Page 33 of Need Me
Brooke joined him, looking at the skunk, who lifted his head and blinked sleepily at them. “That’s the biggest skunk I’ve everseen.”
Robert smiled. “Yeah, he’s a big boy. He’s completely harmless,though.”
Sketch yawned, repositioned himself and went back tosleep.
“Okay, well, I’ll leave you to it,” Robert said, closing the door as he left thebathroom.
He got a beer from the fridge and took it to the porch to wait for theshower.
* * *
“Guess what happened then, TJ?”Brooke touched her nose to her best friend, Emily’s eight-month-old son’s nose. “That goat had four babies!Four!”
TJ giggled and waved his chubby arms around excitedly. With his pale blond hair and big hazel eyes, he was the spitting image of Emily. There was not one part of little TJ that reminded her of his daddy,Tyler.
Brooke sat on one of the recliners in the Jeffries’ farmhouse, playing with the baby and visiting with Emily, who was sorting through TJ’s outgrown babyclothes.
“I wish Anna and Chase had decided to find out the babies’ sex,” Emily remarked, folding anonesie.
Brooke said, “I think it’s nice that they’re doing it the old-fashioned way. I might, too, when the timecomes.”
Emily laughed. “I couldn’t wait to find out with TJ. The suspense was killing me. Tyler,too.”
Brooke tickled TJ and he giggled again. “Well, that makes sense since neither of you can be trusted around wrapped Christmaspresents.”
“That’s not true,” Emilyprotested.
Brooke stared at her while arching aneyebrow.
Looking chagrined, Emily muttered, “Okay, maybe it’s a littletrue.”
Brooke settled TJ on her lap. “A little? You want to open other people’s presents if they aren’t fastenough.”
Emily put a stack of clothes in a shopping bag. “I can’t help it. Wrapping paper is supposed to ripped open, notsaved.”
Brooke laughed as she thought about Anna’s habit of carefully opening presents so that she didn’t rip the wrapping paper she liked. It had driven Emily almost insane at Christmastime.
“I mean, they’re rich. They don’t have to save the paper, for God’s sake,” Emily went on. “Then we had to gather it all up and give it to Chase to take to the recycling center. I still can’t believe he went around town in a Santa suit collecting wrapping paper and corrugated cardboard boxes the day afterChristmas.”
“Chase just cares about the environment,” Brooke said. “He’s trying to save the planet for futuregenerations.”
Emily stopped folding clothes. “What’s with you? It usually annoys you as much it doesme.”
Brooke grinned. “I’m just in such a good mood after last night that Chase’s eccentric behavior isn’t fazingme.”
“Helping a goat give birth isn’t something I’d have ever thought would make you so happy,” Emilysaid.
“I wouldn’t have, either, but it was more than that.” Brooke played with TJ’s adorable tiny toes. “Before Sally had her babies, do you know whathappened?”
Emily finished with the clothes and stretched out on the couch. “Whathappened?”
“I slept with Robert. Just slept. On his lap. While he heldme.”
The way Emily’s jaw dropped. “Noway.”
“Way. I kept nodding off while we were waiting and he never got mad.” Brooke smiled. “I drifted off and the next thing I know, he was picking me up and putting me on his lap. He didn’t try anything. Just held me.” Her mouth turned down. “That would’ve never happened with my ex. Sex was always his first priority. And he had a routine. I mean he could be spontaneous and he was great in bed, but there was just something lacking once I had the stars out of my eyes, youknow?”
Emily nodded. “Love. True love. That’s what was missing. I slept with a few other guys besides Ty, but none of them could compare. The sex was good, but not like it is with him. I can’t think straight when he starts kissing me. You get theidea.”
