A Safe Surrender: A Donnelley Brother's Novel (Donnelley Brothers Book 2) (9 page)

Kyle looked shocked. Maybe I’d startled him speechless, or enough to run away screaming. I mean, that’s what most men did when they found out a woman wanted a child, didn’t they?

Finally, Kyle found his voice. “You want kids right now?”

“Well, no.” I scoffed. “That’s kind of impossible as I don’t have a man in my life anymore, and I want to be set up, with a good financial backing, before I bring an innocent into this world.”

Lifting his hat from his head, he dragged a hand through his hair before placing the hat back on his head. “I’ll admit I wasn’t expecting that.”

“You asked.” There was no way I was apologizing for what I wanted.

“I sure did.” He nodded, his eyes growing serious. “What did you mean you didn’t have much of a family for yourself?”

“Just didn’t.” I shifted awkwardly. “It’s my turn to ask the questions.”

Kyle didn’t take his eyes from me. Not once. “Shoot.”

“Is this where you saw yourself?”

“You mean without kids and all that?” He narrowed his eyes on me and I fought a shiver. The man was intense. Although, not as intense as Logan, Kyle could induce a real good shiver.

“Sure.”

“I never really thought about it, to be honest. All I wanted from life was to be here on the ranch.” He nodded to himself. “I love this land and the life it gives me.”

“Mountain climber by day, cowboy by night?” I teased.

“More like mountain climber by summer, cowboy by winter.”

“I see.”

“It’s a good life out here, Kami. I think you’ll like it here.”

Looking deep into his eyes, I agreed. “I already do.”

***

Tucking my chin into the large scarf I’d wrapped around my neck, I hobbled down the steps of my little cabin with Kyle behind me. My little orange car was hooked up to the back of Kyle’s truck - and she looked bad.

Covering my mouth, I gasped. “Oh my God!”

Kyle hissed in a breath between his teeth. “It’s pretty bad.”

“What did I hit?”

“Snow.”

My eyes bugged. “How in the world would snow do this?” I kicked at the white glittered puffs on the ground. “It’s so soft.”

Kyle shook his head. “Not when it’s been sitting there the entire winter. When snow piles up like that, Kami, it’s practically turned into a pile of ice. The entire front end of your car is damaged. I’ve taken a look beneath the hood and I’m sorry to say, that your car’s totaled.”

“Totaled.” I whispered, feeling drained of all hope. How was I supposed to work here on the Ranch without a car? There was no way I could walk everywhere, it would take me forever! How would I get groceries and do my laundry?
Shit
!

“It’ll be alright.” Kyle promised for the second time.

I scowled, pointing at my car. “Do you see my car, Kyle?” He nodded and I continued without giving him a chance to say anything else. “It’s, in your words,
totaled
! How is everything going to be alright?”

“Don’t panic, Kami.” Kyle’s voice was filled with calm. “I have an extra vehicle you can borrow until you can get a new vehicle.”

Covering my face with my hands, I moaned. “I shouldn’t have to borrow a car from you.”

“Life gets in the way, sometimes.” He said gruffly. “Accept help from friends when they offer it, alright?”

“Is that what you are to me?” I asked. “My friend?”

He frowned. “I was hoping to be that to you.”

Feeling like a complete charity case, I nodded. “I’ll work really hard to save enough to buy myself a car soon.”

“I know you will, Kami.” Kyle nodded. “But you don’t have to worry about it.”

Looking at my toes, I murmured. “Thanks again, Kyle.”

Would I always feel like I was thanking this man for something? From the moment I’d met him, he’d been rescuing me. Would I ever be able to repay my debts to him?

Kyle slid his fingers under my chin, tipping my head back. “Don’t mention it, Kami. I
want
to be here for you.”

His words made my heart race. I breathed, “Why?”

His eyes darkened. “Because you deserve to know you’re worth it.”

Chapter 8

Kyle was sweet. He was intense, a little brooding, slightly overbearing, and completely enthralling. The man practically melted my heart. Never, not once, had Rhett taken such careful care of me.

In the two weeks I’d been at the Ranch, Kyle had practically become my best friend. I saw him almost every day. He’d taught me how to
not fall off a horse
every time the horse took a step, and now he was teaching me the basic components of mountain climbing, or rock climbing - whatever you wanted to call it. We were starting with the indoor facility he ran throughout the winter. It was huge. I’d been working the desk with another girl, named Clea. She was nice, a little over the top with her makeup, hair, and dress, but she was a good person and her humor was off the charts. Seriously, the girl could make anything or anyone laugh. I really enjoyed her exuberant company while working.

It was honestly surprising how many people the Ranch filtered through in the winter. People from all over the world vacationed here and worked here. Life moved along at a great pace and I was so indebted to Ember for pushing me to take this job.

I talked to Ember on the phone almost every second day. For the first week, she’d been giving me updates on Rhett. Apparently, he’d been going crazy trying to find me. He was going around town making threats and vandalizing whatever was nearest to him when his searching resulted with no success.

Lately, Ember had refused to talk to me about Rhett. I knew he wasn’t dead, or in prison, because he was still calling my phone every hour. However, I knew Ember sensed my guilt at making Rhett so wild and obsessed and I had a good feeling it was my guilt that lead to her sealed lips when it came to any, and all things, Rhett.

“I’m heading out.” I waved to Clea as I pulled my purse up onto my shoulder. “Have a nice night!”

She winked, “You too, babe.” And then she waggled her brows at me as she eyed Collin, who was taking over the night shift in the rock climbing facility. Being that it was winter, and everything was frozen over, there wasn’t much in the way of water sports. Collin liked to sleep in and that made him the perfect filler to replace Kyle at nights.

“Again?” I glanced discretely at Collin and Clea grinned widely. “I thought you’ve been there, done that?”

“Oh, but some things are fun to repeat.” She fanned herself.

I grunted, only partially amused. “I’m sure they are.”

“I’ll tell you all about it.” She shimmied away from me, more than likely on her way to flirt, shamelessly, with Collin.

“I don’t want to hear it!” I called out as Kyle appeared beside me.

“What don’t you want to hear?” Kyle asked.

I smirked. “You don’t want to know.”

“Actually, I do.” He grinned down at me. “Out with it.”

“Believe me, you
really
do not want to know.”

His grin tipped at the corners, turning into a frown. “It’s about Collin, isn’t it?”

I shrugged as I replied in a smart-ass, sing-song tone. “I told you, you didn’t want to know.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He placed his hand on my lower back to guide me from the gym. “What do you want to do tonight?”

“I thought movies were our Friday night tradition?”

“Are they?” He made a show of thinking. “I don’t think I got the memo.”

“Ha ha ha.” I said dryly. “We’ve had a movie night for the last two Fridays, I just thought we were making traditions, here. My apology.”

Kyle chuckled. “Never apologize, sweets. You know I’d take spending time with you over anything else.”

“Awe,” I gave him a gentle punch in the arm. “You’re so sweet.”

“I know.”

I rolled my eyes. “And conceited.”

He feigned a wounded expression. “I am not conceited.”

“Right.” I nodded exaggeratedly. “Are you following me home or am I meeting you at your place?”

“I’ll follow you home and we can drive together?” He proposed, a question hanging at the end.

“You know that if you drive me, you’ll have to drive me home after the movie.” I winced. “I don’t mind driving myself, you know.”

“I know, but I don’t mind driving you either.” At my unsure expression, he continued. “At leas that way I know you’re home safe.”

I thought about telling him that my little cabin was practically in the middle of nowhere. Unless I was mauled by a bear I’d make it home safe. But I didn’t say that. Instead, I agreed.

“Okay,” I shrugged. “If that’s what you want.”

“It is.”

I smirked, opening the door of his jeep. “I’ll see you at the cabin.”

I climbed inside and Kyle rested his large hand on the door, leaning down slightly. He said gruffly, “Drive safe, Kami.”

“You know I do.” I eyed him seriously. “I haven’t hit the ditch since that first night. And that was because of the snow!”

I was still prickly about the horrible driving record I’d gotten around the Ranch. I’d even shown Reese and her horrible ditch encounters to the curb. That was just embarrassing. When Logan learned there was another
alleged
horrible driver on the roads of the Ranch, he declared firmly, that if Reese made a move to drive herself anywhere, he was tying her to the bed. I did not find that funny.

Kyle snorted in much the same way I had heard Logan snort at Reese before he grunted. “Yeah, because I put chains on the tires of the jeep.”

“That storm was insane!” I huffed a reminder in case he’d forgotten. “Because I’m a damn good driver.” Kyle pinned me with dark eyes and I mumbled on a lower breath. “And because you put chains on the tires.”

He cocked a grin. “That’s my girl.” I heard him say as he closed the door.

My heart was a mess of beats in my chest, as it always was, when he called me his girl. I don’t know why, but I loved the sound of that. Over the course of two weeks, Kyle had wrangled my heart, and he was slowly, ever so slowly, reeling me in.

I wondered if he knew what he was doing to me, or if his endearments were intentional. I honestly didn’t think they were, though. Endearments just came naturally to us. With Kyle, everything was so simple and easy. Natural. Our relationship just kept growing, our friendship getting stronger.

But that was the thing - we were only friends.

Kyle hadn’t made a move to make me feel as though he wanted anything more. Although I wasn’t entirely ready for a relationship, because let’s be honest, I just got out of a horrible seven-year relationship, I did have feelings for Kyle. I didn’t exactly know what those feelings meant yet, but they were there. And they were growing.

Banishing the thoughts from my mind, I watched Kyle climb into his truck from my rearview mirror before pressing my foot down on the gas pedal. I drove through the winding roads of the Ranch, which I now knew, to my little cabin.

Pulling up to the cabin, I turned off the jeep and climbed down. By the time I was walking up the front steps, Kyle was beside me. I glanced at him. “I’m just going to change out of my jeans and then we can go.”

“No problem. I’m not in a rush.”

“Kay.” Unlocking the door, Kyle held it open as I walked inside. Kicking off my boots, I held up a finger. “One sec.”

“No problem, Kami, really.” Kyle brushed off my worry. “Take your time.”

I moved quickly to my bedroom, closing the door behind me. I replaced my jeans for a pair of spandex pants and my workout shirt for a long loose beige sweater that hung down to the middle of my thighs. Lately, I had a thing for comfortable clothing. It was me - the new, invented me.

I met Kyle in the living room, blushing when his eyes scanned my body slowly. “What?” I asked, looking down at my clothing. “What’s wrong with my clothes?”

“Nothing.” His voice sounded gruff and my heart fluttered. “You look good, that’s all.”

“Good?” I raised a brow.

“You look comfortable.” He clarified and I nodded.

“Thanks, I guess.” I smiled unsurely as I pushed my feet into my boots. “We gonna get going or what?”

Kyle cocked a grin. “Yeah, sweets.” He placed his hand on the small of my back, guiding me from the house. “We’re going.”

***

I spread the pizza dough on the pan evenly as Kyle watched me from where he leaned against the island counter with a beer in his hand. “You’ve been hiding this talent from me.”

I snorted. “If you knew too soon, I’d fear you were using me for my pizza making skills.”

“I love pizza.” Kyle replied. “And you’re making it homemade.” He made a little groaning sound in the back of his throat and again, my belly fluttered. “Do you know how amazing you are? I mean, damn, Kami, you’re the perfect woman.”

My heart beat fast in my chest as I tried to take his words for what they were - a friendly comment. “I’m sure.”

“Seriously.” He moved closer to me. “You can make pizza from nothing. You can’t get much more perfect than that.”

I pushed him away, “Alright, big boy, back away from the pizza.”

Kyle glared, taking a swig of his beer. “Tease.”

My jaw dropped. “I am not a tease, Kyle. It still needs to bake.” I snapped my finger, pointing into the living room. “Go make yourself useful and pick a movie.”

His dark eyes flashed. “Useful?” He took a menacing step closer, and my blood warmed as it rushed through my system with impossible speed. “You want useful?”

I dipped my finger in the creamy sauce, pointing it at him. “Come closer, buddy, I dare you.”

His eyes glittered. “Threats now? We’ll see which one of us ends up wearing the sauce when all is said and done.”

At the light in his dark eyes, I knew I’d set myself up for failure - big time. “Kyle,” I lowered my saucy finger. “Don’t. Whatever you’re thinking of doing, don’t.”

“Oh, but you’ve made it look like so much fun.”

I shook my head. “If you make a mess, I won’t be able to make you pizza.”

He glared. “Good point.”

“I know.” I smiled. “Go pick a movie.”

“Okay.” He nodded and I grinned at my triumph as I moved back to the pizza.

Kyle walked closer to me on his way to the living room, pausing behind me, I saw from the corner of my eye, one hand fly around me, dipping into the little bowl of sauce, before smearing the sticky liquid over the tip of my nose.