Page 8 of Frankie (Big Northwest #5)

CHAPTER EIGHT

JD

“ S hit, fuck, son of a bitch.” Frankie’s ranting might have been done in a whisper, but the sound of her body hitting the floor was more than loud enough to wake him.

JD reached her bedroom as she was pulling herself up using the footboard. “I told you to yell for me if you needed to get up.” He crouched down, carefully lifting her to her feet.

Frankie smacked at his hands even though if he let her go, she’d likely go down again like a sack of potatoes. “I don’t need your help. You shouldn’t even still be here.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re never going to stop cutting off your nose to spite your own face, are you?” He could guess what woke her, and angled Frankie toward the hall.

“You’re the only one I’m trying to spite here.” Frankie scowled at him even though she was leaning heavily into his grip.

“By all means, keep at it. See where it gets you.” He glanced into her room. “That bed is more than big enough for both of us.”

“You are absolutely not sleeping in my fucking bed.” Frankie gripped the sink as they reached the bathroom. “It’s bad enough having you sleep on my couch.”

As soon as she was positioned in front of the toilet, Frankie shoved at his chest. “Get out.”

Again, JD chuckled as he went out into the hall, leaving the door open a small crack just in case. Frankie was the smallest of the sisters, but she was by far the rottenest. Always had been. Had a mouth that ran like a faucet and an attitude that would send most people running.

Not him. Both traits had impressed him from the beginning. Knowing what she came from, it was a wonder how Frankie turned out the way she did.

Her father had done his damnedest to teach his daughters to be meek and mild and subservient. And while none of them was meek or mild or subservient, Frankie was the one least afraid to throw it in every face that turned her way.

Especially his. And damned if he didn’t fucking love it.

He waited until he heard the sound of the sink switching on, then peeked in to check on her progress.

Frankie lifted a brow, mouth working around her toothbrush as she asked, “Nosy much? ”

“Making sure your dumb ass didn’t fall and bust her head open.” He grabbed his own toothbrush from where he’d left it on the side of the sink the night before. After squeezing on a line of paste, he went to work scrubbing his own teeth.

The moment was odd. Odd in how not strange it felt.

Any time he’d spent the night with a woman, the next morning was always awkward and a little uncomfortable. Like no one knew how to act. Granted, those moments were also generally their first interactions after fucking for the first time, but still. Given where he and Frankie were only a few days ago, this morning should be as uncomfortable as it got.

But the way Frankie rolled her eyes when he stepped in beside her felt as natural as the gentle jab of her elbow against his ribs as he encroached on her space.

After rinsing the toothpaste foam down the sink and wiping off his mouth, he backed away, but only enough to have the leverage required to help Frankie maneuver out into the hall. He assumed she’d want to go to her room, but Frankie fought his aid as she attempted to go the opposite direction. “I have work to do.”

“I thought you took a couple days off?” Even with the heavier pain medicine the hospital prescribed her, Frankie was still not moving around well. “There’s no way you can?—”

“Fucking relax.” She hobbled toward the office, keeping him within reach by holding onto the T-shirt he slept in. “I’m not stupid enough to try to go climb a tree right now if that’s what you’re thinking.” Her grip on the back of his shirt tightened as she tipped a little to one side. “I need to make sure my teams are all where they’re supposed to be and that the foremen know what’s going on.”

For a few years, Frankie’s business was what kept the sisters afloat. It was what provided the funding to establish all the Shadow Pine businesses that were now flourishing. But even though the bakery and café—and even Danny’s specialty work restoring aging taxidermied museum pieces—were carrying their own, Frankie’s logging business still brought in a substantial amount of income. Income they needed if they wanted to continue expanding their empire.

JD gripped her elbows and carefully lowered Frankie into the chair behind her desk, getting her as comfortable as possible before leaving her to make calls. Going into the small kitchen, he loaded up the coffee maker and set it to brew. Then he rifled through the contents of her refrigerator, fishing out two of the breakfast burritos Jeffrey brought over the day before, along with the container of fried potatoes. He went to work heating them up. Once everything was ready, he took Frankie’s portion into the office. She was on the phone, dishing out orders to whoever was on the other end of the line as he settled the plate in front of her. After placing a cup of coffee next to it, he lifted his brows in question.

Frankie frowned at the plate. “Carl, I’m gonna need you to hang on.” Pulling the cell away from her ear, she turned to him. “Why did you bring me breakfast?”

“Because you need to eat.” He pointed to the dose of her morning anti-inflammatories where he set them next to the overstuffed tortilla. “You can’t take those on an empty stomach.”

Frankie appeared befuddled at his explanation. Her brows stayed pinched together, jaw slightly unhinged as she stared at him like he’d grown three heads. “I...” Her eyes dropped to the plate, confusion still pinching her brow. “Thanks, I guess?”

JD pressed his lips together, smothering the laugh attempting to break free. Not a single one of the Karlson sisters knew how to be taken care of. They all fought it tooth and nail. At first, it confused the hell out of him. Why wouldn’t someone want to be taken care of? Especially after the life they’d had.

Like wondering over the bonnet Frankie wore on her head, he’d been curious, so he Googled it. Turns out hyper independence was a trauma response.

And Frankie had certainly seen her fair share of trauma.

After growing up with no one to rely on but themselves, not a single one of the sisters had any clue how to accept assistance when it did come. In fact, they railed against it. So Frankie’s thanks—perplexed as it was—was unexpected.

“You’re welcome.” He reached out to boop her on the nose, knowing it would irritate her back to her normal self. “Yell if you need anything.” He shrugged. “Or even if you don’t. I know how much you love to yell. ”

Frankie’s expression immediately shifted to aggravation. “Kiss my ass.”

JD backed toward the door, lifting his brows. “Is that an offer?” He was pressing his luck with her, but it’s not like she could jump up from the chair and come at him.

And if she did…

He gave himself a mental shake, trying to knock free the lurid thoughts trying to creep in. No way would he let himself think of her that way. Especially not now. When she was just starting to let him back in.

Frankie’s head tipped to the side. “Ha, ha.” She flipped him off before turning back to her phone and picking up the burrito from the plate, taking a huge bite as she resumed her earlier conversation.

He left her to it, eating his own breakfast then cleaning the kitchen before dressing and firing a text off to Danny, letting her know he wouldn’t be able to help with the shop again today. Now that she had Craig, his presence wasn’t as important as it had been when it was just him and her running the place. It afforded him the rare opportunity to take a day off when he wanted. His absence could still raise eyebrows and questions since nothing happened in Shadow Pine without Kenneth knowing, but at least the sisters were all too busy to pay too much attention to what was going on between him and Frankie.

Not that there was anything going on with them. He’d made promises he intended to keep. One to his father. One to Frankie.

Even though she didn’t know it and probably never would.

He was brewing up a second pot of coffee when the expected knock came on the door. Flipping the dish towel he used to wipe his hands over one shoulder, he opened the door, greeting Kenneth with a smirk. “You’re late.”

The older man was an early riser and JD expected he’d want to get out into the woods at dawn so they could figure out what went wrong with the trap two nights ago.

Kenneth looked past him into the house. “I needed an extra cup of coffee before coming to deal with the two of you.” His gaze came to JD, looking him over. “I’m actually surprised she hasn’t killed you yet.”

“Yet is probably the key word.” JD held the door and stepped back, letting Kenneth into Frankie’s house. His brows lifted when the girls stirred from their beds, feral sounding growls coming from each one as they circled Kenneth’s ankles.

Kenneth sighed. “Are we really gonna do this again?” He shook his head as the tiny gremlins snapped and snarled. “I thought they’d eventually at least tolerate me.”

“ Girls .” JD snapped his fingers and pointed at the beds they’d abandoned. “Go lay down.”

The trio danced around a second longer, but eventually made their way back to their lounging spot, ears flat as they continued to growl at Kenneth.

“Actually, I think I’m more surprised they haven’t killed you.” Kenneth chuckled. “Those little things are vicious.”

“Don’t give my girls shit,” Frankie yelled from the office. “They can’t help it. They had to be mean to survive.”

That was probably why Frankie loved the little monsters so much. She understood them. Had come from a similar sort of hell herself.

“Give us a minute. We’ll meet you outside.” He grabbed a few miniature dog treats from the decorative glass container Frankie kept them in and gave one to each of the pups before going in to collect Frankie from her office.

Frankie faced him, her expression tight. “Is he gone?” she whispered.

“He’s outside.” JD held out both hands, offering support as she stood. “I held him off yesterday, but he’s champing at the bit to get out there and see what’s going on.”

Kenneth knew better than maybe anyone what could happen when bad people formed dangerous plans, so the possibility that there might be someone else out there hoping to find a way to exploit Frankie and her sisters wasn’t anything he’d let go.

“You think you can handle walking through the woods?” He stayed close as they went to her room, hovering as she picked out a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.

“I don’t want anyone knowing yet.” Frankie winced as she peeled away the sweats she’d slept in. “I can’t deal with their drama on top of everything else.”

Drama was probably the wrong word for the concern and worry that would be directed her way, but he got how it might feel dramatic. Frankie was fine with certain kinds of attention, but the empathetic variety had always bothered her. It made her feel smothered. Overwhelmed. Weak.

And she hated feeling weak almost as much as she hated him.

“Sit.” He motioned to the bed as he grabbed her favorite pair of dark green Chucks from the closet.

Frankie flopped onto the mattress, watching him with a wary gaze as he knelt in front of her and tugged her shoes into place. “Thanks.”

“No thanks necessary.” He tied the second set of laces before standing, helping her up along with him. “Now, if I can manage to keep Kenneth distracted enough he doesn’t notice you look like a drunken sailor, then you can thank me.”

JD looped one arm at her waist, offering the last bit of full support he could before Frankie had to tough it out on her own. “Let’s get this show on the road.” It was time to go see if they could figure out who was out in the woods.

And time to see if Frankie could still fake her way through being fine.