by Maren Lee
Gridlocked
Bounty County Series: Book 3
Maren Lee
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Due to profanity and graphic sexual content, this book is not intended for anyone under 18.
Gridlocked
Copyright © 2017 by Maren Lee
To my mom, who reads my books (without telling her friends) and doesn’t give me strange looks for some of the shit I’ve written.
Table of Contents
A Special Warning
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
A Special Warning
Wesson has a “way” with words. He’s not dumb, but he doesn’t quite pick the right words sometimes. Typos may not actually be typos. They might just be “Wessonisms.” If you find any of them particularly funny, feel free to tag me on any of my social media accounts and use #wessonisms so that I can collect all of your favorites in one place!
If it’s a real typo, well, shit. My bad.
Warning
This book contains mention of a previous sexual assault that is key to the storyline. It is not depicted on page (it’s described in past tense as a recollection), but it may be a trigger for some.
Prologue
“Molly! Molly!”
She heard his voice echo through the parking lot. She knew exactly who it was. She’d just left him in the hospital room with all of their friends after meeting Jake and Lane’s sweet baby boy, Bennett. She whipped around to confirm. Yep. It’s Wesson. Holy moly, he’s sexy.
“What do you need, Wesson?” she asked sweetly.
He jogged up on her, out of breath. “I’m sorry, Molly.”
“For what?”
“I’m sorry for what I said in there,” he gestured toward the hospital. “I’m sorry. Shit. I just... I don’t even know what I’m saying half the damn time. So, I’m just...I’m sorry, Molly.”
“Um. It’s ok, Wess. Um. It’s no big deal. So… Thanks?”
“Ok. I just wanted you to know, I didn’t mean anything by what I said.”
Well, shoot. Molly had heard him just fine. He’d told her that if they had sex she “wouldn’t be able to walk straight for a week.” And she’d liked what she’d heard. Darn it. She wanted all he'd offered her. No, she needed it. Was it really an offer, though?
“It’s no big deal, Wesson. I didn’t think anything of it,” she sighed. Well, then. Maybe Wesson won’t be able to help after all…
“You ok?”
“What? Yeah. I’m fine. I’m just gonna walk home.” She wiped her hands on her short shorts. Shorts she was just realizing were very short as she caught Wesson checking out her thighs. Oh man. Her face burned with embarrassment.
“What? You didn’t drive here?”
“No. I hitched a ride with Sierra. I’m not too far. I just couldn’t hang out in there anymore.”
“Honey, it’s hot as balls outside. Let me drive you home.”
Honey? “No, I’m fine. Seriously. It’s no big deal.”
“I have A/C in my truck. Come on, Molly. Your house is at least a three mile walk from here.”
“Seriously, Wes, I'll be okay. Don’t you wanna go back in?”
“Fuck no. Babies are - I mean… they’re cute, I guess. I want my own someday. I think. But they cry and make me nervous.”
Molly could understand that. She felt the same way at this point in her life. “Well… since you’re leaving anyway. I’d love a ride, hot stuff. Lead the way.”
Hot stuff? Oh lord, Molly. Don’t embarrass yourself.
Wesson cleared his throat in surprise. “Let’s get the fuck outta here, then.”
Is he anxious to get you alone? Or anxious to get away from you, Molly? She hoped it was the former.
They made awkward small talk on the way to Molly’s house. Babies. Friends having babies. Hospitals. Germs at hospitals. Weather. Weather Channel coverage of hurricanes. Imminence and the lack of hurricanes in Montana. Weird. Weird but sweet. Molly couldn’t stop looking at him. His muscular biceps were practically ripping through the arms of his t-shirt. His veiny forearms. Very veiny. Dang. His large hands gripped the steering wheel and brought Molly’s mind right into dirty places. Whew. This man was a niiiiiice piece of work. His truck may have had A/C, but Molly was still sweating.
When they arrived at her place, she thanked him for the ride, fully expecting that he would stay in his truck and put it in reverse the second she hopped out. But he didn’t. He jumped out of his truck and attempted to make it to her side before she could open the door. Is Wesson a gentleman? Would not have called that... He wasn’t quite quick enough, but he was still there to grab her hand and help her out.
“Thank you,” she breathed out. Too heavily. Oh no. That didn’t sound desperate or anything, Molly. Darn it. Why did he make her so freakin’ nervous?
“Any time,” he replied.
“Do you...uh. Do you wanna come up? Have something cool to...um...drink?” You are so NOT cool, Molly.
Wesson looked up to the sky, his hands on his hips. It almost seemed like he was silently cursing the heavens. “As much as I’d love to come in, I gotta get over to my mom’s house and help her out today.”
“Oh yeah. Sure. Of course.” Molly was surprised by how disappointed she was.
“Can I take a rain check, though?” he asked.
And just like that, she was elated.
“Absolutely. Any time. Just drop on by. I always have iced tea and lemonade,” she smiled. “And I usually always have vodka to mix in it,” she whispered.
Wesson laughed. That’s a good laugh. She was swooning. “Expect me in a few hours then.”
Molly smiled.
She waited.
Wesson didn’t come.
Chapter 1
One month later
“Molly, get your ass in here!” she heard Lane yell from the living room. “I’ve gotta pump in a few minutes and I need some sustenance!”
“Give me a freakin’ second if you want chips and guac! Patience, ladies!” she yelled back.
It was girls’ night and Molly was the hostess tonight. Normally it wasn’t a big deal, but Lane and Chloe were brand new moms, so they were exhausted and slightly bitchy tonight despite having the opportunity to get away for a while.
“I don’t know how long I can stay,” she heard Chloe state. “I don’t completely trust Justin with the baby yet.”
“Oh for Christ’s sake, Chloe,” Sierra responded. “He’s th
e dad. He’s gonna have to figure it out at some point. Just let it happen. Nora is going to be fine, even if he does fuck up a little. Y’all need to relax and enjoy yourself.”
“I’m not worried about Jake. He’s a better mom than I’ll ever be. But my tits hurt and I hate pumping,” Lane complained.
“Oh my god,” Molly shouted as she walked into the living room from the kitchen carrying all the snacks. “If you gals need to reschedule, let’s just reschedule. Remind me not to have babies.”
“Don’t have babies,” Sierra said with a straight face. “Mine are old enough now that I can say they are so not cool.”
Molly laughed.
“Thanks, cuz. Super appreciate your encouragement,” Chloe rolled her eyes.
“Oh for fuck’s sake. You need to get laid, girls. Re. Lax.” Typical Sierra advice.
“I've been having sex for a while now. They said to wait six weeks, but I had a c-section. I felt like my vagina was fine and I can't say no to Justin’s dick. My problem is that I'm sleep deprived.”
Lane groaned. “I did not have a c-section despite having to push out Jake’s giant-headed baby! The six week rule still applies to me and it's been five weeks already and my vagina still feels like it gave birth to a baby wrapped in sandpaper! So Jake’s dick is a hard-fucking-no for me right now. How's your sex life, Molly?” Lane deflected.
“I’d need a man before a hard no was even an option,” Molly laughed. She immediately regretted it.
“We need to find you one. You still have an interest in Wesson? I need to set something up.” Sierra clearly put her matchmaking hat back on.
“I mean, yeah. I think he’s cute. I’ve told you guys that before. But I don’t think he’s into me.” She wished he was into her. On top of her. Inside of her. Oh shoot, Molly! She shushed her inner slut fantasy.
“What? Why wouldn’t he be into you? You’re fuckin’ gorgeous and you’re a doctor and you live in this bangin’ house.” Sierra waved her hand around the living room. “And you’re nice and you have huge boobs. Of course he’s into you.”
“He’d be crazy if he wasn’t,” Lane chimed in.
“No, guys. He’s hot and cold. I don’t get it. He gave me a ride home from the hospital last month when we came to visit you, Lane. He was being super cute. Seemed like he was flirting, maybe? And then I invited him up and he said he’d have to take a rain check and that he’d be back later that evening. He didn’t show. I’ve seen him a few times since then when he brings inmates to my office for appointments on occasion. I’ve gotten zero signals from him. It’s like he forgot we had that entire conversation. So…” Molly exhaled. “I’m ready to move on. Who else is single in this town?” she asked.
“Smitty,” Chloe replied.
Molly shook her head. “He’s easy on the eyes, but Smitty’s not my type.”
“Cole?” Lane asked.
“Oh my god, he’s like 12. I can’t even with that age difference!” Molly was serious. Sierra cackled with laughter. “Not to mention that tattoo!”
The girls dissolved into a fit of laughter. Cole had an unfortunate tattoo and a new nickname because of it. They called him ‘Gert’ because his “No Regrets’ tattoo had a very unfortunate typo. Molly shook her head. “So that's a ‘no’ from me.”
“Hmmmm. Carter Jones is single,” Lane suggested.
“The prosecutor?” Molly asked. “Your mortal enemy?”
“He’s nice. I have to work with him a lot, actually,” Lane defended her suggestion.
“Keep him on the ‘maybe’ list.”
“Ryan Blakesly?” Chloe suggested.
“The city cop who helped your men bust the mayor?” Molly had heard tidbits from her friends, but she’d read all about it in the local paper. It was crazy to her how such a complex conspiracy could take place in Imminence of all places.
“Yep. Ryan’s older, but he’s pretty hot. Though, I heard he may have just been fired by the City. The new mayor is cleaning house. Not sure he trusts anyone at this point. Ryan is trustworthy, but he’s getting caught in the middle of shit.” Lane shook her head.
“Damn. He has kids and child support to pay. I hope he finds something else,” Chloe said, clearly concerned.
“Yeah, I probably don’t want to wade into his dating pool right now. Sounds complicated.” Molly shrugged and took another chip.
“I still think you need to give Wesson a shot. I have a good feeling about you two,” Sierra said. “I have date night coming up on Saturday night. Brenden is finally going to take a night off and Mom’s gonna watch the kids. Why don’t you come hang with us at the Cadillac. I’m sure Wesson will be there if he’s not working. We’ll just make it happen smoothly, like it’s not a setup at all. And if shit doesn’t work out, then it doesn’t work out and we move on.”
Molly hesitated before nodding her head in agreement. “Fine, I'll show up. But just as friends. And if he doesn't show any interest, he's off the list. Deal?”
“Deal. He's interested, I’m sure of it. He’s just a man. You have to understand that men are always going to be men. And they suck. And in addition to being sucky, Wesson isn't that great with ‘the words’ so he’s an extra special piece of pain in the ass.”
Sierra was a wizard with sarcasm and advice. Somehow within the course of a five minute conversation Molly had gone from “no way” to “dear god, I hope this works” when it came to Wesson.
“Okay. But if he blows me off again, I’m done.”
➰
Wesson Campbell squinted his eyes to adjust to the dark lighting inside the Cadillac Ranch Club, a staple in the small town of Imminence, Montana. They had food, they had drinks, they had pool tables, and it was cleaner than The Alibi. Wesson’s shift was over and he wasn’t back on for another 48 hours, so it was time to let off some steam.
In every corner and at every table were familiar faces. Imminence wasn’t the smallest town in Montana, and there were people in town he didn’t know, but it wasn’t exactly a raging metropolis.
“Wesson Campbell! Get your hot, dumb ass over here!” He instantly knew it was Sierra Ramey. His boss’s wife. She was crazy. Loud. Cursed like a sailor. Really fun. A great cook. A master party hostess. It would be fun to go talk shit with her, so Wesson walked up to the bar.
“Jesus, Sierra. Brenden lets you scream shit like that in public places?”
“Brenden doesn’t ‘let me’ do anything. I do what I want. Get a drink and pull up a stool.”
“Speaking of Brenden, where is my boss?”
“In the bathroom. It’s date night! Mom’s watching the kids and I’m getting shit faced.” Sierra raised her beer as evidence.
Wesson ordered a Coors Light from his favorite bartender, Darla, and then turned to Sierra. “So...um. What’s up?”
“Not much. What do you think about Molly?”
“Molly who?” Wesson felt clueless.
“Really?”
“Yes, really. I know a few Mollys.”
“In Imminence?” Sierra asked, her head tilting to the right. Her face wore a look of confusion.
“No.”
“Ok. So what do you think of Molly who lives in Imminence.”
“Molly Mooney?”
“Yes, Molly Mooney. Who the fuck else would I be talking about?”
“I don’t know. Don't yell at me, Sierra!”
“Oh my god, I am not yelling!” she yelled at him. “Well, what do you think of her?”
“Um. She’s nice. She’s...pretty, big tit-...eyes. She’s probably smart, she's a doctor so I bet… yeah, she's smart.”
“You should ask her out.”
Wesson shook his head in disbelief. “That's not. I'm not. She's wayyyyy over my head.”
She rolled her eyes. “You should ask her out,” Sierra repeated.
“Why would I do that? She's gonna say, ‘no Wesson, you're disgusting.’ And then punch me in the face.” He shook his he
ad.
“One, you're ridiculous. She’s nothing like me. She’d never punch you. Two, she likes you. Nothing to be scared of.” Sierra tossed her hair over her shoulder and took a swig of her drink.
“No, she does not.” Really? Molly likes me? This can’t fucking be real. Sierra had to be bullshitting him.
“Yes. She. Fucking. Does. She told me so. Said she likes your scruffy facial hair. Though I have no idea why. Gross. You know how many germs are locked in that hair of yours? She’s gonna come down with a fungal infection and I will not be blamed.”