25. Chapter Twenty-five

Chapter Twenty-five

Remington

Cleve Jones lived down a dirt road on a patch of dead prairie. The junk covering his dried-out grass was prettier than his post-war brick ranch-style house.

Lock’s truck came to a stop in his crumbling driveway, dust kicking up in a cloud around us. The four of us climbed out, Lock and Caleb both with baseball bats hanging loose from their hands.

Like he’d known we were coming, Cleve was sitting on his concrete slab front porch in a worn-out lawn chair. In a pair of stained sweats and an undershirt that had been white once upon a time, he hadn’t dressed up for guests. He was swigging a beer, several empty, crushed cans strewn around his feet.

“You’re on private property,” Cleve shouted. “Turn right back around.”

Lock’s steps didn’t stutter as he strode up to the porch. “Like to have a word, then we’ll be on our way.”

Cleve let out a loud belch and crumpled his beer can, tossing it on the ground in front of Lock.

“I already know what you have to say. Just because your kid doesn’t have a sense of humor doesn’t give her a right to sic the cops on me.” He clucked his tongue. “That’s some petty bullshit.”

Lock knocked the end of his bat against the porch. “Seems you need to work on your comedy routine if you think trying to drive a woman off the road is the height of hilarity.”

Cormac stepped forward, his arms crossed. “I don’t think it was funny. Maybe you should explain the joke to me.”

Cleve rolled his eyes, but he was so blitzed they bounced around his skull until he got them set straight again.

“Not explaining anything to you, baby Kelly.”

Caleb slapped his bat against his meaty palm. “Let’s talk about you messing with my sister’s tires. You’re gonna be paying for those repairs, Jones.”

Cleve reached into the cooler beside him and took out another beer. When he popped the lid, fizz spilled over his hand and onto his sweats. He didn’t seem to notice, and if he did, he didn’t care.

“Yeah, I’m not paying for shit,” he stated. “Cops were already out here. I’ll tell you what I told them: I wasn’t there. Didn’t touch her tires. Don’t know anything about it. To me, it sounds like someone doesn’t like that girl. Can’t imagine why that would be.”

Then he started laughing like he’d said the funniest thing he’d ever heard. Caleb stepped forward, but Lock put his arm out, holding his son back.

It took a lot to make me angry, and right now, my blood boiled with fury. I’d seen Hannah after he’d scared her on the road. I’d held her through quaking trembles after her tires had been slashed. There was not one thing funny about any of this.

“You piece of shit.” I only got one foot on the porch steps before Cormac grabbed the material of my shirt and dragged me backward.

“Gotta stay calm as you can,” he muttered. “Hannah won’t be happy if you get arrested, remember?”

Knowing he was right, I sucked in a heaving breath, my fists balled at my sides. I needed to get back to Hannah, make sure she was all right. I couldn’t do that if I was locked up.

“Let me,” Lock ground out, stretching his bat to touch Cleve under his chin. “Listen up.”

Cleve’s laughter ceased, and his hazy eyes grew wide. “You can’t touch me.”

“Not your turn to talk.” Lock jerked the bat, pushing Cleve’s head back. “I don’t care what you admit. You went after my girl. That’s a fact not up for debate. I can’t prove you slashed those tires, but I don’t need to. You’re going to be paying for the repairs to make up for trying to run her off the road.”

“I—” Caleb’s bat came down hard on the scattered cans, cutting off Cleve’s protest.

“Time for you to listen,” Caleb barked.

Lock pressed his bat a little harder. “You come near Hannah again, you so much as look at her or breathe in her direction, I’ll be back, and next time, it won’t be with a bat. You hear me, Jones?”

Before he could answer, the front door swung open, and a skin-and-bones woman wearing a dingy housecoat stepped out, a shotgun cradled in her arms. I went on red alert, focused on the gun, bracing for her to make a move to use it.

“Time for you to leave our property.” She sounded like she smoked three packs a day, raspy and older than her true age. “My husband answered your questions. He spoke to the police. You have some gall coming around here and waving around your fancy-ass Kelly threats. I’m not your employee anymore—you made sure of that—so you can’t boss me. And you might think you own this town, but you don’t.”

Lock slowly backed off, his bat dropping. “Don’t think I own the town, Christine. Cleve’s crossed the line. Maybe he didn’t slash Hannah’s tires, but he freely admits to trying to run her off the road, and that’s unacceptable.”

Christine stood next to her husband, the gun still loose in her arms. “He heard you. You said your piece. Cleve’s got no reason to interact with your precious princess anymore, so you can get that idea out of your big head. Now, this is the last time I tell you to leave before we have a real problem.”

I hadn’t taken my eyes off that gun. Cleve was an asshole, but there was something about this woman that led me to believe she’d have no problem using her weapon on us. If her yard ended up littered with four dead bodies, she’d probably just shove our corpses under the rest of the junk and go about her day like it was nothing.

Without warning, Christine’s beady gaze landed on me. “You’re not a Kelly, are you?” Her eyes pinched before rounding. “I know exactly who you are. You’re a Town. Surprised you’re taking up for the Kelly girl considering word was going around that she wasn’t just working for your daddy, if you know what I mean.”

“Enough,” Lock bit out. “Keep my daughter’s name outta your mouths and we won’t have any more trouble.”

He looked at the rest of us, jerking his head to the side. “We’re done here, boys. Let’s go.”

Not trusting either of the Joneses as far as I could throw them, I backed my way to the truck. Cleve was too busy getting wasted to care that we were leaving, but Christine kept a close watch until we were all loaded up and pulling out of her driveway.

As soon as we were on the road again, Lock found my gaze in the rearview mirror. “That wasn’t true, you know. There were never rumors about Hannah and Graham. She made that up on the spot.”

I nodded. “I didn’t believe it for a second.”

My father had been a lot of things—a womanizer wasn’t one of them. And Hannah…yeah, I wasn’t going to let my mind go there. It was clear to me her feelings for him had been purely familial, and I knew that without ever seeing them together.

Cormac leaned over, speaking quietly. “Christine’s an angry woman, and she’s not a big fan of our family. Used to work at the resort, cleaning rooms.”

From the front, Caleb filled in. “They caught her stealing.”

Caleb sighed. “She was the first person I had to fire. It didn’t feel great, but…”

“Had to be done,” I filled in.

“Yep,” Lock agreed. “Had to be done.”

The drive to the ranch was mostly silent. Seemed like the rest of the men were just as eager to get back and have this all be over with. For my part, I wanted to see Hannah and make sure we were all right—that she was all right.

I shouldn’t have been worried about Hannah. She was standing on the porch, one shoulder against a post, her arms crossed, all attitude. As soon as we were out of the truck, she made her way down the steps, peering at each of us.

“Looks like you’re all in one piece.” She raised her chin. “Did Christine bring out her gun?”

Lock chuckled. “You know it.” Then he hooked her around the neck and planted a kiss on her forehead. “It’s over, Hannah. What’s done is done. You’ve no cause to be mad. Let it go.”

She frowned at him. “And what if today had been the day Christine decided to unload that shotgun?”

“It wasn’t,” he said steadily. “No reason to live in the what-ifs.”

Caleb walked by, tousling her hair. “Granddad better not have eaten all the pie.”

She hmphed. “It would serve you right if he had.”

Cormac gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Sorry, Han, but that prick needed to be put in his place.”

She rolled her eyes, and by the time she straightened them, we were the only two still outside. I was beside the truck, waiting my turn, ready for whatever she had to give me.

Her arms were still folded tight as she focused on me. “Did you flex your big muscles and intimidate the weaselly little man?”

I cocked my head. “All I’m hearing is you think my muscles are big.”

She scoffed and sauntered over to me, stopping when her boots hit mine. “You would hear that. I don’t love you charging into danger for me, Remington.”

I held up a finger. “One, there’s no world in which I wouldn’t charge into danger for you. I’ve been in the middle of riots. It takes a lot to spook me. Two, this situation wasn’t dangerous. Cleve doesn’t strike me as a man who would willingly take on another man, let alone four.”

“That may be true, but you had to have noticed Cleve’s wife is a little unhinged.”

“Hard to miss.” I ran my hands along her arms, slowly unfolding them, then placed her palms on my chest. Mad as she might’ve been, she left them there, and I took that as a good sign.

“It’s best not to poke a hornet’s nest, you know.” Her nose crinkled. “Last thing I want is Christine Jones putting me on her list.”

I raised a brow. “She has a list?”

“Yep. It’s said she keeps it in her purse. The second you cross her or even annoy her, she writes your name on it. Kayla from the grocery store saw it firsthand when Marvin Tennison neglected to put a separator on the conveyor belt at checkout, causing their groceries to get mixed up. Kayla said Christine took her list out and wrote Marvin’s name in big block letters, and there were plenty of other names above his.”

I had to bite back a laugh. Hannah was telling me this story in earnest. “Anything happen to Marvin?”

She nodded. “All his flowers wilted almost overnight. And Marvin takes his flowers seriously. His neighbor said he’d cried in his garden for a solid hour when he came upon the horror show. Everyone suspects Christine had something to do with it, but of course, no one can prove anything.”

I curled my arm around her waist, tugging her a little closer. “It’s a good thing you don’t have a garden. Christine Jones doesn’t like you very much, but I’m not sure she’s a fan of many people based on our short acquaintance.”

A cute little line formed between her brows. “You’re probably on the list now too.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want you to get lonely on there.”

She let out a little laugh, smacking my chest. “Stop it. This isn’t funny.”

“Oh, I think it’s hella funny.” I walked her backward until she met the door of Lock’s truck, then I reached down and scooped her up from beneath her ass. Her legs locked around my waist, and her hands slid up to hang over my shoulders. “I’d been prepared to get things thrown at me when I got back.”

Her eyes narrowed. “There’s still time.”

“Hmmm.” I dipped down to kiss her throat. “Then maybe I’ll just stay close so you don’t have enough room to wind up a pitch.”

“Maybe that’s a good idea.” She latched on to my bottom lip and gave it a tug with her teeth. A growl traveled up from my chest, making her giggle.

“Menace,” I whispered against her smile.

“I’m not mad at you, Remington,” she stated.

“I’m glad for it, even if I’m surprised.”

“I get why you might be. The fact is, I’m Lachlan Kelly’s daughter, and I have two brothers who grew up in his image. They can’t help putting themselves in front of women—especially women they love. It’s in their blood. If you hadn’t gone with them, my granddad would have been the fourth one in the truck. So I’m not surprised you all went to confront Cleve. The men in my life are protectors. That’s all there is to it.”

“I’m a man in your life?” I asked.

Her legs tightened around me, putting her warm core in contact with my growing erection.

“As long as you’re around, yeah. I haven’t gotten you out of my system yet. Have you?”

“Hannah…” I kneaded her round, tight ass. My head was spinning, trying to catch up to where we were. I was still a mile behind. At the place I’d assumed we were going to be—and that place didn’t include her pussy grinding on me and her lips whispering against mine. “Does anyone ever get you out of their system? Seems impossible.”

Her laugh was breathy with a tinge of bitterness. “It’s possible, but good to know I’ve tricked you into thinking it’s not.” She pressed her lips to mine in a quick, hard kiss. “You want to take me home?”

“I do. Just know I’m coming in.”

Her eyebrows waggled. “Oh, I know you are, Remington.”

With Hannah wrapped around me, I carried her to my truck, laughing the whole way there. How this woman had managed to make me laugh while my dick was hard as steel was a mystery, but damn if I didn’t intend to try to unravel it piece by piece for as long as she’d let me.