“Some of us need more time than others,” I reply. When Jude went all in with Ronnie, he went all the fucking way in. As for me, I liked the foreplay of the chase, trying to coax more out of Letty, enjoying her shy smiles and blushing anytime we talked to one another. The closer she turns totwenty-one, the less I’ve been able to hold back. The proof that she’s more than capable has been the last two nights.
“Not wrong about that. We all gotta do things in our own time. Thanks, by the way, for handling this.” Jude holds up the stack of papers, giving me a nod before pushing away from his computer.
“Never a problem. Obviously, we’re keeping what I had you do out of other ears.” I arch an eyebrow in question.
“Your secret is safe with me. I’m sure you’ll eventually tell Letty, or she’ll find out, and it could go sideways. I got lucky with Ronnie, you might not receive the same response.” It’s a thought I’ve been tossing back and forth all morning. I only pushed the subject when I woke up this morning, tired from the lack of sleep I’ve been getting while waiting for Letty to respond to my text. I knew she wouldn’t respond right away, especially after her work schedule at Twisted Oak. Still, with what Jude was able to achieve, it’ll at least give me a semblance of peace when she’s not able to respond.
“I’ll cross that bridge when the time comes.” It was trickier for Jude to work his magic on Letty’s phone. It happens when the phone isn’t on a normal phone plan, essentially a burner, which is what Jude called it. The man can hack into government-type shit, but putting a tracker on Letty’s cell? Yeah, it took some time, and when he cussed up a storm, I got worried. Apparently, she could have noticed him nosing around. It was sheer luck she was probably still asleep, it saved our bacon. I should have sent a text while he did it, but I’d already done that earlier in the morning.
“I’m sure you fucking will. Now, do you need any help with Letty’s car, or do you have it handled?” He’s referring tothe call I just received from Letty and why we’re walking toward the front door with haste.
“I’ve got it. I’ll call Colt, he owes me. Might have you do some digging soon, deeper, if you know what I mean.” Ronnie, his woman, and Rory, his sister, are sitting on the couch in the living room, controllers in hand while talking shit to one another on the split screen.
“Alright, I’m here if you need me. I’m gonna go fuck with my girls. Call me later.” He slaps me on the back before pulling me in for a quick hug, then opens the door and basically kicks me out.
“Yeah, yeah,” I reply, getting out of the way. I’d make more of a comment, except Letty is waiting on me, and I’ve got to line everything up in order to get her car back on the road for tomorrow. Shit, I’d give her my car if she’d take it, but knowing Letty, that thought would have her losing her mind and starting a conversation that would finish with me shutting her up with my mouth. Where that leads, I’d let her figure out. If it were up to me, I’d taste every damn inch of her smooth, milky skin until I finally land between her firm thighs.
I make it to my car, turn the ignition, and put it inDrive,only to have to resituate myself beneath my jeans. Jesus, I’m going to have to get myself under control. I go about driving out of Jude’s neighborhood while pulling up Colt’s contact via my CarPlay.
“It’s not usually an attorney calling me on a Sunday, but me calling an attorney. I’m assuming this is bad news?” Colt answers on the third ring with a chuckle. He’s not wrong. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten phone calls in themiddle of the night and on weekends when I didn’t work for myself.
“Well, that depends on whether you’re busy today.” I make the turn onto Main Street after a few minutes of leaving the neighborhood. Traffic is light so far, and glancing at the clock, I see why. It’s well after the time when the churches would let out, that’s not to say the restaurants and shopping areas.
“I’m at the garage, tinkering on Dad’s old truck. You know how that goes. One thing leads to another, you find the problem on why it won’t fire up only to figure out the reason wasn’t what you thought it was.” Colt owns the local mechanic shop in town and handles the bulk of everyone’s car unless you go into the city and use a car dealership.
“Shit, I hate to ask you to step away from your project.” I trail off, seeing if he’s even willing to do anything else today.
“Nah, you’d give me a break from a clusterfuck. Whatcha got going on?”
“I’m not exactly sure yet. Probably a set of tires of some sort. I’m on my way to my woman now. She’s apprehensive to let me help, so if it involves more than a few hundred dollars, don’t tell her, and I’ll cover the rest.” Seems like I’m omitting the truth a lot today. My only hope is that Letty sees it’s not to be a dick or a controlling asshole and instead because I want to help.
“Ah, yeah, I’ve got no problem helping you out. That won’t take but maybe thirty minutes max. The wait will be on Locke and if he has a repo to do or not,” Colt explains.
“Not worried about that. She needs to stop at her place for a minute as it is. That’ll eat some of it up.” It sure beatsusing the nationally known company and will help keep it local.
“I’ll give him a call. Shoot me a text of the year, make, and model when you get there. I’ll pull the tires and give Locke the details, too.” I’m going to end up owing him once this is all said and done.
“It’s a silver Honda Accord, not sure on the year, but you can at least give that to Locke.” Colt makes a noise in the back of his throat, and I’m more than prepared for the razzing he’ll no doubt send my way.
“Alright, it’s clear we’ve got some catching up to do. Looking forward to meeting your lady.”
“Yeah, yeah. We’ll get together soon enough. And keep your eyes to yourself. I’d hate for you to get on my bad side.” I feel possessive as fuck about Letty.
“Message received loud and clear. You know I wouldn’t do that anyway. I get it all the same.” Colt isn’t a dick, not like some guys who, when they see what they like, go after the other party, taken or not.
“I know. I’ll see after a while. Thanks for taking care of this for me.” I’m about to walk into the grocery store. When I told Letty I wasn’t that far away, I wasn’t lying. The longest part it took me to get here was saying my goodbyes to Jude, and he more than wanted to be apprised of the situation.
“Not a problem. We’ll get her car fixed in no time.” We hang up the phone as I wait at the light to turn into the parking lot. I’m already looking for Letty, keeping my eyes peeled, and when I spot her, I’m not really happy with what I see. The door to her car is open, she’s sitting inside, and while I’d rather she were locked inside with the airconditioning running, I can’t say I’m surprised. Letty has mentioned money a few times, inadvertently, and only to change the subject right away. I’m sure there’s a reason, and said reason is to save money.
When the light turns green, I move with the pace of other cars, and while I’d love nothing fucking more than to ram my vehicle into theirs in order to get them to move faster, I bide my time. My patience pays off because as I’m entering the parking lot, a car is backing out right next to Letty’s. I’m in the spot before she realizes who’s beside her, it isn’t until I open the door and step out that her eyes lift to mine.
“Matthew.” My name comes out with emotion. I can see she’s barely holding it together. I do the one thing I can: wrap her in my arms and pull her into my chest.
“Letty,” I reply, kissing the crown of her head. I feel her take a deep breath as a shudder leaves her body, and while I don’t know every nuance of the woman in my arms, this, letting me hold her, being the person she needs, well, I’ll take the present with every gratitude a man can give.
“I’m okay, promise.” She pulls back. Her eyes are red-rimmed, and I can tell she’s trying not to cry.
“Fuck yeah, you are, and if you’re not, I’ve got you. You know that, right?” I dip my knees, allowing her to see the truth behind my words.
