Page 8 of Rescued Love
Grandpa needs these animals just as much as they need him. I might not have known about the work he’s been doing for years, but it became painfully obvious that it has kept him going. These animals would be shit out of luck if they weren’t on his land.
The woman looks startled when she turns toward me. Her eyes widen and when I’m close enough I see they’re a gorgeous brown which makes me think of cozy nights and comfort. Which I should not be thinking of at a time like this. The way she looks me over has me wanting to pull her against my chest, but I ball my hands into fists instead.
I won’t be touching this woman. Not when she must be here to make life harder for Grandpa. If the county has him jumping through hoops for helping animals, there will be hell to pay. I’ll make sure of it.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?” There’s an edge in my voice and the woman pales slightly.
I should feel bad about it, but I don’t.
“Uh, I, um,” she stumbles over her words and shakes her head as her eyebrows pull together in confusion.
I cross my arms across my chest as I plant my feet and stare down at the woman, my anger growing. Did she want to slink up here and find the place unguarded? Is that why she has treats for Penny? So she can get up here and find things that violate some county code while Grandpa isn’t here to stop her?
Fuck.
The thought of anyone taking advantage of Grandpa has me narrowing my eyes at the woman in front of me. How fucking dare she.
The woman’s shoulders pull back and she clears her throat before sticking her hand out in the space between us. As if I’d shake her hand. “Hi,” there’s a brightness in her voice which makes my gut churn, “I’m Kimball.” She tilts her head, curiosity filling her words, “Who are you?”
“I’m Nathan Jacobson,” my voice is flat with an edge of malice.
Kimball blinks up at me before dropping her hand which I barely even glanced at. I’m sure Grandpa would throttle me for my lack of manners if he were here. My stomach clenches at the thought of this woman harassing him.
How long as this been going on? I probably don’t even have the right to ask him considering I had no idea he even had his animal sanctuary. Anger at myself for abandoning my family mixes with fear and rage at this woman for coming here.
“You didn’t tell me what you’re doing here,” I practically snarl the words.
Kimball takes a step back, but it does nothing to quell the fire inside of me. The scowl on my face deepens as I wait for her answer.
“You’re related to Mr. Jacobson?” She looks me over and nods like she just figured something out. “Her grandson?”
I grunt my agreement while continuing to stare her down. Our eyes clash and something sizzles in the air between us.
It doesn’t make any fucking sense, but it’s there, nonetheless. There’s something about this woman that makes me want to mold my body to hers, but I can’t do that. I don’t trust her.
I don’t even fucking know her.
When she remains silent, I bark, “If you’re here to make trouble for my grandfather, then you came to the wrong fucking place, lady.”
The way Kimball rears back, and her mouth opens in shock has guilt skittering up my spine. I ignore it. I have to. I won’t let anyone take advantage of Grandpa.
I couldn’t protect the people Culbert robbed blind, but I’ll be damned if I allow anyone to hurt my grandpa. It’s something I won’t fucking fail at.
“Um,” emotions play over Kimball’s face before her brown eyes harden and she pulls her shoulders back with determination. Her stance does magical things to her tits; not like she needed any help in that department to begin with, but damn.
She’s stunning.
My hands are begging me to reach out, grab her, and throw her over my shoulder. I could stalk into the house with her dangling down my back and right up to my room. My cock twitches with the idea, but I ignore it.
“Well,” she licks her lips like she’s nervous which does nothing to help my thick erection, “like I said, I’m Kimball. I run the animal shelter for the county.” She waves her hand toward the side of her truck like I hadn’t already seen the logo there for it to set my teeth on edge. “I come out here to check on Mr. Jacobson and to see if he needs anything for the animals.”
When she glances down at my clenched hands, I force myself to relax my fingers and shake out my arms. I’m still pissed, but the edge of fear in her voice makes me realize that I’m probably intimidating her. Don’t get me wrong, I want her to be intimidated, but not by the threat of violence.
That’s not my style.
And it would make me no better than some of the people I’ve had to defend over the years. There’s no way in hell I want to be in the same boat as them.
“Or are you out here to find some reason to shut down my grandpa’s sanctuary and take the animals away from him?” Her mouth hangs open in shock, but the idea of anyone hurting my family has me seeing red. “I won’t let that happen, so if it’s why you’re here then it would be best for you to turn right around and leave.”