Page 32 of Driving Whiskey Wild
“Hey, babe. How about you roll down the window?”
Her eyes shot to Tinkerbell, who was lying on her back with her feet up in the air while Bear scratched her belly. Finlay rolled the window down an inch as Crystal came to Bullet’s side. He put an arm around Crystal and said, “How’re you feeling, sweetheart?”
“Better. My stomach’s been quirky for the last week or so, but I’m good.” She smiled at Finlay. “How’s it going, Fin? Are you going to stay in that big spoon of Pepto-Bismol all day, or come out and say hi?”
“How about you give us a minute,” Bullet said, releasing Crystal.
“Hey, bro.” Bones slapped Bullet on the shoulder as he walked by on his way to join the others.
Bullet grabbed the door handle, and renewed panic filled Finlay’s eyes. He opened the door and blocked the opening with his body. “Hey, sweet girl. What are you doing here?”
“I was thinking, you came to see me after that accident when you said everything inside you told you to walk away. That was hard for you, so I pulled up my big-girl panties and thought if I could get to know Cuj—Tinkerbell, that maybe we could spend more time together.”
His heart swelled to near bursting.
She leaned closer and whispered, “But I didn’t know you had plans, and I might have overshot my abilities. I’m not sure I can go anywhere near her.”
“I know one way to help you get past that fear.” He leaned into the van, wrapped her in his arms, and kissed her. He felt the tension drain from her body and continued kissing her, until her hands left the steering wheel to embrace him. And then he deepened the kiss, because nothing—nothing—was better than this.
“Better?” He pressed a softer kiss to her lips.
“Now I’m turned on and scared.”
He chuckled. “Do you trust me?”
She nodded.
“I know a thing or two about overcoming fears. Can you give me a few minutes? Promise me you won’t take off?”
“If you guys have plans, I can come back.” She glanced at Bear and Crystal, both crouched beside Tinkerbell. Bones had his back to the van, his phone pressed to his ear.
“We don’t. Give me a sec.” He closed the door, relief pushing through him like a gale-force wind as he headed into the barn, returning with one of Tinkerbell’s leashes.
As he hooked it on her collar, Bear said, “What’s up with Finlay?”
“She’s afraid of dogs.”
Crystal went to the van and said, “Tinkerbell’s really sweet. She just looks mean. Like Bullet.”
Christ.
Finlay made a pleading face.
“She won’t hurt you,” Crystal urged.
Finlay rolled down the window a little further and said, “I’m sure she won’t, but I’m still scared of dogs. Any dogs. Chihuahuas scare me, which I know is silly. But I’m trying, because…” She glanced at Bullet again, and his gut went funky again.
“We came by to see if you were sure you didn’t want to join us on our ride,” Bear explained. “Finlay can come along. Make a day of it?”
“She doesn’t ride,” Bullet said.
“You don’t ride?” Crystal asked Finlay.
Finlay shook her head with an apologetic expression.
“Neither did I when I met Bear,” Crystal said. “Maybe after you conquer Tink you can learn to ride.”
“That would be a big if, and I don’t know if I can handle two things at once. First let me get through this,” Finlay said.
Bullet handed the leash to Bear. “Fin was attacked by a dog when she was younger. Think you can stick around long enough for me to get her out of the van?”
“Whatever you need.” Bear took the leash. He crouched with an arm around Tinkerbell again and said, “You need to be sweet, Tink.” Then to Crystal he said, “Come here, sugar. Let’s give Bullet some room to work his magic.”
Magic. If only he had one-tenth as much as Finlay did.
Bullet opened the door to the van and turned Finlay so she was facing him. Holy hell, where did his girl shop? Turnonyourman.com? She wore a flimsy, short pink dress and brown leather boots that laced up to her knees, beneath which were some sort of frilly socks that went halfway up her thighs. Her outfit was completed with a wrist full of bracelets and a flowery ring on her right hand.
“Sweet baby Jesus, lollipop. Did you dress to make me want to lay you down in the back of the van on purpose?”
“What?” She gasped and looked down at her outfit. “No! I wore tall boots so Tink couldn’t get at my legs, and this is one of my favorite dresses. I figured I should be as comfortable as possible.”
“Well,” he said as he adjusted himself. “At least one of us will be.”
She giggled. “Sorry.”
He put his hands on her hips and tugged her against him, trying not to think about what type of panties she had on under that slinky little dress. Fuck. Now that was all he could think about.
“What’s going on?” Bones asked, jerking Bullet’s mind back into submission.
“Fin’s afraid of dogs,” Bear explained.
As his brothers talked, Bullet gazed into Finlay’s eyes and said, “Tink will listen to everything I say, but she’s a puppy. She’s going to get excited, and she might bark or wiggle around because she’s straining not to jump up and kiss your face, okay?”
She gulped and nodded. Her eyes shifted in Tinkerbell’s direction. Tinkerbell was licking Bear’s face. “Has she ever bitten anyone?”
“Never. And she isn’t trained to attack. She’s trained to behave, babe. She’s my girl. I’d never put her in danger, any more than I’d put you in danger, and she knows it.”
Finlay’s gaze softened, and a genuine smile appeared. “I love how much you love her.”
“I take care of the things I love.” And I want to take care of you. “She’s docile enough to let Lincoln crawl all over her and Kennedy hug her up. But before I bring you over to meet her, I want you to know how much it means to me that you’re here. I don’t know big enough words to say it, but thank you.”
“I take care of the things I care about, too,” she said softly.
Chapter Thirteen
FINLAY STEPPED FROM the van, remaining glued to Bullet’s side. Her pulse was sprinting even though Tinkerbell was leashed. Bear and Bones flanked her. In their dark jeans and leather jackets, they looked like biker bodyguards. Bullet was a wall of concentration, watching her and his pup intently. What must it feel like to be him right now, with a girlfriend who was petrified of the animal that made him feel safe?
Finlay reached for his hand, and he glanced down at her with concern in his eyes. “I brought her treats that I made. Will that help?”
His lips tipped up. “Only if you want my eighty-pound girl trying to snarf food out of your hands.” He glanced at Tinkerbell and then back at Finlay. “You made her treats?”
She nodded. “I couldn’t sleep, so I looked up the healthiest treats for puppies. I made them shaped like bones.” Her eyes flicked up to Bones and she said, “The doggy kind.”
His brothers chuckled.
Crystal tucked her dark hair behind her ear and said, “Aw, it might have been fun to see Tink gobbling down little Bones.”
Tinkerbell’s head popped up, and she took a step toward Bullet. Bear held tight to the leash and said, “Stay, Tink.”
Finlay exhaled a long breath.
“Here’s how this is going to go.” Bullet lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “You’re scared, and she’s going to sense that. When Kennedy gets scared, Tink rallies around her. She might whimper, she might try to lick you, but she will not try to bite you, okay?”
Finlay nodded. “I can’t help being scared.”
“I know. It’s okay, but you need to know that she has feelings, too. She hurts when people she loves hurt. See how she’s watching you? Watching us? She sees your hand in mine. She senses that you’re important to me. She’ll act on that.”
“Okay,” came out in a whisper.
“When we walk over, I’m going to have her lie down, and then I want you to offer your hand to her, let her smell you.” He lifted her hand to his nose and inhaled deeply. “She’ll smell your sweetness and will probably lick your hand. When you feel comfortable, you can pet her, okay? No pressure, but if you can keep from screaming and running away, that would be best.”
Finlay smiled, remembering how she’d freaked out in the parking lot at Whispers. “I’m not going to do that again. I think I can handle this. I mean, look how she is with you guys. I already feel like a loser for needing an army of protection from your dog.”
“Everyone needs support,” Bones said.
A comforting glance passed between him and Bullet. She could only imagine how the rest of Bullet’s family would have rallied around him had he shared the worst of his experiences with them. She wondered if he’d still have nightmares and flashbacks if he’d gotten it out of his system.
“You can totally do this,” Crystal said. “By the way, that outfit is the bomb!” She whipped out her phone and took a picture. “I’m going to make one like it, but black.”
