6. Sam
SAM
I was fucking stupid.
Not only did I let my temper get the best of me, but I also groped her in the parking lot like an asshole. And again, it was all my fault. Every second I was with her, all I wanted to do was kiss her. And then she started talking about Christmas and Thanksgiving, and how much she loved it.
And all I could think about were the fights I was going to miss out on because my career was over.
It had been my choice to walk away. I knew that deep in my gut, if I continued, I would only end up crippling myself, which would be worse than not being able to fight at all.
I’d done too much damage to my body over the years.
I was half blind in one eye, my rotator cuff was torn after my last fight, and the number of knocks I’d taken to the head over the years put me at risk for brain damage if I kept going.
Ending up as a vegetable would be worse than not being able to fight.
That’s what I told myself.
But deep down, I hated myself for taking the easy way out—for walking out on my career when I felt I still had so much to give. Everyone around me was so fucking happy all the time, and here I was, miserable and unable to find a new path in life.
Montana was supposed to be a new start, but I fucking hated it.
I drove out to the ranch and sat in the driveway for a good ten minutes, staring through the front window as Rob and Krista curled up on the couch.
They were happy and content, and if I went in there, I’d only ruin it.
I wasn’t supposed to be living with another couple.
Yet, I loved the house and the peace of living in the country.
I just couldn’t have it here anymore.
Shifting into reverse, I went in search of the tiny home that had become something of the town joke.
It had moved so many times while I lived in it, and I didn’t relish the thought of going back to that, but at least I wouldn’t have to contend with the constant sex in the other room while I was using my hand to get off.
I finally found the tiny home out by the mountain rescue on the other side of town, parked not far from the main building. At least it was hooked up and ready for use. Not that I would be taking a shower tonight. The only thing I wanted was to crash.
Pulling out my old key, I shoved it in the lock and stepped into the space I would now call home. Tossing the keys on the counter, I stripped as I headed back to the bedroom, letting my clothes fall to the floor as I crossed the small distance.
The moment I was in the bedroom, I flopped down on the bed, nearly screaming when I hit something hard and a body started writhing beneath me.
“What the fuck?” I shouted, jumping up from the bed.
Flipping on the light, I grabbed the baseball bat in the corner and held it above my head, ready to smash it down on whoever was under the covers, when they were flipped off and Jeff’s groggy face appeared.
“What the hell?” he grimaced, holding his hand up to block the light. “I was sleeping!”
“In my bed!”
“You’re not using it,” he argued as I lowered the bat and took a deep breath.
“You have an entire house. Why aren’t you there?”
“Because nobody would leave me alone. Every day, my mother stops by with more food. I can’t escape her and the incessant questions. How are you feeling today? Is there any pain? Do you want me to run you a bath?”
“She runs you a bath?”
“She tried to,” he muttered. “You have no idea how terrified I was.”
I could imagine, and while I didn’t have a ton of sympathy for him while he was in my bed, I wasn’t about to send him home to that.
“So, what was your plan? Run away from everyone?”
“I considered taking a vacation for a while, but Ma would have sent one of them after me.”
“One of who?”
“My brothers,” he grumbled. “Or worse, Blake. And she probably would have thrown me through a window.”
Sighing, I rubbed a hand over my face, trying to figure out what I was going to do. I really didn’t want to go back to Krista’s, and there was no way I was staying at Jeff’s house with the possibility of his mother walking in at any given time.
“Scoot over,” I muttered, grabbing the covers to fix them.
“Sorry, what?”
“I need some sleep.”
His jaw dropped as he stared at me in confusion. “But…I’m in bed.”
“Yeah, and you’d better get comfortable sleeping in the same bed as another dude because there is no way in hell I’m going to your house.”
He snorted, pulling the cover closer to his body. “Yeah, I’m not sleeping in the same bed with you.”
“Then take the bed upstairs,” I demanded.
“Why do I have to?”
“Because this is my house!”
“Correction. This is Michael’s house, and he’s lending it to you. Technically, I’m his immediate family, so the house should go to me.”
What the hell sense did that make?
“My sister is married to your brother! She bought half the house, so I have just as much right to stay here as you do. Besides, you already have a fucking house!”
“I give it up! You take it!” he shouted, his voice laced with panic.
“I’m not staying somewhere your mom can walk in on me!”
“I’m injured. You can’t make me stay up there!” he argued. “I could have a major pain climbing the stairs. Then you’d have to take me to the hospital, and you’d have to call my mom. There’s no getting out of this.”
Shoving my fingers through my hair, I paced away from him, pissed as hell that the one place I should be able to go, I was restricted from using unless I was willing to subject Jeff to any more pampering from his mom.
I already knew what that was like.
When I was injured, I stayed with my old man for a few weeks. It only took one week before I was ready to kill him. If it weren’t for Michael, I would be in jail by now, facing a murder charge.
“Fine,” I hissed. “Tonight, I’ll take the upstairs, but this is the last time. Tomorrow, you find yourself somewhere else to stay.”
“I swear.” Groaning dramatically, he flopped back in the bed and was out like a light before I even climbed the stairs to the loft.
I envied his ability to sleep so easily, even after the hell he’d been through. How did he not have nightmares? He was shot. That had to leave some lasting damage, but that wasn’t something I was willing to bring up anytime soon.
I had my own demons keeping me up at night.
I rolled over, hissing as sharp, knife-like pains shot down my spine. This was definitely not a bed I would ever sleep in again. The mattress was too thin and the support was nonexistent.
Gingerly, I got out of bed, but what I really needed was a good stretch. I stood tall, forgetting about the height restrictions of the loft, and slammed my head right into the bracers in the ceiling.
“Fuck!” I shouted, grabbing the sore spot on my head. “Jeff! You’d better be up and cooking me breakfast!”
All I heard was a groan. Fuck, I was gonna kill him. That was the worst night of sleep I’d gotten in some time, and it had absolutely zero to do with the fact that I didn’t fall asleep until just a few hours before I woke up.
Hobbling over to the stairs, I carefully took the steps one at a time like an old man, terrified I was going to fall down them and break my neck. Once I was downstairs, I glanced down the hall, hoping to see the bed vacated, but Jeff still laid in there, snoring away.
Rubbing the sleep from my eyes did nothing to help how miserable I felt. “Fuck it. I need some sleep,” I muttered, making my way to the king-sized bed at the end of the hall.
Shoving Jeff over, I laid down, sighing as the pain in my back eased slightly. It wasn’t long before my eyes were drifting closed and sleep overcame me.
But it only lasted a short time before I woke up to a chuckle that most definitely didn’t sound like anyone I knew.
Peeling one eye open, I glared at the man standing at the foot of the bed with his arms crossed over his chest. Based on the smile he was sporting, I’d say he was way too damn perky for the hour.
“Who the fuck are you?” I grumbled, only half awake.
“Declan. We’ve met.” His eyes trailed over the bed, and for a moment, I thought he was checking me out. Then I felt the weight of an arm tossed over my waist, and realized what he thought was happening here.
“Get the fuck off me!” I shouted, flinging Jeff’s arm away from me.
He rolled over, muttering about needing more sleep while I hauled my ass out of bed, thankfully still in shorts and a t-shirt, which looked a lot less suspicious than what the man just saw.
“This is not what it looks like.”
He quirked an eyebrow at me, the grin on his face just a little too evil. “I didn’t say a thing.”
I scrambled for something to say. Anything that would explain why I was laying in bed with another dude, but my mind suddenly decided that functioning was not a priority.
“I was comfortable,” Jeff grumbled. “This place doesn’t stay nearly warm enough at night. Come back to bed.”
My eyes snapped to his, narrowing in on the grin splashed across Jeff’s face. He was fucking with me.
“Look, I slept upstairs,” I pointed out. “Alone. But the bed sucks, and I woke up in extreme pain. I could barely walk!”
Declan nodded. “Oh, I’m sure.”
“And I hardly got any sleep,” I continued. “I was fucking tired as hell, so I shoved Jeff over and got in bed. On my side. Alone!”
Declan held up his hands in a placating gesture, completely bullshitting me. “Hey, I’m not judging what a man will do for a little shut-eye. Trust me, after long nights at the rescue, I’ve found myself in a compromising situation or two. Totally harmless, of course. But these things happen.”
“Right? It was innocent,” I argued.
“And I’m sure that’s what everyone will think,” he grinned. “Oh, and you need to move the house. It’s in the way.”
A flash went off, nearly blinding me, but it wasn’t so much the picture that concerned me as the maniacal chuckle that followed the man out of the tiny house.
“Well, there goes my reputation as a ladies’ man,” Jeff sighed, flopping back in bed. “Do you mind shutting the front door? All the cold air is coming in.”
“This is fucking ridiculous,” I muttered, stomping to the front door and slamming it shut. “This is my house. You’re not even supposed to be here!”
“Could be worse,” Jeff yawned.
“In what way?”
He blinked sleepily at me, then shrugged. “Too early to use my brain like that.”
My stomach rumbled in hunger, but there was no going anywhere for food until the house was moved.
“Get up. We need to move the house, and my car won’t tow this damn thing.”
“Do I have to?” he whined.
“Yes,” I snapped, tearing the covers from his body, only to find him completely naked underneath. “Oh, come on!”
I spun away, ready for this day to be over. Who the hell slept naked while another man was in the house?
“Would you mind putting on some clothes?”
“Hey, it’s not my fault you got into bed. I was perfectly comfortable as I was. I didn’t ask you to join me.”
“I was in the house. You should have had clothes on,” I snapped.
“Again, I was sleeping when you came in. I think this is a you problem.”
“I’m getting dressed, and when I get back here, you’d better have pants on.”
“Whatever,” he muttered.
Stomping away, I grabbed my clothes from upstairs and quickly dressed.
Thankfully, by the time I returned, Jeff was at least wearing pants and struggling to pull his shirt on.
The jagged scar from where he was shot was still pink and raised, and from what I could tell, was still causing him discomfort.
“Who moved the house here, anyway?” I asked, pulling on my shoes.
“Not sure. No one ever really knows. It just appears in different places.”
I rolled my eyes at that. Someone had to be behind the whole thing. Why, I had no idea. What pleasure did someone get out of moving a house around town? The first few times, it might have been funny, but after that?
“You have to hitch it up,” he grumbled, stalking toward the door.
I sighed heavily, staring up at the ceiling. “Of course I do.”