“Here. Hide.” I toss a blanket on top of her and go crack the front door open. It’s fucking freezing, and the air feels like it’s about to snow and there’s Jad standing on my porch.
“Afternoon, Jad. This is a really bad time. A little occupied at the moment.”
He can only see my face and about half of my shoulder, but he still looks me up and down. He makes a face. “I thought she was just visiting.”
“Jad. Please.”
“There’s a tree down over at our place and my chainsaw is busted. I need to borrow yours.”
I’m tempted to chuck the keys to my shed at Jad’s head, but he helped raise me and he knows I was raised with better manners than that. He’s also a man of the mountain who’s almost my size. I’ve never tested him before, but I’m not sure he can’t take me.
“One second.” I try to close the door, but he walks right in. “Christ, Jad.”
“Oh I’ve seen your bare ass before, boy. Hurry up.” It’s not my ass I’m worried about. It’s my half deflated cock and the condom I’m still wearing. And the naked woman on my couch.
I grab my pants off the floor and dig up my shirt. I do something I’ve never wanted to do and pull the condom off and shove it in my pocket. It takes me a second to find my keys on the table, then stomp into my boots. “Come on. It’s out in the shed.”
He follows me outside, but I catch him trying to look around me to get a glimpse of the couch.
“Did you really come by for the chainsaw?” I ask once we’re outside.
“I did, you smartass. Unlike my wife, I don’t need to pry into your business. You’ve got a lady in there, you got a lady in there. It’s good. Glad your pecker’s working and I was little worried you’d gone insane after the thing with Sarah.”
“Don’t need to talk about her, Jad. It’s been a while, but I’m fine.”
“Yeah. That’s what Egil used to say.”
I unlock the shed door and grab my chainsaw off the shelf.
“Thank you.” Jad reaches for it, but I shake my head.
“I got it.” We walk down the driveway and I set it in the bed of his truck. “Hold on to that as long as you want.”
“I’m gonna replace mine next week. Just needed something in a hurry.” He turns to me with his hands on his hips. “Bring her on by tonight. May-Bell’s cooking. Like always. You two come by.”
“Alrighty.”
“People love you, Shepard. I know it’s a hardship. We just want to meet the womanyoulove.”
“Whoa. Who said anything about that?”
Jad’s eyebrow goes up. “Just like Egil. Dinner’s at seven. We’ll see you then.”
Jad gets in his truck and I stand there and wait until he’s back down the drive and headed on his way. I squeeze my eyes shut for a second before I head back inside. Claudia is sitting up on the couch wrapped in the blanket when I walk through the door.
“Is the coast clear?” she asks.
“Yeah, he’s gone.”
“Great.” She stands and tosses the blanket off. “Where were we?”
I laugh a little at the huge smile on her face. “Give me a second. Conversations with Jad are a bit of a boner killer.”
Her expression drops. “What did he say?”
“Nothing. He just invited us over for dinner tonight.”
“Oh.” She sounds about as excited as I am. “Are we going?”
