothes.” She wiggled her eyebrows up and down, causing Lena to laugh.
Kiki flopped on to the other side of the couch, stretching her bare feet out so they sat on the cushion next to him. The desire to grab them and place them on his lap burned so hot, he tucked his hands behind his head so he wouldn’t give in to the temptation.
She smiled over at him. “Are you ready for one of the best movies ever made?”
“Best movies ever? That’s a pretty strong statement.”
“What could be better than Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, and a road trip from hell?” Kiki held the remote up and pressed the search button. “The Long, Long Trailer.”
“Lucille Ball, as in I Love Lucy?” Lena groaned. “You mean we have to watch a movie that’s a hundred years old?”
“No, not a hundred, and don’t complain.” Kiki settled into her spot, her feet resting up against Derrick’s leg. “I’ve watched so many of your movies, I’m now dreaming about them. Trust me, it’s not the dreams I like having.”
The movie started, and Derrick had to admit the antics of the red-headed comedian had him laughing. As he relaxed at the couple’s classic comedy and the ridiculousness of pulling a huge trailer cross country behind a car, he decided maybe deviating from the normal movie choices wasn’t such a bad thing. It was better than the princess movies Eva often forced him to watch.
After about five minutes into the movie, Derrick gave in to temptation and casually lowered his hand so it rested on Kiki’s feet. His heart beat wildly in his chest like some high schooler pulling his first moves on a girl. She didn’t seem to even notice. Still, he kept his hand there, wondering if her feet had scarred from when she’d beaten them against the car door trying to get away from her cousin—wondering if they were ticklish, or what she’d do if he started massaging them. All things he shouldn’t be thinking about his friend.
Seven
Sweat gathered at the base of Kiki’s neck and ran a cold line down her spine, making her shiver. She hadn’t even entered the training room, and she was perspiring like a pig. Why in the world had she agreed to this? Her nerves had fired on high alert all morning, causing her to lose focus during her trading. What would Derrick think of her?
She’d spent ten minutes just picking out what to wear … to workout. The skorts hadn’t even gotten looked at. She’d save those for when she ran on the treadmill. She’d finally settled on a pair of black leggings and her black racerback tank. The plain outfit shouldn’t get any gruff.
She rolled her eyes at herself for the hundredth time that morning. Since when had Derrick given her any grief about what she wore? She hated that she wanted to impress him. Hated that she felt like the new girl in the high school movies that desperately desired to be part of the in-crowd but ended up with spaghetti on her new blouse after making a fool of herself. Kiki had never been that girl—ever. She’d always connected with the girl wearing a clinging jock draped across her shoulder. The girl who wanted to help the newcomer but was afraid to go against her friends.
When had she allowed fear to permeate her life? Her fear of rejection had determined everything she’d done growing up. Now, it taunted her in this new life she found herself in. She didn’t want it squeezing her throat closed and forcing her lips into a fake smile anymore. She wanted confidence in herself that her friends liked her because of who she was. Nothing more than that—not her money, her wardrobe, or the way she looked. So, how did she get to that point?
She stared at the floor as she stepped through the door to the training room, her mind running in a million directions. Two strides in, hands wrapped around her neck from behind. She exploded—her arm swinging and knee striking without her even thinking. She’d made it halfway down the hall to the front door when she heard Derrick’s call.
“Kiki, wait.” His voice sounded strained.
She stopped and turned, her eyes going wide as he pushed up from the floor. “Oh, no.” She rushed back to him and slid under his arm to help him stand. “I’m so sorry.”
He rubbed the side of his head where she’d elbow-jabbed him. Great. She hadn’t remembered Lena’s number one rule: Know your surroundings at all times. She’d failed class before it even started.
“I’m not. You did awesome.” Derrick chuckled. He winced and placed his hand on his side. “Perfect, actually. You not only escaped, but made it so I couldn’t pursue right away. You gave yourself the head start needed to survive.”
“But … but … ” Her skin tingled, and she tightened her grip on Derrick’s waist so she wouldn’t collapse in amazement.
She didn’t know what to say. His reaction was completely opposite of what she’d expected. He smiled down at her, and her knees almost buckled. Maybe training under Derrick wouldn’t be so bad after all. He squeezed her shoulder and stepped away. She missed the connection, the feel of his warmth pressed against her.
Don’t be a ninny, Kiki.
“So, we know what you did right.” Derrick assumed the soldier-in-control stance all the Stryker team had perfected. “What did you do wrong?”
Kiki crossed her arms, then dropped them to her side, not wanting to show how nervous she was. “I was lost in my thoughts, not aware of my surroundings. I should’ve known right away that you were hiding, waiting to scare the living daylights out of me. If I had, I wouldn’t have hurt you … much, anyway. I may have still hit you just because.”
“Fair enough.” Derrick smirked, then stifled it. “Anything else?”
Kiki glanced up at the ceiling, then closed her eyes. What else could she have done? She replayed the terrifying moments in her mind.
“I should’ve looked back after I got away to assess the situation.” She couldn’t help the inflection in her tone that made the statement more of a question.
Derrick shook his head. “No, you did right. Once you get loose from an attack, you run like hell and get help.” He let his smile free. “I was just testing you. Honestly, Kiki, aside from not being aware of your surroundings, you executed everything perfectly.”
Her head filled with so much joy she was sure it’d explode. She’d been working hard trying to learn what Lena drilled into her, but Kiki had honestly thought she was still hopeless. From Lena’s expressions, her friend hadn’t been impressed with Kiki’s attempts either.
“Don’t let the familiarity of home let your guard down, though. We’re about as secure as you can get here at the ranch, but there’s always a possibility someone will breach our defenses.” Derrick’s reprimand deflated her joy in one whoosh. “You ready to train?”
Kiki nodded, her earlier nervousness flaring back to life.
“Good, we’ll begin with som
e hand-to-hand combat so I can see what Lena’s been teaching you, then we’ll execute some run-fight-run series.”
Derrick motioned her to join him in the center of the mat. Kiki inhaled deeply, pushed her fear aside, and determined to throw herself fully into the experience.
An hour later, she sprinted across the pasture. Sweat saturated her top and slicked her bobbed hair back. She sucked in air like it was being rationed, while Derrick ran next to her like he was out for a Sunday stroll.
Training with Derrick was horrendous.
This was the second time he’d had her do his run-fight-run routine, and she had to say, she wasn’t impressed. The attacking of the punching bag for a minute, sprinting a half mile, hitting a bag for another minute he’d thrown on the ground, running another half mile, hug-carrying a fifty-pound bag of grain for a minute, then finally running another half mile had just about killed her the first time. Would she even finish this time?
She had jumped onto the bag on the ground about a quarter mile back. Well, more flopped than jumped, but she hadn’t cared at that point. She’d almost not gotten up, just lain down and stayed there for the rest of the day. Yet Derrick’s yelling at her like she was some bootcamp recruit had her scrambling to her feet and rushing to the stables for the next torture round.
The bag of grain came into view, and she inwardly groaned. Derrick glanced her way. Oops. Guess that groan wasn’t just in her head. She stumbled up to the table he had the grain waiting on and huffed as the mares nickered at her from the corral. It was easy for them to laugh. They weren’t being run through the trenches by Sergeant Battle-Ax.
She missed Lena. Kiki squatted on shaky legs and lifted the heavy bag. Tears formed in her eyes as her arms trembled so violently she wasn’t sure she could hang on. She blinked the tears away and gritted her teeth through the pain. One more leg of this course from hell, and she could go cry in the privacy of her shower.
The instant Derrick said go, she dropped the bag in the dirt and raced back toward the training center. Her shoes slapping on the tile floor sounded like freedom. She slowed to a walk as she passed into the training room and dropped to the mat on her back with her arms spread wide. She’d just lay here for a while … possibly forever since her legs most likely wouldn’t work again.
Derrick placed his hands on his head as he strolled into the room. He’d stripped off his shirt in the hot afternoon sun. The only thing that had kept her from ogling him had been the workout only someone truly diabolical would come up with. Now, the fact that he didn’t even look out of breath had her closing her eyes in frustration. Someday, maybe, she could run that course and not bat an eye.
“Come on, Sonic.” Derrick walked his legs on the outside of hers, bent down, pushed his hands under her back, and picked her up.
She spread her hands on his chest and shamelessly leaned into him when her legs refused to solidify. Her muscles felt like flambéed pudding—painfully on fire and jiggly all at once. What had he said again?
“Sonic?” She let her head flop back on her neck to look at him.
“Yeah, you know that video game?” Derrick peered down at her with a smile. “You didn’t tell me you were fast.”
“I am?” Why had thinking suddenly become so hard to accomplish?
“Yeah. You ran those half miles in under three and a half minutes each. Few can do that, especially with the punching and lifting thrown in.”
Had she really done that? A tiredness that was more fulfilling rather than exhausting spread through her. He raised his eyebrows and went to step away. When her legs buckled, he wrapped his arm around her back to support her. Her impressing him flew right out the window.
“You need to walk it off so your muscles don’t seize up.” Derrick slowly worked his way toward the door, practically dragging her with him.
“Too late.” She grimaced as fire shot up her calves and thighs. She’d be feeling this for days.
“I probably pushed you too far.” Derrick’s worried tone had her strengthening her spine.
“No. I’m okay. I know better than to collapse like that after a run.”
“Why don’t we go up to the house? You can take a shower or, better yet, a bath, and relax.”
“I’m supposed to help you this afternoon with the horses.” Kiki wasn’t sure how she’d do it, but she would.
“Kiki, you don’t have to help me today.”
Disappointment hung heavily on her with his words. She stopped as they stepped back out into the sun and placed her hand on his chest. They both reeked of sweat and dirt. She should be embarrassed that she was so close to him smelling and looking like she did, but she wanted him to see how important it was to her that she help him. So she ignored the heat that spread into her palm and made sure his gaze connected with hers before she spoke.
“Derrick, I want to help those mares.” She leaned in closer. “It’s important to me. Really important. A couple of ibuprofen, and I’ll be fine.”
He held her gaze. His hand covered hers still resting on his chest. Why was it so important to her when he’d given her an out? Was it the mares or him? She pushed the thought away, not wanting to dive into her reasons.
He squeezed her hand and nodded. “Okay. I’m going to take a quick shower, grab a snack, then head down to the barn. You can join me whenever you’re ready.”
Kiki nodded, then turned toward the house so he couldn’t see her relief. Her need to help him rooted deeper than the horses, though she had a connection with them she hadn’t expected. If she wasn’t careful, this entrenched desire for Derrick Nicholson may just be what toppled her.
Eight
Derrick stifled a smile as Kiki grunted in the stall next to him. He’d gotten three stalls mucked out, and she still worked on her first. The way her face had scrunched up when he pointed to the filthy stall had been classic. Why did she have such a burning need to help? It’d just end up dirtying her shiny cowgirl boots.
Her head peeked up from behind the stall wall. She stretched her neck, then extended her arms out in front of her, pulling on each elbow. Why couldn’t he tear his gaze from the graceful curve of her neck? She paused as she caught him staring, and Derrick’s face heated. Thank God for bad lighting and dark skin.
“Sore?” He chuckled, hoping the tone of his voice didn’t sound off.
She stepped to the wall separating them, groaned, and leaned her forehead on the top of her hands that gripped the corral wall. “I think I’ll be sore for weeks.”
Her muffled words pulled him up short. Had he pushed her too far? He’d only wanted to see what she was capable of.
Liar.
He shook his head. She had walked in to the training room, looking hot as all get out, and every cell in his body had overheated. He’d pushed her because he hadn’t known how to ignore the spark of attraction that flared to a flame. His workout from hell had more to do with his need to prove they were too different—that she couldn’t keep up with him—then he could remember why they were better off as friends.
She’d surprised him, though. First, in her counterattack when he’d grabbed her from behind, and then in her ability to finish the aggressive training many soldiers didn’t finish as quickly as she did the first time, let alone twice in a row. Guilt thickened in his throat, making it hard to swallow. In his own discomfort, he’d caused her pain. Some friend he was.
“I know what would make it better.” Derrick leaned against the wall with his shoulder as she turned her head and laid her cheek on her hands.
“A bottle of drugs and a head-to-toe massage?” She wiggled her eyebrows up and down.
He swallowed and forced a laugh. The very thought of a massage had his brain veering into places he shouldn’t want to go.
“Not quite. What if we head over to Iron Mountain Hot Springs after we work the mares? The minerals in the water will do wonders for your sore muscles.”
Though, now that the idea had completely formed in his head, hanging out with her in a
bathing suit might not be the best idea, either. Her face lit up, reminding him of Eva when she got the sugar cereal her mother had banned. No matter his discomfort, he couldn’t take the suggestion back now.
“I haven’t been there yet.” Kiki stood, her shoulders rising to her ears as she danced a little gleeful jig. “Piper and Chloe say it’s amazing. We’ve been meaning to get a girls’ day out together, but it just hasn’t happened.”
“Well, we can see who else wants to come.” Pathetic how he hoped she said no to that suggestion.
“Zeke and Sam are having a family night tonight. They promised Eva they’d take her to the fairy caverns. Piper’s morning sickness keeps her close to the bathroom, so she and Rafe are out. Everyone else is gone.” Kiki tipped her head. “Why do they call it morning sickness if she’s sick all the time?”
“No clue.” Derrick pushed off the wall, relieved more than he should be that everyone was either gone or busy. “Well, it’s just the two of us then. No action-packed movie tonight.”
“Thank goodness.” She smiled, then scanned her stall with a furrowed forehead.
Derrick jumped in before she could continue cleaning it. “It’s clean. Let’s go see how my new girls are doing.”
“You sure?” She peered over the wall at the stall he’d cleaned. “It doesn’t look as good as yours.”
“It’s fine. You know me. I go a bit overboard on things.”
She pushed her mouth to the side like she was trying not to laugh. The urge to bend over the wall and kiss the dimple that she couldn’t quite hide had him rushing out of the stall to hang the tools up. She was his friend, nothing more, especially since he wasn’t sure if he was staying with Stryker or leaving. It’d be selfish to start something, then later, if he left, make her choose between him or her family here at the ranch.
He wasn’t about to let this momentary lapse in judgement make things harder on her. Disappointments and discomforts had riddled her life for the last year. He didn’t want to add himself to that.
Convincing Derrick Page 4
