Dead Rinker (Seattle Scorpions Series Book 3) by Ruth Stilling

Author:Ruth Stilling [Stilling, Ruth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ruth Stilling
Published: 2024-09-19T00:00:00+00:00

JENSEN

I’ve done next to zero packing for the flight I absolutely have to take back to Alberta tomorrow morning.

But I can’t leave her tonight.

I won’t leave her.

I don’t want to leave her.

What I want to do is haul her into me, have her arms wrapped around me for solace instead of her comforter. I’ve wanted to hold her all day, but she’s refused to let me in, retreating further into her shell.

Who the fuck says that to their kids? Who the fuck treats anyone like that, let alone their own offspring.

The boiling blood pumping through my veins surges faster. I need to go to her. But she wouldn’t let me hold her, comfort her in all ways I know she needs and craves.

“Fuck!” Sitting up on the air mattress I blew up ten minutes earlier, I pull out my phone.

“You know what time it is?” Jessie groans.

“She’s not letting me in.”

“But she gave you a key, right?”

I roll my eyes in the dark. “Not literally. Metaphorically, she’s not letting me in. I’m getting nowhere.”

“No fucking idea why you’re coming to me with this. You know my track record with women,” he says on a yawn. “Just tell her you love her or something.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to work here. She doesn’t want me to love her.”

“How do you work that one out?”

“Because her parents don’t, so she thinks, why would anyone else.”

“And you know this for a fact.”

“Yeah. It was pretty clear from the delightful encounter I had with them in their study today.”

“Shit.”

“They’re a piece of work, bro, both of them.”

Jessie blows a breath down the phone. I know this is close to home for him. I can practically hear his memory whirling, recalling what happened in Dallas. “Well, you know how it ended up for me when I tried to take the parents on. I’m not the best guy to come to for positive affirmations or advice.” He pauses. “I can give you a step-by-step guide on what not to do.”

“Yeah, I think I’ve got that part nailed down, man.”

“Look, just keep supporting her. That’s all you can do. It might be that she genuinely doesn’t want anything more than a good friendship with you.”

I flinch. “I won’t consider that as a possibility.”

“I think you have to. She freely admits she doesn’t do relationships. I’m going to be real honest with you here.” Jessie pauses. “But first, I need you to promise you won’t go off at me for saying it.”

I might. “I won’t. Shoot.”

“How much of this is how you feel about her versus your need to prove Lauren was an idiot for leaving you...which she was, by the way.”

Fuck, apparently this conversation is about to hit close to home for us both. “I have no doubts about my feelings for Kate. The more time I spend with her, the more I want her in my life and not just my bed.”

“So I’m way off with the Lauren part?”

“Yes,” I bite out.

Kate isn’t like Lauren; I know she isn’t.

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