She shook her head again. Instead of arguing with her, I waited by the front door for Yara. It was easier than watching small pieces of Brooke wither and die.
I saw headlights flashing through the first floor windows, and I held the door open for Yara. She bounded out of a souped-up Jeep, doctor's bag in hand, and climbed through the accumulated snow.
"Hey, JJ, hi!" she called, waving as she stomped her boots on the doormat to dislodge the snow. "Wild night, huh? You just can't predict the last snow of the season, can you? I always think it's over, I put the snow pants away, take the chains off my tires, and then poof! More snow. Can't even believe it."
I crossed my arms over my chest as I watched her shake off her coat. "How much coffee have you had tonight?"
"Oh, I don't know! Maybe a quart or two? Not much." She plucked her hat from her head, freeing her long black ponytail. "Why haven't I seen you around recently? Where are you hiding, sir?" She gave my chest a playful whack. "I don't even know what's happening in your life anymore. I've missed you."
"Hello."
One word. That was all it took. One word to snap me out of Yara's cloud of bouncy ball energy and drop the temperature in the house by twenty degrees. My girl was multitalented like that. "Brooke, this is Yara Gwynn. Yara, Brooke. Her father is the one with the injury."
"Thank you for coming." Brooke gestured toward the grandfather clock on the landing between the first and second floors. "Especially at this hour."
If she could've accompanied that gesture with a spray of ice from her hand, she would've. And I loved it. This frigid ray of jealousy was the highlight of my month.
Oblivious to the frost radiating from Brooke, Yara said, "That's what I do! That's what I'm here for!" She grinned at Brooke. "Okay, let's get going. Where's my patient?"
As I'd expected, Yara handled the shit out of the situation. She got on Judge Markham's good side by starting aMurder, She Wrotedebate and managed to clean and patch the wound with some medical-grade Krazy Glue. She recommended feeding him some ice cream laced with two crushed sleeping pills and waited around to make sure he nodded off without incident.
For Brooke's part, she pretended I didn't exist for the entirety of Yara's visit. As much as I marveled at her transformation into a frozen block of resentment, I remembered how much I hated being invisible to her.
Once Yara was headed home and the Judge was secure in his bed, I dragged Brooke into the first room I could find. It was a bathroom, but I didn't give a damn. "Come on." I backed her up against the door, pressed my lips to her neck. "Ease up, Bam. It's just you and me."
"I have one question for you," she said. "How is it possible to have sex with someone who doesn't stay still for more than five seconds at a time?"
"You're so cute when you're jealous," I replied. "I've never seen this look on you before. I fucking love it."
She laughed, her whole body quaking against me. "I'm not jealous of anything. I'm merely pointing out that you know Dr. Gwynn more intimately than you might've suggested at the outset." She tilted her head back, batted her lashes as she hit me with an evil pout. Absolutely evil. "And shemissesyou, Jed."
I didn't stop to think before driving my fingers through her hair and kissing her as if I wanted to steal those words from her lips. She stayed rigid for a half second, but then all that ice melted away. She fisted my shirt, my belt, pulling me closer and forcing out the last of the distance between us. I held her, I kissed her, I drowned in her.
"Brooke," I rasped against her skin. "Talk to me, sweetheart. Tell me you're all right."
"I'm not talking about anything until you tell me something first."
I went back to her lips, kissing, biting, tasting her tongue. "Anything."
"When was the last time you got in Yara's snow pants?"
I ducked my head to her neck and kissed her there. I stopped short of sucking a mark into her skin. "About two years ago."I could give you the exact date if you wanted it."Maybe a little more than that."
"Why weren't you surprised when you walked in here tonight?"
"Why did you think I wouldn't know?" I asked. "I've known since the day the Judge came into the tavern for dinner and asked whether I thought it was time for Nixon to resign. I've known since before you came home and since before his accident. I know you can't handle this on your own, but more importantly, you don't have to, Bam. You don't have to be the one picking up the pieces and holding them all together."
"Does everyone know? Is it the worst-kept secret in town?"
"I can't speak for the whole of the town, but I've never heard anyone suggesting anything other than the Judge is getting on in his years. People around here love him and they've granted him a wide berth. Even when he made odd comments or went out in town wearing mismatched clothing, they've assumed the best." When she bit her lower lip, I continued, "I'm telling you the truth, Brooke."
She nodded, but it was hesitant. "He made me promise I wouldn't let people watch him deteriorate and I wouldn't send him away. That's why—that's why I'm here. Why I do this."
"You can keep that promise without shouldering the world on your own. You could've shared this with me." When she started to protest, I swallowed her words with a kiss. "Don't you see? You've let me inside you, but not to any of the places that matter."
Her gaze dropped to my chest, and for a moment, I thought she was going to throw me out of her house. The possibility always existed. But instead of kicking me out, she pressed her face to my chest and let the dam break all over me.
"Bam," I said, pressing a kiss to her temple. There were more tears stored up in her little body than I would've thought possible. "I've got you, sweetheart."
