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I smiled and said, “I plan on being well away from here before that.”
He eyed me speculatively, then nodded as he let my leg go and closed the door once I’d swung my feet in.
I tried to forget about the strength and heat of his hand but was having a hard time doing that.
I’d had all of one lover in my life. He was small and meek.
I had a feeling that Slone wouldn’t be either of those things, and it was doing something to me to be alone with him.
“As for you going to the airport,” he said. “How about we go and get your clothes? You said they were already ready to go, right?”
I nodded.
“And then you can show me your cats,” he said. “Because I’m super interested in them. I’ve never been close to any tigers before.”
I blinked, turning to face him as he started his truck and shifted to put his seat belt on.
“And then, when we’re done with that and ready to go, you can come back with me to the mansion. I’m staying there for the night, and we’re really close to the airport. The way you’re talking, you don’t actually have a flight yet, right?”
I shook my head.
“Well, I’m going to the airport in the morning. I’m flying with Briley and Annabelle to Louisiana to drop them off with Banner’s mom and dad, Trance and Viddy. From there, I’m going back to Longview…” He paused. “Longview’s not much, but then we’re flying to Pittsburgh, then Seattle, then California. And I have a double room because Titus and I usually pair up together with our kids. You’re more than welcome to stay. There’s always a pull-out couch that we throw the girls on…”
“You’re not offering to give me the room?” I asked him.
He snorted. “No offense, but you’re like a quarter of my size. What are you, a buck ten?”
“I weigh a hundred and thirty pounds, thank you very much,” I countered.
He grinned as he pulled out of the parking lot, heading toward the main road that would lead us away from the water park.
“Regardless of whether you’re twenty pounds heavier than I think you are,” he said as I watched his hands and forearms as he merged into traffic. “The couch would fit you, and not me. Not to mention, I need to be in top shape for the games, since, you know, that’s my job.”
I grinned at him, but again he had to maneuver the wheel to get us turned onto the next road, and the flexing of his hands caught my attention.
He had really big hands. His fingers were the only thing wrapped around the wheel.
Whereas when I drove, I had my fingers and my palm wrapped around the wheel.
He placed his hand on the rearview mirror then, covering nearly all of it when he did.
“So say I did go with you,” I murmured softly. “What if you got tired of me?” I asked. “You don’t even know me. I could be the most annoying person in the world.”
He glanced at me with a small smile on his face before looking back toward the road.
“I am a pretty good judge of character,” he replied. “Plus, Briley likes you. She has this thing with new people, and even existing people in her life. She doesn’t get along well with others. She has a hard time socializing and making friends. Though, that’s got a lot to do with me sort of keeping her isolated thanks to my job and how I’ve raised her. That’s the reason for the month with Trance and Viddy.”
I nodded at him in understanding.
“Anyway,” he flicked on his turn signal and pulled into the turn lane, behind the row of cars intending to turn right. “She’s an exceptionally great judge of character. And I knew as soon as you talked to her that you were a good person.”
I looked over at her. “What’s y’all’s story?”
His face turned down into a very large frown. One that almost had me backpedaling the instant I saw it.
The big man was definitely scary without even trying. I doubted he even knew how scary he looked right then.
“Briley’s mom and I met in high school. Abilene was troubled from the day that I met her. Being the stupid youth that I was, I thought with my dick and not my head. She asked me to…” He paused. “Abilene was abused in some way that she never talked about. Not even a little hint. A bit came to light later. We can only assume at this point that Abilene was taken advantage of from our school resource officer. I don’t know if she was trying to forget or what, but the night that we conceived Briley—our one and only time together—which I might add we used protection for—she all but begged me to sleep with her. I was thinking with my little head and not my big one, only seeing Abilene for how pretty she was and not how broken, and I did it. I don’t know why. We never really even liked each other to be truthful. But that night…yeah. It was stupid. But we did it, and about six weeks later I found out that Abilene was pregnant.”
