“We’re fine.” More or less.
“Uh-huh.” He looked from Bri to Ryan. “Mind telling me what happened? Last I saw, you two were at each other’s throats and now you’re involved in a car accident. Not going to lie, it doesn’t look good.”
Ryan was about to tell his brother where to stick it, but Bri started babbling before he could get a word out. “Ryan was just driving me home. And then… Then we saw a mountain lion! And he swerved to avoid it, because who wants to hit a mountain lion, but hit the traffic light instead.”
“A mountain lion.” It was painfully obvious Drew was trying not to laugh. He glanced at Ryan’s still-wet crotch. “Is that what they’re calling it these days?”
Bri blushed. “It’s not what you think.”
“Actually, Miss Nora Lee over at the coffee shop says it’s exactly what I think. She called and said she saw two teenagers necking while driving and then they committed public property damage. Imagine my surprise when I arrived to find my brother and Bri, who claim to hate each other.”
“Wedo.” She looked like she was ready to climb over his lap and clock Drew. “Don’t you dare go spreading this story around.”
“I don’t have to. I figure by now Nora has called half the town.”
“Of course she has.” Some things never changed. Ryan leaned back against the headrest and closed his eyes. Even then, there was no missing his brother’s laughter.
“Damn, Ryan. Only back four days and already taking out the only stoplightandmailbox in town in one fell swoop. That’s got to be a new record, even for you.”
“Fuck off.”
Chapter Five
“So I know you’ve made your stance on Ryan really, really clear, despite some seriously compelling evidence…”
Bri held the phone away from her ear and groaned. Ever since the party, Avery had been making jokes about the first mountain lion sighting in a century and updating her on the stoplight and mailbox repair. As if she needed any help walking down memory lane to how thoughts of Ryan had taken over her life. But yesterday she’d sat Avery down and reiterated that she had absolutely no interest in Ryan. She thought she’d gotten through to her friend.
She should have known better.
It didn’t help that she’d fielded not one butfivecomments from well-meaning people asking if she and the younger Flannery boy were an item. It was enough for her to vow to avoid him at all costs—including ducking out the back of the library when she’d seen his Suburban at the diner across the street the other day.
“Avery, we talked about this. The date was horrible, and that’s not even getting into the fiasco at your birthday party.”Lie, lie, lie.But what was she supposed to say? That he’d blown her mind seven ways to Sunday on her porch swing? As if that wasn’t bad enough, she couldn’t stop thinking about how he would have done it all over again if they’d just parked in some dark alley instead of trying to drive. People never crashed when giving each other orgasms while driving in her novels. And he’d had her most of the way there, using only his fingers.
She’d lost far too much sleep wondering what he would have done if he’d had both hands free.
But apparently Avery didn’t care about her wavering mental health. “Yeah, yeah. That’s beside the point. I wouldn’t even be bringing him up, but it’s kind of an emergency.”
She moved around her living room and pulled out the little statue she’d bought for Mr. Smith this morning. It was a mermaid sitting on a rock, combing her hair. Since another betta wasn’t an option, she’d wanted to get him a companion so he wouldn’t worry about her spending so much time at the library. It couldn’t be easy being here all day by himself.
He circled it a few times and then continued swimming around happily, his brightly colored blue-and-red tail swishing. “What the heck does ‘kind of an emergency’ mean? Is Drew okay?” Last time Avery had been this cagey, Drew had almost been stranded overnight on an extreme skiing trip. A storm swept in and he lost contact. He’d ended up having to signal the rescue helicopter with the flash from his cell phone camera.
“Everyone’s fine. Mostly. He and Ryan were driving out to go hiking or something manly like that and they got that damn sheriff’s truck stuck. Itoldhim it needed more weight in the bed, but does he ever listen to me? Nope.”
Her heart dropped. Why, oh why, did Ryan have to be with him? She swallowed hard. “I’m not sure why you’re calling me instead of a tow truck.”
“Well, you know Drew. He is sheriff, hear him roar. The guys will never let him live it down if he has to call for help over something this stupid.”
She restacked the books at the end of the table that she’d been meaning to take back to the library for days now. “It’s a tow truck, Avery! It’s not as if we’re calling the state troopers.”
“Stop yelling at me! I don’t know what his problem is, but he wants you to bring the Beast out there. I’d do it, but the antique lamp I bought at auction last week will be at my shop in twenty minutes and I’m the only one who can sign for it. He can use my winch to haul his ass out of the ditch.”
She glanced at the book and cup of tea she’d just settled down with and resigned herself to going out into the storm that had rolled through earlier this morning. It wasn’t one for the record books by any means—the snow came down in a steady stream that indicated there’d be a few extra inches on the ground by the time it was done—but it wasn’t going to be pleasant driving. At least she’d be in Avery’s enormous Jeep, which everyone referred to as the Beast. “I’m putting my shoes on right now.”
“You’re the best! The keys are on the table at my house. I’ll text you directions.”
Bri sighed and tossed her book into her purse. “Drew owes me big-time for this.”
“You be sure to let him know that when you see him.”