Destiny's Revenge (Destiny Series - Book 2) by Straight, Nancy (management books to read .TXT) 📕

like the two of you to stay clear of Benny. He is here to spend time with his Grandfather. He doesn’t need any lessons on life from either of you. His good-for-nothing father does a great job teaching him that crap.”

I was convinced I had never met a more vile individual in my life. I looked to her son who seemed oblivious to the entire exchange. The dynamic of the conversation was so strange that I hardly knew whether to hug the boy and pull him inside to get him away from her, or pull Joe and Max inside to protect them from her.

Joe finally found his voice when he asked, “Rose, do you want to come inside and get Benny settled in?”

“He’s not a baby, Dad. Point him to the computer and the television and he’ll be fine.” She started back for her car, and as she reached the door said, “I’ll be back next weekend to get him.”

She got in the car and drove away.

Peanut was still growling through the door even after she had left. Joe, Max and Benny seemed to have taken her rudeness in stride while I was still reeling. She was horrible. She found a way to insult everyone, including me, and she’d never even met me before. The others stayed on the porch socializing while I went into the house and sat on the couch. Peanut leapt on to the couch and lay across my lap. I tried to remind him that at ninety pounds he wasn’t exactly a lap dog, but Peanut didn’t budge.

Max opened the door and said the three of them were going down to fish for a little while and asked if I wanted to come along. I politely declined in favor of watching television. No sense braving the bugs and the heat to sit on the side of a creek and try to catch fish that wouldn’t bite in the heat of the day. I thought it would be a good idea for the three of them to catch up. I could see Max was torn. He and I hadn’t been separated by more than fifty yards since the first day he came back. Sensing his apprehension, I said, “It’s fine, Max. Peanut and I are just going to hang out in the house and watch television. You guys go have a good time. We’ll be fine.”

He stepped inside the door and made his way to the couch. Max knelt down in front of me bringing the full force of his eyes on mine, “I really don’t want you here by yourself. Why don’t you come along and just get to know Benny. He’s really a great kid in spite of his witch of a mother.”

“You go ahead. Peanut and I’ll be fine.” Peanut was still draped across my legs as if settling in. Max looked at him and looked pleased with his protective posture. Max reached down and scratched Peanut’s ears, “You’re going to take care of her, right?”

Max took my face in both his hands and kissed me deeply. Like every other time, this sent my libido into orbit, and I wished that Joe and Benny would go fishing by themselves. Max’s lips moved from mine long enough for him to whisper, “I love you, Lauren. Be careful while I’m gone. I’ve got some plans for you tonight.”

I blushed and asked him to hurry back.

Chapter 13

The hour and a half since their departure had flown by. I had started dinner, banking on the fact that they wouldn’t catch any fish. I had thrown a load of clothes into the washer and was contemplating giving Peanut a bath when I heard Max’s truck pull up outside. I glanced out the window from the kitchen and noticed him walking toward the house while Benny and Joe made their way to the garage. I knew Max needed to know I was fine. He had probably been preoccupied the entire time.

He stepped through the door and his eyes found mine immediately. That pang of desire from right before he left throttled up, and I silently wished it wasn’t the middle of the day with his cousin and grandfather in such close proximity and wide awake. In that split second I knew we could have rocked the house.

Max made his way to me slowly, took me in his arms in a stiff manner, but said nothing. Max led me to our room, and I was both embarrassed at the thought of being caught and thrilled at the prospect of some alone time with Max. He pushed me toward the bed a little more roughly than I had expected. Peanut came around the corner, teeth bared and ran between us. I laughed, “Peanut, it’s okay. Let’s put you in the other room.” As I went to give Peanut a gentle shove toward the door, he put his mouth around my hand and pulled. It was a firm grip with his mouth, but his teeth never broke my skin. The shock of it made me scream, “Peanut, no,” but his grip pulled me another step toward the door. He let go of my hand and stood in between Max and me growling, like something had possessed him.

My eyes were wide with surprise. Max looked at the dog poised to attack, never breaking its gaze. Max didn’t look at all fearful; it was almost as if he were enjoying it. The whole situation was unfolding so fast that my mind wasn’t processing it properly. I yelled, “Peanut down, no, stop, sit,” every command I could think of. Each was ignored and the dog looked as though he were going to rip Max apart. Max did absolutely nothing. He just stared at the animal in a show of what? Dominance, maybe?

I looked at my hand. There wasn’t a mark on it. Peanut was clearly not playing, but he had no intention of hurting me. At the same