Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Ninetee n
Emberli
“A re you screwing my brother?”
“What?” Lynnie and I both ask at the same time, she shoots me an eyebrow just as I shoot one back.
“Not you.” Willow waves off Lynnie, who shrugs and gets back to tapping away on her laptop.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one who could be a huge introvert at times. Lynnie claimed that she was working on a huge plot twist for her book and needed to get it out and structured on a page. Therefore, my second Woo Woo Wednesday had taken place at their cabin.
Odessa hadn’t replied to the newly created group chat for the girls and me about coming tonight, so that just left Lynnie and me, and one skeptical Willow who would not sit down and was instead blocking the TV.
“Please! Sit down! I’m trying to study.”
“Study? You can’t study a romance movie about football. The rules and everything about it are going to be wildly incorrect.” Willow states before turning her attention to me.
“Are you? ”
“I’m not studying.”
“No. Are you screwing my brother?”
“No.” The truth rolls off of my tongue, yet despite it being honest, I can’t help but feel a tad guilty.
Nothing had happened between Thayne and I, but that didn’t stop me wishing that something had, nor did it stop my delusional imagination when I pictured us kissing in the rain a few nights ago.
But nobody needed to know that. Especially not his sister.
“I won’t be mad. I’d prefer it if you were.”
“What?” I choke on my drink and pat at my chest.
“What? I’m just saying. I know you’ll be in good hands with someone like him.”
“Thayne and me… we’re not like that.” I avoid the flashbacks of our dance in the rain last night as they appear in my brain like a subtle exposure technique.
Willow scoffs in disbelief at this, resting both of her hands on her hips. “And I’m supposed to believe that? I’m just saying, "I like you and I know my brother.”
“Do you think that a locker room makeout session would be disgusting?” Lynnie asks. She was zoned out for most of the conversation. The look of determination might as well be tattooed on her face at this point as she practically punched her fingers into the letters of the keyboard at a frantic pace. Her eyes don’t leave the screen once.
“I think it would be hot.” Willow says, distracted.
“Right. But what about the smell of body odor?”
Willow and I make a face at each other and she wrinkles her nose. “Okay. Now it’s no longer hot.”
“If I’m reading it, I wouldn’t think about the smell of the locker room unless you told me.”
Lynnie looks up over the laptop and points her finger at me as if she’s just had a lightbulb moment. “Good thinking.”
Willow pours herself another drink that she downs in a few gulps, and this doesn’t go unnoticed by Lynnie and I .
“You okay?”
“Huh? Yeah. Fine.”
“I know that look. Something is on your mind, what is it?” Lynnie asks.
Willow looks as if she’s debating telling us when there’s a huge thud outside.
“What was that? If that’s fucking Blaze again. I’m going to flip my shit.” I’d heard about Lynnie’s run in with the ranch’s stud, who was apparently famous for breaking out of his pen and loitering around the town. He had a particular interest in Lynnie and apparently last week was the second time this month that Blaze had made an appearance at Lynnie’s window.
Willow peeks out of the blinds before she recoils, her chest heavy with panic.
“I can’t see. They have their hood up.” She whispers. The three of us stand to our feet awkwardly just before Willow quickly turns the lights off.
Brilliant.
Not only were we being stalked. But now we were being stalked in the dark.
“Go out there! You’re the brave one!” Willow gestures at Lynnie, who clutches her laptop to her chest.
“Are you joking? I could die!”
“Do we scream?”
“Are you crazy?” Willow shakes her head. “We don’t scream. We’re not even here.” She places her index finger to her lips before she takes another peek. “They’re gone.”
What sounds like a flower pot smashes outside behind us just as a low curse leaves the possible intruder's mouth.
Willow begins to act out some form of interpreted dance with various movements that I can’t fathom. I only take note of her precise ninja-like movements, as her hands slice the air, and momentarily forget that we’re in trouble here.
“The fuck are you doing?” Lynnie whispers and Willow slaps her hands down at her sides in annoyance.
“You go for the legs. I open the door, jump on their back and Emberli attacks!”
If I survive whatever attack this is, I’ll make sure that Willow never takes up charades as a career because what the heck was that?
“What am I supposed to attack with?” I slap my hand to my mouth as a hooded figure appears behind Willow.
The only thing keeping them apart is the back door.
“Anything! Literally anything!”
“It’s dark! I can’t see shit!” Lynnie hisses as she creeps around the cabin.
My adrenaline is all over the place and I grab the nearest thing I can find.
A pillow. A fucking pillow.
A really nice, feathered and plump pillow.
“Focus!” Willow’s sharp whisper attacks me and I hold it to my chest just as Willow flings open the door, jumping on the back of the intruder who, judging by the tall frame and muscles, is a man. Lynnie dives for his feet and holds them firmly in place.
“Do it, Emberli!” I hurl a pillow over at Willow who suffocates the man with it, and I throw two more in the same direction.
“I’ve run out of pillows!” I yell, searching the couch beneath me for something else. Anything else.
“Not today, bitch!” Willow screeches at the man who flings her over his shoulder like it’s light work. She hits the ground with a thud and suddenly I feel like the last man standing in a match of WWE Royal Rumble.
I stumble off the couch and slam my hand around on the kitchen table before my fingers dive into a bowl of fruit, I find myself lobbing pieces at the grunting male like it’s a game of in person fruit ninja.
My hand-eye coordination had never been brilliant until this very moment. It was as if I’d been saving up all of my hits for this exact and very real, life or death situation.
“Ow! OW! Stop! Fuck! Is that a banana?” I make out the figure raising his hands to defend himself as I toss the empty fruit bowl at him as a final hit, imagining it in slow motion like one of the final hits of a battle royale game my brother plays.
Damn. I really needed to get a life.
Truth be told, those games were fun and as I hear a clunk and then a groan, followed by a thud, I realize I’ve won.
“You did it!” Willow sighs happily before she flicks the light on to unmask our intruder, who isn’t masked and is in fact her brother.
“Thayne?!” The three of us chorus.
***
“Let me get this straight.” Mack says in between breaths as he holds his chest. He, and numerous other members at the breakfast table, find the telling of last night's event hilarious. The only one who doesn’t find this hilarious is Thayne, who sits there with his arms crossed and a scowl across his face. “You knocked him out… with a fruit bowl?”
“Yes. But in my defence, I didn’t know it was him.” I shoot an apologetic smile over at Thayne who only grunts at this.
Laughter choruses the table as Mack wheezes, slapping Thayne’s shoulder as he catches his breath.
“Well, at least you can defend yourself.”
“I’d hardly call it defending. What if it was a real intruder? Don’t you have kitchen knives?” Flint asks.
“Are you suggesting that I stab my brother? Because you are top on my list at the moment.” Willow shoots back.
“No stabbing of siblings, please. As entertaining as this conversation is.” Doug chuckles.
“Besides, it wasn’t like we had much time to think.” Lynnie adds. “You should have seen Willow’s attempt at non-verbal communication. I think both Em and I can agree that it is not her strong suit.”
“Sorry Willow, Lynnie’s right.” I grimace. “And I’m sorry again, Thayne.”
“It was my fault.” Thayne shakes his head and boy, does he look good with a black eye.
Good as in holy shit good. Good as in gorgeous.
I pull myself out of the depths of ogling him just as Willow speaks across from me. “You’re right. It is. What if I had a friend round? A male friend. ” Her hints are clear to most of us, except Mack.
“Why would you? Ew. Gross, Wills.”
“Is it so unimaginable to you guys? I’m a grown woman.”
“Wills. We’re your brothers. We know you’re a grown woman, it still doesn’t mean we want to imagine it.” Colton speaks.
“Against the point.” Willow snaps back. “What if I did have someone around and you turned up?” She turns to Thayne, who evidently wishes he could vanish from the current topic of the table.
“Oh come on, Wills. You haven’t been in a relationship in years.” Mack shakes his head.
“That doesn’t mean I don’t have sex!”
Forks clatter on the table and numerous sounds of gagging and retching.
“I’m gonna throw up.” Colton heaves.
“Can we keep the sex talk to a minimum at the table? Some of us are trying to enjoy breakfast.” Ryker speaks from beside him.
“I’m just saying and I will say this once and once only. I do have members of the opposite sex around sometimes. It would be nice if I could please get some privacy at these times.”
More groans. More sounds of gagging.
“For fuck’s sake, Wills.” Thayne mutters into the palms of his hand.
“Can we stop mentioning sex at the breakfast table?” Flint asks.
“You literally just said it.” Mack says.
“What were you even going there for, son?” Doug says as he slaps Ryker’s hand away for the last pancake in the tray.
“I hadn’t heard anything from them. I wanted to make sure that they were okay.” Thayne grumbles.
Sally cooed at this. “See? I think it’s sweet how much he cares for you all.”
Willow sighs, frustrated, and she stabs at a pancake whilst shaking her head. “You could have at least used the front door.”
“Note taken. I’ll do that next time.” Thayne smirks.
“Okay, now you’re just intentionally pissing me off.”