Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 100188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
For some reason I still felt the need to keep Augie behind me, but he slipped out anyway and stepped forward. As the man approached, he eyed me standing next to his grandson and looked me up and down as if inspecting me.
“August,” he said in a clipped tone. “I’ve been trying to reach you for hours.”
“Is everything okay?” Augie asked, frowning.
“I need to talk to you about something,” he said, glancing my way.
“Grandfather, this is Saint Wilde. Saint, this is Jonathan Stiel,” Augie said politely.
I reached out a hand to shake. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Stiel.”
He seemed to pause a beat before taking my hand. His eyes were still studying me, most likely wondering who in the hell I was to his grandson. He probably didn’t see Augie often with men like me. I assumed Augie’s normal friends were a bit more refined than I was.
He shook my hand briefly before turning to Augie. “Why don’t we go inside?”
He passed us and let himself in the front door, leaving us alone on the front porch. Augie looked up at me, and I immediately noticed a change in his entire demeanor from minutes before when we were alone. He seemed tired all of a sudden. And stressed. I wanted to reassure him that whatever was going on with him couldn’t be that bad. That it would all be okay. But what the hell did I know? I was just his self-defense instructor for god’s sake.
“I guess I’d better go,” I said.
“Sorry about this,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting him.”
I smiled at him. “You weren’t really expecting me either, so it’s okay.”
Despite the dim light from the porch fixtures, I could have sworn he blushed. “But still. I should have said thank you.”
“For what?”
“For giving a shit. For caring enough to make sure I got home safely. I’m sorry I was an ass about it.”
“You have my number in case something comes up. Please call me if you need me,” I told him.
I was afraid he was going to get angry at me again for butting in where I didn’t belong, but his face softened into a smile. “Yeah, okay.”
“Good night.” I almost stepped forward to kiss his cheek but managed to stop myself just in time. No sense in creating trouble for him with his grandfather who stood scowling at us from the front door of the farmhouse.
I turned to walk to my truck, feeling a strange sense of apprehension at leaving Augie alone with his grandfather. Which was all kinds of bizarre. Why in the world was I feeling protective of the man around his own family? It didn’t make any sense.
Just before reaching the door of my truck, I felt a vibration in my pocket and pulled my phone back out. It was a text.
August Stiel: Thank you again. Drive safely.
I felt the edges of my lips turn up. I lifted my head to search him out on the front porch, but I saw just the back of him as he disappeared through the front door. I looked back down at my phone and typed in a response.
Me: Stay out of trouble. Keep your self-defense moves for our sessions only. No real-life practice allowed.
August Stiel: Understood. Hey - favor?
Me: What is it?
August Stiel: Text me in 20 minutes with an urgent message I can use as an excuse to boot my grandfather out?
Me: Should I have stayed to protect you from the old guy?
August Stiel: Ha fucking ha.
I drove the rest of the way back to the ranch with a stupid grin on my face. Once I was parked and out of the truck, I leaned back against the door and typed up another text.
Me: URGENT. I am out of milk for my cereal. SOS.
August Stiel: Save Our Sereal? BTW, he’s never leaving. I’m in hell. I just want to go to sleep. Someone kicked my ass at the gym tonight.
Me: Pfft. That was nothing. Wait till next time when we start sparring.
Once I stopped staring goofily at my phone, I realized MJ’s car was parked near the barn alongside Sassy’s Volkswagen Beetle and West’s pickup truck. I made my way to the main house to say hello and see who all was there. I’d been staying in the bunkhouse so my comings and goings didn’t disturb Doc and Grandpa, but I spent most of my time in the main house when I wasn’t sleeping or in town.
When I let myself into the front door, I followed the din to the giant farmhouse kitchen with attached family room. My siblings were sprawled out all over the giant sofas and chairs, and Doc was making something in a blender. Both West and Nico were present, which probably meant their daughter was asleep in the nursery by Doc and Grandpa’s room. Hudson and Charlie were snuggled together in the corner of a sofa, and Hudson’s fingers were stroking down the long length of Charlie’s red hair. The action seemed to be putting his man to sleep despite the noise of everyone talking and the whirr of the blender.