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“Hey what’s going on back there?” Mike laughs as he talks. “Oh fuck, bro. Do you have someone over?” He doesn’t have the courtesy to ask and leave. He has to investigate for himself, and he does it so quickly that I don’t have time to close the door or block Nora from his view.
Instead, she turns her head away as Mike’s face goes from curiosity to insanity.
Chapter Five
Nora
I haven’t seen Mike in two years, which is much longer than I expected considering how small Rugged Mountain is. He lives on the north side of the mountain and doesn’t come down to town much. I stay on the south side, near the village. It works. It has worked. It was working.
“What the hell are you doing here? Why the fuck are you half naked?” His gaze darts between Doc and I as though he has a right to be confused.
“I’m visiting a friend.” I don’t owe him an explanation.
“Visiting a friend?” He turns toward Doc. “Why didn’t you tell me you were seeing Nora, fucker?”
“I don’t owe you a fucking explanation.”
Mikes face turns crimson behind his beard. “Not a lot of friends I know like to hang out together naked.”
Doc turns toward him, forming a wall between the two of us. “She’s not naked, and you’re too upset for seven in the morning. I tried to tell you I had something when you called, but you had to be childish… like always.”
“No way, man. I need to know what’s going on. Why is she here? She ruined my fucking life. Did she tell you that? Did she tell you all the bitchy things she did to me?”
I want to scream out in defense of myself, but I don’t. It’s not because I don’t have it in me, I do, but wasting my breath on Mike isn’t worth the trouble. I wasted my breath on him for far too long and he never gets it. He’s a revolving door of emotional ineptitude.
Doc widens his stance and steps toward Mike. “Unless you want your blood on the outside of your body, get the fuck out. You can’t be talking about her like that.”
“So, you don’t want to know the fucking truth? You’re going to fuck around and find out.”
“I’ll take my chances. Get out of my house.”
My heart squeezes at his defense of me.
All my life, I’ve been independent. My dad passed when my sister and I were young, and my mom was sick for most of my childhood. In that time, I learned that the only person I could truly trust… was me. Sure, I had my sister for some things, but the only person propelling me forward was myself. If I was going to make my dreams happen, it would be with myself at the reins. I became my number one advocate and my own best friend. But now, could I really trust that it would change? Is Doc someone to allow in?
I hobble up from the edge of the tub and hold the wall as I make my way down the hall of Doc’s small cabin, running my hand along the knotted pine walls as I move. I didn’t take much time to admire the cabin last night when I came in. I was so exhausted. But now that I’m rested, I can truly see how beautiful the place is. A natural stone fireplace sits on the back wall with a live edge mantle that’s stacked with books and trinkets. Beyond that is a small but modern kitchen with a butcher block counter and stainless-steel appliances. The whole space is a nice mix of modern and rustic charm, sort of like the lodge Doc is working on. Glancing up, I see Doc standing in the front door waiting for Mike to leave, but Mike is still yelling something from the driveway.
“She’s a fucking mess, bro. You’re going to regret this.” His truck finally starts and the rumbling travels down the driveway, popping rocks beneath the tires.
Doc turns toward me. “You shouldn’t be moving around this much. Come with me, please.” His hand lands on my hip, and when his big, warm body is next to mine, I feel like I deserve all the good in the world.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Cookie. You shouldn’t have to deal with that. I… I should’ve told you I knew him.” He looks down at the ground as though he’s gathering his thoughts.
Deep down I know he didn’t mean anything by holding information back from me, but that doesn’t change the fact that Mike is Doc’s family. His flesh and blood. That’s never going to change.
“You don’t owe me an apology. It’s all good.” I reach out toward him, squeezing his shoulder gently in comfort. “I should get this leg checked out.”
“We can use Doctor Thorpe for some of the imaging, but if you want a full look, we should probably take you to the Springs.”
“Let’s just go locally. It’s not as high tech as the Springs, but it’ll do the job. I really just want to confirm this isn’t a break and get home. I’m sure my plants are missing me.” I force a smile as though I’m happy to leave, but the truth is if Mike hadn’t shown up, I’d be climbing all over Doc. My brain may be reeling with weird thoughts of how this would all work, but my clit is still full steam ahead.
His giant hand lands on my thigh. “We should talk about this Mike thing. I don’t want awkwardness between us. We were having a good time together.”
“Yeah.” I stare down at the floor and drag my gaze up toward Doc. He’s got this vibe that’s somewhere between a biker and a cowboy. A rough, rugged man and cinnamon roll who truly wants to take care of me… which is why I need to walk away now before any of this gets more complicated. “There’s nothing to talk about. We’re good.”
He looks toward the front door, then back at me, scrubbing his hand down over his beard. “You’ll talk to me in the truck on the way to the doctor then.” He lifts me without another word and carries me out the front door and into the covered garage where his truck sits waiting.
This is the rough, rugged part of him. The part that just lifted me like a candy bar and carried me a hundred feet like it was nothing. No one has ever done that. Ever.
