BLOWING out a breath that lifted the front tendrils of my hair, I looked down at my buzzing phone. Finn was late—again—so I wasn’t entirely surprised. I tapped my phone and placed it to my ear without a greeting. A smile played at my lips as I wondered what random excuse he had today.
“Banana!”
“You are entirely too chirpy for this early in the morning. Plus, you’re late.”
“I know. I got tied up. Literally.” “Literally?” I asked.
“Well, I was doing the tying but yeah. It was a good night.” His deep laugh ended with a sigh.
I rolled my eyes. Only Finn could find yet another kinky hookup and manage to keep it a secret in this small town. “Ok, stud. Can you at least bring me a fresh coffee on your way out?”
“Here’s the deal, babes…Linc texted me after you left and asked if I could swing by the office. Can you handle this morning solo?”
I closed my eyes, feeling a small build of tension behind them. It was hard to get enough sleep when you were next to someone who smelled and felt as good as Lincoln. I was insatiable and constantly ravaged his willing, eager body. But I couldn’t take my lack of sleep out on my best friend.
“Yep. It’s a twosome. I’ll manage.”
“Thank you, Joanna Banana. You’re the best. And hey…” He paused. “I think it’s time to tell him.”
“He loves you. It’ll be a good thing—for the both of you. I promise,” I reassured him.
We hung up, and I couldn’t help but be proud of Finn. Telling Lincoln was the last step in coming out completely. He was utterly comfortable with who he was, but there was still a large part of him that was nervous to talk to his big brother. Lincoln was stoic and could be intimidating, for sure, but I could see how much they loved each other. I knew in my heart that Lincoln was a good man who would only want his brother to be happy. It would be fine.
What was not fine, however, was the fact that I had to solo guide two of the most obnoxious guests I’d had in months. Pulling my ponytail through the back of my cap, I breathed out, “Here we go.”
“HEY, CHECK OUT THAT ASS,” one mumbled under his breath to his equally foul friend.
With my back to them, I rolled my eyes so far up into my skull it was a wonder they could look straight again.
“See if she needs your pole,” the second responded with a snicker and a tug at the front of his pants.
Standing, I chirped, “Ok, fellas, we’re all set!” I handed each of them a newly strung fishing pole, quickly explained a basic cast—again—and stepped back.
First of all, they were disasters, unwilling to listen to any of the advice I was trying to dole out. If I suggested a step upstream, Todd didn’t like the rocks. If I wanted to try new bait, Stan didn’t like the color. I seriously could not win with those two.
As the morning dragged on, my jaw ached from clenching my teeth. I glanced at my watch. Less than an hour or so to go.
The sun was rising higher, slanting warm afternoon light onto the river and making it too bright for decent fishing.
“We might want to call it a day,” I offered, my hand shielding my eyes from the glittering sunlight. “Without any cloud coverage, the fish tend to go into hiding. It’ll be a hard go from here on out.”
“Are you fucking serious?!” Todd responded.
“Yeah, that’s the way it goes sometimes. But we had some decent catches, don’t you think?” I was determined to stay upbeat.
“Man, this is fucking stupid,” he replied. Todd took a deep pull from a flask I hadn’t noticed earlier and passed it to his friend.
My ears pricked as I glanced around our very hidden, very remote setting.
Fuck. Why did I agree to let Bud stay with Lincoln today?
“I’m sorry if you’re unhappy with how it went today.” I bent down to remove my waders and gather our gear into my backpack. As I glanced over the clear riverbed, I could see Todd’s reflection on the water. He was standing behind me, too close, pretending to grab my hips and thrust himself forward and back.
I stood and pinned him with a glare. “Time to go.”
“Aww, come on, sweetheart. Don’t be like that.” He stepped forward, and I instinctively mirrored his movement backward. Stan moved right until he flanked me. My spine stiffened, and my heartbeat ticked up.
“I said it’s time to go.” I willed my voice to be steady and strong, but it betrayed me and cracked on the last syllable. Clearing the tightness in my throat, I moved to push past Todd.
As I side-stepped him, he reached out a wide, dirty palm and wrapped his calloused hand firmly around my upper arm, pulling me into him.
“I’ll say when this is over.” The sharp liquor smell rolled off his tongue and burned my nose as he brushed the back of his hand up the side of my breast.
Stan scrubbed his palms up and down his thighs, grinning, as I tried to yank my arm free.
“Get your hands off of me.” My voice raised in panic with every word, but I couldn’t wrench my arm from his tightening grasp.
“Stan, you keep an eye out, I’m gonna teach this girl some manners.” The gleam in Todd’s eyes as they moved across my body rolled my stomach. He yanked my arm again as I strained away from him.
Ears ringing and my vision going hazy, I brought my knee up and swiftly connected with his balls.
Todd let loose a guttural heave and doubled over in front of me. Without looking back, I tore down the path, running as quickly as my legs could carry me.
My boots felt like they were filled with cement and my lungs burned sharply, but I didn’t stop. I ran and ran until the glint of the afternoon sun winked off the bumper on my truck.
Pulling open the door, I got in, closed the door, and slammed my hand down on the lock. I tipped the visor down and dropped the keys into my lap. With shaking hands, I fumbled, dropping them to the floor.
“Fuck!” I shouted.
I glanced at the rearview mirror but didn’t see anyone else exiting the wooded path leading to the river. Taking one steadying breath, I tried the keys again, and when the truck roared to life, I slammed it into reverse, tearing across the grass toward the road and out onto the highway.
