11. Sullivan
Chapter 11
Sullivan
“Holy fuck.” I flopped onto the bed beside her, my chest heaving.
She rolled to her side, something between a giggle and a moan escaping as she collapsed against me. “I don’t think I’ve sweated that much since I did my one and only hot yoga class.”
I wrapped my arm around her, holding her close. I had a feeling she might be a slippery one.
But she surprised me by throwing a leg over mine and sighing as she relaxed. “Patience doesn’t even cover it for what that was.”
I grinned down at her. “That was just round one.”
“Can round two be in the morning?”
“Not with an eight-year-old around.”
She rubbed her cheek against my chest. “Right. School and breakfast,” she said around a yawn. “What time is it?”
I glanced at my bedside clock. “Not even ten.”
She lifted her head. “No way.” She crawled on top of me.
“What are you doing?”
“I mean, I guess we go for round two.”
I laughed and rolled her under me. “Not sure you’re ready for that. I can go all night.”
She wrapped her leg around my hip. “I bet I can.”
The second round was full of laughter and less intense. I needed to rein it in, or I was going to scare her away. But now that I’d had her in my bed, there was no going back for me.
And when she finally fell asleep in my arms, I stared at the ceiling for a good long while. It had been a damn long time since someone had been in my bed and the first time, I didn’t want to let them go.
I must have fallen asleep sometime because my alarm blared.
Nora moaned and pressed her lips to my chest. “No. It can’t be morning.”
I laughed and curled her closer until our legs were tangled. “It is, but we have five more minutes.”
She sighed and settled into me. “Just five.”
I heard a crash in the hall. “Or not.”
She moaned.
I kissed her forehead and slipped out from under her. “Stay. I’ll just go out and see what’s going on.”
“’Kay,” she said softly and wrapped herself around my pillow, one long leg peeking from the sheets.
“Damn.” Quickly, I tugged on a pair of basketball shorts and rushed out, closing the door behind me.
Danny was at the table, a half gallon of milk tipped over and cereal scattered over the river of milk. He swung terrified eyes my way. “I’m sorry. I tried to make Cocoa Puffs, and it slipped.” Huge tears filled his eyes as his hands fisted.
“Hey, it’s okay. Mistakes happen.” I grabbed the glugging carton and righted it, then I pulled him close, and I kissed the top of his head.
“Sorry. I’m sorry.” He kept saying it over and over again.
I crouched down until we were eye to eye. “Hey. Seriously, it’s okay.”
His thin shoulders heaved as the sobs came like a storm.
I crushed him tight to my chest. “It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.”
I had a strong feeling it was more than just spilled milk. Whenever he made a mistake, he would either freeze or freak out which told me that Mindy probably reacted badly. Kids were chaotic and messy and full of mistakes.
Trouble wiggled under the table and started licking up the milk, making Danny’s sobs turn to giggles.
“Okay, let’s just get this cleaned up. I’ll pick up some milk when I’m out.” I capped what was left of the half gallon jug after I grabbed the roll of paper towels standing in the middle of the table.
He nodded when I handed him a wad of towels and started cleaning the floor while I cleaned the table. I saw a flash of blond out of the corner of my eye as I turned. “Hey. Just a little mishap.”
She smiled. “Happens to the best of us.” She crossed to the fridge, wearing one of my baseball shirts which flirted with the middle of her thighs. Her hair was mussed, and she looked so much like the teen Nora I remembered that it was a gut punch. “How about I make us scramble eggs and toast?”
Danny glanced up at me. “She cooks?”
I laughed. “Evidently.” I smiled at her, then I looked down at him. He nodded emphatically.“We’d love that.”
“Good.”
She looked so at ease in my house and with my boy. Danny slowly inched into the kitchen to watch.
“Want to see how I do it?”
He nodded and moved beside her.
She pushed his hair out of his eyes, and he didn’t shy away. If I wasn’t already in love with her—and I damn well knew I was, had been for more years than I ever wanted to own up to—then I would have been after seeing that.
I finished cleaning up and made a mental note to pick up eggs, as well as milk. And from the lone heel in the bread bag, that was also on the list.
We raced through our meal as my phone reminded me it was time to leave for school. I would be lost without the various alarms I set for myself. Working for myself meant a very chaotic schedule.
I checked my laptop as Danny went to get dressed.
“Holy shit.”
“What?” She got up to look over my shoulder and gave a delighted laugh. “I’m definitely putting that video on my main work feed.”
“I can’t handle all I have now.” Stunned at another thirty jobs since overnight, I was just under triple digits, for fuck’s sake.
She looped her arms around my shoulders. “Guess you have to activate the brothers in Murdock Brothers, then.”
“Guess so.”
She kissed my cheek. “I can bring Danny to school if you want.”
I turned. “Are you sure?”
“Definitely. If he’s okay with it.”
“I’m okay with it,” Danny said from behind us.
“I’ll go get dressed.” She ruffled Danny’s hair and disappeared down the hall.
“Thanks.” I glanced over at him. “Can you feed Trouble?”
He nodded and went to the pail where we kept the dog food while I tabbed through all the jobs and organized them in my usual categories of emergency, high priority, and low.
Nora rushed back in, her hair still tousled, but from the neck down she was fresh as last night. “I’ll call you later?”
I stood up, following them downstairs to the front door. Danny had on his backpack and was out the door before Nora. I grabbed her around the waist and dragged her in for a kiss. Her hazel eyes were blurry and shocked when I pulled back. “I’m not sure how late I’ll be, but I want to see you tonight.”
“Then, we will.” Then she was gone, leaving me with Trouble laying at the top of the stairs, head on his paws.
“He’ll be back in a little while.” I scratched his ears, and he popped up and followed me into the dining room.
I spent the next few hours on the phone as I called back people. Some had already found another handyman to cover them, but there were a startling number who still wanted my services.
I opened up my brother chat and called out an SOS.
Cash: How many jobs?
Me: 90
Kai: FML, how many? Since when? How many are hot babes?
Me: Just get here. I need an all hands-on deck. And if it keeps up, you might actually have to stay.
Cam: I have a few more weeks in Daytona. Sorry, man.
Me: That’s cool. I’ll see where we’re at.
Gus: It’ll take me a minute to finish up this job in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica ? What the hell? My brothers were wanderers by nature, unlike me.
Rip: I’ll stop by in a few. I’m in ‘toga.
Me: thanks. Kai, where are you?
Kai: Ma already is on my ass. I’ll be there in a few days.
Me: Good enough. Thanks, guys.
Between scheduling and figuring out materials, the rest of my day was insane. I had to call in reinforcements with my mom to pick up Danny after school.
It was well after seven by the time I wrapped up the third job of the day. And all three requested a shirtless option. I told them it wasn’t on my work order.
They were disappointed, but they paid, anyway. The first job was definitely a bored housewife with a honey-do list that should have been taken care of by herself or her husband, but I was more than willing to take her money.
Even if she stared at my ass the whole time.
The last job included an invitation for a beer and possibly a nightcap, which I turned down.
I felt a bit guilty leaving Danny with my parents for the night, but when I turned up on Nora’s doorstep, she was wearing those damn cutoffs and a threadbare tank top—with nothing else—and I swiftly got over it.
Soothing myself with a quick FaceTime call, I let myself take some time for me. I didn’t want to screw up with Nora by working myself into the ground like I usually did.
Nora made us BLTs, and I thanked her by helping her christen her big, circular chair.
As well as the couch, and her wrought-iron bed.
It was hard as hell to leave her, but I finally dragged myself home to start it all over again.
I was going to make this work if it killed me.