Page 40 of First Love, Second Draft

Close. She was trying to escape down the stairs. She’d made it as far as the top step, snorting and frothing worse than a manager yelling at an umpire for making a bad call. “You can’t do this to me. I have rights.”

“Well, I have the right to inhale a breath of air without gagging whenever I’m in the same room as you.”

She bumped into the wall as he reached for her. “It is not that bad.”

“It’s darn close.” Trying to be both firm and gentle, he tugged her away from the wall and scooped her into his arms.

“Noah, please.”

“Please, what? Stop trying to help you?” Woman weighed less than a sack of laundry. “You’re not taking care of yourself, Grace. That’s the truth. So whether you like it or not, I’m going to help you. And right now that means getting you squeaky clean.”

Noah glided down the narrow hallway, making extra effort not to jostle her. He knew her bruised ribs still had to ache. He’d taken enough line drives on the pitcher’s mound to have a taste of what that felt like.

“Okay,” she said once they reached the bathroom, panting as if she’d been the one doing the carrying. “You win. I’ll do it. I’ll take a bath. Just put me down. I can handle it from here.”

Noah started to kick the bathroom door shut behind him, then thought better of it. Why bother? Nobody else was in the house. He used his foot instead to knock the toilet seat lid down so he could set Gracie on top of it.

Her clenched jaw jutted out. “Did you hear me? I’ve got this. You can go. I’m completely capable of taking a bath on my own.”

“Is that why you’ve been wearing the same stinky robe days on end with nothing but your skivvies on underneath? Because you’re so darn capable?”

Her face blushed a deep shade of crimson and she fisted her robe together tightly against her throat.

“Or hold up. Wait a second now.” A thought struck him. Onehe’d probably be smart not to voice out loud. But since when had anyone ever accused him of being smart? “You’re not wearing any skivvies, are you?”

“Would you stop saying the wordskivvies?”

“You’ve been going commando. That’s what was up with the scissors a few days ago. Okay. Makes sense. Oh, but please tell me you didn’t destroy the red pair.”

“Leave.”

“Not until you’re covered in bubbles, my dear.”

“I’m serious.”

“Me too.” Noah squeezed soap into the tub, the scent of lavender quickly flooding the room. Bubbles frothed and lifted as the water level rose. “Just about there.”

She shook her head, clutching her robe together at her neck. “I’m not getting in until you leave.”

“You know there’s nothing under that robe I haven’t seen before.”

“I know there’s nothing under here that you’re ever going to see again.”

“Would it even out the playing field if I got naked too?”

“Noah—”

“I’m kidding. Oh my goodness, calm down. I’m not trying to have my way with you. I’m merely trying to give you a bath and make you smell better. Would it kill you to let somebody help you out just once in your life?”

“If there’s nudity involved, yes.”

Noah twisted off the jets. “I’ll keep my eyes closed.”

Gracie gripped her robe, staring him down as bad as the batter he’d beamed on the hip a few weeks ago with a wild pitch. He’d thought for a moment they were going to clear the benches.

“Come on, Gracie. You know you can’t climb in and out of that tub on your own. And you know you’re going to feel a thousand times better when you’re done. Just let me help you. Because right now, whether you like it or not, I’m all you’ve got. I’m the one who showed up for you.”

“You showed up for me because you had nothing left to keep you away. I call that playing second fiddle.”

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