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Groaning, I pulled my robe around me and grabbed my cup. Going to the bathroom on this floor meant walking past Ruth’s bedroom though, and the wood was creaky. Safer to head downstairs.
Ruth had stuck her head in my room several times today. I’d pretended to be sleeping even though the sound of the door had woken me at least two of the times, and who knew if she’d checked in more than that.
So I snuck down the stairs. My foot creaked on one step near the bottom and I froze, eyes squeezing shut. I listened, but didn’t hear any movement from behind me, breathed out, and continued down to the kitchen.
I filled up the cup and drank a gulp, swishing the water around in my mouth to get rid of the awful pill taste before swallowing.
I was about to turn around when I paused, glancing at the top shelf of the cabinet across from the fridge. The kitchen had been remodeled not long ago, with pretty glass door cabinets. So I could see several bottles of Ruth’s favorite cabernet sauvignon winking at me from the top shelf. Ruth wasn’t one to bother with the fancy stuff, so it was a generic brand. I’d reimburse her next time I went to town.
I pulled down a bottle and winced at the noise the drawer made when I opened it to find a corkscrew. I finally found it and was just aiming to stab the pointy end into the cork when the outside door off to the porch suddenly opened.
I screeched and jumped backwards, brandishing the corkscrew outwards.
Only to see Reece standing in dim outline in the inside of the door. He flipped the kitchen light on and I jumped again.
“What are doing down here in the dark?” He looked at the clock on the wall. “At two in the morning?” He gestured at the wine. “Popping a bottle of wine?”
“I, uh.” I waved my hands. “I just—” I shrugged and my shoulders sagged. “—needed a drink.”
Then I crossed my arms over my chest and glared back at him. I was embarrassed at being caught and angry he was stopping me from just going back upstairs. “What are you always doing up in the middle of the night anyway. Don’t you ever sleep?”
He just shrugged and averted eye contact to the fridge. Hmm. Who was being cagey now?
“Then don’t make me drink alone?” I said, tilting the wine glass towards him. I wasn’t sure if it was generosity on my part or because now that I really thought about it, spending time with him sounded a million times better than climbing back into that bed.
He narrowed his brows at me but still nodded. I grabbed two wine glasses, finally popped the cork, and poured. I filled mine a tad more generously than his, but set the wine glass in between both of us, figuring he could pour more for himself if he wanted more. I wasn’t going to pretend I wanted an appropriate amount simply for propriety’s sake.
Reece’s eyebrows went up when I tilted my glass back and chugged it like Ruth had the beer at the bar.
“Is that something I should be worried about?” he said, gesturing with his glass at mine.
I looked at him surprised. “Of course not. I mean, yes, it’s likely concerning, but not something you should be worried about.”
He let out a startled laugh. “I’m not sure that distinction matters.”
I shrugged, then reached for the bottle I’d set between us to refill my glass. Reece put a hand on the long neck to stop me. “Charlie. What’s going on? Ruth said you were in bed all day. You didn’t seem sick at all before— Before what happened with the heifer. What’s wrong?”
I glared at him. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine.” I jerked the wine bottle out of his hand and, just to spite him, upended it and chugged from the mouth of the bottle. The wine was a bit bitter, but sweet enough, and I downed what was left in the bottle fairly quickly.
Reece had crossed his arms over his chest. “You done?”
I leaned my hands back on the counter behind me and let my head dip backwards, the world around me growing a little fuzzy. “Yesssssss.”
“Okay, Captain. You say you’re fine, you’re fine. It’s just, I got a history of saying I’m fine when that’s the last thing I was. Jer and I, we just bottle shit up. We never talk about it or deal with it.”
He let out a heavy rush of breath, then looked at me. “You wanna take a walk or sit outside or something? I could use a cigarette.”
When I raised an eyebrow at him, he hurriedly added, “Not a blunt. I got rid of my stash after Jer busted my ass last time.”
I shook my head. “Too bad. That was—” I felt my cheeks grow warm. Easy to blame on the wine, but the memories of being held in his arms that night were too fresh to deny. “—fun,” I finished off in a choked voice.
He grinned at me before ducking his head. “Yeah, well. Jer doesn’t have much sense of fun these days.”
We walked to the door and he grabbed my coat, holding it out for me. I was a little sluggish on my feet, but not bad. Now I wish I hadn’t taken so many of the sleeping pills. Three wasn’t enough to be concerned about—Jeff’d had me on so many damn tranquilizers, sleeping pills, you name it, I’d been on it. But in the bright lights of the kitchen, even through my foggy brain I knew it was… not good behavior.
Reece and I stepped out onto the porch. It was chilly, but not like in San Francisco at night. It had been in the 80’s lately during the day even though it was only March, and was likely in the 60’s now. I hardly needed the coat, but I still clutched it around myself nonetheless. I felt fragile, and even though I hated feeling that way… well, it was what it was.
I stumbled as soon as we stepped foot on the porch and Reece steadied me. I looked up into his eyes. “Do you want to play pre—” I started, my voice a little slurred.
