Chapter 7 #2
“It wouldn’t be the first time.” She waggles her brows, and I choke out a laugh at the numerous memories of us getting into the type of trouble that required joint showers.
“Fine, whatever.” I turn on the shower until it’s as hot as I can take. “No peeking. Eyes up here.”
She snorts. “It ain’t nothin’ I haven’t seen before, Noah. I went with you to your first pap smear and taught you how to insert a tampon, remember? I’ve seen your cervix.”
“Jesus, you’re so weird.” I move my phone to the shelf that won’t get hit with water, then remove my bra and underwear.
“Hey, I offered to show you mine in return. You’re the one who nearly fainted and got all frazzled.”
I tip my head back and wet my hair. “Because you asked me to bring a handheld mirror so you could see it yourself. The gynecologist was ready to kick us out.”
“Sue me for wantin’ to know what it looks like.” Her Southern drawl emphasizing each word has me rolling my eyes and biting back a smile. Magnolia Sutherland is the definition of a wild child who has never been told no a day in her life.
“Yeah, curiosity killed the cat, and I had to find a different doctor. I’ve already signed paperwork to make sure you aren’t in the room when I give birth,” I tease, lathering my palms with soap and rubbing it over every inch of my body.
“You’re a liar, and we both know it. You want me sittin’ right behind you, chanting push, push, push!”
“Please, God. No.” I groan at the thought. “My husband will be lucky if he’s allowed to witness the birth of his child, thanks to being scarred by you.”
“Speakin’ of husband. You need to talk about this farrier dude. What got ya so worked up you ended up in a pile of horse shit?”
As I work the shampoo through my thick hair, I blow out a breath in anticipation of her reaction.
“The farrier is Fisher.”
“Who?”
My fingers massage my scalp, and I wait as it clicks in her brain.
“Wait. Fisher from the rodeo? The one-night stand Fisher?”
I wipe water out of my eyes and look at her shell-shocked face on the screen.
“Yes. Also, my ex’s dad, Fisher. And now, the new farrier.”
Her jaw drops. “Oh. My. God.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“How the hell did that happen?”
“I have the same question.”
Next, I move on to the conditioner, and while my ends soak, I grab my razor.
“What’re ya shavin’ for?” She arches a brow.
“I missed a spot on my leg, you perv.”
“Mm-hmm, sure. Daddy Fisher likes it smooth, I bet.”
“Do not call him that,” I scold. This situation is fucked up as it is without those words being engrained in my head.
“Why not? He’s someone’s daddy.”
“Jase is too old to call him that, so shush.”
“Speakin’ of that, ya think he knows you nailed his dad?”
“Christ. All of Sugarland Creek is gonna know if you’re any louder.” I rinse my hair, ready to get dressed and smell human again. “And I dunno. Assuming they’re even talkin’, it might not be long before it comes up in a conversation of who I am to Jase.”
I need to text him and find out why he didn’t tell me his dad moved back here. Even during our “off” moments, we still talked and told each other everything. Well, almost everything.
“So you don’t think Fisher knows?”
“He didn’t look that surprised to see me, so I think he knew I lived and worked here. Not sure on the other thing where I’m his son’s ex.”
“Ooh, a stealthy stalker. We love to see it.”
“No, we don’t. Only in your de-lulu-brain.”
“A man who gets a job just to see you after ghostin’ them is romantic as fuck.”
“You’d be that person who gets abducted, then ask them to live out your captive fantasy.”
“Don’t knock it till ya try it. Travis and I did it once.”
“Your psycho ex? Seems fittin’ for him.” I scoff at the thought of how he treated my best friend and how long she put up with it.
I turn off the water and grab my hair towel. “Doubt he even had to act the part.”
“Let’s just say it consisted of handcuffs, rope, and a lot of hair pullin’.”
“What, no hand necklaces?” I giggle, wrapping a larger towel around my body before stepping onto the mat.
“He tried, but he couldn’t figure out how not to choke me to death while doin’ it, so I made him stop.”
“Yeah, I bet that was his problem...” I dramatically roll my eyes in front of the screen.
“We’re not supposed to be talkin’ about him anyway. How did seein’ Fisher end up with you in a pile of horse shit?”
As I get dressed and brush my hair, I replay the humiliating moment that led me here. She doesn’t hold back her laughter either.
“That is the most me thing I’ve ever heard. I can’t believe you froze like that.”
I grab my makeup bag and put on concealer and lip gloss. She rambles about how I need to explain to Fisher why I ignored his calls and texts so we can live out a forbidden fantasy.
“That’s not gonna happen, Mags. Besides the obvious reasons of awkwardness, there’s a no employee fraternizin’ rule.”
“Oh, ya know your parents only set that in place because of Wilder sleepin’ with the receptionist and then makin’ Waylon break up with her as him.”
I hold back a laugh as I put on mascara and focus on not smudging it.
The memories of my older twin brothers getting into trouble are nothing new.
The receptionist was so heartbroken she caused a scene and threw everything she could find around The Lodge.
One of the guests filmed it and uploaded it to social media, where it got three million views in a week.
I’ve never seen my parents want to kill my brother more.
After that, there was a no employees dating employees rule set in place.
“Doesn’t matter, it’s still the rule,” I remind her.
She shrugs with a mischievous glimmer in her eyes. “No one has to know.”