Page 132 of Reaper's Rival

I watched him pick up his duffel bag and pull out his motorbike keys.

“I’ll call you when we stop.” He paused with his hand on the doorknob, looking at me. “I really hate leaving you alone.”

I sighed and found myself saying the same thing I had said before. “I’ll be fine. I’m tougher than I look.” I smirked at him and put my hand over his on the doorknob and twisted it. “Now get going before I lock you in here and not let you leave.”

His eyes searched mine for a few seconds till he finally sighed. “Yeah, righto.”

I watched him walk down the small path and then onto the driveway and mount his bike. He shrugged his duffel bag over his shoulder and gave me one final wave before kicking back his kickstand and starting his bike up.

I watched him disappear down the road till he went around the corner.

It was official. I was by myself.

Chapter 35

Abby

Do you every experience when all the days sort of melt together and it really feels like just one long day? Well, that wasn’t happening to me. Each day dragged on, and I could only shop so much. Still, I hadn’t given up on the challenge of burning a hole in his bank account; well, our bank account.

I was shutting the front door balancing bags when I saw the flashing messages on our home phone recorder. I hit play. ‘Hi, you’ve reached Reaper and Abby, leave a message after the beep.’ “Abby, it's Kim. I’m organizing Dad’s birthday next month and need to know if the charter is coming up for the catering order. Can you get back to me? Or I might try your cell.” “Hey Abby, it's Kim again, seeing as you’re not answering your cell, I thought I’d call back and say no rush on telling me. Blue just reminded me the guys are on their way to Kelly. You must be bored shitless. Bye.”

I could hear her laughter in the second message. She might find it amusing, but I sure as hell didn’t. I was never the shopper like Kim. Maybe I should convince her to come up?

I was still thinking about how to drag her up here to entertain me when my cell rang. Great, no hands. I dumped the bags on the kitchen table and answered it on the last ring.

“Hello?”

“Abby, you sound out of breath.”

Reaper. Even if I had missed it, he would have just kept calling till I answered.

“Um yeah, I just got in and had my hands full with bags. You know I’m really burning that hole in your bank account.”

“Our bank account. What are you doing now?” He sounded distant; I wondered if something had happened.

“Standing in the kitchen. You?” I played with a strap of the bags, thinking about him, what he was doing right now. He had only left this morning. I shouldn’t be missing him like this.

He was silent for a minute. “Lying on a motel bed, wishing you were with me.”

And again he says he isn’t romantic. “How did the boys go after you showed up?”

“They got in line and haven’t dared do anything to piss me off.”

“Why do I have the feeling you were hard on them?”

“Well, them being childish has cost me nearly two weeks without you and leaving you unprotected. They’re lucky fists weren’t involved.”

He sounded more like Reaper than Kade now. How to bring my Kade back out?

“Hey, I’ve got something to show you.” I opened up one of the bags and grabbed what I was looking for in the first bag. What were the chances?

“Have you locked the front door?”

What a stupid question, of course I’ve locked the front door. I glanced over my shoulder to check while I was halfway up the stairs, and what do you know, I hadn’t locked the front door.

“Um, yep,” I lied and quickly ran down the stairs and locked it.

“It wasn’t locked, was it?”

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