Play Me

I rolled my eyes and stood. Jesus. My mother and girlfriend had gotten drunk on a little over a bottle of wine.

“What’s your name, kitty?” Kendall said as she buried her face in the kitten’s fur. “Oh, no! Is my buzz going?”

“More wine!” my mother called out just before my father wrapped his arms around her to keep her from walking away.

“Oh no. I think we’ve had enough wine, sweetheart.”

“Party pooper!” Kendall said, reaching out for my mother’s hand as if she might be able to save her from the clutches of the mean man who was taking away their fun.

The kitten meowed, and Kendall’s attention was immediately diverted to it. My eyes swept over her body, and it was all I could do to keep my dick from getting hard.

Your parents are standing right there. Get your mind out of the gutter.

“Hunter, I think I’m going to take your mother on up to our room. I think she’s a goner for the night.”

Mom was now passed out in his arms but still holding her wineglass. Kendall took the glass from my mother and downed it then started to sing a song from the damn eighties as she made her way back to the kitchen.

Dad and I watched her saunter away before he cleared his throat. “Right. You deal with that; I’ll deal with this.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “How did they get drunk so fast?” I asked.

“I have no clue. We were only gone fifteen or twenty minutes, at the most. I mean, your mother is a lightweight when it comes to drinking, but…”

My dad lifted my mother into his arms and turned to the stairs. He stopped and said, “I hope you have Advil. I think they’re both going to need it in the morning.”

“I’ve got plenty. Good night, Dad.”

“Good luck, Hunter.”

I waved him off and headed into the kitchen. It appeared my mom and Kendall had started to make the spaghetti but didn’t get very far. The smell of something burnt drew me to the sink and the pot of homemade sauce. Or what had once been homemade sauce. Kendall was currently sitting cross-legged on my kitchen island, eating sauce out of the jar and then picking up a spaghetti noodle and eating that. The kitten was curled up next to her, sound asleep. Her eyes met mine when she heard me laugh. My dick was once again coming to attention because of the beautiful woman sitting on the counter, half-dressed. She held up the empty bottle of wine and pouted.

“I’m out.”

God she was stunning, even when drunk.

“How’s that sauce?” I asked, standing in front of her.

Scrunching up her nose, she replied, “I don’t think your mom heated it good. S’cold.”

I laughed, taking the spoon and jar out of her hands and moving the uncooked pasta to one side. “Let’s get you up to bed.”

She leaned over and wrapped her arms around my neck.

“S’bout time, Mr. Owens.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “I never in my life dreamed my mother would get my brand new girlfriend drunk on wine and then cockblock me.”

Kendall dug her teeth into her lip. “I can be quiet. Your mom said she would be.”

And there went my hard-on. Gone in a blink of an eye.

“I’ll be sleeping in the barn tonight, thank you very much.”

She giggled before starting to say something, but then she closed her mouth and whispered, “I sleepy.”

At that point, her head dropped to my chest and she let out a loud snore. Glancing down to the kitten, who was now cleaning herself off, I smiled.

I sighed. “Come on, let’s get y’all to bed and figure out a litter box for you, too, squirt.”

23

Hunter

“You kids have a good time! I love you!” my mother called out as they got on the security line at the airport. Kendall and I waved.

“Thanks y’all for everything! Love you back!”

“Safe travels! Can’t wait to see you again,” Kendall added with a wide grin.

The moment they were out of sight, however, she leaned against me and groaned. “I have the worse hangover ever.”

With a chuckle, I wrapped my arm around her. “I bet. The two of you polished off nearly two bottles of wine in less than thirty minutes.”

“Shh… stop talking so loudly.”

We walked back to my truck in silence. Kendall drifted off to sleep not two minutes after we pulled out of the airport and she stayed asleep the entire trip back to the ranch. She didn’t even wake up when I stopped at one of the bakeries in town and grabbed fixins for lunch.

Once we got back to the ranch, I carried her into the house and got her settled on the sofa.

“Want anything?” I asked softly, covering her with a blanket.

“A miracle drug that takes away headaches?”

“Best I can do is aspirin and one small kitten.”

“Give me six aspirin and the kitty, for sure.”

“Two aspirin coming up.”

By the time I got the aspirin and a bottle of water, Kendall was asleep. I left it on the coffee table. Then I scooped up the kitten from the mudroom, where I’d set her up with food, water, and a makeshift litter box and put her next to Kendall. She gave a little meow, making two little turns before curling up and going right to sleep.

“Watch over our girl,” I whispered.

Kendall wrapped her hand around the kitten and said, “I will.”

My chest squeezed. This woman had successfully gotten me to fall hook, line, and sinker in love with her. I slipped a loose piece of hair away her face and tucked it behind her ear. After watching her sleep for another few minutes, I got up, kissed Kendall on the forehead, and headed to the barn. I had

a shit ton of things to do and only two days to get them done. The new ranch hand would be there tomorrow, and I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to show him everything.

Hours passed as I worked. Sweaty and tired, I tossed the last hay bale in the empty stall and leaned back against the wall.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so sexy in my entire life.”

Her voice had me breaking out in a full-on grin. I pushed off the wall and headed over to her.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like a Mack Truck hit me going ninety miles an hour.”

“That good, huh?”

She giggled. “Your mom is so much fun. But I wish I could remember what we did last night. After she opened the second bottle of wine, I was pretty much gone. I take it we never did have game night?”

“Nope. Never even ate dinner. Y’all somehow managed to burn the sauce, and I’m not even going to ask what was going on with the pasta.”

She giggled.

“Can’t even remember your Risky Business dance montage?”

Her mouth dropped open. “I didn’t.”

“You tried.”

She rolled her eyes and laughed again. It was a beautiful sound and something I wanted to hear every single day. As many times as possible. And if I allowed my mind to go there, it was a sound I wanted to hear for the rest of my life.

Kendall walked over to me, a sexy smile on her face.

“Do you want to take a drive with me to check the fence line?” I asked.

Her smile faltered before she replied. “I’d love to.”

“Are you hungry?”

With a tilt of her head, she gave me a knowing smile. “A little, but what I’m hungry for isn’t food.”

That brought my body to full attention. Lifting one brow, I feigned innocence. “Why, whatever do you mean, Ms. Wales?”

Kendall motioned between us with her finger. “As much as I love this ‘getting to know each other’ thing we’ve got going on, my body is aching for you, Hunter.”

“I’m all sweaty.”

“So? I like to get dirty every now and then.”

Kendall put her hands on my chest and slowly slid them up my body until she was on her toes and wrapping her arms around my neck. Our lips brushed lightly at first before the kiss grew hotter. Deeper.