Page 57 of Dirty Filthy Boy
"And what did you decide?"
"The farm was a prosperous enterprise, but it demanded total commitment. Whoever owned it had to love working the land. I didn't. So we passed on it."
Glancing down, I pick at the bottle label. "Did you spend time with MacKenna that summer?"
"Occasionally. My family insisted I pull my weight with farm chores, so I was pretty busy from dawn to dusk. But she and one of my girl cousins were good friends, so she tended to visit. And then there were socials and church activities."
I force a question from my lips. "Did you like her?"
"Yes, I did. She was beautiful. And true."
Another growl escapes me.
"Oh, for Pete's sake. Stop it with the growling. I never laid a hand on her."
I snort. "Yeah. Right." I take a long pull of the beer while trying to figure out where I can hide his body.
He clamps a hand on my shoulder. "Ty, you have nothing to worry about. She was sweet, but she was barely fourteen. And I was interested in, shall we say, a more mature woman. Someone who could teach a horny eighteen year old a thing or two."
I know about horny eighteen year olds. Used to be one myself. During my first year in college, I'd enjoyed a fling with a college professor. She'd taught me plenty about pleasuring women. "Oh."
"I asked her to the charity function because I wanted to catch up. Nothing else. And in case you haven't guessed, I'm more interested in that firebrand friend of hers than MacKenna."
Happy to have my intuition confirmed, I grin. Maybe I won't have to kill him after all. "Yeah, I noticed." I point my beer bottle at him. "By the way, since when do we have a fleet of cars for the players?"
Oliver laughs. "Since today. Is that car of hers as bad as you say?"
"Worse. She can't get the driver's door open, and the engine knocks. God knows why, but she likes that car. I'll have somebody take a look at it to see if it can be fixed. Let me know how much the lease costs, and I'll pay for it."
He dismisses my suggestion with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry about it. I'll handle it."
"No. You won't." I shoot him a no-nonsense glare.
For a couple of seconds, Oliver stares at me. "You know what? I don't get it."
"You don't get what?"
"You and MacKenna. What is she to you?"
I bristle at the question. First off, it's none of his business, and second, I don't know how to describe my relationship with MacKenna. All I know is I've never cared for a woman the way I care for her. But what it means? I have no clue. "Don't butt in, Oliver."
"I can't. I feel a certain sense of . . . responsibility over her."
I laugh. "Oliver, you walked away and left her with me at the charity party."
"That's not fair. MacKenna made her wishes crystal clear. She wanted to stay with you."
"Yeah, she did, didn't she?" She'd chosen to remain with the caveman rather than go with Mr. Sophistication. But then I'd dangled a pretty carrot in front of her—the interview. That's the only reason she'd come with me. Well, whatever the reason, she'd picked me, not Oliver. It's a start. "I can understand why you left. MacKenna's friend was making certain demands on you."
"Demands? Hell." He belts out a laugh. "She clamped on to my balls and told me she'd yank them off if I didn't follow her lead."
My groin twinges in sympathy. "Ouch."
"Right. I wasn't about to let her damage the family jewels. My family's counting on me to procreate."
"I thought you had an older brother. Wouldn't it be up to him as well?"
A shadow crosses over his eyes, and he looks away. "Yeah, but he's not . . . able."
