Her Marine Next Door - Aliyah Burke Page 0,66

Jax from her home. It had been ten days since she’d told him it was over, and she had dodged him at every chance until he stopped trying.

He’d been fucking persistent. Camping out in front of her house. Leaving her flowers. Calling her. Texting her.

Hell, at one point she’d debated blocking his number, but she couldn’t bring herself to do that. Every night, she pulled up the photo she had of him and Cullen sleeping on the sofa. And each time she did so, her heart broke one more time for what she’d lost. Again.

Futile. That’s what her attempt to rid herself of him and his memories was. The nights on the couch where she worked on her puzzles and he lay with his head in her lap, just enjoying being together. The mornings where he would take care of Alpin because she hadn’t slept well. When he had physical therapy early and she’d walk out to find he’d made her breakfast and just left it there waiting for her. All of that, she missed. He’d burrowed deep in her and clung with a tenacity that refused to let her go.

She was determined to get over this. And him. Every bit of bedding that had been on her bed during a time of Parker and her sharing them, naked, bodies entwined, limbs sliding against one another, had been removed, never to be used again.

The place he made me feel as if I truly meant something to him. Like it wasn’t all a fucking farce.

Her eyes burned, and she ignored the ache in her shoulders, scrubbing harder, determined to take off the top layer, if that’s what it took. All of it was getting disinfected. Even the counters. The many times he’d backed her up to them or sat her on them while he—

“No!”

Thunder boomed. The storm that had been teasing her all evening and early night had finally arrived, announcing that fact in grand fashion. Despite the pain in her heart, she nonetheless smiled when Alpin trotted in from his bed on the covered porch as the skies opened up.

He paused beside her for a pat, then ambled to his raised orthopedic bed and stretched out. She’d made it for him, so getting up or lying down wasn’t a struggle. A sturdy frame with a thick foam covered by heavy fleece. His new favorite bed. Okay, so he now had a few.

She turned on her music, ignoring the late hour, set it to Black Violin, and after giving Alpin two peanut butter treats, got back to work. It wasn’t just a need to cleanse Parker from her world, but also to work through her stress and feelings of failure. This was when she cleaned like this, when she hit this point.

The storm raged, and she cleaned with similar fury. She’d just finished the guest room, cleaning from top to bottom, even changing the scent she had in the wall, before heading back to the kitchen for a well-deserved drink. Her eyes were gritty and she longed to crash, but she refused to wake up again and feel this way.

She wasn’t a wine drinker, but there was something to be said for a nice shot of something stronger. At the cupboard, she ran her assessing gaze over the selection. More drinks in her house now than she’d had before. A sobering thought. Slamming the door on those damn thoughts, she took a deep breath, relishing the fresh scent of rain.

Skylar withdrew two bottles of schnapps and placed them on the countertop. After grabbing a glass, she turned to carry all three items to the couch where she had every intention of indulging and not remembering a damn thing come morning, and froze.

Standing in the open doorway leading to her backyard, dripping water on her light gray flooring, teddy bear in one small hand, was Cullen. His eyes were wide and even with the distance between them, the fear emanating from him was palpable. His tiny body shook.

“Bud, what happened? What are you doing over here?” She damn near sprinted over to him and ignored the sting of pain as her knees hit the floor; one of the bottles toppled over behind her, but she didn’t care.

“Mama,” he sobbed, wrapping his thin arms around her as he buried his face in her neck. The bear dripped cold water down her back. Each clap of thunder had him shaking harder. Even his teeth chattered.

Her heart broke and she rose, keeping him in her