Behind the Pines (The Gass County Series Book 3)

by Unknown

  “Five. I’m five.” She let go of the giraffe and held her hand up to his face and smiled. “I’m big, but not that big!” She laughed and forgot about both him and John-John as she skipped down the hallway, her bare feet bouncing happily down the cold floor until she reached the end and turned to him.

  “You forgot your giraffe!” Brody held the blue furball in the air.

  “You can have him,” the girl called back and waved. “He helps people be happy. Now he’s yours!” With a wave she skipped around the corner, the pale fabric of her gown the last thing etched to his retina. The hallway was once more deserted.

  He tucked the giraffe to his chest and looked around, seeing no one to take care of the little girl, then shook of the chill of feeling he’d been cast in Stephen King’s The Shining. A hand grabbed his shoulder and made him clutch John-John to his chest in desperation.

  “What’s up with you, not trying to kill you here.” Melanie Orchard grabbed his shoulder and swung him around to meet his face. “A giraffe? You? Are you all right, Brody”

  “Fine . . . just—”

  “Just looking for Sunshine?”

  “Right.”

  “Gone.”

  “What?” Brody squeezed the soft animal closer.

  “To Hayley’s, Brody. Get yourself together.” Melanie stepped around him and walked down the same corridor the little girl had just taken. “I’m off, Brody,” she called over her shoulder and zipped up her black leather jacket, Nebraska Bandits decorating its back.

  Brody sat back in his car faster than he registered it himself. He only had one destination in mind, Hayley’s.

  * * *

  Hayley’s house was taken straight from Home and Garden’s summer collection of fabrics and hues. Every square foot of her modest house was placed in perfection and each item purchased with love. Lace and white linen coated the chairs around the white kitchen table, each bed as soft and fluffy as the next.

  Sunshine sauntered around the rooms in the quiet house, and, wrapped in one of Hayley’s soft robes, she enjoyed a cup of warm coffee. She could be happy living here, she thought, and suddenly remembered their encounter at the salon. She felt a blush develop on her cheeks and with a big gulp of coffee she commanded her thoughts elsewhere, like the doorbell.

  “Oh, hi. Come in, please.”

  She watched Brody take off his hat and tuck it under his arm as he entered the short hallway leading into the living room.

  “Just wanted to come and check on you, see how you are doing.” She watched as Brody took in the neat space around him. Looking everywhere but at her.

  “Come in, please.” She motioned with her hand. “Pretty much everything I own is currently filling up the living room, but you are more than welcome to step in anyway.” Sunshine walked down the brightly lit walkway and opened the last door. In a flash, black fur came flying by Sunshine’s leg and in a second she watched Brody pinned to the wall, Brutus’s paws to his chest.

  “He won’t eat you, you know.” She smiled and walked into the bedroom and sat on the bed. Brody walked in behind her and while pushing down Brutus’s with strong hands, he managed to seat himself in the large chair next to the bed. “Oh, I know.”

  Brody relaxed against the pink fabric of the chair and petted Brutus’s furry head resting in his lap.

  “Thanks for everything, Brody. I’m not sure how else to put it.” Sunshine twisted her fingers and stared at the slow rhythm with which he pet Brutus, who seemed close to falling asleep under his touch.

  “No worries, Sunshine,” he answered. “I was happy to do it. And—”

  “What?”

  “And I wanted you to be safe. I know you’re a strong, independent woman who doesn’t need help, usually. Although, sometimes you should know it’s okay to be vulnerable.”

  Sunshine shook her head and smiled. “Says you?” She nodded in his direction.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Being vulnerable, you. No need to have a stick up your ass every day of the week, you know. Smiling is also encouraged, and to not leave women in the nude in cottages.”

  She watched Brody stand, leaving Brutus’s body to slump to the floor in a grunt, only to step in front of her pulling her off the bed against his chest. She felt his heartbeats—thump-bump, thump-bump, thump-bump. It reminded her of a poem—a quiet and content poem. Sunshine felt her cheeks burn and she knew Brody saw the signal in bright light.

  “I’m actually sorry about that,” he said, still holding her hands in his along her sides. If she closed her eyes, she could still count each callus inside his hands, each movement of his fingers rubbing gently against hers.

  “Okay,” she answered in a breath, focusing her view on his neatly tied tie and the skin of his neck. She wouldn’t dare her eyes to go any higher.

  “Look at me, Sunshine. Look at me.” He felt closer now and slowly she traced every part of his face until she met his eyes. “I’d like to kiss you. May I?”

  “Mhm,” she hummed and closed her eyes as she felt his mouth touch hers. Warm lips, a subtle feel of facial hair, and she couldn’t resist opening her lips to taste him back. The tip of her tongue teased his before he moved closer and took her deeper.

  Brody unclasped her bra and let it drop to the floor. Immediately, he cupped her breasts, licked each of his thumbs, and thumbed her nipples. They stiffened with pure pleasure, and she couldn't help but sigh. Brody began kissing her neck, feeling the beat of her pulse against his lips. As he covered her mouth once more, she groaned is pleasure. She opened suddenly and his tongue surged inside to taste and investigate, and his fingers toyed with her nipples, plucking them with his fingertips, pulling shy of pain. She felt the vibration of his moan against her mouth. She lowered her hand from his chest, slid it down his shirt, past the utility belt to the zipper of his pants and gently squeezed his long, hard erection, releasing a deep growl from inside his chest.

  Brody stood in the middle of the bedroom, work shirt still on, pants on his legs, zipper open. Sunshine sat on her knees in front of him and watched his work as he stroked his cock from base to head from.

  “Suck me, Sunshine. I want to feel that warm mouth around my cock. Watch as you make me so hard I can't see straight when I finally make your sweet, sweet body mine.”

  She opened and let her tongue investigate the tip of his cock, making it twitch under the movement of her mouth. She kissed the head, let her tongue twirl around it, while her hands found their way up his thighs, widening his zipper so that one hand could grab the length of his cock, the other cup his balls. She sucked him while she stroked his warm skin with her hands. After five lingering, agonizing passes over his cock, she let go slightly only to lavish his tightening balls with kisses. Her licking, sucking, and loving made Brody's eyes roll back and, to steady himself, he placed both his hands on Sunshine's head and pushed himself deeper into her mouth.

  “More?” Sunshine's voice vibrated the entire length of his cock deep inside her mouth. Sunshine's blue eyes looking up at him, and his cock deep inside her mouth. His hands tangled the blonde strands of hair at the back of her head while he thrust himself deeper.

  ”Fuck yes,” he hissed and groaned in gratitude as her mouth found its way all the way down his shaft. She was sure the tip of his cock felt the throbbing of the pulse deep in her throat.

  When she released him, her saliva coated not only his cock but her mouth, and she could feel his balls had drawn up, an angry purple hue coated his cock. Had there been just more suck from her mouth, he probably would have released himself without caring if she could take all of him. She enjoyed being a woman dangerous to his libido.

  His eyes were glazed and sleepy with arousal as he stared down at her. With an urgent grip he found her hair again and forced his cock back inside her mouth. She ran her tongue along the underside, licked, kissed, until she sucked his balls into her mouth and he buckled against her face.

  Sunshine’s hand found his belt buckle and with his c
ock in her mouth she tried to get his belt undone, dying to run her hands over more of his skin.

  “Sorry, I’m not sure we should continue this.” Brody grabbed her hands in his and stopped the world. The only thing moving was the soft ticking from the wall clock. Brody pulled Sunshine to standing, used his large hand to wipe off the wetness around her mouth, and sat her back onto the back. “You need to rest, I shouldn’t use you like this. I’m sorry, I’ll let myself out.”

  As Sunshine tried to grasp what was happening, Brody had already pulled up his zipper and grabbed his hat on the dresser behind him and opened the door to step out of the bedroom.

  “Wait,” she called after him, and followed him to the front door only to watch it close in her face. “Are you fucking kidding me!” she called and pulled the door open only to see his car back out of Hayley’s driveway.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “You know you can still stay with me if you want.” Hayley’s soft voice wrapped her in warmth as they placed the last few boxes of Sunshine’s belongings by the kitchen table. “You know I don’t mind, and I for one love Brutus.” She caressed the shiny fur on Brutus’s head as he leaned closer to her leg as he sat in the foreign kitchen.

  Sunshine took a step toward Hayley and gave her a hug. “Thanks, Hayley, but I enjoy living on my own and this,” she swung around smiling at the view, “is absolutely perfect and I couldn’t be any closer to work.”

  She watched Hayley smile. “Farmer Gert must really like you, giving you his finest cottage, kicking someone else out.”

  “What can I say, I do my job very well, and even after a few ups and downs, we seem to have gotten closer than we’ve ever been before.”

  Hayley’s smile vanished and Sunshine watched her hand return to Brutus once more. “What is it, Hayley?”

  “Are you moving because of what happened between us?”

  “No.” Sunshine stepped closer and took Hayley by the shoulders. “Here it is,” she sighed. “I like men and you don’t. I’m sorry it didn’t work out between us, despite your not so subtle hints.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Remember these,” Sunshine went out to grab something inside her bag and returned to the kitchen holding up an empty pink paper head then unwrapped the same letterhead from her other hand, exact copies of one another. “I found this in your office,” she said, shaking the empty letterhead gently, giving a shy smile. “I never thought about your handwriting before, in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it. Thanks for the compliments and lovely earrings, although I have still to use them.”

  Hayley blushed a fiery red and looked from the two items to Sunshine’s face. “Sorry,” she whispered and pushed her hands down in her pockets. “I only meant well.”

  “On days when I felt crappy, these little notes cheered me up, even though I was a little terrified wondering who may have sent them. No harm done.” Sunshine placed the papers on the kitchen counter and turned to look at a kitchen, its size slightly minimized by the moving boxes.

  “Sad, isn’t it?” she sighed, and went to open one, emptying its content onto the kitchen table. “At my age I should have accumulated more things than this.”

  Hayley opened another, folding towels and a set of bed sheets, then piling them onto one of the two kitchen chairs. “Not necessarily,” she replied. “You have moved many times. Hard to purchase things when you’re constantly moving. Here you have a home, a steady job, a dog. You can stay here, build your own nest.”

  “Yeah, that’s true. I do like it here and wouldn’t want to trade my job and Brutus’s freedom to run on these grounds for anything.”

  “Kids one day, maybe? You know I won’t, so you better get some that I could play with and spoil.”

  Sunshine snorted and filled the water basin with hot water and soap before placing glass and plates in the foam. “I’m not really very good in that area, as you may know.”

  “Brody seems to like you. Everyone seems to think so, at least if Truly at the store is right. You’re gossip.”

  “Hmm, I seem to have heard that before somewhere. But no, Brody is a definite no. In fact, he can jump up his own ass and die.”

  “Yikes, what happened?”

  “Oh, nothing. Maybe I’ll tell you over another evening of drinks. On you, of course. You and drink mixes are magical together.”

  “Or maybe we shouldn’t be allowed alone together. Things seem to . . .”

  Sunshine stopped the dishes and swallowed. “I didn’t not like it, Hayley. But could I see myself in a relationship, bickering about the everyday life with a woman, no. But, you and me, that evening . . . it wasn’t bad.”

  “Stop talking before you say something you might regret. You know how I feel about you, so don’t tease me, all right? You’re either doing me or you’re not.”

  Sunshine giggled. “Doing you? Is that what I did?”

  “What did you think we did?”

  “Fooled around a bit, had fun.”

  “I obviously had more invested, heartwise, in that than you did. Stay clear and let me grieve your lack of attraction to the female sex, will you.” Hayley smiled and elbowed Sunshine in the side while drying the plates with a towel and putting them in one of the empty white cabinets above them.

  “Sorry. I really am, Hayley.”

  “No worries. And look,” Hayley pointed out the window, “here comes constable jackass.”

  The cup slipped in Sunshine’s hands and fell back into the wash water, soaking the front of her shirt. She looked out the window before she noticed the wide smile on Hayley’s face.

  “You got it bad, Sunshine.”

  “No. No I do not!”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Sunshine had received a call from Wendy at the Primrose Valley Police Department in the morning. She needed to go in and go over the report she’d filed the day after the rescue. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, Brody was nowhere around the precinct held a watchful eye around every corner as she drove into town with Brutus as copilot in the passenger seat.

  Brody might be a hero professionally, but personally, he was still as much of a jackass as he was the first time he’d left her in the cottage without pants on. Never would she fall for that again. She grabbed the steering wheel a little tighter and she cruised by Hayley’s salon, watching her hands work their magic on yet another customer through the large front window.

  She had almost taken a step back again, had almost allowed herself to fall in love again, put her heart in the hands of a man who could possibly break it. Where had the promise gone to never fall in love, to never have a relationship, to never trust a man again. Especially not a man of that profession.

  For being a jackass, Brody had somehow made it easy for her to like him, to long for his company when he wasn’t around, hoping, yet not, to run into him at any given time of the day. He’d been there for her time and time again, which was something her heart couldn’t seem to ignore, even when her brain shot major warning signals requesting her heart to stop feeling.

  What if Brody hadn’t showed up at her trailer that one evening, released Brutus and taken the time to reacquaint himself with something he usually called “the beast” to find an answer to where she was located. What might have happened? Maybe, she could have handled the situation with Haines, like she’d done so many times in the past. She’d never know now. Goddamnit, she didn’t need anyone to protect her, except Brutus. Nothing beat the beast. She knew how to use a gun should she ever have to, she had taken self-defense classes, she was an independent grown woman living on her own and holding a man’s job.

  She didn’t need a knight in shining armor to rescue her and complete her life. In fact, without Brody interrupting, she had the chance to make her life whatever she wanted it to be. If he could just give her enough uninterrupted time to grieve what they might have had but never did.

  Wendy smiled at Sunshine from behind the counter as Sunshine walked through the door to the station a
nd greeted her happily. Sunshine’s eyes fell on the door to Brody’s office. It was open, the room dark.

  “Hard to believe, but he’s off today, the bastard,” said Wendy, answering her thoughts. “He’s not the only one in need of time off. We got Melanie Orchard as second deputy and we’re mighty happy to see the police force growing.”

  Work was an endless day of packing flour sacks and hoisting the heavy load on trucks for local deliveries and hooking cows up for milking. For a fun change of pace, Farmer Gert’s sensitive stomach had given her an opportunity to smile as they witnessed the wonder of a calf being born before their afternoon coffee break. After that she went across the field, a path well traveled under her boots and Brutus’s paws as, morning, lunch, and dinner, they tread through the dirt and hay. Mud its entirety, tall grass along its sides until she reached the white cobblestone walls of the cottage now in her name and the two planters of pink Azaleas framing the green front door. She fed Brutus, a dog with a surprisingly bottomless stomach, then grabbed a glass of cold white wine from the door of the fridge and sat on her sofa, determined to do nothing but read through the newest Bark magazine that had arrived in the mail.

  Until three taps rapped on the front door. She looked out the window of the living room to see who was out there, then smiled and went to open the door.

  “Hey, Hayley. What are you doing here? Your salon doesn’t close until six.”

  “Nah, my last customer of the day bailed for a dinner date at the senior center, so here I am. Wine bottle and all.” She held up a bottle, shaking it lightly.

  “Well, I’m ahead of you, but please come in and fill yours up.”

  Another glass later, Brutus deep asleep and running in his dream where he was in his dog bed, Sunshine sighed and gave in to Hayley yakking around the poorly hidden subject, Brody.

  “Fine, I’m in love with him, the jackass.”

  “Ohhh,” Hayley smiled. “This comes as a complete surprise to the world.” Something that made Sunshine slap her hand hard on Hayley’s shoulder, but Hayley kept going. “So, the light dawns, not for me, but for you. You love him, and that scares you. You think he is going to turn into Anthony because they both carried those shiny stars on their chests and bulletproof vests. But his heart isn’t completely bulletproof from what I’ve heard. He was married once. Plant a love bullet in his heart and you have him around your finger. Brody isn’t just some guy.”