by Gina Watson
He shifted a bit and reached one arm around Brook so he could reach her breast. He stroked absently, wanting, needing, that connection. She wrapped one leg around his and curved her fingers over his other hand and pressed it to her belly. He wanted to laugh—was she protecting him or making sure he didn’t pull away?
He swallowed down the lump in his throat.
“When I was twelve, my father took all the kids to a ballgame. All except me. I couldn’t go because I had strep throat. I’d just woken from a fever induced nap when I walked into my parents’ bedroom and saw my mother packing up her things. She hadn’t mentioned she was going anywhere, but she had all her cases out and was loading them with clothes and personal items—photographs, jewelry, collectable bottles, and other items. When I asked her where she was going, she told me to go back to bed. Something… something wasn’t right. When I asked what was going on, she again told me to go to my room. Then she ignored me.
“I walked to the hallway but that’s as far as I got. I slumped against the wall and watched her. She had the driver collect her bags and load them into the car. When she came out of her bedroom, I asked her again what was going on. She said, ‘Grow up, boy, what does it look like? I’m leaving.’ I remember asking her if she were mad at me. She told me not to be ridiculous and that it had everything to do with my father. At that time I couldn’t understand why she couldn’t just overlook whatever he’d done and work it out, just like she and Dad had always told us to do. I guess I still don’t understand that. There are seven of us, and Clara was barely walking and talking back then. You’d think that seven children, one of them a toddler, would be a reason to stay and attempt to work things out. Plus Dad was never around, so what was to become of us?” He laughed, though no one would mistake it for a cheerful sound. “I just couldn’t believe she’d leave like that.”
Cory’s chest began to tighten, as it did whenever he gave more than a passing thought to those days. He took deep cleansing breaths, and Brook turned in his arms to face him. She grasped his hands firmly in hers.
“Cory, it’s okay. You d—”
“When she started down the staircase, I wrapped my fingers around her leg and begged her not to go. I cried and carried on, believing that if she really knew how much I wanted her to stay, she would. I howled like I’d never cried before, but it didn’t change anything. She… she called the stable manager to pull me off and hold me away from her as she left. She let someone—made someone—keep me away from her. I screamed at her not to go. Bill released me once we heard her car start up, and I ran after the car as it drove down the long and winding drive. I never caught her.”
Unable to take Brook’s compassion any longer, he rearranged them until he was once again behind her, his arms wrapped around her.
“She was gone. And I was devastated. She didn’t come around much after that. She has started to these past few years, but I don’t know why. It can’t be for any good reason. The years that counted the most have already passed. She should never have come back.”
Brook didn’t say anything. She just lightly stroked his forearm with her fingertips. Her breath was slow and her heartbeat even, exposing his erraticism even more. Her calm confidence helped center and relax him.
“I can understand your skepticism regarding marriage. I can’t understand what that must have been like, to have a parent abandon you, but surely you know that not all marriages are like your parents’ marriage.”
“My skepticism? Call it what it is—cynicism. That contract they give you, you know the one that you sign? It means nothing to anyone. My brother wasn’t married six months when he walked in on his wife going at it full throttle in their bed with another man. I’m not the only cynic in the family.”
Brook once again turned herself around until they were face to face. She used her thumb and index finger to push aside the hair hanging in his eyes. Then she kissed his brow.
“No, you aren’t the only skeptic. Do you plan to have a family?”
“You mean like kids?”
“Yeah, kids.”
“Well, no. I’m not going to have a bastard child.”
“So what’s your grand plan?”
“My only plan is to remain a free man. I don’t want to lead you on. No marriage. No kids. No family.”
≈
Things were not good. For starters, Brook was pretty sure she was falling hard for Cory. But she was pretty sure that he wasn’t falling for her.
He liked her, yes. Liked having sex with her, double yes. But he was adamant about not pursuing a future with her. She knew it wasn’t her—he’d set his attitude about marriage long before they met. But what woman didn’t want to be the one to break through to her man’s heart? That didn’t look likely with Cory.
And then there was the kid issue. When she’d asked him about kids last night, she knew what he would say. Cory didn’t want a wife and he would never father children and then abandon them after what he went through, so that meant no children. Brook didn’t know how she felt about having children in the near future but when she envisioned herself as an old woman, her children and their children always surrounded her. She knew she wanted kids eventually. She wanted as many as she could have so that she would finally get her large, loving family.
Anything long term looked to be out of the question for them. So did that mean she should break it off, start looking for someone else?
But how did you break off a relationship when the ties were still so strong?
A knock at her door pulled her from her thoughts. Parker, looking like sex on a stick, was ready to take her to breakfast. She wished she was attracted to him. Things would have been so much easier. He played no games, had no hidden agenda.
“I like your new door.”
“Thanks.” She smiled at him, and he kissed her cheek, as he always did.
“Waffle House?”
“Perfect.” He even knew her tastes.
He held the door to the van open for her and made sure she was securely inside before he closed it. A woman smarter than Brook needed to snatch him up soon.
They had a full morning and by noon had unloaded the animals at the stables on the St. Martin estate.
“This is a nice place.” Parker looked out across the vast expanse of land.
Brook was busy pulling supplies out of the van. “Isn’t it? Randy is buried down by the pecan grove.”
Parker leaned in to the van next to Brook and studied her. She read the curiosity in his metal-gray eyes.
“What?” she asked.
“So you really like this guy.”
Was he telling her? Because she sure didn’t hear a question in his words.
He was watching her every move, trying to read her. She knew how he felt about her and she felt bad, but thought it best to tell him the truth.
“He’s a good guy. He can seem a bit prickly at times, but he really is genuinely nice.”
Parker crossed his arms. “And so…?”
“And so… Yes, I like him.”
Parker’s jaw tensed, and he closed his eyes. Brook’s stomach tightened as she watched him.
“It was never going to be me, was it then?” He lowered his gaze to her hands, clasped them in his. “I knew that. I lost count of the number of times you said I was such a great friend.”
He placed his palm on her cheek and his eyes darkened with a need she would never be able to answer.
“What the fuck’s going on here?” A low, hoarse voice shattered the tense moment. Brook was relieved and then troubled.
She gasped and whipped her head in Cory’s direction. “Cory!”
His brow furrowed as he glared over the tops of his aviator shades and took in the intimacy of her position next to Parker.
Stepping away from Parker, Brook said, “We were just unloading the animals into the stables.”
Cory huffed and swore violently, not quite under his breath, as he stomped into the stable yard. He rubbed the back of his head
as he took in the scene. “What the hell?” He turned to Brook. “You said you were bringing the rescue dogs here.”
“There are two over there.” She pointed behind him and to the right.
Cory turned. “But that isn’t a greyhound, it’s a three-legged mutt with mange.” He gestured to the corner. “And is that a pregnant goat?”
“Both the mutt and the goat had to come with me. They were due to be euthanized today.”
Cory’s head went back as he raised his eyes to the sky and exhaled a long breath, a very long breath, through clenched teeth. “Jesus, Brook. Are you going to rescue all the animals on death row?”
“Not all. Just the ones I can.”
“You won’t even make a difference. Thousands are put to death every day in the state of Louisiana alone.”
Brook’s eyes filled with tears as she bent to pick up the three-legged dog. “It makes a difference to this one.”
He shook his head, but he walked to her and wrapped one arm around her. “Your heart is simply too big. Here…” He put the mange-infested mutt on the ground and then grasped her shoulders. “Please don’t cry. We have plenty of room here. It should be fine. Just don’t bring any more. The last thing I want to do is come home to a bunch of mangled and sick animals at the end of the day. I’ll need to treat this dog.” He carried the dog over to a corner of the stable. Brook and Parker followed. Cory was silent as he filled a bucket with water and some solution he pulled from a shelf. He pulled on a pair of gloves and dipped the squirming dog into the bucket.
She hadn’t considered that he’d have to come home to do more work. But she should have. Her heart was no bigger than his.
“Brook?”
She turned to Parker.
“I’ve got to run a few errands. Do you want to go with me?” He shrugged. “Or I can come pick you up when I’m done.”
“I’ll take care of her,” Cory said, not even bothering to turn.
Parker’s lips tightened, and his chest expanded slightly. “Brook?”
“Yeah, I’ll just get Cory to give me a ride home, but thanks for all your help today and for breakfast.”
Parker hugged her and whispered, “You sure you’re cool with me leaving?”
She shook him off when she felt Cory’s gaze burning through them. “Yeah, it’s fine. Thanks again.” She waved as he walked out.
She watched a moment before she turned and stormed over to Cory. She narrowed her eyes at him. “Why do you always have to be so moody and mean?”
“He’s always got his hands all over you.” He rinsed the dog with water from a hose.
Brook pointed to the spot where the van had been parked. “Parker’s my friend.”
Cory raised his brow and tilted his head in her direction. “Seems like more than friends.”
“What do you mean?”
“Did I not give you enough last night? I guess not. Considering how you’re dressed, I figure you’re trolling for sex.”
Brook looked down at her clothes. Shorts and a tank is what she always wore to deal with the unbearable heat. “There is something seriously wrong with you.” She would walk home. It didn’t seem that far. She headed out to the driveway.
Cory followed. “Are you so mad because what I said is true?”
“I’m mad because I just realized what an idiot I’ve been to think emotion and sex could be isolated. After observing your behavior, it’s clear that they can’t be separated.”
“My behavior?”
“Yes, yours. Or didn’t you notice yourself stewing in a sea of jealousy? You have so many commitment issues that you should lock your thing up until you straighten them out, but instead you just take out your problems on innocent women.”
“Women are anything but innocent. You shouldn’t even use the words in the same sentence.”
Brook abruptly stopped and whirled around. Her eyes wide, she asked, “What part of I don’t sleep around did you not understand?”
Cory shrugged. “All of that terminology is relative. You weren’t a virgin when I first had you, so clearly you’ve been sleeping with somebody. And then you’re on the pill, that’s convenient.”
Whack! The sound hit her just before the seething pain screamed through her hand. She’d slapped his stupid face. Attraction be damned, there wasn’t enough great sex in the world that would have her putting up with his bullshit.
6
Cory recoiled, feeling as if a two-by-four had been rammed into his face. “Goddammit, Brook!” His hand went to his cheek. It was hot from the rush of blood where she’d slapped him.
She’d already turned and was pounding down the road. Crazy woman; where did she think she was going to go? Their land went for miles in either direction. And where the hell had she developed that right hook?
It would be dark before she even reached the main road. He went back for his SUV and caught up with her in moments.
“Get in the damn truck.”
She turned her flushed, tear-stained face to him. Fuck, she was crying. His chest immediately burned. He pushed two fingers into it to relieve the pain.
“Why are you crying?”
“I’m crying because you don’t know shit that you think you know. You hurt me and any other woman that comes across your path. Instead of using your fortune for good, you use it to demolish. You’re like a tornado.”
What the hell was she talking about? Women were all bat-shit crazy. “I’m sorry, but I don’t follow.” He didn’t even know why he bothered asking her to explain.
She stepped up to the open passenger-side window and threw her arms in the air. “You have the face and body of a god. And you know it too. You have a great practice—people trust you with their animals because you’re good and caring. And yeah, you have the family name and reputation behind you. And yet you use all sorts of defense mechanisms to hide your feelings. And don’t even get me started about how you use sex. Even if love were all around, you wouldn’t see it because the sex would be in the way.” Rubbing her forehead, she sighed. “You have a community that supports you in spite of your many irresponsible sexual conquests, including those with married women.” She pointed a finger at him. “You better be on the lookout for a few pissed-off husbands. No matter what you think about their virility, no man wants another man’s hands on his woman.” She stepped back and crossed her arms. “Your family supports your every move and desire. You are blessed abundantly, but you’re so jaded you can’t see what you have right in front of you. Do you even know that most people would kill to have what you have?”
She ended on a deflated sigh and her body slumped forward.
Cory put the car in park and jumped out.
“Just a damned minute. You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” He circled the SUV and stopped next to Brook.
“You have no right to say that.” He stabbed a finger into the air near her chest. “Who are you to say that?”
Brook simply shook her head. She didn’t back away and she didn’t blink at his anger.
“You know it’s true. Do you deny that you have so many gifts? Not all of them were handed to you—I know you worked your butt off to become a vet. I know you take care of the family property. But you have been blessed. You have it all.” She reached out both hands and trapped one of his between them. “Or almost all.”
He froze. And then he was the one pulling back, the one stepping away. She’d nailed him. It was all true—he had a lot of support but he habitually dismissed it because he didn’t have the support of the one person who meant the most to him. His mother. She’d left, had turned her back, and he’d turned his back on anyone who offered him the support he’d wanted from her. He squeezed his eyes closed. If she, his own mother, hadn’t considered him worthy of support, of love, he knew he had no business accepting it, searching for it, from others.
Shit. Wasn’t he fucked up?
And now that his mother was trying to reinstate herself into their lives like nothing ha
d happened, he pushed even harder against anyone who reached out to him. He didn’t want to be reminded of that time, of not being enough for her. Of not being enough.
But Brook hadn’t pulled back. And she had seen straight into him.
He grasped her hips and slid his hands up to her slim waist. She seemed so thin. Thinner than when they’d met. Her body went limp in his hands and her head fell back. Oh God. He opened the car door and placed her on the seat. He shook her shoulder and patted her face.
“Brook?”
Her eyes rolled under the lids before they opened as tiny green slits.
“Brook?” His voice cracked, and his heart hammered in his chest.
“Hmm.” She smiled softly.
“Brook, baby, look at me.”
She opened her eyes wider and slowly sat up, balancing herself with one hand on the dash. “I’m so tired.”
“You passed out.” He brushed the hair out of her eyes with a shaky hand.
“Will you please drive me home?”
Despite his questions, she was quiet the entire drive to her house.
He unlocked her front door with the key he’d made for himself and let them inside. Eagle and Teddy were there to greet her. She bent to pick up Teddy, but he leaped from her arms and into Cory’s. She dropped onto the daybed, and Eagle hurried over and rested his head in her lap.
Cory remained by the door, unsure of what to say. She hadn’t wanted to stop for food, but now he wondered if he shouldn’t have overruled her. She looked pale as she rubbed Eagle’s head. Maybe she was still stewing. He’d never seen her as angry as she was back at the stables.
“I’m sorry for upsetting you earlier.”
She nodded before she caught his gaze. Her forehead wrinkled, “It’s important for me to know that you understand, I don’t sleep around.”