by Tess Oliver
I lifted my finger and wiped some moisture from her cheek. It had been a casual gesture, but then she closed her eyes and covered my hand with hers, to press it tighter against her face. She opened her eyes and peered up at me, her hand still over my mine. “I’m sorry I was so bitchy to you the first time we met.”
“I had just ripped a sink from the wall. And, you and I have completely different definitions for bitchy.”
She released my hand. I stood there dumbstruck for a second. Not completely sure when it’d happened, but as Seth had so stupidly and uniquely said it— I’d been gobsmacked. I’d been fucking gobsmacked.
Rita walked over. “That sink is going to need fixing soon or this place will be underwater.”
“Right. Summer really needs to go to the emergency room. If you take her, I’ll get the sink fixed. Looks like Kristina and Hector are already doing a good job cleaning up the glass.”
Summer sobbed again. Rita and I looked at her.
“You guys are all the best.” She muttered. “I’m sorry I’m blubbering like a baby, but you are all so incredible. Don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Rita reached forward and hugged her. “I’ll get my purse, and we’ll go get that hand stitched up.”
chapter 20
Summer
I stepped out of the hot bath, still feeling lightheaded from the pain pill and the stitches and everything else that had gone with it. I pulled off the plastic arm cover the hospital had given me for showering. After taking a good fifteen minutes to pull it on with only one good hand to help, I’d decided to take a bath anyhow. Standing in a shower seemed precarious with all the room swaying that was going on in my head.
Without too much spinning around and chasing my tail, I managed to twist around far enough to get a mirror glimpse of the ugly bruise the table edge had left on my back. My caterpillar friend winked up at me from my naked butt and seemed to be asking where my tall, dark swoon worthy friend was. Or that could have been the pain medication and my intoxicated libido talking…rather than the ink insect.
Rita had dropped me off at home and helped me inside, insisting I take a nap. But after she’d left, I’d decided that the first thing I had to do was wash the day off of me, the horrible, wretched, no-good day. It had all been so disastrous, it was going to be hard to rally my enthusiasm for this whole darn thing. At this point, my new friends were the only good reason to stay and stick it out.
The big sweatshirt called to me from the end of my bed where I’d left it. I had every intention of walking to my dresser to pull out a shirt and jeans, but that sweatshirt was so damn comfy and warm and Gage scented. I thought about the tiny shriek of joy that had sprung from my mouth when I’d seen him lumbering toward Ralston. Ralston hadn’t even had enough sense to get up and run when he saw Gage. That had been a mistake on his part. Once his face had reached a shade of purple, I was sure that the jerk would pass out cold right there on my restaurant floor. Something told me that Gage still wouldn’t have let loose of his throat. It seemed he’d had to restrain himself to keep from breaking Ralston’s neck in two.
I returned to the same outfit that I’d started the day in. With any luck, I could convince myself that it was still morning and none of it had happened. Unfortunately, the unwieldy gauze wrap around my hand made it a hard sell, even to my loopy, medicated head. And from what I could tell, both the medication and the numbing agent were wearing off. A sharp pain kept shooting through my hand. The doctor had pointed out that if not for the nice thick padding on the human palm, the glass might have cut straight through to the bone, a grisly scenario that had caused me to puke. Afterwards, he’d apologized for saying it, and I’d apologized for being such a wimp. I was sure I’d overheard the nurse whisper California to him, and he’d returned a ‘that explains a lot’ nod. Or the entire exchange could have been a figment of my muddled imagination.
I was cradled once again in Gage’s sweatshirt and my fuzzy boots. Thank god for my fuzzy boots. I was sure if I hadn’t had them I would have already packed up and headed back to the Sunshine State.
I could see several peaks of the Rockies out the kitchen window, which was pretty awe-inspiring but also made everything seem a little colder. There were patches of snow on some of the tallest sections. Something told me those patches never melted, no matter what time of year. The sun was low in the sky, and the shadows of the trees stretched out long and thin.
Food didn’t sound good, but I’d bought a box of hot cocoa from the store. I’d even had the brilliant foresight to buy marshmallows. It sounded perfect for my state of mind and for the plummeting temperature outside. While the cocoa milk heated, I swallowed another pain pill. I hoped it would be my last. I hated the way they made it seem as if my head was no longer attached to my neck. Still, the out of body experience was better than the stinging pain in my hand and back.
I’d just sat to my cocoa when the wood planks of the porch creaked. I startled, and the hot liquid splashed over my good hand. I suddenly had a fleeting picture of me trying to brush my teeth with both hands wrapped completely in gauze. I got up and walked to the front room, wondering if a bear attack was next on my day from hell agenda. The figure blocking the door window was big enough to be a bear, so I knew exactly who it was. I looked like crap, and I was wearing the sweatshirt again. I sure knew how to woo a guy.
I opened the door and shivered as the brisk outside air shot into the house. “Hey.” I invited him inside. I had no idea if it was his size, or just his presence in general, that always seemed to make the room warmer. I shut the door. For a long, awkward moment, we stood there silent and slightly fidgety, like two teens about to go on a first date.
He looked down at my bandage. “How’s the hand?”
“Don’t know. I couldn’t bring myself to look at it before they wrapped it. I’d already puked on the doctor’s shoes and just didn’t feel the need to humiliate myself anymore.”
He smiled. “I got your sink all fixed up.”
“Thank you…again. Man, pretty soon, I’m going to be owing you my first born. I was just having some cocoa. Would you like a cup?”
“No, I’m good. I just came by to make sure you were all right.”
“Yeah, I’m all right…thanks to those special little pills they hand out for stitches.”
He nodded. “I know them well, stitches, I mean. And the pills too. Who can deny themselves a little doctor prescribed high after a shitty day?” He smoothed his long hair back with his hand. His lazy smile made me realize that he was quite the best looking guy I’d ever met. There was something so genuine and appealing about him, and that, mixed with the newfound despair I was feeling and the pills, gave me the sudden urge to spill my emotions.
I crossed my arms around myself and took a deep breath. “You were right.”
He looked questioningly at me.
“About me not making it here.”
“Summer—”
I cut him off before he could stop the flow of self-pity. “This is way harder than I’d imagined. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, and things break and I don’t have the money to fix them.” I waved my arm at him. “And I have to promise people my first born and horrid customers come in and singers cancel at the last minute, and the meat tastes like dead forest carrion and foul-smelling customers throw you across the room—” Tears formed in my eyes. I pointed to my face. “And then this happens, my answer to everything— tears.”
Gage stepped forward, but I put up my bandaged hand to stop him. Hot tears rolled down my cheeks. “And hands get ripped open. How the hell does shit like that happen?” I lowered my hand, and my shoulders dropped along with it. “I can’t work the floor with stitches in my hand. I’m sure there’s some health code law or something, just like that damn Newton law with his fucking opposing forces, opposing forces that always seem to be working more on me than anyone else in the universe.” My shoulders shook. He looked confused by my ramblings. I knew I was starting to so
und like a mad woman, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. “And it’s cold. It’s really cold here. It’s only October, and it’s cold as fucking hell or some other place that doesn’t have the whole burning flames stuff happening. I just don’t see any reason to stick it out here.”
He stared at me, apparently waiting to see if my silly rant was over. Then he crossed the room in one giant step, a normal step for him. His massive arm swept around me. I instantly felt warmer. He lowered his face and kissed me. It started out tender and light, but as I leaned into him, it grew deeper and more urgent. His powerful arms tightened around me. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck to pull his mouth harder against mine. His sheer size and his strength made me melt in his arms. This man could do anything he wanted with me, and I hoped he would. But then he lifted his mouth from mine and gazed down at me with light blue eyes. I’d always considered any kiss that could make the rest of me tingle a good kiss. He’d pushed me way past tingle, my pussy was aching for him to rip off my sweatshirt and panties and carry me into the bedroom.
My head spun from the kiss and the meds. “Was that your cheap attempt to give me a reason to stay?” I asked, breathlessly.
“Maybe,” his deep voice was rough. “Did it work?”
“Maybe.” I said it nonchalantly as if I wasn’t having the dirtiest darn visions in my loose as pudding brain.
“I’m not the kind of guy who would take advantage of a girl with a bandaged hand, and a cocoa and pain killer induced high, but if you’re feeling better later, our friend, Jericho, just rode into town. He and Seth invited Daisy and Kristina over for food and movies.”
“He rode into town? On a horse?”
He laughed. “No. A motorcycle. He’s part of my brother, Luke’s interesting story.”
His hand reached up and brushed a strand of hair off my face. I wanted badly for him to kiss me again. And the self-confident grin on his face assured me that he knew exactly what I was thinking.
“Why don’t you get some rest. You can call me if you want me to pick you up. No pressure, but I’m going to be a fifth wheel if you don’t come.”
“Right. You expect me to believe that you don’t have a list of possible sixth wheels in your cell phone contacts?”
“I do, but there’s only one wheel I’m interested in at the moment.” He walked to the door and looked back at me before leaving. “Don’t give up on Montana yet.”
chapter 21
Gage
Jericho and Seth were attempting to put a frozen pizza in the oven, and somehow, they’d managed to make it complicated.
“It’s says to put it directly on the damn rack,” Jericho insisted. He was still wearing his Bedlam cut. It was covered with road dust, but I was sure he didn’t take it off much anymore. There had been a time when the extremely lethal club president had used Jericho as a pawn in a murderous rampage brought on by losing his granddaughter to my brother, Luke. In the end, it turned out that the old bastard had been hiding far darker secrets than anyone could fathom, and they had brought him to a justified end. Jericho went back to the club the first chance he got.
“Yes, I know what the directions say.” Seth was still debating about the pizza baking strategy. “But that’s not going to happen because I know my brother and there’s all kinds of burnt crispy, moldy shit on those racks. Let’s use a pan.”
“The crust will be soggy.”
“So fucking what? Then we’ll roll it up like a pizza burrito.” Seth rolled his eyes in my direction as if he was the rational head between them. “Is Summer coming?”
Jericho’s head popped up from putting the pizza in the oven. “Who’s Summer, and is she as hot as her name?” He tossed an elbow at Seth. “Get it? Hot and summer.”
Seth stared at him. It was like watching the battle of the clowns. “Did you wear your helmet on the ride out here, because I’m beginning to wonder if some of those moths that usually get flattened on a car windshield got flattened on your brain instead.”
“To answer your question,” I said, “she’s sort of out of it after the stitches and all.”
“Oh, is she the girl who screwed you out of buying the Raven’s Nest?” Jericho asked.
“Yeah, but I’m good with it. She’s pretty cool. Hopefully, she can make a go of it. This is all pretty new to her.”
Kristina’s car pulled up in front of the house. I looked at Jericho and didn’t need to say a word. Kristina had been married to a friend of mine, and his accidental death had sent her into a major depression. She was finally stepping free of the debilitating sadness, and the last thing she needed to screw things up was a guy like Jericho.
Jericho held out his arms. “What? I’m not going to touch her…unless she touches me first,” he amended. “I’m not a fucking saint, after all.”
Seth went to the door. Kristina brought in a bag of chips and dip. Daisy carried in some beer. I was pretty sure my brother hadn’t realized what he’d gotten himself into with Daisy, or maybe he had, which, knowing him, made sense too.
Jericho didn’t have to wait long for Kristina to touch him. She was mostly the shy type, but back when Luke, Angel and Jericho had been hiding out here at the ranch, Richo had managed to get her phone number. As far as I knew, he had been the first person she’d given it to. He winked obnoxiously at me over her shoulder as she hugged him in what had to be the warmest greeting I’d ever seen. Or it was, until Daisy jumped up and wrapped her legs around Seth in an enthusiastic effort to say hello.
“I’ve got to go out and feed the horses,” I said. “Save me a margarita.” I could hear Chance impatiently pawing at the door of his stall as I crossed the yard. My phone rang as I stepped inside the barn. It was Summer. “Hey.”
“I think those pills gave me the munchies because I’m really hungry. And there was a loud noise outside that might have been a bear or maybe just a really big squirrel, but it was something with teeth and claws for sure. And—”
“Should I come get you?”
“If it’s not too much trouble. Or maybe I could just walk. I have a neon pink sweater that is impossible to miss in the dark.”
“Summer, you live five minutes away. I’ll come get you. Besides, things with teeth and claws will be able to see you even better in neon pink.”
She paused. “I hadn’t thought of that. See. I’m such a misplaced tourist. I was thinking of cars on the road not predatory forest animals.”
“You’ll be happy to know, most of them aren’t predators, just creatures trying to survive in a world taken over by humans. I’ll feed the horses and be right over. And, thank you. I was already dreading the fifth wheel position.”
“See you in a few,” she said.
I piled the flakes of hay into a wheelbarrow. It was cold out but not quite chilled enough to start the blanketing ritual. By putting it off, the horses’ winter coats would sprout to help them survive the cold. Chance, being a draft horse, had already started his coat. He’d look like a giant wooly beast by December.
I hadn’t stopped thinking about the kiss. It had been something I’d wanted to do and badly. When it seemed that the crappy day had broken Summer’s resolve to make a go of the restaurant business, I couldn’t help myself. I’d been the one to give her a hard time, and now, more than ever, I wanted it to work out for her. It was stupid of me to think that my one kiss would change her mind, but I needed to put it out there. I needed to let her know that I wanted her to stay. It was a strange feeling, wanting someone like I wanted her. It was foreign to me and while it made me feel a little less in control, something I was definitely not used to, it felt good to have a connection with someone that was deeper than just a good fuck. Maybe Summer was the girl Luke had warned me about, the girl who would turn my life upside down.
***
Summer opened the door. “I’ve discovered that while we tend to take the left hand for granted, it is highly valuable in everyday activities.” She glanced down at her unbuttoned jeans and her untied
shoes.
I stepped inside and looked pointedly at the pink lace of her panties that peeked over the edge of her open fly. “Helping a girl get dressed goes against everything that I know is right with the world, but I think I can help with that.”
I reached down and took the opportunity to brush my fingers over the bare skin of her abdomen. She sucked in a breath.
Our eyes met. “Oops.”
“Sure, oops. I’ll bet you’re used to the buttons going the opposite direction, eh, Mr. Sink Wrecker and Fixer? And how come you didn’t just fix the sink in the bathroom after you—” She lifted her hands in air quotes, but they were lopsided. “Damn, even air quotes are challenging. After you yanked the sink from the wall.”
I straightened and patted my thigh as a spot to place her untied shoe. I took hold of the laces. “I probably would have if I hadn’t been drunk and sensing that the new owner had taken an instant disliking to me.” She lowered the shoe and picked up the other, but this time she lost her balance and nearly toppled backwards. I grabbed hold of her wrist to steady her.
“That’s it. I’m done with those pills. My equilibrium is off, my mouth feels like I stuffed it full with cotton balls and I have a strange craving for tortilla chips dipped in hot fudge sauce.”
“Then you’re sort of in luck. Kristina brought some chips and salsa. You’ll have to try them with fudge sauce another day.”
“Oh good, Kristina’s there.”
“And Daisy.”
She smiled. “Oh good, Kristina’s there.” She held out her arms and looked down at her jeans and shoes. “I’m all one piece again. But I think you’re going to have to help me unbutton them later.”
“That sounds much better to me.”
She grabbed a coat and scarf from the hook by the door. I helped her slide the coat on. “I’ve never had a personal dresser and chauffeur and plumber and fighter of bad guys before. I think I could get used to it.”
