Page 15 of Something Unavoidable

Keegan managed not to punch the guy, who was clearly just as drunk as his friend, but he couldn’t hide the way his lip curled with disgust. He hoped Izzy wasn’t—

“Dr. Reidwisheshe could have a piece of this,” Izzy drawled, then slapped his ass for emphasis. “But I’ve got—” he paused “—biggerplans tonight.” He grinned as the man and his friend burst into drunken laughter, elbowing each other like middle schoolers.

Keegan sighed. Apparently, Izzy was fine. Keegan rolled his eyes at the innuendo. He had no reason to be ashamed, as Izzy had just learned.

Izzy continued to joke with the two drunks, firmly ignoring Keegan. Had this been a game after all? A way to ruffle Keegan’s feathers? Or was this just who Izzy was? A fuckboy who did what he wanted and left any consequences for his future self to deal with.

Keegan was just as confused now as he had been when Izzy kissed him.

Izzy looped an arm around the neck of one of the men and let the other grope his ass as he led them from the bathroom without giving Keegan another glance.

The door swung shut, cutting off the din of the bar and leaving Keegan alone, his belt still loose and ejaculate drying in his palm. What a fucking night.

What Izzy King neededwas a goddamn spanking.

He’d disappeared from the bar by the time Keegan left the bathroom, and when Keegan mentioned it, he’d gotten a strange look from his friends. Which, fair enough, Keegan didn’t usually keep tabs on Izzy. But what they’d done had been intense, and he still wasn’t clear on Izzy’s mind-set—before, during, or after—so he’d wanted to check in.

Instead, he’d arrived at Split Rock Ranch this morning to a pissy, visibly hungover ranch hand who wanted nothing to do with him. In fact, the most he’d gotten from Izzy were grunts and one-word replies. Eventually, he gave up, and they spent the next half hour of their Saturday morning caring for the rescues in silence.

During the week, Keegan worked three mornings out of the clinic attached to his house and spent the rest of his time on the road. He didn’t technically work on weekends, but as the main vet for the area, he kept his phone on him for emergencies. He had an answering service that knew which calls to send through and which to redirect to the twenty-four-hour clinic forty minutes away. It gave Keegan freedom he hadn’t had the first few years after opening his practice.

Today, he was heading up to his cabin. It would be a short trip since he’d put off leaving until after his morning visit to the ranch. He’d swing by again on his way home tomorrow. Keegan already had the truck packed and the dogs loaded. In an hour, he’d be relaxing in front of the woodstove with a book and a cup of coffee while the dogs played outside and enjoyed the extra freedom that came with being miles from the nearest neighbor.

Chance had been especially eager this morning. He was too smart for his own good, like most of his breed, and knew where they were going before Keegan even rolled out of bed. The roads had been too icy the last few weekends to make the drive, even with snow tires, and the big guy was sick of being cooped up.

Normally, Keegan wouldn’t bring the dogs to work, but the fire road that led to the cabin bordered the ranch, and Alice liked seeing “her puppies.” She’d keep them company while Keegan worked so they didn’t destroy his truck with doggy impatience.

As he worked on wrapping the pony, he made one last-ditch effort to get Izzy to talk. “Why Sunny?” he asked. Even stoned on sedatives, the pony didn’t look like a Sunny. More like a Stormy with her gray coat and her perpetually pinned ears.

Izzy was quiet long enough that Keegan didn’t think he’d answer. Finally, he admitted, “It’s from a book series. Violet, Klaus, and their little sister, Sunny.” Keegan couldn’t be sure, but he thought he detected the hint of a blush. “She bites.”

That sounded familiar. “What’s it called?”

“A Series of Unfortunate Events,” Izzy said. He stared down the aisle, as if he couldn’t bear to look in Keegan’s direction.

“Fitting.”

Izzy grunted.

Fuck it. “What’s your problem, exactly?”

Izzy’s shoulders stiffened, and his knuckles went white around the lead rope. “Nothing,” he spat out after a slight hesitation.

Keegan shut his eyes and blew out a frustrated breath, then stood.

Izzy tensed further, which only annoyed Keegan more.

“Clearly, you regret what happened last night,” he stated, keeping his voice as even as he could. “But what I’m not sure of is why, because from where I’m standing, all of it was on your terms. Unless I fucked up and you were too drunk to consent.” He waited. Izzy hadn’t looked or acted drunk, despite Keegan’s thoughts in the moment. But maybe Keegan didn’t know him well enough to be able to tell.

For a few long seconds, he didn’t think Izzy was going to answer him, but he did. “I wasn’t drunk,” he admitted grudgingly.

“Well, that’s a relief,” Keegan said, tone more sarcastic than he intended. “So, what’s the problem?” He took a step closer, lowering his voice, just in case someone happened by. The rest of the ranch didn’t need to hear this. “I thought you were the wild one who fucked around with no regrets. If you’re pissed that it was one-sided, that’s on you for leaving. I would have happily returned the favor.”

Izzy’s breathing sped up as he flushed red to the tips of his ears. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. Keegan resisted the urge to slide a thumb across his skin and feel the heat of his blush. Instead, he removed the lead rope from Izzy’s hand and led Sunny back to her stall.

When he returned, Izzy was gone.

Time at his cabinwas exactly what Keegan needed after a stressful week. The snow on the ground turned the forest intoa muted winter wonderland. He spent a portion of the day hiking, with Lucky and Chance roaming in the woods nearby and returning every few minutes to check in with Riley and Keegan. Being deaf, Riley preferred to stay in sight of Keegan, though occasionally she’d do a loop with Lucky. Chance was more of a loner, typical of his mixed breeding. Keegan was just glad he was protective of their pack and didn’t go as far as he could have.

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