Stripped Down

by Erin McCarthy

“Stop it!” she said. “He’s a baby.” She moved Finn’s surprisingly tight grip down to her stomach.

  Rick didn’t say anything else, he just disappeared into the house. She bounced Finn on her legs and held his little hands in her own.

  The house was the one she had grown up in and she was right next to the brick patio her father had installed when she was in her teens. The firepit had been there longer and she and Sullivan also had friends over for bonfires back in the day. The house itself was a standard colonial in a suburban neighborhood, one of the few planned developments in Beaver Bend. In a way, it surprised her that her father still lived there. It wasn’t really a house for a tattooed bar owner with an empty nest.

  But at the same time, she knew why he didn’t leave. It was the house her mother had wanted. The house that was supposed to make her happy and hadn’t. It hadn’t been the solution to her discontent. If anything, from what her father said, it just amplified it because then she couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t happy.

  Then one day Sloane had gotten up and instead of her mother in the kitchen it had been her father. He had poured cereal in a bowl for her and plunked her down in front of cartoons on the TV and told her that her mother had left and wasn’t coming home.

  It hadn’t made any sense to her then and it still didn’t now. Sloane should have more memories of her mother given she was five when she left, but she really didn’t. She remembered being cared for by her father while her mother was either gone or sitting talking on the cordless phone in their family room, laughing with her girlfriends. Sloane would attempt to climb on her lap and mostly get shooed away. She didn’t remember her mother being cruel to her, just disinterested.

  But even though she barely remembered her, sometimes she wondered if she was a lot like her mother. Take what you want. Attempt to twist it to what you want it to be. There was something similar to that in her marriage to Tom. But Sloane hadn’t, and never would, just roll out on of her family’s life. Ill-suited or not, she’d been committed to Tom, and if she ever got married again and had kids, she’d be the same way.

  She felt Rick’s presence and knew it was him before she even saw him drop down onto the grass beside her. Funny how after just a few hours she could recognize his movements, his presence, his smell. But it had been a very intimate few hours. She glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow in question.

  He was holding his beer by the neck of the bottle and he raised it to his lips and took a sip. Then he said, “You look tired.”

  Sloane rolled her eyes. “I think you’re renowned flirting skills are slipping. No woman wants to hear she looks tired.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “I meant it as concern.”

  “I’m fine,” she said, and it sounded more snappish than she really intended. “It was just a long day. But I am positive I’m really going to love this job. It’s a good fit for me.”

  “You love animals, huh?”

  “Yep.” Sloane pulled Finn forward and blew a raspberry on his chubby cheek. He shrieked in delight. “I have a dog but I lost her in the divorce. It’s honestly the worst thing that’s happened to me as an adult. Worse than the marriage ending.”

  “You had a custody fight for your dog? Damn, that sucks.”

  She nodded. “You know how they swear that you’ll see someone’s true colors in a divorce? But everyone insists their own divorce will be amiable? Well, Tom turned out to be a p-r-i-c-k.” She spelled it out since Finn was on her lap. “He doesn’t even like Kate, but he bought her so he kept her. It was mostly a way to hurt me, nothing more.”

  “Because you broke his heart?” Rick asked, picking at the label on the bottle. He had one leg up and a forearm resting on his knee.

  Sloane wanted to reach over and run her fingers over his beard and kiss him full on the lips. He was so damn sexy and masculine. Even sitting this close to him did strange things to her insides. He was wearing the jeans and T-shirt he’d had on earlier. The one thing about northern Minnesota was it was full on August and it wasn’t even that hot. No one needed to be wearing shorts. But Rick had changed his work boots for sandals.

  His words made her wrinkle her nose. “I did not break Tom’s heart. In fact, he actually left me.” She shot a quick glance in Rick’s direction. “For a guy he’d been dating secretly for a while.”

  “Shut the hell up.” Rick looked as astonished as she probably had the day Tom had told her.

  “Yep. So, there you have it.” She gave a laugh. “And I haven’t told a single person in Beaver Bend the whole truth either, until just now. I don’t like to talk about it. I have no idea why I just told you that.”

  “It does explain a few things.” Rick reached out and put his hand on her neck, massaging it. “No wonder your marriage was a total dud in the sack.”

  “Rick, you shouldn’t do that. Secret, remember?” His hand on her in front of everyone made her extremely uncomfortable. “Very true,” she said, and scrambled to her feet with Finn in her arms. “Where’s River?” she asked, partly to change the subject, but mostly out of curiosity. “Your sister seems like a bright kid.”

  “She’s an evil genius,” Rick said ruefully, slowly rising to his feet. “And I’m not kidding. She’s brilliant, top of the class. And I have no idea how to raise her. I’m stumbling around in the dark, most likely jacking her up, but what else am I going to do?” He blew out a deep breath.

  There was a furrow in his brow that Sloane could see indicated genuine worry. “I’m sure you’re doing a great job,” she said. “She seems like a cool kid, and hey, aren’t you and I both living proof that as long as there is an adult who loves you, you can turn out relatively normal?”

  Rick grinned. “Are we normal?”

  “I can’t speak for you, but I’m totally normal.” A little dented but for the most part, doing all right. She bounced Finn on her hip. “Hey, you’re around my dad a lot, right?”

  “Yes.” Rick took another sip of his beer. “I have always admired Liam. He’s been good to me, the ragamuffin kid coming around.”

  “Does he date?” She figured if anyone would know about it, it just might be Rick. Her dad kept everything from her and Sullivan—go figure-—but she worried about him. “Does he have a secret girlfriend or anything?”

  “I think the key word to ‘secret girlfriend’ is ‘secret.’” Rick shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of, but it’s not like we’re buddies. I’m his kid’s best friend.” Rick turned and glanced at her father flipping burgers on his insanely over-the-top gas and charcoal grill. “I’m sure a lot of women would go for his type though. He’s what, fifty? Still young. He keeps in shape.”

  “Not even fifty. He’s forty-eight. Back in high school I had a couple of friends who said they had crushes on him, which was horrifying at the time. But I can see it now. He’s a cool guy. He should be enjoying his life more.”

  “Agreed. And I can’t imagine not enjoying my life. I enjoy my life a lot.”

  Rachel’s body count comment popped into Sloane’s head. She was sorry she had brought the subject of dating up. She made a face. “So I hear.”

  “Jealous?”

  “No. And you already asked me that. Stop repeating yourself.”

  “You repeated yourself first,” he pointed out. “You already mentioned rumor has it I’m never lonely.”

  He was right, which annoyed her. She had no comeback, which further annoyed her.

  River came over and saved her from saying someone petty or stupid. She was tempted to give the kid five bucks for saving her ass.

  “Hi, Sloane.”

  “Hi, River. What’s up?”

  “Can I hold the baby?” River had her arms outstretched.

  “Sure.” She passed Finn down to River, who confidently put him on her hip and started kissing the top of his head. “Cute Finn.” Then she turned to her brother. “I’m a vegetarian now.”

  Rick groaned. “River. Where did that come from? The only food here is hot dogs and b
urgers.”

  “I’m fine. I’ll eat the fruit and the chips.”

  If Sloane thought about it, that’s really all she wanted to eat too. The kid might be on to something.

  “What brought this on?”

  “I watched a documentary. Don’t worry, I’m working on a Power Point presentation to show you the evils of animal farming in the US and the underlying health risks.”

  Rick sighed and looked at Sloane. “The thing is, she means it. By tomorrow I’ll be watching her presentation and resenting that she has ruined beef for me.” He ruffled his sister’s hair. “Fine. Eat whatever you need to, kiddo. I support you.”

  River wandered off, still holding Finn.

  Sloane put her hands in her front pockets and eyed Rick. He really was a good guy and she felt warm inside just watching him with his sister. “I’m serious, Rick. What you’re doing with River is impressive. Not everyone could or would raise their sibling.”

  He shrugged, clearly embarrassed by the compliment. “It was me or foster care and there was no way. Not happening. But it’s hard. I’m not going to lie.” Then he eyed her over his raised beer bottle, hovering near his lips. “I’d rather impress you in other ways.”

  Of course he had to lighten the subject. She would do the same thing so it wasn’t like she didn’t get it. “Oh, you did. Trust me.”

  “Can I impress you again tomorrow night?”

  The idea of repeating the night before instantly made her wet, nipples beading. She took a deep breath through her nose. She could not be turned on at her father’s cookout. It was ridiculous. But Rick was giving her that look… the one that said he wanted to tease and touch her until she screamed in pleasure.

  But at the same time, they had said one night. That’s what she remembered. So what game was he playing? “I don’t know…”

  “Hey, Dick. I mean, Rick,” Sullivan called. “Get over here. I need a corn hole partner.”

  She could see her brother impatiently waiting, Axl and Brandon down there as well. She didn’t see Jesse but he might already be heading back to Houston, where he lived and played hockey.

  “This isn’t over,” Rick said under his breath as he turned and yelled that he didn’t want to be partners with a loser.

  Sloane needed a cold drink. “Do either of you need anything?” she asked her girlfriends. They were lounging in lawn chairs positioned next to a spinach and artichoke dip platter. Lilly was over by the firepit chatting with her father and her aunt, her dad’s sister.

  “No, I’m good,” Becca said.

  “Same,” Emily agreed. “And don’t think you’re going to get out of talking about a certain someone and a certain something. We want the scoop.” She grinned.

  Sloane was surprised they had waited this long to ask frankly. But she wished they hadn’t asked at all. She didn’t want to lie. But she wasn’t sure she wanted to tell them about sex with Rick. It seemed so… private.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  They gave peals of laughter. “Uh-huh.”

  Sloane opened the slider and went into the kitchen. The style and décor in the house were stuck solidly back in the early nineties. Her dad had never changed anything as far as she could tell. There was still a wallpaper border in the kitchen featuring cherry pies coolly on a fence post. Which seemed wildly impractical to her. The countertops were a forest green laminate. As a teenager, it had just embarrassed her. Now it made her worry about her father. He was holding on to the past with two fists.

  He was chopping up onions on the peninsula. “Hey, baby girl,” he said, glancing up and giving her a smile.

  “Hey, Dad. Who’s manning the grill?” She went straight to the fridge for a can of soda.

  “Burgers and hot dogs are done. We can eat in a few minutes. And then, birthday cake for the birthday girl.”

  They weren’t the family to exchange presents and she was fine with that. But cake, she could get behind. “Yum.” She shut the fridge door and popped open the can in her hand. “So what’s new, Dad?”

  He gave her a skeptical look. “Nothing, Sloane. Not since I saw you yesterday.”

  “No, I mean, what is going on in your life.” She leaned over the counter on the opposite side from him, watching his skilled knife work. He’d started out in the kitchen of a local seafood restaurant at sixteen. “Are you online dating or anything?”

  Now he looked at her like she had lost her mind. “Where the hell did that come from?”

  Resting her chin on her palm she shrugged. “Just seems like maybe you should. You’re still young, you’re handsome.”

  “Do you need to borrow money?”

  “What? No!” This family. Geez. “I’m just showing interest and expressing concern.”

  His hand paused. Then he just started chopping again. “Did you hear from your mother or something?”

  That shocked her into standing straight up. “Why would I hear from Mom?”

  “I don’t know. It was your thirtieth birthday. Just thought maybe she would reach out.”

  “No, she didn’t.” Sloane realized with a sinking feeling that her father still wasn’t over it. Over her. She who will not be named. “Dad, it doesn’t bother me. Seriously. I don’t even care. What bothers me is you not leading a full life. I want you to be happy.”

  He shot her a look of horror. “I am happy.”

  “Don’t you ever want to get married again?”

  “Do you?”

  “I don’t know.” Yes. If there was a man out there she could laugh with, share a dog with, have amazing sex with. Who would love her, flaws and all.

  “Me either.” He handed her a tray filled with burger toppings. “Take this out to the table.”

  “Sure. Good talk, Dad.”

  He shook his head like he didn’t even know what they were talking about. “Yep.”

  “Think about Tinder, Dad. You’d be a hit. You can write ‘hot grandfather, bar owner, loves tats, whiskey, and blondes.”

  “Shut up, Sloane,” he said mildly, popping a spicy pickle in his mouth. “Or I will shut you up.”

  She laughed. “Love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  That was about as emotional as an O’Toole chat was going to go. She’d take it.

  * * *

  Sullivan threw a corn hole bag at him. Hard. It hit Rick in the chest before he could catch it. “What the fuck was that for?”

  “For sniffing around my sister like a dog after a bitch in heat.”

  Shit. He’d been too obvious. “I don’t think you should refer to your sister as a bitch in heat. Just saying,” he said, keeping his voice neutral.

  “You may be bigger than me now, but I can still kick your ass.” Sullivan looked furious.

  “You’re going to start a fight in front of your kid and my little sister? Calm down.” He turned and called over to Axl and Brandon. “Who’s throwing first?”

  “We are. Switch sides.”

  Rick took the bags and started to walk down to the other board but Sullivan grabbed his shoulder.

  “Rick, listen to me.”

  His friend’s voice was earnest, not angry. He paused and looked back at him. “Yeah?”

  “I found out Tom was cheating on Sloane. She didn’t say anything to us about it, so obviously she’s having such a hard time. I don’t want you fucking with her head, okay?”

  He nodded. He had no intention of fucking with Sloane’s head. He would never do that to her. And he was honored she had trusted him both with her body and the information that her ex had cheated on her. “Sure. And maybe you should talk to each other more, you know? Like share feelings and shit. It might make all of you feel a whole hell of a lot better.”

  Sullivan made a face. “Fuck that. We don’t do feelings.”

  “So I’ve noticed.”

  Brandon came over to their side. “What’s the hold up, losers? Are we playing corn hole or grabbing our dicks?”

  “O’Toole
is dick-grabbing. Watch your junk.” Rick jogged over to the other side.

  Axl eyed him. “Sul knows you have the hots for Sloane, doesn’t he?”

  “Yep.”

  “Dude, you can’t fuck your best friend’s sister. Not good game play.”

  Rick tossed the bags in his hand up and down, in a lame attempt at juggling. One dropped to the grass. He bent over and accidentally made contact with Axl when he stood up.

  “Shit,” was Axl’s opinion. “You already did, didn’t you?”

  “I’m not saying a word.” He turned and tossed his first bag at the opposite board. It slid straight off.

  “You deserve it if he kicks your ass. I might even have a go at you myself.” Axl tossed a bag. It landed on the board.

  “Don’t worry about it, man. It’s all good. I would never hurt Sloane.”

  Axl shook his head. “I don’t like this. It won’t end well. You know that.”

  “I’ve known Sloane my whole life. I’m not going to be an asshole.”

  “Don’t tell me anything. I don’t want to have to lie for you.”

  “I’m not asking you to lie. And I’m not admitting a damn thing.” Rick threw another bag and it slid in right next to Axl’s.

  Sullivan threw and knocked Rick’s bag off into the grass.

  “We’re on the same team,” Rick yelled over to him dryly.

  “I don’t care.”

  “Yeah, he’s pissed,” Axl said.

  “He can’t prove anything.” And never would if he and Sloane were discreet. He really didn’t want to damage his friendship. “He’ll get over it.” Because he didn’t think he could give up Sloane. Not yet anyway.

  “Time to eat,” Liam called.

  Good. Maybe with food in his mouth Sullivan couldn’t say something stupid.

  All the guys, River, and Liam’s own sister, Bridget, were all moving around the peninsula in the kitchen filling up plates. He reached for a paper plate and Sullivan shoved him out of the way. “Excuse me.”

  Sloane was holding Finn and she shot her brother a look. “Watch where you’re going, Sullivan.”

  “Why, am I hurting your boyfriend?”

  The casual chatter came to halt in the group. “What did you say?” Liam asked, glancing back and forth between Sullivan and Sloane. “Sloane, what’s your brother talking about?”