Chapter 11
DELTA
I ’m living with Doctor Brooks Harrison.
In separate bedrooms, which definitely wasn’t part of the elaborate fantasy I’ve been concocting for the last three years, but still. I’ll take the win.
My heart practically leaped out of my chest when he first suggested it.
I’d said no at first. Obviously. I had to. He’s a single man in his late thirties and surely , he doesn’t actually want a newly retired twenty-year-old with a brain injury crashing in his bachelor pad.
I was wrong. Apparently, having a newly retired twenty-year-old with a brain injury living with him is exactly what Brooks does want, because he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
He even managed to convince—a clearly skeptical—Lake and Bay of what a perfect and not-at-all weird arrangement this was, and then all three of them were on me to accept.
When I’d hesitantly asked how much rent would be, Brooks looked at me like I’d cursed at him and resolutely refused to discuss taking my money. He wouldn’t budge on it, but reluctantly agreed to let me take care of cooking and cleaning, and only because I enjoy it.
They didn’t give me a chance to change my mind.
Lake had taken off to get my things at the house boxed up while Dad was at the mountain and move them over to Brooks’ place.
Bay, who also isn’t on speaking terms with Dad for reasons he still hasn’t told me, went out to get me a new cell phone that isn’t on Dad’s plan, and Brooks called his housekeeper to make sure his spare room was ready.
By the time I was discharged a few hours ago, the three of them had me all moved into a house I’d never set foot in before.
Where I’ll be living with my orthopedic surgeon.
I’m pretty sure that concussion was worse than I thought because my life has suddenly gotten super weird.
At least, brain damage seems like a reasonable explanation for the three massive balls of fluff lying on top of Brooks in the entryway to his cozy, A-frame house when I walk inside for the first time.
He’d insisted on going in before me when we pulled up, and when I saw him taken down by what appeared to be three slightly undersized white bears through the crack in the door, I knew why.
“I feel like this is weird, Brooks,” I call, lingering in the doorway while he coos and scratches the dogs from his place flat on the floor. One of them, the smallest of the three, catches sight of me and gets off Brooks’ leg to trot over, fluffy tail wagging.
“That’s Tibia,” Brooks informs me, hauling himself up and brushing dog hair from his clothing. “This is Fibula, and that’s Femur. ”
I giggle, squatting down to let the not-so-little pack sniff my hands. They’re beautiful dogs, enormous , but beautiful. The largest of the three, Femur, must weigh as much as I do. “Really, Brooks? Tibia, Fibula and Femur?”
He’s such a dork. I love it.
His answering, lopsided grin sends up an eruption of butterflies inside me. “What can I say? I like what I do. Come on. I’ll give you the tour.” We move deeper into the house, the dogs trotting along with us like fluffy, panting clouds.
Brooks must have taken the trouble to have the place professionally decorated because it’s cute , a little outdoorsy, but still cozy and modern.
I was braced for a slightly nicer version of the nightmare palace where my brothers live, but I should have known better.
His office has never been less than impeccably clean, and I once saw this man fold a paper napkin before throwing it away.
Of course, there wouldn’t be piles of dirty laundry on the couch or beer bottles on the counter.
“I pay for all the streaming services. They’re logged in on the big TV there, but if you want the password for your computer or whatever, I’ll text it to you,” he rattles off, leading me around to the sliding doors, which span the entire back of the house, overlooking a stunning view of forest and snowy mountains in the distance.
I immediately understand why he bought this place.
The house can’t be more than fifteen minutes from his office, but it feels like we’re in the middle of the woods. There are no neighbors in sight, and after so long in the spotlight, my heart lifts at the prospect of disappearing for a while.
I love it here.
Brooks pulls opens the door and the dogs and I follow him out onto the back deck. There’s a grill and lounge chairs, but best of all is the hot tub situated beneath a wooden pergola at the furthest end of the house from us.
I’m not sure why, but I feel a sick little twist of jealousy at the sight of it.
How is it just now occurring to me that I’m here as Brooks’ roommate ?
Roommates who made out one time—and have yet to discuss it—don’t get dibs on each other.
He can date whomever he wants. He can bring them home if he wants.
What if I have to lie in my bed listening to the man I’ve been in love with for years having sex with someone else in the next room?
He said he didn’t date much. I’m not imagining that, right? Still, he can’t be completely celibate. He’s ridiculously hot, and super successful, and?—
“Delta?”
I blink, turning to look at Brooks, whose brow is creased with worry. “Sorry. Spaced out.”
“Are you in pain?” he demands, going into doctor mode immediately, eyes scanning my whole body, looking for symptoms of distress. “Should we call Dr. Pritchett?” He starts to take his phone out of his back pocket, but I wave him off.
“No. Seriously, I’m just tired. That hospital bed isn’t exactly comfortable, and having someone come in every thirty minutes to shine a light in my eyes kind of interfered with my REM cycle.”
Brooks doesn’t look convinced. “Do you want to try out the hot tub? I thought the heat might be nice on your hip. I got the model with the steps so you wouldn’t have to?—”
“Wait,” I interrupt, warmth spreading through me. “You got that for me ?”
“I mean, I’ll use it too, I’m sure,” Brooks confirms, suddenly sheepish. “It’s nothing, Delta. I’ve wanted one for ages.”
I won’t let him blow this off and pretend it’s nothing.
It isn’t nothing . It’s so incredibly sweet and considerate, and I can’t believe he went out and bought a hot tub for me to soak my hip in.
He must have paid a fortune to have it installed and delivered with less than a day’s notice.
“Brooks.” My eyes burn, and I close the distance between us, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist.
When he hugs me back, tucking my head under his chin and pulling me into his warm, hard, Brooks-smelling chest, I could die happy.
I want him to hold me like this every single day, not just for comfort, but because it feels good.
“Hey.” I can feel the deep rumble of his voice from his chest and burrow closer as Brooks weaves a hand through my hair at the base of my skull, so careful and gentle it makes my heart ache with longing. “I just want you to be comfortable here. I didn’t mean to overstep.”
I laugh weakly—no chance of that. I’m worried I’ll get too comfortable, and he’ll end up needing to drag me out kicking and screaming when he inevitably gets tired of having me here.
This can’t last forever, can it?
Like he knows that’s what I’m thinking, Brooks pulls back just a little, staring down at me imploringly.
“Look at me.” I do, and I know the dizziness I’m feeling has absolutely nothing to do with my head injury.
“You can stay as long as you want, Delta. Redecorate. Paint the whole house pink. I don’t give a shit. This is your home now.”
I’m barely breathing. All those words from when I was in the hospital and the weeks leading up to my accident, the kiss …
I haven’t dared think about it too much, firmly tr ying to shut my idiot heart up before we both end up in pieces.
When he touches me like this, though, there it is. Possibility .
“Come on.” Brooks lets his hands fall but presses one to the small of my back, leading me inside to where the dogs disperse to their huge, fluffy beds arranged along the living room wall, watching us curiously.
I’ve never had a pet before, and as I got older, I did understand why.
We traveled a lot and were all on the mountain from dawn until dusk.
It wouldn’t have been fair, but that didn’t stop me from wishing I could.
“I have to admit, I didn’t picture you as a dog person.
Never mind a horse person,” I muse, peaking a look at Brooks, who is watching me cautiously. “I feel like there’s a story here.”
He chuckles, surveying them with a kind of exasperated fondness.
“There is. Somebody dumped a box of puppies by the front door of the clinic in the middle of the night, maybe two years ago. There used to be a vet in the building, so the theory is they didn’t bother reading the sign or didn’t care .
” He sounds disgusted, and I feel my jaw drop.
“They just dumped them?” I hiss, automatically moving over to kneel beside the closest dog, Fibula, I think, and scratch behind his ears. They’re all so sweet, and they must have been the most adorable puppies ever. How could someone leave them in front of a random doctor’s office?
Brooks sighs. “Yup. We got them on the security cameras and sent the footage to the police, but I have no idea if anything came of it. I took three, Tibia, Fibula, and Femur. My partner Caleb and his husband Todd took two, Patella and Ulna, and one of our nurses, Sean, took another, Radius.” He shrugs like all this is no big deal.
“I’d just bought this house, and it has a lot of land, obviously, so it made sense. ”
Hands down, the dorkiest, cutest thing I’ve ever heard .
“You’ll have to show me their routines, so I can take care of them while you’re at work.” I climb back to my feet, hissing at the familiar shooting pain through my hip. “I’m not going to miss that,” I sigh, rubbing the joint wearily.
“There are no painkillers in the house.”
Oh. Ouch.