Page 13 of Frankie (Big Northwest #5)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

FRANKIE

“ T here you are.” Charlie came right at her, arms outstretched to grab her in a tight hug.

“Here I am.” Frankie gave her sister a pat on the back, waiting out the show of affection.

“I was about to come over and make sure you were okay.” Charlie leaned back, brows pinching in concern as she looked Frankie over. “You are okay, right?”

“I’m fine.” She managed a smile even though she was the farthest from fine she’d ever been.

And that was saying a lot.

Charlie let out a relieved sounding sigh. “I knew you were. I knew Jeffrey was all wound up for nothing.” She leaned back but still held Frankie by the shoulders. “Thank goodness it’s been so busy or he would have been up your ass. ”

Frankie’s nose wrinkled all on its own. “Gross.”

“I figured that’s how you’d feel about it.” She reached out to organize a few of the curls layered on the side of Frankie’s head. “I hoped if you needed something you’d call me.” Her eyes slid to Frankie’s, holding for a second. “But Jeffrey did mention you already had someone helping you.”

She’d been ready for this. Her sisters were going to blow JD being at her house way out of proportion, so she had to nip it in the bud right out of the gate. “Helping isn’t the word I would use.” She wiped both hands down the front of her jeans, trying to dry the sudden sweating of her palms. “He was just the first one to check the security system.”

That was the truth. Some of it.

“Figures.” Charlie’s nostrils flared. “Has he been an ass to you? You want me to rub one of my cats all over the inside of his truck so his allergies go wild?”

Those were two very good questions.

And she didn’t get to answer either of them.

“It’s go-time girls.” Kenneth came to round them up, moving her and Charlie to the corner where they would spend the next hour chatting with the women who made the pilgrimage to Shadow Pine, offering up smiles, hugs, and selfies. It was still so strange to her that so many people came from all corners of the country to see her. Like she was something more than a bitchy lumberjill with a bad attitude and a chip on her shoulder .

Probably both shoulders. And a hip, based on the issues she was having.

She let him herd her through the room, gritting her teeth as she fought to smile in spite of the dull ache that seemed to sink deeper into her bones each day. These people went to a lot of effort to get here. They deserved to have her at her best.

Or at least her mediocre.

Danny, Sam, and Alex were already in place, heads tucked together as they quietly discussed something. She leaned into Charlie’s ear. “I’m surprised you’re not over there with them.” She couldn’t hold back the snarky comment, which didn’t bode well for how the next hour would play out.

Charlie snorted. “You’re hilarious.” She linked one arm through Frankie’s. “It’s been so weird here without you. They want to talk about boring shit.” Her eyes snapped to Frankie’s. “That reminds me. I wanted to ask you something.” Her big blue eyes scanned the area around them. “Do I need to use lube if I stick my finger in Adam’s butt?”

Frankie started to choke, coughing against the saliva she’d accidentally aspirated.

Charlie turned to her, eyes wide in concern. “Oh no. Are you okay?”

Frankie nodded, coughing once more to clear her airway. “Fine,” she croaked out. It was less of a lie now than the last time she claimed it. “Just swallowed wrong.”

She leaned a little heavier on Charlie, offering up an appreciative smile. Leave it to her younger sister to offer a much-needed distraction. “Yes, you wanna use lube.” She lifted Charlie’s hand between them. “And trim at least one of your nails.”

“At least.” Charlie slowly smiled, understanding sparking in her eyes. “Maybe I’ll trim two.”

“I’d wait to see if he’s a good enough boy to deserve two.” She flashed her sister a grin. “And make sure you want to keep him, because you’ll never get rid of him afterward.”

Charlie cackled like a maniac. As if she’d just learned the secret to the universe and planned to use it for evil.

Well, she kinda had.

“I don’t know what you two are talking about, but it’s time to get started.” Kenneth held up one hand when Charlie started to speak, cutting her off. “I don’t want to know what you were talking about, either.”

Frankie pressed her lips together, flattening out the smile holding at the memory of the last time Kenneth accidentally found his way into one of their conversations. He’d blushed every time their paths crossed for the next week.

As they reached the corner, Frankie was surprised to see four stools set in the partitioned-off area that kept people from rushing them.

“Figured you girls might like having a place to sit when you were up here.” JD was suddenly very close, his flannel-clad chest crowding her space as he lined a fifth stool into place. “No reason for you to stand the whole time.”

“That’s a really good idea.” Charlie perched her ass on the edge of one. It was tall enough she’d still be eye-level with most people and wouldn’t have to get up for hugs or photos. She gave JD a wide smile. “You are a brilliant man.”

A brilliant man with a hog between his thighs. One that kept working its way into her mind. Like some sort of one-eyed, brain-boring worm determined to make her wonder if he was a grower or a shower.

Because if he was a grower…

“You’re staring, Frank.” JD’s smug words snapped her attention from the front of his jeans to his smirking face.

“Sorry. I must still be traumatized by all the overgrowth I had to witness this morning.” She tried to sound snippy, but the breathlessness of the words stole their sting.

“You didn’t witness all the growth.” He leaned close, dropping his voice so only she could hear him. “Trust me.” Then he walked away, leaving her with her mouth hanging open.

And even more unholy thoughts about the one-eyed boxer monster residing in his well-worn blue jeans.

The fucking nerve of that man.

Frankie kept her eyes on him, narrowing them to a glare as she shuffled back to perch on the stool next to Charlie. JD stopped to stand beside Tate, leaning against the wall with both arms across his chest as they started letting women through. He flashed her a grin and she flipped him off, cutting the gesture short as the first woman in line came straight at her, bouncing in excitement.

For the next hour, she forced smiles and laughs, ignoring both the pain in her hip and the pain in her ass. One of them was decidedly less annoying, and it wasn’t the one watching her like a hawk.

Once the meet-and-greet was over, Frankie let out a long breath, gearing up to get to her feet in front of her sisters, knowing she couldn’t show any sign of the struggle she was facing or they’d be up her ass and driving her crazy.

“Here.” JD appeared out of nowhere with an iced coffee, passing it off while wedging his big body between her and her sisters like a blockade. “You ready to get up?” His question was low and soft.

She nodded, glancing to make sure no one was watching, grateful JD was big enough to effectively protect her from any prying eyes.

“I got you, Frank.” JD gently took her arm, offering support as she pushed to her feet, wincing at the twinge in her hip. “Hold this.” He passed off the beverage. “Now take a drink while you get steady.”

To anyone who might be able to see her, it looked like she was simply thirsty after an hour of talking. Just seeking a caffeine hit to perk her up instead of taking time to get steady on her feet.

Once she sucked down about a quarter of the creamy, sweet drink, JD lifted his brows in question. “You good? ”

“I think so.” She took a tentative step forward, managing to keep her gait smooth and wobble free.

JD tipped his head toward the door. “This way.”

He stayed in front of and to the side of her—not so close anyone would question why they were walking together, but near enough to grab onto if she needed him.

Once they were outside, she let out a breath and offered him a sidelong glance. “Thank you for the stools.”

“They were the best I could do on short notice, but I ordered a set with cushions and backs that’ll be delivered two days from now.” He scanned the area around them before gently taking her by the elbow. “Let’s get you home.”

She nodded, doing her best to walk as normally as she could as they went back to her house. Once they were inside, she sagged, hating how her body no longer felt like her own. “This is such bullshit.”

“It is.” JD helped her to the sofa then grabbed the pain pills she’d forgotten to take before they left, passing the dose off. “We need to get better at remembering these.”

“No shit.” She popped the tablet and swallowed it down with a mouthful of the coffee he brought her. “Thank you.”

“Careful.” JD carried the pills back to their spot on her counter. “If you keep thanking me like that, people might think you don’t hate me as much as you let on.”

She slumped back against the couch before carefully working one foot up onto the coffee table. “When have I ever cared what people thought of me?”

JD roused her girls from where they slept on their beds, herding their small, arthritic bodies toward the back door as they raised tiny hell. “You know that’s one of my favorite things about you.” He let the trio out into the yard. “You’ve always done exactly what you want without giving a single shit what anyone else thought.”

That wasn’t true. Not by a long shot. “Not always.”

JD lifted a brow. “What is it you want to do that you haven’t done?”

She smiled sweetly at him. “I’ve wanted to punch you in the face a bunch of times, but I didn’t.”

“Sounds about right.” He came to stand in front of her, hands on his hips. “What now?”

She let her head fall back against the cushions. “I need to touch base with my foremen. Make sure everything’s going okay.”

A frown pinched her lips. Hopefully Carl hadn’t already taken it upon himself to handle that for her. She really didn’t want to have to fire him. He’d been with her from the beginning. Plus right now would be a terrible time to be down a foreman.

“And I’ve got some clients to call, deliveries to check on. I’ll probably be in my office all afternoon.”

Technically she could work from home exclusively. She paid well and ran a tight ship, so she kept a steady crew and could easily pick up additional help when she needed it. Plus, most of her foremen had been with her for years, so they knew how to do their jobs and didn’t need her breathing down their necks to keep them in line.

But she liked being out in the field with them. Loved the physicality of the work. Loved the look on their faces when they realized she was as strong and capable as they were.

Maybe more.

The burn of tears bit at her eyes again at the reminder of what she might have lost, and she fought them back. Crying never solved anything. All it did was ruin your eyeliner and make people think they could fuck with you. JD bearing witness to her breakdown this morning had been a humiliating experience. One she’d expected to unfold a lot differently than it had.

Tears were something most people used as weapons, regardless of which side of them they were on. But JD hadn’t. He’d risked life and limb by reaching for her. Pulling her close. He’d held her without judgment or malice.

And it was turning into quite the mindfuck.

“Then I’m going to go see if Danny needs help at the shop.” His eyes moved over her, studying in a way that made her want to hide. “Call me if you need me.”

She opened her mouth, ready to say she wouldn’t need help—wouldn’t need him. But that would be a lie, and she might as well start getting acquainted with the truth, because it didn’t look like it would be going away any time soon. “Fine.”

JD tipped his head in a small nod. “Good girl. ”

She scowled, the tears from earlier long gone at those two words. “I’m not a fucking good girl .”

JD was undaunted by her biting retort. He grinned like he was actually amused. “Oh, I know.”