Page 18 of Downpour

I clenched my jaw as she knelt, grabbed the bottle, and popped it open.

“How many do you want?” Her eyes met mine. They reminded me of bluebonnets and an endless summer sky.

I blinked away the momentary stupor. “I’m fine. It just fell.”

Brooke laughed. “I get that. I’m such a klutz. This morning, I forgot to grab my phone charger and I tripped up the stairs on the way to get it. I’ll leave three pills here just in case.”

I watched as she counted them out in her palm, then left them in a little pile on the edge of the countertop.

“Just holler if you need anything.” She skipped back out to the deck and propped her feet up on a chair, talking to Mickey as she ate.

When I was sure that she was deep in conversation with the cow, I scooped the pills off the edge of the counter and into my palm, then tossed them back.

I wrapped both hands around the plastic iced coffee cup. The condensation beading on the side made it slippery, but I took it slow and washed the painkillers down with a sip from the straw.

Black coffee was terrible.

I grabbed the taco to chase away the taste of burnt coffee beans. Damn. It smelled good.

I was half-tempted to join her on the deck, just so I could stare at those bronze legs.Damn.

My dick twitched. That was inconvenient, especially because I was in gym shorts.

Those legs dropped from their perch, and Brooke strolled in. “Oh good! I was worried I caught you too late and you wouldn’t be hungry! How do you like it?”

Fuck me.I needed my dick to calm down. I dropped my hand and the taco to my crotch to hide the growing tent in my pants.

Her ass peeked out the bottom of her shorts as she tossed her balled up parchment into the garbage and bent over to tie the trash bag.

Most of the people who were sent out here wore scrubs. There was no way in hell she was supposed to wear barely-there denim cutoffs and a tank top that showed off her fine little body.

“You can go,” I snapped. Honestly, I should have sat back and let myself look at something pretty, but all it did was remind me of everything I had lost.

Brooke paused. “What?”

“Leave.”

She laughed. “I just got here.”

I clenched my fist and pressed it against the armrest of my chair. “Go.”

Her eyes dropped to my shorts, and she frowned. “Do you want me to get you a plate? I really don’t mind helping. That’s why I’m here. I just didn’t want to bother you.”

She was already on her tiptoes, reaching into my cabinet.

“I don’t want a plate!” I roared. “I want you out of my house!”

Brooke froze in shock. Her eyes widened and welled up with tears, turning a glassy blue like the pond outside.

“I—I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’ll do better. I’ll?—“

I stared at the floor so I didn’t have to see the hurt on her face. “Get out.”

Her feet scrambled as I added, “And don’t come back.”

The house was dark.Moonlight filtered in through the windows. It was the middle of the night, but I couldn’t sleep. I had been lying in bed for hours, staring at the ceiling the way I used to.

Except this time, there were no popcorn ceilings to see patterns in. That was my fault. I had told the builders to make the ceilings smooth.

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