“My truck is on the other side of the house. We were working in the back acres, so I just drove through the field. Fastest way.”
“Oh.” She peers around me. “Can you drive in this?”
I can’t tell if she’s scared for me to leave or if she’s afraid that I’ll stay. The uncertainty—the chance that she might want me to stick around—isn’t enough to make me pause, but it is enough to boost my ego.
“This ain’t nothing, Doc.”
A slow grin splits her cheeks. “I’m not a doctor.”
I shrug and then jog into the darkness before I can talk myself out of it.
CHAPTER
THREE
Audrey
Steam rises from my cup of coffee as I stand at the window and take in the view. The sun shines bright against the gray-blue sky, and a dusting of snow kisses the ground. The field beyond the kitchen is shallow, maybe a hundred yards deep, and the line of trees at the far reach is capped in white.
It’s beautiful. Serene.The perfect backdrop to end this Stoic era.
My lips twitch at the reference. I’ve never thought of it like that, but I’ll never think of it any other way now.
I sip my drink and grab a seat at the kitchen table. It’s small and round, and if someone didn’t chop the trees down and make this in their garage, I’d be shocked and slightly disappointed. It’s simple but heavy-duty—all function and no fuss. There’s something remarkable about it.
I swipe my finger across my computer’s trackpad when my phone rings. The screen lights up, but I reach for my phone instead.
“Good morning, friend,” I say before taking another quick drink. The hot liquid warms my insides, fighting off the remnants of the morning chill.
“Good morning, sunshine,” Gianna says. “How’d you sleep out there in the wilderness?”
I laugh, pulling my feet up to the edge of my chair. A smile ghosts my lips as I recall why it was hard to fall asleep—a reason I can’t mention to Gianna lest she have a heart attack. If I told her that I masturbated last night to Brooks Dempsey, she’d lose her mind.
Heck, I think I might’ve lost mine.
Gray’s friend isn’t my usual type. I’m typically drawn to quieter, broodier men. The few boyfriends I’ve had have been that way, as was my last crush, Seth. But something about Brooks captivated me. Excited me. Clearly.
Sure, his smirk is devastatingly sexy, and his abs are fire. He also smells of spicy promises and dangerous encounters, and he moves with a confidence that only someone with zero self-doubt could muster. I can’t decide if he’s intoxicating, or if I’m in such a dry spell that I’m considering drinking poison.
Probably the latter.
“Once I finally fell asleep, I slept like a baby,” I say instead.
“How many lights did you leave on?”
“All of them.” I laugh, remembering how I slept in ten-minute spurts for the first three hours. “I’m hoping that by the time I go home, I’ve conquered my fear of sleeping in the dark.”
“Hopefully, by the time you go home, you’re sleeping next to a certain cowboy.”
I roll my eyes. “Hartley is just a friend, Gianna. I’m not going to sleep with him.”
“Not with that attitude, you won’t. There’s nothing better at helping you feel like yourself than getting laid. I’ve been tellingyou this for months now. I don’t know why you won’t listen to me.”
I bring my mug to my mouth and sip again. She isn’t wrong, but I’m not telling her that either.
“How’s Drake?” I ask, leaning back against my chair.
“Sexy. Delicious. He’s at his parents’ house today, meeting with his sisters and mom about Big Ed.” Gianna’s voice wavers as she says Drake’s dad’s name. They’ve formed a bond over the past few months, and I know watching him slip further away from them is harder on her than she’ll admit. “Drake might ask his parents to move in with us.”
