A Promise Of Home (A Lake Howling Novel Book 1) (12 page)

Tex whistled around his cigar. “Patrick, I have every one of his books and headed down to a see him and get a couple signed, when his tour brought him through Dallas a few years ago.”

“She writes too.” Jake wasn’t sure why he’d said that. “Haven’t been able to find her name on anything when I searched, so must be writing under a pseudonym, I’m guessing.”

“Well, well, well, fancy our Jake doing a bit of research on his high school nemesis.”

“I like to read, and thought I’d support a local, so shoot me.” Jake flipped Buster the bird.

Of course, his mother would choose that moment to walk into the room, to the sound of his friends and father hooting with laughter.

“Son, if that gesture was the one I thought it was, I’d be disappointed.”

“Newman made me do it, Mom.”

Buster snickered.

“I brought pizza, but you have to share.” Doctor McBride dropped the boxes in the middle of the table, right on top of the cards, but no one complained too loudly.

“I love you, Nancy.” Jake rolled his eyes as Tex then leaped out of his seat so his mother could have it. She had that effect on people. Beautiful at fifty years, the woman would turn any man’s head, young or old, but after thirty years, she had eyes for only one man and he was pulling her down onto his lap.

“Find your own woman, son, this one’s mine.”

Dutifully, Jake made a gagging sound as they kissed, as was expected of him.

The pizza was good, probably due to the beer, the company the same and when he stumbled upstairs into his old bedroom a few hours later, Jake wondered what Branna was doing. Had she left behind friends in Washington who she’d collected over the years? Did they used to meet in bars or movies to talk, like he did with his friends? The ones who never turned away from him, even when he’d returned to Howling a different man from the one they’d known.

He doubted the existence of Branna’s friends; in fact, he doubted the serious, beautiful woman let anyone close, because she sure as hell hadn’t in high school. Closing his eyes, he let the buzz of beer lure him to sleep and decided that tomorrow he would see Branna O’Donnell again, just to make sure she was settling in.

***

After the craziness of her arrival in Howling, the next few weeks were relatively peaceful for Branna. She settled in, putting her things about Georgie’s house and turning it into Branna and Georgie’s house. She found memories everywhere, from photo albums to stories that Branna had written and Georgie had kept. Tears of sadness and joy crept up on her, so that at the end of each day she fell into bed exhausted to sleep long and dreamless. Since her mother’s death, she’d managed to avoid crying as best she could, but here, in this house that she’d once thought of as her haven, it was unavoidable; everywhere she looked she found her friend.

She cooked in the kitchen where she’d learned to bake, using the recipes Georgie had collected over the years. She slept in the room she’d stayed in the few times when her father had allowed her to sleep over. It was both harrowing and healing to Branna to be here, to look back into the past with its painful memories in order to find a way forward into the future.

Mikey and Belle had helped her to move a few things out to the shed, which allowed her to fit her writing desk into the back room that had glass doors that led outside to the garden. Belle had hung her mother’s picture in the lounge, so anyone who walked inside saw it immediately. “Because she is part of you, Branna, and deserves her place in your life.”

She’d given Mikey some things that she could tell meant a lot to him, and a few to Belle, who’d also been a constant in Georgie’s life. In time, she’d pack some of the knickknacks away and remove some of the doilies, but for now, she was happy with the blend.

The day after her final doctor’s visit, where Doctor McBride had given her the all clear, she woke and pulled on her running shorts and singlet. Lacing up her shoes, she took herself outside as the sun began to rise. Here in Howling, she didn’t need music in her ears; there was silence here, no blaring horns or city noise. She stretched, her muscles were tight after so long with no activity and then she ran down the drive and turned left, which would take her around the lake.

Now this, Branna, will be heaven
, she thought, as the sun slowly began to rise over the lake. It was cool, but she was soon warm. It felt wonderful to be running again, especially after days spent bent over her desk. The brace was still on, but Doctor McBride said she could at least now run and type, but if it hurt she had to stop. She’d done a fair bit of one-fingered typing the past few days and was looking forward to growing her word count before her agent called to give the talk about deadlines and meeting them.

Inhaling the fresh country air, Branna began to hum an Irish ballad, one her grandmother had sung to her as a child. She saw a track that disappeared into the redwoods that she would investigate one day, then passing a driveway she looked up, wondering if she knew the person who lived there. Her stomach dropped to the soles of her shoes when she saw Jake McBride jogging down in his long steady stride. She didn’t think he’d seen her, so there was time to turn around, or maybe she should speed up?

“Morning.”

Damn, why did he have to be her closest neighbor?
Branna didn’t stop, just waved her hand over her head and kept running. She didn’t want to share her first run, and especially not with a man who had taken up far too much of her thoughts the past few days.

“Nice day for it.”

He’d caught her in a few strides. Shooting him a look, she noticed his eyes were bloodshot. She took in those long muscular legs encased in gray running shorts and wide shoulders in a torn, faded T-shirt with Medical Corps U.S. Army on it.

“Your eyes are bleeding, McBride.”

“Card night last night.”

As she’d never been to a card night, nor wanted to, Branna said nothing further and he seemed happy to follow her lead. They ran as the day woke around them. On one side, there were trees and grass, on the other a beautiful clear lake with mountains beyond and she thought that had Jake not been here, she could just about be perfectly happy right at this moment.

He disturbed her; it was a fact and always had been. If he was near, she was aware of him…even if she didn’t want to be.

“How often do you run?”

He may be hung-over, but he wasn’t breathless, which told her he was as used to running as she was.

“As often as I can…mostly four times a week, but here it’ll probably be more.”

“How far do you go?”

“5 to 10 miles a run, sometimes less or more. I don’t really plan it; it’s just how I feel on the day.”

He thought about that as they ran, and she knew he was adjusting his pace, shortening his steps to match hers.

“I can run on my own, Jake, if you want to go on.”

“I’m good, but thanks. How’s the arm? I see you still have it braced.”

“Good, and before you say anything, your mom said I had the all clear.”

“You don’t have to get defensive every time I open my mouth, Rosebud.”

Branna exhaled, loudly.

“I’m not good with people, Jake, It’s not how I started out; it just turned out that way.” Why had she said that? She’d always had a loose tongue around him. He wasn’t someone who talked a lot and he listened when others spoke, but he also had the ability to unsettle a person with just a look…well, her at least. She’d rattled out more rubbish in his presence just to fill a silence than she had in her life.

“Forewarned,” he said, and she had a feeling he was laughing at her, but one look told her his face was serious and she was pleased to see, starting to sweat. “And for the record, I’m not exactly everyone’s favorite person anymore either.”

“You may believe that in some warped part of your small brain, McBride, but you still are, even with the bad boy attitude.”

“What’s with this bad boy attitude label you keep giving me?”

She waved her hand about, dismissing his question, as she continued with the matter of his popularity. “Yesterday, I went into The Hoot to have a mystery muffin, which Buster wouldn’t give me the recipe for, even though I begged.”

“You have a real thing for those, don’t you, Rosebud?”

“Each one has been as good as the last, McBride, and this one had ginger in it, but Buster just folded his arms and ignored me when I offered him a bribe.”

“What did you offer?”

“Twenty dollars a recipe,” Branna said.

Jake snorted. “Offer to scrub his baking trays; that’ll do it.”

“No, it won’t; he’s just plain mean when it comes to those recipes,” Branna added.

“Getting back to the point of this conversation, Rosebud, I think you were about to explain about me still being everyone’s favorite person?”

“Right,” Branna added. “I met Mrs. Purvis, who happens to be Penny’s mom.”

“I know who Penny’s mom is.”

“Well, she said you just needed some time, and you’d be back to the boy they all knew and loved and doing your doctoring any day now.”

“I bet those words were verbatim?” He sounded pissed off.

“The point is, McBride, you may think differently about yourself, but none of them do.”

“Them being the entire town?”

“Even the animals.”

“You seem pissed about that, Rosebud. Would you be happier if they all disliked me?”

Was she? Maybe in school it had bothered her that he could do no wrong in anyone’s eyes, but that was jealousy because no one liked her, but then she’d never given anyone encouragement either.

“McBride, it was an observation. I have no feelings about you, and don’t plan on forming any.”

“Ouch.”

She didn’t say anything, and then clamped her top teeth around her bottom lip to shut herself up.

“You ever drop those barriers enough to let anyone in, O’Donnell? Really in, I mean, the fall in love, you’re the sole reason I breathe, in.”

“You read romance novels, McBride? Because no man I’ve ever met has said the words ‘you’re the sole reason I breathe,’ before.”

The sound of their feet hitting the road was the only noise for a few seconds, and Branna was congratulating herself on the fact that she’d headed him off when he said, “I guess that answers my question.”

She wanted to snap something back at him, tell him to stuff his comments somewhere she’d never have to hear them again, but instead, she ran on in silence. She was older now, twenty-six to be exact and no longer needed to snarl like a rabid dog when someone annoyed her, even if it was Jake McBride…still the hottest guy in town.

They ran on in silence, both lost in thought; he led and she followed, as she didn’t know the way and when her sides were starting to hurt, she looked up and found herself back where they had started.

“You swim, Rosebud?”

“Why?” Branna watched as he pulled off his running shoes and socks, which revealed long feet. He then stood once more and somehow, he was now inches from her.

“You always answer a question with another one?”

“Do you.”

He snorted, and even with bloodshot eyes and sweat running off his big body, he was sexy as hell.

“Yes or no?”

“Maybe.”

“Well then, get your shoes off and that brace.”

Branna slapped his hand as he reached for the straps on her arm. “Touch me and I’ll drop you, McBride.”

“You and whose army, Rosebud? You’re an itty bitty thing compared to me.”

His smile was slow and easy and to her, it was the exact one a wolf would give before it gobbled up its prey.

“I’m not swimming in that,” Branna shot the lake a look. “It’ll be freezing; I’ll probably never thaw out.”

“I can help you with that.” He took another step towards her, but she spun around and started running away. His laughter only stopped when she heard a loud splash as his body hit the water, but she refused to look back. The thought of that body all wet was not one she wanted to have put into reality.

CHAPTER SEVEN

She allowed herself a smile as she ran up the driveway. He couldn’t see it, so she was safe. The day would be warm and Branna had plenty to do. Her book was coming along and she wanted to get the border finished around the garden. Humming, she ran inside and straight up to the shower. Stripping off her sweaty clothes, she stood under the hot spray and let it pound her body.

How was she going to cope with him?

The problem was, he was just so good at getting under her skin. He could irritate her with a few words and just a look from Jake McBride got her riled up. Squirting a handful of soap into her hands she ran them over her body and her breasts tingled. That was the biggest problem; thinking about him heated her up. He was sexy and smart and she wanted him, and that annoyed her because she couldn’t remember the last time she’d wanted anyone.

Shutting off the water, Branna wrapped herself in a towel and walked into her bedroom. The morning sun lit the room in a soft glow. She’d put her furnishings in here too, her big free standing oval mirror, the thick red rug that had yellow and blue splashes of color. Across the bed, she’d draped a soft purple wool blanket and placed colorful pillows.

After drying her hair, which she vowed to cut because she was tired of it getting in her way, she left it long, the ends reaching below her shoulder blades now. Pulling some white lace underwear on, Branna then went to the wardrobe and looked in. She wore shorts most days, but today, after her first run, she felt like putting on a dress.

It was a simple pale green shift that stopped a few inches above her knees. On her feet, she wore sandals and looking down at her toes, she thought about painting them and then thought not, as the vision of Jake, looking at them filled her head. She would not dress so he noticed her, ever. Strapping on the loathsome brace, she headed downstairs.

Grabbing an apple, Branna picked up her keys and headed out to the van. She needed a few things from town, and then she’d see what Buster’s special muffin was today.

The grocery store was towards the end of town and tucked back behind the row of shops. Making her way inside, she grabbed a cart and started down the aisles.