Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 121083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
“I thought I was doing a better job at hiding all these aches and pains, but trust me, it’s more than just my legs that hurt.” Austin laughed softly and Kitt jerked around. The plate slid from his hands and hit the sink with a soapy thump.
“Kitt, I just wanted to apologize for the other day. I haven’t had a chance, yet.” Austin walked up to him. Kitt turned back to the sink and picked the plate back up, rinsed it and turned back to Austin almost immediately. The look on Kitt’s face was clear: he had no idea what Austin was talking about.
“With my men at the pond,” Austin explained. The nice view of Kitt’s ass ensured Austin stayed behind him as he spoke. Something about this man doing the dishes for his stepmom seemed incredibly sweet and still totally hot at the same time.
“I should be apologizin’ to you. I don’t usually lose it like that. They just weren’t takin’ no for an answer,” Kitt said, finishing the plate. He grabbed a hand towel, but didn’t turn around. He just kept looking down at the sink.
Austin took the chance to slide in behind Kitt, placing the dirty plates he carried in the sink. Kitt jerked forward, but the sink was in his way. He sidestepped Austin, immediately moving away from him as quickly as possible. His movements were jerky and rushed, making Austin smile. Maybe, Kitt wasn’t quite as unaffected as he pretended to be.
“Should I wash these?” Austin very casually asked, keeping his eyes on Kitt.
“No, I’ll do it,” Kitt said and clearly waited for Austin to move.
“I can do it,” Austin said finally looking down at the sink. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d washed a dish. Even now, a cleaning lady came in every morning to go over his house. Regardless, it didn’t seem too complicated. Soapy water on one side, clean water on the other. He began to wash his and Mike’s plates. “My men are paid to be protective of me, and I’m sorry it got out of hand. I talked to them, told them to stay off your property. I’ve been known to be a bit of a hard ass in my former life, they thought they were just following my orders.”
Kitt stayed silent. Austin glanced at him from the corner of his eye and drew out washing the second plate.
“Thanks for all the help today. You pretty much run the show whenever you’re around. The men here really respect you,” Austin said, putting the second plate in the drying rack. He looked around for a hand towel, and Kitt handed him the one he folded and unfolded in his hands.
“We all respect one another. It’s the way things work around here,” Kitt finally replied after a moment’s silence. Austin looked up to see his cheeks were stained with a blush, the sight catching him off guard. It took a second, but Austin realized he had to be responsible for the blush. His heart warmed with the knowledge he unnerved Kitt just as much as Kitt unnerved him. Everything inside Austin softened just a bit. He liked Kitt. This whole time he’d only thought of him as a sex toy, but in this moment, he knew there was more to it than he’d realized.
“You two! Kitt Kelly! I knew you were in here doin’ the dishes. And, Austin Grainger doin’ dishes in my house, no, absolutely not! You two, go. Everyone’s tryin’ to leave anyway. Early day tomorrow.” Mrs. Kelly grabbed the towel from Austin’s hand and shooed them toward the door.
“Thank you for dinner, Mrs. Kelly.” Austin chuckled at the look on her face.
“I’m Lily and you’re Austin and you’re welcome,” she said with a smile, standing in the door once they were back outside. “You’re welcome here for dinner anytime.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Kitt said. He was back to himself and again completely ignoring Austin as if none of their conversation had just happened. Kitt turned back, but only to give Lily a wink before he took the first step down. Austin wasn’t sure Lily was all that much older than Kitt. But, they seemed to like each other and it was clear Lily mothered Kitt.
Austin found Mike standing at the railing of the porch waiting for him. Kitt got a knuckle bump from him as he went by.
“Good night, everyone. Kitt, stop by for coffee in the mornin’, it’ll be ready.” Lily waved at them all before shutting the door.
“She’s lonely,” Mike said following Kitt down the stairs.
Kitt turned toward his four-wheeler and climbed on. “I know. Good night, see you in the mornin’.” He started the machine giving it gas as the engine fired to life.
“Good night,” Austin said quietly as he took the steps down a little slower. He watched as Kitt never looked back at him. His heart lingered in that moment with the bright red cheeks. Kitt certainly couldn’t hear Austin. He was already backed out and barreling away. “See you in the morning.”
Chapter 7
How many sheep did a guy need to count to get his brain to stop and allow him to get some shut eye? Kitt never had a problem sleeping. He never struggled. He fell into bed every night, closed his eyes and sleep came. But, in the last three nights, he’d only logged a handful of hours in. The problem stemmed from the fact most of his thoughts stayed fully focused on Austin which apparently translated to a stout case of insomnia.
After three full days of seeing Austin every single day, it wasn’t even so much a sexual thing anymore. Okay, completely not true, and Kitt rolled his eyes at the thought. It totally was a sexual thing, but that’s not what kept him up night after night.
Tonight, his mind stayed focused on how hard Austin Grainger actually worked. It was hard work, and they kept a grueling, back breaking pace. They let nothing get in their way. Kitt, Mike and Micah had worked like this together for years. They had it all down to a routine and knew each other well, but still Austin managed to fit in working side by side with them without problem. He instinctively fell in sync with their team.