6.

E LIZABETH

“Is everything okay with Dub?” I blurted, regretting it instantly. For the last three days, I’d managed to resist asking my employees if they’d seen him because it was obvious that he didn’t want to see me again.

Obviously, the three hits to the jaw and the probable concussion combined with a minimal amount of common sense had him staying as far away from me as possible. I wasn’t sure why I thought that almost-kiss might have meant something and had tried to forget it since the next day when I didn’t hear from him. By the second day, I was angry, but yesterday, I realized I wanted to know why he hadn’t come back.

Hopefully, the boys could tell me that he’d been called away on urgent spy business and was currently under deep cover somewhere. Or maybe he’d been kidnapped by the Italian mafia, and they were holding him hostage in the basement of a New York high-rise for some imagined slight, waiting for the stubborn man to apologize so they could all get on with their lives.

Or maybe . . . just maybe . . . he’d actually come to his senses and realized that he didn’t want to kiss a woman whose nails were always short and jagged, had hands that were bordering on a sandpaper substitute, sported hair that had needed a trim six weeks ago but she was too paranoid to trust anyone in her new town to cut it, constantly had a streak of engine dirt on her cheek that just got worse when she tried to brush it off, was always covered in dog hair, and transformed into a blubbering idiot when she talked to his horse.

Most likely the three hits that required dental work didn’t have anything to do with it.

“He and Charlotte are arguing again,” Theo said with a shake of his head. He lifted one side of the platform I used to help train the dogs to jump up and then walked backwards as his brother held the other side and carried it with him. “Char said he’s a stubborn ass, and he told her she was a nosy busybody. Now they’re not speaking to each other.”

“Does that happen often?” I asked.

“About once a week,” Elijah said dismissively. “She’s mad that he won’t go to the dentist and swears that when he dies of an abscessed tooth, she won't miss him at all.”

“He hasn’t gone to the dentist?”

“Refuses. Says that nature will take care of it, and he’s not willing to bend on the issue.”

“I don’t know how he’s managed to avoid it so far. That was one of the first appointments she took us to when we came to live with her,” Elijah explained.

“Dub’s older and more stubborn than she is. He’ll probably die of an infection before he admits he needs help.”

“But . . .”

Elijah waited a few seconds after my voice trailed off to explain, “I guess he fell or something. He’s got a bruised jaw and a broken tooth. Charlotte’s freaking out because he won’t eat anything and has only been drinking protein shakes for a few days.”

“His tooth is that painful, and he still won’t go to the dentist?”

“No, ma’am. Char made him an appointment for yesterday afternoon, and he skipped it. She got them to schedule another one for today, but when she called to tell him about it, he told her to mind her own damn business and hung up.”

“She was pissed,” Theo said with a chuckle. “Now the twins know three new cuss words.”

“Do you remember the appointment time?”

“I think he’s supposed to be there at 10:30.”

As I checked my watch, Elijah asked, “Why? He’s not gonna go.”

“Oh, he’s gonna go,” I muttered. “Do either of you have any questions about what needs to be done today?”

“No,” Theo said hesitantly.

“Good. Take care of everything, and if I’m still not back when it’s time for you to leave, make sure all the dogs are secure.”

“I thought you wanted to . . .”

“I’m going to take your brother to the dentist,” I interrupted. Elijah and Theo both started laughing, but they got quiet when they realized I was serious. “You don’t think I can get him to go?”

“I think that if you do, Charlotte will give you a medal.”

“Well, when you go home this afternoon, tell her to call the engraver and put ‘takes no shit’ on it in capital letters.”

“If things go the way I think they will, she might need to put that on your headstone. Dub’s been in a bad mood.”

I sighed because I knew I was the cause of that mood, and it was affecting his relationship with his family. After I thought about it for a second, I realized that was bullshit. Yes, I hit the man. Yes, I broke his tooth. However, I didn’t prevent him from going to the dentist to take care of it. That was his own fault.

Or was it?

Once I made sure the boys knew their assignments for the day, I went upstairs and took a quick shower and put on what I’d come to consider ‘town clothes,’ meaning something other than workout gear or leggings with a holey T-shirt.

I had never been the type to dress up, especially since the last few years of my life had been spent working with animals. Jeans and a new-ish T-shirt would have to suffice. If someone had a problem with it, they were welcome to take me on a shopping spree.

I drove past Charlotte’s house to the one I had thought was Aleta’s, although now I knew that was bullshit and she was actually just an unwelcome houseguest.

Once I parked in the driveway, I sat in the car for a minute and gave myself a pep talk as I dug around in the console for the bag of suckers I’d bought on my last trip to the grocery store. It had been years since I quit smoking, but when I was stressed, I still needed something to fiddle with. As I ripped open the bag and chose the flavor I wanted, I thought about why I was so antsy.

It wasn’t just because I was about to see Aleta and was unsure if I could keep my mouth shut or my hands to myself - the urge to hit that woman upside the head with something heavy was almost overwhelming - but because I was about to see Dub again for the first time since the other night when his big schmoopie horse interrupted a kiss that I had been anxiously dreaming about for days now.

Once I had my mind set, I hopped out of the car and made my way to the porch. The appointment was scheduled for two hours from now, and I wasn’t sure what condition I’d find Dub in, so I had no idea how long it would take him to get ready.

I knocked on the door and waited impatiently for him to answer. When Aleta opened the door, I realized that I should have given myself a stern talking to rather than a pep talk. I had to stop myself from yanking her out to the porch by her braid and choking her with it until her face was a vibrant shade of purple. In the end, self-preservation and a blinding fear of incarceration won out, and I just stared at her through the glass.

“Oh! Elizabeth! I’m so glad you came back. I was worried about you when you didn’t pick me up yesterday.”

“Is your son here?”

Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed for a split second and then she managed to compose herself before she said, “You don’t have to worry about him. He won’t bother you again.”

“I’m more irritated that you’re bothering me. Where’s Dub?”

“I do not have a son named Dub.”

“You’ve got so many that you forgot their names?” I asked sarcastically as I reached out and pulled the screen door open. “Where is he?”

“Why do you want to speak to him? We should go.”

“I’m not taking you anywhere, Aleta.”

“I knew he’d turn you against me,” Aleta said as she stuck her bottom lip out and tears filled her eyes. “I can’t imagine what sort of lies he told you. He can’t be trusted, you know. He’s a felon. ”

“Can it, drama queen. I’m on to your bullshit. The only way you’re getting in my car is if you’re tied up in the trunk. Now, where the fuck is your son?”

Aleta’s facade dropped in an instant, and she glared at me as she said, “I don’t have a son.”

“Obviously, you don’t have a heart either, you haggard old bitch,” I said as I pushed my way past her into the house. “Get the fuck out of my way.”

I heard her gasp as she bumped into the doorframe, but I didn’t care. I had never been inside Dub’s house but guessed that it wouldn’t take me long to find him if he was there. His truck was parked in the driveway, and I doubted he was out with Hercules if he was in pain, so I took my chances and started opening doors.

I found a coat closet, a room that was covered in all things pink and glittery, a bathroom, and what was obviously Aleta’s room since one of those pastel dresses she seemed to prefer was spread out an ironing board set up at the foot of the bed. I glanced into another room and found a workshop of sorts and then realized there was one more room at the end of the hall.

Since the house was only one level, I knew that room had to be Dub’s, so I lightly tapped on the door and waited for him to answer. When I didn’t get a response, I tapped a little harder and waited some more. Since there was still no answer, I took a chance and pushed the door open only to hear water running behind another door that I assumed was the master bathroom.

“Aleta! I swear to God, if you poke around my room and try to steal more of my shit, I’ll push you off a cliff and tell the entire world that you jumped because you thought you could fly!”

I snorted with laughter at the same time that I heard a gasp behind me but then almost choked when the bathroom door flew open and Dub stepped out wearing nothing but a towel.

Holy nachos with guacamole and sour cream.

Dub Kingstone with rivulets of water streaming over his tattooed chest and chiseled abs wearing only a towel held together by one hand at his hip was a sight that I’d definitely think about late at night when I was talking to Buzz Lightmeup, my ‘personal massager,’ and most definitely when I was in the shower having alone time with my new favorite pulsating showerhead.

I was following the slow progress of a drop of water that had slipped from the end of his long hair, slowly made its way around his nipple, and then coursed down across his stomach to follow the trail of happiness that I prayed led to something so substantial that I’d never be able to wrap my mouth around it no matter how hard I tried when I heard someone snap their fingers.

“Eyes up here, perv!”

I looked up at his face and found him smiling at me, although the smile was noticeably lopsided because of the swelling in his cheek, and realized that he’d been talking to me while I wished with all my heart that I was a water droplet.

“What?” I asked dumbly.

“What do you need, Aleta?” Dub snapped as he glared over my shoulder.

“I believe it’s going to rain.”

“Well, if you insist on being a martyr and walking to work, I suggest you find a fucking umbrella.”

“Ungrateful man!” Aleta hissed before she looked at me. “And you harlot . . . an unmarried woman standing in his bedroom, staring at him like he’s . . .”

“When I left home earlier, I had a pocket full of lollipops and ass whoopins,” I interrupted as I yanked the sucker out of my mouth and tossed it toward the trash can beside the desk. “And look at that! I’m all out of lollipops!”

I heard Dub snicker behind me as Aleta spun around and stomped down the hall muttering under her breath. I turned back to Dub and closed my eyes because I knew I couldn’t resist staring at him again before I said, “I know it’s horrible to speak to an older woman like that, but I swear by all that’s holy, I don’t think I can stop myself.”

“Please don’t try. I live for the day that I make her mad enough to start spewing profanities. I’ll know I’ve made it to the big time when that happens.” There was a pause, and then he asked, “Why are your eyes closed?”

“Because you’re in a towel. Are you almost ready to go?”

“Go where?”

“To the dentist.”

Dub scoffed before he asked, “Do you have an appointment?”

“No, but you do.”

“Not happening, Karen.”

“Listen, Kevin, ” I said, giving my best aggravated face with my eyes still tightly shut. “I hurt you, so I think it’s only right that I accompany you to the dentist and pay for your treatment.”

“Like hell you will.”

“Like hell to which part? The going with you part or the paying part?” I asked.

“Either. I’m not going, and even if I did, I wouldn’t let you pay.”

“I can compromise on one but not both. I’ll let you decide which.”

“Open your eyes and talk to me. I can’t argue with you when you look like that.”

“Like what?” I asked as I opened my eyes.

Dub sighed before, in a much calmer and reasonable tone, he said, “I’m not going to the dentist because I don’t need to, not because I can’t pay for it.”

“You spit out a hunk of tooth, Dub. That means you need a dentist.”

“That tooth has been fucked up for years, and I’ve managed to deal. I just need to take it easy for a few days, and it will pass.”

“No, dummy. In a few days, the tooth will abscess, the infection will get into your bloodstream, and then shut your kidneys down causing a hundred times as much pain as you’re feeling right now until you finally fucking die.”

“Can that really happen?” he asked skeptically.

“Do you honestly think I could make something like that up on the fly?”

He looked pensive for a second before he slowly shook his head and insisted, “I’m not going to the dentist.”

“Dub.”

“I said no, Karen. End of subject.”

“I’m not going to take no for an answer. I’ll drive you there and wait in the car until you’re done.”

“No.”

“Okay,” I said as I rotated my shoulders and tilted my neck back and forth. I bounced on the balls of my feet for a second before I asked, “Do you want me to hit you in the same spot and see if I knock the tooth out when I knock you out, or do you want me to get you on the other side?”

“You can’t knock me out.” I raised one eyebrow, and he glared at me before he mumbled, “Again.”

“Quit dicking around, and get dressed. We’ve gotta get there early so you can fill out paperwork.”

“I’m not going.”

I took him in for a second and realized that his breathing was uneven and his color was off. He looked panicked, and I knew it couldn’t be because I had threatened to hit him. No. That wasn’t it at all.

The man was terrified.

“When was the last time you went to the dentist?”

“The only time I’ve ever been was when they took my wisdom teeth out in the prison infirmary.”

From what I’d heard about prison healthcare, I knew that wisdom teeth extraction while being incarcerated was probably worse than torture.

“Did they knock you out?”

“No.” Dub shuddered involuntarily and then said, “I was awake for the entire thing.”

“Dentists in the outside world aren’t like that, and if they are, you find a new one. I can guarantee that if you explain to them the experience you had and that you’re worried about getting treatment today, they’ll give you enough drugs to have you tasting colors and seeing sounds.” When Dub winced before he wiggled his jaw, I knew he was considering it. “I promise that I’ll sit beside you the entire time and make sure that you’re never awake enough to even know I’m there.”

Dub took a deep breath before he quietly asked, “Can they really do that?”

“Drug you?” Dub nodded, and I explained, “There’s this stuff they call happy gas . . . They put the thing over your nose and tell you to breathe deeply. By the third breath, it feels like your head is a balloon on a string floating above you. By the fifth breath, you can’t remember how to spell your name. Next thing you know, they’re all done and want you to get up and walk out of the room like you weren’t just higher than Willie Nelson on a rocket ship.”

“Do you promise that’s what it’s like?” Dub asked. Just then, I saw a glimpse of an innocent little boy who didn’t understand the world because he’d been secluded from it for almost his entire life - first because of his unfortunate parentage and their belief system and then because of his incarceration.

I put my hand up and stuck my pinky out as I said, “I pinky swear that I won’t let them hurt you, Kevin. You have my word.” It took a second, but Dub finally lifted his hand and hooked his pinky to mine as he stared into my eyes. To lighten the mood, I said, “I can honestly say this is the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had with a man wearing a bath towel.”

Dub held on to my finger as he flashed a wicked grin. He lifted his other hand up just as I heard a thump and realized that he’d dropped his towel.

“Now you can say this is the weirdest conversation you’ve ever had with a naked man.”

I swallowed so hard that the sound seemed to echo around the room, and Dub laughed as he let go of my hand and turned to walk back into the bathroom. I couldn’t resist and let my eyes roam down his back to a delightfully round ass that was just begging to be bitten.

It took me a second to realize that he’d stopped walking, and I heard laughter in his voice as he asked, “Look your fill yet, Karen?”

“Fuck off, Kev. Get dressed so we can go already.”

“You sure?”

I picked up the towel and threw it at his back as I said, “Stop being a pervert, and get your ass in gear.”

“Honey, I’m not the one still standing there ogling a naked person after I busted into their bedroom like I had a fresh warrant and a grudge to fulfill.”

I realized Dub was about to turn around and give me a glimpse of something I was not quite ready to see yet, so I rushed across the room to the door. His roaring laughter followed me all the way down the hall. I could still hear it after I slammed the front door behind me.

◆◆◆

“You’re pretty,” Dub said for at least the tenth time in the last five minutes. “Can we make some babies?”

I heard the nurse snicker because it wasn’t the first time we’d heard that question or some version of it. I smiled over at Dub as I gave him the same answer once again. “No babies, Dub.”

“We should work on that because I really want to see you naked.”

I burst out laughing and asked, “Is that so?”

“Hmm,” Dub hummed as his eyes fluttered closed. He opened them again and blinked a few times before he slurred, “After my nap, I’m gonna do things to you that are illegal in at least three states.”

Before I had a chance to reply, his eyes closed again and he let out a relaxed breath as his head lolled to the side.

“How long before the anesthesia wears off?” I asked.

“It’s not the anesthesia doing that to him,” the nurse assured me as she looked at the computer screen. “He must have a low tolerance for pain meds.”

“I guess he hasn’t had a lot of medical procedures in his life,” I said vaguely. After helping him fill out the paperwork earlier, I knew he hadn't ever visited a doctor other than the ones he’d seen in prison.

“Well, my suggestion is that you give him half a pill at first, and if that doesn’t alleviate the pain within thirty minutes, give him the second half. Otherwise, he’s going to be loopy like this for the next few days.”

“Okay. I’ll make sure he only takes half at a time.”

“Since he’s so out of it, I’d like to make sure he’s not alone for a day or two. Can you stay home with him?”

I realized that she was still under the impression that Dub and I were married because of the lie I’d told when we got here so I could sit with him during the procedure. I knew him being alone in his house with only Aleta to watch out for him would never work just like asking Charlotte to take care of him when she already had a houseful of people that depended on her wouldn’t work either.

“I’ll make sure to stay with him until he’s better.”

“He seems like a sweet guy who is head over heels in love with you.”

I felt an odd pang of longing in my chest just as Dub woke up and reached for my hand. “Hey, pretty girl. Wanna go home and fuck?”

I laughed as I smiled down at him and knew it wasn’t an untruth when I said, “I can’t wait.”