Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 100188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
I leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Hey, you okay?”
He nodded quickly and smiled at me, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Yeah. I just think it’s time for me to head home. I have to be at the shop early to meet a delivery.”
“I’ll walk you to your car,” I offered.
“No, that’s fine—”
I met his eyes and shook my head. “Please let me. I’m heading out anyway.”
He nodded and leaned forward to say good night to the rest of the guys at the table. I followed suit and then led Augie out of the pub and into the cool night air. As the breeze ruffled through his shirt, I caught the barest whiff of the gym shampoo scent from his hair.
I wanted to touch him, to lean in for a sniff and place a kiss behind his ear. My self-control and desire to keep my job warred with the sudden need to be closer to him, to watch over him. I considered offering to follow him home just to make sure he got there okay, but then I had to remind myself the man was an adult. And for all I knew, the well-educated antiques expert had no interest whatsoever in a gym rat who’d barely made it through high school.
Augie made a squeaking sound before stopping in his tracks. I was so lost in my head, I nearly knocked him to the ground, stopping just in time to grab him around the waist to keep him from launching forward upon impact. Up ahead was a dark SUV with its passenger door hanging open and papers spilling out onto the ground.
“Is that your car?” I asked, scanning the area around it to see if I could find anyone nearby who may have seen what happened. My arm tightened around his front automatically.
“Yes,” he said breathlessly. “Oh god.”
I released my hold around his waist and reached for his hand. He was shaking again. What the fuck had happened to this guy to make him so scared? And why hadn’t his car alarm gone off if someone had entered it illegally?
We approached the vehicle together and peered inside.
“Did you leave it unlocked?” I asked, getting closer and peering inside.
“I mean… it’s possible I forgot to lock it,” Augie said quietly. “But that wouldn’t be like me. I’m kind of… careful about stuff like that.”
“There are no signs of forced entry,” I noted. “Should we call the sheriff’s office?”
“No, god no. I just want to go home,” he said. The poor man sounded defeated.
“I’m sorry this happened. Do you want me to follow you home?”
The edge of his lip quirked up. “No, thanks. I’ll be fine. I have my new ear clap skills, remember?”
I turned him toward me and put my hands on his upper arms to force him to meet my eyes. “You call me if you need anything at all. Okay?”
He looked so lost in that moment, worried and unsure. I wanted to scoop him up and take him somewhere safe, reassure him that whatever had him feeling off-kilter was just in his mind. But I didn’t know that. Hell, I didn’t know much of anything about the guy. I did know that these feelings were new for me. I’d felt very protective in the past of my family members, the other members of my SEAL team, and even the civilians we’d been tasked with keeping safe during different missions. But it had never felt quite like this.
Looking out for those other people had felt like my job, my responsibility, whereas looking out for Augie felt like some kind of ridiculous inner need that came from my gut.
I forced myself to go against every instinct and let him go. Once he’d pulled out of the lot, I made my way to the truck and headed toward the ranch.
As I made my way out of town, I cursed my fickle nature. I’d gone to the pub tonight looking for a quick fix. Yet, the last thing I needed was to get a reputation in Hobie or even in my own damned family of being more interested in a hookup than in spending time with my brothers. What the fuck was wrong with me that I’d even considered a quick fuck with a stranger at Hudson and Charlie’s pub? Hadn’t I already had enough meaningless fucks with strangers to last a lifetime? Hell, I’d spent the first year after leaving the navy finding as many men to fuck as humanly possible. It was like making up for all the lost time when I was balls-deep in mud and live fire during my time as a SEAL instead of balls-deep in a tight body like other men my age.
Maybe instead of trying to find sexual satisfaction in Hobie, I needed to get to the bottom of what had spooked August Stiel in this tiny quiet town. Instead of heading straight to the ranch, I turned toward the address listed for August Stiel in the contact info Lanny had given me. It wasn’t too far from my grandfathers’ place, so I simply passed by slowly enough to make sure he’d gotten home safely and turned on some lights inside before making my way to the ranch.