She frogged me in the arm with her knuckle. “Stop calling me sweetheart.” Her eyes glistened in the sun when she grinned. Masyn could tell me all day long she didn’t like it—and if she and Beau got together, I’d have to stop—but the gleam in her eyes told me that at least this one time, she loved hearing it.
Bleeding out wasn’t considered an emergency at North Hills. The portly woman at the window handed me a stack of forms to complete—hard to do since I was right-handed—and told us to have a seat. She wasn’t the least bit concerned with the blood that saturated the bandages around my hand or the trail running down my arm.
“Lee, you’re dripping.” Masyn pointed to the tiles on the floor by my chair.
“Tell that to Cruella de Vil up there.” I gestured with the pen she’d given me thirty minutes ago. Thank God my name was only three letters long because that was about all I’d managed to write with my left hand in the last half hour.
“Give me that. You’re such a baby.” Masyn snatched the pen and clipboard from my hand. “I’m going to find some paper towels, and then I’ll fill this out for you.”
“See if you can get an ETA from the Grinch while you’re at it.”
“She wasn’t that bad. You’re just in pain and acting like a brat.” Masyn grinned and went to the window again.
When Masyn drew the nurse’s attention to the floor where my blood currently coagulated in a pond big enough for a small child to swim in, and then at the crime scene attached to my wrist, the nurse suddenly seemed to see the urgency of my visit and called me back. Good thing since I was less than five minutes away from drawing a chalk outline on the tile and calling NCIS.
I walked through the door currently held open for me and called over my shoulder, “You comin’?”
“What about this mess?” Masyn’s concern was endearing—her house had looked like it had been burglarized last night and here she was worried about cleaning a clinic’s floor.
Cruella waved her off. “I’ll get housekeeping to clean it up. You can come back with your boyfriend.”
I didn’t correct her, and Masyn suddenly appeared sheepish. She trailed behind me as I followed the lady in front of me. The nurse had no sooner dropped me into an exam room than Robin Hood and his band of merry men came traipsing through the door. After informing us that the band of brothers to his side were students shadowing him, he proceeded to ignore me in favor of teaching them.
Masyn caught my glare and knew to stay out of the line of fire. She took the seat in the farthest corner to start on the paperwork. I probably should have worried that she knew my social security number, but since it kept me from trying to write like a kindergartener, I kept my mouth shut. If she were going to steal my identity, she would have done it years ago.
Robin—also known as Brad, according to his name tag—unwrapped the drenched gauze, tossed them in the trash, and proceeded to stick my hand into what looked like water and stung like alcohol.
“Jesus Christ, Brad.” I tensed from my shoulders down. “How about warn a guy before pouring salt in his wound?”
Brad rolled his eyes as he turned his head and made some cutesy joke about the beefy men being the biggest babies. Maybe Brad would like to experience what it felt like to have metal slice through to the bone. Before I could ask, he excused himself and his posse with a promise to return. Yippee.
Whatever he’d put my thumb in stopped the bleeding—well, mostly. There were globs of coagulated blood at the bottom of the cup that looked like a lava lamp, but the steady stream subsided. I had to admit, I let out a sigh of relief when a doctor came in to stitch my thumb. He was much more considerate of the level of throbbing pain in my hand and started with something to numb it before putting in two layers of stitches, for a total of twenty-seven that ran from the tip to the palm.
“You’ll probably lose that nail.” He pointed to my thumb. “It should grow back. But don’t pull on it. And don’t remove the stitches yourself. Come back in ten days and we’ll take them out for you.”
Unless an infection laid claim to my thumb, I’d pull the things out when they started to unravel. I was no stranger to stitches or removing them. Having me come back was another way to stick it to my employer or the insurance carrier with a hefty fee for an office visit. No thanks. Needle-nose pliers and a pair of scissors worked just fine.
My phone started ringing when we were checking out, and I leaned over so Masyn could grab it out of my pocket.
“It’s Beau,” she stated, holding the phone out to me.
I was busy trying to sign my name between two fingers, using my right hand without my thumb. “So answer it.”
I tuned her out while the lady in the office tried to make a follow-up appointment. When I informed her that I’d call to schedule one, she didn’t believe a word I said. I took the papers for work and then focused on Masyn.
“He wants to talk to you.” She took the papers in exchange for the phone.
I followed her out, yet she walked like her ass was on fire and we had somewhere to be in the next few minutes. “What’s up?”
“Why aren’t you home?”
“Well, Beau. I have a job. Starting Monday, you’ll understand that they don’t work on your timetable, you work on theirs. And when—”
“Yeah, jacksack, I’m aware of that. It’s almost five o’clock. You got off two hours ago. And when did you and Masyn make up?”
“I stopped by her house last night after I dropped you off.”
“Are you almost home? Peyton and I are sitting here waiting for you. Bring Masyn.”
I still had to go back to the shop so Masyn could get her car. And the last thing Masyn would want to see was Beau humping Peyton’s leg or peeing in a circle on the ground around her. “I’m going to pass tonight. You guys have fun.”
“What the hell? I’m only in town until Sunday. You can lay low next week.”
“I was up all night, I’ve had a shit day, and I want to go home.”
“Up all night at Masyn’s? Holy shit. Did you finally tell her?”
I’d reached the passenger side of the truck. As soon as I got inside, Masyn would be able to hear every word said by both of us. “Yeah. Look, it didn’t go as planned.”
“Then why are you two together now?”
“I cut my hand at work. She brought me up to the clinic to get stitches. So, if you don’t mind, you and Peyton have a great time tonight. Call Masyn if you want to include her. Personally, I’m going home, eating dinner, taking a shower, and crashing—although, not necessarily in that order. I’ll catch you two tomorrow.”
After I slid my cell back into my pocket, I opened the door and climbed up.
“Beau and Peyton going out tonight?” She tried to give off the air that she didn’t care.
“Yeah, and they asked if we wanted to go. I’m not up for it, but if you are, by all means, feel free.”
She gave me a half-hearted shrug. “Not really. I’ve felt like crap all day. I could go for some Chinese takeout and bad reality TV.” I didn’t know if she was suggesting a pity party because she felt bad and wanted to let me down easy, or if she was avoiding Peyton and Beau.
“I’m down, but I can’t promise how long I’ll stay awake.”
We went back to the shop, only to find everyone had long since gone home. Masyn got her car and said she would run by her house for work clothes and then she’d be over. I made a pit stop at ChinChin—Chinese fast food—on my way home. The two of us pulled up at the same time like we’d done so many times before. Every breath I took was harder than the last with the weight sitting on my chest. I wondered how many more of these nights I’d get. It was like I was living on borrowed time, and at any minute, Masyn would be whisked away on a white horse by her knight in a shiny Beamer, and I’d be left alone.
Chapter Thirteen
Going to the shop had been an utter waste of a day, except that I still got to collect hours on my paycheck. I couldn’t do shit without my right hand, an
d it was still too tender to use it to pick things up. I wasn’t worried about tearing the stitches out, it just hurt like hell. Farley put me back in receiving so I could check trucks in and deal with shipments going out. An inbred monkey could do this job. There was nothing worse than boredom and idle time at work. If I had to be here, I wanted something to occupy my mind, and this wasn’t cutting it.
I’d spent the better part of the day thinking about what Masyn and Beau’s wedding would be like. When she’d move to Atlanta. How many kids they’d have. It was torture, and I was inflicting it upon myself—they hadn’t even gone on a date, and I already had their life planned. The longer I spent thinking about it, the more outlandish my thoughts became. By the end of the day, I had them married with two-point-five kids and a white picket fence, and in the meantime, I’d become a recluse with seventeen cats and a beer belly—it wasn’t a pretty picture.
When the final bell rang, I cleaned up the paperwork from the dock and went to clock out. It was mind blowing how doing so little could be so taxing. Masyn fidgeted next to the breakroom, and the moment she saw me, she stopped contorting her fingers and came toward me.
“Hey, sweetheart.” Old habits die hard. “What’s up?”
Her tongue snaked out, wetting her lips, before she pulled one into her mouth with her teeth. I punched out while she stared at me, almost afraid to say whatever was on her mind. So, I waited, and then crossed my arms. People milled about around us until I finally grabbed her elbow and pulled her aside.
“Do you—Beau called—” Lord, if she got this tongue-tied talking about him now that she’d admitted how she felt, I couldn’t imagine how she’d be in front of Beau himself. “He and Peyton want to know if we want to come down to Sadler’s.”
Well, that was certainly anti-climactic. “Sure. I could use a beer to wash away the time I just spent in solitary confinement.”
“You going to follow me home or pick me up?”
Any other day, this would be a no-brainer. I’d pick her up so she could drive us both home. Then she’d spend the night in the guest room—her room—and I’d crash in mine. “I guess I thought after Monday night, you wouldn’t want to do that anymore.”
“Oh.” Her eyes dropped to her feet.
I lifted her chin with my fingers, unable to stand the sight of her upset, and gave her a reassuring grin that hurt my heart to make. “You’re welcome at my house anytime, Masyn; you know that. I’ll pick you up after I shower and change.”
She nodded, biting her bottom lip, again. The sudden air of shyness she’d taken on was adorable, but I hoped at some point, we could move past this and get back to where we were before Beau came barreling into town. Maybe once he was gone, I’d be able to let go of the notion of them together—it was a long shot, and I shouldn’t get my hopes up. But just because Masyn didn’t love me, didn’t mean my feelings suddenly disappeared. If anything, they only intensified with the confirmation that I couldn’t have her.
We parted ways for an hour, and when I picked her up, her entire demeanor had changed. Gone was the uncertain girl who chewed her lip, afraid to talk to me. In her place was the version of Masyn I’d known for so many years. She popped into the truck, buckled her seatbelt, and immediately changed the station as soon as we started moving.
“I think I liked you better mopey.” I laughed to make sure she knew it was a joke.
She cranked up the volume, and I wanted to claw my eardrums out. “I like it better when I can’t hear you,” she hollered over the death metal piercing the speakers.
I turned it down so that the people in the next county didn’t file a noise complaint. “What made you decide to play nice with Peyton?”
“She’s leaving in a few days, Beau’s leaving in a few days, and then everything will go back to the way it’s always been, right?”
I glanced at her in the passenger seat while keeping my focus on the road. Her sweet, caramel-colored eyes glistened with hope, and her gentle smile tilted her lips up. Maybe she was right. “Is that such a bad thing?”
Her hair reflected the sunlight when she shook her head, and it was like the golden and honey streaks were illuminated. “No. I don’t think so.”
I raised my brow, hoping she’d give me more to go on. When she stared out the window, I assumed the conversation was over, until she turned the music down and faced me in the seat. My hand rested on the console; Masyn took it and twined her fingers through mine. She’d done it before—usually when she wanted something.
“So, Monday night wasn’t my finest hour. Honestly, I don’t really remember what all was said or how I said it. I just know that something changed between us, and it wasn’t for the better.” That was an understatement. “And ever since, I’ve been trying to figure out how to smooth things over.” Her chest rose when she inhaled deeply through her nose. “I think the whole Beau wedding thing hit some girly chord in me about my future, and relationships, and kids—I had too much time to think about crap that normally doesn’t hold any real weight for me.”
“Masyn, it’s okay to want to get married and have kids. I want to settle down at some point, too.”
The light in her eyes dimmed a bit, yet not being able to focus on her expression and drive, I couldn’t evaluate it.
“Anyway, it dawned on me that Beau’s not really a part of our lives anymore. I mean, he is, but not daily. The two of us aren’t anywhere near as close to him as we were in high school. And let’s be honest, his life isn’t going to lead him back to Harden…ever.”
She had a point. One that I’d rolled over in my mind about a thousand times today, thinking I’d lose them both when Masyn joined him in Atlanta.
“And what’s the likelihood Peyton will ever come back to Georgia?” She chuckled at the thought.
I guess that all depended on how foolish the two of them decided to be. She hadn’t really engaged in any of his advances, although he’d been shameless in making them. “Probably not great.”
“Right! So at the end of the week, it’s me and you again…the way it always has been—the way it should be. And I want that to be as effortless as it was a week ago.”
I needed to tell her how hard that would be for me. Especially when I had a chance to sit down and talk to Beau about what he’d said to her when she confessed her feelings. Unfortunately, the opportunity hadn’t presented itself because someone else was always around—not to mention, I had to be careful how I addressed it, so I didn’t violate Masyn’s trust.
“That’s probably the best thing you can do. Just make it through the week. Who knows? Maybe at the end of it, you’ll have made a new friend.”
“In Peyton?” she squealed.
I chuckled at her outburst. “Yeah, Peyton. You might be surprised. She’s nothing like Felicity.”
“It wouldn’t matter if she were the Pope, Lee. I’ll be nice to her while she’s here, but I won’t shed any tears when she leaves.”
“Fair enough.” I don’t think anyone could ask for more from Masyn. And maybe with the two out-of-towners gone, our lives would go back to the way they were.
It wasn’t what I hoped for in the long run, but having any piece of Masyn was better than nothing at all…if my heart survived.
Once I pulled into a space, we both hopped out of the truck, and I rounded the front to meet her. I threw my arm around her shoulders and squeezed her to me briefly, taking the opportunity to steal a whiff of her hair, which still smelled like the shop. The familiar scent I loved on her brought a genuine smile to my lips as I let her go to pull open the bar door with my left hand.
“Do you see them?” I asked as we made our way inside and my eyes adjusted to the light.
Masyn pointed to the table we’d sat at when we were here Saturday, and I groaned thinking we were in for a repeat. It was stupid, it was just a table…one we’d all sat at countless times before. Yet somehow, adding Peyton to the mix had twisted my nice, neat little world into a discombobulated mess.
Ma
syn tried to grab my hand, and I nearly came unglued when she grazed the stitches and I jerked back in response. The instant she turned around, I saw it in her eyes. “It’s okay, you hit my stitches, sweetheart, nothing else.”
I stepped to her other side and slipped my arm around her shoulders to lead her past the bar and pool tables. Beau beamed when he saw the two of us together and my arm around Masyn. I shook my head to indicate that it wasn’t what he thought. Masyn slid into the booth and I joined her.
Beau stuck his hand out in greeting. Unwilling to have a repeat of what took place at the door, I lifted my left hand awkwardly over the table.
“What the hell is that, man?” He stared at his right hand and my left, now joined in some strange shake.
I let go and held up the other so he could see the bruises and stitches, and I used it as an opportunity to show Masyn that my reflex had nothing to do with her. “It’s a little sore, and even the slightest bump makes it throb.”
“I’m sorry, Lee. I totally forgot.” Masyn’s apology wasn’t necessary.
“No worries, seriously. You guys order anything?” I asked Beau and Peyton, who looked chummy sitting next to each other.
It was rather uncanny how similar Peyton and Felicity were in appearance when each of them stood next to Beau. Yet apart from him—when the sisters were together—it was easy to tell they were siblings, and they didn’t look like twins. I tilted my head to the side, trying to figure out what it was about Beau and Peyton together, when I finally realized their hair was the same color, and they had very similar complexions. God help them, as easily as those two colored, if they ever had kids, they’d permanently look like they had a rash.
“Beer and appetizers. I got a bucket. I didn’t know how hungry either of you would be.” Beau took a swig of his beer and set it down.
Masyn giggled at my inability to twist a bottle cap off with my left hand, so she twisted one off for her and one for me. Peyton was drinking wine, again. I wondered if it came out of a box or had a screw cap. It was a good thing the grapes were fermented—I didn’t know anyone else who’d enter these doors and order a glass.
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