Porter reached out and a horse nuzzled his hand, searching for food. Porter smiled at him and Willa’s anger fully melted away. “You’re not a CIA super spy lying to people all over the globe. You’re a horse trainer who got put in an impossible situation all because of me. How do you not hate me? I’m putting your brother’s career and your life in danger.”
Porter turned to face her, his brow creased. “You think this is your fault. I can hear it in your voice. You’re just as innocent in this as I am. However, if it’s in my power to keep you safe, I will. Don’t ever feel bad about that.”
Willa looked at him and smiled as all the bits and pieces she’d learned about Porter Davies fell into place. “You’d do it just because it’s the right thing to do, wouldn’t you?”
“That,” Porter said as he walked over to her and put his hand on her hip. The heat radiated from his hand, through her clothes and spread across her body. “And because of you. I’ve only known you for a few days, and I already know you’re special to me. I’d never let anything happen to you when I could stop it.”
“I hate to sound defeatist, but do you really think you can take on The Panther? I’ll understand if it’s too much. I can hide until this is over. Hell, I can hire an army to protect me,” Willa told him although the thought of leaving Porter filled her stomach with lead. It didn’t matter that they’d just met this week. She was falling for him hard.
“Family dinner is Sunday. Why don’t you see what you think after that,” Porter said, sounding very sure of himself. Willa had heard the others talking about family dinner, but she just didn’t see how that could line up with military training.
Porter and Willa had already eaten dinner when the sound of tires flying over the gravel lane leading to his house echoed in the country night air. Porter had his rifle in hand before the headlights came into view.
“Who is it?” Willa asked as she came to stand beside him.
Tonight had been a taste of domestic bliss Porter hadn’t even known he’d been missing. They’d cooked dinner together, laughed as they ate, and kissed as they cleaned up. That kissing had led to them making out like teenagers on the couch until Porter had heard the crunch of the gravel.
“They’re going so fast,” Willa cried as she tugged on his arm. “We need to run!”
Porter lowered his rifle and shook his head. “It’s Kale. Only Kale drives that fast.”
“He’s going to hit the house!” Willa yelled as the sports car’s engine didn’t let up.
“Nah, he hasn’t yet,” Porter said as he stepped out onto the porch as the car finally braked hard and went into a controlled spin, piling up the gravel.
The car stopped with the passenger side door even with the sidewalk leading up to the house. The door opened and a man fell out and onto the ground. His fingers curled into the grass as he groaned.
“I think I might be sick.”
Willa popped her head around from where she was hiding behind Porter. “Dad?”
“Everything is spinning,” her father groaned as he collapsed onto the ground. “Get it to stop.”
Kale stepped out of the low slung sports car as Willa rushed forward to help her father. “I thought you’d like to see your dad as quickly as possible.”
Brian Aldridge groaned again as Willa knelt down by his side. “Are you okay?”
“I will be. I’ve driven race cars for charity events. Nothing compared to what I just went through.” Brian grabbed his daughter and looked up at her, his face sweaty and pale. “Don’t ever get in the car with this man. Ever!”
“How are you doing, Willa?” Kale asked, coming around the car and smiling down at her. He reached down, grabbed her father under the arms, and hauled his tech hero to his feet. “All good, sir?”
Brian wavered on his feet and then nodded. “I think the worst of the nausea is gone. Damn,” Brian said, looking up at Porter. “I had this big speech planned to intimidate you, but crawling from a car and nearly throwing up aren’t very intimidating.”
Porter held out his hand. “It wouldn’t have worked anyway. I’m Porter Davies and it’s a real honor to meet you. Willa has told me so much about you.”
Brian looked at his daughter with so much love in his eyes that Porter knew why his brothers-in-law put up with so much crap from his own dad. Because they knew Cy loved his daughters and would do anything for them. Since Matt and Carter loved Porter’s sisters, they put up with it, just like Porter would tolerate any hazing Brian put him through. Porter stilled as he fully thought that out. Did that mean he loved Willa? He cared for her already, but love? His family said it would hit hard and fast, but could this be it? It sure felt like it, and he was pretty sure he looked at Willa the way Matt and Carter looked at his sisters . . . fully and completely in love.
“You too?” Kale muttered to him as he took out his phone and pulled up the Blossom Café Betting App. “I’m going to be the only single guy in town soon.” Kale froze and then smiled. “Actually, that wouldn’t be so bad. With the battle over who runs the Belles, either Nikki or Tandy, the other members are feeling neglected. Now I just need to get Colton and Landon hooked up with someone and the field will be wide open for me.”
Porter chuckled quietly at the thought of Kale surrounded by the Belles. The Keeneston Belles were technically a charitable organization comprised of the single women of Keeneston. When they married, they joined the Keeneston Women’s Group, who were the real force behind the town. However, the Belles liked the attention of being a sorority-like group. They put out a yearly list of Most Eligible Keeneston Bachelors and then pursued them with all the zeal of hunters on the first day of deer season.
Nikki had been the leader of the Belles for a long time and had led with iron tits. Since Tandy moved back to Keeneston she’d been trying to get the Belles to soften a little and focus more on the charity aspect of the group than husband hunting. Right now there was a battle for leadership between the two. It would get figured out soon, but for now everyone just kept a wide berth when the two were in the same room together.
“Come on in, sir,” Porter said to Brian Aldridge. “Let’s talk.”
Kale followed excitedly behind his nerd hero as Willa led them into the living room.
Brian took a seat on the couch next to Willa and hugged her to him. “You really think you can keep us safe? I will admit the security at Desert Sun Farm is tight. I think Willa should join me there.”
Porter was about to tell him it wasn’t necessary when the front door was kicked in and his father came barging in with the largest gun he’d ever seen and more ammo strapped to him than any one man should be able to carry.
Brian screamed and shoved Willa to the ground as if the coffee table would protect them.
“I saw a car. Is everything secure?” his dad asked as he scanned the room.
“Yes, Dad. Kale just brought Brian Aldridge over to see Willa,” Porter said as his mother ran in the door behind his father with the Acid Gun of Death in one hand and a tray of brownies in the other.
“Do I shoot someone or feed them?” Gemma asked as she looked around the room.
“Mom! Where did you get the Acid Gun of Death?” Porter asked as calmly as he could while he raced over to her and grabbed the gun.
“Sophie thought I would need it. She also made that gun for your dad. It was my anniversary gift to him. Did I hear Willa’s dad is here?”
Brian Aldridge slowly raised his head. “Are you here to kill us?”
“Kill you?” Porter’s mother laughed. “No, we’re Porter’s parents. We thought to meet our son’s girlfriend’s father and welcome you to town.”
Brian looked from Gemma to Cy to Porter and then to Willa. “I think it’s best if we get you out of here.”
Willa smiled patiently at her father as she stood up. She went over to Gemma and took the brownies from her. “Thank you for dessert, Gemma. They smell delicious. See, Dad, I’m perfectly safe here.”
“Wait, wait, w
ait,” her father said, standing up. “Let me get this straight. This crazy driver is the infamous Kale Mueez, the crazy woman with whatever an Acid Gun of Death and brownies are, is Porter’s mother, and the crazy man with the biggest gun I’ve ever seen—”
“Thank you,” Cy said with a cocky grin.
“Is Porter’s father?” Brian continued. “And you’re dating Porter, the CIA agent who lied to you and thought you were a traitor?”
“I never thought she was a traitor,” Porter told him. If this were happening to his brother, Porter would have been laughing his ass off. As it was happening to him, it wasn’t so funny.
“Dad, you can put your gun away. Although Sophie did a really nice job,” Porter said, trying to regain some control of this situation.
His father slung the gun around so it rested on his hip. “Your cousin is very talented with weapons. She must get it from her mother since my brother is the worst shot of all of us. Well, except Pierce. He couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.”
Brian shook his head as if in a bad dream. “Get your things, Willa. We’re leaving.”
“Dad. I’m staying with Porter. As you can see, I’m very safe.”
Brian was still shaking his head. “His family is crazy and besides he only has a rifle. Now that I see his dad’s gun, it’s clear the boy can’t protect you as well.”
Oh no. It wasn’t Cy’s face that had Porter wanting to hide. It was his mother’s. “Excuse me,” Gemma said sweetly. “Are you saying my son isn’t good enough to protect your daughter?”
Willa looked at Porter with horror. She could see where things were heading and it was like watching a burning car rolling downhill into an explosives plant. There would be no survivors.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Willa, get your things. I knew I should have handled this myself.”
“There is no one better equipped to protect your daughter than my son. My son is strong, brave, intelligent, and loyal. He is well trained in multiple fighting techniques, can outride the toughest bronc, and is a crack shot with that rifle you scoffed at. Plus, you should see what he can do with a spoon. How dare you come into his house and tell him he isn’t good enough for your daughter,” his mother said, her voice slowly rising as she stalked toward Brian.
Porter opened his mouth to try to diffuse the situation but his mother simply held up one finger to stop him. Porter’s mouth snapped shut.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. My daughter’s life is invaluable and for all I know your son is just after her money. It won’t be the first time that’s happened. I’ve chased them off just like I will your son.”
“Duck and cover, son. Your mother is about to explode,” Cy whispered to Porter.
“Dad!” Willa yelled, clearly angry, but Gemma held up her finger to Willa. The ultimate mom move worked because Willa’s own mouth snapped shut as she moved to take Porter’s hand in hers.
Cy took a giant step back and Porter thought it was a good idea. He hadn’t seen his mother this angry since he and Parker had accidentally blown up her vegetable garden when they were thirteen. He had, however, also learned a valuable lesson that day about the quantities of C-4 needed to blow up things.
“How dare you?” Gemma challenged in a low voice as she stalked Brian around the living room table. “I have raised my son to be an honest, hard-working gentleman. I’ve raised him to only care about what’s on the inside of a person, not any of the trappings of money, popularity, or fame. Obviously you think too highly of yourself. I was coming here to tell you how wonderful your daughter is. How much we enjoy her company. How talented she is. Then you insult my son and by inference, my husband and me. I should shoot you for such a narrow-minded, arrogant act. Instead, I think you need a timeout,” Gemma said calmly and slowly. Porter knew that tone. It was the mother tone that sent him and Parker running for cover.
“You can’t put me in a timeout!” Brian scoffed. Then his mother reached across the table, grabbed him by the shirt, and yanked him forward so that their faces were only inches apart.
“You insulted my family. You’re lucky this is all you’re getting.”
Zap!
Brian Aldridge crumpled to the ground.
“What did you do to him?” Willa cried as she dropped Porter’s arm and rushed over to where her father was halfway lying face down across the coffee table.
Braaaap. Brian Aldridge farted.
“It’s a fart taser. Isn’t it great?” his mother said happily as if she hadn’t just tased Willa’s father and as if he weren’t just lying across the table unconscious and farting. “My niece, Sophie, made it. She made my husband’s gun, too. Would you like me to get you one?”
“The taser or the gun?” Willa asked, and Porter busted out laughing. He had been momentarily worried Willa would be mad and leave after this, but the slight tilt of her lips told him otherwise.
“I guess either. The gun is a little bulky, though. I bet she could make you something that fit into your riding boot.”
“Great idea, Aunt Gemma.” Speak of the devil. Sophie was walking through the door with a smile on her face and carrying a large duffle bag. She stopped and looked at Brian farting on the coffee table. “What did he do?”
“That’s Willa’s father. He was a little hysterical and needed a timeout,” Gemma said calmly.
Porter saw Willa frown and worry filled him again.
“Mr. and Mrs. Davies, I’m sorry for my father.”
“Gemma and Cy, dear,” his mother said, patting Willa’s hand. “I’m sure he’ll apologize when he wakes up and realizes what a good man my son is. The important question is if you realize it.”
Willa turned and smiled at Porter and his whole world stopped spinning in that one moment. “I do. I think he’s a great man.”
17
When Willa first met Porter, she’d thought he was a groom. She didn’t care then because she knew he was “a good one” as her mother used to tell her. Since then, she’d learned so much more about him. Porter Davies was a man that women only dreamed about. Even if his mother tased her father, Porter was still “a good one” and Willa wasn’t about to let him go.
“Well, not the worst way it could have gone when parents meet,” Sophie Dagher said with a laugh. “He’s still alive. Now, I have weapons.” Sophie froze. Her eyes went wide as she stared at Porter. “Sweet Mary, who gave Porter the Acid Gun of Death?”
Porter rolled his eyes at his cousin and Willa laughed. They were playing up this so-called acid gun to the point of hilarity.
“I misfired it one time and this is what I get.”
“I’m pretty sure it was every time you held it. Nash still has nightmares. He wakes up screaming for someone to take the acid gun from Porter before we’re all turned to goo,” Sophie said as she set the duffle bag on the bar top next to the brownies.
Cy’s father moved to talk to Kale, and Porter rolled his eyes again at his cousin. “Fine, here. Take it. Why did you give it to my mother in the first place?”
“She’s remodeling, and it’s a very easy way to take down a wall,” Sophie said as if that were a common use for a gun that shot out a sticky acid bomb so strong it would melt practically anything, at least according to Porter. Willa was pretty sure he was exaggerating just a bit.
Porter held out the gun, stepped forward, and Willa’s father farted so loudly that Porter stumbled. As Porter tried to catch himself, his finger slipped onto the trigger and then an acid bomb went flying.
“Whoops,” Porter muttered as everyone looked around to see where the acid bomb hit.
The audible gasp behind her let Willa know when Kale saw it. The acid bomb had hit Kale’s sports car dead center. The expensive black matte car was currently melting like wet paint onto the ground.
“Wow, I guess it really does melt anything,” Willa said with wonder as she watched the car dissolve.
“My car!” Kale cried as he watched in horror as his sports car was reduced to a pile
of goo.
Sophie grabbed the Acid Gun of Death from Porter and shook her head at him. “I defended you. I thought Nash was being dramatic. Now I owe him an apology,” Sophie huffed at her cousin before turning to Willa. “Now, for your riding boots,” Sophie said, reaching back into her bag. “There’s not much room in them, however, I’m sure they’re good leather. Leather makes the perfect sheath for a knife. If you show you me your boots, I can have Sydney make the perfect in-boot sheath for this beauty.”
Willa’s eyes went wide as Sophie pulled the scabbard from a shiny knife. “I couldn’t stab someone,” Willa said instantly. The idea of sinking a blade into a real live person made her nauseous.
“You can do anything when your life is on the line,” Sophie answered as if it were fact. Willa supposed it was. Before Porter spooned the man to death the other night, Willa had been looking for a weapon to do just that. “Now, this is made from 9260 Spring Steel. It’s flexible and extremely tough. It’s also extremely sharp. You can stab or slice with it. We’ll practice knife skills at family dinner.”
“You practice knife skills at family dinner?” Willa asked as she took the knife Sophie was handing her.
“Where do you think Porter learned how to kill someone with a spoon? I might also suggest wearing athletic clothes under a dress. You never know when you’ll need to take off crawling through barbed wire or throwing an ax. The athletic wear will definitely help. Well, Porter has my number. Call anytime.”
Willa’s father farted and groaned. “Wait, Sophie. Where do I get one of those tasers?” Willa asked.
Sophie grinned and reached into her bag of weapons. “Here you go.” Sophie tossed what looked like lipstick to her. Willa turned the bottom of the tube and out came two prongs, painted red.
“Just press the bottom of the tube,” Sophie instructed.
Willa did so and sparks came to life between the two small prongs. “This is so cool,” Willa said as she gave the taser a little zap.
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