And strong as fuck. I gripped the edge of the headboard and shook it. This thing weighed easily over a hundred pounds, and he’d walked it over like he was bringing me a picture frame.
Kess arrived, tools in hand, and pulled the bed farther away from the wall. He started by marking the holes, then drilling them. After, it was short work to fix the frame to the bed.
“Now you can have all the wild sex you want, and that thing isn’t going anywhere,” he joked.
My stomach clenched, and I wished I could tell him how little sex I’d actually had. How the thought of doing it with anyone other than him was repulsive. I kept that to myself.
His eyes, those assessing lawyer eyes of his, narrowed.
Shit. Abort.Abort.
“You know it, Kessie baby,” I said, leaning into my drawl. “In fact, you should leave now because I’m gonna call one of my regulars and tell them we need to test this thing out. I’ll give you a progress report when I’m done.”
His response was a slow, easy smile. “You bet. If you find you need me to reinforce it for you, I’m happy to do that.”
There was a knowing in the way his mouth quirked up at the corner that fired off a warning flare. I brushed it off because he knew nothing about me, and I was probably overthinking it.
Right?
Seemingly unaware of my internal conflict, Kess pulled me into another half hug, his large hand gripping my hip as he kissed my temple.
“I’m glad you like it.”
I leaned against his body, just a little. “I love it. Love it so much.”
I wish I could show you exactly how much I love it.
16
KESS
“Morning, Rowdy,”I said, holding up the snack box I’d made for the ride over.
Rowdy scratched his temple. “What are you doing here?”
“You’re going into town today for the youth group, right?”
“Yeah...”
He probably wondered how I knew about his schedule. Skylar had been surprisingly helpful on that front, and Rowdy’s confusion amused me. He’d been good at masking the truth, but I was going to dismantle every single one of his prevarications, brick by brick if I had to.
“Perfect. Thought I’d join you.”
“Well, uh...I’ve also got a few errands to run after.”
“Cool. I’ll ride along,” I said, rounding his little truck and letting myself in on the passenger side before he could protest.
Rowdy slowly got into the truck and put his hands on the wheel, then looked over at me. He opened his mouth as to say something, then closed it.
“So, is Jaxon going to be at this youth group thing?”
He bit at his lower lip, uncertainty in his eyes. “I hope so.”
“Has he been skipping it?”
“No, Jaxon’s almost always there. But he’s been changing a lot over the last few weeks, and I’m not sure what to think quite yet.”
If I had to guess, giving over this information—the mere act of letting me in on these details—was more uncomfortable for Rowdy than landing in a patch of stinging nettle.
