A loud, painful growl billowed from my throat. My fingers pinched the bridge of my nose as my eyes screwed shut, hoping to somehow erase the events of last night altogether.
“Would you all try to stop making so much noise?” Everett’s voice echoed from the living room. As I stepped out of my bedroom and glanced down the hall, I heard his deep, painful groans before I saw him. My hands rested on the back of the sofa as I stared down at Everett. Now, I knew I was hungover and possibly didn’t remember everything from last night in great detail. However, from the looks of Everett lying there covered in red bite marks over his chest and glitter scattered on the fabric of his boxers, last night was more than either of us anticipated.
This wasn’t the most unusual turn of events when Marines hung out, but this seemed to be in the top five at the moment. The square throw pillow covered his face to block the sun’s painfully annoying morning rays. An evil grin grew upon my face, and I reached one hand down and tilted my head to make sure he was not able to see me before I pulled on the pink sequined bowtie around his neck. It snapped back hard against his Adam’s apple. Everett’s body curled into the fetal position as he coughed and groaned even louder than before. “What the fuck, dude?!” he shouted before more agonizing groans seeped out.
I walked backward with my hands held up in innocence. “Hey, the way I see it, you’re the one on my sofa in glittered boxers wearing a bowtie. That was fair game.” I turned on the coffee maker and walked to the back door. I definitely needed to get some fresh air into the house. Hopefully, that would calm my pounding headache and queasy stomach as I replayed last night’s events in my head. “Hey…” I grabbed Everett’s attention while I unlocked the door and pulled it wide open. The cool mid-morning air instantly cooled my blazing skin. “Do I even want to know how we got home last night?”
The small songbirds chirped and hopped from branch to branch in the trees. The old white Winnipesaukee Belle sounded its horn as it cast off the docks for the first lake tour of the day. That big old boat looked like it belonged on the Mississippi Delta instead of Lake Winnipesaukee, but I admitted, it had some pretty fun party nights during the summer months.
Just as I was about to turn away, I noticed a small wrapped basket hanging on the arm of the chair next to the door. I grasped the basket as the old screen door creaked and cried when it shut again. As I searched the clear cellophane for a note, I spotted one envelope placed within the damask wrap inside.
While I inspected the basket, I heard Everett telling me that he believed Locke or Deroche must have driven us back since he didn’t see his car in the driveway. “Nope,” I said over my shoulder, never even looking at him. I pulled the ends of the ribbon on the bag and began unwrapping the plastic wrap. “I have a feeling it was Katie who drove us back.”
Everett exited the bathroom, brushing more glitter off his boxers while making his way to the other side of the kitchen. He pointed to the coffee maker, silently asking if he could grab a cup. I waved my hand at him, giving him permission before he brewed his cup. I scratched my temple, trying to figure out the card in my hands. The words were poetic and spoke straight to my soul, but there wasn’t any signature again.
“When We Two Parted” by Lord Byron was handwritten in black ink. As I read the poem again, it was as though the person who sent this basket saw straight into my mind, and yet I had no idea who it could be.
I unwrapped the contents even further and found some kind of pastry. The cellophane crinkled and cracked as I pushed it down onto the counter, while the smell of creamy butter drifted from inside the wrap. The drizzled chocolate topping was dusted with a hint of what I believed was powdered sugar.
Everett grabbed his cup of coffee and turned to belly up to the other side of the island. He blew on the steaming cup before taking his first sip. I saw his face wince at the hotness before he released a loud yawn.
I flung the note card onto the counter and snatched one of the flaky croissants from the basket. If these were anything like those incredible blueberry muffins from the other day, I’d surely be in food heaven after the first bite. My fingers picked up the card again as I read the words once more. Surely this person must have had an idea about me. There was no way anyone could truly understand the shit going on in my life if they didn’t. My eyes curiously watched Everett who was now ripping the pink bowtie over his head and brushing the last of the glitter off his underwear. Thoughts ran through my head, and I had to consider Everett to be the one behind the food baskets and today with the card.
As I was about to confront him about them, he leaned his elbows onto the cool granite counter. His eyes focused on the pink and black card I held between my fingers as he sipped his coffee. With a wrinkled brow, he tried to peek inside the basket of food. “Well, you must have hit it off with her. Cole never brings me any of her pastries from the shop.”
My head jerked back as my mind processed what Everett said. “Wait…Cole did this? How do you know?”
Everett took a long sip of coffee and raised his eyebrows at me before pulling the basket closer to him.
“Have one,” I said before pulling the basket back away from him. His eyes grew wide with the thought of me keeping them all to myself. “But you better tell me how you know she’s behind these gift baskets.” Everett’s eyes widened further as he pulled the bag back and grabbed the other croissant. I sat and watched him take his first bite of the delicate pastry and listened to him moan in ecstasy. His palm slapped the counter before he glanced in my direction. His eyes rolled into the back of his head with each bite.
“Don’t let me interrupt your little orgasm in your mouth,” I sarcastically interjected. As I took my first bite of the croissant, it all happened so fast. The soft buttery flaky shell melting with the creamy chocolate that was oozing from inside all around my mouth—that wasn’t what was causing the angels to sing in my head. No. I held the remainder of the pastry in my hand, only to see there were raspberries inside as well. The powdered sugar added hints of sweetness to the tartness of the berries. This was not your everyday croissant you found at the chain coffee shop in big cities. This had some extra effort put into it. My mouth watered as all the flavors rolled around on my tongue. Yep…I was having my own mouth orgasm. Again.
“So, don’t think for a minute that I didn’t catch you say ‘baskets,’ as in more than one. What else has she sent?” Everett leaned back against the counter before licking the buttery pastry and chocolate from his fingers. His eyes intensified with excitement the longer he waited for my response.
“Wait.” I licked and wiped the crumbs off my lips. “First off, how do you know it’s Cole sending these?” My mind was running in a million different directions, trying to piece together how someone like Cole knew me so well.
“Dude, remember the other day when I told you she owned Trouvaille?”
“Yeah, what about it?” I shrugged my shoulders and made myself another cup of coffee.
“Seriously? Hello?” Everett shook his head at me. He pretended to knock on my head. “Did that chick last night fuck all the brain cells out of your head?”
“I’m going to forget that those words just came out of your mouth since you are the one who woke up with a pink bowtie and glitter and is currently sporting five massive hickeys around your chest.”
Everett laughed as he looked at the red marks on his chest and then ran his finger over the outlines. “You got to admit, these are pretty cool, especially since I have no idea how they got there.” He took another sip of his coffee and bit off another piece of croissant. “Anyway…Cole not only owns Trouvaille, she does all the cooking.”
Cole brought me the baskets? But why? What made her do that? My face wrinkled as I tried to figure out the answers.
“Don’t look so confused. I’m still trying to figure out how the hell you got to be so lucky.” Everett polished off the rest of his coffee and croissant.
“Lucky, how?” I looked at him, hoping he had an answer.
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br /> He pushed off the island and crossed the room with just a few steps. I watched as he stared out the large picture windows at the lake and rested his hands on his hips. Anyone going by in their boat was certainly going to have a view of this Adonis in his boxers. After last night, it was clear that Everett didn’t have a single problem showing off his body, especially to all the girls at the strip club. I wasn’t big, but not nearly as bulky as he was in the muscle department. Wrestling in college and too much cardio never allowed me to bulk up. Panties would have dropped if I had.
Everett turned his head and glanced over his shoulder at me. “Cole doesn’t allow herself to get close to just any guy. Not after he…“
I turned to lean my back against the island and stared at him. “After he, what?” I questioned. My mind swam with different scenarios.
Was she abused?
Who was this ‘he’?
Why did he plague her so much?
“I’d love to tell you about the jerk, but since he left her she’s never once given a shit about any guy around here. Trust me, I’ve tried to get her to go out with me.” Everett sighed, and I saw his muscles on his back slump with his shoulders. “That’s how I landed myself in Morgan’s bed a few summers ago. Don’t!” Everett cautioned and turned to point his finger at me, giving me a look that told me I needed to listen. “Do not make the same mistake I did. For fuck’s sake, that’s all this town needs are two Marines who’ve dealt with the seductive ways of Morgan. I swear, she swoops in the minute anyone makes a play at Cole. She’s like the protective big sister, but meaner.”
Everett rattled on about how Morgan lured him in and how I was not to trust her. That was how she finally snagged him years ago. If she got her claws in me, I was done. There was no going back. So, if I’d gotten an “in” with Cole, I was to take the opportunity and seize the shit out of it.
“How exactly am I going to do that?” I asked as a knock sounded at the front door. Everett raised an eyebrow, tilting his head toward the door, and I shrugged, not knowing who the hell was here. As Everett talked about Morgan, I stared at him while I slowly made my way to the front door. He pointed across the lake at a small bungalow.
“See that little brown house directly across the lake from you? That’s hers. Just go over there and talk to her.”
My eyes focused on the house he pointed to. I stopped dead in my tracks. That was the house that I’d seen the past few nights with the light that captured my attention. It had been her this whole time, and I never knew. After another rap on the front door, I moved my feet again down the hall.
“If you go after Cole, does that mean I can have a go at Lacy Legs?” Everett insinuated. “Trust me, I couldn’t care less about sloppy seconds.”
I turned and continued walking backward. He grabbed his junk and laughed. Everett was one of those players that loved the ladies’ attention. A bachelor for life, perhaps.
“Dude, you can have her. I’m done riding that train.”
“Yes!” Everett hissed with a fist pump in the air as I swung open the front door. A screaming high-pitched noise rang out before the object screaming slapped its feet across the hard wooden floors and into my living room. My eyes screwed shut as the pounding instantly returned inside my head. I groaned outwardly in pain and a tap on my shoulder brought me back. My fingers scrubbed at the sides of my temples, massaging away the heavy pounding.
“What’s the matter, kid? Never been around a two year old before?” My eyes lifted to see my brother-in-law standing in front of me. “Or…are you just really hungover?” I narrowly stared at Josh who laughed and entered the house, walking straight upstairs with a few bags slung over his shoulder. I rubbed my eyes and remembered that Sam told me he’d be up with Dean this weekend. I had completely forgotten what day she said. Shit.
My nephew, Dean, continued to run around the living room, stopping every so often and falling on his ass. I shut the door slowly and walked toward him. Dean’s hands pushed against the floor until he was standing again. His eyes lit up, and he squealed with excitement as he watched me walk closer. Then the little guy was immediately stammering in my direction.
“Unca Dew! Unca Dew!” he yelled as he ran before pummeling into my legs. His head fell back as he stared up at me. I reached down to pick up the chubby-cheeked toddler. His feet kicked, and his arms flailed before I perched him on my hip.
I heard Josh running down the stairs. Everett grabbed his pants from the chair in the living room and pushed his legs through. I went to hand Dean back to Josh, but he waved his hands and backed away. “Oh, no.” Josh headed over toward Everett. “I think it’s time for Uncle Drew and Dean to have some male bonding time.” Josh stopped next to Everett and eyed his bare chest full of red hickeys. He looked back at me. “Seriously, what the F-U-C-K happened last night?” I was about to ask Josh what was up with the spelling of words and introduce the two of them, but just as I adjusted Dean in my arms, he wrapped his arms around my neck and screeched with laughter in my ear.
With a deep calming breath, my eyes fluttered as I tried to put the pounding in my head to rest. I pulled Dean off my neck and held him out at arm’s length. I inched a few steps over to hand him back to Josh. “Dude, I love the little guy, but after the night Everett and I had, my head is about to blow the fuck up.”
“Great, Drew. That’s just great. This one already picked up A-S-S thanks to my brother.” He tilted his head to Dean. “Now, so help me, if he starts dropping F-bombs at the house, you can deal with your sister.” Josh turned to Everett and reached his hand out to introduce himself as my brother-in-law. The two quickly made introductions and shook hands. Everett gave Josh the abridged version of how we met. He explained that we met over at the tavern a few days ago, but his face turned a little peaked before he said anything else.
All of us moved to sit in the living room before Josh pulled some toys out of a duffel bag for Dean to play with on the coffee table. Josh looked between the two of us, then back at Everett who was now curled up in the fetal position on the other sofa. I swore, any minute he’d be pulling butt plugs out of his ass or pissing glitter. The poor bastard was suffering now, but he sure as hell had fun getting there. Josh just sat shaking his head at him as I silently mouthed, “Marine.” He angled his head to see Everett’s tattoo behind his arm. He nodded with a simple understanding of what might have happened last night.
Booze…strippers…the usual Marine weekend.
Dean slammed his toy police cruisers onto the coffee table and kept himself entertained. Josh leaned back in his seat, resting one arm over the back of the chair and propping his sneaker- covered foot on his knee. “So, tell me, do I need to make any phone calls to local police departments, or did you manage to stay out of trouble?” My brother-in-law would bend over backward to help me if I were ever in a jam. Just knowing what we went through together years ago with my sister’s ex-boyfriend was enough to make our bond thicker than blood.
“Pretty sure we stayed out of trouble.” It was Katie I didn’t stay out of, but I didn’t tell him that story. The whereabouts of my penis remained unknown to everyone, regardless. I turned away to look out the window and gathered my thoughts. If my sister Sam ever caught wind that I was screwing Katie in the Boston office, I’d be exiled from the family. But, if she also found out it was at the same time I was trying to help on her case… Well, not only would I be exiled, I’d also be forced to live with the fact that I let my sister down again, and I didn’t think I could live with that on my shoulders. She had been through enough without me adding problems to the mix.
My head twisted back to see Josh staring at me with a slack expression. “‘Pretty sure’ isn’t one hundred percent, but you know where to find me if you do need help,” he replied.
I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees. My head dropped to rest against the pads of my thumbs. As I closed my eyes, I suddenly just wanted to go back to sleep.
Josh’s cell phone dinged on the coffee table
, and I peeked through my fingers at the glowing screen. He picked up the call, thinking I didn’t see whose name popped up on the screen. He muttered into the phone and tried hard to keep his voice hushed. When the call ended and he set the phone onto the table again, I let out a long exhale and the sense of nothing getting straightened out this summer suddenly hit me. This was my life now; I needed to embrace it and roll with the punches.
“How is she?” I asked as my hands dropped from my face and clenched together in front of me. I waited for Josh’s answer as the tightness within my chest grew.
“She’s good. Well, she says she’s good, but it’s hard to tell. Her bubbly personality is gone, but I think we both know why.” Josh tried to insinuate that by distancing myself from Courtney I had caused her to lose the one piece that attracted me to her in the first place. My hands gripped the edge of the sofa. I stood and moved away from him, even though I needed to hear his answer. Dean’s bare little feet smacked loudly against the floor as he chased after me. I stared out the window for a brief moment before I felt him tugging on my pants. I looked down to see his saddened blue eyes glaring up at me. God, those eyes. I ran my hand gently over his messy brown hair.
As I stared at my nephew, I knew I had to try harder and deal with everything as it came at me. Josh stood and made his way into the kitchen, opening the freezer and pulling out storage containers to see what each one was labeled. Chances were he was looking for my mom’s chili. “Hey, Josh,” I said as he shut the freezer door and placed a container onto the counter, evidently finding whatever he was looking for. He placed it into the microwave, hitting a few buttons as it lit up.
“Yeah, what’s up?” he asked, turning to look at me.
“When you talk to her again, just tell her I said hi and that I do miss her. I just need more time to let it all sink in.” Josh nodded in understanding. “I’m just sorry I never truly fought for her when it mattered,” I whispered low enough so only I heard the words.
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