Page 54 of Till The Sun Dies (Checkmate 2)

12

Angelo

Bonding

“She went down to the car!” As soon as Kane walks into the garage I own and operate six days a week, I toss my shifter down with a clang and herd him toward the office. “She went down. She looked.”

He grins. “Thanks, Sherlock. You solved the mystery of who the hell did I let into my garage last night. I knew someone was down there, but I couldn’t figure out who owned all that blonde hair. Jess was with me, so I was clueless. Couldn’t figure it out.”

“Shut up.” I flop into my chair, and leaning to a mini fridge beneath my desk, I pull out a Coke and pass it over as he sits opposite me. “I didn’t expect she’d go down so soon. I figured I’d have to rebuild half the engine before she gave in and checked it out again.”

“She’s curious.” He pops the can and takes a sip. “How many times did you have to swoop in and save those girls from their own curiosity when they were kids?”

I laugh. “You mean like the time they went to the old haunted house on the edge of town, but the floorboards and stairs were rotting. The twins got upstairs, but couldn’t get down again.”

He shakes his head. “Yeah, that’s what I figured.”

“There was the time her brother annoyed her so much, Laine tore his bike apart. Piece by fuckin’ piece. Laid them out like she was rebuilding it again, which, when her folks found out, she did. She knew how to break it down, and she laid each piece out in order, but she didn’t know how to put it back together again. That was the first time we rebuilt an engine together, and though Luc was being a dick and deserved a kick up the ass, he ended up with a bike that ran better than ever.”

He studies the can of soda in his hands. “You’ve been watching this girl forever, huh?”

I ignore his question, because I’m not ready to admit that maybe he’s right. Maybe I’ve been watching longer than I can even admit to myself. “Then there was that time the girls went cow tipping.”

“They did not!”

“They did!” Kicking my ankles up onto my already filthy desk, I picture it in my mind. “The four of ‘em got it in their heads to annoy old man Smythe, since he was a grumpy fuck and had a problem with female ankles showing. They’d wear perfectly modest skirts, like, an inch above the knee, and he’d call them whores. They were barely hitting puberty yet. They went down to his farm and tipped a cow. Britt ate the mud, they all ended up covered in cow shit, and Laine sprained her ankle.”

He grins. “What about Jess?”

“She smelled like the rest of them, so her claim of innocence wasn’t complete truth.” I shake my head. “It’s funny how life has worked out. Jessie was the serious one. She’d stand back and watch her sisters make fools of themselves. She was always there, but she was the dignified one. The girls wanna skinny dip? It was Laine that suggested it. They wanna climb trees? Laine. They wanna walk on the train tracks or steal rose bushes? Laine. Now our good girl is in love with a fuckin’ thug, and our wild girl is scared of her own shadow.”

“She’s gonna be okay.” He stretches back and makes himself at home. “She went out to the garage last night all by herself. She was out there for ages, and before that, she caught me and Jess fooling around. It spooked her; Laine, that is. Jess and I were playing, a little rough, I guess.”

The expression on my face is enough for him to stop.

Laughing, he sips more Coke. “I won’t paint a picture, but either way, it spooked Laine. Hearing her sister say no, watching Jess push me away…”

“Jess was saying no and pushing you away, and you didn’t stop?” I sit forward and point a finger. “Motherfucker, I’ll cut your nuts off.”

He snorts. “You need context. She wasn’t actually saying no. She was saying‘run my ass upstairs now, Bish, before we get caught fuckin’ in the kitchen.’”

“Dude!”

“I was giving you context, since you’re set on making me the villain. My point is, Laine was spooked a little. She went back there in her head, but then she pushed it away. She might’ve even been a little envious that her sister could enjoy that and she couldn’t.”

“Dude! Fuck.” I drop my feet to the floor. “You donotget them both! I swear to Christ, you try it and I’ll make you eat your own dick.”

“No.” Laughing, he shakes his head. “I didn’t mean it like that. She’s not jealous of my part in that transaction. She’s jealous that Jess can be there and smile about it. That she wasn’t scared. Laine doesn’t realize that there are men capable of not hurting and abusing.”

I sigh. “I don’t hurt and abuse.”

He nods. “I know. I saw you the other night with Graham, I know what youcando, and yet, I know youwon’thurt her. So next time you wanna paint me with the villain brush, think about that. Ican, but Iwon’t. I won’t hurt Jess. Never.”

* * *

An hourafter Kane leaves my office, I tell the guys we’re closing up the garage and going home early. It’s three in the afternoon, and we have no pressing deadlines coming up, so as soon as the floors are swept and the compressors switched off, I follow my youngest apprentice out and drag the chained doors down.

“See ya, boss.”

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