Page 43 of No Place Like Home
“What are you doing, Rowan, and why are you outside with your boxers partially pulled up?” The laughter in his voice was unmistakable.
Could this morning get any worse? I adjusted my hastily thrown-on boxers and stepped into my sweatpants. “Don’t ask. Trust me, it’s not worth it.” I noticed blood on my chest. “Shit.” There were a few scratches, but it looked like nothing serious.
“Hey, Rowan.” Lilly said as she climbed out of Jamison’s truck. “What are you doing outside stepping into your pants?”
Yep. There was my answer. This daycouldget worse, and now more humiliating.
“Both of you, just don’t.” I put up my hand as I adjusted my sweats. A harsh crowing sounded behind me. I jerked around. Big Red stood there, staring at me.
“Get away from me, you fucking cock, or I will catch you and roast you for dinner.” I could have sworn he winked at me before he strutted off in the opposite direction. “I hate that damn rooster. Itmakes for a shitty day when I get chased by him before I’ve even had my first cup of coffee.”
“First cup of coffee? How about before you even got dressed?” Jamison’s laughter reverberated across the back field. God, I hated brothers.
Lilly hid a laugh behind her hand. “Sorry, Rowan,” she said, “but how come you came outside undressed?”
“The rooster’s fault,” I said as I stormed past them toward the house.
“What, he undressed you?” Jamison chuckled. “You can’t tell me that rooster pulled your sweats and boxers off.”
“Shut up, asshole.” There was no way I could ever talk about this. How the hell could I make this make any sense to anyone?Well, I had sex with Summer, and—even though we’re consenting adults—when my mother walked into the house, Summer made me jump out the window naked so no one would know we spent the night together. Then, as I was dressing in the grass in the front of the house, the crazy rooster chased me down and tried to impale me.Yeah, fat chance of that story ever seeing the light of day.
Damn, I needed a stiff drink, but coffee would have to do. Hopefully Summer had a pot brewing and had already dealt with my mother. “Why are you two here so early, anyway?”
“It’s not early. It’s almost eleven,” Lilly said with laughter in her voice.
I shot her a narrowed gaze.
She bit her lips and grabbed Jamison’s hand.
“I had to give something to Mom,” Jamison said. “When I called, she said she was coming over and I should meet her here.” There was no mistaking the laughter in his voice. “Did she surprise you,and you had to make a quick escape from the house naked?” He opened the door, and I stepped past him. No way in hell was I going to answer him. I really needed a fucking cup of coffee.
Chapter 19
Summer
Tonya was at the Keurig when I finally composed myself to enter the kitchen. Facing her was a challenge on a good day, but this morning . . . I took a deep breath and brushed my hands through my hair. “Hey, Tonya, what the hell are you doing here so early?”
“Girl, it's not early. It's almost eleven. Here.” She handed me a cup of coffee. “Drink it and relax. I made it how you like it.”
“Thank you,” I said as I sat on a stool at the counter. I sipped the coffee. It was velvety smooth and rich. I could feel the caffeine work its magic immediately—and with how this morning started, I needed a good, caffeinated kick in the ass.
Rowan and I hadn’t slept much last night—not that I was complaining at all. His expression of anger mixed with shock as I forced him out the window filled my mind. Okay, maybe I overreacted a bit. We could have played off the shared bedroom thing a little better. Well, I could have, anyway. I took another sip of coffee. Luckily, Rowan was a good sport and never held a grudge.
“You need to drink that and wake up so we can leave in a bit. By the way, you never answered me. Where’s Rowan? His car’s here, but he’s not.”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “He said he was going out for a run this morning, so I guess that’s what he did.”
“Hmmm.” Tonya eyed the room. “He must have folded up his bed clothes, because I don't see that he slept here on the couch. There’s no pillow or blanket.”
Shit. Could she not stop being such a nosy busybody? “Yeah, well, you know he still has that military in him. He always puts everything away as soon as he’s up.” I laid my face in my hand. I was going to have to act like she was invisible and ignore her. Maybe if I kept my mouth shut and drank my coffee, she would disappear.
Just then, the back door opened. “Good morning, everyone,” Jamison said as he and Lilly walked in.
I felt my body deflate. Fuck. Maybe I could fold up into myself and hide away until Christmas. We might be able to get one past Tonya, but Jamison and Lilly would be a bit harder.
“Look who I found outside hanging with a rooster,” Jamison said with laughter in his voice.
I sat up straight when I saw Rowan behind Jamison, looking like he’d seen better days. His hair had that sexy, just-out-of-bed look, but his shirtless torso had some patches of dirt, like he’d rolled around on the ground. And were those scratches on his chest? Did I do that to him last night? I checked my nails. I didn’t think so.
