“Wyoming?” She says the words as though she hates the taste they make in her mouth. “Why would you go to Wyoming? You were born and raised here. Your whole family is here. You have a gorgeous lot of land, on what, twenty acres? You can’t just leave.”
For a second, I let myself believe she doesn’t want me to go because she secretly feels the same way I do, though I doubt that’s the truth.
“Your dad and I have been talking about expanding, but the only way to do that effectively is to have another branch office in a new location. We were going to search for another general manager, but I think me going out there makes the most sense. I know the business far better than some random asshole, and,” I shrug, knowing the biggest reason I’m leaving has nothing to do with the business, “it just makes sense.”
“Yeah, okay.” She stares toward me, her pretty pink lips parted. “That’s cool, but Wyoming is like six hours away if the weather is good. We’d never see you.” There’s an ache in her tone, though it’s subtle, and she washes it away quickly. “I mean, you’d be missed here. So many people in town love you. Like two days ago, Mrs. Robinson was telling me how sweet you were to go fix her siding last minute.”
“One of the other guys could step in and help out more,” a pang hits my chest in a weird sort of way as I stare at Kit, “and it might not be forever. It’ll just be for the next five years or—”
“Five years? You’re going to be gone for five years, Duke?” She twists back toward the cabinet and pulls down a mug of her own, pouring a cup of coffee.
“I thought you didn’t drink caffeine this late?”
“I don’t, but now I know I’ll be up all night convincing you to stay.”
“Why is it so important that I stay?” I regret the question the second it slips from my mouth.
“I don’t know.” She shrugs. “Why is it so weird that I like having you around?”
Her words hit me with a reassurance that sends far too much dopamine to my brain, and I know for sure now, without a doubt, tonight is going to be trouble.
Chapter Three
Kit
The wind has picked up, and though the shutters are hammering off the side of the house, I no longer hear them over the blood pulsing in my ears. I’m not sure if my response is reasonable or not.
I mean, sure, I have an irrational crush on the man, but there’s also the part where he’s been in my life for as long as I can remember. I mean, after Mom died, Duke filled in a lot of the empty spaces. Consoling me, caring for me, helping me with random dirtbag boyfriends and college projects. Heck, he was the one that recommended me for the job at Mountainside Elementary. He knew Principal Hayes from a cabin remodel he did for him. I don’t know for sure, but if I were betting, I’d say Duke had something to do with the fact that the school offered me a job my first year out of college. We have a small school, so there aren’t many jobs that come up, especially in the elementary department.
The idea of him leaving hits me hard. Duke leaving means everyday life would change significantly. No more random run-ins in town. No more Sunday dinners with him at Dad’s house after fishing. No more late-night conversations over coffee in the middle of a snowstorm when he’s supposed to be here to fix my shutters.
Granted, this is the first time this has ever happened, but I was hoping it wouldn’t be the last.
“You seriously need to rethink this,” I say, pouring an ungodly amount of sugar into my coffee. “I mean, on one hand, five years is essentially forever. On the other, it’s not long enough that you should sell your family property.”
“Yeah, but pop culture has everyone wanting a life in the mountains. Right now, I could sell the place for nearly a million dollars. That would set me up nicely in Wyoming. Besides, I need to branch out and meet new people. I’ve been on the mountain for too damn long. All the women know what a dick I am by now.” He laughs as though it’s a joke, but his words drive a spike through my chest, and I want to vomit.
“So, this is about you getting a date?” I roll my eyes, and I’m sure my voice changes because I feel it changing as I say, “Men are all the same. Sell off your whole life, and everything in it, for some pussy.”
“Whoa!” He holds up his hands. His big, calloused, rough hands. The hands I want all over me. “This isn’t about that. It’s about starting fresh, Kitten.”
Kitten.My heart swells. Most people call me Katherine or Kit, but Duke has called me‘Kitten’for as long as I can remember. I always assumed it had something to do with my obsession with cats and the fact that Kit is so close to kitten, though maybe the reasoning is different in his mind.
“Why do you want to start fresh so badly? This is your home.” I’m trying not to sound strained, but I do, so I clean it up. “I mean, you’re like family. What will Dad and I do without you? Who’ll break up our nonsensical arguments over the best donuts in town? You can’t go.”
He brushes his hand down over his beard and glances at me before grabbing another cookie from the jar. “Josie’s bakeryhas the best donuts in town. Your dad is wrong about that. I’d just be a phone call away to defend you.”
Apparently, any thought I had that he was into me is not true. If it were, he wouldn’t be leaving town.
“A phone call and a six-hour drive, right?”
He tips back his coffee cup to get the very bottom bit, and I feel this overwhelming urge to climb into his arms, offer to have all his babies, and care for his little cabin house in the woods. If pussy is what he’s leaving Rugged Mountain in search of… I’ve got fresh, brand-new pussy right here.
It all makes sense except for the part where he’s nearly twenty years older and my dad’s best friend.
I take another sip of the hot, steaming liquid, hoping to disappear behind the mug as I let filthy thoughts invade my mind. The two of us, locked away by feet of snow, cabin fever, open minds, boredom taking over, our hands having nowhere to go but on each other, moaning his name, bucking against his lap, taking liberties with the time as we fuck over and over again.
I wonder what he sounds like when he’s coming, when he’s thrusting, when he’s taking someone for the first time.
