Page 1 of Starting Over with You (Beer League Belles #2)

Dean

Twenty years ago…

“But, Dean! We need you!”

I swear all of them yell the same thing because they know I can’t say no.

Or better yet, I can’t say no to a certain person.

Now, I’m an hour from home, picking up my drunk sister and her two best friends from some field frat party.

Why in God’s name did they think it was a good idea to bring Kenni out here?

She doesn’t even turn eighteen until Sunday.

She shouldn’t be anywhere near this kind of stuff.

She should be getting ready to leave for college.

Not getting blackout drunk with her two boneheaded best friends.

And I shouldn’t be picking them up. I should be letting them sleep in the field. Serves them right…but now that I know Kenni is here, there is no way I can leave her. While I’ve known Kenni and Missy my whole life, I don’t have the need to protect Missy.

No. That need is only for Kenni.

Thankful for my size, I make my way through the many bodies that are dancing and copping feels of each other.

The scents of sweat, stale beer, awful vodka, and really bad skunk weed assault me as I move through the people.

The night is bright with stars and the moon is full, but I can’t make out faces.

Not when I’m looking solely for the three girls who drive me up a damn wall.

Since I’m the younger brother, shouldn’t my sister be the one to take care of me?

I don’t know why, but I’ve been the one catering to her.

Each time I say it’s the last time, I know I’m only fooling myself.

I almost feel like Sadie knows I’ve got a thing for Kenni Colburn and that as long as she’s with them, I’ll do whatever they want.

I’m a fool, for sure.

It takes me longer than it should to find them, mostly because they didn’t tell me the right spot. No surprise there. They’re all drunk out of their minds and probably think they’re in Disney World instead of a ratty-ass field party.

When I find them, though, the sight before me has me wishing I were anywhere but here.

Sadie and Missy are wearing bright-orange bikini tops with short jean shorts and matching UT boots.

On top of someone’s jacked-up truck, they are shaking their asses to the bass of “Dance” by Big Sean.

Guys are throwing dollars at my sister and her friend—and shit, is that a twenty stuck to Sadie’s ass?

Fuck me.

I am seeing entirely too much of my sister and her best friend, so I look away, on the prowl for the third part of Shenanigans Inc. I started calling the trio that after a week of pure mayhem caused by only the three of them. They’ve run with the name, making shirts and living up to the title.

Just my plan…not.

I scan my eyes over the crowd, looking for Kenni, but I hear her before I see her .

“You can kick rocks, motherfucker.”

I look up to the sky for patience, but when I glance over at where she is, my mouth goes dry.

Kenni Colburn is a fucking looker. She is stunning with her dark black hair up in a high pony, while her bright blue eyes shine even in the dark.

Her big bubble butt is hanging out the back of her jean shorts, and her full breasts are barely contained in a bit of Wisconsin burgundy-colored fabric.

Unlike our sisters, she’s going to the University of Wisconsin, and she’s dressed to impress.

I’m surprised she isn’t covering her belly; she can be a bit self-conscious about it, which is beyond me since I have spent many a night wishing I could nuzzle it, but maybe she isn’t thinking of it now.

Because her finger is in some guy’s chest, her face red with rage and tears in her eyes.

Fucking great.

Before I can reach her, she swings her arm that is holding her white cowgirl boots that have a big T on them for Tennessee—no matter where she’s going to college, she’s a Tennessee girl through and through—connecting with his face before he falls to the ground.

Dust flies up from where he lands since I found them not in the field where they told me they’d be, but in the baseball field parking lot that’s more by the main road and farther than I’d like from my truck.

It’d take nothing for the cops to show up and break up this party, but just like the girls, everyone is drunk and thinking they’re invincible.

These girls are going to be the death of me.

I’m closing the distance between us as the guy jumps to his feet, calling her names his momma would be ashamed of. He goes to grab her, but I’m there, looking down at him with my shoulders back and ready to fight. “Back the fuck up.”

The guy laughs. His orange polo is all wrinkled, covered with dirt and beer as he sways toward me. “Move, dude. That bitch is mine.”

“Watch your mouth before I make it bleed.”

A couple of guys ooh and laugh around us as polo guy bristles.

He looks me up and down. Surely he doesn’t think he can take me.

I’m over 6’4”, I’m pushing two hundred pounds, and my thighs are the size of his head.

Just in case, though, I dig my Ariat boots into the dirt for leverage and send up a prayer to my granddad, who bought me these boots, not to let them let me down.

“That’s right. He’ll make you bleed with no problem at all.” Kenni leans over my shoulder, waving her arm in the air at him. I give her a side-eye to tell her to shut up, but she’s pissed. “Teach you to keep your opinions of a woman’s body to yourself!”

My jaw ticks. “What the fuck did you say?”

The guy laughs, tipping his chin to her. “Told her to cover her fat ass up.”

My body catches fire with rage. This isn’t the first time someone has said that to Kenni, and it really pisses me off when they do. Yeah, she’s thick, but that doesn’t define her. She’s gorgeous inside and out. She’s fucking batshit, but she’s one of the best people I know.

“Move so I can teach this cow a lesson.” He sways toward me again, and I push him back.

“Don’t talk to her like that,” I demand, pushing my chest into his. “And then you can go fuck yourself,” I say as I reach back to make sure that Kenni is there.

My hand connects with her full hip, and I exhale as I nod. Good girl. I watch his movements, ready to push her farther back to kick his ass, but before anyone can do anything, the space fills with red and blue lights and some idiot screaming, “Sooooooooooieeeeeeeeee!”

Then it’s pure pandemonium.

Everyone is moving, hollering, and the cops are yelling something, but my main concern is Kenni.

I turn quickly, pulling her to me as people start to scramble.

Her body presses flush to mine as I place my palm in the middle of her shoulders to keep her near me.

Knowing her, she’ll take off, and I can’t lose her.

I’m looking for Sadie and Missy when Kenni takes my hand in hers.

Her skin is so soft, while my hands are rough with calluses from playing hockey.

Her blue eyes lock on mine, and she flashes me a grin that means nothing but trouble. “We gotta run! ”

“What? No. We need to find Sadie and Missy.”

“They already ran. We gotta go!”

Before I can even comprehend what she’s saying, she’s yanking me with her.

I hold on to her as we haul ass through the tall grass and into the corn field that I hadn’t even noticed.

With the hand that isn’t holding hers, I hold on to my trusty black cowboy hat to keep it from leaving my head.

It was my granddad’s, and there is no way I’m losing it.

My grandma gave it to me when he passed.

The leaves on the corn stalks smack into us as we run like our asses are on fire.

When I realize we’re running away from my truck, I curse loudly.

“Kenni, my truck is that way!”

She’s still running, my hand tightly in hers. If we weren’t running from the cops and I weren’t concerned that her dad, who is the sheriff in our small town, was going to kill me if we got caught, I could enjoy her hand in mine and the jiggle of her ass as she runs. Instead, I’m sweating bullets.

We can’t get caught.

Kenni’s ponytail whips behind her as she turns to look at me with a blinding grin that is so full of excitement, it leaves me breathless. “Missy’s car is on the other side of this field. We’ll get it and wait till everyone clears out to go get your truck.”

I feel a little better until we reach the end of the field, and Missy’s car isn’t there. I let out another curse as Kenni looks up at me with an apologetic smile. “I think they got here first.”

“Fuck,” I exclaim as I look around to figure out where to go. I pull out my phone to call them when a spotlight shines right on us.

“Put your hands up! You run, I’ll tase your asses.”

Once more, I curse under my breath as my shoulders drop. The cop means business, the authority is all in his voice, but when I look at Kenni while I raise my arms, instead of seeing fear, I see she’s grinning. “We can outrun him.”

I gawk at her and wait for her to raise her hands. “Kenni, put your hands up. I’m not getting tased. That shit hurts.”

She shrugs like it’s no damn big deal. “I’m telling you, we can get away.”

“Don’t think about it, sweetheart,” the cop calls out, his equipment jangling as he closes the distance to us. He’s holding his Taser out toward us, and I give Kenni a pointed look.

“Put your hands up.” She waves me off, and I moan more to myself than anything. “Your daddy is going to kill me.”

Kenni rolls her eyes. “He won’t even find out.”

“Kenleigh Colburn, is that you?”

Fuck. My. Life.

Kenni grimaces as she looks back at me with a gleam in her big blues.

I swear if she weren’t the girl of my dreams, I’d throttle her.

She flutters her lashes before giving the cop her best church-girl pose.

She positions her arms in front of her body, making a steeple with her hands before angling her head to the side all shyly.

With her voice sweet as sugar, she says, “It is. You must know my daddy.”