15. Encroachment
Encroachment
“A hhh, oh my god, ohhh,” Haley hissed in blissful relief as Finn lowered the icepack onto her elevated ankle that was puffy and bruised. It had hurt like hell, but no way was she letting anyone carry her down that hill. She settled against the stack of pillows on her bed.
Finn laughed, then groaned with pleasure as he settled and set his icepack on his knee. “I know, right?”
He reached over and rested another icepack against her forehead. Taking over, she held it against the goose egg growing on her skull. Her head throbbed each time she even thought about moving.
Side by side, they leaned back against the mountain of pillows leaned against the wall, each with an elevated leg and icepack, her head boosted up on yet more pillows.
Both were still damp from the shower—not the sex-fest Finn had teased.
By the time they’d reached the cars that afternoon, she couldn’t hide the limp anymore as the sprain declared itself.
Finn drove them home. They’d both hobbled into the shower, taking turns under the spray, rinsing off the thick layer of dirt from the fall.
He’d cleaned her wounds again, massaged the mud from her hair, and then patted the towel over her skin.
She’d snagged one of his shirts from the clean laundry pile and curled up in bed while he grabbed the icepacks.
Sitting up to see the clock, Finn dropped back down onto the pillows and sighed. “It’s only six o’clock and I’m ready for sleep. You scared the hell out of me today.”
“Thanks for coming to rescue me. All heroic and attentive. You even ruined your shirt for me.” She grinned, only half teasing.
“I’ve got plenty of shirts. Not many women willing to tolerate me.”
“You’re such a chore.”
“I know, right? I’ve been told, over the last year, that I’ve been broody and inattentive. They weren’t wrong.”
“Really?” She was genuinely surprised. “I know you said you weren’t ready and your ex-girlfriend recognized that and ended things. But in the weeks that I have known you, you’ve been… well, not any of that.”
He leaned over and kissed her cheek, groaning as he had to resettle the icepack that shifted off his leg in the subtle movement. “This rebound thing was a great idea. I do feel much better.”
Yeah. She felt, well, great. Since leaving Nate, she’d felt pretty damn good. A complete mess, yeah, but an independent mess.
Lately, she’d felt like her again. She’d fallen off a cliff today and hadn’t panicked. Okay, so the log had almost gotten to her, but she conquered it. Years ago, she’d thought herself a happy, adventurous person. And she was beginning to believe it again.
Even with sex. She’d always believed good sex was a thing. It couldn’t be so popular if it was as anticlimactic as she’d experienced.
She rather liked what she had become and recognized she hadn’t gotten here all on her own.
Her family had banded around her, in their unique ways.
Finn had a lot to do with it, letting her talk it out, pointing out her strengths, encouraging her to stretch her wings. This rebound thing was brilliant.
Finn scooted up and turned toward her again.
He lifted her forehead icepack and scowled, inspecting her wound again.
Hopping off the bed, he hobbled as he disappeared into the bathroom.
He returned a few seconds later with the first aid kit she’d picked up after nearly driving a nail through her finger a few weeks ago.
He opened the plastic bin and shuffled through until he found what he was looking for. Opening a pack of antibiotic ointment, he dabbed a dollop over her wound. He redressed it, then closed up the kit and dropped it to the floor. “You probably should have gone in for stitches.”
“I’m not going in for two stitches for a wound I hardly notice. Besides, I don’t actually have any scars. I’ll sound cool if I can tell people I got one falling off of a cliff.”
He said with a goofy grin, “Puff up the story a bit, make it sound really good. Like it was a five-hundred-foot drop.”
“And I’d been running from a bear.”
“Because you’d been trying to protect its cub from a cougar.”
“And I had to crawl up the sheer cliff face to get back up again.”
“With the bear cub on your back.”
She laughed out loud and curled into him. He wrapped his arm around her and held her close. He whispered, “Are you hungry for dinner? I can fix you something.”
“Too tired. Unless you’re hungry.”
“Nope.” He reached over and flipped off the lamp that still lived on the floor next to the bed.
She’d ordered a handmade matched set of beside tables she’d found online a few days ago.
She preferred to have a vision in her mind when furnishing a room, but the iron-hardware over white pine had been irresistible.
And they’d look great with the industrial lamps.
Now to find a dresser. And a bedframe so she could put the mattress on something.
Finn relaxed at her side as he drifted off, and she melted into him. Snuggling without sex was surely allowed now and again with rebounds.
After falling off a cliff?
Definitely.
B leary-eyed, Finn rubbed the fog from his vision. Gray light cast a shadowy glow in the bedroom. Still dim, he could see Haley starting to stir at his side. Her eyes fluttered open, a deep furrow in her brow as she woke.
Damn, he was never awake this early anymore. He turned toward the floor and tapped his phone to check the time. Four in the morning. When he’d first moved home, he’d often wake before dawn with a momentary panic that he was missing practice, only to remember that chapter of his life was over.
If his knee weren’t throbbing so bad from running down that steep hillside yesterday, he’d get out and take a run before the rest of the world stirred. Like he used to.
Haley rolled toward him, propping up on her elbow. The corner of her mouth quirked up in a sleepy grin. “I’m starving.”
He propped up to face her. “Me too. Why don’t you hang out here, and I’ll go make us some breakfast.”
“I’m too hungry. How about a quick protein bar to tide us over, then a huge breakfast with eggs and bacon and cinnamon rolls and fruit and… okay, so all I have is eggs and toast, but you get the idea.”
“Sure thing,” he chuckled, then rolled off the bed.
His knee was talking to him this morning, but he managed to hobble for a quick pit stop in the bathroom, then headed for the kitchen. She’d already had the coffeepot ready to brew, so he hit start and dug around in the pantry closet for a pair of protein bars.
Haley wolfed down her protein bar in a few bites like he did.
Maybe they should have had a quick dinner last night.
Halfway through gulping down his coffee, he felt a few useful brainwaves starting to wake with the rest of him.
Setting down his mug on the floor, he threw back the covers in search of Haley’s ankle.
Sitting uncovered, wearing nothing but his t-shirt that wasn’t covering much at the moment, Haley laughed. “What are you doing? I don’t think I’m awake enough for that yet.”
“Don’t you think about anything but sex?” he teased, trailing his hand down her leg until he reached her ankle. He squeezed along the bones, reassuring himself again that nothing was broken. It was still pretty puffy, but no bruising. “How do you feel?” He asked, sitting up, facing her.
“Functional. Although I think I may be one big bruise.”
“Damn, we got so lucky you weren’t badly injured.”
“Don’t I know it. That would have ruined my day.”
“How’s the head?”
“I’ll let you know in a bit. It’s at a very dull roar right now, but it’s teetering on the edge of pounding.”
“Looks like I’m making breakfast.”
“Mmm, you know what sounds good? I have a connection at Cascade Bakery.”
“I’m not leaving you alone yet.”
“She’d deliver if she knew I fell off a cliff. But she might go motherly on me.”
Now that was a terrifying idea. Possibly worse than Trace walking in on them cozied up would be her mother.
Sweet woman, but Ellen’s heart would be more broken than Trace’s.
Ellen had Trace and his wedding half planned when they got back together.
“Know what? I’ll fix something decent, then maybe I’ll pick some up tomorrow.
For now, you get to chill right where you are all day. ”
“I’m fine.”
“No, really. Don’t mess around with a concussion.”
She scowled but didn’t argue. “How does it look?”
He scooted closer and scrutinized the bandaged wound. “Hell of a goose egg. Very cartoon-inspired.”
She brushed her hair over the wound in a feeble attempt to cover it.
Chuckling, he hopped back out of bed. “I’ll grab you some Tylenol and fresh icepacks.”
Haley wasn’t the worst patient, but she was vocal about her disinterest in lying around in bed all day.
When her headache eased, they went out for a short stroll around the yard, then back in when her headache returned.
He knew they’d overdone it when she was too nauseous for lunch, then didn’t argue and actually took an afternoon nap.
While she slept, he snuck out and brought a box to sit on the patio off the great room.
He texted Pete to call in sick, claiming his knee was acting up.
It actually wasn’t too bad compared to some of the dumb shit he’d done to anger it the last few months.
He could tell it was slowly on the mend, even if it would never be normal again.
His phone buzzed a bit later. Staring at the screen, his jaw clenched tight, and he looked inside, not sure if it was safe to answer. Hating himself more than a little, he connected. “Hey,” he said.
Lyrically soothing with her easy cadence, he could hear Trace smiling as she responded, “Hi. Did I catch you at an okay time?”