Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 90721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Kettle met us at the door wearing his own Dixie Wardens cut, looking intimidating as hell, despite his beauty.
He was tall, nearly 6’5, according to Sebastian, and built to kick ass. His hair was styled into a Mohawk of rich chocolate brown, and his skin was a smooth golden brown. I guessed that he was of Italian descent with the patrician features. His face was eloquent, sharp lines, and a strong jaw. His nose was perfectly straight, and not a blemish was in sight. He looked like a badass to the extreme, even in his perfectly creased jeans and dark grey V-neck shirt.
And his name was the shit.
That’d been one of the only things that Sebastian had told me about one of the club members.
He’d explained that despite his size, Kettle was a levelheaded man. He was easy to get along with, didn’t find much fault in anybody. One second he’d be perfectly happy, then something, or someone, would disrupt his calm, and he’d just snap.
Like the whistle of a teakettle. One moment all was quiet, the next, the whistle of the teakettle would sound, and Kettle would ignite.
Sebastian’s phone rang, and he cursed.
“Will you get Johnny out?” Sebastian asked, not waiting for an answer before stepping out of the truck and slamming the door.
“Of course.” I muttered.
Johnny watched me with his father’s eyes as I unbuckled him from his seat, and then gathered him in my arms. He wrapped his hands around my neck, pulled me closer, and kissed my cheek.
“I love you.”
My heart warmed. “I love you too, Sweet Pea.”
He was so sweet. He’d been telling me that for weeks now, whenever he saw me. He’d tell me over the phone, and as the weeks passed by, I fell more and more in love with the little boy.
As we reached the entrance, I finally caught the tail end of the phone conversation Sebastian was having.
“...are you sure? Is there a gas can and a grill? Yeah? Fuck. I’ll be there in five.” Sebastian growled as he punched the off button and barreled back to the truck.
“I’m sorry, baby. I have to go. There’s been another arson. Kettle, can I borrow your truck?” He asked urgently.
In answer, Kettle removed his keys from his pocket, tossed them towards Sebastian’s waiting hand, and caught Sebastian’s in return.
“Give ‘em a ride home for me. We’ll switch back trucks later. Thanks.” He said rushing towards me, giving me and his son a quick kiss, and then taking off at a dead run towards Kettle’s truck.
We all watched in silence as he pulled out of the parking lot, and sped in the general direction of downtown.
Turning my eyes to Kettle, I smiled uncertainly.
Kettle wrapped his arm around my shoulders and walked us inside, leading us to a seat where a very pretty woman sat.
The woman was about my age, twenty-seven or so. She was Hispanic with hard brown eyes. She looked like she took shit from no one and ate nails for breakfast.
And I loved the shirt she was wearing, and told her so as soon as I made it up to the table.
She smiled shyly before glancing at Kettle at my side, and then coming back to rest on me. “Thank you.”
Kettle held my hand out for Johnny, who went willingly.
Johnny and Kettle had a relationship like no other. It was like Kettle understood the three year olds every word, despite the fact that the majority of the time it sounded like gibberish.
Now that my hands were free, I held them out to the woman. “I’m Baylee Roberts. That’s Johnny. Sebastian, his dad, had to leave. He was called to the scene of a fire.” I said by way of greeting.
“I’m Annalise. It’s nice to meet you.” I said politely.
It didn’t go unnoticed that she failed to mention her last name, which I felt had more to do with the fact that Kettle was watching and listening to her intently.
I enjoyed dinner with them, but felt horrible that Kettle had to drive me home, and Annalise had refused to go with us, citing work in the morning.
Kettle agreed, albeit reluctantly, to let her go. However, he’d made her promise to call him.
I knew she wouldn’t, and Kettle did too by the hardness to his jaw.
I sensed more to this story, but since this wasn’t my friend, nor someone I knew all that well, I didn’t feel like it was my right to ask him what was going on.
Kettle was a nice man, and I appreciated him taking me home, even though he’d really, really wanted to stay with the woman.
Being the nosy woman I was, and searching for something neutral to talk about, I asked. “Why weren’t you called out to that fire?”
He grimaced. “You heard that Sebastian was demoted when he’d been arrested, right?”
Sebastian had told my about his demotion a few weeks ago when he’d been released from wearing the ankle monitor that tracked his movements. He’d told me exactly why he was wearing it, and what had happened at the station in the aftermath.
“Yes, he told me he used to be Lieutenant. Why?” I asked him.
Kettle’s jaw tightened and I admired how handsome he was, yet again.
“He still has the same duties as a lieutenant. Same responsibilities. Same respect. Everything but the title and the pay. The Captain is fucking him over, and Sebastian won’t do a single thing about it.” He told me, turning on his blinker, and turning onto Sebastian’s street.
Well that just...sucked.
“When will he get that back? He’s no longer being monitored. Hell, they expunged his record in exchange for the ankle monitor. What exactly is he supposed to do now?” I asked as Kettle pulled into Sebastian’s driveway, parking next to my car.
He sat there silently before answering. “He needs to report the Captain’s behavior. He won’t do it, though, because he doesn’t want to be a dick about it. He won’t let anybody else do it, either.”
My mind whirled. “What if I did it?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. You’d have to have something to report first, and that’s not happening right now. He won’t ever bring you into this shit storm willingly. So he’ll keep getting called out on false alarms, and expected to show up when he’s not really needed.”