15. Rowdy

15

ROWDY

I was drinking coffee on the front porch when I noticed Kess walking over to his garage. He hit the key fob for the door to his workshop, something he had done for a couple of days in a row now. Only now he kept the door open and walked out with a massive rectangle covered in a blanket of some kind.

This thing was big and obviously heavy, but he didn’t struggle with it at all. I furrowed my brows when I realized he was aiming for the walkway that ran between our two houses.

“Mind getting the gate?” he called out as he neared.

I set my coffee down, hopped up, and jogged over to him. One of the Dalls tried to follow me, but I hip-checked it out of the way and opened the gate just as Kess reached it.

“What is that?” I asked as he passed me, smelling like wood, amber, and man.

“A surprise,” he replied.

“For me?” I asked, no idea what this was about.

“Yes, for you,” he said with a cheesy grin. “Now go grab the door.”

I jogged back to the house, making my way past the plantings and vegetation, shooing a blackbuck away from my flowers. Kess was making good time, so I barely got the door open when he hit the steps.

“What is this thing?” I asked as he wedged it and himself into my small cabin.

“Don’t worry, I approved it with your interior designer.”

He removed the blanket and I opened my mouth, not sure what to make of it.

“It’s your new headboard,” he said, pointing to the blank space above the bed.

Jesus. It was only the most stunning piece of furniture I’d ever seen. A burled wood grain with a finished edge that followed the flow of the wood, sanded to a satin finish.

“So that’s why Skylar didn’t want to put anything up there,” I mused as he pulled the bed from the wall one-handed.

With a bit of maneuvering, he slid the headboard behind my bed and pushed everything back into place.

He stood next to me at the foot of the bed. “I’m going to grab my drill and attach it to the bed frame, but I wanted to see it in place first.”

“Wow...” I was, for once, at a loss for words.

“It’s okay if it doesn’t fit your style. You don’t have to accept it,” he said, uncharacteristically nervous.

I stared at him. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever owned. Why wouldn’t I like it?”

“It’s just a pretty piece of wood that I finished.”

“The finish makes it art, Kessler. You left the nature of the wood intact but shined it up and smoothed out the rough edges,” I said, running my hand over the surface. “It’s gorgeous, and it feels perfect to the touch.”

Sexy, actually, but I kept that to myself.

Kess shrugged, almost a little embarrassed. “You helped me with my garden, and this felt like a way to return the favor.”

I gestured at the piece in question. “I can promise you, planting a few lantana bushes is not the same as the gorgeous work you’ve done here.”

“It wasn’t a contest, Rowd. I enjoy doing nice things for my friends, and that’s what we are. Friends.”

Ugh.

I mean, yes, I was happy to be his friend, but I wanted to be so much more. Even though I had no clue what that’d look like. Besides, I’d already embarrassed myself the night of his party. Not that I would ever forget his kiss.

God, I was such a mess.

I settled for a hug, stepping into his embrace. His arms automatically went around me, and I circled his ribs, resting the side of my face against his broad chest. He seemed a little surprised, or at least he went quiet. But he didn’t shy away from the contact, and he smelled so fucking good.

I probably held on for a little too long, but when I finally released him, he left his arm around my back, pivoting to face the bed while still in a half hug. “So, you like it? It’s not too big?” he asked, pointing out the fact that the headboard extended beyond the edges of the mattress.

“Oh, not at all. I also like that it means if I got a bigger bed, I could still use this.”

“That’s kind of what I had in mind, too,” Kess said, his voice rough.

There was an awkward silence, then he pulled me in for another hug and kissed the top of my head. “So, since you like it, I’m going to go grab my drill and some screws and attach it to the frame.”

“Thanks, Kessie,” I said, using the nickname that Stevie used for him. “Do you want some coffee?” I asked as he made his way onto the front porch.

Kess looked over his shoulder with a soft smile. “That would be fantastic.”

He sent me a small salute and took off jogging back toward his house, giving the blackbuck a wide berth. He also managed to keep the Dall on this side of the fence. I chuckled, then set about making a new pot of coffee.

The headboard was, objectively, too large for the space. Still, I was glad that it had Skylar’s approval. He certainly knew what he was doing with the decorating, and this addition just...worked. Both as a headboard and as a focal point for the room.

“I guess I’ll hafta actually make my bed from now on,” I muttered to myself.

I looked around the cabin again. The blues and whites contrasted beautifully with the brass fixtures, and this new headboard pulled it all together in a way that made me feel more adult than I ever had.

Just a few years ago, I was bouncing from place to place. Sometimes on a friend’s couch, sometimes in places that didn’t even have air conditioning. Standing in the middle of my space, I was startled to realize that this was the first time I had air conditioning, a refrigerator, and a stove all at the same time.

Life had somehow gotten better for me, and I wasn’t totally sure how that’d happened. Of course, if I’d said that to either Woody or Skylar, both of them would have smacked me upside the head. They seemed hell-bent on reminding me how hard I worked, but for a long time I’d been convinced that all of my hard work meant nothing. That I was just like that guy who rolled the boulder up the hill over and over again.

It was hard to deny, though, that I seemed to have gotten the boulder over the top of that damn hill. It was scary to think about what was next because I’d gotten used to things not working out in my favor.

I looked out the window and Kess was already making his way back, his gorgeous house in the background. I loved the hybrid modern and natural style, and I was sure it cost him a pretty penny. The cabin was super humble in comparison, but he’d never acted like my place was less than or I was less than because I didn’t make the kind of money he made. Yet—and still—another reason I was crushing on him so hard. He was such a decent and good man.

And strong as fuck. I gripped the edge of the headboard and shook it. This thing weighed easily over a hundred pounds, and he’d walked it over like he was bringing me a picture frame.

Kess arrived, tools in hand, and pulled the bed farther away from the wall. He started by marking the holes, then drilling them. After, it was short work to fix the frame to the bed.

“Now you can have all the wild sex you want, and that thing isn’t going anywhere,” he joked.

My stomach clenched, and I wished I could tell him how little sex I’d actually had. How the thought of doing it with anyone other than him was repulsive. I kept that to myself.

His eyes, those assessing lawyer eyes of his, narrowed.

Shit. Abort. Abort .

“You know it, Kessie baby,” I said, leaning into my drawl. “In fact, you should leave now because I’m gonna call one of my regulars and tell them we need to test this thing out. I’ll give you a progress report when I’m done.”

His response was a slow, easy smile. “You bet. If you find you need me to reinforce it for you, I’m happy to do that.”

There was a knowing in the way his mouth quirked up at the corner that fired off a warning flare. I brushed it off because he knew nothing about me, and I was probably overthinking it.

Right?

Seemingly unaware of my internal conflict, Kess pulled me into another half hug, his large hand gripping my hip as he kissed my temple.

“I’m glad you like it.”

I leaned against his body, just a little. “I love it. Love it so much.”

I wish I could show you exactly how much I love it.