“Hey, future big sister. Getting your sugar fix for the day?”
“You bet. What are you doing by yourself on the weekend? You haven’t been roped into helping anyone today, have you?”
He shook his head. “No, today is a free day. Figured I’d take in the weather and appreciate your brother having plans. Ever since you and Owen got together, he’s become my twin. Follows me everywhere like an orphaned puppy.”
“He’s used to having me around. I’m sure he’s lonely. Thanks for filling in for me.”
The two of them continued talking easily, as I watched in disbelief. I’d never heard Paxton speak so much. Hadn’t heard him say more than a sentence at a time since I’d known him. His voice was deep and low and hot as hell. That voice was a superpower that could make a girl swoon.
Who was this guy? I hadn’t met this Paxton, only the silent brooding one he let me see.
“By the way, Pax,” Carla began, “has Owen given you the updated stage design?”
He scrubbed his face with his palms. “You’re kidding, right? What did I tell him?”
“Aww, I’m sorry, but I think the new design might actually be easier to build.”
“Sure, it will.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
For a moment, it looked as if he was going to say something, but then he moved forward, bent down, and licked my ice cream.
“It was melting,” he said simply, flicking his tongue against his upper lip to remove some residual pink cream before turning back to Carla. The action left me stunned and speechless, which was a rarity for me.
I shook my head and tried to clear it. What the hell was going on? I’d entered an alternate universe where Paxton Cooper was no longer a tall lanky mute, but a sexy ice cream thief with a whiskey-smooth voice and a body carved from stone.
“Pax, we’re doing drinks next Saturday in that new place that’s opening,” Carla said. “Make sure you don’t get roped into helping someone out that afternoon so you can join us.”
His upper lip twitched. “What’s wrong with Reilly’s?”
“Frazier Falls is getting a new place?” I asked. “I thought it would forever be Reilly’s or Huck’s.”
Paxton frowned at the mention of Huck’s.
Carla threw her hands in the air. “Hallelujah, we were all surprised. Either way, I have the place reserved on Saturday. It’s lucky you chose to come home early because now you can join us at the Bobbly Olive.”
I smiled, glancing at Paxton out of the corner of my eye. His expression was, once more, unreadable. “I look forward to it.”
He glanced at his cell. “I better be off.”
“I thought you had a free day?” I asked.
He stared at me. His damn blue eyes looked so hard at me I swore I’d ignite.
“I do. Nothing to do and no one I feel obligated to see.”
Carla whipped her head between Paxton and me, then burst out laughing. “Okay, fair enough. Have fun.”
He kissed Carla on the cheek before he left, deliberately not looking at me before walking away.
I turned toward her. “Who the hell is that because it sure wasn’t the Paxton I knew.”
“Oh, Rosie, you poor, poor girl.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I think you’ll find that he has long since surpassed Owen as the hottie of Frazier Falls. Everyone loves him—not least because he’s happy to help with menial tasks, but the women find his charm irresistible.”
“Charm? And now he speaks?”
“Is that so much of a surprise?”
“A freaking mind blower.”
“He still speaks way less than anyone else I’ve ever known, but that also means he never says something he doesn’t mean. It’s worth listening when he actually chooses to talk.”
“He seemed damn chatty with you.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” she said, a little surprised. “He speaks to me much more now that I’m part of the family, but even taking that into consideration, he spoke quite a lot before I entered the picture. I wonder—”
“Ugh, I don’t want to know.” I was sure I knew what she was going to say was maybe he thought I wasn’t worth talking to.
A cold trickle of ice cream ran over my hand to remind me I hadn’t finished my cone, but looking at it only recapped that Paxton had chosen to lick it. Did I dare lick over the spot where he had? Wouldn’t that be admitting that somewhere deep inside, I wanted to experience his lips and tongue? Confusion at my mixed feelings twisted my insides. When I moved past the trash can, I tossed the cone inside.
Carla pouted. “I’d have eaten that.”
“I refuse to be responsible if you don’t fit into your wedding dress.”
“That’s a risk I was willing to take.”
A giggle graduated to a laugh. “One day, your metabolism will slow, and I swear, you’ll regret every double scoop you ever devoured.”
“We all have our guilty pleasures. Yours was teasing Pax. Do you regret that?”
I scowled. “You’re not funny.”
“Not trying to be.”
I looked down the path in the direction he’d walked. He was gone, but he’d left me with feelings I wasn’t ready to confront.
Guilt.
Remorse.
Agitation.
Anger.
Attraction.
Arousal.
The way he treated me set up an interesting precedent for the next three weeks. It was in that moment I promised myself one thing. He was going to talk to me, even if I had to tie him up and torture the words out of him.
Chapter Seven
Paxton
I couldn’t believe I hadn’t left the park after saying goodbye to Carla. Even worse, I was hiding in order to watch Rose.
It was bad enough to hide in the first place, but to watch her like a creepy stalker? I couldn’t believe what I was doing, but for some reason, I couldn’t stop.
“Why did I eat her stupid ice cream? Fool …” I muttered, resulting in curious glances from a group of local kids. I placed a finger to my lips to let them know to stay quiet about my presence. They grinned in return, clearly thinking they were now involved in my secretive game.
I didn’t know what I was looking for. I was simply … looking.
My original plan of giving her the classic silent treatment had been cut short because of Carla. She’d have blown it if I tried that in front of her, so I figured it would be better to go straight into the second part of the plan. Make sure Rose knew I was deliberately ignoring her, which seemed to infuriate her. A promising first result.
Taking all of that into consideration, I knew I should leave the park. There was no doubt I would run into her again, and I’d have an opportunity to annoy her.
Thinking about that made me pause. My plan to ignore Rose had been my way of dealing with her close proximity. The more time I could spend away from that woman, the better. So why was I looking forward to the next time I could be near her? Why was I still in the damn park?
Disgusted with myself, I stared at the path and saw both Carla and Rose had gone. Carla headed out of the park in the direction of Owen’s house. I wasn’t sure where Rose had gone and spun around to see if somehow, she’d found me. The public areas were Rose free.
This was ridiculous. I crept out of my hiding place as subtly as possible and headed toward home but remembered I needed groceries since no home-cooked meal was coming my way today.
Groaning because I’d have to cook, I headed in the direction of Wilkes’, my mood gloomier than it had been when I’d entered the park. My brothers gave me a hard time about my volunteer work, but I rarely had a day where I didn’t have a meal.
The streets were quiet for a Saturday. Everyone was most likely by the creek, or in their back yards since they weren’t in the park. That was perfect for me. It meant I could enjoy the sunshine without being disturbed.
As soon as I had that thought, a woman appeared
at the crossroads ahead of me and turned onto the same street, going in the same direction.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” The words shot out of my mouth too loudly when I realized who it was. Rose stopped in her tracks, the faint breeze softly billowing the delicate fabric of her dress around her legs. She turned to face me.
Instinct told me to walk back the way I came, but stubbornness moved me forward. Shoving my hands in my pockets, I pressed on, as if I didn’t care she was there at all.
She raised an eyebrow as I got closer. “Are you following me?”
I wrestled with the idea of not responding. When I reached her, I sauntered past and said, “Nope.”
Despite walking away quickly, she rushed to catch up.
“Why the hell were you behind me when you supposedly left the park ages ago?”
“I’m on a walk.”
Clearly, she still wasn’t getting the message from my brisk pace and short, clipped sentences. She continued to walk by my side, though it was obvious I wanted to be alone.
“Seems like a pretty circuitous walk if you only ended up two minutes outside of the park after walking for fifteen.”
I didn’t reply. What could I say? I’d been watching her. I’d have laughed if it wasn’t for her walking beside me, watching me intently with a frown pulling down the corners of her plump pink lips.
“Now you’re back to not speaking? Geez, Paxton. I don’t get you.”
Her nose twitched in frustration when I continued to ignore her. My pace slowed. No use tiring myself out when she did all she could to keep up with me. Maybe she’d get bored if I walked at a snail’s pace, and she would move ahead of me.
This seemed to confuse her more, which was somewhat satisfying given that she’d confused me my entire life.
“What are you doing?” she asked. “What’s the point of all this?” She waved her hand about like a human flyswatter.
I spared her a glance. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean.” She fisted her hips and stomped her foot then had to double step to catch up.
“Then you know what I mean.”
She looked ready to tear her hair from her head. “Paxton, you’re an adult. Why don’t you act like one?”
“Not speaking to you isn’t juvenile behavior, it’s self-preservation.”
It took me a few steps before I realized she had stopped. I resisted the urge to turn around, instead choosing to continue on toward Wilkes’.
“Princess Paxton.”
I froze before spinning around to face her.
“What did you call me?” My voice was loud enough for her and the next county to hear.
“I called you princess,” she shouted back. “At least that got a reaction out of you.”
I marched over and pinned her against the closest parked car without thinking, my mind blind with years of suppressed rage. Her eyes went wide with alarm.
“Say that again to my face.”
“I … Jeez, Paxton, it was a joke.” Her voice shook.
I could tell by the expression on her face she knew she’d taken things too far. I tightened my grip on her shoulders, watching her, looking for something, but like in the park, I had no idea what it was I needed to see.
“Paxton?”
“You’re not sorry. You never were.”
Her saucer-like eyes stayed on me. “How would you know?”
I let go of her and turned away to continue my walk down the street. After a few moments, she appeared at my side once more.
“What the hell is going on?”
“Leave me alone.”
“Paxton …”
“Stop saying my name as if we’re friends.” My hands ached from clenching them into fists.
“I can think of a few other options.”
The tense muscles of my jaw twitched. “I bet. You were always good at name games.”
“You were always good at being an asshole.”
I glanced at her, scowling. “Whatever. Go bother someone else.”
“I’m going to Wilkes’.”
“Choose another route.”
“We’re two minutes away from the damn place. I’m pressing forward.”
“Fine.”
I made an abrupt right turn and veered onto another street. Going to the store could wait. Getting away from Rose could not.
With her hands on her hips, she yelled, “Are you seriously doing this because you can’t deal with me for two minutes?”
“I don’t see a problem. Have a pleasant afternoon.”
For a few seconds, I was certain she’d follow me, but her absence made it apparent she wouldn’t. A sigh of relief left my body, but my gut was twisting and turning.
So much for keeping my cool and gaining the upper hand. I haven’t been that openly angry in … forever.
That reality shook me. Only she could have ever elicited that much fury. Not even Brady Huck, whom I hated, could do this to me. Maybe it was because I hadn’t seen her in fourteen years or maybe it was something else.
It was only when I reached my house that I remembered I had no food. After roaring in frustration, I picked up my phone and called Rich. I would have called Eli, but lately, he’d been occupied by a certain Irish redhead. I couldn’t find fault with that. At least he was happy. That left me with Rich; we were both odd men out. What a pair.
He picked up immediately.
“Hi Pax, I just got in. What’s up?”
“Why don’t you come over for dinner? You’ll have to bring food.”
Rich laughed. “You missed me?”
“No. I’m hungry.”
“Do you have beer?”
“It’s the one thing I do have in the fridge.”
“I’ll be over within the hour.”
I hung up, feeling more in control of my emotions. Rich would know something was wrong, but he wouldn’t push me to talk about it. We weren’t at a place in our friendship to share secrets. I needed someone who wouldn’t push and prod and twist me until I completely lost it.
Someone, unlike Rose.
Next time I saw her, I promised I wouldn’t let her get to me. If I reacted, she’d win.
Groaning, I opened my refrigerator to get a beer, screwing off the lid and gulping down half of the contents in seconds.
At least for tonight, I could drink and forget. Who in the hell was I kidding? Rose wasn’t someone I was likely ever to forget.
Chapter Eight
Rose
When I saw Nick calling, I let out a noise of delight. Grabbing my phone, I rushed to answer.
“You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice.” I collapsed onto my bed, the soft comforter hugging my bottom.
He chuckled. “If you were going to miss me that fast, you shouldn’t have been so quick to run away from New York.”
“You wouldn’t have reacted the exact same way if you found out your boyfriend was cheating on you and didn’t give a damn?”
“No, because I’ve never been in a position for that to happen. The scenario would require me to have a long-term boyfriend in the first place.”
“Trust me; you don’t want one. Men suck.”
“You sound like a woman scorned. Remind me not to get on your bad side.”
“Me—a bad side? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Nick sighed as I fell to my back on my bed. The sun had set, and it had grown cooler after the unseasonably hot day. My entire body felt like it had been scorched, but that was due to Paxton. He’d seared me with his words. Words said in anger that held many truths. I hated that he had the ability to flay me open.
“You definitely have a bad side,” Nick said. “I don’t think you realize how many people are scared of you, including me.”
Am I that rotten? “What do you mean?”
“The casual almost-offensive nicknames, the quips, the pointed comments—”
“They’re not—people don’t think I actually mean any of t
hat, do they?” How could anyone take my words seriously? Sure, I dished out a lot, but I wasn’t the only one. “Everyone talks to each other like that. I don’t say stuff because I don’t like someone. I’ve flung snarky comments at you as much as anyone else.”
“Your comments are on a whole other level than everyone else. Your words strike at the jugular. I bet you were a skilled bully in high school.”
“I was not. Teasing isn’t bullying—”
“You were a mean girl, weren’t you? I’m so disappointed in you.”
“No, I—”
But then I paused. While I’d always considered my teasing of Paxton to be standard small-town name-calling and the like—never mind that I stopped once we reached high school— his actions earlier today suggested the way I’d treated him had affected him far worse than I’d known.
Our parents had been close friends. The entire Cooper family had been at my parents’ wedding. It was natural that they had tried to push him and me to be friends. While his older brothers were busy charming everyone around them, I was left with a sulking, silent boy who stood there as I called him names. I wasn’t the only one who picked on him. What Brady Huck put him through in high school was what anyone would consider horrific bullying. If he was affected by anything, it should have been that. Brady had been so bad that even I’d felt sorry for Paxton. I’d even considered helping him out.
Why was it me that he hated so bad? Had I taken things so far without knowing it? How could I have known it if he never said anything?
God, the guy frustrated me, and he didn’t even do anything.
“Rose? You still there?” A hint of concern colored Nick’s voice.
“Yeah, sorry. I think I was having a bit of a life crisis.”
“Don’t take what I said to heart. I was only making fun of you. You know everyone loves you despite you.”
“There’s definitely someone from my past who doesn’t feel the same.”
“Did you break his heart, or did you like him, and he didn’t like you back? Is that why you bullied him?”
My mouth hung open. “Who even said it was a guy?”
“Your immediate reaction confirms it. Was it the former or the latter?”
Defend Me: A Frazier Falls Novel Page 5
