5. Bridget
5
brIDGET
“ N o way,” I snapped. “I’m not living with Chase.”
Jason held his hands as if he expected me to leap out of the hospital bed and claw his eyes out.
He wasn’t far off. Lucky for him, I was still somewhat bedridden.
“Hear me out, Bee,” he began in that irritated tone he used with me when we were kids. “You wouldn’t be living with him. You’ll have the cottage to yourself. You’ll have your own space, but you’d be close to Chase, Hannah Jane, and Isaac if something happens. Chase’s place is a couple of blocks from the police department and Mel and I are right down the road. It’s safe.”
“No,” I clipped. “Wanda’s holding my check from Friday at the bar. I’m gonna use it for a few nights at the inn until I can figure out my next move.”
“Maddie and Luca offered one of the guest rooms at their house. So did HJ and Isaac.” He sighed. “I’d say you could stay at Mel’s apartment, but her lease is up, and we moved all the furniture out. Besides, it’s too far away. ”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s like fifteen minutes max.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “It’s too far, Bee.”
Deep down, I knew I was probably being too stubborn. He was my big brother and just wanted to keep me safe.
“I need space. I won’t have the nurses to keep people out, and I don’t want to be seen looking like this.” I pointed to my face. Unfortunately for me, the bruises always got worse before they got better. I looked like I’d been on the losing end of an MMA fight. Still felt like it too. “And I don’t want people to be checking on me and smothering me with casseroles and bundt cakes.”
Jase wrinkled his nose. “You think Maddie would give you a bundt cake ?”
“Knowing her, it’d be fancy as hell,” I said with a wry smile.
Maddie and Luca insisted that hospital food was so depressing that it actually slowed the healing process. I didn’t know how scientific that notion was, but I didn’t argue with the takeout they sent from Revanche. It was divine.
“Knock, knock,” Mel said as she let herself into my hospital room. She was decked out in scrubs and had her long braids pulled back in a low ponytail.
Jason lit up the moment he saw her. A dopey grin crossed his face as Mel walked over to him. “Hey, baby girl,” he said as he bent down, grabbed her ass, and planted a raunchy kiss on her mouth. The two of them were disgustingly adorable.
“Ugh, get a room,” I cringed.
Mel laughed as she wiped my brother’s saliva from her lips. “Sorry, that’s what happens when we don’t sleep in the same bed.” Mel had slept at their loft, while Jason—highly protested by me—slept in the chair beside my hospital bed.
“Are you on the clock right now?” Jason asked.
Mel looked at her phone. “No, I’ve got twenty minutes. I came in early to check on Bee. How are things? ”
“I’m right here,” I grumbled.
Suddenly, living in Chase’s guest cottage didn’t sound half bad. Temporarily, of course.
And speak of the devil.
Melissa had left the door to my room open. Chase walked by, carrying a cup of coffee.
He respected my wishes by not coming in, but those wishes didn’t stop him from taking his place in the lounge.
He let the tiniest of smirks slip as he lowered himself into the chair and took a sip of coffee. That asshole. He knew exactly what he was doing.
I couldn’t be mad at him because he wasn’t technically crossing the line. His patience infuriated me.
“Does he ever work?” I murmured as I returned my attention to the book I had been reading. Yesterday, Hannah Jane had been kind enough to send a few of her favorite romance novels with Mel so I could pass the time.
I was immersed in the latest book in a series about five brothers trying to uncover a mystery in their small Washington town. This book was my favorite so far. Firefighters made the best book boyfriends.
I glanced over at Chase again. I’d never admit that within earshot of him. Chase would probably argue with me for a solid hour about why cops make better partners.
Turning my attention away from town feuds, foreplay, and a kickass redhead heroine I definitely wanted to be friends with, I asked, “Was anyone able to get my stuff out of his house?”
I didn’t like saying his name out loud.
“Yeah,” Jase scratched the back of his neck. “It’s, uh… It’s at the cottage already.”
I was going to castrate someone.
At that moment, I wasn’t sure if it was going to be my brother or the overbearing detective sipping coffee like he was at fucking brunch.
“I have a present for you,” Mel said cheerily.
“Discharge papers from the hospital?” A girl could dream.
She shook her head. “They’re keeping you one more night for observation. You should be able to bust out of here in the morning.”
“Oh goody,” I deadpanned. “Just in time for everybody to be off work because it’s Monday, and they’ll all be free for poker night.”
All I wanted was to sleep in a regular bed— alone —and not have a revolving door of visitors. Was it too much to ask for space to lick my wounds away from prying eyes?
Mel handed me a bag with a cell phone store logo on it. “It’s new, and no one has the number except the poker club.”
I sat there like a bump on a log. I needed to keep my expenses at a minimum. I had a check waiting on me, but it would be a few more days until the bruises would fade enough for me to cover them with makeup. I needed to open a new account, but I couldn’t go to the bank looking like this.
Not having a permanent address would make things difficult, but I would figure something out. I always did.
“I can’t accept that,” I said. “I’ll be fine.”
Jason took the bag and dropped it on my lap. “If it’s the bill you’re worried about, don’t even think about it. Okay? This is the least I can do. Literally. You won’t let me do anything else.”
Mel looked at the clock. “I gotta get going. My shift’s about to start.”
Jason pecked her lips and smacked her ass as she turned to go down to the ER. “I’ve gotta get to the airfield.” He leaned down and gently hugged me. “Pops will kick my ass if I ask him to cover for me another day.”
“Go,” I said. “I’ll be alright. ”
“Chase is right outside if you need anything,” he said as he pulled the tray table close and arranged the call button and the TV remote on top of my blankets. The massive vase of tulips partially obscured my view of the door. “And security is out there, too.”
“So, we’re not even going to talk about the phone?”
“Accepting help doesn’t make you weak. It means you’re strong enough to let some of your burdens go.”
“I never thought I would be starting over at thirty-three,” I admitted quietly, looking at the plastic bag. “I have nothing to show for my life. Everyone else is doing all these big things in their careers or starting families. All I’ve got to show for myself is a job at a sorry excuse for a bar, some gray hairs, and a shitload of medical bills.”
Jason let out a wry laugh. “Life doesn’t end at thirty.” His expression softened as he added, “You have big things ahead of you, kid.”
“I’m really sorry I messed up your big engagement weekend. Y’all haven’t been able to celebrate because of all this.”
He grinned. “Oh, we celebrated alright. Over and over and over again. ”
“Gross!” I called after him as he headed for the door. “I don’t want details!”
Jason paused in the doorway. “If they let you outta this place and you feel up to it, think about coming to poker tomorrow night. It’ll do you some good to see everyone. And it’ll make everyone feel better if they can see you. They’re worried about you. You don’t even have to stay the whole time.”
“I’ll think about it,” I said as he left.
Not a minute later, the cell phone bag on my lap vibrated.
“What the hell?” I muttered to myself as I dug through it with my left hand .
I pulled the new phone out. It was the same make and model as my old one, but someone had put a phone cover with bumblebees on it.
“Jason.” I laughed under my breath and swiped across the screen. He and Mel had already set a photo as the background. It was of them.
In bed.
Clothed...but in bed, nonetheless. Gross.
Having no desire to open the cesspool that was social media, I scrolled through the contacts that Jase and Mel had put in for me. My thumb lingered over a name. Reluctantly, I fired off a text.
Bridget
Can you send me a picture of Luna?
Chase
New phone, who dis?
Bridget
It’s me, asshole.
Jason had left the door to my hospital room open. I peered around the tulips and caught Chase grinning from his seat across the hall.
Chase
How’s this one?
I laughed when the photo came through. He and Luna were cuddling on his couch.
Bridget
I see things are getting serious with the new girl in your life.
Chase
Ha, she’s a little high maintenance for me, but I like her. She’s a great little spoon. Leaves hair everywhere, though.
Bridget
Yeah, we women tend to do that.
Another photo came through. It was of Luna licking Chase’s cheek. I freaking loved that dog.
Chase
She kisses like an animal. Always tongue.
Bridget
LOL, I really just wanted a picture of her to put as my background, so I can replace the one my idiot brother set. It’s of him with his tongue down Mel’s throat. I’d rather not vomit every time I open my phone.
Chase
You can take all the Luna photos you want if you stay in the cottage.
Bridget
…
Chase
Stay in the cottage, Bee. It’s comfortable, and Luna will go nuts having you around while I’m on duty. She already loves you more than she loves me.
Chase
And it’ll help me sleep knowing that you’re somewhere safe.
Chase
I won’t bother you. I promise.
He had me tied up in knots, and he wasn’t even in here. I didn’t want to shut him out. I didn’t want to hurt him. But keeping Chase at a distance was the only way I knew how to cope at the moment. To keep from losing myself again.
Bridget
It would only be temporary until I can find a permanent place.
Chase
Stay as long as you want.
“I still think you should have kept the sling on,” Jase grumbled as he guided his truck over the bridge from Morehead City back to Beaufort. “At least for a few more days.”
I carefully rotated my shoulder, stretching the stiff muscle. The doctors had all agreed that they could discharge me from the hospital under a few conditions.
My dislocated shoulder had healed enough for me to ditch the sling, but it would still be a couple weeks before I could go back to work.
Tasks at Jokers erred on the side of heavy lifting and long hours on my feet. Thankfully, Wanda hated hiring new staff, so I’d probably still have my job waiting when I went back.
I was supposed to rest as much as possible. My going-away present had been a bottle of prescription pain pills to help with the slow recovery road ahead of me and a long list of therapist recommendations.
I’d accepted the fact that I would be living on Chase’s property for the time being. It was the lesser evil of all my options. Given that I planned to sleep the moment I got to the cottage, I figured everyone would have enough sense to leave me alone.
A real bed sounded like heaven. I hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep in weeks—and that was before the hospital had me on concussion protocol. At this point, I’d give my left tit to not be poked and prodded every hour for nights on end.
We hit the bottom of the bridge with a thump . “Geez,” I grunted, instinctively reaching for the oh, shit! handle. I grimaced when I pushed my shoulder further than it was ready for. Jase gave me an apologetic look.
“When was the last time you had the shocks replaced?” I grumbled.
He wavered for a moment. “Senior year?”
I stared at him bug-eyed. “That was twenty years ago!”
He shrugged. “Not like I’ve been driving her. She’s still in good condition.”
“When was the last time you had this bucket of bolts inspected?”
He shrugged.
“Are the tags up to date?”
“Sorry, I’ve been a little busy charming the pants off Mel.” He smirked as he took a right toward downtown Beaufort.
“Charmed the pants, the panties, and everything else off her,” I muttered.
Jason just grinned.
He pulled onto a quaint side street that I knew all too well. It looked like the kind of neighborhood that belonged on a postcard. This was probably the street that local realtors used to market the town.
I had always liked this street. The houses were historic, the traffic was slow, and the sidewalks led to the general store for easy access to hand-scooped ice cream in homemade waffle cones.
Schools were back in session and the summertimers had packed up, but the weather was still hot enough that ice cream sounded divine.
We passed Hannah Jane’s house. Her car was in the driveway. She had probably just returned from the Monday staff meeting at the inn and was enjoying her day off before poker night.
Jason pulled into the driveway that circled behind Chase’s house. I’d seen the cottage from the outside before, but it had been a while. It looked like he had done some work on it.
The faded slate-colored siding was now a crisp Carolina blue. Pretty white trim with a scalloped edge hung from the peak of the roof. Two windows fitted with flower boxes sandwiched a wood-stained door. Cedar posts that matched the door created a small front porch.
“Wow,” I said with an exhale. “It looks great.”
Jase raised his eyebrows but withheld comment. “Yeah, uh, Chase and I re-shingled the roof a few weeks ago. He mentioned he had done some updates on it.”
I looked over my shoulder to the main house. It was slightly smaller than Hannah Jane’s place two doors down, but held the same charm.
Chase had bought this place shortly before I got involved with Kyle. I’d only been inside once.
The house had been a fixer-upper, and that description didn’t even cover the state that the cottage used to be in. When he bought the property, I told him that the shack on the back patch of grass should be condemned. But it was amazing what a little love and TLC could do.
Jase pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the front door. Inside was an adorable studio with Hannah Jane’s design fingerprints all over it.
The main room had a sitting area, a bed, and a kitchenette. Built-in bookcases along the wall shrouded several closets. A small bathroom was off to the side. It was breezy and light, yet cozy at the same time. Everything that the guys had liberated from Kyle’s house sat in a pile by the bed .
Windows along every wall flooded the space with natural light. Rays of sunshine cascaded across a bed piled high with white pillows and neatly turned down linens.
The tufted comforter looked like literal heaven, a decadent cloud where I could rest my weary bones. A vase of pink, orange, and yellow tulips sat on the bedside table.
For the first time in a long time, I took a breath and didn’t fear it was my last.