by Meg Collett
“I want you to come,” he said and she nodded; she needed to come too. The pressure was building, and she felt as though she was being lifted up and torn into a million pieces. She began to tremble as she worked herself up to the edge.
And then she was coming. And her hips were bucking into her hand. And a loud moan was ripping from her lips. Hale never touched her, but it felt as though his fiery hands were all over her at once as she rode out the orgasm.
After, she just laid there and tried to recover, her spine melting deep into the mattress. She turned her head to look at Hale, who watched her with dark eyes. His lips parted, allowing only shallow breaths out. She went to wipe off her hand on the sheets, but he caught her wrist.
“Taste yourself.”
“What?” she asked, pulling her hand away. “No way.”
“Do it. I want you to know.”
“Hale,” she argued. “It’s weird.”
“Did you think it was weird when I did it?”
“Not at the end.”
He took her hand again and guided it to her lips. “So taste yourself then.”
He gently eased her fingertips against her mouth. Her lips parted and her tongue darted out to lick the pad of her fingers. She was surprised; it wasn’t awful. It was like musk and sex and a hint of her body wash.
“See?”
Kyra mimicked Hale’s typical grin. “It didn’t make me throw up.”
His eyes narrowed. “Those disgusting cookies made me sick.”
“Then why did you eat so many?”
“I didn’t want to be rude!”
She smacked his shoulder. “Now who’s the faker?”
He put his arm around her, tucking her against his side. “All I want to do now is sleep. You’re exhausting.”
She snorted, but she snuggled closer. The breeze was just cool enough that she tugged the thin sheet over their legs. Moments later, Hale’s deep breaths rumbled against her shoulder. Slowly, he was opening her up to things she hadn’t even thought possible, and she’d told him earlier tonight that she’d come to this place to confront the darkness of her past, which she hadn’t done yet. The closest she’d come was yelling at Florence and going to her mother’s grave.
Tomorrow, she told herself. Tomorrow she would go through the pictures and return to the cemetery. She’d sit with her mom until she’d come to some kind of peace. She hoped it was possible; she wanted to think it was.
But Kyra didn’t know how to accept something she’d had no control over. Letting go of a mother she’d never known seemed like an impossible task. Those thoughts plagued her until late into the night, when the only sounds were the waves outside and Hale’s soft snores.
No matter what, she decided as she fell asleep, she would deal with all of this soon. Even if it meant sitting down and talking with Florence. One way or another, she had to understand her mother’s life in order to find peace with her death.
twenty-one
Kyra woke the next morning with her dress bunched up and a slight sweat on her skin. Hale was gone, and the house was quiet as usual for a Sunday morning. Groggily, she straightened out of bed and checked her phone, repressing the tiny twinge she felt at Hale’s absence. She had a text from Stevie.
Stevie: Thanks for the scones. Hot Doc shared them with me. He said you’d pick me up on Saturday. You better be here or I’ll haunt you when I die.
Kyra: Don’t hit on your doctor. It’s unethical or something. I’ll be there. Don’t worry.
She sat the phone aside and went to the bathroom to get ready. She had a big day in front of her, and she wanted to look pretty when she tackled it. As if that would really make a difference.
On her way to the cemetery, she stopped at a local florist and picked up a bouquet of sunflowers. Kyra didn’t think they were the most appropriate mourning flower, but she couldn’t resist their happy yellow blooms. Once she’d opened her mother’s garden gate and went inside to see the sad statues and solitary grave, she knew she’d made the right choice.
Her mother needed a bed of sunflowers to lie on, to rest on.
Every day for the rest of the week, Kyra went to her mother’s grave with more sunflowers. She sat there, waiting to feel some closure, but it never came. The following Saturday, before she went to pick up Stevie, Kyra brought one of the photo albums to the garden with her. She reclined against the fence and flipped through the pages, but it felt like a hollow act.
She’d thought this would help her come to terms with her mother’s death, but by the time she left on Saturday, Kyra had only a handful of bug bites and a grass stain on her shorts. Hale hadn’t thought her visits to the cemetery would help much, and she understood why now. This wasn’t the place where she’d find her peace.
He’d supported her throughout the week, though, understanding her need to feel closer to her mom. They hadn’t seen much of each other, but she felt closer to him than ever before. For the week, he’d been her protector, her support. She was discovering it was a role that came to him naturally.
She spent the rest of the day in town, loitering until she could pick up Stevie. She bought stuff for her semi-finished kitchen and flower pots for her porches. Her last stop before the hospital was at the local nursery Hale had suggested. She loaded the trunk and backseat of the Jeep with bright flowers that dripped moist dirt and filled the car was pungent sweetness.
Her phone dinged. It was another text from Stevie.
Stevie: Come to the ER entrance. The Goon Squad is in the front.
Kyra cringed, but she followed the directions. When she arrived, she circled to the ER doors, and there Stevie sat in a wheelchair with Ethan cross-legged on the ground beside her. They noticed Kyra’s car as she opened the door, and Ethan rolled Stevie forward.
“Hi! How are you feeling today?” Kyra chirped. “Hey, Ethan.”
“Spectacular,” Stevie grumbled.
“Somebody is a little grouchy today.” Ethan lifted his eyebrows and mouthed “withdrawals” when Stevie’s head was turned.
“Are you hungry?” Kyra asked quickly, her palms starting to sweat from nerves.
“No,” Stevie snipped. Ethan helped her get into the car, which Kyra had left running so it would stay cool inside. She closed the door, sealing Stevie inside.
“What do I do?” she asked Ethan quietly. They walked to the back of the car.
“Don’t let her drink.”
“Obviously,” she said, eyeing the Jeep. Stevie was slouched down in her seat.
“She’ll probably conk out when you get her home. She’ll want a drink, so distraction might be good when she wakes up.”
“Thank you, Ethan.” She hugged the doctor. “I appreciate your help so much.”
He shrugged. “She’s a good girl, and you’re a good pal. Just watch her.”
“Will do.” She waved and started around the back of the car. She paused. “Would you want to come to dinner tonight if I have some friends over for Stevie?”
“Sure. Hale has my number.”
Kyra waved and opened her door, slipping into the cool temperature of the Jeep. “So your parents are at the front?” she asked.
Stevie swore colorfully in what Kyra took as agreement. “Did you buy out the entire nursery? It smells like optimism and an old lady’s perfume in here.”
Kyra laughed. “Not the entire place, but close. Hey, so…would you maybe want to stay at my house today? You could rest a while and then the guys could come over. Maybe even Dr. Faraday, if you want.”
Stevie’s eyes drifted toward the window. “Sure,” she said. “Why not?”
When they arrived at the house, Kyra jumped out and started around the Jeep. Before she was even to Stevie’s door, Hale was there, helping her friend out. “Hey, Stevie,” he said, taking his place on Stevie’s other side to help her up the stairs. “I see you feel especially wonderful today.”
“Zip it, Cooper, before I kick you in the balls.”
He laughed good-naturedly a
s they helped Stevie up the stairs. Kyra put her in her bedroom since it was the only one with sheets on the bed. Stevie paused before she sat down. “You two haven’t done it in this bed have you?”
“Uh…no,” Kyra said, flushing.
Hale snorted and left the room so Kyra could help Stevie lay down. She took off her friend’s shoes and set them beside the bed. “Do you want me to close the windows?”
“No. Leave them open.” Stevie hunkered down in the covers and pulled them up to her chin.
Kyra dug around in the pile of stuff beside her bed until she found her sleep mask. “Here. This might help.”
“Oh,” Stevie’s eyes brightened. “Thanks.” She eased the leopard-print mask onto her eyes, positioning it carefully around the deeper cuts on her face.
Kyra squeezed Stevie’s hand and was about to leave, but Stevie didn’t let her go. “I love you, Kyra,” she whispered.
Her heart shattered for her friend. “I love you too, Stevie. Let me know if you need anything.” Before she’d even left the room, Stevie was snoring softly.
She went downstairs and outside to unload her car, but Hale already had it done. He was in the garden, arranging the different bushes and flowers she’d purchased. Looking up when she approached, he wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. “You picked out some good stuff. Hope you don’t mind. Couldn’t help myself.”
She walked up to him and kissed him lightly on the lips, her hand pressed into the muscles of his lower back. “Thanks for being here today.”
“Thought you could use some help.”
She stepped back and admired his work before she smiled at him. “It looks good. Does this mean you’re actually going to help?”
“I guess I don’t have much else to do today.”
Laughing at his reluctance, she started toward the car to get the gloves she’d purchased, but Hale caught her hip and pulled her to his chest. He smelled of dirt and sweat, a combination that had her stomach fluttering in the best way. He leaned in and kissed her again. She kissed him back harder, deepening the kiss and taking control.
“Humph.”
Kyra looked up at the sound. Mrs. Walker walked by with her goldiepoo on its leash. The dog barked at them, disapproving, like its master. Kyra blushed. “I think we’re scaring the neighbors.”
“I bet she got wet just watching.”
“Hale! That’s awful…and really gross to think about.”
He grinned as he gathered up the shovels and rakes. It took most of the afternoon to plant all the flowers and bushes in new topsoil. Hale did the mulching around the newly cordoned-off flowerbeds while Kyra planted her flowerpots. When they’d finished the front garden, it looked like a completely different place; she wouldn’t be the eyesore of the neighborhood anymore. Well, almost, she thought as she stepped back and shielded her eyes to look up at the house.
“When do we do the outside?” she asked.
“Whenever you pick out a new color,” Hale said, mumbling with his back turned to her.
“I heard that.”
“I meant you to.”
“I’m serious, Hale,” she said. “I’m ready for it to look pretty.”
He grunted and stood. “We redid the guttering at the beginning when we pressure washed the house. Over time, the water drainage had rotted some of the scale work at the top of the house, which we’ve already replaced.” Kyra nodded when she saw where he was pointing. “So most of the work is done. I think we’re on track to do the outside next Friday if this storm doesn’t hit us.”
“Storm?”
“Just a little something building out over the ocean. Right now they don’t know if it’s going to make landfall.”
“Oh, well, I hope we can paint. It’s going to look amazing.” Kyra sighed happily just thinking about it.
“More like Barbie’s Dream House with those colors you picked out.”
She frowned. “No it won’t. It’ll look cute.”
“That’s what I just said.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “You’re impossible. Anyway,” she said as she stripped off her sweaty gardening gloves. “Do you and Cade want to come to dinner tonight?”
“Sure,” Hale called over his shoulder, dumping the last of the plastic flower containers into the large dumpster.
“I was going to invite Ethan too. Is that okay?” Kyra asked, wondering if the doctor would remind Hale and Cade of bad times.
But he didn’t seem bothered. “That’s fine. We like Ethan a lot.”
He left shortly after they’d cleaned up to get a shower and pick up Cade. Kyra went inside to check on Stevie, who was still sleeping soundly, before she grabbed some clothes for the evening. To keep from waking her guest, she went to the downstairs bathroom. Finally, she could get into the repaired shower without feeling like she had to wash herself at a breakneck speed.
It was still too early to order the pizza from Stevie’s favorite place in town, and Cade and Hale wouldn’t be here for a while. On her way up the stairs, Kyra sent a text to Ethan with her address. She tucked her phone in her pocket and headed toward the front bedroom.
It was bright inside, and streams of sunlight danced over the albums she’d left out. Unlike her back bedroom, she hadn’t let the painters in here. This room was special now, and Kyra wanted to keep it exactly as it was. She picked her way to the window seat and sat down, savoring the warmth from the window, and resumed looking at the same album she’d left off with before. The pictures were mostly of her mother at different middle-school events.
Lila had braces and frizzy hair, but she still looked beautiful to Kyra. Pictures of school plays and science projects filled the pages along with Christmases and more birthdays. Years passed as she flipped through the album, and her mom slowly transformed, growing up in front of her eyes.
The album had been closed for a long time in Kyra’s lap when she heard car doors slam in front of her house. She jolted and looked out the window. Hale and Cade stepped out of the truck and headed toward the front door. They carried boxes of pizza and liters of Coke. Realizing she’d completely forgotten about the dinner, she scrambled out of the room and hurried to her bedroom.
She knocked softly on the door and peeked inside. Stevie stirred under the covers and pushed up her sleep mask. “The guys are here. Sorry, I lost track of time. Come down whenever you’re ready.”
Stevie mumbled something as Kyra closed the door. She was heading down the stairs just as the front door opened and the guys stepped inside. “Thank you so much for getting the pizza. I completely spaced.”
Hale looked up, watching her come down. “Did you not get my text?”
“Uh,” Kyra said, taking the pizzas from him. “No, I guess not.” He shook his head at her with a crooked grin on his face.
“How is she doing?” Cade asked.
“Good,” Kyra said. “She’s rested all day, which Ethan said was good.”
Cade nodded, clearly still worried. “Is she going back to L.A. with her parents?”
Kyra started toward the kitchen with the guys following her. “No,” she answered quietly. “She’s going to stay here until she decides on a rehab facility. Her parents might cut her off, though, for not coming back with them.” She couldn’t help the anger creeping into her voice; she would never understand how a parent could do that to their child.
“I cannot believe some people are that awful,” Cade said, echoing her thoughts.
She set the pizza on the counter. Ethan arrived not long after, and Cade hurried to help Stevie down the stairs when they heard the bedroom door open. She limped into the kitchen and looked around, her hair greasy and her face pale, but she smiled when she saw everyone.
“Looks like it’s a party now,” she said, but as soon as the words were out, her face darkened. A party to Stevie meant wine and vodka. Before she could dwell on it too long, Kyra scooped up the pizza boxes and paper plates.
“It is!” She said brightly. “So, since
I have no furniture, let’s pretend we actually wanted to sit outside on my porch and eat. Follow me!”
It wasn’t a very comfortable meal. Stevie didn’t talk much, and the guys were the only ones who really carried on a conversation. Kyra tried to chime in every now and then, but it was hopeless. She didn’t know much about construction or cars, so she mostly sat beside Stevie and tried to send her reassuring smiles.
A couple hours later, when they’d eaten their fill, everyone stood and prepared to leave. Hale helped Kyra carry the boxes and drinks into the kitchen while Stevie walked Cade and Ethan to the front door. “She seems okay,” he commented.
She pulled out some plastic bags and started putting the leftovers away for Hale’s crew to eat next week. “Yeah, I think so,” she said.
He walked over and put his arms around her. “She’ll be okay.” His words were warm and moist against her ear. She wished she could stay with him tonight, but it wasn’t appropriate with Stevie recovering in the house.
“I know.”
Hale stepped back and smacked her butt. “Then stop worrying so much, Miss Know-It-All.”
twenty-two
What about this one?”
Stevie looked over at Kyra’s computer screen. “Gross. Too hippie.”
Kyra groaned and banged her forehead against the keyboard. “You’ve said that about the last few we’ve looked at.”
“Hey,” Stevie said, shrugging. “If I’m going to rehab, I don’t want to smell body odor all day.”
“Hippies take showers.” Kyra shook her head and tried to focus, her eyes were getting blurry. “Wait, that’s not the point. This looks like a good place.”
Stevie wrinkled her nose. “Next.”
They’d spent their Sunday morning in Kyra’s bedroom, sorting through rehab choices. Stevie turned them all down until they come to one that was simply called The Lodge. “And it’s nearby,” Kyra added as Stevie looked over the website. “I could come visit you.”
