Breathe With Me (The Breathe Series Book 3)

by Wendy L. Wilson

  Shaking my head, my hair flies over my shoulders and the icy chill in the air nips at my cheeks.

  “I guess you’ll never know.” I spin around and let my foot fall to the first stair before he grips my wrist to stop me. Turning my head to look back at him, I shiver from way more than the winter weather.

  My heart thumps to a familiar beat as I look back at him. He doesn’t say a word. Only silence stands between us, because the multitude of what might be happening between us is heard loud and clear and I cannot believe it.

  Is this really happening? I must be dreaming.

  AFTER RACING DOWN FOR A quick shower and grabbing the only gift I cared to throw together for Christmas, I head toward Piper’s cabin with an air of confidence in my bones, relief that all the ice cold looks I got from her may be behind me and fully ready to screw with Judd when he opens my gag gift. Passing my camper, the wind picks up, sending a whistle through the trees and a swish over the frostbitten ground that looks like a frosty winter wonderland. The few blades of grass that have stuck it out and stayed put along with clusters of dead leaves here and there are now all tipped in an icy frosting that sparkles as the sun touches down on them.

  Grabbing the strings hanging from the hood of my coat, I pull them tight so all that peeks out of my coat is just my eyes and nose. I could care less whether I look like a pansy, an eskimo, or a burglar at this moment; it is cold as a gold diggers ass out here and I am not dealing.

  A sudden cough comes from the porch of Grandpa’s cabin and I look up to find him cozied up in grandma’s old rocker with a blanket over his lap. His nose is as red as a cherry, his thin gray hair is tousled about from the wind and the way he has his hands dug into his pockets makes me want to run him back inside. What the hell is he doing out here?

  “Grandpa, what are you doing on the porch in this cold weather?”

  His face glazes over with annoyance and it makes me want to chuckle.

  “Same as you, I figure.” He glances out to the lake, straightening his burley white-gray brows into a bland expression before swinging his eyes back to me. “What are you doing gallivanting around in the cold? Don’t you hibernate this time of year?”

  That does make me laugh.

  “Yeah, right…I try to.” I point over towards the far cabin. “I’m actually headed to the Christmas ordeal going on.” I step onto the porch, sitting my gift bag down on the small wicker table and then take a seat in the other chair near Grandpa. Lunch can wait.

  “Ahhh, yeah. It’s Christmas, huh?”

  I bounce up on another laugh, joining Grandpa’s gaze out at the lake. The deep dark water is choppy as hell, but still looks enticing, nonetheless.

  Sighing, I stare back at him, noticing a different appearance than before; a loneliness.

  “Yeah, it is. What do you have going on today?”

  After Grandma died, we really stopped celebrating most holidays given that she was the organizer for it all. We all still came out to the lake to visit and get together for the holidays, but the big Christmas turkey and potatoes were replaced with TV dinners or left overs smuggled to us by Dad from the annual military ball. The only trees that were enjoyed this time of year were the leafless ones outside and presents consisted of extra money earned if Grandpa found some odd jobs he needed me to tend to while I was out here. Now that I take a good look, I see that maybe he misses all the hassle of it; the family part of it.

  He lets out a big sigh, leaning back into the rocker and stretching his body out of the cramped-up, hunched-over, freezing-his-ass-off position he was sitting in.

  “Mmmmm, I think maybe I’ll go down and check out that job you’ve done on those heaters.”

  This piques my attention. “What? You don’t trust that I got it done or you think those old suckers already gave out?” I grin, looking down to the shower house which I just came out of not even thirty minutes ago. To my surprise, those heaters are cranking out the heat like I would have never expected.

  Grandpa lets out a cough sort of chuckle that has me a bit alarmed. Granted, he is the toughest seventy-one-year-old I know, I still feel he pushes himself way too much for his age; someday his body is going to rebel.

  He gives me a sneaky smirk, looking at me through the corner of his eyes. “I know you did good, boy. You always do.”

  Pride blazes through me on that statement. No amount of bad news could shake the grin from my face today, and although, seriousness and sappy sentiments have never been my thing, I get seriously pumped when Grandpa gives me kudos.

  “What? You go down there already and turn all the nobs, check the circuit and connections, just to be sure.”

  He spits out a laugh, knowing good and well that I took his comment to heart.

  “So Mitch and Dad take off?”

  Grandpa nods, his lips seal together and his eyes squint as he focuses out at the water. My heart grips at him sitting here alone. Every year it seems that it ends up being the two of us milling about the cabins doing odd jobs and what not, all on Christmas day, Thanksgiving or any other holiday that takes place. The fact that I actually have plans today, even if it is just for a couple hours, has a bit of angst running through me and making me want to flip a coin; heads I hang with him, tails I go check out Piper all day long.

  Opening my mouth, I have the notion to offer up looking at the piping on cabin seven which was a little leaky this summer, but I suddenly rethink before it slips out.

  “Why don’t you come with me?” I glance over to the far cabin which should be smelling like heaven right about now, either that or a burnt bird, then back to Grandpa as I rise to my feet. I’m not even going to take no for an answer.

  He chuckles again, but remains seated.

  “Come on old man. Let’s go party with the big dogs today.” Swiping my foot to the right, I kick at Grandpa’s feet, nudging him to get to up. “Better than sitting here and freezing your ass off, don’t you think?”

  He sighs, pulling his hands out of his jacket and slapping them down to his lap with a thud, before I can even come up with some sort of bribery.

  “Well…I suppose I’ll come if you’re going to keep pestering me about it, all damn day.” This makes my stomach quake in laughter; I hadn’t even begun the pestering.

  Grandpa tosses his blanket into the rocker and joins me in my trek to the party. My entire body vibrates with hints of nervousness that I didn’t even know I was capable of feeling. My hands sweat, my heart kicks up to the level it was last night and I keep gulping down every lame ass thing I plan to say as soon as I see her. In my head, I keep running through my hello to her as if I’m rehearsing it in front of a mirror while brushing my teeth. Why am I even thinking about this?

  As soon as I step through the door, we are greeted with an array of fragrances that I utterly never imagined a couple twenty-year-old girls would be able to produce. A buttery, gamey aroma attacks my nostrils first followed by a sweet and starchy fragrance like sweet potatoes topped with roasted marshmallows. It reminds me of how Grandma used to make this kick-ass sweet potato casserole; I would fill three quarters of my plate with that along with a few slices of turkey on top. My stomach gurgles on that memory.

  “Hey guys,” Skylar’s face lights up as she walks towards us, but I can’t help but look over her shoulder at Piper. She has a powdery white substance slung across her shirt, looks like grease all over her hands and her hair in a balled up mess on top of her head.

  “Hey, Sky…” I mumble, glancing back at Skylar right as Piper bends to put something in the oven. I think I’ll forgo publicly checking out her ass…for now.

  My eyes meet Skylar’s for a second before she looks back and takes in what caught my sights. She looks back at me with a simple smile as she holds out her hand. “Coats?”

  Grandpa and I quickly relinquish the warmth of our coats into Skylar’s possession and make ourselves at home, saying our hellos to everyone and mingling about. Skylar escapes back into the kitchen with Abby, saying no
more to me and making me feel awkward as hell. I do need to talk to her. I have no clue what is going on between Piper and I or if last night meant anything in terms of today and tomorrow, but I still need to shoot straight with Skylar. We’ve always kept our friendship stress-free, not putting any labels on it or ever having any expectations of each other. Hell, I’ve never even told her about Piper and I, that we had been an item. I assume she knows as close of friends as they are, but Piper has always been pretty tight lipped, so who knows.

  “Ok, everyone…Let’s dig in.” Abby’s voice booms over the chatter in the small cabin. She slaps her hands together as if she’s ready to dig in herself, then waves us all to the long fold up table they have set up in the living room. “We have plenty so don’t be shy.”

  A roar of laughter breaks out over us all.

  “Honey, you know this isn’t a shy group,” Hayden hollers out, standing next to the dude I’d like to punch in the mouth for scaring Piper the other night. I never did ask her what was up between them.

  “Jake, you hear that. Don’t hold back,” Judd laughs, leaning around Alyssa as she hands a plate to them both.

  “You don’t have to tell me twice. I’m here to eat,” Jake smiles.

  I glance around, tuning out everyone’s wisecracks and good cheer, but coming up empty in my search for Piper’s face.

  “Mom,” Alyssa and Abby screech in unison as the front door swings open. They all but tackle her into a group hug as Judd slides to my side.

  I look over, checking on Grandpa to see where he took off to. As soon as I find him, my hunt for Piper halts. This time, I say screw the not-checking-her-out rule I fed myself earlier as my breath catches. Normally a girl’s appearance wouldn’t trip me up, dressed or undressed it is what it is, but after last night, and now with the way she looks, it has my testosterone level belting out a chorus of approval.

  Sometime between her shoving a pie into the oven and all of us making a mad dash for the row of casseroles and platters, she must have slipped away and did a five-minute stage change that makes me wonder if there is an assembly of makeup artists and hair dressers in the back room. Flicking my gaze from her eyes, slowly down her body, I begin to respond to how amazing she looks. Her hair now flows over her shoulders in sleek strands of raven curls. Her lips glisten as if she has been licking them over and over as she carries on a conversation with Grandpa. She traded in her messy shirt and sweat pants for a deep purple sweater that hangs down past her hips over tight black pants and boots that stretch up to her knees. Way too many clothes on, if you ask me.

  “So, ok…are you going to tell me what’s going on with you and Piper now?”

  Judd’s voice breaks through my thoughts which were quickly steering off the road way past the damn gutter and into the bushes. I snicker, hanging my head down at his question.

  “I’m curious, too.” Jake sidles up to my other side.

  I toss my head back, laughing with my mouth agape and amusement racing through my veins. They’re not gonna let this go.

  “Guys, guys…” My grin deepens just before I dramatically lose all emotion from my face to put off an air of annoyance that I’m not feeling what so ever. I’m actually thrilled as hell that anyone would put Piper and I in the same sentence that does not include the words pissed off, hate, castration or I think she hopes you die. “Are we a bunch of girls here?” I look back and forth from Judd to Jake, holding a stern glare. “Should I go get a carton of ice cream and three spoons? We can go sit on Piper’s bed and gush about our love lives.”

  Jake spits out a laugh. “I’m game. I like it over pumpkin pie. Does that work?”

  I keep my expression serious, but quickly swing my eyes to Judd, holding back my laughter at Jake’s response. Smartass. That’s my job.

  “Ooooo, that sounds good. I hear they have peach cobbler, too.” Judd glances around me at Jake, then back at me with his ridiculously pathetic excuse for a dimple digging into his cheek as he tries to pester back. “What kind of ice cream are you thinking?” he asks his brother.

  I can’t even hold it back anymore; the corners of my mouth rise into a huge smirk and what I really want to do is wave my hands and yell out ‘Enough with the jokes! Don’t even think your asses can’t keep up!’, but I go for subtle. After all, they learned from the best.

  “Oh, so you guys think you can one up me, do ya?”

  Judd and Jake laugh. “Seriously man…what kind of ice cream are we talking about?” Jake returns, his tone completely free of any humor as he leans his head over my shoulder.

  Judd chuckles and I look over, my eyes still and vacant with my mouth now bent into a frown.

  “Ha…ha. Let’s see who’s laughing later.”

  Judd’s face changes and he straightens up his posture. “Ok, in all seriousness. What went on with you two last night?”

  “Please tell me you guys weren’t getting it on with me in the same room with you? I mean it was bad enough that I had nightmares over the noises that I heard from them.” Jake nudges his thumb in Judd’s direction.

  “We were not that loud!” Judd starts to raise his voice with a defensive tone, but quickly clips it off and looks back at me. “Did you guys really…”

  “Ok, ok!” I put my hands out to my sides in an effort to stop all the ramblings of sex and who did who last night. “You…” I raise my brows and nudge my head in Judd’s direction. “…need to face reality and admit that you two have a serious problem.” Judd’s face falls into a sarcastic glare as I go on. “Ya’ll are going to have some stiff charges filed on you some day for noise disturbances if you don’t get it under control.”

  “I do not…” Judd starts, but I hold my hand up to stop him, before going on.

  “Save it…we’ve heard it.” I chuckle, unable to hold back the storm of laughter that is brewing in my stomach. “And last of all, if I was…shaking boots in the living room last night, don’t you think you all would know it.” I smirk back and forth at them, then shake my head at Judd. “You’re not the only one that can make a girl scream dude. Only difference is, with me, they are going to be yelling for more….not…” I kick my tone up to a whiney sensual whisper and move a little closer to Judd’s shoulder so I don’t get an audience. Jake moves his head towards me, listening in. “’Oh, Judd, wait…not there…oh no, not there either. Wait, go a little slower. Wait, not yet, not yet. Ahhhh, is it over already?’!”

  Jake and I crack up, moving away from each other as Judd shakes his head with an eye roll and slight smile.

  “Yeah, ok…keep dreaming, Evan.”

  “Keep dreaming about what,” Alyssa says sweetly as she walks up.

  We all bust up laughing and move forward to dish up our plates and take a seat.

  Christmas dinner goes off without a hitch as we all sit around the table, with some of us dispersed to the couch and the smaller kitchen table, ready to cram our faces with more food than our eyes can take in. I’m delighted when in the middle of the table I see the same casserole Grandma used to make with creamy browned marshmallows bubbling over the top, slivers of pecans sinking into the gooey goodness and a hint of rust tented sweet potatoes oozing over the sides. I dig in, of course filling a good portion of my plate with a sloppy mess of potatoes. Sitting between Jake and Grandpa, another wave of pleasure takes hold as Piper takes a seat across from me. Her supposed boyfriend, that obviously doesn’t know much about her, sits clear in the other room with Hayden, and Jessie, which showed up right as we were all filling up our plates.

  A couple hours later and after a few interesting conversations over dinner and dessert, mainly from Grandpa talking about the cabins and the property, we all gather in the living room with Judd and I casually huddled near the fireplace. The logs crackle and pop with an orange and red glow as well as slowly filling the house back up with a crisp pine fragrance the longer the food is put away.

  “I really wish you’d come.” I look over at Judd as he presses his cell to his ear. “Yeah, bu
t we are all still here and probably will hang out all night. You’d make it here by dinner and could warm up a plate.”

  “Tristan?” I mouth, barely letting a breath out over my lips with the word.

  Judd nods. “Ok, that’s fine, but can I put you on speaker so everyone can say hey. A couple of people asked about you,” he pauses as I make out Tristan’s muffled voice at the other side of the line.

  “Ahhh, well Jessie, Evan, Abby…everyone basically.” Judd stumbles for a second. “Yeah. Why?”

  He pauses, looking at me as if he’s getting irritated.

  Tristan has kept himself MIA since the wreck, supposedly ashamed of the injuries he sustained in the accident.

  “Hey, is that Tristan?” Jake leans against the mantle beside me, looking as if he hasn’t a care in the world.

  I spit out a chuckle at how different all three of them seem for being brothers. Here Judd is the worrier, always trying to please everyone, yet carrying a bit of Tristan’s stubbornness when it comes to conflict. Jake is the cool and collected one with a heart of gold and then there is Tristan, a bomb waiting to explode.

  “Yeah, it is.” I answer as Judd pulls the phone away from his ear to lay it on the mantle.

  “Hey guys, Tristan can’t make it, but he wanted to say Merry Christmas,” Judd hollers out, getting everyone’s attention as all eyes turn towards us and several bodies move towards the fireplace.

  “I did not want to say Merry Christmas, you jackass.” Tristan’s annoyance comes out loud and clear through the phone, but Judd doesn’t say a word, remaining unaffected. I crack up, tossing my chin forward. “You too, Evan. I hear you laughing. Ha Ha!”

  “Hey, Tristan,” I manage out through my laughter. “How’s it going?”

  “Not too bad…just living it up.”

  “Merry Christmas, Tristan,” a chorus of voices yell out, Jessie’s screechy tone thundering over them all. “Merry Christmas,” a couple more calls stagger in.

  “Yeah, yeah, same to you,” Tristan says, his voice never changing pitches.