Swink (Landry Family 5)

“I’ll get you some food and then meet you at your place in a little bit.” Bending down, I cup his face in my hands and press a kiss against his swollen lips. “And I’m icing you down when we get there.”

He rolls his eyes, but I can tell he likes it. “Get outta here.”

We walk to the door. He whistles loudly through the bar, getting Nate’s attention. Without a word, they exchange directions. Dom squeezes my hip before disappearing into the office again.

An exasperated sigh escapes my lips as I side-step a broken piece of linoleum on the floor. Making my way to the entrance, I feel Nate’s eyes on me every step of the way.

I almost look up at him and roll my eyes, their overprotective nature a little out of control. The fact that Red is sitting at the bar, facing me but trying to keep Nate’s attention, is what stops me.

“Hey, Nate,” I say as I get close. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

As expected, he turns away from her and rounds the corner to me. “Ya leaving, Priss?”

“Yeah, Dom kicked me out.”

“Like you didn’t know that was coming,” he laughs, then lowers his voice. “I didn’t know Hannah was with him or I would’ve warned you.”

“Would’ve been nice.”

He grins. “Like you’d think he’s up to something with her,” he scoffs. “Dom is a dumb motherfucker sometimes, but even he’s not dumb enough to risk you for that.”

“Oh, Nate. You have such a way with words,” I joke, laying a hand on my heart. “But, really, thanks for saying that. It makes me feel a little

better.”

“Better about what?”

I shrug, not really wanting to get into it with Red sitting a few feet away. “Are you staying at Dom’s tonight?”

“Yeah. But I don’t want to cause you guys any problems.”

“You won’t,” I say. “I have a house, you know.”

“I heard. A nice one if the word on the street is right.”

“And because it’s mine, I can go there anytime I want,” I point out. “So, again, you being at Dom’s won’t cause any problems in my life. Besides, Ryder will give me someone to play with while you guys watch sports.”

A thought crosses my mind and I try to shake it off, but it comes back full-force. I picture Ryder’s little face capped with the same dark hair as his father and uncle, and I wonder how much of his life resembles theirs. And how different it is from mine.

A spark begins to take root in my stomach and the feeling of being absolutely right floods me. Lifting up on my tiptoes, I place my lips right against Nate’s ear. “I want to do something.”

“I won’t tell Dom. I swear,” he cracks, getting a swat from me. This makes him laugh harder. “Kidding.”

“Sure you are,” I giggle, dropping back to my feet. “But, seriously. I want to do something for you.”

“What are we talking here? Homemade lasagna?”

Forcing a swallow, I look him straight in the eye. I give myself a moment to reconsider, to go with the lasagna, but that option falters to the wayside. Bracing myself for his reaction, I take a deep breath. “Nate, let me loan you the ten grand.”

All humor erases from his face. “What?” he blanches.

“I about killed myself in a hole back there,” I say hurriedly, trying to make him agree before we can establish a solid argument. “Someone could trip and sue you for more than that before the loan goes through.”

“Priss, no,” he says, waving his hands in front of him. “I can’t do that. No way.”

“And why not? I can have it wired to you tomorrow and you can start your renovations or whatever it is. Plus,” I say, cutting off his rebuttal, “you’ll get the money to pay me back in sixty days.”

“No.”