Olivia's Ride (Sawyer Brothers Book 4) Read online

  “One of what?” Olivia asked.

  You could tell she’d had a little too much to drink; her words were slurring just a bit.

  “One of him,” she replied, pointing directly at me.

  Olivia looked back at me and widened her eyes just a bit before turning back to face Gina. “We’ll find you a Keeton,” Olivia assured her, and her friend suddenly seemed pleased with the idea of getting what she wanted. Olivia was just doing her best to soothe her friend, but I found her promise quite humorous.

  I buried my face in Olivia’s shoulder to hide my laughter.

  “You two are so cute together,” Gina added, and I looked up just in time to catch her walking off to join a group of girls dancing around like their asses were on fire.

  “Can we get outta here now?” I asked. Olivia nodded her head as she reached back and took my hand in hers, leading me toward the exit.

  We hadn’t even made it to my truck before Olivia stopped and turned around to face me. “You know I like you a lot, right?”

  “I sorta like you too,” I told her as I hooked her around the waist and pulled her body close to mine. “A lot,” I added, before leaning in and kissing her.

  I hadn’t had anything to drink at all, but Liv had a few and I could taste the sweetness on her tongue as she deepened our kiss. We were just outside a house that held hundreds of students unwinding for the week. The sounds of music mixed with the laughter of those students were instantly drowned out by Olivia’s soft moans as I backed her up against the side of my truck.

  She had a tendency to make me forget about the life I lived up until this point. The years I listened to my father tell me I wouldn’t amount to shit while my brother agreed. The times my father would stumble in at 2:00 in the morning, drunk off his ass, and start beating on me because he knew he could get away with it. All that faded when Liv was near. She was so innocent and sweet, so full of life and sassy, it was like a breath of fresh air.

  I allowed myself to believe those things over the years. Allowed myself to believe that I was destined to be a hopeless drunk until one person helped me see otherwise. A man I knew for only a short time until he passed away in the middle of the night.

  Mr. Vickers.

  He was an old man who lived at the end of Sable Court. I walked past his house every morning and afternoon on my way to and from school. He would always wave and ask me how my day went. At first I thought he was a creepy old man, but soon came to realize he was just alone, kind of like me. He had lost his wife years ago and never remarried. He always said she was his soulmate and his better half. He refused to believe there was anyone else out there for him. The day he lost her was the day he decided he would carry her memory with him for the remainder of his life, until they met again.

  Even I found the beauty in his love for his late wife.

  He was the man who taught me about cars, and he’d share stories about him and his life with Mable. Before she passed, they traveled the world and as they grew older, settled in Texas. He still lived in the home they bought together, surrounded by the things she filled their home with.

  He gave me hope. He helped me understand I could be something, that I didn’t have to allow my father and brother to bring me down. They couldn’t choose my future, only I could.

  And now Olivia was the one person who had me opening my heart to the possibilities of more. She made me smile and laugh. It felt so damn good to be this happy.

  A few guys passed and one of them whistled, which caused Olivia and I to pull apart.

  “Maybe we should head back to my place,” I said as I led her to the passenger door. She only nodded her head, still feeling the effects of our kiss.

  It was so easy to get lost in Olivia. She was the best kind of distraction.

  ***

  I woke to the sound of the shower running in the bathroom.

  Stretching my arms over my head, I took a moment to remember just how frisky my girl got when she was a little tipsy. Who would have known?

  But my muscles were a reminder and the ache was sweet.

  Throwing my legs over the side of the bed, I walked toward the bathroom and pulled the shower curtain aside just enough to slip in behind her.

  Olivia yelped in surprise when I wrapped my arms around her and bit her shoulder softly. “Good morning,” I whispered against her ear, and watched as she shivered before turning in my arms to face me.

  “Mornin’ handsome.”

  Her beauty made my chest ache.

  The way she looked at me was as if all the hate in my life had never happened. She saw me for me, not the guy who spent half his life surrounded by anger and filth.

  “What time do you have to be at work today?” she asked me. It was almost impossible to focus on anything other than her wet, slippery body now pressed firmly against mine. I could feel myself growing hard and by the look in her eyes, mixed with the way she bit down on her lower lip, I would say she noticed it too.

  “In an hour,” I whispered as I allowed my hands to slide over her hips to rest on her perfectly round ass. I really fucking loved her ass.

  “I guess it’s a good thing it only takes you ten minutes to get to work.” Olivia reached between us, and I swear I almost swallowed my damn tongue when she wrapped her hand around my cock and began stroking me. “That gives us forty minutes to take care of this.” She squeezed me just a little tighter. “And ten minutes for you to get dressed.”

  My head was immediately filled with visions of a repeat of last night just as she lowered herself to her knees and took me into her mouth.

  I braced my hand against the shower wall, while using the other to push her wet hair back from her face. There was something about watching her take me over and over that made my head spin. It took everything I had inside me to remain standing while she worked me slowly in and out of her warm wet mouth.

  “Liv,” I groaned when she cupped my balls and continued to suck me. “Feels so good.”

  I could see a faint smile pulling at her lips as she used her tongue to tease me.

  I fought against closing my eyes with each stroke of her lips because I didn’t want to miss a moment. I wanted this entire thing to be embedded in my mind for those times when we were apart.

  The memories of her sinful side would get me through some lonely nights this summer, I was sure.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Olivia

  “I took your truck and rotated the tires. Plus I had Ole’ Whitey give her a tune-up.” Uncle Jackson had promised to take care of my truck while I was away at school.

  My grandpa’s 1999 Ford F-150.

  Most girls would want a small little sports car, frilly and cute, but not me. It was the greatest gift when my gran handed me the keys to that truck. Yeah, it was the sentimental value it held after all the times I rode shotgun with Gramps as he thumped his thumb against the steering wheel to the beat of the music playing on the radio. Or the times we would roll the windows down and just drive the back roads as the wind whipped my hair around wildly. Those memories of my grandfather would always be some of the best.

  After I got it, I would sit in the truck in our driveway for hours, just listening to the radio. I closed my eyes and pictured my grandpa singing along to the radio as we drove the country roads, and the way he would smile and laugh when I sang along to the music.

  Losing my gramps was hard on everyone. But Uncle Jackson and I shared the special bond because he was more of a best friend to the two of us than anything else.

  “You better be taking care of her,” I said as I rounded the corner with my phone pinned between my shoulder and chin. I was ruffling through my bag in search of my keys as I attempted to balance my bag on my lifted knee.

  “I took her for a joyride, in search of squirrels.” He chuckled at his own joke.

  “Real funny, smartass.” I rolled my eyes remembering his attempt at teaching me to drive. Since then everyone in our family knew about that fateful day. You wouldn’t beli
eve how many times they’ve yelled “Squirrel!” randomly. They’re all a bunch of jokesters.

  “Belle wants to say hello before I go,” he said. “She’s been tugging on my pant leg for the last five minutes.”

  I heard her squeal and I waited for her little voice to come on the line. “Hi, Livia.” It was so cute the way she said my name; she always dropped the O.

  “Hi, sweetheart, how are you? Are you keeping your mommy and daddy in line?” On most days, Belle acted as if she were the grownup parenting Jackson and Bailey. It was really comical.

  “Yep,” she stated proudly. “And Billy screams at them too.”

  I laughed because I knew what she was referring to—my little cousin’s screeching screams. He wasn’t old enough to know yet that he would be forced to keep his parents under control.

  After all he was just a baby. Jackson had named him after Grandpa which warmed my heart.

  “Well I’ll be home this summer to help you whip them into shape,” I promised her and she squealed in delight once again.

  “Okay, kid,” I heard Jackson grumble. “Give me the phone.” After a couple more seconds he came back on the line and Belle continued laughing and tormenting her father. I loved to hear her giggles.

  “You’ve corrupted my daughter,” he complained.

  “Yeah, right; she was corrupted from the moment she was conceived. She’s a mixture of you and Bailey; she had no hope for innocence.” It was true and we all knew it.

  “Hardy har; now who’s the smartass?” he chuckled.

  We chatted for a few more minutes before saying goodbye.

  I entered my dorm room with caution as I always did, because I never knew what I was walking into.

  Finding the room was empty was a pleasant surprise. I had a paper due tomorrow and I knew I had to pull an all-nighter just to complete it.

  ***

  I had been so consumed that when Jeanette, the bitch from hell, entered our room it was well after 10:00 p.m. It surprised me I had not heard from Keeton, because I knew he got off work at 8:00.

  “No boyfriend tonight?” she asked as she flopped very unladylike down onto her bed.

  “What, no hairy fat guys tonight?” I asked, without looking up from my laptop.

  I continued to tap away, editing and rewriting.

  She opted out of responding to my comment and the silence of the room set in once again. After I was satisfied with my paper, I saved it to my flash drive and decided to take it downstairs to the student commons to print out a hard copy. Seeing it on paper was always helpful to me when it came to doing a final edit.

  I also wanted a chance to call Keeton without Jeanette listening to every word I said.

  After stepping off the elevator I made my way over to a quiet corner and dialed his number.

  After three rings I was more than positive it would go to voicemail, so I prepared myself to leave a message when he answered.

  “Hey.”

  His voice sounded a little off, nothing like his normal husky smoothness whenever he answered my calls.

  “Hi,” I said in return. “I hadn’t heard from you and I was getting a little worried. Is everything okay?”

  “I’m fine, Liv.” He sounded almost irritated that I would ask.

  “Yeah, it sounds like it.” I suddenly regretted calling.

  “I’m just tired and I fell asleep,” he responded with little emotion.

  I was just about to apologize for waking him when I heard a female voice in the background. “Where is Duke’s leash?”

  I wanted him to say something about what he knew I heard, but he only ignored the entire situation. “Listen, I have a headache. I’m just gonna go to bed and I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  He didn’t hang up, but he also didn’t say anything more.

  I remember what he told me only a couple of weeks ago, and I decided to use the right he gave me to ask questions regarding Lacy, hopefully without coming off as a jealous girlfriend.

  “Was that Lacy?”

  I could clearly hear the deep breath he expelled before he responded. “She offered to walk Duke; that’s all it is, Liv.”

  His attitude was grating on my nerves. I honestly had no idea where the hell it was coming from, but the uncontrollable Sawyer rage lit up inside me.

  “Ya know what? I don’t know why you’re being an ass, but I can assure you I don’t appreciate your attitude toward me. So do me a favor—don’t call me tomorrow unless the stick you have up your ass has found a new place to rest.” I didn’t give him a chance to speak before I hung up, then decided I didn’t want him calling later when he realized he was being a prick. So I shut the phone off too.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Keeton

  I sat on the couch, pinching the bridge of my nose as I hunched forward. The bag of frozen peas Lacy insisted I hold on my jaw now lay at my side, thawing quickly.

  “That didn’t sound like it ended well.”

  I looked to find Lacy just to the side of the door hooking the leash on Duke’s collar. She looked at me with her eyebrow cocked in question.

  “You do know once she sees your face, she’s gonna have questions?”

  Yeah, I did know. But sharing the fact that my father was waiting next to my truck, looking for money, when I got off work tonight wasn’t something I planned on sharing. Or that when I told him to fuck off it turned into a brawl my boss had to break up wasn’t something I planned to share either.

  Olivia came from a tight-knit family. They all shared everything and always had one another’s back. I didn’t know how to explain to her that my father beat on me, for the sheer joy of it, throughout my childhood. I didn’t know how to tell her that at times while growing up, I went hungry just so my dad could buy his bourbon.

  I would have to come up with another explanation for the way my faced looked.

  “Lock the door when you bring Duke back,” I said as I stood from the couch and moved toward my bedroom. “I’m heading to bed.”

  I could have walked Duke myself; hell, maybe it would have helped to clear my head. Instead I decided to go to bed and mentally punish myself for pissing off Olivia. She had every right to be angry at me.

  I lay in bed staring up at the ceiling, unable to shut my mind off.

  “Twenty bucks,” my father said angrily. “You can give your ole’ man twenty god-damn bucks. You’re all high and mighty thinking you’re so much better than me, Keeton, but you ain’t shit. One day you’ll figure that out. Pearce men are drunks; get used to that idea.”

  Dumb bastard could have been something different, more like his father, my grandfather. But Kurt Pearce chose to live the same life as his uncles and brothers. And I, unlike my brother, chose to be more.

  I wouldn’t let him drag me down.

  The sound of the front door shutting caught my attention, just before the sound of Duke’s feet began tapping along the wood flooring of the hallway.

  I braced myself for his invasion, because he always took over the bottom of the bed. Even when Olivia was tucked in close, her back to my chest, Duke always found room to snuggle too.

  Suddenly my chest ached as my mind wandered to Liv.

  I tried calling her back, after she hung up on me only to find she turned off her phone. So I had no other choice but to lie awake tonight, unable to sleep.

  Reaching for my laptop that lay on the nightstand, I opened it and logged into Facebook.

  Seeing the little green indicator lit up next to Olivia’s name made my heart race. It meant she was online, and maybe I could attempt to fix things before they got worse.

  Keeton: I removed that stick that was up my ass.

  I hit send and waited for a few seconds, hoping like hell she would send something back. Anything, really. I was trying to bring some humor to a tense situation.

  When nothing happened I panicked just a bit and pulled one of her rambles.

  Keeton: You were right; I was an asshole and I’m sorry. I know I hur
t your feelings, and that’s not okay. Please forgive me. Because I need you.

  Another few seconds passed and I had just about given up when a message was returned.

  Olivia: If you wanted to be alone then why was Lacy at your apartment?

  Fuck.

  Keeton: Turn your phone on please.

  I watched and waited, my heart pounding and my stomach knotted. And then she was gone. I felt like I had been kicked in the gut.

  Until my phone rang.

  I scrambled from bed and hurried toward the living room, lifted the phone and said a rushed “Hello.”

  “What?” Olivia was still irritated but at least she called.

  “Can I come get you?” I asked.

  I hated the silence; it was like acid burning in my gut.

  “Answer my question.” She wasn’t gonna give. She was too stubborn to let it go until I had her face-to-face.

  “I sorta got into a little fight after work tonight.” I braced myself for her reaction.

  “Why?” she asked. “And with whom?”

  “It was some guy who wanted me to give him money for booze. When I didn’t, he hit me.” I ran my tongue over the cut on my lip and it stung. “It was nothing, really, but when I came home Lacy was getting home from work and followed me upstairs after she saw my face. Duke was whining and she said she’d take him out, and that was when you called.”

  “And that was when you decided to be an asshole to me for what reason?”

  Olivia didn’t give me any pity. I was glad, because I didn’t deserve it.

  “I was wrong. I’d been irritated with the way my night had turned out and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.” I had no excuse. I was wrong.

  She’d grown silent once again.

  “Can I come get you now?” I sat down on the couch and waited for her to answer.

  “No,” she whispered. A feeling of defeat washed over me. “I don’t want to come over. I’m still pissed at you, and that means I can’t let you come get me. Because if you do I won’t be able to stay mad at you and you don’t deserve my forgiveness yet.”