12. Kess

12

KESS

I was eating my single-guy dinner at my massive kitchen island looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows into Rowdy’s cabin. He hadn’t been home this entire afternoon, and I was waiting for him to show up with Skylar.

The conversation I’d had with Emery had sent my thoughts into a tailspin. Did Rowdy actually like me? Why couldn’t I find the right words to say to him? What didn’t I—thank God, they just pulled up.

I whipped out my phone, opened my camera app, and zoomed in. Rowdy and Skylar linked arms as they climbed the steps to Rowdy’s front porch and entered the cabin, laughing the entire time.

What. The. Fuck.

Also, how was I supposed to see anything when my camera only zoomed to 25x? Jesus, Apple. Get your shit together. I walked up to the window as I pulled up sports store website and overnighted a 300x pair of binoculars to myself, then refocused on what little I could see through his partially opened blinds.

Rowdy was gesturing to various things in his place while Skylar rubbed his chin and nodded along. Rowdy then pulled out his phone and pointed to the bed and?—

Fuck. Get out of the way, you stupid curly horned beast.

I set aside the phone and placed my hands on the window, trying to see if there was an angle past the damned antelope. Just my luck, one of the bigger antelopes approached the smaller one and...Oh.

Oh.

I dropped my eyes to give them privacy. Was this even mating season for antelopes? I gave the copulating couple another glance and holy hell .

Jeez, buddy. Go easy on the girl—she’s your mate, not some glory hole in a truck stop bathroom.

And with that, I realized I was standing there with my nose pressed against the massive pane of glass as I dragged my grubby palms along the surface. It took me an embarrassingly long time to recognize that this was not a good look.

And that I already knew that Rowdy and Skylar were just friends and I had nothing to be jealous of. Nothing at all.

Grumbling, I snagged the glass cleaner from beneath the sink along with a wad of paper towels and set about cleaning up the humiliating smudges I’d left on the window. Meanwhile, it was still looking like Caligula’s National Geographic across the way, and the curtains had been drawn on the cabin’s front window.

Great.

They were probably participating in some OnlyFans scenario that?—

Stop it, Kess. He made plans with Skylar to come by and redecorate.

Unless “redecorate” meant something different to them than it did to me.

The bigger antelope let out a bellow and shook violently before climbing down and sauntering away. Lucky bastard.

Seriously, how long had it been since I’d been laid? Three, four months?

The smaller antelope stretched her neck and went in the other direction. Which...fair.

Grimacing at myself for being jealous of wildlife, I pulled up my online order and canceled it. Low point , I thought to myself as Kate Winslet’s oven scene from The Holiday came to mind.

This wasn’t as comedically desperate, but... low point, indeed.

The very next morning, I was standing barefoot in my front entry, wearing only my pajama bottoms and robe as I stared at the two pretty men across the way. They sat on the cabin’s tiny porch, probably beautifully disheveled as they enjoyed their coffee. They were chatting, and at one point Rowdy grabbed Skylar’s forearm and they tossed their heads back in laughter.

Scowling, I yanked my phone from the pocket of my robe and pulled up the group text from before.

Me: You and Skylar want to come over later for lunch? I’m picking up some supplies at the sawmill in Dripping Springs, then detouring for some wine and Salt Lick on my way back.

They both glanced down at their phones, then turned and waved at me. Even though I couldn’t make out Rowdy’s features, I knew the way his smile made his eyes go all squinty and warm.

My phone went off in quick succession.

Skylar: Hell, yes.

Rowdy: We ordering plates or family style?

Me: I was thinking a couple pounds of everything, plus a few sides.

Rowdy: Perfect.

Skylar: Would you mind getting me a slice of pecan pie?

Me: Not a problem.

Me: Need anything while I’m in Dripping?

They conferred, and Skylar’s name popped up again in the chat.

Skylar: Would you mind picking up some paint and supplies while you’re there? I’ll call them in to the store and Venmo you the cash.

Skylar: Rowdy’s place is dire.

Me: No problem. And don’t worry about paying me back.

I thought for a second and then shot him a separate message.

Me: I told him I’d make him a headboard—would something like this fit in with your decor?

I pulled up the inspo pic of a flamed-wood headboard I’d found a couple of days ago.

Skylar: Jesus, that’s gorgeous.

Skylar: He’s got a queen-sized bed.

Me: Cool. It’s easy to put together, so I should have it done in a day or two.

Rowdy: What are y’all private texting about?

Me: Wouldn’t you like to know?

Rowdy looked up from his phone and I’m pretty sure he shot me the finger. I blew him a kiss, and he dropped his chin. I liked to imagine he was blushing, but I couldn’t tell from this distance.

After getting dressed, I headed out and ran my errands, including picking up the paint and supplies Skylar had requested, along with the pretty wood for Rowdy’s bed.

When I returned, Rowdy was on his front porch playing his guitar as Skylar sat back and closed his eyes, bobbing his head to the music. Were they singing together? I ignored how upset that made me and pulled into my garage, closing the door behind me. Leaving Skylar’s requests in the bed of my truck, I moved the wood for Rowdy’s headboard into the workshop, then brought the bag of smoked meats with me to the house.

By the time I reached the front door, Rowdy and Skylar were waiting for me, a hungry gleam in their eyes.

“Y’all want to eat this out by the pool?”

They agreed, and we rounded the corner and headed to the back.

Skylar whistled. “Damn. Rowdy said you had a pretty pool and deck setup, but I was not prepared.” He ran a delicate hand over one of the teak recliners. “You made these?”

I nodded. “I try to keep it simple and let the wood talk.”

“Nice.”

We sat, and I laid out all the meats and the sides. We ate with our hands, and I mostly listened as Skylar and Rowdy talked through their progress so far and what they had left to accomplish in the next day and a half.

Their plan was ambitious, but I could tell that Skylar—or Sky, as Rowdy called him—wanted to make it nice for his friend. And they were friends. Yes, they were touchy feely, but I sensed it was closeness born of familiarity and affection, not attraction.

Thankfully, I’d kept my humiliating jealousy to myself.

My notification went off, and I shook my head at the texts from Emery. Rowdy lifted his chin at me and I held up my phone.

Emery: Wait. Is Rowdy hooking up with someone at the cabin?

Emery: Woody thought he spotted a guy on the front porch this morning, but I wouldn’t tell him where I hid his binoculars.

Rowdy and Skylar leaned forward and read the messages, though their responses couldn’t have been more different. Sky cracked up laughing. At the other end of the spectrum, Rowdy’s brows stitched together—like maybe he was annoyed.

Skylar patted Rowdy’s cheek. “They love you, but they sure don’t know the first thing about you.”

Rowdy’s answering glare seemed to be a silent warning for Sky to shut the fuck up, but I wanted him to keep going.

“What don’t they know about Rowdy?” I asked, setting the phone face down.

“Don’t answer that,” Rowdy said, fiddling with a napkin.

“Why not?” Skylar gestured at my house. “Don’t you at least think these guys would help you with your Jaxon problem?”

“What’s a Jackson problem?” I asked, my brain firing up a million different scenarios.

Was Jackson a lover? Was it a business? Lake Jackson? Jackson County?

Please let it be anything but option 1.

“This one volunteers with an after-school youth group in Austin,” Skylar answered, ignoring Rowdy’s pinched look. “And Jaxon—J-A-X-O-N—is a kid he looks after. His mom is great, but she’s in a real shitty working situation, which is compounded by the fact that they live in an even shittier trailer park off of 290.”

“I know that park,” I said, glancing at Rowdy. “It’s by the school they had to rename because it’d been originally named after a Confederate general or something.”

He squirmed uncomfortably.

“So then you know it’s not a good place for a kid,” Skylar said.

“The worst, actually. One of my lawyer buddies specializes in drug cases, and he has a few frequent fliers from that place. He suspects they trade in other unpleasantness, considering they aren’t the ones paying his sky-high fees.”

Skylar raised his brow at Rowdy and gestured to me. “Tell him.”

“I told you, Sky,” Rowdy hissed through clenched teeth. “I know a friend of a friend who can handle it. No need to bring in anyone else.”

“A friend of a friend?” I asked. “Who’s that?”

Rowdy thinned his lips, but Skylar sat forward. “Anderson something or other. He knows the guys out at Rebel Sky, which I guess is a farm? Or maybe a ranch. Also, I think his mom is the one who makes that deadly sangria from your housewarming.”

My heart plummeted to my stomach. “Not Anderson. Anders .”

I, too, had friends of friends, and I didn’t want Rowdy anywhere near someone like that.

Rowdy cursed under his breath. “Yeah, that’s his name.”

“No,” I said, going in before he could say anything else. “I don’t know the man, but I do know that you don’t bring in Anders Fucking Bash unless you’re willing to burn the entire place to the ground.”

Rowdy made a face as though he’d be okay with that.

“What the hell, man?” I asked, genuinely worried. “What’s going on with this Jaxon kid?”

Rowdy took a deep breath, then sent another annoyed look to Skylar. “Jaxon’s great. Thirteen, already over six foot tall. Sweet kid, real good looking, mom can’t afford to put him in sports. We feel like one of the douchebag office guys at the RV park is setting him up for something bad.”

“Bad? Like what?”

“I dunno. But his mom is worried, and I trust her instincts.”

Rowdy’s distraught face broke my heart.

“Look,” I said, trying to appear calm. “I understand the Anders angle, I do. But let’s put our heads together and see if we can avoid pulling that particular lever. What’s this family’s most urgent need?”

“To get the fuck out of there,” Rowdy said, wiping a tear from his cheek.

“How long have you known them?” I asked.

“Little over a year,” he admitted quietly. “But I’d never been to their place until last weekend.”

I caught Skylar’s eye, and he raised his brows.

“So, when you’re going into Austin, you’re...what? Volunteering? Helping people?”

Rowdy nodded, almost embarrassed.

Was he doing this alongside the hookups, or...?

I reached across the table and took his hand in mine. “I can’t promise anything, but I can make a few calls.”

“Okay. And thank you.” Rowdy looked as though he’d have rather asked anyone else on the planet for a favor, and it kinda hurt my feelings. “If you could, please keep this to yourself.”

“Are you saying that your cousin doesn’t know about this?”

Rowdy dropped his eyes to the table. Before I could say anything, his phone went off and he stood as he checked it.

“Shit, I forgot. Hafta go meet Kit for a pickup.”

“If he’s picking up those curly horned antelopes, they were getting it on last night and she may be pregnant.”

A reluctant smile edged his lips, and I nearly wept with relief. Seeing him sad had just about killed me.

“Oh, we heard. But Kit’s picking up the Axis deer and one of the Sikas.”

He paused, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Rowdy?”

His eyes snapped to mine. “Oh, sorry. I just remembered that Kit’s been trying to hire a land manager, and I thought maybe Sadie could be a good fit? He’d need to mentor her, of course, but I think she could pick it up.”

“Her managerial experience is with people, not land, hun,” Skylar reminded him.

“I know.” Rowdy sighed, sad again. “It’s just that Sadie is really smart, and I think her and Jaxon would be good for that place.”

I stood and hugged him tight. “We’ll figure out a way to take care of Jaxon and his mom,” I said, no clue what I was promising him.

Skylar stood and gave me a half hug, kissing my cheek. “You’re a good guy, Kess.”

“Thanks, Sky.”

I was worried as hell, but one thing was for certain: Skylar had been right. I didn’t know the first thing about Rowdy Lockwood.