Chapter 3
Brody
Glancing at the clock on the wall, I sigh and pace back and forth across Hunter’s living room. I can hear the plumber in the back, clanging around. He’s installing a new water heater, and I’m tasked with the job of waiting here while he does the job. Hunter had far more important things to do today, like getting Gabby out of Dodge while preparations were underway for her surprise birthday celebration. As such, he drove her down the coast to New Bern to have a late, lingering lunch and a slow drive back up to waste time.
That left me on water heater duty. It had apparently blown last night, a fact that Hunter had woken up to this morning. He called and asked if I could come over and meet the plumber, a chore I didn’t mind because I didn’t have anything else to do. Jimbo had just left and I wasn’t scheduled to work today, so the only other thing on my agenda was Gabby’s birthday party tonight.
Which I am not looking forward to… at all.
Don’t get me wrong. I love Gabby… adore her.
And I love that she and Hunter have found each other. My guess is it won’t be too long before they are engaged, then married, and then have little rugrats running around.
But a party means socialization. Casey said she invited half the island, which means I’ll stand in the corner and brood while I sip on a bottle of water. I’ll have to pretend I don’t see people staring and whispering about me, or I’ll have to fend off those that really don’t give a shit what I did and want to make small talk.
I can’t stand that shit either.
“Hey man,” I hear from behind me. Turning, I see the plumber. What was his name… Robby? Bobby?
“Yeah?”
“This is going to take a bit longer than I thought. Maybe another hour. Cool?”
Sighing, I say, “Sure. No problem.”
Grabbing the remote control off the coffee table, I decide I might as well watch some TV, when there’s a knock at the door. I walk over and undo the lock, opening it wide.
F*ck.
Standing before me, looking more beautiful than the last time I saw her, is Alyssa Myers. She is a sight to behold, and a complete contradiction. She’s extremely wealthy… I know this, but I don’t know to what extent, nor do I care. But she stands there in a pair of dirty jeans, cowboy boots, and a dark blue t-shirt that is worn and threadbare, with a logo on the left breast pocket so faded I can’t even read it. She’s small, barely coming up to my shoulder, and she wears her hair really short, no more than a few inches all the way around, with soft wisps that hang slightly over her forehead, around her ears, and the nape of her neck. Most women can’t wear that hairstyle and still rock the sexy factor, but Alyssa manages to do that and then some. Her eyes are large and brown, surrounded by lashes that are as thick as caterpillars. Her facial features are absolutely perfect… straight nose that tilts slightly at the end, high cheekbones that always look tinged with blush, and full lips. Her beauty is classic, her short hair just emphasizing those features.
Like I said… absolutely gorgeous and yet, I still can’t stand the sight of her.
“What do you want?” I ask her, my voice harsh and unyielding. Whatever she’s here for, it doesn’t concern me, and I want her to get going as quickly as possible.
“Is Hunter here?” she asks, her eyes looking slightly worried.
“No.”
“Will he be back soon?” she asks, her voice hopeful.
“No.”
“Do you know where he is? I’ve tried to call him and Gabby, and they aren’t answering their phones.”
“I don’t know, but they’ll be gone all day.” Satisfied that I’ve answered her questions, I actually start to shut the door, but I stop because her face crumbles into a vision of despair. It’s such a forlorn look that I expect her to burst into tears and, for some reason, that doesn’t set right with me.
Yet, Alyssa does just the opposite.
Her eyebrows slant inward in anger, and she kicks out at the doorjamb with her boot, yelling, “F*ck.”
I just stare at her in shock, but she doesn’t look at me. Rather, she looks left and right, not really looking at anything in particular but clearly trying to decide something. Bringing both of her hands up, she rakes her fingers through her hair and curses again, “Shit, shit, shit, shit.”
Spinning away from me, she starts down the porch stairs, calling a hurried, “Thanks” over her shoulder.
I watch in disbelief as she hits the ground and runs to her truck. I’m stunned over her display, because… frankly, well… she’s a spitfire. I expected someone of her background to be more genteel, soft spoken… well mannered. The fact that she just unloaded a stream of curses that would cause most of my prison mates to blush, because something clearly bad has happened, has caught me a bit off guard.
And the fact that something is distressing her is causing my gut to churn. She’s not my problem and I don’t want her problems to be my problems, but f*ck… she came to Hunter for some type of help, and now I’m feeling the need to be his proxy.
Running down the front stairs, I make it to her truck just as she starts to back out of Hunter’s driveway. She doesn’t see me because her body is turned with her arm slung over the cab seat so she can see behind her. I give a sharp slap on her hood with my hand, which gets her attention and causes her to slam on the brakes.
As I walk around to the driver’s side, she rolls down the window and looks at me expectantly but with impatience.
“What’s wrong?” I ask her.
“It’s nothing,” she says, turning away to look behind her again so she can resume backing up.
“It’s clearly something,” I tell her calmly, placing my hand on the door. She turns, glances down at it, and then back up at me.
“Look, Brody,” she snaps. “I don’t have time and I’m in a world of shit right now, so step away so I can get going.”
I don’t know what possesses me to do it because just two minutes ago, I couldn’t wait for her to leave and get out of my sight. Two minutes ago when I looked at her, I saw a brutal reminder of my past and couldn’t wait for it to get gone, because my past f*cking hurts. And she reminds me of that hurt.
But now… for some reason, I just see a woman that is frustrated, a tiny bit scared, and in desperate need of help. So I reach into the window and turn her truck off.
Alyssa opens her mouth, I’m sure to lay into me, but I cut her off. “Just tell me what’s wrong, I’ll help you fix it, and you can be on your way.”
Warring emotions flicker through her gaze, but resolve is where it ends. “I have a horse due to be delivered to The Haven in forty-five minutes. I have to pick up a load of hay and pine shavings and have the stall ready, but when I tried to get it… I couldn’t figure out how to hook up the freakin’ trailer to my truck. I was hoping Hunter could help me. But I’m just going to head back and try it again. Hopefully, I can get it this time.”
I don’t know anything about horses, and I don’t know why it’s so important to have the hay and pine shavings there, but clearly, it’s important because Alyssa looks to be on the verge of panic right now.
“Give me thirty seconds, and I’ll be right back. I’ll go with you and get the trailer hooked up.”
I don’t even wait to hear her response, just turn toward the house. I need to give the check that Hunter left Robby or Bobby, or whatever his name is, to him and ask him to lock up behind himself when he’s done.
***
Alyssa didn’t talk at all on the way to hook up the trailer, which was fine by me. I’m not sure what we would have talked about anyway. Last time we had a conversation, I called her a rich, snot-nosed heiress, or something to that effect. Let’s put it this way, it was bad enough to have her running from Last Call practically in tears and earned me an ass reaming from Hunter, Gabby, and Casey.
Since then, Alyssa has steered clear of me and vice versa. I’m sure she wants nothing to do with me because I was a rude f*ck, and I don’t want anything to do with her because she reminds me too much of Stacy. Well, at least the rich, snot-nosed heiress part does, and frankly… I can’t seem to look past that.
I had no problem hooking up the trailer, but Alyssa apologetically told me she had no time to take me back to Hunter’s. She pretty much told me I’d have to ride with her to The Haven, so she could get the stuff unloaded and take delivery of the horse. But she promised to take me home right after.
Clearly, there was no room for argument. Although, I did think about asking her to let me out on the side of the road so I could hitchhike home. But for some reason... I didn’t, and we continue to ride in silence all the way to her shelter.
The Haven is located on Roanoke Island, down a broken, old county highway that cradles nothing but marshland. We turn down a dirt road and follow it back for about a mile before we come to a padlocked iron-bar gate. There is a shiny, black BMW sitting on the side of the road and when she sees it, Alyssa curses yet again. “F*ck.”
“What?” I ask, but she doesn’t answer me.
Instead, she puts the truck in park, hops out, and walks up to the gate. After undoing the padlock and swinging the gate open so her truck can get through, she walks over to the BMW and peers inside the tinted windows. Apparently, no one is in there, because she steps back and gives a kick to the front tire, which causes my jaw to drop.
When she gets back into the truck, she silently puts it into drive and pulls through the gate. As we pass the BMW, I say, “Got a problem with that car or something?”
“Or something,” she grumbles. “But not your problem.”
Yup… not my problem. I already helped her out once, and I’m all dried up for the day. So I keep my mouth shut.
We follow the dirt road for just a few hundred yards. When we come out of a bend lined with pine trees, I see The Haven spread out before me. And I have to say… it’s pretty f*cking impressive.
I can see three buildings with a small barn in the back. Each building is beautiful… constructed in cedar-shake siding with forest green, wooden eaves. It looks rich, yet rustic. The main building has flowerbeds gracing a slate-stone path to the front door, and I can see a slate path leading from that building to the two smaller buildings.
A beautiful, wooden sign sits beside the stone path that simply says, “The Haven,” and there is a man in his early twenties standing near it, leaning his hip up against one of the posts that anchors it into the ground. Alyssa glances at him and I swear I hear her snarl, but she doesn’t stop the truck. Instead, she follows the dirt road around the side of the main building and all the way to the small barn.
When she stops, she turns the truck off and says, “You can just wait here if you want, or feel free to get out and look around. I’m just going to get a few bags of the pine shavings off and get a stall set up for the horse. It should be here soon and once I get him settled, I’ll take you home.”
I start to nod my agreement but she’s already forgotten me, jumping out of the driver’s door. Alyssa walks to the back of the truck, and I know this because I’m watching her in my side mirror. But rather than starting on the pine shavings, she keeps walking back toward the main building. I see the man that was standing out front come around the side, and Alyssa practically stomps up to him.
Her posture is stiff and angry, and when she comes to stop in front of him, I can tell she’s not happy to see him by the way her arms are waving around as she’s talking. The dude is standing there, holding his arms out, trying to calm her down. When he reaches out and takes ahold of one of her shoulders, she wrenches free and jumps back, pointing at him to go. That’s when I see fear on her face.
Yeah, that’s not going to work for me, so I step out of the truck and slam the door behind me, walking toward Alyssa. The man sees me approaching, and his eyes narrow.
“Is there a problem?” I ask.
Alyssa turns to look at me and I see relief in her eyes, so I made the right decision in getting out of the truck.
“No,” she assures me. “Chad was just leaving.”
She gives him a pointed look, while crossing her arms over her chest.
Chad looks from her to me, and then back to her again. “Who’s that?” he asks, jerking his chin toward me.
“No one. A volunteer,” she says dismissively. “Now, please leave.”
The dude stares at her for a moment more, his eyes hard and probing. But then, oddly, they soften up and he says quietly, “Sure, baby. I’ll call you later.”
Alyssa doesn’t respond, just continues to glare at him. My keen eyes also notice a small shudder that runs through her body. He finally gets the hint and leaves. Neither of us moves until he rounds the corner of the building and is out of our sight.
“Who was that?” I ask, but Alyssa is already moving past me back toward the truck.
“No one,” she says, jumping up on the back of the trailer, which is stacked with hay bales on the bottom and plastic bags of what I’m guessing are the pine shavings on the top.
Climbing up to the top of the heap, she starts pushing at a bag of the pine. I watch as she grunts and strains but, within just a few seconds, she’s able to accomplish her task. The first bag hits the ground in a puff of dust and wisps of straw that were sticking to the outside of the bag. She starts working on the next one, making short work of it as well.
I watch for just a moment more, admiring the way she is attacking the job. She’s clearly not the type of heiress that I imagined, who sits around painting their toenails or shopping all day long.
“Where do you want me to move these?” I ask her, having no clue why I volunteered to help her further. It just sort of popped out of my mouth, but f*ck… it’s out there now. No taking it back.
Glancing up at me, she rubs the back of her hand across the sweat on her forehead. She studies me for a moment, and I can see deep down that she wants to refuse my help. Not because Alyssa is adverse to help in general. Hello… she runs a non-profit that relies on volunteers. No, she doesn’t want my help because she’s still pissed at me, and she wants to keep the interaction down to a minimum.
I can accept that.
Still, she knows she’s in a time crunch so she swallows her pride. “In the first stall in the barn.”
Reaching down, I easily haul the heavy bag up and over my shoulder, walking it into the barn. When I reach the first stall, I walk through the open door and let it fall to the ground with a thud.
Then I head back out to help Alyssa with the rest.