Page 22 of Frankie (Big Northwest #5)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

JD

H is parents had the worst fucking timing.

“I can’t believe you told him to stay away from me.” Frankie advanced on his dad, her eyes taking on a hint of the glow that signaled things were about to get real out of hand.

“Calm down.” JD stepped in front of his dad, blocking Frankie’s path, hoping to distract her before things went too far.

Before his dad had a new reason to tell him to stay away from her.

While he knew about all the secrets the sisters kept, his parents were mostly in the dark. They knew only what the rest of the general public did. That their father was an egomaniac who wanted to spread his genetics far and wide. That the sisters grew up in a way no child should have to. That they proved how resilient they were by opening up Shadow Pine and turning it into one of the most visited destinations in the Pacific Northwest.

“It’s okay, son.” His father stepped to his side, facing Frankie’s wrath head on. “Let her talk.”

JD looked between his father and Frankie. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea right now.”

“It’ll be fine.” His dad gave him a pat on the back, but his eyes were trained on Frankie. “She has some things she needs to get out.”

Frankie seemed to cool down a little, the brightness within her irises flickering out. Her chin lifted, eyes narrowing. “Why did you tell JD to stay away from me?”

“Because you two were too young and you’d been through too much.” He met her glare unflinchingly. “You were so naive and so fragile and I didn’t want you to get hurt.” His eyes flicked to JD. “Especially by my own son.”

“I wasn’t fragile,” Frankie snarled. “No one gets through the things I got through if they’re fragile.”

His dad took a deep breath, his big shoulders lifting and falling. “Fair enough.” He pressed his lips together, hesitating a second before saying, “But you weren’t the only one I was protecting.” He turned his attention to JD. “Part of me was worried you wouldn’t be the one who ended up with a broken heart.” His eyes went back to Frankie. “And I’m not sure he could have handled it. ”

Frankie snorted. “JD would have been fine.”

His dad studied her for a second. “You sure about that?” His voice quieted. “He’s taken care of you for years. Unfailingly watched over you. Put his life on hold anytime you needed him.” One bushy brow lifted. “Does that sound like a man who’d be fine if he lost you?”

Frankie’s eyes left Ronald’s and came to rest on his face, moving over it like she was seeing him for the first time. “By that argument, he would suffer as much by not having me.”

“Correct.” His dad didn’t argue. He laid out the full truth of what JD’d been doing for the past decade—suffering.

Wishing like hell things could be different. That he could have what he wanted without proving he was like everyone else who put themselves and what they wanted before Frankie and her sisters.

He would never do that to her. Never put his happiness in front of hers.

“Obviously he got over it.” Frankie spoke to his father but looked only at him.

“An animal will only suffer so long before it chews its own leg off to get free.” His dad’s expression carried a hint of a smile but zero surprise. Like he expected this moment. And was happy it was finally here.

“Is that what you feel like you’re doing?” Frankie’s voice was barely a whisper as she stepped closer. “Chewing off your leg—sacrificing your integrity—to be with me?”

JD shook his head as he gripped Frankie by the front of her T-shirt to pull her close. “My integrity is just fine, Frank.” That was the part about his father’s words he hadn’t considered when he’d made that promise years ago. He didn’t want to use Frankie. Never had. Never would. The promise was only to make him careful, not cage him in. Instead of seeing that, his dumb ass had locked the door and thrown away the key “A man can be after two things, remember?”

Frankie’s lips hinted at a smile. “Only two?”

“Definitely more than two.” His hands slid down to cup her ass, pulling her body into his.

A throat cleared beside them.

Frankie shot his dad a glare. “I’m still mad at you, Ronald.”

His father grinned, unaffected by Frankie’s scowl. “What if I offer to take you out to dinner? Your choice.”

Frankie pursed her lips, eyes narrowing. “My choice?”

“And all the alcohol you can drink.” His mother piped up. “I have a feeling I’m going to need it.”

“I can’t believe he didn’t tell your mom.” Frankie’s words were slow and mumbly from where her face rested against his shoulder.

“If my mom knew, she would have kicked his ass and then explained what he was getting at to me, which would have gone against what he was trying to achieve. ”

JD hefted her up a little higher on his front, juggling Frankie’s weight and the keys in his hand as he fumbled to unlock the front door.

“I know.” Frankie yawned and smashed her face closer to his neck. “But then I wouldn’t have run through a whole line of fuckboys and you wouldn’t have almost made Lena your girlfriend.”

He didn’t miss the way she said the other woman’s name. “You do realize I’ve had girlfriends, right?” He finally managed to get the deadbolt open and carried Frankie over the threshold, kicking the door closed behind them. “I haven’t been a fucking monk this whole time.”

“Gross. Don’t tell me that.” Frankie yawned again as she tried to fight the effects of stress and chardonnay. “I’d rather think you slept around.”

His brows lifted in surprise. “That would have been better?”

“Of course it would have been better.” She grunted a little as he deposited her on the bed, her upper half dropping back to the mattress. “Fucking is just fucking. A relationship is a whole thing.”

JD went to work untying her high-top Chucks. “Are you going to claim you haven’t had a relationship this whole time?”

Frankie’s nose wrinkled. “Eww. No.” She blinked slowly, lids heavy. “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free? ”

He snorted, amused. “Didn’t expect to get called a cow tonight.”

Frankie yawned again as he let her first shoe fall to the floor and went to work on the second. “Your milk was nowhere near free.”

“Gotta play hard to get.” He tugged off the high-top then peeled away her sock. “Make sure you really want it.” Once her shoes and socks were gone, he unfastened her jeans. “Ass up.”

“Ugh.” Frankie dug both heels into the bed and angled her hips. “So needy.”

“Says the woman I just carried inside because she can’t walk in a straight line.” He knew about halfway through dinner this was where they’d end up. Frankie took full advantage of his dad’s offer and the opportunity to forget all her troubles for a little.

And it turns out, drunk Frankie is a whole lot like sober Frankie, just less coordinated and more sleepy.

“I can’t walk in a straight line because my body is fucking stupid.” A little of the loopy snarkiness bled from her voice. “I don’t want to be sick.”

“I know.” He worked the covers under her body then tucked her in. “Hopefully the specialist’s office will call you to schedule an appointment soon so we can figure out what we’re dealing with.”

Her heavy-lidded gaze found his face. “They already called.” She pressed her lips together, working them from side to side. “Five times.”

He probably shouldn’t be surprised. Frankie didn’t like dealing with shit she didn’t want to face. Things like Carl and her hurt feelings about Sam moving and whatever was causing the issues with her body. “You’ve gotta call them back, Frank. This isn’t going away.”

She sniffed, her bleary eyes moving away. “I know.” Her lids closed, like she wanted to hide from all the shit weighing down on her. “It’s fucking stupid.”

“Not gonna argue that.” He turned, going into the bathroom to collect her night bonnet. Coming back, he sat on the edge of the bed and carefully worked it over her hair. “But we’ll handle it.”

Frankie’s eyes stayed on his face. “What if we can’t?” For the first time in all the years he’d known her, Frankie seemed small. Fragile.

He hated seeing her like that. Luckily, he knew how to bring her back to herself. “Then you’re lucky I’m used to carrying heavy shit around.”

Frankie’s mouth dropped open. “Heavy shit?”

He grinned, leaning over to press a kiss to her forehead. “Go to sleep, Frank.”

She frowned. “You aren’t coming to bed?” She dragged one hand down the center of his chest, tracking a clear path toward his dick. “We could pick up where we were when your parents interrupted. ”

He caught her wrist, stopping her trajectory. “Not happening.” Lifting her hand to his mouth, he ran his lips over her knuckles. “Not when you’re shit-faced.”

They had a hell of a lot of time to make up for, but not when she was like this. He wanted her sober and capable of remembering everything that happened between them.

“Ugh.” Frankie yanked her hand away. “Fine.” She snuggled down under the blankets a little more. “I’m going to sleep thhhh—” A snore replaced the rest as she passed out cold.

He chuckled, shaking his head as he adjusted the covers. The smile was still on his face as he showered and took care of the girls. It lingered while he climbed under the covers, pulling Frankie close as he closed his eyes, letting the steady sound of her snores lull him to sleep.

“Shut the fuck up.”

He jolted upright at Frankie’s whisper yell and the screeching noise accompanying it, his sleep clouded brain struggling to make sense of what was happening.

Frankie’s side of the bed was empty, but still carried a hint of warmth from her body, so she hadn’t been up long.

Just long enough to have the smoke alarm going off.

“Oh my God . Stop being so damned dramatic.” She was louder now, hissing at the piercing scream .

He rounded the corner and found her standing on a chair, aggressively waving a stack of junk mail in front of the smoke alarm at the end of the hall near the living room. The first hint of smoke tickled his nose as he walked close to where she flailed around. Crossing both arms over his chest, he grinned up at her. “Morning.”

“Shut up,” she yelled over the sound, continuing to flap around like she was trying to take flight.

The mechanical screaming cut off abruptly, blanketing the house in silence. Frankie blew out a loud breath. “Holy shit.” Her arms dropped to her sides. “That’s what I get for trying to be nice.”

“Setting the smoke alarm off at five-thirty in the morning was you being nice?” He gripped Frankie by the waist, pulling her off the chair and gently setting her on the floor. “I’d hate to see you being mean.”

“Let’s be real.” She gave him a lopsided smile. “You’ve probably seen me being mean more than anyone else in the world.”

“Fair point.” He hooked one hand under the railed back of the chair she’d dragged in from the dining area. “Tell me about this niceness you attempted.”

Frankie sighed again as she followed behind him. “I was trying to make you breakfast. You’ve been taking care of me and I thought…” Her voice drifted off before finishing the explanation .

“You thought you had to take care of me too.” He deposited the chair in its place and went to the kitchen, finding one of his skillets coated with burnt-on eggs. It smelled awful and looked even worse. The crusty char was going to be a nightmare to get off the stainless-steel pan.

“I didn’t think I had to take care of you.” Her eyes moved over his frame. “It’s pretty clear you’re more than capable of feeding yourself.” She lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “I figured I could pull my own weight for once.”

Frankie was independent as hell. Always had been. She was the sister who made the most money because she never wanted to be beholden to anyone for anything. Growing up like she did made her think relying on others was a weakness they would exploit. One they would use to manipulate and control.

It didn’t shock him she was trying to find ways to even out the playing field between them. It was something she needed to do to feel secure. To feel safe.

And all he’d ever wanted was for her to feel safe.

“What if, instead of trying to burn my house down too, you show me how to fix this beard you hate so much and then I’ll make us some breakfast.” It was a fair compromise from his perspective. One that wouldn’t put any additional strain on Frankie’s body or her mind, but would let her feel like she was giving and not just taking.

But Frankie didn’t look happy with his offer. Her lips pressed into a frown. “I don’t hate your beard.” She reached out to toy with the hairs on his face. “I actually really like it.” The light touch of her fingers moved to trace a line across his cheek. “I just think it would look nice if it was cleaned up a little.” Her lips pursed into a thoughtful line. “And hydrated, so it was softer and shinier.” She continued petting him, her fingers so gentle they almost tickled.

“What do we need to do all that?”

He’d planned to order some beard stuff, but everything had gone to shit and he’d been so busy taking care of her that he’d forgotten about taking care of himself. Not that grooming was something he’d ever spent much time on. But she seemed pretty focused on it, so he figured he’d give it a shot.

Frankie’s face lit up. “I have everything we need.” Her hand gripped his tight and she tugged him down the hall. “Can I cut your hair too?”

“Sure.” He didn’t hesitate. The hair on his face wasn’t the only bit he didn’t give a shit about. If she fucked it up, he’d shave it off and start over.

Except, with how excited she sounded about it, maybe he shouldn’t agree quite so easily. Maybe he could use it as a bargaining chip to make sure Frankie did what had to be done. “But only if you make an appointment with the specialist.”

Her head snapped his way, eyes narrowing. “That’s a dick move.”

He shrugged. “Take it or leave it.”

“Ugh.” Frankie groaned. “Fine. I’ll make an appointment.” She pointed at him. “But I get to do whatever I want to your hair.”

“Deal.” He’d do anything to keep her safe and healthy and happy. Even if it meant sporting a mohawk. Or worse…

Hair gel.