“That’s also why I haven’t been in to help with the cooking or doing the deliveries. I’ve been taking care of the dogs at home until they’re old enough to leave alone for several hours at a time. At least when I’m here, I can run across the street as often as I need to.”
She might have also installed a nanny cam she’d found sitting unopened in the back so that she could monitor them from her phone.
“But you went out on a date. Marietta saw you.”
Kate sighed. She should have known Marietta was involved somehow. “Some friends came over to watch the dogs, so I could run errands. Chris offered to help, and we ended up going to dinner. As for the hot and heavy ...”
They leaned in closer.
Kate did, too, and lowered her voice as if about to impart a confidence. “Marietta spilled beer on my hand, and Chris used his napkin to soak it up.”
They stared at her, waiting for her to say more.
When she didn’t, Edith blinked and asked, “That’s it?”
She shrugged. “That’s it.”
They looked so disappointed.
“Yes, well, don’t give up, dear. There’s still hope,” Edith said, sympathetically patting her hand. “Next time, try ordering the oysters. They’re supposed to be an aphrodisiac, you know.”
“What do you know about aphrodisiacs?” Lydia huffed. “Have you been reading my bodice rippers again?”
Kate bit back her grin. “Is there anything else I can help you with today?”
“No.” Edith sniffed. “We’re heading over to the hair salon and giving Mona a piece of our mind. Spreading untoward rumors about our Kate like that, why, it’s just not decent.”
Kate chuckled as they left, twittering about fake news.
Her father returned with Chris shortly after and handed her a handwritten list of building materials. “Katy-belle, can you check our suppliers and find the best prices?”
“Sure thing, Dad.”
“Katy-belle, huh?” Chris grinned at her as her father went to help another customer.
“Yeah, he’s been calling me that for as long as I can remember.”
“I like it. It suits you. So, Sunday?”
“Sunday.”
“Great. I’ll pick you up around ten?”
“Perfect.”
She couldn’t wait.
Chapter Seventeen
Mad Dog
Kate had her front door open before Mad Dog stepped out of his truck. He loved her enthusiasm. Based on the smile on her face, she was as eager to spend the day together as he was.
As happy as that made him, he was determined to stick to his plan of taking things slow.
That was his intent anyway.
The moment the door closed behind him, she was in his arms, kissing him like he was the air she needed to breathe. He wasn’t about to turn that down even if it did bring every primal instinct he had perilously close to the surface.
The kiss deepened. Her lips parted in invitation, and he gladly took command of the kiss, thrusting his tongue into her mouth. She responded in kind, and it soon became a passionate dance of give and take. Somehow, her legs wound up around his waist, and his large palms were filled with her glorious ass.
He was a man on the edge, and she was chipping away at the earth beneath his feet.
He turned them around so that she was the one up against the door. It would be so easy to take her, to claim her as his and give her himself in return.
“Kate,” he warned between heated kisses.
“I just wanted to make it clear that I’m all in, in case you still had doubts.”
He groaned. “Keep kissing me like that, and I’m going to be the one who’s all in.”
She nipped his bottom lip, which he liked way too much, and hummed. He had to apply the brakes, or they would be sealing this deal.
With one more kiss, he reluctantly released her. She slid down his body, a torturous glide that made him question the sanity of his game plan.
They managed to get the dogs into his truck without much trouble. Kate was thrilled with the fact that he’d replaced the tarp over his bed with a full-sized cap. Even more so with the portable contraption he’d built for transport, a hybrid carrier of sorts. Not only would it keep Mama Dog and the pups safe in the back during the ride, but they could also move the entire unit into the main building as one piece.
Duke rode up front with them, his massive head between their seats and his back end perched on the bench seat behind them.
It felt right. Like, this is what he wanted every ride from now on to be like right. Kate beside him, dogs in the back, headed somewhere to do something together.
“It looks different in the daylight,” Kate commented when they pulled up to the main building.
“And when we’re not in the middle of a blizzard,” he chastised. “Haven’t you ever been here before? Back when it was a resort, I mean?”
She shook her head “No. I heard it was amazing though. Sumneyville High used to have senior prom here. I was on the yearbook committee, so I got to see the pictures. They were beautiful.”
“You didn’t go to your senior prom? Why not?”
She shrugged. “No one asked.”
Kate got out of the truck and then opened the back door for Duke. He jumped out and immediately began to sniff around.
When Mad Dog made it over to her side of the truck, he stepped up close behind her, leaned down, and said, “Then, they were fucking idiots.”
She turned and smiled up at him, showcasing those gorgeous dimples. “Where were you when I was seventeen?”
“BUD/S probably.”
Smoke and Cage emerged from the building. Duke immediately ran over to greet Steve and sniff Cage.
“Kate.” Smoke nodded.
“Hey, Steve.”
Mad Dog figured an introduction was in order. “Kate, Nick Fumanti. We call him Cage.”
“We’ve met—kind of,” Kate said with a grin. “You’re the scary sentry guy.”
Cage laughed. “Yeah, sorry about that.”
“No worries. I shouldn’t have just shown up, unannounced, like that.”
Smoke already had the back of his truck open. “Cage, grab the other end, and let’s get them inside.”
Cage peered inside. “Is that them? Wow, they are cute.”
Smoke and Cage picked up the carrier while Mad Dog, Kate, and Duke followed along behind. Unsurprisingly, a welcoming committee was waiting for them in the decompression room.
Sam greeted Kate with a hug, which surprised him. Sam wasn’t much of a hugger. Then again, it was Kate. Something about her just made people want to hug her, and he was at the top of that list. He was okay with Sam or Sandy doing it, but if anyone else felt the inclination, they were going to have a problem.
“Kate! I’m so glad you made it. And you brought these adorable little darlings. Just so you know, we’re going to spoil them rotten.”
“Absolutely,” Sandy agreed. “Hi, Kate. It’s nice to see you again.”
“Hi, Sandy. You, too.”
Mad Dog went around the room and introduced her to the rest of the guys. “Kate, I think you know Matt Winston.”
Church gave her a friendly head nod. “Kate, good to have you here.”