Page 44 of No Place Like Home
My eyes traveled down to his sweatpants. They had what looked to be grass stains here and there, but how they hung low on his hips. Damn. I did a once over up and down his body again, and yeah,I wanted to be back in that bed with him. Why didn’t I think of throwing a T-shirt out the window? I didn’t need his mother and brother around to see me gawk at him.
Our eyes met, I had to hide my face in my mug of coffee, because the look he gave me could have boiled water it was so steaming hot—with rage. Sure as hell, not desire.
“Good morning, Rowan.” Tonya said in a sappy sweet voice that made me want to vomit. She went over to him and wrapped him in a hug. “Umm,” she said, holding him at arm’s length and glancing down. “How did you go running? You don't have any shoes on.”
He looked at her quizzically.
I interrupted. “Yeah, running, Rowan. You told me you were going running this morning, but that's not what you usually wear.”
His eyes held mine. He was pissed, all right.
“Yeah, well, I decided running wasn’t what I wanted to do. I thought I would just go outside, enjoy the fresh morning air, and bond with that fucking rooster. I didn’t figure I’d be outside for long, so I didn’t take my shoes. I enjoyed the morning dew and soft grass in between my toes as I got chased by a rabid devil-chicken.”
Ohshit. I’d wondered what the commotion was outside the window after I’d shut it, but I’d been too consumed with trying to find my underwear. It was clear I hadn’t put him in the best mood by forcing him naked out of a window first thing in the morning. Being forced naked out of a window and landing face-to-face with the devil-rooster would have pissed me off too. Damn. I fucked up.
“Yeah,” he continued, with biting sarcasm oozing off his words, “as I was enjoying a stroll, thinking I’d make a friend, I got attacked by that damn rooster and stuck with one of those spears he wears on the back of his feet.”
“Oh, my God.” Tonya said as she held him at arm’s length. “That looks bad.” She rushed to the sink and wet a paper towel, then took it back to Rowan and started to wipe the blood off.
He grabbed the towel from her grasp. “Thanks for your help, Mom, but trust me, I don’t need it.” He wiped away the blood and chucked the paper towel into the garbage can with a swish.
I stood from the stool with trepidation as guilt tore through me. He was injured because I forced him out a window. I needed to do something.
I retrieved the first aid kit from the cabinet under the sink and took out a bandage and antiseptic spray. “Here. You should probably put this on. Roosters aren’t the cleanest animals.” I held the spray bottle out. “Can I?” I asked. His gaze hadn’t cooled down from the rage I saw in them earlier. I raised my brow in question.
“Go for it,” he said, his voice flat.
I sprayed the antiseptic, and he hissed in response as his abs contracted at the cold. “Sorry.” I whispered. “It doesn’t look too bad,” I said as I covered it with a bandage. “There. I think you’ll be fine.”
His gaze caught mine. “Thanks.” He picked my hand off his abdomen, which I hadn’t realized I was still touching. “Next time, though, I’ll be more careful when I. Go outside. To Enjoy. The Morning.” He enunciated his words in clipped phrases, his gaze burned so hot I backed away from him and stood against the counter.
He needed some time to cool off, and I couldn’t blame him.
Tonya glanced between us with her lips pursed in thought. “I guess I have no choice but to believe you, Rowan, honey. But you being outside with only sweatpants on makes no sense. You don’t even have a cup of coffee.”
Jamison grabbed a cup from the cabinet. “Yeah, it doesn’t make any sense Mom,” he said. “I found him running from a rooster, pulling up his—”
Rowan interrupted him. “It doesn't matter how you found me, asshole. I'm here and I had a run-in with the rooster, that's all. I tripped as I was running and fell to the ground. The insane rooster jumped on top of me, and I had to fight him off.”
“Rowan,” Tonya said in a motherly voice, “Jamison did nothing to warrant using that language.”
“Exactly,” Jamison agreed as he handed Rowan a fresh cup of coffee, a goofy grin plastered on his face.
Rowan drank deeply as a giggle escaped from Lilly.
“Aren’t you being a little overdramatic, Rowan?” I said trying to lighten the mood and tension that had filled the small kitchen.
His eyes blazed.
I backed away slowly. My attempt didn’t work.
“Okay, well,” Lilly spoke up. “Tonya, Jamison, why don’t we deal with whatever it is we came over to do and leave these two to . . . well . . . yeah. Come on.”
Tonya’s gaze lingered for a split second between Rowan and me, but Rowan’s gaze stayed locked on mine. The intensity reminded me of a storm cloud rolling in—Dark. Wild. Impossible to outrun.
I turned from him and forced a smile at Tonya. “Once we’re ready to go, we’ll come get you,” I said, my voice probably a little too chipper.
Lilly, smirked like she knew exactly what was going on, led Tonya toward the door and yanked on Jamison’s arm as she passed him. He finally pushed himself off the sink and gave me a thumbs up sign, then followed.
