Page 14 of Starting Over with You (Beer League Belles #2)

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

Kenni

My mouth is dry, my head is pounding, and I’m pretty sure I threw out my shoulder when I whipped my arm around my head a little too hard to “Unbelievable” by EMF.

But my heart is full.

Especially when I open my eyes to a pair of bright blue ones that belong to my sweet niece.

Her eyes are such a gorgeous sky blue that makes her name even more special.

When I felt someone get into bed with me, a bed I don’t know how I ended up in, it jarred me awake.

I was about to complain before I realized who was next to me.

While I had kids before Missy, and my heart belongs to my boys, there is something insanely special about the bond between an aunt and her niece.

I was there when Skyye was born, I cried all over her as I held her so close to my heart and prayed to God to give her all her hopes and dreams. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t talk to her, by text or FaceTime.

I love this girl, and I know she loves me .

She reaches out, moving a piece of hair out of my eyes. “You look like roadkill.”

I scoff, stretching out as I groan. Yeah, I messed up my shoulder. “I’m sure I look like I’ve been ridden hard and put up wet.”

Skyye snorts at that as I roll back to my side to gaze at her.

She’s so, so stunning, and it kills me that she isn’t a baby anymore.

Skyye is her daddy made over, with the shape of his eyes but the color of Missy’s and mine.

Her hair is dark this month, her natural color that matches Dean’s dark brown.

It curls along her temples like his does.

She changes her hair more than she changes her underwear, but her parents don’t care.

I love that. Let the girl be expressive.

Just like Dean, she has the cherubic cheeks that made him look like a baby when we were younger.

Now, though… Jesus, he is all man.

I wasn’t expecting him to look so fucking sexy.

I’m pretty sure Dean Moore came out of his momma and was named the most gorgeous baby in all of Tennessee. But the man I saw last night?

Those tight cargo pants?

His even tighter bright-red firefighting shirt?

The boots?

The crinkles along his eyes?

The stache?

I mean, hot damn, I couldn’t get a warning?

It’s totally unfair how good-looking he is. It should be illegal, honestly. Especially with his being the fire chief. He’s more than likely out there setting fire to all the women’s undies in Thistlebrook.

I know mine were seared the moment I met his gaze.

I’m instantly embarrassed by the heat that gathers in my core while lying in bed with his child. I close my eyes and moan loudly. “Just kill me dead.”

Skyye snorts. “No way. You’re my favorite aunt.”

I peek at her through hooded eyes. “You probably say the same to Sadie. ”

She beams. “Never.”

“Liar,” I accuse as she giggles softly. She sits up and hands me two pills with a bottle of water.

Once I take it, she hands me a latte from Noelle’s Nibbles.

My eyes widen with excitement before I take a sip of the magical caffeine that only Noelle can make.

When we were younger, she’d have me over to try all her little creations.

Her dad was amazing, always bought her the best coffee and made her different syrups himself.

I was jealous of how much her daddy loved her and went out of his way for her since mine didn’t do that.

Reminds me, I need to go see her. But first, I need more of this coffee. “God bless you.”

“Dad brought it over for you,” she tells me with a little smirk. “He also brought you some ibuprofen, since we only have Tylenol, and a bear claw.”

I swallow the sip I just took, and my heart starts to race.

Tylenol has never sat right in my belly, and Dean knows that.

There isn’t a moment I have when Dean wasn’t taking care of us.

It’s wild to me because he’s younger than his sister; he should be spoiled rotten, but that’s not Dean.

He has always looked out for us and cared for us.

Case in point, the coffee I’m sucking down, wishing it were an IV instead.

“Your dad is a good egg.”

“The best,” she agrees, lying back down as I lean on my elbow, still nursing my coffee. “I texted the boys for you. They know you were out late.”

I pat her cheek. “You’re a good egg too, my sweet Skyye.”

She beams as she leans into my hand. “Did you have fun last night?”

I swallow hard as the reminder of the amount of Fireball I inhaled comes back at full force. I grimace. “I did. Drank entirely too much.”

Skyye’s eyes dance with mischief. “Mom is currently facedown in her bed, also begging for death.”

“What? How disgraceful. She’s giving SI a bad name. ”

We snicker together as I take another sip of my coffee. “That’s what Dad said.”

I’m taken back to the moment I wrapped my body around his.

I really shouldn’t be flinging myself off bars like that, but I was so excited to see him.

When those blue eyes met mine, I realized how greatly I’d missed him.

His quick smiles, his steadiness. When my body wrapped around his, I got that sense of home.

Safety.

I ignore the voice telling me I also enjoyed the feel of my body wrapped around his a little too much.

Nothing good can come from that voice.

I’m newly divorced, and Dean is my best friend’s brother and my sister’s baby daddy.

Not that he sees me as anything more.

I blow out a breath as I shake my head. “Has anyone spoken to Sadie?”

Skyye grins. “She took the kids to day camp and went to work, unlike you two bums. Her words, not mine.”

Sounds like Sadie. Before I can laugh or even agree, Skyye’s phone sounds. She brings it up, then snorts. She shows me her text, and I’m grinning just as wide.

Dad

What did one wall say to the other wall? “I’ll meet you at the corner.”

Dad

Love you, miss you, mean it.

I look over at her, and she shrugs. “He tells me dad jokes every day. He was in a rush to get back to the firehouse when he dropped off y’all’s coffees.”

I don’t know why I’m surprised by how great of a dad Dean is. My childhood is a testament to his caring nature. “I swear, there is nothing wrong with your dad.” She shrugs, and I bring in my brows. “What?”

“He’s lonely.”

“Lonely?” I ask with a laugh. “He can have anyone he wiggles that stache at. ”

Skyye wheezes with laughter, and I cuddle into her. She meets my gaze, sadness filling her features. “But he hasn’t had anyone.”

I frown, but before I can comment, I hear movement in the kitchen before the voice of a man I assume is my sister’s husband. “Why did he bring you coffee?”

Skyye rolls her eyes as she turns to her back, looking out the door.

I glance over, and sure enough, I can see into the kitchen where my sister is leaning across the counter, holding her coffee and her head.

Nyle stands above her, irritation all over his face as he reaches out his hand to where she is nursing her coffee.

Nyle has always been a decent-looking guy, like the kind you trust until he’s slimy and grabs your ass.

I have never seen Dean lose his shit like he did the day Nyle grabbed Sadie’s butt.

He beat the snot out of the dude, and now he’s married to Missy.

Messy with a capital M.

“Because he knew I’d need it,” she mumbles. “I don’t know why it matters.”

“Because it’s my job to get you coffee!”

I bring in my brows, and I’m about to yell at him for yelling at my sister, when Missy moans, “Please, Nyle. Don’t yell.”

“Is this how it’s going to be now that Kenni is here? You’re going to be getting shit-faced, and your ex is going to be bringing you coffee?”

Skyye rolls her eyes as she shakes her head.

I don’t like the look on her face, and I definitely don’t like what Nyle is implying.

Missy is quick, though, and gives him a dirty look.

“We celebrated my sister coming home. And Dean is not my ex. He’s my baby daddy.

Stop this. I don’t have the mental capacity to soothe your insecurities. I’m married to you. I love you. Stop.”

Nyle lets out a long breath and takes a step forward, wrapping his arms around my sister. I look at Skyye, and she shrugs. “This happens a lot.”

I make a face. “Why?”

“I don’t know. It’s dumb. She obvi loves him.”

She points back to where Nyle kisses Missy’s temple and nuzzles his nose in her hair.

He whispers something into her ear, and she smiles before leaning into him.

I love seeing my sister happy, but his jealousy needs to stop.

Missy is loyal, and if she loves him, then she loves him.

I don’t see it, but who am I to judge? I stayed with a man for six years who had a whole other family.

Skyye leans into me, and I wrap my arms around her after setting my coffee on the nightstand. She cuddles into me, and I hold her close as I inhale her sweet scent. Against her temple, I ask, “How’s it been with him here?”

She shrugs. “Same old, same old.”

I feel her heart racing a bit, and I hold her tighter. “He isn’t treating?—”

“No, never,” she insists. “He’s good to me, even if he’d rather I weren’t here. He has some deep-rooted issues with my dad.”

I grimace. “Well, your dad did beat his ass.”

Skyye snorts. “I know, but they were kids, ya know?”

“Yeah, but small-town living—no one ever forgets.”

“True,” she agrees. “Dad doesn’t care, though. He only wants Mom to be happy.”

I smile against her hair because that sounds just like the guy I grew up with.

If Nyle looked past his jealousy, he’d see that Dean does everything for everyone.

I mean, he’s a damn firefighter, for goodness’ sake.

He’s a good guy. I think it was his grandma who made him that way.

He spent so much time with her, she doted on him, and she raised him to be a gentleman.

Once his mom passed when we were ten, I think he felt like he had to take on her role as the caregiver since his daddy worked just as much as mine did.

Dean is selfless and only wants the best for the people he cares about.

He has one hell of a savior complex, and, by helping people, it fills his cup.

What’s wrong with that?

I take a sharp breath when I remember that I puked in his hat.

The same hat his grandma gave him .

I groan loudly into Skyye’s hair and then ask, “Can you Google how to get puke out of a cowboy hat?”

I’m met with Skyye’s loud laughter as the bed vibrates, and she holds her gut. I can’t help it. Even with my pounding head, I’m laughing along with her.

God, it’s great to be home.

Now, let’s hope I can get puke out of Dean’s cowboy hat.