Page 24 of Starting Over with You (Beer League Belles #2)

CHAPTER

TWENTY-ONE

Dean

“I’m paying Skyye to keep the kids so Matt and I can go out for our anniversary.”

“Yeah, she told me. I would have kept the kids,” I offer as I turn off the main road onto a back road that runs by the mountains. I’m on call, but I needed the open air of the Smokies. I made sure dinner was done before I left for my drive in the firehouse SUV just to make sure my town is safe.

Or at least, that’s the excuse I’m using.

Truth is, I’m worried about Kenni.

“I want you to come,” Sadie insists. “It’s gonna be fun, the whole crew.”

Don’t ask about Kenni.

Don’t ask about Kenni.

Don’t ask about Kenni.

“Nyle too?”

She lets out a heavy sigh. “Yes. According to Missy, he’s excited he was invited. Not that I wanted to.”

I snort. “I figured.” I swallow hard and decide, what the hell. “Has Kenni said if things have gotten better?”

She groans loudly. “Not at all.” My fingers tighten around the steering wheel, my knuckles white.

There is only one person on my shit list—his name is Stratford Robbins—but damn if Nyle isn’t trying to climb up on to that list. “Kenni doesn’t feel comfortable there.

Like, not welcome. She’s been hanging with Skyye mostly, just to keep the peace. ”

Skyye told me the same. Kenni is even sleeping in Skyye’s room.

I’m not the least bit happy about that. Skyye is a kid, not supposed to deal with her stepdad being a dick to her aunt.

Like me, she won’t complain and will do anything to make sure that Kenni is comfortable.

“Have you mentioned her staying with me?”

I’m met with silence, and I instantly regret my question.

She makes a little giggle sound that I am well acquainted with.

She usually makes it before she says something I don’t want to hear or asks me something I don’t want to answer.

“I’m surprised she isn’t running to your house with how you were flirting with her. ”

Here we go.

Sometimes I wonder why I answer the phone when my sister calls.

“I wasn’t flirting.”

She chortles. Loudly. “You so were! All winks and smirks.” She giggles. “I think someone is crushing on Kenni.”

Crushing. Fuck, I’m obsessed .

Before I have to try to deny her claim, I’m slamming on my brakes when a person runs out in front of my SUV. I didn’t catch who it was, it’s too dark, but then I let out a long curse just as Sebastian Wilkins, Noelle Matthews, and fuck, Kenni run after the person I almost hit.

“Dean! Are you okay?”

“Let me call you back,” I say, hanging up on my sister before I’m out of the SUV and rushing around to follow everyone.

Seb is yelling for his dad, who is hauling ass.

Noelle is calling out more softly, while Kenni is trying to keep up.

I know I’m faster than all of them, so I put on the gas and close in on Big Seb as he heads toward the forest. I cut him off, and he goes still, his eyes wild and his face bright red.

I don’t have to ask to know he’s confused.

It’s all over his weathered face. Like me, Big Seb is a large man, terrifying, but I don’t stand down.

I throw my palms up and try to hold his gaze like I would a spooked horse.

Thank God for all those summers at my great-uncle’s ranch.

I swallow hard and ignore everyone calling my name as I take a step forward.

“Big Seb, it’s Dean Moo—” I don’t get my full name out before his fist connects with my mouth.

My head whips back as pain explodes in my mouth, but I hold my ground and take hold of his wrists.

The metallic taste of blood assaults me, but I hold him tight.

“Get the fuck away from me! They’re after me!”

Seb comes up behind his father and wraps him in a bear hug with a grunt. I continue to hold his wrists as I calmly say, “It’s okay, Big Seb. Breathe, buddy.” I’m trying, but he’s deep in an episode.

“Dad. Cut it out. I’m here. Breathe. No one is coming for you.” Seb’s voice is tight and rough, the emotion thick.

Noelle comes sliding between Big Seb and me before I can stop her. I try to say her name, but she’s already reaching for him, cupping his face. Tears are running down her cheeks, but she is fully focused on the old man.

“Noelle, get the fuck away from him,” Sebastian bites out, his brown eyes just as wild as his father’s. “What the fuck is your deal? This isn’t even your problem.”

“Everyone, calm down,” Kenni pleads, but no one listens to her.

Noelle moves in, rubbing her thumbs along Big Seb’s cheeks. She’s on her tippy-toes, her body vibrating as she whispers, “Big Seb, look at me.” He looks down at her, his nostrils flaring as he takes deep breaths. “It’s okay. Hey. Hey ,” she says with a wide smile. “There you are.”

I watch Big Seb’s eyes turn glassy as he looks down at Noelle, his chest still rising and falling quickly. “Noelle? Honey?”

“Hey,” she says again, pushing away my hands and then Sebastian’s. “It’s okay. I’m here. ”

She wraps her arms around him, and he hugs her close to him, his body trembling with emotion. I look away, my heart clenching in my chest as I wipe my mouth before wiping my hand on my pants.

A soft hand catches my wrist, and Kenni steps before me, her brows pulled in tight. “Dean, are you okay?”

I feel eyes move to me, but I wave her off. “I’m fine.”

“Dean?” Big Seb asks, and I flash him a wide grin.

“Hey, you okay?”

“Did I hit you?”

“Sure did, but don’t worry, I’m sure I deserved it for something I did when I was younger.”

Big Seb grins, shaking his head. “No, you weren’t the problem, but that sister of yours was.”

I grin. “I’ll take her lick, then.”

Seb grimaces. “I’m sorry?—”

“It’s fine,” I insist as my eyes fall on his son. Sebastian is looking anywhere but at where his father is clutching Noelle. Sebastian’s eyes are glassy, his posture stiff and totally standoffish. No kid likes seeing their parent struggle.

“Come on, Big Seb. Let’s go on in and get you settled with a Western,” Noelle suggests as she loops her arm through his.

Big Seb agrees, but Sebastian stops them. “I can take care of him.”

“I know,” Noelle says, her voice low and soft, like a little Christmas fairy. “But I want to help.”

Sebastian’s hands clench at his sides, but then we’re all moving toward the house. The silence is tense, but Noelle doesn’t stop reassuring Big Seb. I knew they had a good relationship, but I didn’t know they were this close. One thing is for sure, Sebastian is not a fan of their bond.

Kenni walks beside me, and I swear I can feel the heat off her body.

She’s breathing hard, her little pink tank barely covering her chest from where she was hauling ass after everyone.

I glance over at her because I forgot my gentleman card in my SUV and take in her sun-kissed skin and the curve of her beautiful breasts.

With a gruffness to my voice, I say, “Your boobs are about to fall out of your shirt.”

She lets out a little meep before fixing her top. “You looking?”

I flash her a grin, drinking her in from the top of her head to the tips of her sneakers. She has on a pair of cutoff shorts that have her long legs looking delectable, along with her trusty Keds. “Always.”

Her face heats with color as I force myself to look away.

I feel her gaze on me every few seconds, and it has me on edge.

I have to keep looking forward, or I’ll enjoy the way she’s looking at me a little too much.

If I’m wanting her to move in with me so I know she’s comfortable, I can’t go kissing her.

That would make things a little sticky and maybe make her not want to stay with me.

Or, she could like my kissing, move in to my house, and move right into my bed.

I’m literally bleeding from my mouth, yet I’m over here wanting Kenni in my bed.

I need help.

Or I need a hit of KenniLeigh Colburn.

When we reach my SUV that’s still running, Noelle looks back at us. She’s holding on to Big Seb despite the glares Sebastian is sending her. “Sorry to cut our visit short.”

Kenni waves her off. “No worries.”

Noelle wants to say more, but she only nods before looking at me. “Thanks, Dean.”

“Absolutely,” I say just as Sebastian shakes my hand. “Good seeing you, bud.”

“You too. Sorry about your mouth.”

I scoff, wiping it once more. “Hey, I’m impressed by how much of a punch he still packs.”

Sebastian laughs at that before rushing to catch up to Noelle and Big Seb. I go to ask Kenni where she parked, only to find her at the back of my SUV, opening the hatch.

“You can sit in the passenger seat. No need to sneak in my trunk again,” I call out, since she has done that before. I didn’t even know she and Missy were in the trunk until I pulled up to the campsite to meet my dad after he said they couldn’t go.

Kenni laughs as she comes back with a first aid kit. “No one can tell me where I can and can’t go anymore. I’m an adult.” She waggles her brows, and I laugh as she approaches me. “Sit.”

“I’m fine, KenniLeigh.”

She gives me a hard look, her little nose upturned at me. “Sit,” she demands once more, and I should be ashamed by how turned on her command makes me.

With a sigh, I sit down as she puts the case on my thighs and opens it.

She’s focused on the contents of the kit as I drink her in.

How her hair has fallen in sections from the big bun she has on the top of her head.

She must have gotten some sun today because her skin is pink along her shoulders, nose, and cheeks.

Her lips are bright red with gloss, and her lashes are thick and sooty.

She sinks her top teeth into her bottom lip, and I can’t help but wish I could watch my cock move between those thick lips.

God, she looks so fucking pretty.

I swallow as she meets my gaze and flashes me a megawatt grin. “All right, be still.”

Before she can wipe at my mouth, I ask, “What were you doing here?”

She gives me a dark look, reminding me to stay still, and then she wipes to clean the cut along my bottom lip.

It stings a bit, but it’s fine, especially when she blows on the sting.

Her breath is warm, and she smells like Christmas.

She must have had a latte of Noelle’s. “I had a meeting with Big Seb about the tree farm, and he was fine. Everything was good.”

“Yeah, it’s crazy how it comes on so fast.”

Her eyes are glossy as she nods. “I was meeting with Noelle. We were done, and I’d just put everything in the car when she suggested having a glass of wine. Then it all happened.”

I have to move to reduce the pressure in my pants. “It’s late to be having meetings. ”

“I didn’t want to go back to the house,” she says, her brows pulling in.

She moves to gather something else, and I grab her wrist. “Want me to kick his ass?”

Kenni snorts before laughter bubbles out of her. “No, it’s fine.”

It doesn’t seem fine to me. She squirts some antibiotic ointment on her finger before spreading it along my lip. I watch her face, the way she holds her lip between her teeth. Unable to help myself, I say, “Just come stay with me. You’d have the whole house to yourself about 50% of the time.”

Her eyes cut up to mine, the blue orbs glowing in the darkness. “You want me as a roommate, Dean?”

Roommate? Fuck no.

But damn if I don’t love the way she says my name.

“I want you to be comfortable,” I force myself to say.

It’s fucking killing me how badly I want her.

I shift again, and I wonder if she knows how deeply she affects me.

That she’s basically a siren and I’m the captain of a ship, ready to steer my boat right into the jagged rocks that surround her.

The desire in her eyes has me fighting the need to wrap my arms around her and smother her mouth with mine.

But then she says one word that has me about two seconds from doing a victory lap. “Okay.”

“Okay,” I breathe out as she looks back down at the first aid kit. She closes it up, her fingers brushing against my thighs and leaving me with one hell of a hard-on.

Thank God I’m sitting.

My voice is strained as I say, “I’ll get you a key made.”

She nods as she hands me the kit. I toss it to the seat, my eyes still on hers. “Thank you.”

“Always,” I say, looking up at her and loving how she towers over me like this. Her chest is rising and falling, her eyes dark and sultry.

“Dean?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you make me laugh? ”

My heart clenches in my chest as I reach out, taking her hips in my hands and bringing her in close. Not as close as I want, but enough so that she knows I’m here for her. She takes a sharp breath.

“What happened?”

Tears gather in her eyes as she shrugs. “Just feeling down.”

I squeeze her hips, and she steps toward me, her thighs between my legs, touching my inner thighs. “Darlin’, you blocked him?”

She nods. “Yeah, but he called the boys, and the boys called me. They told me not to give in to him, but I feel like a bad mom, allowing him to try to manipulate my boys.”

“But he didn’t. They called you. They wanted you to be okay,” I stress, my eyes burning into hers. “You’re nowhere near a bad mom, Kenni.”

Her lip wobbles as she looks away. “It’s just so much. I wish I had never met him.”

Fucking same.

I swallow that sentiment and squeeze her hips. “But then we wouldn’t have the boys.”

She exhales. “I know,” she agrees, once more moving her eyes to mine. “So, give it to me.”

I choke on air.

I’m so cool.

“Sorry?”

Her lips curve. “Make me laugh.”

Duh, yeah.

Here for the comic relief.

Nothing more.

I search her gaze, my heart pounding in my chest. “Is your name ChapStick?” Her face lights up as she snorts, and I can’t help but grin back. “Because I want to put you on my lips.”

Her laughter is loud, vibrating her whole body as she shakes her head. She pushes off my chest, walking backward. “Good thing I know you’re only picking on me, or by the way you’re looking at me, I’d think you really want that.”

I lick my lips. “Who said I’m only picking? ”

She stops walking, her eyes narrowing as she presses her hand to her chest. “Are you not?”

I shrug as I turn in the seat, shutting the door. I look through my open window and grin at her. “Nope.”

She takes a deep breath, and I love the look of shock on her face. It’s as if she can’t believe I want to kiss her.

Kissing her is the bare minimum I want to do to her.

“Text me, roomie.”

She’s all kinds of fumbling, trying to reach for her phone with her mouth still parted. When she unlocks her phone, she stares back at me. “I don’t have your number, do I?”

I glance over at her, my lips quirking at the side. “It hasn’t changed.”

Then I drive off, unsure what I just did or how this will play out.

But I’m bursting at the seams with excitement.