Page 9 of Frankie (Big Northwest #5)

CHAPTER NINE

FRANKIE

“ I wish we could’ve come out here yesterday.” Frankie frowned up at the sky as a light mist of rain worked its way down through the trees. “Everything’s too wet now.” Any prints were long gone and all she could smell was the damp forest floor.

“At least we figured out where they were.” JD scanned the area outside the property line of the land she and her sisters owned. “If they’d been out here through the day, I’d say it was probably the owners.”

“But they weren’t out during the day.” She adjusted the hood of the raincoat JD insisted she wear, moving the edge so it would prevent the rain from hitting her face. “They were out at midnight.”

“There’s no sign they set up camp anywhere.” JD seemed unbothered by the rain. As if the moisture leaching into his cotton shirt wasn’t making it cling to his body like a second skin.

It had to be uncomfortable as hell for him. It sure as shit was for her.

She’d had years of practice suppressing her attraction to JD. It should be as natural as breathing at this point. But to be fair, breathing wasn’t so easy right now either.

He’d been big and solid even as a teenager— was a linebacker for his high school’s football team. But now? Now the man was like a fucking wall of muscle. Broad shoulders and biceps that made even Phillip Foster’s suit-busting muscles seem unimpressive.

Looking past all that strength was doable when it was covered in a layer of flannel, but not when that same flannel was plastered into every little nook and cranny.

“Frank?”

JD’s voice snapped her attention away from where the hard buds of his nipples poked at the well-worn fabric, taunting her. She glued her eyes to his face and snapped, “What?”

The wall of clinging flannel moved closer, along with the infuriating man wearing it. “Kenneth was asking if you had any idea how many of them there were out here.”

She turned away, trying to clear her brain. “I heard at least two voices, but they were too far away for me to make out what they were saying or to see if there were any more. ”

JD studied her a little too closely before saying, “I think we should go back. Get her out of the rain.”

Kenneth nodded. “Good idea. Just in case it’s the flu that’s got her all achy.”

A pang of guilt twisted her gut as she let JD and Kenneth lead her through the trees to where they’d parked the side-by-side. Keeping the results of her trip to the hospital yesterday a secret was the best plan. There was no reason to tell anyone anything when she didn’t know for sure what was wrong yet anyway. But she still felt oddly bad about it. Especially with Kenneth out here suffering in the rain and Jeffrey bringing her bags of food.

But it’s not like Kenneth and Jeffrey were the only ones she was keeping out of the loop. She was an equal opportunity liar. None of her sisters knew anything either. They’d just worry and be all up her ass about it.

No fucking thanks.

She took the passenger seat next to Kenneth, while JD climbed into the back. In the time it took Kenneth to drive them back to her house, the rain had picked up and was falling steadily from the sky. Heavy enough most of her logging teams would have to quit for the day—now she’d have to deal with that on top of everything else.

Kenneth parked and JD got out, sticking close enough to offer a hand as she pulled herself upright. The bulk of the pain was now gone, and the odd feeling from before had morphed into more of a mild achiness, so she was able to walk unassisted to her front door. She gave Kenneth a wave as he pulled away while JD punched in the code to unlock the door. Like they always did, her dogs jumped up and danced around, barking their heads off even though they knew damn well it was her.

And she was definitely the one they were barking at. They danced around her ankles while all but ignoring JD, all three of them acting like he wasn’t even there.

Too bad she wasn’t able to do the same. Especially with that fucking shirt.

He needed to get out of her house and out of her head.

“You should go home and change clothes before you catch the plague or something.” Frankie motioned in the direction of his truck keys. “Maybe call Lena and see how she’s doing.”

Why couldn’t she let that drop? Continuing to be snarky about the woman JD was eventually hoping to date offered transparency she didn’t want. JD finding out she still struggled with her feelings for him couldn’t happen. He could never know how much she fought herself when it came to him.

He needed to get out of her face and go back to his life so she could move on with hers.

“I think I’ll stay another night.” JD’s long fingers went to the topmost fastened button of his shirt and flicked it free. “I brought a few changes of clothes, just in case.”

Frankie shook her head but was unable to peel her eyes away from him. “Absolutely not.” She pointed to the floor, where her feet were stably secured to it. “I’m fine now. I can walk. I’m not in any pain. I don’t need you here.”

“I don’t remember asking.” JD stepped closer, his hazel eyes locked on hers. “And we both know how stubborn and full of shit you are when you don’t feel good, so you might as well get used to me being here. Because I’m not leaving until I decide you don’t need me.”

Frankie narrowed her eyes at him. “You are such an ass.”

JD continued closing in, bringing his broad, wet chest within inches of her. “Never claimed I wasn’t.”

The man had always been infuriating. Always known exactly how to push her buttons. At one time she thought it was flirting. A little game they played together. Now she knew better.

Now she knew he was just genuinely a dick. And it made her want to knock him down a peg.

“Fine. If you don’t think I should be alone, then I’ll call someone else to come be with me.” She lifted one finger and tapped her chin, eyes moving to one side as she pretended to think. “I wonder if Phillip Foster is free...”

JD’s nostrils flared as he closed the remainder of the gap between them. “Go ahead and call him. See what happens.”

She angled a brow at him. “Is that a threat or a dare?”

“That’s a promise.”

Frankie smirked up at him. “Still making promises, huh?” She lifted her chin higher as she tried to push up onto her toes and failed. “You should probably stop, because your promises don’t mean shit.”

She was goading him the same way he was goading her. Shoving back at his pain points, hoping to inflict as much damage as possible. And it looked like that last swing connected.

“Is that what you really think?” JD’s voice was low and lethal. “That I don’t keep my promises?” He leaned down until they were almost nose to nose. “Because I gave up everything to keep my promises, Frank.”

She snorted. “Right.” The tip of her nose now touched the tip of his. “What exactly did you lose because of all those pretty promises you made?” The man had a good job, a nice camper, plus all the flannel money could buy. That was all because of her and her sisters, and the place he held in their lives. When he promised to take care of her—of them—he also essentially secured his own livelihood. Not that he knew it at the time.

JD wasn’t using them, but shit worked out as well for him as it had for them.

His jaw clenched tight as he stared her down, looking as pissed as she’d ever seen him. Finally he straightened away. “It doesn’t fucking matter.”

Turning on the heel of one boot, he stomped across the room to the door. After yanking it open, he barely paused. “I’ll be back. Don’t hurt yourself while I’m gone. ”

“You don’t have to worry about—” The slam of the door behind him cut off her words. “Asshole,” Frankie mumbled.

Who in the hell did JD think he was? Some sort of fucking martyr? A long-suffering saint she should fawn all over for being so self-sacrificing?

Not fucking happening. She didn’t fawn over any man. No matter how good he looked in soaking wet flannel.

Speaking of soaking wet.

One hand went to her hair. Even without a mirror, she could tell her curls had seen better days. So, since she was feeling steadier on her feet, Frankie went into the bathroom to take a shower. She’d considered making JD help her get one earlier—to punish him a little more—but if she kept getting naked around him he might get the wrong idea and think she didn’t hate his guts.

It took a little longer than normal, but eventually, she was safely scrubbed and moisturized and carefully winding the coils on her head into place when someone knocked on her door.

“What the fuck?” He picked now to start knocking again? Like he hadn’t inserted himself all the way into her life already? The ass probably wanted to make her walk through the house, thinking she couldn’t do it and would be forced to admit he was right.

Wrong. She’d cut off a limb to avoid proving any man right.

Keeping one hand out to grab anything that might help her stay balanced, Frankie waddled through the living room. Without bothering to check the peephole, she flung the door wide, letting out a squeak of surprise when it wasn’t the man she expected standing on the other side.

She gripped the gaping neckline of her robe, holding the two sides together so Carl, one of her main foremen, didn’t get an eyeful of her tits. “What are you doing here?”

Carl flashed her a smile as he held up a bag. “I brought you some of my daughter’s famous cheesecake.” His slightly graying brows pinched together in concern as he took her in. “And I came to see how you were doing. The guys were worried when you didn’t come in again today.”

Frankie stifled the urge to roll her eyes. Men were even more dramatic than women. “I’ve taken two days off, Carl.” She backed up, motioning for him to come in. “I’m fine. Just had a little bit of a muscle strain that I needed to give some time to heal.” She eyed the bag in her foreman’s hand. “Unless your daughter is planning to make more cheesecake. Then I might be dying.”

Carl was a decent enough guy. Always ready to jump in to get shit done and always there when she needed someone. Did he maybe think that meant he should get certain liberties within the company? Sure, but everyone had an angle, so she didn’t hold it against him.

And he loved the shit out of his daughter and treated her like a princess, so the man couldn’t be all bad.

“I’m sure I could convince her to make another one for you.” Carl set the bag onto the small dining table. The motion must have surprised her dogs, because they suddenly came to life, springing from their beds like they were a decade younger than they were to viciously race toward the older man. Beezy clamped onto the lace of his boot, yanking it furiously as she continued growling. Devi and Ori circled him, snapping their tiny jaws, ready to do minute amounts of damage if given the opportunity.

“For fuck’s sake, girls.” Frankie gritted her teeth and leaned forward, managing to scoop all three of them up without causing herself too much discomfort. “Let me put them away. I’ll be right back.” Putting all her focus into walking normally, she carried the tiny terrors into their room, plopping them onto the cluster of beds in the center of the floor before closing them in.

Carl was chuckling when she came back, shaking his head in amusement. “Those little dogs sure are full of piss and vinegar aren’t they?”

“Probably why we get along so well.” Frankie readjusted her robe, making sure she was well covered. “I was about to start making calls to see how long you guys made it out there today.”

“We made it as long as we could, but when things started to get slick I called it.” Carl rocked back on his heels. “Went ahead and called it for the other teams too. Figured I’d take care of it so you didn’t have to.”

Frankie took a deep breath before pointing out a fact she’d repeated way too many times. “We’ve talked about this, Carl. The other teams have their own foremen. All you have to worry about is your own team.”

Maybe it was his age, or maybe he just liked being the occasional pain in her ass, but Carl really worked hard at stepping over the lines she put out for him. Not far. Just enough to be annoying. He probably even thought he was helping her, but power was a finicky thing, and she’d learned long ago how important it was to hang onto every bit you possessed.

“I know.” Carl scuffed the toe of one boot against the floor. “I hated the thought of you worrying about that with everything else you’ve got going on.”

“I have a muscle strain, Carl. It’s not a big deal, so don’t worry about me.” She gave him a smile, knowing it probably wasn’t sweet, but that was likely for the best. “You worry about your team. Keep them safe and on time.”

He smiled back, the expression genuine. “That I can do.”

“Fantastic.” She turned to the bag on the table. “You wanna have some cheesecake with m?—”

Her front door flung open so hard it bounced off the wall. An even more soaking wet JD stood in the opening, his dark gaze leveled on Carl. “Who the fuck are you?”

“Are you kidding me right now?” Frankie scoffed, one fist resting on her hip as she glared at the man who did way more than step across lines.

He freaking obliterated them .

Rain dripped from JD’s beard and his chest lifted on heaving breaths. Like he’d sprinted across town to get there. JD wasn’t a beast like Tate, but right now he almost looked like one, and the feral glint in his eyes sent Carl back a step.

Rolling her own eyes, Frankie gestured at her foreman. “This is Carl. He works for me.” Waving a hand at the sopping wet man in the doorway, she said, “That’s JD. He works for my sister and he’s a pain in my ass.”