“You’re kidding?” She wrinkled her nose, making a scattering of freckles jump and move. She seemed a bit older than me, petite where her brother was tall. Same pale blue eyes, though. She wore plain black slacks and a T-shirt with a picture of a bluebird above the words “The Dive Bar.”
“Nope,” I said. “Definitely his mother’s style of attack.”
“Shit. Come on, I’ll help you pick it all up.”
“You will?”
“Sure.” Nell’s smile now was genuine, kind.
“Thanks.” This woman’s moods were more chaotic than mine. I couldn’t keep up.
“No problem. Better than just sitting around, waiting for my idiot brother to wake up. We need something to put your stuff in. I think there’s some empty boxes in the garage.” Without another word, she strode off toward the side of the house while I watched, bemused.
People. You could never tell.
I rolled my shoulders, trying to work the kinks out of my back. If anything, my body hurt worse today than it had yesterday. Muscle strain times one thousand.
Funny, with Nell helping, the weight of my mess seemed to lighten. Maybe things weren’t so bad and the bulk of the human race weren’t against me.
Today had been my first in months without a good morning text from Chris.
I mean … of course there hadn’t been one. My cell phone was broken apart. But the lack of it had been less a mild ache and more of a good hard slap upside the back of the head. I’d gotten so used to being part of a couple. To being “we.” Time to adjust back to being alone.
Yep, I was swinging single.
Assorted bugs, bees, and butterflies flitted around, doing their thing. It was, all in all, another perfect summer’s day. In another life, Chris and I would have been en route to Hawaii for our honeymoon. Man, I’d been so excited about the trip. Sandy white beaches, fruity cocktails, and fun. Lots and lots of it. Instead, my new black tankini waved in the wind, stuck halfway up a pine tree.
You had to give it to her, Samantha had been dedicated. She must have been out here for hours last night, throwing my shit around.
Nell and I had been working maybe half an hour, picking the contents of my makeup bag and jewelry box out of a thorny bush, when Vaughan appeared. He stood on the deck, yawning; a cup of coffee filled one hand and a pastry the other. Worn jeans, no shirt, even more reddish-blond stubble.
Damn, he was hot. The kind of hot that only got better with age and experience. Not that I was even remotely interested in getting involved with him beyond the new-friends-having-sex thing. Neither of us intended to stay in town and I had only just gotten out of a ruin of a relationship. But good lord, such a northern Idaho sex god.
Primitive man might have worshipped the sun, but I’m pretty sure the sun worshipped Vaughan. The way it bathed him in a golden glow, showcasing his ink. Tattoos had never even interested me before. A stable job and a fixed residence? Yes. This whole “reckless bad boy living the rock-and-roll lifestyle” vibe Vaughan had going? No. Absolutely not. It went against everything my parents had taught me to value, due to them providing a lack of said things during my childhood.
All the things I probably needed to start questioning, given my recent bad choices. Though, I don’t know. What was wrong with wanting a home and a little stability? Yes, I’d rushed into it, a big mistake on my part. Next time I’d take it slow, really get to know the person and make sure we were right for each other. Lesson learned.
At any rate, I ignored the stirrings of lust from my loins, for now. Etiquette dictated that jumping a man in front of his sibling was not the right thing to do. Plus, with my hangover looming large, now did not strike me as the best time to raise the no-strings-sex topic. No, I’d keep an eye on the man, see if he gave off any of the right signals. My poor girl parts would just have to wait.
At least he couldn’t see me ogling him because of my shades. I probably had drool on my chin, though. Ever so discreetly, I gave it a rub.
“You’ve got a nerve,” said Nell, suddenly tense beside me. If spikes had suddenly appeared running down her spine I would not have been surprised. “Would it have killed you to call me, let me know you were back?”
“Hi, sis.” Another yawn from Vaughan. Then he stuffed his mouth full of pastry, talking around it. Or through it (Chris would have been appalled. Fuck you, Chris.). “Thanks for bringing over breakfast.”
“Eat with your mouth closed. God, you’re gross.” Nell crossed her arms, staring him down. “Have you even evolved since you were eight?”
“I’m taller. And I got over the whole girl-germs thing too.” He winked.