Two-Step - Stephanie Fournet Page 0,156
he’d been alone. Cecilia’s death six months before was still like an open wound for them both. If there had been a third puppy left to take, Gray would now have a pack.
“Yes… well, my brother’s had them since they were eight weeks. They’re his.”
“Oh… do you look after them often?” Confusion came through her voice. “I assumed from our conversation you had dogs.”
“Yeah… um… about that,” Bax stammered, and Gray found himself grinning as his brother struggled. What had Bax told the girl? Not much, by the sound of it. He leaned closer against his bedroom door and strained to hear. “I’m not looking for an assistant.”
“You’re not?” Shock and what Gray thought was a hint of wariness pinched the girl’s voice.
“No, my—”
“My best friend knows exactly where I—” she blurted. “I mean, in case this is… something it shouldn’t be.” Now there was more than just a hint of wariness. She sounded scared. In the next instant, he picked up the low rumble of Vulcan’s growl, and Gray’s hand reached for the doorknob.
“What? No… Vulcan, hush!” Bax scolded. The dog whined in response.
Gray froze, the doorknob in his grip. What his brother didn’t realize — because he was too innocent to think criminal thoughts — was that this girl feared for her safety and was probably ready to fight him off if need be. This was something Vulcan knew. And because Gray thought criminal thoughts for a living, he knew it too. And he recognized that Baxter’s cluelessness only made matters worse.
“I mean, if you’re… like a Craigslist killer or something, I’ll fight you just like Mickey Shunick, and you’ll go down for my murder.”
“What?!”
It would have been funny if it weren’t happening in his kitchen. After all, he might not have to send the poor girl away if his brother scared her off. But he didn’t like the idea of a woman in his home being afraid, so he was just turning the knob to put them out of their misery when Baxter course-corrected.
“Oh, no. No, no, no. Meredith, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. No,” he said again. “These are my brother’s dogs, and this is my brother’s house, and he’s the one in need of an assistant.”
Finally. Gray held his ground and listened to see what the girl would make of Baxter’s explanation. He figured she’d be out the door in about two seconds. Then he’d send his brother on his way, take the dogs for a walk, and wait for the Topiramate to wear off.
“So… why am I talking to you?” she asked, and if Gray was ready to laugh before, he felt the onset of hysterics now.
“My brother’s unwell.”
Laughter dried up in his throat. What the hell?
The term made him sound like a lunatic.
“His condition doesn’t allow him to drive, so he needs someone to run errands for him.”
A soft gasp preceded her “Oh!”
Gray narrowed his eyes at the door and pictured punching his brother in the head.
“He’s not feeling up to meeting you today,” Bax went on smoothly. “But he needs someone to help him with errands, and he can work around your school schedule.”
“That…that would be perfect.” All traces of fear left her voice. She now sounded dangerously eager to take the job.
“I could give you a key so you could come and go as you needed, and he or I could text or call you with lists and stuff like that.”
“What about driving him places? Does he need transportation? Is he in a wheelchair?”
Gray turned the knob. Ready to storm across the house and prove that he was not, in fact, a bed-ridden lunatic, he pulled open the door and froze.
At the end of the hall just in his kitchen, standing with her face angled almost directly toward him, was the loveliest girl Gray had ever seen. The sight of her sent a shock through his body. His belly, the base of his spine, and the front of his thighs all tingled.
Her face was a holy promise. Her raven hair swept into a ponytail. Not high and tight, but low and soft. Loose wisps escaped her hair tie and fell along the sides of her face, framing delicate features.
What struck him most was her skin. So fair and luminescent against her dark hair, it almost glowed. If he stepped out of his room and into the hall, her eyes would find him, and Gray knew at once he couldn’t stand that. Carefully, he swung the door closed until only a one-inch crack remained.
Spellbound and rattled in equal measure, he couldn’t help but watch. His end of the hallway lay in shadow. If she hadn’t seen him open the door, she wouldn’t notice him there now.
The afternoon sun shone down through his front windows, bathing her in light. Her skin was so fair and pure he was almost certain she wore no makeup. Her beauty was natural. Real. Yet the blush of her lips probably commanded Baxter’s every thought, the flesh there a ripe, dusky pink.
Likewise, she looked up at Gray’s brother as if he made the world. She looked up, because Bax topped out at 6’1” — a full inch above him. An inch his brother never let him forget. And this girl stood no taller than 5’3” or so.
“Oh, no,” Bax was saying. “He’s not in a wheelchair.” And then Baxter lowered his voice. “But he does fall sometimes.”
Humiliation scalded him. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to the doorsill. Gray Blakewood understood the moment for what it was.
This was the beginning of the end.
His life and its limits were closing in on him. One cell. One bruise. One fall, and this small, beautiful — and by all appearances — young girl was assuming responsibility for him.
He’d thought of himself as a man since he turned eighteen. Able to direct his own course. The strongest force in his own life.
A man.
How could he — at twenty-eight — lose that? There was nothing but shame to take its place.
“And if you’re available to drive him where he needs to go, that would be very helpful,” Bax continued. “Otherwise, he can Uber.”
The beautiful girl nodded. “What’s he… What’s wrong with him?”
Gray could see that her pretty brows creased in a frown as she spoke. He looked at his brother and wished he could stare lasers at the back of his head.
“I’m…” Bax hesitated. “I’m going to let him tell you that when he’s ready. He’s sensitive about it.”
At least Gray wouldn’t have to murder him. Caning would probably suffice.
“I understand,” she said, her voice hushed, her dark eyes serious. “What does he like?”
“Excuse me?”
“What does he like to eat? Where does he like to go? What does he enjoy doing?”
“He…he really just wants to write.”
Her brows rose in surprise. “You’re both writers?”
Both writers?
“No, no. He’s the writer. Maybe you’ve heard of him. Gray Blakewood…?”
She stared blankly.
“The Alex Booth crime novels…?” Bax tried again.
The girl shook her head. Gray couldn’t pretend that didn’t sting. Three-time bestseller? A whole table at the local Barnes & Noble dedicated entirely to him? He’d been on the cover of Lafayette’s The Independent in September, and she’d never heard of him?
“Well, he’s good,” Bax offered.
Gray hoped Bax couldn’t sense him listening. His brother had made it plain that he loved his books, but hearing him say it always felt good. Gray was proud of his work. His novels held the best of himself, and if that was all that remained after this brain tumor had its say, then Baxter would still be left with something they both treasured.
The left side of the girl’s mouth lifted in a smile. “I’ll have to check him out.”
From his hideout, Gray wondered what it felt like to be on the receiving end of that half smile. Before he could wonder if she was flirting, she spoke again.
“If he’s just interested in writing, I’m happy to bring him whatever he needs. Take-out. Groceries. Whatever. Does he like sweets?”
“Uh… I… guess?” Bax ventured, sounding confused. “I mean, he likes the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies at Great Harvest.”
Her smile grew. “I like to bake,” she said. “I can make him something like that.”
Gray felt a surprised breath leave him. He watched Baxter shake his head.
“You don’t need to do that.”
She shrugged. “I want to do it,” she said. “If I didn’t get out much, it would be nice to have something I liked.”
Oh, God. She thinks I’m a shut-in.
Bax nodded slowly. “Okay. Suit yourself. Um… so, yeah. You’re hired if you want the job.”
Her eyes went wide. “Seriously? Yes, I want the job.”
Her all-out smile was like a blow to the sternum. Gray knew in that moment he’d never want to look her in the eyes. Pity in a face like that would kill him.
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