AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Of course. Just be careful.”
“Always am.”
I watched him go, praying for his safe return.
Chapter Thirteen
Cass
The last couple of dayshad been a blur. I was still angry with Ray, so it was probably better that he hadn't bothered coming around. After Brody had left the other night, I had cleaned the kitchen and gone to bed, but sleep was nowhere to be found. When my head hit the pillow, the tears started. It wasn't that Ray had hurt me, it was more he'd scared me. I was a mess, and it had taken me a much longer time to calm down than I thought it would. I was glad Brody had been called to work because it would have only been a matter of time before I would have told him everything and probably would have spent the night crying in his arms, instead of into my pillow.
I was so thankful the day was over. I was about halfway up my driveway when suddenly, the house lit up like a Christmas tree, white lights running along the edge of the peaked roof and around the windows. That was when I spotted Brody's truck pulled in and under the trees that lined the driveway. The call must have been serious, this was the first time he had been home since he left the other night. Judging from all of this, he had been home for a while. At least long enough to put up Christmas lights. I pulled my car into the garage and headed into the house.
The smell of roast beef crashed into me the second I walked through the door, and my stomach let out a huge growl. Again, another day had gone by where I had nothing to eat but cookies. I dropped my purse onto the dryer and hung up my coat. Walking around the corner, I was greeted by Brody's ass in tight jeans, bent over the open oven door. When he stood up, I couldn't help taking in his bare back, muscles flexing as he picked up the pot on the stove and drained it in the sink. I leaned against the door frame, watching him work around the kitchen. He looked so much stronger and much more built than I remembered.
“What do we have here?” I said smiling.
“Cass! I hope you don't mind, I figured you might like to come home to dinner, so I got us a roast, cooked some potatoes, and I was just about to steam some broccoli.”
“Do you always cook half naked?” I said, my eyes traveling down his bare chest to his tight abs. I could feel the heat in my face as my eyes skimmed over his body—he was in top physical shape.
“Yeah, I'm sorry, it got a little hot in here with the fire going and the oven. Come in, sit down, let me pour you some wine.”
I walked in and took a seat at the breakfast bar, watching Brody as he poured two glasses of wine.
“Thanks, but you better be careful, I could get used to this,” I said, grabbing the glass from his hand and taking a sip, letting the cold liquid roll down my throat.
“What? Me half-naked in your kitchen?” he chuckled. “I hope you do,” he winked. “Are you feeling better than you were the other night? Did you get a chance to talk with Ray?”
“Don't be silly, everything is fine,” I lied, looking away from him. “Here, I'll grab the plates.” I jumped off the stool and gathered some plates and cutlery.
“You sure about that?”
“Yep, we talked everything over, we're good,” I nodded. I don't know why I was lying to him, but I didn't want to give Brody the wrong impression of Ray by telling him the truth about what had happened.
“I see you put up Christmas lights.” I dropped the plates onto the table, trying to change the subject.
“I did, I hope you don't mind, this place needed a little Christmas pick-me-up.”
“Not at all, Brody, they look nice.”
* * *
We satin the livingroom after dinner, eating dessert while relaxing by the fire. When we were finished, I took our empty plates and set them both on the living room coffee table. Grabbing the remote, I started searching through the channels for a movie. It seriously felt like nothing had changed between us in all the time we had been apart. Everything about being around Brody had such an ease and comfort to it, something I wasn't used to anymore. I grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over my legs, leaning back into the couch.
“You cold?”
“A little.” Brody's arm was resting across the back of the couch right behind me, his hand draped over, touching my shoulder.
“Why don't you snuggle up here? You remember, I'm like a human furnace.”
I felt a little uncomfortable when my arm brushed against Brody's side, but it wasn't like we had never cuddled before. As I relaxed against him, I couldn't help but breathe in his scent, the scent of him mixed with his cologne smelled so good. He pulled me into him and rested his arm around me. I seemed to be very aware of his every move, and it would have been okay if I didn't have a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach. I took a sip of my wine, trying to ignore the voice in the back of my head that was wondering why Brody had come back after so many years.
I had just started to relax against him when he spoke, “So what made you start working at the bookstore?”
I looked down at my half-filled glass of wine before I answered the question—he wasn’t going to like the answer, considering I lied to him the other night. I was sure he already knew that though. Brody had never wanted me to give up on my writing, and after Jackson died, he always pushed me to do my best. I took another sip of wine and a deep breath before I answered him.
“I don't just work there Brody.”
