11. Alyssa
11
ALYSSA
I woke up feeling completely refreshed. And clean—that was a big plus. Of course, my hair was probably a disaster after falling asleep with it wet, but that was a small price to pay.
The shower had felt amazing. Sure, it hadn’t felt great to have to cling constantly to the handrails, and it was more standing than I’d done in days, but that was a small price to pay for how good the warm water had felt on my skin.
For a while, I’d almost forgotten that there was a man waiting for me in the next room. That had been weird, almost like having another person in the bathroom with me. As I sat on the bench and directed the stream of water over my good leg, the memory of his hands on my body came back. And the way his face had been practically between my thighs when he pulled the plastic sleeve up and over my cast.
Those thoughts were still swirling around my mind when I used the flexible showerhead to clean more intimate spots. Then a pulse of water had accidentally hit my clit, and I almost came on the spot. Again, it made me wonder what the hell was wrong with me these days. Usually, it was very hard for me to come. An errant burst of water shouldn’t have gotten me anywhere near close.
Except it wasn’t really the water. It was Raphael. And Spencer. And weirdly, even Flynn. Yeah, I didn’t know him, but I knew he was strong and—let’s face it—hot. And I knew he also had the same incredible brown eyes that Spencer had.
I realized that my hand was on my stomach, stroking lightly. Jeesh, I really needed to get my mind off men. Carefully, I sat up. The pain in my ribs was still there, but it seemed a little better. I took my brush and mirror out of the nightstand and went to work on my hair. Once it looked better, I put on a little makeup. There was no one in the house, as far as I could tell, but it made me feel better knowing I was more presentable.
It was lucky I did get cleaned up, because a few minutes later, Sierra initiated a video call. She was so gorgeous that she always made me feel like a troll in comparison. But she was too nice for me to hate her for it.
“Hey, Sierra. Thanks for the flowers.” I panned my phone over to show her the bouquet on the dresser.
“You’re welcome, but I want to see how you are.” When I pointed the camera back at myself, she smiled. “You look good.”
“I doubt that, but I did just have a shower. It feels good to be clean.”
“Trust me, you look good. Kylie said you looked kind of awful at the hospital, no offense. She’s really worried about you.” Sierra’s brow wrinkled, or it tried to, but her skin was too smooth for that. With her wavy, flowing hair curling around her shoulders, she looked like a painting of the goddess Venus come to life.
“Really, I’m all right.”
“I wouldn’t be, if I were all banged up like that,” she said with a sympathetic smile.
Okay, she had a point there. “Well… everything is still kind of achy and bruised, but my wrist is better.” I held up my left hand and flexed it.
“That’s a start.” Then she leaned forward toward her screen. “Are you wearing a man’s dress shirt?”
Automatically, I looked down, but of course I was. Still. “Yes.”
“Who does it belong to? The hot single dad or the hot single brother-in-law?”
Clearly, Sierra had been reading between the lines of my texts. “It’s Spencer’s,” I said, but she just looked at me with her eyebrow raised. I took a quick peek at the open doorway to the bedroom, but the house was still empty. “He’s the hot single dad.”
She grinned. “You’ve got to tell me how you came to be wearing it.”
I did, emphasizing how difficult it was to take a shower with the leg cast, and minimizing the parts where I drooled over Raphael or when the shower spray had had inappropriately good aim.
“You need a real robe, ASAP,” she said when I’d finished my tale. “Seems like your ribs would heal faster if you didn’t have to bend over and drag clothing over your cast.”
“I guess.” I was a little doubtful. “But won’t it gape open? That could be dangerous, because they both often carry me.”
Sierra frowned, lost in thought. Then snapped her fingers. “How about a dress, then?”
“Like a house dress?”
“God, no. Just a stretchy dress that you can pull over your head. That’ll keep you covered.”
“That’s a good idea.” The thought cheered me up, because I suddenly realized that even though I couldn’t walk or do pretty much anything on my own, there was something I could do to improve my situation. And that magical thing was online shopping.
Why hadn’t I thought of it sooner? “It’s still hard to get underwear on, though.”
“How about bikini bottoms that tie at the side?”
I’d never worn a bikini, but her suggestion seemed easier than regular panties. “Good idea. I’ll look for some.”
Sierra was typing on her phone, giving me a good look at the microscopically small pores on her cheeks. Then she pressed a button on her phone and leaned back. “I just sent you a link.”
Opening it, I saw a gorgeous, lacy bra and panty set. The panties had little clasps at the side that looked like the fastener on a bra that opened in the front. Then I saw the price, and my jaw dropped.
I scrolled up to the top of the website and saw that it was for a luxury lingerie store in Los Angeles. That probably explained why one set of underwear nearly cost more than my engineering degree. “That’s really pretty.”
“I know, that’s one of my favorite stores.” Though she wasn’t a household name, Sierra was an honest-to-god movie star, so maybe that was why she could afford the prices at that shop.
“I’ll order some stuff today.” I was deliberately vague about where I would order it from, but it definitely wouldn’t be that store.
“Good. Now tell me about everything else. Do the kids come hang with you? Have you met the reclusive brother-next-door yet?”
“Not really.” And that bothered me, but I didn’t want to talk about it right now. Instead, I told her what I’d just learned about him building the deck.
“Wow,” she said. “He must be really good with his tools.”
I rolled my eyes. I hadn’t known Sierra that long, but I’d gotten the impression from Kylie that the actress wasn’t particularly boy-crazy, or whatever the grown-up version of that was. But maybe she was just doing her best to cheer me up. There was a lot of that going on around here.
To change the subject, I asked about her writing. She’d been acting since childhood, and now, frustrated with the “arm-candy” parts she was offered, she was working on her own screenplay.
“Not so good,” she said. “I have all these good ideas in my head, but then when I try to type them out, they sound idiotic.”
“I’m sure they don’t.”
She gave a rueful chuckle. “I could send you something and prove you wrong, but I want you to feel better, not worse.”
We chatted for a bit more, until she got a phone call from her agent and had to go. I spent the next hour looking at dresses and undies online. I was just about to complete a purchase when it dawned on me that I didn’t even know the address here. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It seemed to prove how quickly my life had gone off track.
By the time I figured out the address through my phone’s GPS, a car had pulled up outside. I heard Spencer and the twins in the living room, so I made sure my legs were covered before anyone came in.
A few minutes later, it was Lucas who visited first. “Dad wants to know if you want your after-school snack here or at the table.”
“I get an after-school snack?”
“Of course,” Lucas said, as if it weren’t even a question.
“I’ll have it here, then. I went to the doctor’s today and had a shower, so I’m pretty tired now.”
“I’ll go tell Dad.” He turned to go.
“And Lucas?” The little boy turned back, his green eyes inquisitive and bright. “Thanks.”
His smile warmed me. I hadn’t had any younger siblings or cousins, so spending time with kids this age was a new experience. I hoped I could do more of it soon.
“Hungry?” Spencer appeared in the doorway with a plate and a glass.
“Definitely.” I hadn’t been before, but the sight of him and the smell of food somehow changed things.
I pulled the little wooden tray over my lap, and Spencer set down a plate with pizza rolls, carrot sticks, and apple slices. “Thanks. What’s that?” I asked, indicating the glass.
“It’s a local favorite.” He set it on my tray. “It’s pretty sweet, but since you’re such a big fan of sweet tea, you should be able to handle it.”
Trying to hide a grimace, I nodded. Then Spencer laughed. “It’s apple juice mixed with sparkling water—one of Charlotte’s favorites. If you don’t like it, I’ll get you tea. Regular tea, not the sweet kind.”
I picked up the glass, grinning a little when I saw the bendy straw in it. It was kind of fun to eat like a little kid. I took a sip, and the carbonation made my tongue tingle, but overall, it was good. “Please tell Charlotte I like it.”
“I will.”
Suddenly, I remembered his earlier request. “I want to spend time talking with Charlotte, but I haven’t gotten much of a chance yet.”
“Of course not. It’s been a rough week for you. But if you’re feeling better, maybe you can spend some quality time with her this weekend.”
“I’d like that.”
He asked about the doctor’s appointment, and I filled him in. That reminded me of something else. “Thank you so much for all the upgrades to the bathroom. I hope it won’t bother the twins.”
“They’ll be fine.” Spencer’s brown eyes focused intently on me. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Are you wearing my shirt?”
I had to stifle a giggle. “Yes.”
“Okay.” He hesitated. “May I ask why?”
“It’s kind of a weird story,” I said, and then gave him the short version.
“It looks good on you,” he said when I was done.
“Thanks.” It felt good, too. Like being hugged by him. “Now can I ask you something?”
Smiling, he gestured for me to go ahead. “Sure, it’s your turn.”
“Don’t get me wrong, the additions to the bathroom are great, but it kind of feels like your brother is avoiding me. Do you know why?”
Spencer sighed and sat down at the foot of the bed, facing me.
“He just needs some time.”
“Time to do what?”
“To be honest, I don’t know. But it’s not just you he’s avoiding; it’s me, too.”
“Why?”
“That’s a good question. But he’s a bit like a lone wolf. Me? I want to live in a house full of people. I want to work with children and teachers every day.
“Flynn’s more content on his own. But he never stays away for too long.” Judging from the expression on Spencer’s face, this period apart was longer than most. “He’ll come around when he’s ready.”
It struck me as sad that Flynn was alone over there when his family was here. I hoped I wasn’t the cause of his absence. Tentatively, I tried to find out more about the situation. “Did he… has he seen some bad things?”
“Bad things?” Spencer echoed.
“With his career, I mean. Has he been in some rough spots?” I didn’t even know what branch of the military he’d been in, or whether he’d ever been in a war zone.
“I guess so,” Spencer said. “But most of it’s been good.”
“Is it like, PTSD? Is that why he needs to be alone sometimes?”
“PTSD?” The confusion on his face made it clear that one of us wasn’t communicating very well. Since I was the one on pain meds, it was probably me.
“From his military service.”
“What?”
“Nana told me that he was a vet.”
Spencer’s mouth formed a perfect O of surprise, and then he burst into laughter. He laughed so loudly that Lucas came running in with Charlotte on his heels. “What’s going on?” the little boy asked.
That was an excellent question.
“He’s a veterinarian,” Spencer finally managed to say.
Oh.
Crap.
Now I felt like a moron.
“Tell Alyssa what Uncle Flynn’s barn is like,” Spencer told his children, clearly trying not to laugh again.
“It’s awesome,” Lucas said. “He’s got a donkey and horses and a pig and everything.”
“And horses,” Charlotte said in her slow, clear voice. I wondered if she’d not heard her brother, or if she was just reiterating what she considered the most important part.
“Can you ride a horse?”
“Yes,” Charlotte said, and then signed something.
“Alyssa can’t understand you,” Spencer said.
She nodded and took a deep breath. “Uncle Flynn takes me riding almost every weekend.”
“He has some horses that are his and some that people leave with him,” Lucas added.
“Oh. So he stables people’s horses for them?”
“Actually, he’s a large animal vet,” Spencer told me. “So sometimes people bring their sick animals to him, or sometimes they bring them to the veterinary clinic at the university. That’s where Flynn finished his degree.”
“And that’s where he met Mommy, right dad?” Lucas chimed in.
“It is.” It was clear that Spencer didn’t have any qualms about talking about his late wife in front of the kids. “And then I came down to visit Flynn, met Corinne, and the rest was history.”
“They fell in love,” Charlotte said, with a sigh. “Mom liked riding horses, too.”
I addressed the kids. “How does your uncle find time to build decks and be a veterinarian?”
“He just does,” Lucas said. “He also made my blocks.”
There was an impressive set of blocks in the living room. I’d seen them when being carried in or out of the house. The set included rectangular pieces, cylinders, ramps, arches, and more. I would’ve killed for blocks like that when I was a kid.
“He works part-time,” Spencer clarified. “Sometimes at the clinic, but mostly caring for animals at his place.” I was glad to learn more about Flynn, but that still didn’t explain why he was keeping his distance now.
I couldn’t help thinking about it all through dinner—which was delicious in an incredibly spicy way—and after I went to bed, falling into a tired but contented sleep.
At least until something woke me later that night.
I checked the time on my phone—it was after eleven, and there was noise coming from the kitchen. Was it one of the kids getting a glass of water? Or maybe Spencer or Raphael couldn’t sleep?
Then I heard a thump and a muffled voice say, “Shit!”
That’s when I knew. It wasn’t Spencer’s voice or Raphael’s. It was a deep, rumbly, currently pissed-off voice. I was pretty sure it didn’t belong to anyone in this house.
There were more noises, and something that sounded like a plate being set on the counter. A few minutes later, the night visitor exited through the door to the deck.
It had to be Flynn. Had he come over for a midnight snack? Or maybe just a late dinner? According to the others, he usually ate with them each evening. Did his veterinary duties give him time to cook for himself, now that he wasn’t eating over here?
That wasn’t right. This was his family, not mine. And if I was the one keeping him away, I needed to fix that.
The trouble was how.
But my mind wasn’t at its best after such a tiring day. But tomorrow—tomorrow I’d work on a plan.