I look at Bridger. His small smile and nod of his head give me the courage to sign the paper.
“You’re right, Travis. If Liam decides to cut and run, this may not hold him back, but at least everything is in place. This is also another sign that I need to get myself into not only the gun range but some self-defense classes.” I sign with the flourish of my signature, wanting to get this out of the way. I may seem calm and collected right now, but I know myself. I’m going to lose it, and I don’t mean in the angry way. No, I mean in the ugly-cry, snot-coming-out-of-my-nose, chest-flushed-in-a-deep-red-tone way. It will not be pretty.
“You okay?” Bridger asks, rubbing the nape of my neck where my hair has moved over to one side while I sign the paperwork.
I shake my head no, but the papers are signed, and I can hold it in a few more minutes. I’ve done this so many times, surely, I can do it for a few more minutes.
“Thanks, Travis,” Bridger says to him. He’s crouching over me now.
“Anytime. I’ll see you guys later.” Travis stands up and leaves us in his office as if he knows I need a moment to collect myself.
“Oh my God, Bridger, what am I going to do? How could he get out this early? You know as well as I do that anything less than a year is a joke, and three months of probation with anger management classes? That’s a crock of shit.” My words are coming out garbled, and tears are staining my cheeks.
“Fuck,” Bridger grumbles before he pulls me up in his arms, lifting me as if I’m a child. My legs wrap around his firm waist. One hand is under my ass, the other is in my hair as he holds me to the crook of his neck, and I hold on as I let it all out. Every emotion I have is coming out: anger, sadness, fear, and did I mention anger? Bridger holds me the entire time, even while he walks us to the truck. He never sets me down, not even when he opens the driver door, moves the seat back, and slides inside.
“Let it out, Kellie,” he coos softly, and I do exactly that in the arms of the man I know I’m already halfway in love with.
Four
Bridger
The rightness of Kellie in my arms is more than I could ever explain. Sure, I’m the jokester of the group, always turning nothing into something of a prank. In the last few months, something inside me has changed. I’m still that fun-loving guy, but when it comes to Kellie and the situation she’s in, there’s nothing funny or easy about that.
When she snuggles in deeper toward my body, I know she’s not ready to talk or face me. In fact, if I know anything about Kellie, embarrassment for breaking down and leaning on me will be written all over her face when she does decide to leave the safety of my neck. All I can do is hold her tighter while she gets it out.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” I promise her while kissing the top of her head.
That’s when she finally decides to show me those beautiful eyes of hers. Sure, her face is red and blotchy from crying, her eyes a watery mess, I see past all of that though.
“I’m not so sure of that, Bridger.” She tips her head down, just now realizing her skirt is yanked up to the tops of her thighs. She moves her skirt down, more focused on that than the discussion we just had with Travis. As tantalizing as the view was, my sole focus is on the issue that’s reared its ugly head.
“Yeah, it will be, sunshine. What do you say I take you home and feed you some dinner? We can talk or be couch potatoes.” I want her to know I’m not leaving her after all we learned this week, and I know for a fact today was a killer for her.
“You don’t have any plans?” she responds, but I hear the hopefulness in her voice.
“Nope, Slade and Drake can deal with whatever is needed today. It’s just you and me today, sunshine.” My fingers find her silky strands, placing them behind her ear. I want her to feel safe, especially with her world tilted on its axis. Kellie goes away once a month, only for a weekend. It’s something that she started as soon as she was settled in not only her job but also in her life.
She would come back more relaxed as time went on, even if she didn’t know that I knew exactly where she was at all times of the day. One of the perks of giving her a work phone, but even without it, if she didn’t, I’d always have some kind of eyes on her.