The Country Duet(33)
In a matter of moments, Teale rounds the corner throwing herself into my chest. She catches me by surprise, but it only takes me a second to brace myself and pull her ass up in my hands. Her legs wrap around my middle, locking her ankles right above my ass.
“What are you doing here?”
She wrinkles her nose. “Got tired of waiting on your ass.”
“Is that so?”
She twirls a piece of hair. “And we are going to be late at this rate. I want the perfect seat and the biggest bucket of popcorn.”
“Right now, you’re giving me another idea.” I push her back into the wall then show her my plans with a thrust of my hips.
“We will be late.”
Her words die in my mouth when our lips meet. Our hands race to rip each other’s clothes off and then we’re a mess in the middle of my bed with not one more protest from Teale about being late. It’s her cries of pleasure that always drive me forward. The way her body moves underneath mine is what keeps me intrigued and awestruck.
“Guess we are now going to the nine thirty show?” she asks, running the pad of her finger across my lips.
“It’s all your fault.” I capture her finger, nibbling on it.
“Mine?”
“Yes, you.”
“How do you figure?” She raises both eyebrows.
“You don’t just simply throw your perfect little body into mine then wrap those sexy legs around my waist without distracting me.”
Teale rolls her eyes amused. “Dress. I want tacos before the movie now.”
I push up off the bed, releasing her finger while licking away my teeth marks before round two happens.
“Before or after we find a shit pot for Dave?”
“What?” She sits up in my bed, giving me the perfect view of her naked body.
We dress each other while I explain Dave’s pot plan to her. This has to be more than love. Our connection is so deep that I can tell Teale anything with no fear of judgment. After convincing Teale I would not ride in her car, we hop into my truck. It was also a fight about who was going to drive. Gordon would give me a heart attack driving my baby.
“He does know that there are different styles of commodes that would work, right?” Teale’s hand squeezes my thigh.
“I tried, but you know Dave. When he gets an idea in his head, it’s all over.”
Her head lies on my shoulder with her hair tickling my neck. “You’re a good man, Hunter. A real good one. Never thought your type existed.”
“I’m an exhausted man,” I admit. “Need some rest.”
“You can sleep during the movie.”
I chuckle. “Probably will. Chick flicks have never been my idea of fun.”
We find ourselves at every single store, measuring pots and coming up empty handed.
Teale balances her huge bucket of popcorn and soda in her hands while passing the two tickets to the worker. I tried to help her with something but she refused, certain I’d eat her popcorn.
We walk down the dark hallway looking for theater nine. I wrap my hands low around her waist, pulling her back into me.
“Come home with me next weekend.”
“Uh, no.”
“Yes, I want you to meet my parents and see the ranch where we will live one day.”
Her breathing hitches, but she doesn’t say no, so I take that as a yes. We find our seats and as expected, the movie is predictable and shit. A broken girl finding a new life in a new town, hunky man saves the day; the girl gets scared and runs. I find myself watching the profile of Teale’s face as she’s entranced by the movie.
A lone tear streams down her face. The broken woman from the movie is running from her new love and town. I react before even thinking about it. Reaching over, I wipe away the tear and then kiss where it once lay.
“I’ll never let you run, baby. I’ll always catch you,” I whisper into her ear.
Teale climbs into my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck, and sobs. My girl is holding so much pain deep inside her body. Her own secrets are eating her alive, and I can do nothing but hold her.
Chapter 15
Hunter
“Any man can be thrown from an untamed horse, but it takes a real man to get back on and tame it.” –Unknown
“I’m so excited to meet him. It’s like I already know the man.”
I glance over to Teale. “Just warning you that he’s going to make comments about your looks and they’ll for sure be crude ones.”
She shrugs. “I can’t wait.”
Teale’s response to seeing the miles of wagon wheel fence is hilarious. Then she soaks up the rest of the junk, not missing a thing. I point out the old tractor I’m restoring.
“This place,” she whispers.
“Wait until you see the inside. This is nothing.”
“He has so much shit. I can’t believe someone could have this much crap.”
“Yeah, you’re telling me. The first few months working here, I thought the same thing, but now I just know it’s the way of Dave.”
“Could you imagine how big of a boner those men on that picker show would get if they saw this place?”
“Most of it is just junk and scrap metal, but he has hundreds of antiques that people would pay good money for. He told me he used to go to auctions on a daily basis buying shit.” I point to a line of wagon wheels. “Those things are selling for good money, but he’s welded them all together.”