Page 27 of Toxic

“Thanks again, Toxic,” I told him.

“Be home by five. That’ll give you time to eat and shower before you head back to the hospital,” he said. He slapped the side of the truck in goodbye.

I turned the truck around and gave into the urge to watch him walk away in my rearview. Every minute I spent with him I could feel myself softening. I didn’t know how else to explain it. I needed to be careful. It had hurt me so badly when I caught Will cheating on me with another woman. It’d hurt, but I’d moved on. Something told me the same kind of situation with Toxic wouldutterly destroy me. I needed to get away from him before I went and did something stupid, like fall in love with him.

CHAPTER 10

Toxic

Iglanced over as the door swung open. The guys had left a few hours earlier when we’d knocked off for the day. The barn was a quarter of the way painted. I was fucking glad that Billie had the ladders we needed in order to hit all the high points, because those bitches were expensive.

Not that I didn’t have enough money to pay for some ladders. I had more than I’d ever need, but it was just the principle of the thing. I had ladders back in Wyoming that could do the job. Shouldn’t have to buy more. It didn’t matter that I was in Arizona, not Wyoming. They were still mine.

The guys had spent the entire time asking questions about Billie and giving me endless amounts of shit. Every one of them was now convinced that I was in love with her. Which meant all of their old ladies would be thinking the same. I hadn’t seen any of the women because I’d been here, sleeping in what had to bethe guest room, and taking care of Billie. But I knew I wasn’t going to be able to avoid them for much longer.

This was karma for all the hell I’d put my brothers through over the years as they found and fell in love with their women. I’d been happy for them, but I’d given them copious amounts of shit.

My woman walked through the door, smiling, and I damn near dropped the pan of chicken in my hand. Her beautiful brown eyes dropped to the roasting pan. “That smells so good.”

I cleared my throat and set the pan on the stove. “Roasted buttered chicken,” I told her. Glancing over, I arched a brow. “How’s he doing?”

Her eyes softened. Fuck I loved when she looked at me like that. The look in her eyes was sort of a mix of surprise and appreciation that I’d asked something personal of her. I knew with how much she loved her grandfather he had to care for her just as much. Did nobody else ask this woman about herself?

“So much better,” she said, sounding relieved. “The doctor thinks he’ll actually be able to come home either tomorrow or the next day.”

“Have a seat,” I said, jerking my head toward the table. I continued to work on putting dinner together. “That’s good,” I said, responding to her news. “I bet he can’t wait to get back into his own damn bed. No one sleeps well in a hospital. Not with the nurses coming in and out all hours of the night.”

“You sound like you have a lot of experiences with hospitals,” she said.

I heard the question in her voice. Nodding, I brought plates of food over to the table. “My mom was hit by a drunk driver when I was younger. Was in the hospital for a couple weeks while they tried to keep her alive. Eventually, the doctor’s told us there was no hope and that they were just keeping her body alive. Everything else that made her her was gone.”

“I’m so sorry, Toxic,” she said, voice soft. There was silence while I brought everything else and then sat down. “I lost my dad, too.”

“What happened?” I asked, taking her plate and dishing up enough for three meals before setting it back down in front of her.

She gave me a wry smile. “I can’t eat all this.”

“Try.”

She shook her head, but picked up her fork. “He didn’t come back from one of the fields for lunch. He never missed lunch time,” she explained. “I went out to find him. I knew which fences he was riding that day.”

I leaned an arm on the table and watched the regret and sadness flash over her face. She was so expressive. “You found him?”

She nodded, staring down at her plate. “We think a rattlesnake spooked his horse. Threw him.”

I gave her a sympathetic look. “Damn. How old were you?”

“Seventeen, still in high school. Normally that wouldn’t be a big deal, but his head hit a rock. Doctor said it was one in a million odds but it was enough to kill him instantly.”

“Sorry, Billie. That sucks.”

We both ate for a few moments in silence before she blew out a breath. “Do you have any siblings?”

It was my turn for a wry smile. “One brother. He was killed in action.”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’m just not going to ask any more questions.”

I chuckled. “It was a long time ago. It’s alright. My dad’s alive and kicking.”

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