“Can you stop trying to leave?” he asked, an underlying level of hurt showing through his deep voice.
“No,” I said fast. “Um, I…this is really kind of awkward for me, since I know how much you didn’t want to ever see me again. I’m not here to make waves.”
“Where is Thomas?” he asked, his jaw setting.
I stiffened. “How do you know my ex-husband’s name?”
His eyes widened. “Ex? As in no longer your husband?”
“Yes. As in I’m divorced. It’s been official for like three whole days now,” I said, unsure why I added the last bit. It wasn’t as if it were a badge of courage. Or maybe it was. I had survived in the trenches with a momma’s boy for all those years. At the very least I should have been awarded a trophy for how much hard work and effort it took to handle a narcissistic man for twenty years. “Back to you knowing Thomas’s name.”
He cleared his throat, appearing uncomfortable with the question. “My mother told me.”
“Oh,” I said, realizing that made sense. Angela also followed me on my Facebook account. While I hadn’t posted about the divorce or separation, I had posted pictures of Thomas and myself together in the past. His name had been listed. “What about you? Are you married now?”
“No,” he returned. I detected nothing in the way of remorse in his voice. But something was off.
“Kids?” I asked, doing my best to make small talk since all I wanted to do was duck and hide from him.
He shook his head. “No. No kids.”
Reaching up, I began to fumble with the beads of my long necklace. “I have two. Fraternal twins. Pepper and Tucker. They have finals this week at school and then they’ll be in to help get the house in order.”
“I’m making you nervous,” he said, sounding disappointed. “Please don’t be afraid of me, Poppy-seed.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” I returned fast. I wasn’t. I was just nervous in general but mostly because one second into seeing him again and I was basically a puddle of hormones. I was far too old to resort to teenage-crush feelings.
Dear God, the man smelled good.
Way to have willpower and be a grown-up.
“I’ve taken up enough of your day. I should get my truck off your lawn and go,” I said.
He didn’t budge so I could close the door, not that I really wanted him to step away.
Nervous, I started to babble. “I didn’t know for sure if you were here in Grimm Cove or not anymore. If you were, I planned to never actually speak to you or look at you or be near you. I’ll just… Yeah, I’m going to go now.”
He put his hand on my shoulder and heat instantly flared through me, just as it always had whenever we made contact years ago.
My breath caught, and I shied away from his touch.
He sighed. “Poppy-seed.”
“Please don’t call me that anymore,” I said, somehow managing to keep my emotions in check, even though all they wanted to do was have a major-size meltdown. It was close to my period time so that explained part of it. Brett explained the other.
“I was a total asshole,” he said, catching me off-guard.
My gaze snapped to his. “What?”
He closed his eyes a moment. “Poppy, what I said in that letter…I didn’t mean any of it. I swear.”
My brows drew together as I tipped my head slightly. “Then why did you write it?”
“I want to tell you, I do, but my gut says now is not the right time. How about you come inside with me, have a glass of tea, and we can catch up a little?”
I considered it briefly, but remembering how much he’d hurt me, and how very much I wanted to start over again—minus drama or heartache—I shook my head. “No. People are waiting at the house for me. I need to go now. We can just leave the past in the past, okay?”
“I’m sorry. Please know that if I could go back and never write that letter, I would,” he said. “And I’m not going to lie and tell you I’m sorry to hear you’re divorced. I’m not. He was a douchebag.”
“You don’t even know him,” I said before pursing my lips. “But you’re right. He is one.”
My phone rang, and I was never so thankful for Dana’s impatience before in my life. I knew it was her. That’s how she was.
I fished my phone from my bag and answered it.
“I’m coming. I swear,” I said as I answered.
“Dude, even with as pokey of a driver as you are, you should be here,” returned Dana. “Are you lost? Marcy is normally the one who can’t find her backside with both hands. Tell me you didn’t suddenly forget your way around the place.”
“I heard that!” shouted Marcy from the background. “It’s true though. I do get lost easily.”
Brett reached in and touched my arm.
The next I knew, I was unbuckling my seat belt and easing out of the truck cab. It left me standing incredibly close to him, our fronts pressed together.
I gulped as my gaze traveled up his chest to his neck and then his jawline. I loved a man with a five o’clock shadow. Unlike Thomas, who always kept his face cleanly shaven.
I noticed that salt and pepper also ran through his stubble, and for some reason, that made me smile. It suited him. He was like a fine wine. He got better with age.
“Hello? Earth to Poppy? You there?” asked Dana.
“I had a small mishap. Before either of you freak, I’m fine. The truck is fine. But I did end up off the road and then I bumped a tree.”
“You hit a tree!” shouted Dana so loud that I had to pull the phone from my ear. “Where are you?”
“No. I bumped the tree, and I’m out in front of a huge gray Victorian with—” I didn’t get the words all out before she hung up.
Sighing, I met Brett’s gaze. “I’m guessing in about two seconds, my friends are going to show up, making more out of this than need be.”
He winked. “Want me to back the truck onto the road? Not that I think you’re incapable, it’s just, well, your hands are still shaking.”
Nodding, I eased back from him and pushed my long dark hair behind my ears. “Thanks. I can’t believe a deer named Gilbert decided to play chicken with me. I shouldn’t admit out loud that the deer won, should I?”
His lips twitched. “Your secret is safe. How about I move the truck now?”
I nodded.
But neither of us moved from our spots.
His hands were suddenly on my upper arms, and he eased even closer to me. If he dared to move another muscle, I was likely to throw him into the cab of the truck and do him then and there.
I hadn’t had sex in just over six months, and it felt as if every hormone I had was standing at attention, saluting the male before me.
I really hoped I was right, and that Dana was on her way. I needed someone to be a voice of reason since clearly, I was incapable.
Back away.
Don’t inhale
Back away.
Don’t inhale.
Somehow, I managed to convince myself to move. I backed away fast, as if he was hot and I might be burned.
In a lot of ways, that was correct.
“I’m glad you’re here. Real glad.” A sexy grin splayed over his face before he hopped into the truck.
Six
Poppy
As Brett was backing the truck onto the road, a red convertible sports car came zipping down the street, right for me. Its occupants had dual concerned expressions on their faces.
The blonde in the passenger side was holding on for dear life as the raven-haired vixen behind the wheel pulled off to the side of the road and slammed on the brakes. She didn’t seem to care that her car was facing the wrong direction. She was out of the driver’s seat in a heartbeat, running at me.
At five eight, I wasn’t short for a woman, but Dana made me feel that way. She stood at an even six feet. She grabbed my shoulders. “Are you okay?”
I put my hands over hers. “I’m totally fine. I swear. A little shaken, bu
t other than that, I’m fine. Gilbert is okay too.”
“Who is Gilbert?” she asked.
I sighed. “The deer I nearly hit.”
“They name their deer?” she asked, echoing my exact thoughts.
“Apparently.”
“Who is the hot guy driving your truck?” she asked, seeming to notice there was someone else close by for the first time. Her green gaze landed on him as he stepped out of the truck. Suspicion coated her expression.
I sighed. “Dana, meet Brett. Brett, this is Dana, and the other woman is Marcy.”
Dana tilted her head down slightly, her gaze becoming downright murderous. “Brett as in the same Brett from back in college? The one that left you crying for months? The one that I’m fairly positive you ended up on the rebound with asshat with because of?”
I bit at my inner cheek, wishing for that power of invisibility that I’d seemed to have perfected with Thomas. It didn’t happen. “Erm, yes. But we can talk about that later. Not in front of him?”
She made a move to go at him and I grabbed her by the arm.
“Stop!” I shouted. “His kneecaps are not to be touched!”
Brett grinned as if we were the funniest thing he’d seen as of late. “It’s fine. I deserve whatever it is she wants to do to me.”
Dana looked at my hand on her arm and then me. “He said I could hurt him.”
“And I said you couldn’t,” I warned.
“Killjoy,” she snapped. “Are you really okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”
“I’m totally fine. I swear.”
“Hey, buttercup,” said Marcy as she hurried toward me from the other side of Dana’s sports car. Marcy pushed Dana out of the way and gave me a warm embrace. “I’m glad you’re not dead.”
She was slightly shorter than me. We had similar tastes in fashion, which often drove Dana nuts. Currently, Marcy had on an oversize white shirt and a long, flowing dark blue skirt. She wore a lot of bracelets and necklaces as well.
I wasn’t too far off with my long white skirt and matching white top. Though I only had on one beaded necklace and one bracelet.
Dana was wearing a pair of black jeans, matching boots, and a red short-sleeve top.
I returned the hug and snorted. “Thanks, Marcy. And I’m totally fine. Minor incident.”
She glanced in Brett’s direction, and the next I knew she was grinning from ear to ear. “Oh goodie, you found each other. I was hoping you’d see him right away.”
“What?” I asked, lost as to what Marcy was going on about.
She tended to be a bit out there most of the time, but since I’d known her for over twenty years, I just ran with it. I did often wonder how it was Dana didn’t kill her, since they were polar opposites.
“The two of you are destined for each other. Always have been and always will be. He’s your mate. The man you’re meant to spend the rest of your days with,” she said matter-of-factly before releasing me and going right at Brett. “I can’t wait to be an aunt again. Poppy makes beautiful babies, but you’ll see that soon enough. Have you met your stepchildren yet?”
As if what she’d said in total earshot of Brett wasn’t bad enough, Marcy then hugged him too and stepped back. “You have a great aura. Passionate. Centered. Strong. Better than Thomas’s. His was horrible.”
I wanted to crawl under a rock.
She looked at me. “This one is going to be great in bed. You should take him inside and give him a try. We’ll wait here.”
Mortified, I just stood there, looking as flabbergasted as I felt. While she was known for being eccentric, this was extreme—even for her. What did she mean by becoming an aunt again? I was almost forty and my children were adults now. I was not about to have any more children. And was she implying Brett was going to be my children’s stepfather?
I wanted to fade away as I realized that was exactly what she’d inferred.
Dana came to the rescue, going for Marcy and guiding her away from an amused-looking Brett. “Why don’t you go talk to the tree to be sure it’s not hurt?”
Marcy smiled. “Good idea. I bet it got quite a scare.”
She rushed to the tree and leaned against it, putting her ear to it as she began to speak in a hushed, soothing manner.
Dana eyed me. “The Tree Whisperer is now occupied. So, Brett is your soul mate? Didn’t know you had one of those. You’re getting remarried? You’ve been divorced a hot minute. Way to jump right into a new marriage. Stepfather? Interesting. Another baby? If I was you, I’d stock up on protection. Babies come with very long commitments, as you already know.”
“Stop,” I said in a low voice.
“Why? He looks like he’s taking Marcy in stride,” said Dana, motioning to Brett. “That should win him points because most people just assume she’s batshit crazy.”
Brett did look as though he was comfortable with Marcy and her antics.
I pushed in closer to Dana and whispered, “He could be dating someone or something. Plus, there is a lot of water under our bridge. Too much to even joke about something more happening.”
“You taken?” she asked Brett.
I wanted to wilt away from sight. Sadly, it didn’t happen.
Brett shook his head. “Not in the least.”
“Because you’re damaged goods with a lot of kinks no woman has time to work out?” inquired Dana, kicking right into prosecutor mode.
I shook my head, trying to get her to stop.
She ignored me.
“I’m single by choice. There was someone once,” said Brett, looking right at me. “But I let her slip out of my grasp like a total and complete dumbass. Doing my best right this moment to fix that issue though.”
“So, you’re saying you know how much you screwed up?” questioned Dana.
“Yes.”
“Do you know she has two children and is newly divorced?” asked Dana. “So that comment The Tree Whisperer made about stepchildren isn’t so far-fetched.”
I closed my eyes, hoping that maybe I’d actually struck the tree and was currently unconscious or something.
“I do know she has children. And I’m fine with that,” said Brett. “If you’re free later, you and I could go handle the ex’s kneecaps if you want.”
“Oh, I like him,” said Dana. “I never thought I’d like him. I know I’m supposed to help get everything in order with the house since I’m living there with you and all until I make other arrangements, but Brett and I have to make a trip to California. Shouldn’t take long.”
“Not happening,” I said, tugging on Dana’s arm. “Let’s go.”
Dana continued to ignore me.
“Are you gainfully employed?” asked Dana of Brett.
I covered my face with my hands as I shook my head.
“I am,” he replied. “My turn. Are you always this outspoken?”
“Yes,” she said. “That a problem?”
“Nope,” he returned. “Just wondering about my soul mate’s best friends.”
My cheeks and upper chest began to heat, and I thought for sure I might actually die from embarrassment.
“Her ex calls me her pit bull,” said Dana. “If she’s upset or in danger, I bite.”
A wolfish smile spread over Brett’s face. “Then we have a lot in common. Can I ask you something else?”
“No,” I said.
Dana ignored me. “Sure.”
“Did her ex hurt her?” asked Brett.
“Physically, no. He never lifted a hand to her, but emotionally, he destroyed her,” said Dana. “Cheated on her and then replaced our girl here with some Darla woman. Actually barely legal woman.”
I groaned.
This could not be happening.
Brett exhaled loud and long, cracking his knuckles as he did. “Did he now?”
Dana looked over at me. “He’s a keeper.”
I tugged harder on her. “If you don’t stop, I’m not going to make you any more of the face cream you like so m
uch.”
She stiffened. “Well, Brett, it was great meeting you. We’ve got to go now. But if you’re free and you have any strapping man friends who don’t mind lifting things, we’d be totally open to your help unloading what Poppy deemed worthy of keeping.”
“No. We’re fine,” I said fast. “We don’t need any help.”
Brett chuckled. “As luck would have it, Poppy-seed, I was just doing some painting here. I’d love to help out. And yes, I have buddies who will help. Jeffrey and Travis are going to be surprised to hear you’re not only back in town, but moving here.”
I let my guard down slightly, smiling. I hadn’t seen Jeffrey or Travis in years. They’d both been very accepting of me into their group of friends. Unlike a few who had left me feeling like an outsider looking in—as if I was always missing out on some inside joke. “You’re still close with them both?”
He nodded. “I am.”
I teared up slightly, feeling nostalgic. “Good. They were nice guys, Brett. I’m glad they’re still part of your support system. I always liked them.”
He stared intensely at me. “Poppy-seed.”
“Hmm?” I asked before remembering I’d asked him to stop calling me that.
He grinned. “They like to remind me every chance I get how much I screwed up with you. You should know, the minute they learn you’re in Grimm Cove, and that you’re not married anymore, they’re going to be totally onboard with The Tree Whisperer and her thoughts on the matter.”
I gulped.
Dana laughed. “Nice. Beer and pizza will be on me. You guys do have beer and pizza in this town, right? Some that isn’t delivered by a demon or something with all the spooky things here?”
“We do,” he said, laughing more. “How about I meet you all over at the Proctor house in about thirty minutes? I’ll call the guys. I know they’re around today too.”
“Perfect,” said Dana, snapping a finger in Marcy’s direction. “Tell the tree good-bye.”
Cloudy with a Chance of Witchcraft: A Paranormal Women’s Fiction Romance Novel Page 6