Page 56 of When the Storm Breaks
I groaned. “You’re not starting that again. It took five years for Noah to give up that duckie blanket.”
Shiloh burst out laughing and Lila joined her.
“Say it again,” Shiloh prompted.
I shook my head.
“But it’s so cute when you say duckie,” Lila teased. I held up my middle finger. It only made them laugh harder. “Watch this,” Lila told Shiloh, giving her an exaggerated wink.
Ever the subtle one, Lila lunged at me, her hands headed straight for my ribs. Oh hell no. I spun out of her reach and slammed the screen door in her face.
“Come back, duckie,” Shiloh called.
The girls were still laughing on the porch as I headed toward the kitchen. Now Shiloh would know I was ticklish.
And I never got to ask her what last night had felt like to her, but it was for the best. It had felt like something real and good and true. But that wasn’t our deal. Four more weeks. No strings attached. When it was over, we’d go our separate ways.
End of story.
Chapter Seventeen
Shiloh
I wasn’t goingto do it anymore. I was done.
I wasn’t going to keep stalking Hayley or try to ingratiate myself into the Petersons’ lives in the hopes of easing my troubled conscience. It would only create more problems. I’d have to keep spinning lies and fabricating stories and before I knew it, I’d get so tangled up in my web of lies I wouldn’t be able to get out of it. So I’d made up my mind I was going to leave well enough alone.
I’d already seen Hayley. We’d spoken at the farm stand yesterday. She was cute and fun and adorable. She loved dancing and gymnastics and singing. Hayley had Dean’s smile and his hazel eyes and my nose, but she was her own little person, separate from us, and that was how it should be. She had a mom and a dad who loved her, and a dog called Olaf named after the snowman inFrozen. I’d learned all of this in our brief conversation yesterday. She’d worn a black T-shirt with a purple sequined unicorn on it because she loved unicorns and had paired it with a rainbow skirt because she loved rainbows too.
Meredith told me Hayley sang all the time, mostly songs from Disney movies. “Let It Go” was her favorite song. I recognized the irony and took it as a sign. That’s exactly what I needed to do. Let. It. Go.
“How do I look?” I asked Brody, striking a pose when I answered the door.
“You look like you’re ready to ride a cowboy.”
“Well, howdy pardner.” I tipped my black cowboy hat at him. The hat had been Lila’s idea of going incognito and when I told her how cool it was, she told me Brody had given it to her for her twenty-first birthday which she claimed was a million years ago. I was wearing the hat with the plaid flannel I’d borrowed from Brody, my only two clothing items stolen or borrowed. It hit mid-thigh, fit me like a mini dress and still smelled like Brody’s cedar shower gel. “I hear you do a mean two-step.”
He scowled. “Who told you that?”
“Lila.”
“How does she know... second thought, never mind. I only do the two-step when I’m drunk.”
I scrolled through my phone and hit play on a country song. I made the playlist for this specific purpose. He groaned. “What are you doing?”
“Pretend you’re drunk and show me how it’s done, Cowboy. Or better yet, maybe I should get you liquored up.” I grabbed a bottle of his favorite bourbon from the kitchen and poured what I estimated to be the equivalent of two shots in tumbler glasses. Thanks to Lila, who I’d spent the day with, I knew quite a few more things about Brody now. I picked up my glass and handed one to him. “Drink up or I’ll tickle you to death.”
He scrubbed his hand over his face and shook his head then studied the contents in the glass before his gaze settled on the bottle on the counter. “You bought the bourbon I drink?”
He sounded surprised, like he couldn’t believe anyone would do something like that for him. “Why wouldn’t I? You’re my main squeeze for a month.” I gave him a wink, attempting to keep the mood light. He huffed out a laugh and raked his hand through his hair, not sure what to make of me.
We downed our shots and I poured two more. After we finished our second generous shot, he put his hand over the glass to indicate he’d had enough. “You really wanna dance?”
I nodded. “I really do. Just show me how it's done.”
“I’ll lead. You follow. It’s that simple.”
“Nothing about you is simple, Brody.”
