Not Just Friends (Brookfield) (15 page)

“Why?”

“We
need to monitor you and wake you every hour. Unless…” The doctor turned to
Alyssa. “Are you his girlfriend?”

Connor
watched. At first, her eyes went wide, but then she nodded. “Yes.”

“If
you’re up to not getting a good night’s rest yourself, you can take him home
and wake him every hour.”

Alyssa
looked at him and smiled. “He’s lucky my store’s not open tomorrow and I don’t
have to work.”

“All
right, Mr. Phillips. Looks like you’ve got a winner there. I’ll start the
process so you can go home.”

Connor
was glad to know he was getting out of this place and even more relieved to know
Alyssa was going to be taking care of him.

“You
sure about this?” Cody asked Alyssa. “The roads. I feel like I just keep
repeating myself.”

“I
got here safely. I’ll get us back too. And besides, I stay up Sundays reading
anyway. Where are you staying, Diane?”

“With
Cody,” Diane answered.

“What?
I already got your boyfriend there and apparently you two didn’t make up.”

“Get
used to it, bro, I think I might just stick around Brookfield for awhile.”
Diane wrapped an arm around Cody’s waist.

Cody
groaned and said to Alyssa, “You sure you can get home okay?”

She
nodded. “Yup, I’ll be safe and text you when we get back to my place.”

Connor
watched as the siblings interacted. Finally Alyssa hugged each of them and
closed the door behind them. She took a seat in the chair next to his bed.
Neither of them spoke, but he knew how lucky he was. And tomorrow when he felt
more like himself, he intended on letting Alyssa know how he truly felt.

* * * *

The
next morning, Alyssa found herself exhausted. She’d done as the doctors
requested, and every hour on the dot, woke Connor. And now that morning had
come, she was ready to go to bed herself. She’d dozed some during the night,
but hadn’t gotten any solid sleep. As soon as Connor was up, she planned to
crawl into bed herself.

Though
Connor had done his best to get her into bed with him, she’d resisted. Not that
she didn’t want to curl up with him and be held in his arms. If she had,
though, she never would’ve been able to play nurse. They both would’ve slept
peacefully through the night.

“Morning,”
Connor said as he came into the living room.

“Good,
you’re up. I’m going to bed.”

He
laughed and smiled at her. “Go get some rest.”

Alyssa
started to stand, but as Connor stood before her in a pair of her sweatpants
and a T-shirt, she found she didn’t want to be away from him. Didn’t want to be
in another room without him any longer. She patted the seat next to her. “Think
I could rest on your chest? I’ll be careful of your arm.”

“I’d
like nothing more.”

Connor
sat down and she placed her head on him. He pulled the blanket off the back of
the couch and wrapped it around them. It didn’t take Alyssa long at all to
cross the bridge to dreamland.

A
few hours later, Alyssa woke. She had expected to still be wrapped up with
Connor, but found herself alone on the couch instead. She sat up and wiped her
eyes.

“Connor,”
she called out.

“In
the kitchen. Don’t get up.”

She
yawned and still felt exhausted. But then Connor appeared from the kitchen,
carrying a tray containing two plates with one hand. After he sat, he handed
her a plate. On it she saw a toasted sandwich and chips. “I should be cooking
for you.”

“Just
eat. I’m fine.”

She
took a bite of her sandwich. It was really good. That, or she was starving.
Probably both.

“Can
we talk?” he asked.

“I
think so. We have our heads clearer now. I didn’t want either of us to say
something just because of the accident.”

“I
can understand that. I have just one thing to tell you.”

“All
right.”

“I
love you.”

Had
she just heard that? Had he said he loved her?

“As
I’ve been trying to tell you, I was a fool. I can’t blame my friends about the
girl. I can only blame myself. But I’ve known all along that you are who I want
to be with for the rest of my life. I want to grow old with you. You get me and
I think I get you in return. I have fun with you.”

“Having
fun and loving me are two different things, Connor. I don’t want you to change
who you are for me.”

“I’m
not. I didn’t mean I was only having fun with you.” He set his plate down. “Let
me start over. I’ve never loved someone before. I didn’t realize it was so hard
to convey it.”

Alyssa
smiled and put her plate down as well. She cupped his face. “I love you too.”

“Really?”

“Yes,
I’ve always loved you. But I thought I was just the shy girl who was your friend.
And then I thought I was just someone you wanted to have fun with.”

“You’ve
always been more than just some shy girl. I’m in love with you.” He gazed
deeply into her eyes.

“Really?”
Her voice almost caught in her throat.

“Yes,
really. God, I’ve been trying to show you all this time. I know who I used to
be, but I don’t want to be that person. I want to be your man.”

She
reached forward and hooked her thumb in his collar, bringing him close to her.
“I want nothing more than for you to be mine as well. I don’t think I could’ve
ever settled on being just your friend.”

“Definitely
not.”

Alyssa
pressed her lips to his and stared into his eyes. “Think you’re up to a little
fun?”

“Oh,
yeah.”

She
flashed him a grin. “Good, I just got a new video game. Up for a round?”

“Only
after I make love to the woman I plan to spend the rest of my life with.”

Hearing
those words was all the foreplay Alyssa needed. She climbed into his lap and
intended to show him how much she loved him…and then she’d beat him at the new
video game.

The End

About Lacey Wolfe

Lacey
Wolfe has always had a passion for words, whether it’s getting lost in a book
or writing her own. From the time she was a child she would slip away to write
short stories about people she knew and fantasies she wished would happen. It
has always been her dream to be a published author and with her two children
now of school age, she finally has the time to work on making her dream come
true.
Lacey lives in Georgia with her husband, son and daughter, their six cats and
one black lab who rules the house.

www.laceywolfe.com

www.facebook.com/AuthorLaceyWolfe

www.twitter.com/LaceyWolfe

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The
Brookfield Series – Volume 1 (Includes Finding Home and Bare Necessities_

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Bods Series

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Than Useful

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Love

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Finding Home – The story that started
the Brookfield Series

Available Now!

Chapter
One

Welcome
to Brookfield, Wyoming. We hope you enjoy your visit.

Julie Miller
rolled her eyes as she passed the sign that welcomed her back to her hometown.
It had been a long time since she’d been back. It was one of those places that
never changed, and its people would take you back anytime with their arms wide
open.

As she drove
down Main Street, she took note the town was almost the same. Just a fresh coat
of paint on many of the stores. The street lights that lit the darkened streets
had all been replaced and now had a more modern look to them.

It was a ghost
town though. Then again, what did she expect? It was eleven at night, and this
was the small town of Brookfield. Nothing stayed open late. Everyone was
probably home, nestled up warm in their beds. She had debated on going straight
to her mother’s house, but she was coming unannounced. It would be best to
arrive in the morning.

At the stop
sign, Julie took a right onto Steeple Lane and headed toward Honeycreek Bed and
Breakfast. She pulled up to the beautiful house. The front porch was lit up. It
was as if they knew she was coming. As she shut off the car, she sat a moment
to compose herself. Returning here was more difficult than she’d expected. Soon
everyone would be asking questions about why she was here and, even if she
could avoid answering, they would all be able to see why.

Julie placed her
hand on her belly. A tear trickled down her cheek as she remembered.

Pacing
back and forth across the bathroom, Julie waited. Deep down she knew what that
stick was going to say, but all she could do was pray it wouldn’t. As if she
even had that control at this point. What was done was done, and there was no
changing it.

The
timer on her cell phone went off. Biting her bottom lip, she turned toward the
test. It was time to find out if what she feared was true. She had laid the box
over the stick, and she now had to remove it to see if it would confirm her
fear. As her arms shook, she pushed the box aside and stared down at the
results.

“Shit,”
she said. “I’m pregnant.”

Well,
she had no other choice now. She was over three months late, and she had to
tell Jeremy. She was scared to tell him. They’d never discussed children.
Things were getting serious between them. She had just recently moved into his
apartment since she was here all the time anyway.

She
found him in the living room like usual.

“Jeremy,”
Julie said softly, feeling a lump in her throat.

“Huh?”
he responded.

“We
need to talk.”

“Right
now?”

“It’s
important,” she said, starting to feel frustrated.

“Fine.
What?” he snapped and then muted the TV. He turned toward her in his recliner.

She
took a deep breath and blurted out, “I’m pregnant.”

“You’re
what?” His voice was loud now.

“Please
don’t make me say it again.”

“This
is just great! I move you in here, and you get yourself knocked up.” He shook
his head, now noticing the test in her hand. “You’re going to have to take care
of that.”

Julie
hoped he wasn’t asking her to do what she thought he was. “You don’t mean…” she
said.

“Damn
right, I do. I don’t want to be a father.”

“What
if I don’t want to do that?”

He
pointed toward the door.

“I
have to leave?” Julie couldn’t believe what was happening.

Jeremy
didn’t say anything to her. He turned the volume back up on the TV and returned
to his show. Julie stood there, dumb-founded. Was this really happening? Not
only had her life been turned upside-down by an unexpected pregnancy, but her
boyfriend had just told her to have an abortion or leave.

Doing
her best to hold it together, Julie went back to the bedroom. She had a
decision to make.

And here she
was. She had chosen the baby. Jeremy hadn’t even given her a second glance as
she’d left.

She grabbed her
small suitcase from the back of her car and then headed in to check into
Honeycreek Bed and Breakfast. As she stepped up the stairs, the front door
opened, and Claire Stevens greeted her.