Page 87 of Midnight Surrounds Us

Bax grimaced at the thought, and Athena sighed and sat by her dad again.

Abey laughed. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you love Devo more than you love me.”

Athena shrugged just as a female voice patched through on Abey’s radio.

“Sheriff? You on site? Where the hell is this place?”

Abey rolled her eyes and pulled the transmitter off her shoulder to respond. “I’m here, Sylvia. Did you take the turn I told you to, off old Fish Creek Road?”

“Yep.”

“Then just keep drivin’ till you see my truck.”

“10–4. Got an assessment for me?”

“It’s my brother, Bax. Looks like his leg might be broken. He’s immobile, in pain, and cranky, but breathin’ and talkin’.”

“Gotcha. Be there in two. I think.”

Abey clipped her radio back onto her shoulder. “Well, who the hell’s gonna run this place now?”

“Poor Bax,”Aubrey said as she busied herself in front of Bax’s kitchen counter, preparing meals for him and Athena. “They said it was a clean break though?”

“Yeah.” I leaned back to sneak a peek through the kitchen door to check on Bax in his living room, where he’d passed out on his couch in a pain-medicine haze as soon as we got him home from the hospital, but my hands never left Aubrey’s hips.

I held my woman tight. Sometimes, I found it hard to believe she really was mine.

Letting go with one hand, I swiped her hair over her shoulder and whispered my lips over her neck. “He thinks the bull pushed against the gate hard enough so it clipped him at the perfect angle to snap the bone. They had to patch him up with a metal rod inside his leg. He’ll probably be cryin’ for a few days, but he’ll live.”

Aubrey loved my hands on her. When I thought she’d had enough and needed space, I’d pull away, but she’d grab me and guide my hands back to her body. She never got enough of my worship, and good thing, ’cause I had a lot of it to give.

“Well, I made them some turkey and veggie soup, and I separated it into containers so Athena can just pop it into the microwave and zap it. Lasagna’s next.”

Stepping closer, my chest touched her back. Her warmth made me smile, and I had just been about to slip a hand between her thighs when I heard Brand out on the front porch.

“Somebody say lasagna?” he asked when he kicked the kitchen door open with his boot, holding his open laptop.

A female voice sounded from the speaker. “Jeez. Are you ever not thinkin’ about food?”

“Can it, Sweetie.”

“Don’t call me that,” Sweetie growled through the computer. “My name is Bea. You know this. Fuckin’ use my name, man.”

Aubrey whispered, “It won’t be ready for dinner tonight, but y’all can bake it tomorrow.”

Brand gave her a thumbs-up and whispered back, “Thank you.” To Sweetie he said, “Yeah, but if I use your name, you don’t get mad, and makin’ you mad is the highlight of my day. So when are you gettin’ here?”

“Whatever. I’ll be there in a few days. I’ve got some stuff to finish up before I leave, but you don’t have to be back in Sheridan till Monday, right?”

“Right, but if everything here is good, I’ll probably head back Friday so I’ve got the weekend to get ready. Maybe Thursday if the lawyers need me early.”

Sweetie scoffed. I caught a glimpse of her on Brand’s screen just as she rolled her eyes and yanked her hair up, then tied it with an elastic band so it sat atop her head like some kind of black-brown fountain. From the little of her I could see, the woman looked fit. I’d assumed she was more of an “office” forewoman, but it seemed clear she did plenty of the physical labor for Lee Construction.

“They don’t think this douche can actually win his case, do they?” she said. “I still can’t believe we’re in this mess. I literally watched that asshole throw himself off the second floor of our build. He did it hopin’ for a payout. You better not let him get one.”

“The lawyers are confident,” Brand said. “They’re pretty sure they can prove he injured himself on purpose, but we gotta go through the whole rigmarole. Besides, this is why I pay for liability insurance and worker’s comp. I feel bad for the guy’s wife, though. She seems like a cool lady. I doubt she planned on her husband bein’ such a mooch.

“Anyway, one of the cabins is mostly finished, so I’ll recruit my niece and we’ll get it ready for you, and I’ll make sure you have Abey’s and Rye’s numbers in case anything goes wrong and you can’t get ahold of me.”

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