Page 21 of Dragon's Unwanted Love
They were still arguing when they walked into the apartment, both too stubborn to listen to the other, but when they saw Yvonne sitting on the couch, they shut up. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “What happened now?”
“They got my car,” she said, with a sigh. “And Jackson thinks they were waiting to get me.”
“Oh, Abby, that’s terrible,” Yvonne said. “Come sit down, you look exhausted.”
“She needs to pack some things and come stay with me,” Jackson said, leaning against the door and crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s either that or I’m staying here with the two of you. It’s your choice.”
She shot him a dirty look. “Jackson thinks he’s in charge of me now,” she said, then looked over at Yvonne for support. “I don’t want to leave you alone.”
“I think you should go with Jackson, Abby,” her friend said. “I’m not trying to chase you away or anything, but I think he’s right. I’ll call Alan and see if he’ll come over and stay with me, and then I won’t be alone.”
It wasn’t the answer she wanted to hear. “Are you sure?” she asked. “I feel terrible, I shouldn’t have dragged you into this. I had no idea it was going to get this bad.”
“You couldn’t have known,” Yvonne said, patting her hand. “Besides, something good is going to come out of this. I’ve been waiting to have Alan over; now we have the perfect excuse. I know that sounds terrible, but…”
“It’s not terrible. I’m glad you have someone who cares about you,” she said, giving her friend a hug. When she looked over at Jackson, he had a look of satisfaction on his face. “Don’t you dare say a word. I’m going along with this, but only because Yvonne wants me to.”
He just shrugged. “Whatever it takes,” he said. “Go get your stuff.”
She gave him a dirty look but got to her feet and went back to her bedroom, resigned to letting Jackson act as her protector but sure that she wasn’t going to like it. When she came back out, he was sitting on the couch next to Yvonne, laughing at something she said, and a wave of jealousy washed over her, making her even more annoyed. She had nothing to be jealous about, Yvonne was her friend and Jackson wasn’t even hers, but she wasn’t happy until they left the apartment.
Walker was waiting for them out front, and after her bags had been loaded, he sped off toward the fraternity house. “Milton isn’t going to like this,” Walker said, breaking the silence between them. “In fact, I’m sure he’s going to have a big fit.”
“I’ll deal with him,” Jackson growled from the back seat. “He’s been nothing but a thorn in our sides since he got there, but I’m not backing down from this one.”
CHAPTER 12
***JACKSON***
Walker brought the van to a screeching halt in front of the fraternity house, throwing them both into their seatbelts. “Well, here we are,” he said, looking over at Abby with a big grin on his face. “Safe and sound, just like I promised.”
Abby stared at him, stunned. “I don’t know about that,” Jackson said. “Man, when are you going to slow down? I think you broke my neck with that stop. You could at least warn us or something.”
“Hey, you know me, fast is the only speed I go,” Walker said, turning off the engine. “That’s what gives me an edge.”
“That edge is going to get you in trouble one of these days,” he said, opening his door. “Look at Abby. She’s in shock, thanks to your driving.”
“I’m okay, just tired,” Abby said, finally finding her voice. “Thank you for coming to my rescue, Walker.”
“Any time, pretty lady,” Walker drawled, flashing her a big smile. “If you need anything just give me a holler and I’ll be there.”
“How about getting out of the van and making sure noone is lurking in the bushes?” he growled at his friend, unable to fight off the surge of jealousy that erupted inside him. “That would be useful.”
He didn’t move until Walker reluctantly got out of the van. “Just sit tight for a second,” he said. “Then we’ll get you inside the house. I’m sure you’re exhausted.”
“I think I’m beyond that point,” Abby said, her voice flat. “I feel like I could just curl up here and go to sleep.”
It only took a few minutes to reassure himself that they didn’t have any company, and then he helped Abby out of the van while Walker got her bags. “Are you sure this is going to be okay?” she asked, her face full of uncertainty. “Do they even know that I’m coming?”
“I knew this was a possibility earlier this afternoon,” he said. “I discussed it with the house, and they unanimously voted that you should come stay, so don’t worry. I’m sure Hattie is going to try to feed you the second we get in the door, so be prepared.”
“Hattie?” she asked, letting him put his arm around her as they walked up the path that led to the front door. “I don’t think you’ve mentioned her before.”
“She’s the best cook on the East Coast,” Walker piped up from behind them. “Wait until you try her chocolate cake, you’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven.”
“You have a housekeeper?” Abby asked, an anxious look on her face. “I’ve never…that is, I’m pretty good at taking care of myself, I’m not used to people waiting on me…I don’t know if…”
“Relax, it’s not like that. Hattie doesn’t wait on us; she cooks for us, but that’s it,” he said. “Housekeeper probably isn’t the right term for what she does; it’s more like she herds us around, we have chore lists, shopping lists, we pay all the bills, and this year, she’s going to teach us all to cook.”
