Forever Thrown: Forever Bluegrass #16

by Kathleen Brooks

  Porter ran his tongue over her nipples and all talking stopped. Willa groaned as Porter took his time exploring every inch of her body. He learned what every gasp, every moan, and every change in breathing meant.

  When he finally finished undressing Willa, her body was sated and she had a satisfied little smile on her lips. “I don’t know how much better it can get,” Willa said on a sigh as Porter rolled on a condom.

  “Let’s see about that. Wrap your arms around my neck,” Porter told her. He reached down and hooked her legs around his waist. A second later they were standing and he had her back up against the wall.

  “Oh my God, it gets better,” Willa gasped.

  Porter tried. He really did. When he entered the café for lunch the next day with Willa on his arm, he tried not to grin like an idiot. It didn’t work. One look at his goofy smile and Willa’s satisfied one and bets went flying.

  Porter was too happy to even care that folks were placing bets on him and Willa. Porter pulled out a chair for Willa at a table for two in the back. He walked around to his chair and sat down. He saw the Rose sisters move to turn up their hearing aids to eavesdrop and decided to have some fun.

  “Do you think we should get one of those blood tests done to see if you’re pregnant yet? I’ve heard you can tell as soon as six days if you’re pregnant,” Porter said quietly.

  Willa’s eyes went comically wide. “You used a condom, right?” she said, not realizing Porter was playing it up for the Rose sisters.

  Porter pulled out his phone and sent her a quick text.

  “The first one broke, remember?” Porter said, pointing to his phone to tell Willa to look at hers.

  She read the text about the Rose sisters and grinned.

  You’re bad, Willa texted back, but played along.

  That’s not what you said last night. Or this morning. Or later this morning. Or right before we left to come here, Porter wrote back. Yeah, that was the reason for the goofy grin.

  The door to the café opened and a man walked in. His suit was dove gray, his shirt a bright pink, his tie mint green. His hair was cut to perfection and his face was shaven.

  “Bonjour,” he said with a smile to the Rose sisters.

  “Qui es-tu?” Miss Violet asked who he was in perfect French. Porter knew through Landon’s time with the Rose sisters teaching him the old traditional recipes that Miss Violet had gone to culinary school in France and was already fluent when she married her French chef husband, Anton.

  “Ah, the lovely lady speaks French,” the man said in heavily accented English as he reached for Miss Violet’s hand and brought it up to his lips for a kiss. “It makes this Frenchman’s heart happy to hear. What should I order from this quaint café?”

  Porter watched Miss Violet recommend the special and told him he’d enjoy the soufflé for dessert. Porter didn’t like the way the man oohed and aahed in surprise that someplace as small as Keeneston would have anything French.

  Poppy sat him at a table near the front door and Porter caught him looking around like a tourist, taking everything in.

  “He doesn’t seem dangerous,” Willa whispered. “Do you think he’s here to kill us?”

  “Right now I’m going with the assumption everyone new is trying to kill us,” Porter told her as Poppy brought them their food.

  “I don’t like the looks of him,” Poppy whispered. “He gives me the creepy crawlies.”

  Porter and Willa ate in silence as they watched every move the visitor made. The Frenchman seemed relaxed as he chatted with those around him, asked about the town’s history, and exclaimed over the tour of the bourbon distillery owned by Cady Woodson.

  “I think we’ll go out the back,” Porter said, dropping his voice as Poppy set the soufflé in front of the man.

  The man cocked his head as he examined the soufflé and tentatively put his spoon into it. His smile fell into a frown as he tasted it. “Such a shame. It’s a bit flat, but only the most talented French cooks can truly make a perfect soufflé.”

  Porter stood and walked to Willa’s chair. He put his body between her and the Frenchman as they prepared to walk out the back.

  “Bless his heart, he’s a dead man for insulting Miss Violet’s soufflé and he doesn’t even realize it,” Pam Gilbert said with a shake of her head. “Miss Violet never has a flat soufflé.”

  “The soufflé was excellent,” Willa agreed. “Maybe we can snag another one as we sneak out the kitchen?”

  “Gun!” Pam yelled suddenly.

  Porter shoved Willa down as Pam flipped the table over, but no gunshot rang out.

  Thunk.

  The sound echoed around the café even as weapons were pulled. Porter covered Willa with his body and slowly looked over his shoulder from where he lay on the ground. The table blocked his view so when no gunshot rang out he peeked over the table.

  Miss Violet stood with a crepe pan hanging from her hand. “My soufflés are never flat, connard.”

  “Miss Violet, I thought the crepe pan was too heavy for you now,” Zinnia called as she ran out from the kitchen.

  “I switched up to a lightweight one. It’s a good two pounds lighter. Doesn’t have the same deep resonating thunk as the heavier one when you hit it against someone’s head, but for a one-pound pan, I think it does the job well enough.”

  “Dog-gonnit!” Pam said angrily. “That’s the third assassin I’ve missed. My Hummer is right outside and I didn’t even have a chance to run him down.”

  “We could have the boys toss him out onto the street for you to run over,” Miss Lily offered.

  “No,” Pam sighed. “That’s cheating.”

  Porter turned to see that Willa was already standing. This time there was no fear in her eyes, only laughter and a trace amount of anger. “It’s one thing to try to kill my boyfriend and kidnap me,” she said with her hands on her hips. “It’s quite another to criticize the best soufflé I’ve ever had.”

  Miss Violet preened under the praise. “You’re such a dear. Why don’t you grab another soufflé?”

  The front door opened and Parker, Kale, and Brian Aldridge walked in. Parker looked down at the unconscious man sprawled onto the floor, to the gun that had been kicked away from his hand, and to Miss Violet with the crepe pan in her hand, then he smiled. “Good to see you back in action with the crepe pan, Miss Violet. So you walloped another assassin. What is this? Number three? Four?”

  “I’m sure I’m up to six by now. But he got walloped for saying my soufflé was flat,” Miss Violet said with anger and looking ready to wallop the man again.

  Parker bent down and cuffed the man. “Your soufflés are never flat. I’ll take him to Desert Sun Farm with the others. Maybe he’ll fall down the stairs for his bad manners.”

  Porter saw Kale sending a message and soon Deputy Luke Tanner arrived with his cruiser to haul the man away with Parker. Brian was talking to Willa as Greer and Tilly rushed inside. Everything was back to normal in a matter of minutes.

  “I missed it again! I’m only one for three kidnapping attempts,” Greer grumbled.

  “I completely understand,” Pam said, sending Greer a sympathetic smile.

  “Is everyone okay?” Talon asked as he shoved through the door with Jackson and Lucas. “We got a text from Miss Lily.”

  Talon’s eyes searched the room until they landed on Zinnia. Lucas’s floppy, good-natured grin was gone until he scanned Poppy to make sure she was safe.

  “They’re getting bolder,” Jackson said to Greer as they joined Porter to discuss what had happened. “The farm and now broad daylight in a packed restaurant.”

  “How are things going at Desert Sun?” Porter asked Kale when he joined them.

  “It’s going. We’ve seen the contract for your death and for Willa’s kidnapping. I already have that guy’s phone. Mr. Aldridge and I will work on further infiltrating The Panther’s network. I’m not going to lie. The Panther is a computer genius and I’m in awe. He’s so far ahead
of my knowledge, but I’m assembling a little team and we’re determined to get to the bottom of it. We just need more time, so try not to get killed this week.”

  “Ha-ha,” Porter said dryly at his friend.

  “What do you have planned for today?” Jackson asked.

  “We need to go to the barn. I’m bringing Miss Trix home, but Willa needs to practice with Apollo for a little while. That’s all we’ve planned.”

  “I think it’s safe to say her bodyguards standing duty outside her rented house is no longer fooling anyone. We’ll have them meet us at the barn and bring them back to Keeneston,” Greer told him as she pulled out her phone and sent them the update.

  Porter looked over to where Willa was talking with Tilly, her father, and a mix of the townspeople. She fit in Keeneston and in his heart. It was time to get her safe and see what their relationship could really become.

  “Do whatever it takes to find the person behind this. I won’t stop until Willa is safe,” Porter told Kale.

  Kale nodded and went to get Brian. It was time for the computer geniuses to do their thing while Porter did everything possible to stay alive and keep Willa safe.

  23

  Willa patted Apollo on the neck after dismounting. It had been a good practice. Yesterday they’d only done a small one after the Frenchman tried to kill Porter. Today was a little longer. Tomorrow was her last practice before show jumping began, so she made sure to push Apollo today so tomorrow could be a light workout before show time.

  “It’s been quiet,” Greer said with a frown as she and Porter met Willa right outside the eventing area. “I don’t like it.”

  “You don’t like much these days,” Porter pointed out. “Are you okay?”

  Even Willa had noticed the happy Greer becoming snippier.

  “Yeah, just work stuff. For years I thought leadership was my goal, but the more I get a taste for it, the more I hate the red tape and bureaucracy. I got a call from DC. They are going over every case of mine and questioning every decision I made, even though most of them have never been in HRT. They say it’s to prepare themselves and me for any ‘issues’ but some of the things they’re bringing up have nothing to do with my cases. Who I sleep with and how many times has nothing to do with my competency as leader of my hostage rescue team.”

  “Have you thought about just staying with HRT?” Willa asked as they walked back to the barn with her three bodyguards forming a triangle around her.

  “I’m so torn. I don’t want to put up with this, but I’m one of the first women to make it this far. I could change the landscape of the FBI for women,” Greer told her.

  “So you feel guilty for not charging ahead,” Willa said with understanding. It was hard being the one to break through glass ceilings.

  “I understand the conflict you’re feeling,” Porter told her. “However, I worry about you. My friend. My cousin. I don’t want the glass ceiling you’re shattering—again—to fall and crush you. Let us help. How can we support you?”

  Willa fell even more in love with Porter right then.

  “You help just by listening to me complain,” Greer said with a smile that showed the strain she was under.

  “You don’t have to stay here and help me. If you need to go to DC or anything, I think the town has me covered,” Willa told her. She didn’t want to add any more stress to the situation.

  “No, this helps me. If I were in DC, I’d strangle someone.”

  “You know,” Willa said slowly, broaching a topic she wondered if Greer would even want to hear. “You don’t have to do it. You don’t have to become director and play the DC game. There are lots of private companies that would pay you a fortune to work for them. Or you could start your own.”

  “Porter said the same thing the other day,” Greer told her and looked back at Porter to give him a smile. “I’ll give it a little while longer and then maybe I’ll explore my options. Thanks, you two. Sometimes I just need to express my frustration with this process.”

  “Whatever you end up doing, you’ll always have my support,” Porter told her as he slung an arm around his cousin’s shoulders.

  Willa smiled at them as they entered the barn. Here was a man who listened, who tried to understand, and who supported the people he loved. He never tore them down, only helped them soar. How did she get so lucky?

  “I don’t care that you don’t like it!”

  “Is that Tilly yelling?” Greer asked.

  “It can’t be. Tilly never yells,” Willa said, but they were already picking up their pace to see what was happening.

  Parker and Tilly stood toe to toe, both with their hands on their hips and both glaring at each other.

  “Fine!” Parker bit out.

  “Fine!” Tilly shouted back before spinning around and storming toward them. “I need a night without any dicks around and a big margarita.”

  “Whoa, Til, what’s going on?” Willa asked as her friend almost ran by them in a huff.

  “That man.” Tilly took a deep breath and looked at Porter. “I like you. You’re nice and you take care of Willa, but right now if I see another man I’m going to use that spoon on their balls.”

  “Got it,” Porter said as he reached for Apollo’s reins. “I’ll rub him down and meet you at the stall.”

  “What did my cousin do?” Greer asked with a bit of amusement. Willa was glad to see the sadness in her eyes start to fade.

  “He’s a big, stupid man. That’s enough, isn’t it?”

  Willa nodded absently. She’d never seen Tilly so worked up.

  “How about a girls’ night?” Greer asked. “We can go over to Desert Sun Farm to Abby’s. We’ll all be very safe there. Have some drinks, some good food, and just unwind for a night.”

  Tilly flung her arms around Greer in a surprise hug. “Bless your heart! That’s just what I need. Willa? You’ll come too, right?”

  “Of course,” Willa promised. She loved Porter, but Tilly was like her sister and when your sister is in need of getting drunk and venting about men, you bring the bottle, pour the drink, and agree with everything she says.

  “Have Porter drop you off at six. The guys can hang out together at his place. I’m sure Dylan will be smart enough to head out as soon as we arrive. Come on, Tilly,” Greer said as she tossed her arm around Tilly’s shoulders. “Let’s go clear out the ice cream aisle.”

  “You guys want to go to the guys’ night or stay with the us girls?” Willa asked the bodyguards as they headed toward her setup.

  “Our job is to stay with you, Miss Aldridge,” Reggie said as he swallowed uncomfortably.

  “But we’ll stay outside,” Barry told her. “Abby Mueez Davies scares the shit out of me.”

  “She’s a legend,” Deshaun told them. “I’ll stay inside with you. I have three sisters. Ain’t nothing you ladies are going to say that I haven’t heard before. And maybe I get to have an actual conversation with Ahmed. I was too nervous to say anything to him the last time I saw him.”

  “Then we have a plan,” Willa said as she approached Porter talking to a very heated Parker.

  Parker lifted his eyes away from his brother and speared her with a hard look. “Your friend is insufferable.”

  Willa’s hackles went up instantly. “Don’t you dare say anything bad about Tilly or I’ll use that spoon on you myself.”

  “Whoa,” Porter said, holding up his hands. “Everyone calm down. Parker, what happened?”

  Parker’s jaw clenched. “It doesn’t matter. If she wants to get herself hurt, then that’s her choice.”

  “No one is going to be hurt,” Porter said calmly, but Willa saw Parker’s physical reaction to whatever went down and wondered what Tilly could have done to have the strong lawman practically shaking.

  “Good thing we have a girls’ night planned,” Willa told them. “Porter, Greer asked that you drop me off at Abby’s at six. My detail is going with me, but Greer said I’d be safe there for the night. Then Dylan
can hang with you. I’m sure Parker can join and you all can have your own guys’ night. Won’t that be fun?”

  “Only if I get to shoot something,” Parker muttered.

  “It’s settled. I’ll send a note to the guys. It’ll be good for all of us to take a night to relax a little.” Porter stepped closer to her and dropped his voice. “I’ll pick you up at midnight. I don’t care what happened between them, it’s not keeping you from my bed for even a single night,” Porter told her.

  “Good. I don’t intend to be away from it for even a single night.”

  “I love you,” Porter whispered to her and Willa felt her body heat from the look he was giving her.

  “Ugh. Give me that spoon so I can gag on it.” Parker turned around and stormed off. “I’ll see you at six-thirty,” he called out to his brother before leaving the barn.

  Willa held out her glass and Abby poured more bourbon into it. The women had moved to the back patio after Rahmi soldiers swept the area for intruders. Now the women sat under the patio lights laughing, drinking, and enjoying a wide variety of desserts.

  “I swear, how can men be so smart yet so dumb?” Greer asked as the others giggled.

  Willa was having a great time getting to know the women better. Abby wasn’t as scary as she first had seemed and was actually very nice. Their royal highnesses, Ariana and Mila, were sweet and friendly and not at all what Willa had expected. Then there was Cassidy, the youngest Davies cousin except for little Cricket. Willa learned that Cassidy’s mother, Tammy, had thought she’d gone through menopause when she’d been surprised by Cricket. Cassidy was in her early twenties, trying to find her way in life and that life with Dylan as an older brother was making it harder than it should be.

  Then there was Cady Woodson, the master distiller. Willa had been fascinated by her story of loss, perseverance, and determination to be taken seriously as a young woman in a male-dominated field. Willa could instantly relate and when this was all over, Willa wanted to talk to Cady about investing in her distillery.