Meadowlarks (21 page)

             
“Oh, really! Just what does Riley have planned?” My interest is extremely peaked now, even though part of me knows it involves drinking and half naked men.

             
She sits on my lap, pulling her hair over one shoulder. “I don't know, probably a nice quiet dinner, you know. Nothing special.” She looks around the room at everything but me and tries not to smile.

             
“I highly doubt that. It's okay though, I'm sure you'll have fun...”
My turn
.               “I can't wait for
my
bachelor party…” I continue. “I think I overheard the boys talking about tassels...or was it thongs?” I grin and throw my head back laughing.

             
She drops her jaw and pulls my face into hers, our noses touching. “I don't care what you look at, as long as you come home to me.” She smiles and kisses my lips softly.

             
“Right back at ya, baby.” I wink and kiss her deeply, darting my tongue out of my mouth and into hers. Tasting her sweetness, getting drunk off her kiss.

             
I watch her fall asleep. She turns over, facing away from me and hugs her pillow. I roll onto my back and count the twenty-seven knots again. I'm restless, and I don't know why. I can't remember what time I eventually fall asleep. When I do, I dream about her.

Long red hair blows
in the wind and big blue eyes gaze through long lashes, pink cheeks blushing from whatever the lips on her ear just said to her. She smiles. Now lying in a field with long grass; she reaches for the hands outstretched to pull her up, she laughs and grabs them. They pull her up to her feet. The arms that wrap around her and spin her in the long grass aren't mine, nor were the lips that were whispering in her ear. I watch her as they walk hand in hand through the field.

             
“Ahh!” I sit up, panting. My eyes fly over to where she's laying, still sleeping and holding on to her pillow. I run my hand through my hair, still trying to catch my breath.               “
Reid
.” I hiss and fall back into bed, closing my eyes tightly, trying to crush the vision of them out of my head.

             
I have no fucking chance to getting to sleep now that I'm whirling from my dream. Why would I even dream something like that? The thought of another man with her makes my stomach turn, and I almost can't bear it. Watching her smile and laugh and look at someone else in that way, with those blue eyes, is excruciating. I shake my head, wishing I could erase it like an Etch-A-Sketch, but have no such luck.

             
As soon as daylight breaks, I dress and go outside, starting work early—wanting to get his hands off her body and out of my mind. Nothing about this feels good. I feel awful about getting out of bed without saying anything, leaving her sleeping alone.

I hear a tapping on the upstairs window. I drop the wheelbarrow and look up; she's standing in the window in her t-shirt, smiling at me. I smile back
hastily, pick up the wheelbarrow and push it toward the barn. I can't get over how childish I'm being, yet I can't stop myself. It's not like it's her fault that I dreamed about the two of them, and it's for sure not like it really happened. So why am I pouting? Maybe this is my guilty conscience finally making an appearance and telling me to fess up about Gwen all those months ago, sneaking into my bed and blowing my...
mind
. Pushing the wheelbarrow up by the handles, I flip it over in frustration. I can't tell her, not now, not after all this time.

             
“Blaine, is everything okay?” Addison stands in the doorway of the barn in her light pink scrubs—my favourite ones.

             
“Yep, it's all good.” I smile, using every cell in my body to push that sickening dream out of my mind and get over my stupid temper tantrum.

             
“You haven't woken up before me in a long time. I'm running late, though; can you drive me to work?” I didn't even notice she had her bag and purse in her hand.

             
“These are my favourite on you.” I tip her chin to kiss her lips, tasting her sweetness and feeling like the biggest asshole on the planet for feeling like I did about something she didn't even do.

             
When I pull up to the curb to drop her off, Reid's out there. What the fuck? Is he waiting for her? I inhale deeply and force a smile, thanking myself for wearing sunglasses, so she can't see my eyes blazing.

Blaine, get a grip!

             
“Have a good day, my love!” She kisses me quickly, rubs her hand along my thigh and reaches my zipper. “Think of me all day, and when I get home, I'll give you a big kiss.” She gently squeezes around my growing erection. “
Everywhere
.”

             
I want to beg her not to get out of the truck, not just because she's got me worked up and I want to pull her on to my lap to make love to her, but because I
will
think of her all day—her and that asshole standing there in his blue scrubs. I turn up my lip at the sight of him through the dark glass, my chin over her shoulder as she hugs me goodbye.

             
“I love you, Miss Cole.”

She smiles, telling me
she loves me too, and gets out.

My nostrils flare when I see his elation as she walks up to greet him. They walk in the big glass sliding doors together.

              “Everything will be just fine as long as you keep your damn hands to yourself, Reid,” I say in the quiet rumble of the cab of my truck. Saying his name puts a bad taste in my mouth.

             
The drive home usually doesn't take this long, but I feel like I'm going at a slug’s pace so I don't have to pull into the driveway and see Jeremiah and Alex. In the beginning, I wasn't bothered at all by guys staring at her; they did it almost everywhere we went. Hell, I was proud to be with her and wanted to show her off like a trophy. I think it's the fact that he touched her. Even though I know in a job like hers there's always physical contact—but not the way his fingers were on her skin.

             
“I hope you're ready for the best bachelor party of your life!” I'm not even out of the truck before Alex jogs over, cupping his hands on either side of his mouth to make sure I hear him yelling.

             
I'm still in a shitty mood, but surprisingly, what he says makes me laugh.               “Yeah? What do you have planned? We aren't going to Vegas, are we?” I slam the door of the truck, and we walk over to the barn where Jer is filing buckets with feed.               “So, what am I in for?” I ask Jeremiah.

             
“You know we can't tell you. Besides, if I did, you would probably say no.” He grins and shrugs. “Well, the
old
Blaine wouldn't, but this one would.” He points to me and smirks.

             
“I didn't go anywhere,” I say. “Let's hear it!” I grab a handful of grain and throw it at him; he ducks and laughs.

             
“Can't. Sorry. You'll just have to wait until Friday night.” He's not going to give me any details; Jeremiah is pretty good at keeping secrets, and if he wants me to have a good time, he'll keep his lips sealed until I find out when it's actually happening.

             
Since I'm not getting any more information out of either of them, I change the subject from my stag party to Addison's doe.

             
“Riley called.” I don't even finish, and Alex perks up at the mention of her name. “She's coming to Sheridan and taking Addison out.”

             
“Oh,
is she?
” He pretends not to show he's anxious, but it's oozing from his pores. Jer and I both joke and get him going about his feelings for Riley, and he spills about their time together last year during our visit to Maine.

             
After lunch my phone rings.               “Hello?” I answer.

             
“Hey, baby.” It’s Addison. She clears her throat. “I'm not feeling well; I've thrown up twice. Can you come get me?”

             
“Yes, of course. I'll be right there.”

             
“Are you sure? Ruth offered to drive me home if you can't.”

             
Why couldn't I? “I'll be there in ten minutes.”

             
When we got home, she took a long bath and curled into our bed, under three blankets.               “I think I've got the flu,” she whimpers.

Even when she's sick, she looks beautiful.

              “Go to sleep.” I brush a lock of hair from her face. “I will stay with you.”

             
“No, I'm okay. You can go back out to work; I promise I'll text you if I need something.” She smiles and closes her eyes.

             
“She okay?” Alex asks while loading boards in his arms for the new fence. “She never gets sick.”

Considering she works in a hospital, I'm surprised it's taken this long for her to catch a cold or the flu. Suddenly, like someone said it but no one heard a word, the three of us all look at each other, knowing exactly what the other is thinking.

              “Bro, is she pregnant?” Alex almost looks scared.

F
or a moment, I feel my knees get weak.               “No, she would tell me...” I hope she would; besides, she's on the pill. I remind myself to Google the effectiveness of that tiny capsule she takes every morning.

             
If she is, then it's something we will tell everyone together. I change the subject and try to get some work done. The fencing is so old that we've needed to replace it for years. Having a third person really helps, so we're able to get it done faster. The ground has thawed, so we can bore holes for the new posts, and by five PM, we're all exhausted.

             
“Ready to call it a day?” I take my baseball cap off and wipe the beads of sweat from my brow.

             
“Sounds good to me. C'mon, Alex; let's get going.” Jer shakes my hand and rests the shaft of the shovel over his shoulder. “See ya tomorrow, buddy.”

             
Addison hasn't messaged me, so I quietly open the door to the house, hoping she's still sleeping. I pull off my boots and set them down gently. Rex barks at the door.

             
“Shh! Boys, come on.” I open it and let them both in. Luca heads right for the living room and flops down in front of the warm hearth.

             
The old wooden stairs creak a little when I try to tread lightly up them, and when I get to the bedroom, I see she's still asleep.

             
She must be really sick; she's snoring softly, and I can't help but smile. Her hair is an absolute mess, and when she stirs, she rolls onto her side and breathes heavily with her mouth wide open. Now
that
is sexy. I grin, trying to keep myself from chuckling.

             
Closing the bathroom door behind me quietly, I turn the shower on and pile my dirty clothes into the wicker laundry hamper. I exhale deeply and stand under the heat, pressing my hands against the tile in front of me. I lean so the water beats down the back of my neck.               After I wash, I turn the knobs off and step out. I dry my hair quickly with a towel and then wrap it around my waist. I wipe off the fog on the mirror above the sink and lather my face with shaving cream. While I'm rinsing off my face, I turn to see her coming into the bathroom. She squints from the light and blocks it with her hand.

             
“Hey, you. How are you feeling?”

She looks rough and stumbles a little. I quickly reach out and catch her. “Whoa! Baby, are you okay?”

              “I'm okay, and turn around! I don't want you to see me like this.” She giggles sleepily.

             
“Oh, believe me; I've seen it all.” I clear my throat and laugh. “I even heard a little snoring earlier.”

             
“No, you didn't! I don't snore. I'm a lady.” She pulls from my arms and sits down on the toilet. “See!” She pretends to curtsey while she's sitting, and I can't help but laugh out loud.

             
“Quite the lady. I'm glad to see your sense of humor is back. You must be feeling a little bit better.”               I pull the towel from around my waist and toss it on the counter. I walk right by her while she's still sitting there, I’m completely naked. Even though she's a hot mess, she's still
her
and I'm slowly hardening.

             
“I'm not feeling well enough for that!” she yells from the bathroom and leans to slam the door shut behind me.

             
I put on a pair of pajama bottoms and climb into bed. When she comes out I pull the blankets on her side back so she can get in.

             
“Thank you.” She smiles and lies down, and I cover her up all the way to her chin. I get under the enormous pile and try to get close to her.               “Blaine, no! You can't. I don't want to get you sick.”