Heat flashed through her at his naughty suggestion and she grinned. “I think I’d like that. Now the sooner we get started, the sooner we can make that happen.”
Nathan laughed. “A girl after my own heart. Where do you want to start?”
“Why don’t you take the kitchen and I’ll start in the bedroom?”
Nathan shook his head. “Knowing what’s in the bedroom, maybe it’d be better if I cleaned up in there.”
She raised a hand to his cheek. “Knowing what’s in the bedroom is the exact reason I need to be the one to clean it up. I can’t let him win, Nathan. I’m not sure if you can understand that or not, but I feel as though my life depends on it.”
The hard lines around his eyes softened. “Actually, I think I can. If you need me, just give a yell, okay?”
“Okay.”
She stepped into the bedroom and paused in the doorway. It would take quite a bit of work to put the room back together in a way that would erase the mark Wayne had left behind. Disposing of the current sheets and comforter would be a start. She could take some of the money she’d made working for Nathan and indulge in a new bedding set, maybe even matching curtains. That would certainly make a dent in the ugly image of her stepfather touching her things that she desperately wanted to erase. So would rearranging the furniture, but it would take more muscle than she had to move the furniture. Maybe she could sweet talk Nathan and his brothers into coming over one day and helping her.
She drew in a deep breath and held it. No point in wasting more time standing around thinking about all she needed to do. Stripping the bed was first priority. Brooke made quick work of the sheets, pillowcases and comforter, stacking it in a pile for disposal. Then she sank to the floor next to the bed and began picking up the contents of her nightstand drawer. Reaching for a pen, which had rolled under the bed, her hand banged into the side of a box and her heart leaped.
Carefully, she dragged the small box out and opened it. Inside sat a small white-and-brown teddy bear her father had given her when she had her tonsils out. She picked up the bear and smiled. She’d been eight years old and terrified when they’d wheeled her away for the surgery. Her father had promised if she was a good girl and did what the doctors asked he’d bring her a surprise. She’d gone in that day with tears in her eyes and a promise in her heart she knew her father would keep.
When she’d come to a few hours later, nauseated and in pain, he’d been by her bedside holding the bear. Only a few short weeks later the pain was all but forgotten, but the bear remained and was the one thing she’d refused to leave behind the night she escaped into the darkness.
Setting the bear in her lap, she peered once again into the container and pulled out a small box containing the birthstone necklace and matching earrings, a present from her father on her tenth birthday. She opened the lid and studied the amethyst charm hanging on a gold chain. He’d taken her shopping for it, just the two of them, and even now, she could still remember how happy she’d been that day. Who knew it would be the last birthday he’d lived to see?
Tears swam and she placed the items back in the box, thankful Wayne hadn’t looked under the bed. She’d take the precious items with her when she left, but for now, there was work to do.
An hour later, she paused to gauge her progress. With the exception of the still stripped bed, the room was once again beginning to resemble a bedroom instead of a war zone.
“I think I managed to get your kitchen counters back in order. Several of your plates and cups are broken, but there’s still enough for you to use. I started in the living room, but the sofa isn’t salvageable.”
She glanced up at Nathan and nodded. What was one more thing to add to that list, especially something as meaningless as a secondhand davenport?
“I’ll get Adam or Danny to come over and help me dispose of it for you. In the meantime, why don’t you help me set the bookshelf back up and we can start picking stuff off the floor?”
She followed him out to the living room and, careful not to re-injure her nearly healed arm, she helped him right the small freestanding bookshelf. “With all the destruction he did do, I’m surprised he didn’t feel the need to rip the pages from my books and throw them all over the room.”
“That would’ve taken more time than he probably thought he had.”
Intent on picking up the books strewn all over the floor, Brooke turned and stepped down onto a small picture frame. The glass inside gave way with a crunch that had her back up in surprise. “Oh, man.” She sank to the floor next to the photo and picked it up to cradle it in her hands. The picture inside was of her father with her and her brother Brent, taken just weeks before his death. She gently touched the broken glass.
Nathan sat down next to her. “Honey, are you okay?”
She nodded while she forced the tears from her eyes. “I’m just thinking about how happy we were when this picture was taken. It was Brent’s sixteenth birthday and Dad had taken us to our first NASCAR race for Brent’s present. Mom took this picture after the race.”
She removed the picture and dumped the broken frame in the trash bag, then turned her attention back to the photo, stroking a finger over her father’s image. “I had nightmares about his accident for years,” she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “I think it was because up to that point it was the single worst day of my life.” She drew in a deep breath and began removing the photo from the frame. “That, of course, changed the night of the rape. That night changed everything.”
“How did you end up here?” Nathan motioned to the room.
“The day of Wayne’s sentencing, my mother told me never to come back. I was eighteen and had been staying with a friend and her family. With no one to lean on, I decided it was time to leave, so I packed all the clothes I could get into a suitcase. Then I threw my photo album and trinkets into a backpack, grabbed my favorite teddy bear left.”
“With no money, you just up and left?”
She gave him what she knew was a sad smile, but couldn’t muster anything better. Staying strong took effort and it was about drained for the day. “Oh, I had money. I’d been planning to move out as soon as I turned eighteen anyway and I’d saved every bit of birthday, babysitting, and odd job money I could get. I think I had a couple thousand dollars stuffed into my purse and jeans when I headed to the bus depot. I remember asking the lady at the ticket booth where the next bus leaving was headed. She said Seattle, and I asked for a ticket.”
“Why didn’t you go live with your brother in North Carolina?”
She shrugged at his question. “Brent was trying to work his way up the ladder in NASCAR so he was always on the road. His ultimate goal was to own a race team.” She smiled as she thought about him. “I’m so proud of him that he made it.”
“So how did you end up here, living in an old, rundown apartment above a pastry and ice cream shop?”
Her smile remained in place as her thoughts drifted from her brother to her landlord Charlie. “I stepped off the bus just a few blocks away and began wandering around. I had no idea where I was or what I was going to do. All I knew was I felt safe for the first time in years.”
She picked up a stack of books and positioned them back on the shelf. “I stopped in Charlie’s shop to grab a bite to eat and get out of a passing rain shower. After about an hour, Charlie came over and started talking to me. He was in his sixties then and reminded me a lot of my grandfather. I guess that’s why I was so willing to trust him. When I explained my situation to him, he offered up a proposal—I work in his shop and I could rent the apartment from him dirt cheap.”
Nathan laughed. “He’d have to rent it dirt cheap because nobody in their right mind would pay much to stay here.”
“Hey.” She gave him a shove. “It might not be much, but it’s been mine for the last nine years.” She knew she was probably sounding ridiculous about the dilapidated space, but she’d built her new life here. Despite the peeling paint and chippin
g plaster, it had been a home, a safe haven for her to start over, dream, and work toward her goals. Now Wayne had managed to shatter that, too.
“Baby? Why do you suddenly look so sad?”
“I just realized he’s managed to take this away from me, too. Even if he’s caught, no matter what I do, I’ll never feel safe here again.”
CHAPTER 17
Much to Brooke’s surprise and utter enjoyment the days following the break-in passed uneventfully. There was always the threat of Wayne hanging over her head, but with each passing day came the hope that maybe, just maybe, he’d lost interest and moved on. Nathan’s interest on the other hand seemed to be a mixed bag of messages, which confused the hell out of her. One moment he’d pour his heart out to her and the next he’d become moody and withdraw completely. Did he regret taking their relationship to the next level or was he simply wrestling with his own ghosts?
She stared out the window of his pickup truck, while Nathan drove toward Adam and Willow’s for Thanksgiving dinner. No matter how much she wanted to believe what they had was forever, she wasn’t naïve enough to think their relationship would last. He was over a decade older and still wounded from losing his family. Anything more than now might be asking more of him than he was capable of handling. It would be enough simply to be with him, to enjoy the indulgence of a real relationship in a manner she’d never experienced until now. And today, to enjoy the holiday with the people she held most dear.
Nathan pulled behind Adam’s four-by-four and parked. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
Brooke nodded. “As soon as they realize we’re a couple and not just coming here together, there’s going to be an inquisition. Might as well get it over at one time when they’re all together, instead of having to repeat the story over and over.”
He smiled. “That’s my girl, practical to the end.” He leaned over and brushed the softest of kisses across her lips. “Stay put and I’ll get your door.”
She grinned. “My knight in shining armor.”
Hand in hand, they headed to the house for Thanksgiving dinner.
Without knocking, Nathan turned the knob on the front door and waited for Brooke to enter. Inside, hoots rose from the living room, and Brooke could imagine the men huddled around the television watching the football game. The smell of turkey and pies drifted through the warm air and wrapped around her like a blanket, tempting her toward the kitchen.
“Why don’t you go join your brothers and I’ll head into the kitchen to help Willow?”
Nathan nodded. “Sounds like a good idea. If you need me for anything?”
She grinned and leaned into him, rising up on her toes to capture his mouth. “Yeah, I know,” she replied, pulling away. For a moment, she hesitated, torn between kissing Nathan again and her duty to help Willow finish dinner. With Nathan’s parents away traveling in Europe until Christmas, Willow would only have Michael’s girlfriend Kira and Brooke, to help. Being nearly six months pregnant, she shouldn’t stay on her feet for too long.
Sighing, Brooke headed to the kitchen where she found Willow toiling away over a pan of dressing. “Need some help?”
Willow’s head rocketed up and she smiled. “Thank God, the cavalry has arrived.”
Brooke laughed and moved into the kitchen. “You act like you’ve never cooked anything before. You seem to forget I was with you in those cooking classes at community college.”
“Which I will remind you,” Willow said, wiping a stray hair from her face, “were the only cooking classes I’ve ever taken. You’re the one who went on to culinary school and is a big fancy chef.”
Brooke snorted at her words. “I’m not a fancy anything, but thank you for the vote of confidence.”
“Well, you’re welcome. Do you want a cup of coffee? I made a pot, but right now the men are more interested in swilling beer while they watch a bunch of Neanderthals beat up on each other.”
Brooke cast a gaze in the direction of the living room and thought of Nathan sitting around with his brothers watching football. A slow smile crept across her face at the image. So typical. So normal. So male. “Who’s winning?”
“The Cowboys are up by a touchdown in the first quarter after they sacked Seattle’s quarterback and forced a turnover,” Willow replied, then smiled.
Brooke let loose a laugh that soon had Willow giggling, too. “Geez, I missed this,” she said. “I missed having you around.”
“Me, too.” Brooke paused and looked around the room. “Where’s Kira? I know I saw Michael’s car out front.”
“Her father is ill and she wanted to spend Thanksgiving with him and the rest of her family,” Willow answered as she turned back to the stuffing. “She insisted Michael come here and spend the holiday with his brothers. I really like her, Brooke. I hope Michael proposes to her soon.” Willow set down the spoon she was using and stared up dreamily. “It would be nice to have a sister-in-law.”
“You act like you’re desperate for a sister. Have your forgotten you have one already?”
Willow rolled her eyes and turned back to the stuffing. “Meadow hardly counts considering I haven’t spoken to her in five years.”
“And whose fault is that?”
“Hers,” Willow shot back angrily. “She’s the one who stubbornly believed that bastard boyfriend of hers when he told her I tried to come on to him. I was an engaged woman, for God’s sake. All I was trying to do was protect my sister from a man with a roving dick and, instead, I got the shaft.”
“She learned her lesson, though,” Brooke was careful to point out.
“Yeah, but do you think she ever once tried to apologize to me?”
Brooke started to reply, only to stop when Nathan wandered into the kitchen. Her heart jumped and her stomach hitched with nervous anticipation that eventually pooled low in her belly. Funny, she thought, as she turned away from him to stir absently at whatever was cooking in the pot on the stove, that his mere presence could trigger such a strong reaction from her. Especially considering she was living under his roof, sharing his bed. Was this what it felt like to be in love? Would she still feel the strange little pull in her nether regions if they managed to stay together five, even ten, years?
“Adam wanted me to grab a couple more beers.”
Willow nodded at the refrigerator. “Help yourself. They’re on the bottom shelf, right hand side.”
He crossed toward the refrigerator and sidled up behind Brooke. His arm snaked around her waist, pulling her back so his groin nestled nicely against her bottom. She barely suppressed the shudder of need that raced through her when his warm breath drifted over the nape of her neck. “What’cha cooking?”
She turned her head and smiled. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
He snuck a peek over her shoulder. “Looks like potatoes to me. Just make sure you add lots of butter. I love potatoes with lots of butter.” The kiss that followed wasn’t much more than a soft mouthing of her neck, but still it was enough to have her dropping her head back against his shoulder. “As soon as we can get out of here, I’m taking you home,” he whispered.
Brooke shivered at the thought, understanding the words not spoken. She turned to watch as he pulled the beer bottles from the fridge, then disappeared through the door.
“What was that?” Willow leaned up against the counter next to Brooke.
“What?”
“Don’t play coy with me. Are you and Nathan…you know, an item?”
Brooke worked to suppress a grin and failed miserably. “Define item.”
Willow’s eyes went wide. “Oh…my…God! You slept with him!”
The smile she’d been struggling to hide broke completely through.
“Oh, wow, Brooke, this is huge. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Brooke shrugged. “I don’t know. With everything going on with my stepfather, I haven’t really had much of a chance to talk to you about other things.”
Willow glanced over her shoulder at the door,
then turned back to Brooke. “So, how was he?”
Brooke gaped at her friend. “I can’t believe you just asked me that. You’re married and pregnant.”
“I’m also a woman who is curious. I love Adam, but let’s face facts here. Nathan is the best looking of the Lowery boys. Not to mention he’s built like a brick shit house. What woman wouldn’t be even the least bit curious?”
Brooke shook her head. “I’m not going to share.”
“Aw, come on. We’re best friends. We’re supposed to share everything.”
Brooke rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You’re not going to stop hounding me until I dish the dirt, are you?”
Willow grinned.
“Okay, I’m not going to give you all the details, but I will say this. He was gentle, caring and he made it special for me.”
“Are you in love with him?”
Brooke paused and considered the question. Was that the unidentified feeling she’d been experiencing? “I don’t know. I think I am, but it’s all so new for me. I have all these feelings I’ve never experienced before and, honestly, with everything else going on, it’s all a bit overwhelming.”
Willow’s grin widened. “Well, Adam and I have been together for six years and in all that time I’ve never see Nathan look as happy as he does today. If that’s any indication of his feelings for you, I think you two are onto something. Maybe I’ll be getting more than one sister-in-law.”
* * *
Nathan tossed a cold bottle of beer at Danny, then handed one to Adam and one to Michael before dropping back onto his designated spot on the sofa. With one quarter remaining in the battle between the Cowboys and the Seahawks and his beloved Seahawks loosing by two touchdowns Nathan had lost interest.
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