Oh, sweet Jesus.
4
TUCKER
MY LEGis fucking killing me. The physical therapist pushed hard today. I told Kinley not to pull over when we saw the woman standing in front of her car on the side of the road.
Her exact words were, “Take the fucking stick out of your ass, Tuck, I’m not leaving a woman stranded on the side of the road. Especially at night.” She even punctuated it with a huff and cursed under her breath about men being self-centered assholes sometimes.
In my previous life, the one before the bomb that upended everything, I would have steered the truck to the side of the road myself. Then, I would have flirted with the beautiful redhead to see how far things would go.
But now, I’m in too much pain, and I don’t have the energy or the desire.
It’s no use arguing with my sister, though, she’s going to do what she wants, all the while giving me the middle finger if I give her too much pushback. There was a time when our behavior was so similar that we almost mirrored each other.
When she turned the truck off, she grabbed my arm before I reached for the door handle. “Let me get out first and put her at ease before your grumpy ass walks back there. I want to help her, not scare the shit out of her.”
Proof that there is some hospitality left in me, however small it is, I sat in the truck and waited for Kinley to walk back there. All the while, I watched our surroundings like a hawk to make sure there was no danger to my sister and unborn nephew.
When I tell the woman nicely that she stupidly drove all her fucking coolant out of her car while ignoring the engine light, I feel the shift in atmosphere. I can sense fear like it’s a living, breathing thing coming from the woman standing next to Kinley.
Fear is an emotion I’m familiar with. I’ve watched it drain from the eyes of dying teammates, and I’ve felt it myself when I thought they were going to cut my leg off.
Becoming hyper-alert, I straighten to protect my sister if it’s needed, looking around the area for a threat. Only the woman is staring at my waist with wide eyes, and fear is in every line of her face.
Kinley steps between me and her, her hands up. “It’s okay, Tucker was in the military, he always carries a gun.”
The woman’s smooth pale skin practically glows in the dark, and I wonder if she’s gone pale from fear, or if her skin is always milky white like that. A long, thick red braid hangs down her front to her curvy waist, the baggy cream-colored sweater hanging off one shoulder accentuates the curve of her hips from her waist.
If I didn’t hate my life so much, I would be trying to pick her up right now.
Her eyes move over Kinley’s shoulder to look at me before she looks at Kinley again. She takes a step back like I’m some kind of threat, like I’m going to shoot her or something. Anger washes over me, and I want to give her a piece of my mind.
The woman swallows, her delicate throat moves with the action before she clears it. “Does he need a gun?”
Narrowing my eyes at her, I cross my arms over my chest. Of course, I’m going to keep my gun on me on the side of the goddamn highway at night.
“How would I know you’re not a threat to my pregnant sister when she stepped out of the truck trying to be nice? Against my better judgment. It goes both ways, lady. Not to mention possible bobcats or coyotes.” My tone is sharper than I intended, but for fuck’s sake, I’m not in the mood for this tonight.
Kinley waves her hand, snapping her knuckles on my chest to stop me from talking. “Don’t mind him, he’s just being cautious. It’s true, though, it’s good to be careful at night when the coyotes are out looking for food.”
Her eyes dart around us, looking out into the dark like something might jump out at her. She’s definitely not from around here. If not a little overly jumpy. Another sharp pain travels up my leg to my hip, and all I want to do is go home so I can soak in bath salts with a strong fucking drink and go to bed.
I don’t have time for this judgmental bullshit. It’s not my fault or my problem that she thinks I’m a threat to her. She’s the one in a dangerous position on the side of the road at night, unprotected. That ignorance is all on her.
“Whatever.” I grumble and wave my hand toward the motor under the hood. “Look, lady, this car isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, you’ve got some major repairs ahead of you. Do you want a ride or not? I want to get home.”
Kinley slowly turns her head to glare at me over her shoulder and then turns back to the beauty in front of us. “We can drop you somewhere, where would you like to go?”
She cautiously looks away from me to answer Kinley. “Is there a nice hotel close? The gas station clerk said Claremore would be my best bet, but I don’t know how far away I am.”
“Yes, I know just the place. My friend owns a cute little bed-and-breakfast in town, we can drop you there. Do you need help getting anything from your car?”
Fuck me. Now I have to carry shit.
An unintentional growl rattles my chest, only because I’m in so much pain right now I could win a fight with a bear. When both sets of eyes look at me like I’m an asshole, I feel like shit, but not enough to apologize.
Kinley narrows her eyes at me and glares like she could pummel me and slowly turns around again. But when I look at the woman, she seems to fold in on herself a bit. She’s obviously scared and probably feels totally alone, and I’m making it worse like a giant asshole. So, I look away and keep my mouth shut.
