Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
A MOOSE?
Griffin
I had the longest day for the first time in a while today, and my body is really feeling it.
After the lunch shift, I ended up staying later than intended, feeling frustrated as I tried to finish some work in the back office. The bookkeeping, scheduling, paychecks, and sourcing supplies seemed to come at me faster than I could handle. The little things I need—like the paper roll for receipts, napkins, and other essentials—didn’t arrive on time, adding to the feeling of being overwhelmed.
It’s exhausting.
The weather is making everything feel even more challenging. It feels like a monsoon with relentless rain that has been ongoing throughout the day. I wish I was exaggerating. This weather is truly wearing me out, and I’m feeling more exhausted than I have in a long time.
I pull a cold beer from the refrigerator and make my way to my porch. It’s completely covered and all I want is to enjoy this drink and listen to the rain.
My mind travels to the conversation I had with Tucker and Nan at the bar a few days ago. Only for that same conversation to be brought up an hour later when Lily showed up at the bar with Nan persuading me to start a karaoke night.
In what world do they think I would be okay with that?
It’s bad enough we have our annual Founder’s Day creeping up on us. A day when almost the whole town congregates at the heart of town to celebrate Bluestone Lakes. There’s food, drinks, activities for the kids, and an epic display of fireworks to end the day. There’s absolutely no tired like the tired you feel when that day is done.
Not even how I feel now holds a candle to that.
Hence why I don’t feel like hosting a karaoke night at my bar anytime soon.
Nan brought up Blair in conversation in front of Lily, and I fought the urge to groan. It’s not a topic I wanted to talk about because I don’t know her well enough.
The question is…do I want to know her more?
Lily seems to think I’m a miserable fuck because I’m lonely.
Am I? No way.
Do my sisters want me to find someone to make me happy and finally get over my ex? Yes.
Joke’s on them because I’ve been over her for a while.
I just don’t have a heart inside me anymore. Sierra took it with her when she left, probably tossed it out the window on her drive to the airport for another car to run over.
Now, I’m here.
Making a life for myself.
A life I fucking love, thank you very much.
I lean my head back on the rocking chair, close my eyes, and allow myself to relax after this long day when a piercing scream comes from Blair’s house.
Jumping from my chair, I clutch the neck of the beer bottle as I scan the area as best I can. The rain is falling hard, a relentless curtain that obscures any danger that may lurk in the shadows. But if there was an intruder or something running from the house, I think I would see it.
Then I hear her dog barking excessively and another scream. It’s her scream. It has to be. This time, it’s louder and more painful? I drop my beer on the deck, not bothering to grab a jacket, and run through the rain toward her house.
I don’t know why I care, but I’m not having someone die on my road.
I don’t bother knocking or kicking off my boots when I storm inside her place.
But I immediately regret my decision.
Blair stands in the tiny hallway at the back of the house in nothing, but a dark gray towel wrapped around her body. Water droplets cascade down every inch of exposed skin and her wet hair flies around when she turns to face me.
“ Ahhh! Griffin! ” she screams in the same tone I heard moments ago.
I turn away from her, bringing my hands up to cover my eyes. “What the fuck are you screaming about?”
“You’re in my house!”
“Because you were screaming!”
“I know!”
We’re both just standing here, shouting at each other while I fight the urge to turn and look at her body in that towel. I finally give in and turn toward her again as I scan around to see what has her in this state of panic. The dog is unfazed by the whole thing and sits next to my legs, looking up at me with its tongue out like it’s waiting for me to pet it.
Good luck, buddy .
“A moose!” she shouts again. Her voice is not dying down at all.
My eyes snap to her, landing right on her chest. The swell of her breasts pop as she hugs the towel tight around her body.
Jesus Christ.
“A moose?” I question .
“Out of my bathroom window!” She points through the door that leads to the bathroom.
I nod, realizing it’s the side of the house that doesn’t face mine. Which is why I didn’t see anything when I first heard the scream.
Without another word, I walk to the bathroom.
She’s going to keep shouting, anyway.
Water drips from my boots with every step, but she’s already made a mess in the hallway herself. Another decision I regret instantly is walking into the bathroom, because the smell of her honeysuckle shampoo or body wash or whatever the hell she was using hits me right in the face.
That’s when I spot our friendly neighborhood moose staring right through the window.
I want to laugh, but now I’m just annoyed that I ran here, got drenched from the rain, and she’s not actually hurt. I almost wished it was an intruder, not because I want her hurt, but because I’d love a face to smash in to let out the frustrations of the day.
“A moose,” I confirm, walking back into the living space.
“Yeah, I said that,” she replies, her voice many decibels lower than it was seconds ago but annoyed nonetheless.
“That’s a nice change. You’re not yelling.”
“Sorry for fearing the wild animal outside of my window,” she says defensively.
One arm flies out as she talks, and her towel slips a little bit before she catches it. My eyes snap to where it just fell a few inches. Almost giving me a full show of her perfect breasts.
Fuck me.
I’m not supposed to find her attractive, but my dick has a mind of its own as I stare at the beautiful woman standing in front of me, dripping wet. It just needs a minute to catch up to my brain that she is supposed to aggravate me.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” I say quickly and turn away.
As I’m about to walk out the door, something that sounds similar to crying comes from behind me, forcing me to turn around to face her again. Except it’s not tears. She’s laughing.
I furrow a brow, and she notices. Only making her laugh that much harder. She holds her towel over her chest with one hand, while she bends over and rests the other on her thigh. The move causes the slit to open even more, exposing her bare side to me. If she moves even an inch, I’m going to see everything.
“A moose,” she repeats again, before laughing uncontrollably.
God, her laugh is almost contagious. I want to laugh with her, but I can’t find it in me. This whole situation after the day I’ve had is not amusing.
Only a true city girl would scream like this over wildlife.
“I can’t believe I just overreacted to a moose in my window. It was staring at me naked in the shower. I mean, you know that’s a glass shower, right?” she says, catching her breath. “It just watched me touch myself.”
My jaw practically falls to the floor in shock.
What in the fuck?
This is not an image I wanted in my head right now.
Her hand covers her face, the towel almost slipping again. “Oh my god. Not like that. Oh my god, foot in my mouth. Again .”
“Again?” I tilt my head in confusion.
“Your. Uh. Sister. Poppy. She came into Batter Up. I totally thought she was your girlfriend.”
My lip curls in disgust.
“You thought my sister was my girlfriend? What kind of sick shit do you think goes on in Bluestone Lakes?”
“I don’t know,” she groans, throwing both arms out, letting the towel completely fall to the ground.
Oh. My. God.
I should turn away. I should. I shouldn’t be staring at my neighbor’s bare-naked body in front of me. I know she runs, because, like an asshole, I watch her leave every morning through the kitchen window above my sink, but she has a toned body showcasing how much she does.
It’s been so long since I’ve looked at woman the way I’m looking at her.
It doesn’t help that she’s constantly been on my mind, now I have to think about this to go along with it.
“Oops. Sorry about that,” she says frantically, picking it up and wrapping it tight around her again. “What’s one more wildlife creature seeing my tits, huh? The moose, and now you. I’m on a roll here.” She fist-bumps the air.
I groan in frustration and turn away from her, adjusting the strain against the zipper of my pants the moment I do. “I’m leaving.”
“For what it’s worth…” She pauses, making my steps halter. “Thanks for checking on me, Angry Cowboy. I take back my statement about you being a meanie. This was very nice of you. Unnecessary, but nice.”
“I wasn’t having you die on my street, Blair.”
Her name rolling off my tongue for the first time out loud feels different. Foreign. Good. Bad. I don’t know, but I want to say it again.
“Very noble of you, sir.”
And now my cock is coming back to life.
“I will make sure I keep the screaming to a minimum on Barlow Drive.”
I’d prefer if you were screaming for other reasons.
Jesus Christ. I need to get out of here right now.
I open the door and step out onto the deck but stop myself with my hand still on the door handle when I look down and see the wood.
“What in the world did you do to this deck?” I ask with my back to her.
“I got into a fight with the power washer.” I can hear the smile behind her words without even looking. “Don’t worry, I’m removing that old deck soon and building a new one. ”
I nod but don’t turn around and look at her again.
I can’t.
I need to get the hell out of here.
I need to get the image of her in a towel and naked out of my head before I wake up in the morning. Or else her being my neighbor is going to be a slow, dangerous torture.