Lord Have Mercy (Southern Gentleman 2)

Croft snorted. “A work in progress is a generous term for that hunk of metal.”

“It’s an old-fashioned Air Stream. Trust me when I say it’s worth more than it looks like it should,” she countered.

Camryn started walking away.

“Where are you going?” I called out.

“I’m going to get my clothes so I can go get some food before going to a stupid football game,” Camryn grumbled. “Raleigh, all I have to say is your ass better not be late.”

Raleigh squealed and started out after her. Carmichael and Croft followed behind, but at a much slower pace.

“Carmichael, are you going?” I asked casually.

“No.” She shook her head. “I have to work at my other job tonight.”

Her other job wasn’t a normal job. Her other job was actually really quite a cool concept, but her business hadn’t gotten up and running just yet, so she was trying to supplement her income by also substitute teaching in her spare time.

“Any luck pairing the Malamute?” I questioned.

My sister started a website a few months ago that paired men and women with their prospective pet, just like a dating website but for animals. It was a great concept that paired the rescue animal with a human that would fit them perfectly.

Want to be able to find a canine that’ll run with you as well as keep you safe? Sally, the Doberman was the perfect high-energy fit.

I knew that because my sister tried to pair me with Sally, and I’d had to decline because Sally and Dooley did not get along.

She shook her head sadly. “I haven’t found the right person just yet, but I will.”

Danger, the Alaskan Malamute, was a scared little peach of a puppy who didn’t like anyone. Not even me, and I was a dog person.

She hated men, women, and children equally. I hadn’t seen one single person that’d been able to get that dog to come out of her shell.

“You’ll figure it out,” I said.

“Is it a puppy?” Croft asked.

“No. More a teenager. She’s great, really. House-trained. Great manners. Sweet-tempered…she’s just deathly afraid of everything. She was abused as a puppy, and at this time, I’m not sure she’ll ever get to the point where she trusts people.” Carmichael sounded so sad that I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her into me.

“You’ll find someone, Mikey,” I told her. “Be careful going home, okay?”

Carmichael winked at me. “You’re not going to ask me to text you when I get home?”

“If I thought you would, then yes. But since I know you’ll forget the moment you walk into your animal shelter of a house, I’ll just look at the camera feed to make sure.”

Carmichael and I shared property about five minutes outside of town. Both of us had been given a sizable nest egg from our grandparents when we’d graduated college, and we’d invested it together and bought over two hundred acres, and then both built a house.

Though we were technically more like neighbors, I still had the code to her house and could check on her through my camera that pointed in her house’s direction.

Carmichael had a system of her own, but I tried not to be too much of an overprotective big brother.

My sister rolled her eyes. “Why does it not surprise me that you know you can do that?”

I winked at her. “Make sure you remember that Donnie is yours tomorrow.”

Donnie, our twenty-year-old horse that we got when we were both children, was taken care of by both of us. He liked Carmichael better, but I tried not to let it get to me.

“Yeah, I remember. Bye.”

Croft watched her go, and I’d had enough.

Waiting until she was all the way to the car, I turned to my friend.

“I love you like a brother, but if you hurt either one of them, I’ll kill you all the same,” I told him bluntly.

Croft turned to me, a blank expression on his face.

“Either one of who?” he asked innocently.

“I saw you flirting with Camryn earlier,” I told him. “And then you switched on that charm with Carmichael. I don’t like it.”

“Listen, Flintstone,” Croft said, sounding somewhat angry. “I’m not setting out to hurt either one of them.”

“Then what are you doing?” I questioned.

He looked back at the parking lot where Carmichael had just pulled out but slowed to wave to Camryn who was now walking back in with her basket of laundry.

“I’m trying to figure that out,” he answered.

I didn’t like that answer at all.

“Camryn is mine,” I blurted.

Croft blinked.

“What?” he asked in surprise.

I was honestly quite surprised at the words that’d fallen out of my mouth myself.

“She’s mine,” I repeated, much more harshly this time.

Croft crossed his arms over his chest and waited for me to go into more detail, and when I didn’t, he laughed softly under his breath.

“Took you long enough,” he said. “Watching you two fight it out was causing me heart palpitations. Thought you’d never pull your head out and make your move.”