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“I love it.”
“Daisy Duke or Mary Ann from Gilligan’s Island?”
“I don’t even know who those people are.” She laughs. “I know what Daisy Dukes are, but I’ve never seen the show.”
I growl, “We’re going to roleplay. You’re a country girl and you’re going to mount the rugged man who has been imagining being inside you all week.” I smack her on the ass as she lets out a squeal.
She says, “Have a seat, cowboy.” She presses two fingers against my chest until I fall back on the couch, and we play ride the cowboy until both of us are spent and empty.
When I get home late in the evening, there’s an envelope on the kitchen table addressed to Reed C. Bauer.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
REED
Brooke has been busier than ever with Lettie living with her, but this week, Lettie went back to school. My routine is back to normal. Practice, class, lunch, study hall, weightlifting, running, extra practice with my line and sneaking in time to talk to Brooke. We did a video call one night so I could talk with Caleb too. What happened at Broadhurst hasn’t affected her rapport with me, and she hasn’t wanted to talk about anything further. Her mind has been in overload between that and the fire that destroyed her best friend’s apartment.
I’m still benched, but it’s given me extra time to think about how badly I need to trust Brooke with the worst of me, so she can see the best in me. Today is the day. I can do this. I can tell her my awful truth.
Nobody’s home after my weightlifting. Harper and Hagan are in class, according to the whiteboard, and Logan is in Pittsburgh for a meeting. I run upstairs and shower. Splash on a little of that cologne that she loves and opt to tame my hair instead of wearing a baseball cap.
Ready to give her my pain and my heart, I pull into Brooke’s complex. The only spots open are two sections from her apartment. I see her talking to a guy. Maybe it’s a neighbor, but she doesn’t notice my Jeep. I back into the spot and watch for a minute before I walk up the back way.
As I get closer, I stop as I hear my name coming from this guy’s mouth. Brooke says, “I deserve a man who can hardly breathe unless he’s with me. And we both know that’s not you.”
The door opens, and it’s Caleb, “Mommy, is Weed here?” He peeks out. “That’s not Weed.”
“Go back inside. I’ll be there in a minute.” Caleb is a rule follower, just like his mom. He goes back inside and shuts the door.
The guy looks from Caleb to Brooke several times before he raises his voice. “He’s a criminal. He fucking tried to kill his dad.”
“He doesn’t even know who his dad is.”
“You’re so fucking gullible. His stepdad, okay?” He grabs her arms.
“Erik, stop,” she grunts out. It takes it a split second to register, and then I’m charging towards them.
“Do you have a death wish? If you put your hands on my girlfriend again, you won’t have any.” Then I whisper, “If you don’t believe me, ask my stepdad.” I push him away, and I know I’ve seen him somewhere before. My mind is flipping through pictures of Bennington, Broadhurst… not juvie… he’s too clean cut. It hits me. He plays for Coach’s old team. The guy I slammed into the wall and fought with not long ago.
Bratt. Erik Bratt. What’s he doing here?
“Girlfriend? She wouldn’t know where to begin.”
“I assure you she does.”
“Does she know what you did? How you went to jail for attempted murder?”
Shock, hate, and fury overload my senses. “How do you know what happened to me?”
“I wanted something to rattle the Stallions best player. Money talks and my family has it.”
All the calm and peace I felt is nowhere to be seen. I’m about to kill this guy. I grab his shirt and rear my fist back when he taunts me. “We both know if you do, you’ll go back to jail.”
I let him go when I hear little dude’s voice. “Weed’s back.” I straighten my sleeves and walk into the house, picking up Caleb as I go.
I can’t hear Brooke and the douchebag hockey player, but in a few minutes, Brooke walks in.
“Caleb, go to your room.”
