I Run to You (44 page)

Coy asked, “Does it bother you?”

“No. Our relationship is not like that. He’d
already told me he has feelings for her.”

Coy nudged her arm. “She’s over there, in the
sexy pink shorts and white tank, pretending she’s not watching
him.”

Brook picked Ashley out. Cute hairstyle,
sunglasses, indeed short shorts in pale pink and a white tank. She
was talking to Madeline but looking to where Rafe was taking a
break.

Brook’s lips turned up, noting he had sprayed
himself with water, muscles gleaming, and black hair slicked back.
He wore a pair of shorts with pockets all over them, some kind of
soccer shoes.

“I hope she gives him a chance.”

“You hope that for a lot of people. Besides
us,” Coy rasp.

Brook met his tiger-eyes. “They don’t have a
history. We do.” She turned and walked off.

He caught up with her, sometime after Max,
who muttered he was going to rescue Jordan before they turned her
black and blue, hugged her.

Brook had headed for the pier, carrying her
bottle of iced water.

Standing back enough to watch a few teens
racing jet skis, she muttered as he came close, “You going to
follow me all evening?”

“No. I’m going to flirt with you though.”

She grunted.

Brook could tell Coy was grinning when he
said, “You’ll like it.”

She yelped when his hand slapped her ass,
before he sauntered to the dock.

Exasperated, yet finding herself watching him
too, she watched him hop on one of the boats and yell, whoever
wanted to ski, better hurry their ass up.

For the next while, she observed those on the
lake, Coy taking the skiers beyond the cove.

“Hey, lady.”

She smiled at Ashley, who came up and put an
arm around her waist.

“I’m glad you came.” Brook looked over her
shoulder for Rafe, seeing him standing with Madeline wiping his
face on a towel.

“I debated a long time.”

Meeting those green eyes, Brook said
honestly, “You know we’re good friends, Rafe and I. I consider you
one too. He really likes you.”

That pert nose wrinkled. “I’m a little older
than him.”

“Oh. God, I’ve heard that too much
lately.”

“And too cynical.”

Brook gave her a one-arm hug. “You want him.
You think he’s hot. Probably always have. And now you’re over
thinking everything.”

“I’d never do anything to hurt you, or
Madeline.”

“Shit.” Brook dropped her arm and turned to
face her. “You can’t be serious? “

She searched Ashley’s face. “You are.” She
sighed, shaking her head. “Ash. I love Rafe. Mom loves him. Most
everyone does. I will admit we are very close. However, we were not
in love. It didn’t—” Brook shrugged. “It was complicated, but
there’s nothing there now but a friendship.”

Ashley searched her face and then nodded.

Cupping her cheeks playfully, Brook insisted,
“Stop over thinking. You have an incredible man an inch from
falling deeply in love with you. He likes everything about you.
Good and bad—and all that sass.”

When she dropped her hands, Ashley grimaced
on a laugh. “It scares the hell out of me.”

“He’s flirty, yet very deep. Intense?”

Ashley nodded. “I’ll be honest. I have had a
few casual things. But, guys just do not care. They do not care
what your emotional state is or why—anything. And I learned with my
ex, they can be vengeful.”

“You know Rafe. You two could have some deep
conversations. Open up to him. Let him do the same.”

Ashley turned, and Brook did with her. Rafe
spotted them, gave them a grin and wave. They waved back.

“How weird must this be for him?” Ashley
snorted laughing. “He’ll think we’re comparing notes.”

“Honey.” Brook told her. “You rock his world,
in bed and out. That’s the only shit he knows right now.”

They laughed and walked up to the group that
included Ashley’s friends, Madeline, Ruby, Nick, and Rafe.

Brook observed the way Rafe looked at Ashley
when they were standing around talking. She knew he wanted to touch
the woman, hold her hand, anything.

She leaned and whispered in Ashley’s ear.
“Stop torturing him.”

It was a smooth move. Ashley pretended to
move over as someone else joined their group, and in the process,
took Rafe’s hand.

Brook caught her Mom’s eye and smiled.

Madeline raised a brow as if she wanted to
ask questions, but Brook simply laughed and left the friends to
enjoy each other.

“You staying for the bon fire?” Levi asked,
passing her again, this time headed back to the water.

“I guess.”

“We roast marshmallows and hot dogs. But we
leave earlier.” He made a disgusted face. “Karen and all of them
stay and smooch on their boyfriends.”

“Ewww.” Brook laughed and ruffled his
curls.

He added before dashing off, “We get to stay
the night with our cousins. They’ve have tents set up in their
woods.”

“Sounds great.”

“Say hi to pup for me.”

She promised to, making her way to Jordan,
who was holding an ice pack on her knee. On the same blanket, Max
was wiping down his camera.

“Thank God, You’re alive.” Brook teased.

Red faced, damp with sweat Jordan groaned.
“Just barely.”

“Let me see that knee.” Brook moved the pack
and checked it. It was bruised and red. She put the pack back on
it. “It’ll smart more tomorrow.”

Max finished and told Brook, “Mind walking
with her down to the showers?”

“No.” Brook stood and helped Jordan up. After
testing the knee she caught the clothing Max tossed at her.

Max said, “If I go, I’ll want to rinse the
soap off.”

“Pervert.” Brook teased him.

“She loves me perverted.”

On the way to the showers, pretty far down,
and amid the cool copse of trees, Brook asked her, “Do you?”

“Beyond sanity.” Jordan sighed.

Looking at the expression on her face, Brook
believed that.

Before going around the wood structure, to
the stall showers, Jordan glanced at her and said, “He’s changed my
world. My way of looking at myself— and everyone else.” With a bit
of amazement she finished, “He makes me love myself, and be proud
of myself, believe I can do anything—everything.”

Touching her cheek, Brook almost wept. “And
so you should. And he does those things, because you’ve changed his
life too.”

While Jordan showered, Brook walked over a
small embankment to a weathered picnic table. The space was not
very big. There were oak and pine growing crookedly over the hill
to shade it. Sitting on the tabletop, she watched the water move
and slosh up over the lake edge. It had been weed whacked, but the
motion of boats racing up and down the lake kept it pushing twigs
and debris on the bank.

She soaked in the sounds of children playing,
people laughing and yelling. A day of cutting loose for the hard
working Coburns.

Trying to keep her mind off Coy. Trying—to
tell herself that she was not as drawn to him as her mind and body
sometimes seemed when he was around. All those times, he had come
to visit, she would have to go through the same round of lecturing
herself, distracting herself from the crazy feelings. Crazy.
Because they should not still exist.

Jordan found her after the shower and joined
her on the table, her sweat and grass stained clothing rolled up,
her hair wet. She was dressed in knee length shorts, retro converse
and a T-shirt.

Jordan lit a cigarette. “I got to' quit after
this pack.” She handed one to Brook. “With Leigh coming and
all.”

“Yep.” Pulling on that one, while Jordan lit
another, they sat there awhile, looking out toward the other side
of the lake.

“We can’t wait to meet her.”

“Neither can I.”

Brook embraced her. “You’ll be the coolest
Mom on earth.”

“That’s what Max says.” Jordan laughed
blowing smoke.

“I didn’t ask you to kidnap her,” Max
called.

Looking over their shoulder, they laughed.
Max was holding a towel. He told Jordan, “Gonna shower real quick.
Then take the group photos before the sun goes down. You two have
to be in them.”

“Will do,” Brook assured. After he left to
shower, they walked the trail back, encountering people now and
then, who were going for walks in the shade.

At their spot, Jordan said, “Best go enjoy
yourself before the sun goes down.”

Brook nodded and went—groaning inwardly to
see Coy swaggering toward her.

She should have known he was up to something,
but he had scooped her off her feet—and went running with her
toward the water, before she could do anything.

Screaming like crazy, Brook felt them go
airborne. He’d run the length of the pier—and jumped off.

Plunging under the murky water with him, she
felt him take her face in his hands, and kiss her. Afterwards, he
brought them to the surface, the crowds beyond them clapping,
whistling, and yelling out.

Scooping her hair back Brook sputtered,
“You’re a shit. Coy Coburn! “

He laughed and slung his head like a dog
spraying water.

Under the water, he had her by the waist.
“Now— you look like you’ve been to a Coburn Picnic.”

She was headed to heave herself back up on
the pier, and he lifted her up high enough to reach it, then
joining her when she sat, legs dangling. Coy smoothed water off his
face and teased, “Lemme see if you’re nipples are standing
out.”

She elbowed him. “If that’s flirting—” Brook
heard Jason approaching. “Behave.”

Jason was laughing. “Damn. Nobody got that on
film. I think Madeline screamed louder than you did, Brook.” He
handed her a big beach towel.

“And you didn’t save me. Did you? Didn’t even
try and trip him.” Brook stuck her tongue out at Jason.

He laughed. “You missed all the other
picnics. It is sorta' an initiation. An honor.”

She rolled her eyes and snorted.

Wrapping the towel around her shoulders, she
scrapped the end over her wet face. “Coburn baptism. Y’all are all
crazy.”

Jason pat Coy on the shoulder and winked. He
was laughing still as he left them, going somewhere to the right to
help bring up the inner tubes that were tied, to keep them from
floating off.

She slanted a look at Coy.

He seemed to be waiting for it. “That’s what
you get for not letting me take you out on a boat.”

“I would not trust you—” she started to say,
on a boat, jokingly. However, the moment it was out, the both of
them sobered.

After a few moments, Coy leaned down to husk
in her ear, “Give me the next few hours. Today. Pretend there is no
past. Pretend it’s as if we’ve met… as we are now.”

His hand reached over, taking hers that was
covered by the towel edge on her thigh.

Brook stared at their hands, her heart
beating too hard. She sighed, weak, so weak, where he was
concerned. She nodded, her stomach knotting up even as she did
so.

I am going to be sorry for this, she
thought.

They could not say more. Max was calling for
everyone to gather for pictures.

“Oh. My—God.” Brook looked down at her soaked
clothing.

“You bring a change?’

“Yes.”

Coy stood and took her hand, pulling her
up.

He was half running with her.

“Where we going?”

He took her up the hill to her car. While she
retrieved her bag, he started the four-wheeler. Taking the bag to
tuck it in front, he said, “Hop on.”

Brook climbed on, holding to him. She’d
ridden with him before, and so as he weaved in and out of cars,
jumped the bank— and headed through the trees for the shower, she
wasn’t scared.

It was a rush actually.

He did a sliding turn at the showers and
turned the engine off.

She climbed off and got her bag.

He relaxed back, but said, “Hurry.”

She did. Showering fast, slathering lotion,
pulling on low-rise running pants and a lightweight hoodie. Brook
slid her feet into clogs and tried via a small mirror to finger
style her hair. Afterwards, a dash of gloss, a dab of brown mascara
had to do.

She met Coy out there, his look taking in the
snug soft pants and top, in the color of cinnamon. Handing him the
bag, she climbed on. They went for a hair-curling ride down the
path, between the trees, to the picnic spot.

Brook hopped off, took her place beside
Madeline and Mitch, Coy beside Jude, with Levi by his side.
Somewhere in their group were Rafe, Ashley, and Nick.

A tripod was there for Max to get in the next
frame.

After groups, came the kids alone. Then
couples.

Brook took the camera, so Max could pose with
Jordan.

Her eyes watered a bit. Max knew just how to
turn Jordan in the rays of sunset. He cupped her face, with one
hand. Brook got a series leading up to a kiss that was so romantic
there were whistles and yells from every direction.

Handing the camera back, she found Coy
watching, he was talking to the cousin whom Levi was staying
with.

Coy said to her afterwards, “I need to go
home and change. Come with me. “

She walked to the four-wheeler, climbing on.
They cut across the grass. She caught her Mother’s raised brow
look, but Brook was trying to ignore the hard flesh she held onto.
Trying to not panic about her giving in to his request.

At his house, they went inside, Coy waved
toward the kitchen. “Starbucks, ground, bottom right shelf. I’ll
just be a bit.”

She went around the counter and fixed coffee,
looking across at the den and living area while it brewed. He had
cleaned recently and other than his laptop and several gadgets on
the sofa, it was neat as a lived in house could be.

Brook filled a mug and walked around, looking
at photos, several on a large bookshelf. There were children’s
books, lots of hunting and fishing ones too. A whole shelf on
marketing/business/ textbooks she presumed. There were also framed
pictures that Levi must have drawn from babyhood up.