Texas Pride

“Yeah, but they’re little guys, and even from the back, I couldn’t close my eyes tight enough to believe it was you,” Austin said. Kitt could tell he was on speaker now. Austin moved in and out of hearing range, probably cleaning himself up too. Kitt had no idea what to say to that, so he tossed the tissues in the trash, covered up with his blanket, and took the phone off speaker. He lay it on his ear as he turned over, tucking the pillow under his head. Another yawn slipped out. He was totally in that after sex place. He could sleep so easily.

“Quiet again. I like when you said ‘I miss you, Austin’. I came instantly. Baby, I don’t want to be with anyone but you right now. It’s just…I’m already feeling like a more honorable man since I met you. It’s dirty here. I feel dirty being in this house. I want it to be just you and me. You’re enough for me until we both decide on something else.”

“Like a third?” Kitt asked on a yawn. His eyes were closing, but opened at the thought.

“I don’t know. It’d be hard to share you. Maybe many years down the line. Do you add thirds in?” Austin asked.

“I haven’t since college,” Kitt confessed. “I’ve never had any emotion in my sex before. It’s just been whenever the opportunity presents itself, however that deal played out.”

“Me, too. I’m glad to hear you admitting the emotion. These are good first steps for you, Kitt Kelly. I hear you’re tired. Go to sleep. I should be home some time tomorrow, and I’ll text you, because I know you won’t text me.”

“I’m sorry about that. I don’t know why I get like this. I’m not sure I believe you’ll actually come back,” Kitt said, his eyes fully closed now. He was snuggled up in the blanket, the ceiling fan blowing, and between the hand job and Austin’s voice, he was lulled into sleep.

“It’s okay,” Austin said. “I’m pushy enough to stay in front of you.” Kitt never heard the words. He was already fast asleep, dreaming of Austin wrapped in his arms.

Chapter 16

This new budding love between Cara and Seth was such a pain in the ass. Austin’s dedicated, strong, reasonably level-headed assistant slash future wife turned frail and weak. Cara leaned on Seth to be her rock through the turbulent emotional storm of admitting her into the rehab facility. The results of Cara’s devotion and need made Seth an emotional concerned wreck who rejected leaving her there alone. They were sickeningly sweet with one another. The only complication came with the cloak and dagger deal required in Austin’s life.

It forced Cara to be dropped at the hospital door as inconspicuously as possible with Austin and Seth hitting the road, putting as many miles as they could between the rehab and themselves. Cara just wasn’t cooperating.

She refused to leave Seth, clinging to him like he was some sort of life preserver in the deep dark haze of her life. They coerced Austin into flying across country, giving Cara a little more time and throwing the paparazzi off their trail. They were seen together in New York, walking into the National headquarters of one of his corporations. They walked in the front doors and straight out the back garage door. From there, they were immediately driven to a new charter jet registered under another fictitious name.

It was now three entire days since he left the farm, and the three of them flew overnight to the Arizona rehab waiting for them. It was a full twenty-four hours since Austin had talked to Kitt on the phone. He’d told Kitt he wanted to be home yesterday, but as the day wore on his last nerve, Austin texted Kitt and just like their apparent pattern, Kitt began the all day process of distancing himself from him. The space Kitt put between them aggravated the hell out of Austin, making everything just a little more difficult. He was edgy, angry, and trying hard not to snap.

During the plane rides, Cara wrapped herself around Seth, letting him play the hero. Austin didn’t begrudge them, he just resented a life where Kitt couldn’t do things like this with him. The realization that day might never happen hurt his heart. His mood plummeted, and the need for Kitt to respond to a simple message became so much greater. If all they were ever going to have together were secret moments and hidden conversations, Kitt couldn’t continue to hide from him any longer. It drove Austin to a mental place where he swore he texted Kitt about every hour trying to get him to respond.

Seth stayed with Cara for as long as he could while Austin would have rather been in and out of there in about five minutes. If he could have found a way to shove her from the plane and onto the doorstep of the rehab without causing her too much bodily injury, he would have taken the option. Instead, they rode with her in the back of an ambulance with full sirens blaring overhead. It felt incredibly ridiculous and extreme to Austin. He got the no windows deal, but the sirens and stopping traffic as they rushed to the facility...yeah, no. It felt like a very bad, real life action movie with him starring as the bumbling lead detective. Austin also couldn’t figure why he couldn’t just stay on the plane and wait for Seth’s return. For some reason, he was needed, or the tears would start back again making Cara far too emotional to deal with.

Seth decided to come to the farm for a few days of recuperation before they hit the press with the split of Austin Grainger and Cara Collins. Afterward, Seth would be needed back in LA to help field all the calls and questions coming their way. As it stood now, their publicists were concocting a plan to say Cara asked for the split, requesting her privacy and time off from filming. Austin would be unreachable for comments. He prayed he was able to stay hidden until the whole thing blew over.