Mr. Always & Forever

by Ashlee Price

  She didn’t have to go in till later in the afternoon and she wore the uniform she had worn for the last six months from her other store. It was apparently a lot different than the ones they wore there. Hers far more revealing and she wanted to die right then with embarrassment. Everyone in the bar was looking at her like she was an alien.

  Going to the bar, she asked the girl about her age where Shane was.

  “Are you Kendra?”

  “Yeah, I thought you guys had the same uniforms as the other stores.”

  “That is what they made you wear in Seattle?”

  She looked down at the low cut top that barely covered her cleavage,

  “This is it.”

  “Well, I don’t know how you do it. Just shows off everything to the world, doesn’t it?”

  Kendra nodded, but she didn’t think it was that bad. Poor taste, maybe, but in the city everyone else was dressed that way as well, so it didn’t seem to be that big of a deal.

  The blonde with the name tag Monica on her shirt, showed her to the back. “I will see if we have anything more appropriate to wear.”

  Chapter 2

  “Kendra?”

  She turned around to the voice behind her. Shane was not what she had expected at all. He was so different than the slick-haired man that had ran the franchise in Washington. Shane was dressed more like the cowboy patrons out front. His skin was tanned, bright eyes blue, filled with a look that Kendra was used to. It made her respond with a slight skip in her heartbeat and a slow smile. It seemed that things were getting better.

  “Yes, are you Shane?”

  “Yes. Come in.”

  He moved back into the small office and sat back down. Motioning her to the chair, she took a seat.

  “I see you have brought your other uniform.”

  “Yeah sorry, I thought that were the same at every Discos.”

  “No, but they should be. My girls around here would never go for that sort of thing.”

  “Monica said she was looking for one in my size.”

  “I doubt we have one. You are fine to wear that.”

  “Are you sure?”

  He nodded his head, eyes trained on her generous bosom for a moment too long for propriety sake. “Okay.”

  Shane handed her a schedule and asked her a few questions, but that was that. She left the room feeling strange and slightly horny. It didn’t seem that work was going to be a problem, though maybe keeping her boss at bay might be.

  Kendra got back to what she did best, talking and making drinks. She liked to think of it as a facilitator of fun. Everyone was happy and drinking before she was thirty minutes into her shift. The men seemed to like the new uniform and she was getting better tips than she had ever gotten in Seattle. Kendra was being flirty and she didn’t notice Shane coming up behind her.

  “So how do you like it?”

  She looked behind her to see him standing there, but it was the dark look in his eyes that threw her off more than his words. “Sorry?”

  “How do you like it here so far? It seems that the customers really seem to like you.”

  She looked where he was nodding and the two men at the end of the bar that couldn’t keep their eyes off of her. One in particular had been tipping too much, as well as giving plenty of compliments.

  “Everyone has been really nice.”

  “I bet. So I had a few questions about paperwork I wanted to ask you about.”

  “Okay, I will be back to the office in a minute.”

  “No, not there. Meet me out back.”

  When she gave him a look that was clear how untrusting she was, he tried to smile it off. “All my paperwork is in the trunk to be sent to corporate for their records. There were a couple things missing in your file when I went back over it.”

  It sounded semi-legitimate and since he was her boss, she tried to wave off the feeling telling her no in the pit of her stomach. There was just something about him that made her pause. Moving back to the bar to refill a drink for one of her admirers, the tall, blonde-haired one grabbed her arm. “Be careful with him Kendra. He is not a good man.”

  His words surprised her and she wanted to ask more, but she had to go out back to straighten out the paperwork. It was dark in the back lot and there were only a few people out around the parked vehicles. Kendra had a shiver run over her. Something was wrong, but she could not figure out what it was that made her feel so ill at ease.

  “Shane?”

  “Over here.”

  He was parked in the darkest part of the parking lot and as she made her way over to him, the unease got stronger. Kendra remembered the words of the man from a moment before. What did he mean by be careful?

  Against her better judgment, she walked over to the car window that he was sitting in. The items were supposed to have been in the trunk, but he called her over to the interior. “Get in and we can get this all straightened out.”

  Kendra went to the other side of the small sedan and got in the passenger seat. It smelled of fast food and beer or he did. She wasn’t sure which one. Looking at the paperwork in his hand, it was the transfer request that she had sent in to the company.

  “So why did you leave Seattle?”

  “Just needed to get away I guess.”

  “Dane told me that it was because of a breakup.”

  “Well I hardly see how that is anyone’s business, but yes I just broke up with my boyfriend. I didn’t know anyone there, so it seemed like the thing to do.”

  “Do you know anyone here?”

  She nodded her head that she didn’t.

  “You must be brave to be out here all by yourself.”

  She looked at him puzzled, not sure if he meant in Idaho or in his car. She was starting to question the latter decision, the creeping feeling back in her gut. He leaned towards her and she moved back towards the window. Kendra had found him handsome when she had first met him, but with the look in his eyes and the slow grin on his mouth, it was hard to see him the same way as before.

  “I really like your uniform Kendra. It makes me want to touch what you have out on display. I wonder if anyone has tried yet?”

  “No, I don’t think anyone is that drunk yet.”

  “Pity. I don’t think you would put up much of a fight” He moved closer until she could feel the heat of his breath on her neck. He was halfway on her side and Kendra started to be more than a little alarmed. He was a lot bigger than her and his large arms flexed as he grabbed the seat behind her head. “It looks to me like you need some male attention since you are all alone.”

  He moved in for a kiss and with nowhere else to go, he succeeded in kissing the side of her mouth, she moved her mouth away, but it just made him move down her neck, making her cry out, “Get off of me! What are you doing?”

  “Just giving you what you need, I saw the way you were looking earlier.” His hands moved to the bottom of her skirt and her effort to get away strengthened. She felt a rough finger on her panties. Trying to shut her legs on his hand, he growled and yanked them back apart, his hot mouth on her neck. “Please stop!”

  Kendra could hear the desperation in her voice and she hated the sound of it. She was already feeling like she had used up all of her energy and barely made him budge. He was not listening to her and she was starting to feel helpless. With one more surge of strength, she yelled at him to stop and pushed away as hard as she could.

  The door opened suddenly next to her and she was pulled out by a strong grip. She didn’t see who it was before he had gone back into the car and started to pull Shane out her side. It was the man that had warned her about him earlier and she didn’t know what to do but stand there and watch him pound his fist into Shane’s face. There was a satisfaction in seeing it and hearing the sound of each contact.

  Finally she stopped him. “Enough, you are going to kill him.”

  “So.”

  “Well I don’t want that on my conscious or yours. Thank you for saving me…”
/>
  “Joel.”

  “Joel.” She said his name lightly as his dark eyes looked concerned. “I’m fine, really.”

  “Do you need a ride home?”

  “No, I guess I need to call the cops or something. He might need an ambulance.”

  Joel shrugged, “Someone will find him eventually. I don’t really need the trouble if you don’t mind.”

  She looked down at the man on the ground, he wasn’t making any sound, but he was breathing, so she didn’t feel so bad. “Okay, I don’t want to give you any problems for helping me. I should have listened.”

  “Let me take you home.”

  Kendra almost said no, that she was fine, but she wasn’t. Her hands shook and after living in a big city most of her life, she had never felt so close to danger before as she did then. Joel made her feel safe and she could figure out getting her car the next day.

  “Would you mind? I don’t want to put you out, but I am a nervous wreck right now.”

  “Come on. Where do you live?”

  “Off James Street. Turn right after Turner.”

  “I know where that is. I have a friend that lives over there.”

  “I don’t really know anyone yet, just got in town last night. First day of work and all.”

  “Well don’t think we are all like him.”

  How could she think that about Joel who had come to her rescue?

  Chapter 3

  Joel drove her back to her place in his dark red truck. Driving slow and making the ride the few miles seem to take a lot longer than it should of. She was still trying to work it all out in her mind. What was she going to do now? It wasn’t like there were a lot of job openings for making drinks in the area. She had spent almost all of her money and now she was stuck with no job.

  “So are you going to go back there?”

  “Of course not. I can’t work with that kind of guy. I don’t know what I will do, but going back isn’t an option.”

  “Good, I wish somebody would put him out of business. Believe me when I say that you are not the first employee that he has tried that with.”

  She looked at him strangely for a minute. “Do you know him?”

  “Yes, he’s family unfortunately.”

  That made what he had just done even more surprising. “I’m sorry if I caused problems with your family.”

  “It’s okay. I just wish that he wasn’t related to me sometimes.”

  “I have a few in my own family that way. Do you want to come in for a drink or something?”

  “No, I am sure you need some sleep after such a stressing day.”

  “Please. I don’t really want to be with alone right now. Just a drink?”

  He finally gave in but it was clear that he wasn’t so sure about it. She didn’t like the way she sounded, desperate, but she was still shaking and did not want to be by herself. Joel was the only positive constant around her at the moment.

  Putting the truck in park, he followed her up to the small apartment.

  “So what do you do?”

  “I work on a ranch like most people around here.”

  She was having trouble with the keys and he took it from her to help it along. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Just shaky I guess. Not really what I expected when I moved here. I wanted an adventure, but this is ridiculous.”

  “You came here for an adventure?” His look was sardonic when he pushed the door in. She moved passed him and turned on a table lamp when she got in. Moving towards the kitchen, Kendra tried to steady her hands, but they were just as bad as before. She was the type to freak out after an event happened and her mind was on a drink.

  “Vodka or beer?”

  “Those are some interesting choices. What are you having?”

  “Vodka, definitely vodka.”

  “Sounds good.”

  She moved to the freezer and pulled out the chilled bottle. “I don’t have anything to mix it with, so shots?”

  He nodded, his dark eyes taking in the woman in front of him. There was nothing else to look at, nearly everything still in boxes. She was tall and looked out of place in the surroundings. Her clothes were just too clean, her skin too pale for the daily dose of sun that most people got working outside. Her hair was long and black, her eyes the color of the stormy sky. When she looked back up at him and caught him staring, she smiled sheepishly.

  She slid the glass to him, “Here.” Her own drink was downed with a disgusted face and then another poured. He didn’t think she drank like that usually, her face too expressive for that. “Might want to slow down.”

  Kendra laughed. “I should have thought about that before I came here. Now I have to find another job here.”

  “Everything always works out.”

  She didn’t seem convinced, but after another drink, the numbing effects were taking over and her care was less. Still standing on the other side of the counter, Kendra walked back to the living room. “Do you want to watch a movie or something?”

  He nodded, but Joel was not really thinking about movies. It was clear what his brother had saw in her, but she was in a way off limits to him now because of his mistakes. Sitting down next to her, he had to fight the urges that her body brought forth. She moved towards him, laying her head on his chest and she left him holding his breath. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been there Joel. Thank you.”

  Kendra was not used to drinking and she wasn’t too worried about anything. Her eyelids were getting heavy and she didn’t make it passed the first ten minutes of the film before she was asleep. Joel looked down at her closed eyes and then the semi-chub in his pants. It was not going to end with satisfaction and he groaned inwardly. Glancing around, he wanted to help her in some way, push her to stay in a small way by making sure that she felt at home. It was a strong thing to feel about a stranger, but Joel knew that he didn’t want her to leave.

  He stayed next to her for some time, listening to her breathe and loving the way her small body felt against him. She may have been tall, but she felt like she weighed nothing against him. All Joel could focus on was the warmth emanating off of her and the way she whimpered every now and then. Her hands gripped his shirt front like she didn’t want to let him go. Joel’s heart softened as she slept halfway on top of him.

  Moving away finally, he laid her down on the sofa with a pillow.

  Pushing his cock down, he looked around at the undone mess around him. He had to be back soon, early mornings for him with the animals, but he didn’t want to leave her. Joel knew he had to, but he wanted to see her again, needed to even.

  Writing a note, he stayed around for a while and then left quietly into the night. The day had turned out so differently than he could have imagined. He hadn’t even thought of being with another woman for a while and there she comes, seemingly out of nowhere to bring back the feelings he thought were lost forever.

  Chapter 4

  Kendra woke up on the couch with a small headache. It had been a while since she’d drank, but she remembered why she didn’t. She hated the way she felt the next day. She laid there with her eyes closed, her head spinning until she peeked out. Kendra was trying to remember what had happened and it came back to her with clarity. Her thoughts went to the dark-eyed man that looked at her with lust, but also tenderness. She knew nothing had happened, he had been a gentleman in it all, but Kendra kind of wished that they had. He was gone of course, but everything around her looked different. All of the boxes that were stacked up were gone and most of her things were unpacked and put away. It felt like she was home finally and she caught herself smiling.

  There was a note in front of her and it had her name scrawled in messy handwriting. It offered her a job and hoped that she would give Ashton a chance. There was an address and a phone number at the bottom, signed in equally messy cursive. She sat back and looked at the letter. He worked at a ranch, so she didn’t even know how he could get her a job being just an employee, but
what would she do? She knew nothing about horses and livestock and what she was able to do did not sound like anything she would ever actually want to do.

  Kendra would go though, just to see him again. She needed a job and well, any job was better than nothing, right?

  She found her only pair of jeans and threw a T shirt on. Her nerves were frazzled, still thinking about everything, but the idea of seeing Joel again got her moving. Kendra got lost twice trying to find the place, but she finally pulled in and took a deep breath. She could do this.

  There wasn’t an office, just a huge house and a few barns. The name on the front didn’t mean anything to her and she started to second guess herself. What if he couldn’t get her a job and they didn’t even know she was coming. Should she even be there?

  “Hey Kendra. I’m glad you made it.”

  “I didn’t know what time you wanted, the note didn’t say. Thanks for unpacking for me. That was really nice of you. Makes the apartment feel homier. I was actually thinking about leaving, but now I am all moved in.”

  He smiled. It was exactly what he had wanted to happen, how he had wanted her to feel. “Good, I’m glad you have decided to stay for a while. Have you ever worked with animals before?”

  Kendra shook her head. “I volunteered at an animal shelter when I was a teen, does that count?”

  She didn’t look much older than that then and then he wondered how old she was. She had to at least be 21 to work at the bar.

  “That will do. I was thinking more about answering phones and dealing with customer appointments. Stuff like that.”

  She sighed and looked relieved. “Thank goodness. I didn’t like the idea of mucking out horse stalls and all of that.”

  “Yeah that would be a sight. Maybe one day, but right now I need help with the phones and maybe filing some paperwork. I would rather muck out stalls than send in files for the accountant.”