I'd Rather Not (KPD Motorcycle Patrol 3)

I started to wind my way around the trees that the driveway looked like it disappeared behind, but came to a sudden halt when another car met me halfway.

Oakley hissed in a breath, then got out of the vehicle before I could stop her.

Frowning, I was about to get out myself when Oakley pointed for the car to get off the road.

The car did, pulling off the concrete driveway near a low spot.

I winced when I heard the car scrape along the concrete before it fell completely off the drive, allowing us to move forward.

When Oakley returned to the truck and slammed the door, I looked over at her in concern.

“You know them?” I wondered.

She shook her head. “No. But since they’re turning around, I assumed that they’re looking for the vineyard and not the Mother’s Day celebration that my mother just had to have. The sign that tells them to turn is right before our driveway, and nine times out of ten they’re going to take the driveway over the road.”

Before I could ask her what was up with that, the view at the top of the hill startled me.

“Oh,” I said as I caught my first glimpse of the house. “This is beautiful.”

Oakley turned a smile onto me.

“My parents’ dream home,” she admitted. “They built this right before we turned into teenagers.”

“It’s awesome,” I admitted. “Beautiful.”

Right out of goddamn Home & Country Magazine, honestly.

The concrete spread out once it reached the top of the hill, spanning between a red and white metal shop and a white house with what I assumed was a wrap-around porch. Instead of the driveway leading up to the front of the house, it led to the side of the house to where a couple of bikes were already parked near the carport area.

And watching us was Trance.

He had two puppies at his feet, and he looked pissed.

I parked the truck where Oakley directed me and got out, rounding the hood of the truck and offering her my hand before she’d even gotten the door all the way open.

“Thank you,” she said, blushing slightly.

I wanted nothing more than to press my lips against the stain of those cheeks.

Instead, once she was firmly on the ground, I dropped my hands from her completely.

I could’ve sworn it looked like her face fell the moment my hands did, but when she put a smile on her face just a few seconds after that, I decided that it’d been my imagination.

“Ready?” she asked as she opened the back door.

Before she could take her suitcase out, I did.

She rolled her eyes when I even extended the handle for her.

“Thanks,” she said dryly.

I pulled out my own bag, and she rolled her eyes.

But her eyes became concerned when she saw me shaking out my legs.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

I grimaced. “My legs get cramps easily. I should’ve probably taken a couple more breaks during the trip than I did. It would’ve prevented this.”

She went to run her fingers through her hair and encountered her ponytail instead, but the force of her hand attempting to skim through her hair knocked it askew.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Is there anything I can do?”

Before I could tell her that there really wasn’t anything she could do, her father arrived and took both her luggage and my small bag.

“Glad y’all could make it,” Trance said. “How are you both feeling?”

But his eyes were mostly on his daughter, who he was checking in with first.

Not that I blamed him. I would check on her, too, if she was mine.

Though she wasn’t mine and I would still check on her first.

“We’re both okay,” she admitted. “Though Pace is cramping. Apparently, I was supposed to make him take more breaks than he did, and now his legs are irritating him.”

Trance’s eyes came to me. “You need to go on a walk or something?”

I shrugged. “More so I just need to stand up for a while. Sitting in a vehicle always makes it worse for some reason.”

Trance nodded and gestured to the house with his head. “Follow me. Your mom’s in a pissy mood because of the number of people that have come up here today. I’m considering going to close the gate and making our family just get out and open it since the fucker’s broken. Again.”

“What happened this time?” Oakley asked as she moved.

She didn’t look like she was hurting as much anymore, and for that I was grateful. Watching someone as young as Oakley move around like she was ninety years old was hard. Especially since I was beginning to have feelings for the woman.

“Guy came roaring up the driveway in his fancy car,” Trance explained as he pushed open the door to his home and gestured for us to head in front of him. “Almost ran both of the puppies over.”