Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
H e held my hand. He called me “sweets,” which was a new nickname. He said he missed me. Now, he wanted me to stay with him. I didn’t know what to make of it all. My heart was a mess. Part of me thought he was being too forward, the other part thought it felt so natural, so…right.
When we pulled into the driveway of Grams’ house, a wave of melancholy hit me and tears sprang to my eyes. This place would never be the same, and it wasn’t easy to accept. Before I could remove my seatbelt and reach for the door, Bram was already outside, opening it for me.
“That’s not necessary,” I said before climbing down, ignoring the hand he held out. “I’m not going to break.” That wasn’t precisely true, but the minor twinges of pain made me feel invincible compared to the usual mid-morning stiffness.
“I’m not taking any chances with you.” He placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me to the side so he could shut the truck door behind me.
His fingers against me were intimate and calming, though I had no business being soothed by them.
We were friends. Sometimes friends touched, and it wasn’t anything to wax poetic about.
“So, you drove here in that truck?” He nodded toward the U-Haul.
“Yes. I left my car with Brandon, Kallie’s boyfriend.
He’s going to sell it for me.” I omitted the part where I didn’t think it could make the four-hour drive.
“I plan to rent a cheap car until I find something else. I won’t drive much anyway.
Obviously, I’ve got to find a job to afford something else.
I’m hoping to find a remote position. A lot of marketing and social media jobs are done that way these days. ”
His brow furrowed. “I’m not sure you should be working right now.”
“But I’m sure I should be working,” I replied firmly. “I need to make money. I need health insurance.”
He stared at me intently.
“You look like you have a lot to say,” I said.
“You didn’t ask my opinion.”
I made a sweeping gesture with my hands. “Let’s hear it.”
“I think you’re being stubborn. Maybe someday, you’ll see reason and let your brother help you. It would be easier for you if you gave in now.”
My eyes narrowed on him.
“I’m not asking my brother for money.”
“Hmmm.”
“It’s my decision.”
He turned and walked toward the front door. There was nothing worse to me than being dismissed. My hands balled at my sides.
“Why are you giving me grief?” I shuffled to join him on the porch, where he entered the code on the front door. He knew the house’s code and could access me whenever he wanted. That would need to be changed as soon as possible.
“To get you riled up, why else?” He looked over his shoulder and winked at me. My face burned. “I respect everything you say, sweets. I only want you to take care of yourself.”
“How many ways can I explain it? I am fine .” The door unlocked, and we walked into the sterile living area.
“Says the woman who is having back surgery.”
There wasn’t much I could say to refute that, so I did what I did best: I avoided it. “I’ve gotta run to the restroom, and then we’ll unload the truck, okay? Would you mind following me to the U-Haul drop off and then driving me over to the car rental place?”
He ran a hand down the dark stubble on his face. He hummed, as if thinking over our options. “Or… I’ll unload the truck. You gather up some more things you need, and then we’ll be back at the farmhouse with Lakey by lunchtime.”
I frowned. “The only part I approve of in that plan is Lakey,” I said.
Bram shrugged. “We’ll talk about it.” Then he went into the garage without another word.
Exasperated with his refusal of my requests, I huffed and went into the hall bathroom. I had just sat on the cold toilet seat when my phone buzzed in my jeans pocket on the ground. I fished it out and checked the screen.
Kallie: Calling in five.
Talking to her wasn’t something I could do in front of Bram. I could call her now, but I couldn’t hide in the bathroom forever. What if he came in to check on me?
I finished and walked out to the garage, where Bram was carrying a stack of boxes that was taller than he was. I had only been gone for a few minutes, and he had unloaded half my things.
“Let me help you.” I rushed toward him. He drew back when my hands went around a box at the top.
“Absolutely not. Get your little ass back in that house.”
“This is my problem, not yours. And my ass is larger than average, thank you very much.”
“I’m very aware of your ass size.”
I froze, then slowly removed my hands from the box I was trying to poach. The boxes blocked my view of his face.
Afraid my ears were deceiving me, I went and picked up another box from the truck.
I turned and saw Bram standing in his green flannel, worn jeans, and brown work boots, hands loosely resting on his narrow hips.
He was giving me a smoldering look under his ball cap.
It made me simultaneously hot, cold, angry, and excited.
“What did I say?” The intensity of his tone and his directness touched me in places that had no business being disturbed— again . I must have liked being bossed around more than I thought…
“My back is fine,” I squeaked, still clutching the box.
“And we want it to stay that way.” He stalked toward me with predatory focus. He took the box out of my hands and pinned me with his eyes. “This is why you need to stay with me during this ordeal. You’re so stubborn. You’re going to make your demise quick and sudden.”
I laughed. “All I can see are those commercials for call buttons, you know, where you wear it around your neck? I probably need one of those things.” I was amused, but he wasn’t smiling. His teeth clenched as he carried the box into the garage.
“Don’t make me install cameras to keep an eye on you, sweets.”
“That could be interesting… ”
He looked over his shoulder, and I became more flustered. “I mean?—”
“We both know what you meant.” He grinned, interrupting. “It doesn’t matter anyway because you’re coming back to the farm with me.”
“I can’t do that, Bram. It’s too much.”
His eyebrow did a sexy cock thing, like he didn’t believe a word I was saying.
Whatever armor I’d built over years of noncontact, he was disassembling it within twenty-four hours with his words, actions, and demeanor.
“Listen,” I said, “I have a phone call to make, and I?—”
“Perfect. I’ll finish this up. Then we can finish the conversation you’re trying to avoid.” He gave me another grin.
I had to talk to Kallie. I had to have some objection to everything my heart—and my body—wanted to give in to. She would provide that levity.
“I’ll be back in a minute.” I fled to the other end of the house, where I promptly closed and locked the bedroom door.
It was my old bedroom, which no longer looked like the sanctuary of my youth.
I dropped into a new, fluffy blue chair in the corner just in time for Kallie’s name and photo to pop up on my phone screen.
“Hey,” I answered with the speaker on low volume.
“Hey, girl. You’ll never guess what happened.
Brandon’s grandma fell down the stairs at his parents’ house last night!
It was a whole thing. We were with her in the ER forever, but she’s home now.
I wanted to call you last night, and I forgot to text you back after you told me you’d made it.
I am so, so sorry! Did you settle in? How’s everything? ”
Her barrage of words made my mind spin, but a single sobering thought of Bram brought me back to square one. “It’s…going. I’m sorry about Brandon’s grandma. ”
“It’s okay, she’s just bruised up, she’ll heal,” she said. “What do you mean by ‘it’s going’? You sound weird. What’s up?”
I swallowed hard. “I’ve got to talk to you about something. Well, someone.”
“Okay.” Her voice was now full of hesitancy. “Did you run into someone?”
“I ran into Bram. And before you make a joke, no, he doesn’t have Dracula teeth.”
“Quit acting like you know me,” she scolded. “Bram, Bram? Your crush from high school? Your brother’s old best friend? Kissed you on the night of your grandma’s death, Bram? Broke your freaking back, Bram?”
“I’ve told you repeatedly it wasn’t his fault. It was more complicated than that.”
She ignored me. “The Bram you were hopelessly in love with, even though he ruined your life and broke your heart while you were in the fucking hospital? Same dude?”
I shut my eyes tightly. “Stop, please. We’ve already talked through this a million times. It was my choice. I’m the one who told him to?—”
“Is he the same one?”
“How many other Brams do you know?” I snapped.
“I only want to ensure I’m working with the right information. What’s he doing crawling out of the woodwork? Please tell me he looks like an old high school gym teacher.” I could hear the eagerness in her vitriol.
“No. He’s even hotter than before.”
“Of course he is! The bastard.” I rolled my eyes, even though she couldn’t see them.
“Whit sent him to help me move in. But we’ve…been together.”
I waited for her to respond for at least thirty seconds. “What do you mean by ‘ been together?”
I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then spoke.
“I got to Grams’ house, and Whit had completely remodeled the whole thing.
Bram did the remodel work. They are still best friends.
I wasn’t expecting everything to be so different, and I had a panic attack.
All of this was more emotional than I thought it would be. ”
“Oh no, I’m so sorry. I know how much that place meant to you.”
My heart sank. “Thanks. Then Bram showed up to help me unload my things from the truck and caught me losing it. Before I knew it, I was on my way to his house, which just so happens to be my childhood dream house. Then I fell in love with his dog. Her name is Lakey. Anyway, we got deep?—”
“Julianna Joy East, did you sleep with him?”
My mouth flew open. “Of course not! Let me finish my story.”
She scoffed. “Blah, fine. This is weird, but finish.”