Page 12 of That One Night (The Heartbreak Brothers Next Generation #4)

Chapter

Nine

I’ll sign away the lien at the end of the summer. Once you’ve followed through on our agreement. Please send a ‘Y’ to confirm you understand. – Trenton.

Emery stared down at her phone, fuming. She’d been trying to call Trenton for days, to discuss the stupid lien and work out how they could resolve it.

And of course he’d been ignoring her calls. He must have eventually gotten annoyed at her, deigning to send her a text message. One that looked like something you’d get from a doctor’s office, not from the man she used to love.

Reply ‘Y’ to agree? He could go take a running jump into a river.

God, she wanted to kill him.

Since the night of the storm she’d spent most of her time making phone calls, trying to work out a way she could put the farm on the market with the loan attached to it.

The short answer was, she couldn’t. She’d even looked into getting a loan of her own, but she couldn’t get that much money unsecured. Whatever route they took, it was going to delay the sale considerably.

There was no way she could get everything done before the summer was over and she had to go back to work. It had already taken her almost a month to get all the documents she needed. Time ran slower in West Virginia, especially when it was this hot. Nobody was in a hurry to get things done.

Gritting her teeth, she deleted the message. She wasn’t going to let him get to her. Not when he seemed to want to control everything else. And then she shoved the phone in her pocket and wandered down to the yard to check on the chickens, smiling when she saw Hendrix outside his cottage.

Since the storm, she’d only seen him a couple of times.

She’d gone to his house the next morning to check on Frank.

The vet had just left and given Frank the all clear – with the suggestion of putting a bigger lock on the shed.

Her eyes had met Hendrix’s when he recounted that particular conversation and they’d both laughed.

She had a feeling that nothing would keep Frank from getting out of that shed if he desired to escape. He could probably learn to pick the lock if he wanted to.

The only other time she’d seen Hendrix was when he’d called her over and given her a gift to say thank you for her help in finding Frank. It had made her smile that he’d given her a bottle of whiskey.

“You can hide it underneath your bed,” he’d told her. “In case you ever need to get drunk again.”

But apart from that, he’d barely been home. Too busy working on his uncle’s farm, she assumed. You didn’t get through a storm like the one they had without needing to make some repairs.

Hendrix noticed her outside the chicken coop and walked across the lane, leaning on her fence as he smiled at her. He had a blue cap on his head to block out the beating sun.

And yeah, her heart did a little pitter patter at the way he was grinning. Like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“How’s Frank?” she asked him.

“Still an asshole.”

Her mouth twitched. “Glad to hear he’s back to normal.” She tipped her head to the side, shading her eyes with her hand. Because the sun was really hot today.

“What are you up to this morning?” Hendrix asked her.

“Avoiding working.” It was stifling inside and her mom was throwing a fit about the chickens refusing to lay eggs, so sitting on the porch had been her only option.

She was almost to the end of the farm finances.

But now that she knew where the black hole in them came from she had less enthusiasm for them.

Still, they needed to be done. Loan from Trenton Montclair or no loan from Trenton Montclair, this farm still needed to be sold.

“Sounds like a good way to spend the day.” He had this little smile that made her pulse heat up. “Want to do some avoiding working with me? I’m heading into Ashford Gap. Gotta pick up some supplies.”

“I thought we weren’t supposed to be spending time with each other.” She smiled to let him know she was teasing. Because they were over that.

He ran the pad of his thumb over his jaw.

“I have an ulterior motive. I said I’d make it up to you, remember?

” He lifted a brow. “My friend Jack runs a tattoo shop in the Gap. He’s usually booked out for months but I called and he said he could fit you in.

I figured you might want to tick off another item from your bucket list.”

She blinked. Yes, he’d said he’d make it up to her, but she hadn’t expected this. Or the way he looked at her with such stupidly boyish enthusiasm.

“Today?” she asked. It was sweet, but she’d assumed she’d have time to prepare herself for something as big as a tattoo.

“Yep,” he said. “Are you feeling brave enough?”

“Will we go on your bike?”

He shook his head. “No. You’re not completing two items in one day. Plus, I need the truck to bring my supplies home.”

“You have rules about my list?” she asked him, trying not to smile.

“If I’m helping you complete it, then yeah.”

“Is that what you’re doing?”

He lifted a brow. “Didn’t I just say that?”

She took a deep breath. “I’m not sure I’m ready to get a tattoo.”

“That’s fair.” He nodded. “But come with me anyway. I’ll introduce you to Jack. You can talk it through and decide what you want.”

Damn, he was being so reasonable. And the truth was, she wanted to go with him. “Give me a second,” she told him. “I should tell my mom I’m leaving.”

“You gonna tell her where you’re going?”

Emery laughed. “Nope.”

Luckily, her mom was still in a funk when she ran inside, trying to cool herself with a hand held fan. “Mom, I’m heading out to meet a friend,” she told her. “I’m catching a ride with one of the hands.”

Not a lie, not the truth. The story of her life.

“Okay.” Her mom nodded, frowning at something on the television. “See you later.”

Well, that was nice and easy. A surge of optimism rushed through her as she quickly checked herself in the mirror, smoothing out the frizz around her brow with her hands, and quickly sliding a slick of lipstick on.

Not for him, she told herself, but for her. It was the first time since she’d arrived that she was actually going out of town. Why hadn’t she done this before?

When she ran back outside, Hendrix was waiting in his truck. The windows rolled down, rock music pumping through the air from his stereo. He had aviator sunglasses on, his cap turned backward so he could see a little better.

“Ready?” he asked as she climbed into the passenger side of the cab.

“Yep.”

“Then let’s go.”

He waited for her to fasten her seatbelt before he revved up the engine, steering the large truck down the road while rock music pumped out of his stereo. From the corner of her eye she could see him mouthing along to the music.

She could smell the scent of whatever body wash he’d used before he’d picked her up, too. Low notes of musk that made her body tighten.

“I haven’t been to the supply store for years,” she said as he pulled onto the main road. It was funny, but even the way he drove was laid back. Like it was as easy as breathing.

“It hasn’t changed,” he told her.

She used to love visiting the store with her dad.

The owner would always give her a popsicle in the summer and a chocolate bar in the winter, while he’d take her dad on a tour of their newest stock.

The two adults would discuss the latest seeds or newest vehicles, while she wandered around the clothing, or hung near the pet supplies, hoping against hope her dad would get the hint and buy her a hamster or gerbil.

Of course he never did. Told her he had enough animals to worry about, then he’d ruffle her hair. “But you’re my favorite animal of all, kid.”

It looked different than she remembered when they pulled up outside. The shop must have been rebuilt in the past few years. It was a bigger, red-painted warehouse with a white roof and porch along the front, built to look like a huge barn, complete with a half-size windmill to the side of it.

Hendrix cut off the engine and jumped out of the car, walking around to her side before she had time to pull at the handle. He offered her a hand to climb down, and the heat of his palm against hers made her feel sweaty.

Okay, the heat made her feel sweaty. But he definitely wasn’t helping.

“We’ll only be five minutes,” he told her. “I just need to pick up a new pump and a couple of troughs. Then we can head over to Jack’s.”

She swallowed hard. “About that…”

“You chickening out?”

“No. I’m still thinking about it.”

He gave her a half smile. “Well, you can think a little more while we shop.”

He’d reached the glass doors to the tattoo parlor before she caught up to him.

“Remind me how you know Jack again?” she asked, sounding breathless from running to keep up with him. “Because you don’t have any tattoos.”

“How do you know I don’t have any tattoos?”

She rolled her eyes, the ghost of a smile on her lips. Damn, she was pretty when she smiled.

She was also pretty when she didn’t smile. And wasn’t that a pain?

“Because you seem to enjoy parading around the farm half naked. I’m thinking of setting up a website, calling it Only Farms .”

He coughed out a laugh. “Imagine my uncle on that.”

“He’s a good-looking man. There’s an audience for a silver fox.” Her smile widened. “But you still haven’t answered my question.”

“I have a tattoo,” he told her, deadpan.

She blinked, like she was blindsided. “Where?”

“Never gonna tell you. If the sun doesn’t see it, nor will you.”

He liked the way her mouth dropped open. “Is it on your ass?”

“Nope.”

“Your upper leg?”

“Nahah.” He shook his head, enjoying this way too much. Her cheeks were already flushed as she looked down at the button on his jeans.

“No. Not there,” she muttered.

“Was I supposed to hear that?”

“Is it there?”

“Where?” For some reason he wanted to hear her say it. A dirty word. She was so damn straight and proper. He wondered what it would be like to see her lose it and go wild.

You’ll never know, asshole. She’s not yours.

“You know where.”

“Say it and I’ll answer your question.” They were full-on facing each other now. She drew closer.

“You’re such an idiot.”

“Say it, Emery.”

She took a deep breath, shaking her head like she couldn’t believe she was doing this. Especially in public. “Seriously,” she muttered. “Do you have a tattoo on your cock, Hendrix Hartson?”

The way she said it made him full-on laugh. The kind of belly laugh that hadn’t forced its way out of his mouth in a long, long time. She looked appalled and intrigued all at the same time.

“Yeah,” he gave her a huge grin. “Of a whale. Life size.”

“Shut up!” She batted his arm with her hand. He grabbed her wrist to stop her from doing it again, his fingers curling around her soft skin.

Her breath stuttered and damn, he couldn’t stop looking at her. It was some kind of exquisite torture, being this close to her, knowing he couldn’t have her.

Her raspberry pink lips parted, her gaze locked with his. And for a minute he swore his heart stopped.

“We should go in,” he said, his voice thick.

“We should. We don’t want to miss our appointment with Jack.” She nodded, not moving her arm from his grasp. He looked at the way his fingers made a bracelet around her wrist. She was so pale and so perfectly delicate. He wanted to break her and then put her back together.

He swallowed hard. “You ready for it? To go talk to Jack?”

“Yeah. And I’ve decided I’m doing it. I’m getting a tattoo today.”

It was his turn to look surprised. “Seriously? What happened to ‘I’m not sure I’m ready to get a tattoo.’?”

“I figure life is too short to start over thinking things.”

Funny, because he’d only just started overthinking them.

“If I want a tattoo, I’m gonna get one,” she told him, sounding resolute. “I don’t give a damn what anybody thinks.”

A smile pulled at his lips as he gently released her wrist. His fingers flexed, like they were already missing the touch of her. “You still planning on getting a firefly?” he asked her.

He was glad this was working out. After the whole debacle of telling her they shouldn’t talk, followed by her heroism at saving Frank, helping her with this list was the least he could do.

It might even be fun.

“Yeah, I think I will. It’s small so it won’t hurt, right?”

“Right,” he agreed, lying through his teeth. “You’ll be fine.”