by A. P. Jensen
“You have kids.”
He frowned. “I do?”
She shoved him so hard he tipped backwards and this time she straddled him and jabbed a finger in his face. “Don’t play games with me Brooks. You were with them on Halloween.”
A slow smile curved his mouth and she wanted to smack him.
“That’s Kerry’s kids.”
Temporarily distracted she gaped. “Your sister has kids? With who? A mob boss?”
Kerry had been her partner in crime and all around hell on heels. The thought of Kerry being married was like Paris Hilton deciding to be a housewife in the suburbs. If there was anyone more notorious in White Mist than Regan Delaney it was Kerry Hawking.
“She’s married to Ned.”
“Kerry is married to your ex-wife’s brother?” Regan leapt off of him and ran her hands through tangled hair. “This is why I should never settle in a small town. It’s too,” she waved her hands wildly. “Interconnected. You know what I mean? It’s like you can’t even sneeze in this town without someone telling my mom.”
“And you can’t throw a punch without the whole town hearing about it the next day,” Brooks said.
She whirled on him. “She deserved it.”
“I heard. Wade’s more worried about your hand than her face.”
Before she knew it, Brooks had her hand in his. He tugged her over to the window and pulled back the bedroom curtains so he could get a better look at her bruised hand. She pummeled his arm with her left and tried to jerk away all to no avail.
“Does it hurt?”
“Yeah, you’re poking at me!”
“You broke your hand twice when we were dating.”
“Yeah, once on your face.”
Brooks grinned and looked out the window at two old women who were standing on the sidewalk below, staring up at them with their mouths hanging. Brooks opened the window.
“Good morning Mrs. Mullan. Did you see Regan Lee’s back?” he hollered.
Mrs. Mullan touched her wig, glared at Regan and stomped down the sidewalk.
“She never got over you shaving her head. I don’t know why,” Brooks said innocently.
“Are you trying to prove a point?” she demanded with her arms crossed over hard nipples. It was because of the cold air not him.
“We’re going to eat breakfast.”
A sudden thought struck her. “How did you get in the house? Does my mom know you’re here?”
If her mom was trying to set her up with Brooks after all this time Regan was going to give her a piece of her mind. Brooks took a key out of his pocket.
“Your mom’s been hiding it in the same spot since she moved in. Half the neighborhood knows where it is.”
“You’re the only one with enough balls to actually use it,” Regan snapped.
“Get dressed. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”
She barely restrained from stomping her feet in frustration. She spoke slowly so the mentally handicap man standing in front of her would understand.
“I-do-not-want-to-talk-to-you.”
“I don’t care what you want.”
“What a surprise! It’s like I never left,” she said sarcastically.
For the first time anger darkened his features and she stilled warily. Everyone knew Regan had a temper because she never tried to hide it. Brooks was a different matter. He bottled everything up until he exploded. Even after all this time she knew he was at the end of his rope.
“We’re going to talk. I figured you’d react this way so I brought breakfast with me. I’ll be downstairs.”
She watched him walk out of her room, pause and look back. He ran his eyes over her and from the way he watched her, she would’ve thought she was wearing lingerie instead of an old shirt and sweat pants.
“We will talk one way or another. If you don’t come down to the kitchen I’m coming back up and you’re not going to like it.”
With that threat he walked downstairs. She stuck her tongue at him and heard her phone beeping as the battery began to die so she found the charger and plugged it in, all without looking at the screen. She had enough going on without listening to her voicemails which no doubt had people pleading for her to return to New York, especially Daniel. He could kiss her ass.
She debated what to do as she brushed her teeth and hair. Ignoring Brooks wasn’t going to work- obviously. He was like a bulldog when he wanted something and right now he wanted to talk. Just the thought of ripping open wounds it took her years to stitch back together wasn’t appealing but she didn’t want Brooks to think she was still in love with him either. She didn’t have any other clothes to change into so she marched downstairs with her nose in the air until she smelled bacon and grease. Her mouth watered and she saw the crumpled bag from the diner in the corner and open containers with the best breakfast ever.
She made herself a plate and reluctantly took the mug of coffee he set in front of her and dug in. They ate in silence and she was aware of his eyes constantly on her but she focused on her food. She wouldn’t show him how nervous she really was. Brooks didn’t play nice. He never had. He was blunt, stubborn and possessive. It was her bad luck that she thought that was appealing. Her phone rang and beeped upstairs as they ate. He raised his brows when she ignored it.
“Someone looking for you?”
She took a sip of coffee. “What do you mean?”
He glanced at her ring less left finger. “Boyfriend?”
She shrugged. “Probably.”
He drummed the fingers of one hand on the table. “So, where you been, Regan Lee?”
Her phone rang again and she sighed and patted her full stomach. “Most recently, New York. You?”
“I stayed.”
“The whole time?” At his nod she asked, “You never feel restless?”
His eyes were piercing and so direct that she picked at a hash brown instead of looking at him.
“I don’t have the same type of restlessness you have.”
The insecure part of her that was ashamed for having that traveling gene that made her daddy leave his family behind cringed. Outwardly she showed no signs of discomfort. She propped her chin on her fist and widened her eyes.
“Do tell.”
“I get restless because my life isn’t what I want it to be. That doesn’t make me want to leave White Mist.”
His answer was blunt and true. She swallowed, cleared her throat and cocked her head as another call came in on her cell. Why hadn’t she put the damn thing on silent?
“He sure is insistent,” Brooks observed.
She grabbed their take out plates and dumped them in the trash and poured herself more coffee from the pot Valerie left on the warmer. Instead of sitting with him at the table she sat on the counter to give herself room. He looked amused which made her want to pour her hot coffee on his lap.
“So did you do everything you said you would?” When she didn’t answer he cupped his ear with his hand. “I didn’t hear what you said, Regan Lee.”
If she owed anyone an explanation it was him. Ten years ago Brooks got down on one knee and proposed in the snow on Christmas Eve. She reacted by giving him a list of everything she wanted to do before she got shackled. Just thinking how callous and selfish that was made her want to punch herself. Most women dreamed of that moment when someone proposed but she not only hadn’t reacted the way a normal woman would, she’d yelled, “no!” right in his face, loud enough for the neighbors to hear. She had nightmares about the stricken look on his face when she ruined everything.
“I backpacked across Europe,” Regan began reluctantly. “I did move to LA for a while, met a few actors. A friend let me fly his plane for a few seconds, I rode a camel, swam in the Dead Sea, was in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, went dogsledding in Alaska, worked on a cruise ship and learned how to speak French.”
“Is that all?”
She pursed her lips, thinking. “What else did I say I was going to do?”
“You said you were going to sing with Johnny Bentley at one of his concerts.”
She snapped her fingers. “Oh yeah. Did that.”
Brooks sat up a little straighter. “You did not.”
She grinned. “I did. YouTube it. Johnny’s a sweetie.”
“I bet he is.”
The mood lightened a little and she relaxed slightly. Before she became aware of Brooks as a male he had been her friend first. For as long as she could remember Missy, Max and Regan spent most days at the Hawking house with Brooks’ dad while their mom’s ran their shop. She wasn’t sure when Brooks went from being her friend to being the hottest guy she’d ever seen. It just happened. She examined him now and wanted to view him as she did Wade but she couldn’t. As an adult Brooks was even more masculine and alluring than before. It didn’t make sense. Why would she want a man she knew she couldn’t have?
She swung her feet. “And what about you? What have you done?”
“I’m still with White Mist Electric. I’m a supervisor now.”
She gaped at him. “You stayed at the same job this whole time?”
“Yeah. I like it.”
She glared at him. “How the hell do you do one job and know that it’s what you want to do with the rest of your life? It’s not natural!”
“So you still don’t know what you want. Is that why you’re home?”
She bared her teeth in a snarl. “I know what I want.”
“Okay. What do you want? Ten years ago you wanted to experience everything and now that you have, now what?”
He hit it right on the nose, smug bastard. She did everything she set out to do in six years. Four years ago she decided to accept a job offer that would force her into unfamiliar waters- the corporate world. To her amazement she’d done well. Who knew she could turn her restlessness into a workaholic overachiever? She succeeded in that arena and now left it behind because of her asshole ex. Now what?
“I’m taking a break,” she muttered.
“From what?”
“Life.”
He nodded. “Everybody needs a break.”
Silence fell and his eyes looked her up and down. She hunched so her nipples wouldn’t stick out.
“You look good, Regan.”
She was wearing his old shirt and sheep sweat pants. Daniel wouldn’t recognize her if he could see her right now but with Brooks staring at her the way he was, remembering what Daniel looked like was getting more difficult by the second.
“You do too.” She clenched her hands at her sides and forced out, “I’m sorry.”
She didn’t have to explain her out of nowhere statement to Brooks.
“We were kids.”
“That’s not a good excuse.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “You didn’t ask me about my divorce.”
“None of my business.”
“Allison’s remarried. Has two kids with Grady.”
“Wasn’t that her high school boyfriend?”
“Yup. He went off to college. Made it big in football.”
“And now he’s back.”
Was it possible to experience success and what lay beyond White Mist and then leave it all behind and be content with what her small hometown had to offer? Ever since she was old enough to be aware of the outside world she’d been fascinated by it. Now that she’d done whatever her heart desired she was as surprised as anyone else to find herself back here. Had she come back to tie up loose ends? Because she wanted to see her mom before it was too late? She didn’t have an answer.
“Regan Lee.”
His voice brought her attention back to him and she tensed. It was time.
“Why the hell did you take off?”
Even after all this time, his voice was gritty with emotion and it triggered something that was part love, part regret to course through her. Her fingers trembled and she took a deep breath.
“I needed to get out. You proposed out of nowhere! Damn it, Brooks, you knew I wasn’t ready. You knew I wanted to get out of White Mist.”
“I didn’t know you were serious and what makes you think I wouldn’t have come with you?”
She stared at him. “You just got into the electric company. You wanted to settle down. You couldn’t come with me.”
“I would have.”
She pushed those thoughts away. “It was meant to be. I needed to leave. You were meant to stay.”
“What happened with our moms, Kerry and Missy?”
A bitter smile curved her mouth. “Oh, you know. They all ganged up on me. Said that I didn’t deserve you, that I should be flattered and just shut my mouth and marry you no matter how I felt because I wouldn’t get a better offer. It was a great Christmas.”
“They shouldn’t have gotten involved.”
“It’s kind of hard when our families are so damn close.”
“True.”
She bit her lip. “How’s your dad?”
“Missing you. He knows you’re back.”
Tears wanted to surface but she shoved them down. “I’ll see him before I leave.”
“I knew you wanted to get out of White Mist but I thought once we got married you would direct your focus on other things so for that I’m sorry. I knew what you wanted would take you away from me. Can you blame me for trying to keep you here?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.” She waved her hands to disperse questions she didn’t want to think about. It was done and nothing could change it. “You’re sorry, I’m sorry. We made a big mess out of things. We were kids.”
“Just because we were young doesn’t mean what we had between us wasn’t real.”
A heavy silence fell in the kitchen. Tension filled the room and she was about to make some sarcastic comment when the front door opened and closed. Two little girls ran into the kitchen with Missy and Guy on their heels. The girls looked from Regan who sat on the counter to Brooks.
“Hi Uncle Brooks,” the older girl said shyly.
Brooks smiled at her. “Hi Sophie.”
The younger girl, Angel, came over to Regan and tugged on her sweat pants. “Why are you sitting up there, Aunty?”
“Because she doesn’t know how to sit in a chair,” Missy said sweetly, eyes darting from Brooks to Regan and back again. “It’s a surprise to see you here, Brooks.”
He shrugged. “I wanted to talk to Regan.”
“You didn’t waste any time,” Missy said archly.
Guy eyed Regan. “I wanted to tell you that no charges are going to be filed.”
Regan expected no less and she had a pretty good grasp of the law after being arrested several times for causing brawls in White Mist and other cities.
“You could’ve gotten arrested,” Missy snapped. “You’re almost thirty. When are you going to grow up?”
Regan rolled her eyes and focused on her mini me who stared up at her. She hadn’t been around a lot of kids and as Angel was Missy’s daughter, Regan watched her warily.
“I want to sit up there too,” Angel said and extended her arms.
Regan saw Missy open her mouth to protest so she grabbed her niece and settled her on the counter beside her. Old habits die hard and doing everything to piss Missy off was at the top of her list. The front door slammed again and her nephews came charging into the kitchen. They zeroed in on the food and without a word to anyone began to devour whatever breakfast was left. Max came in with his arm around a harried looking woman who could only be the mother of the demons. Max paused when he saw Brooks.
“Hey boss,” Max said.
“Boss?” Regan echoed.
Max shrugged. “He’s in management now.”
“You work at the electric company too?” Regan asked in surprise.
Max puffed out his chest. “Seven years now. Once we started having kids I knew I had to get a better job. I had to take the test four times.”
In a town as small as White Mist getting into the electric company was something most of the men shot for. It was one of
the best companies to get into and they had great benefits.
“Regan, this is my baby mama, Holly,” Max said.
Holly came forward to shake Regan’s hand. “I didn’t believe the things Max told me about you but I’m reconsidering now. I saw Steph this morning. One side of her face is bruised.”
Max held out his hand for a fist bump which Regan did while answering Holly. “She deserved it.”
One of her nephews turned with his mouth full of bacon. “My dad said she called you a who-”
Holly turned and smacked her son upside the head. “Bobby, what did I tell you about repeating that word? Whatever your dad says or does, do the opposite. How many times do I have to tell you that?”
Missy glared at Max who laughed and clapped his son on the back. Max sat at the table with his sons and stole some of the food for himself. Guy went over to see what was left and joined in the manly conversation.
“So how long you here for?” Holly asked.
“Not sure.”
Regan was a little shell-shocked by the company. She was happy she wasn’t alone with Brooks but she hadn’t expected eight people to come into the tiny kitchen in such a short amount of time. Regan glimpsed Missy heading up the stairs and mentally thanked God for giving her some breathing room.
“Aunty Reg,” Angel said louder than necessary.
Regan glanced down at her niece. “Yes?”
“You hit somebody?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
Regan considered for a couple seconds, trying to think of a response that didn’t have the word “bitch” involved. “She’s mean.”
“Mommy says we’re not supposed to hit other people.”
She leaned in close. “Angel, there are bullies in the world that think they can get away with anything. Sometimes you have to stand up to them and tell them that they’re wrong.”
