overreacting, but her husband had been murdered, her home broken into, and she knew she wasn’t thinking straight. Did Brady have a key to the new locks, too? She hadn’t been watching. Some SEALS could open locks. It was part of the training.
She hadn’t been worrying about any of that. She’d been too busy thinking about the tawny skin on his inner thighs whenever he sat or hunkered down, the crisp look of his short dark hair, and how it would feel between her fingers.
I’m such an idiot! “When you hear hoof beats...” her dad would always say, and she’d always answer, “think horses, not unicorns.”
No need to try to lay this one on Brady, even if he was a total asshole. She must have filed the Pegasus, either yesterday when she was so upset, or today when she lost her temper. Rats! And she’d been getting so much better, too.
Chapter Six
Gemma took a bite of her sandwich and pushed back a slice of avocado that seemed determined to squeeze out from between the bread and pepper jack cheese. “These are great,” she said, lifting the sandwich-half in Mike’s direction. “They’re huge, though.”
He grinned and swallowed. “I know. They’re guilty pleasures I save for special occasions.”
She finally managed to get the bread in a grip that held most of the contents in with only an occasional poke, took another bite and licked her fingers. “I’m not making a lot of progress with the packing.” She put her foot up on a box and winced as the key in her back pocket stabbed into her seat.
“You okay?”
“Yah. When I found the key to Ned’s camping trunk yesterday, I stuck it in my pocket. I need to put it someplace it won’t get filed .”
“Give it to me.” He put the key into his shirt pocket. “How’s that going? The filing ?”
“Interesting. I think I told you the other day, but once Ned moved out, things started reappearing. No order, no rhyme or reason to it. Maybe that means I’m growing out of it the way you did.”
“I was thirteen, Gemma. Puberty changes that kind of thing.”
“Well, I was going on the theory it was more about transitions.” She swallowed and took a sip of soda. “But now, with everything that’s happening, I don’t want to take any chances it will start up again.”
“When are you putting this place on the market?”
“I’m going to let the Realtor put up a For Sale sign as soon as I get two or three more rooms packed up.”
Mike rattled the ice in his cup. “Why wait? Just pick up the phone and call a mover. And don’t say it’s money,” he added, as she opened her mouth to say exactly that. “You’re loaded, remember?”
“Maybe when everything gets sorted out.”
“I’ll have someone here tomorrow. You need to get out of here, Gemma. You can pay me back later. Deal?”
She stared at him, thinking. “They can store everything, too, can’t they? Until I find a place?”
He nodded. “Well, I’m glad you mentioned that. It just so happens, there’s a house for lease about four blocks from us. I was planning to drive you over to take a look at it this afternoon. It belongs to a friend of ours, and you can stay there month-to-month until this all settles out and you decide what you want to do.”
Gemma swallowed hard and caught her breath. “A house? Just like that? God, Mike, that’s like jumping off the end of the pier. Up to now, I’ve just been standing there with my toes hanging over the edge, trying to make myself move.”
“Yeah, I know. I can tell when you’re stuck. That’s when it’s a big brother’s job to give you a sneaky little push.”
“Okay,” she said after a long inhale. “Let’s go see it, and if it’s okay, I’ll call the movers myself. But not tomorrow—the day after.”
“Deal.” He grinned at her.
She didn’t smile back.
“Okay, Brat. What’s up?”
“I want to talk to you about that guy you’ve sicced on me. Since you want to talk about pushing
She hadn’t been worrying about any of that. She’d been too busy thinking about the tawny skin on his inner thighs whenever he sat or hunkered down, the crisp look of his short dark hair, and how it would feel between her fingers.
I’m such an idiot! “When you hear hoof beats...” her dad would always say, and she’d always answer, “think horses, not unicorns.”
No need to try to lay this one on Brady, even if he was a total asshole. She must have filed the Pegasus, either yesterday when she was so upset, or today when she lost her temper. Rats! And she’d been getting so much better, too.
Chapter Six
Gemma took a bite of her sandwich and pushed back a slice of avocado that seemed determined to squeeze out from between the bread and pepper jack cheese. “These are great,” she said, lifting the sandwich-half in Mike’s direction. “They’re huge, though.”
He grinned and swallowed. “I know. They’re guilty pleasures I save for special occasions.”
She finally managed to get the bread in a grip that held most of the contents in with only an occasional poke, took another bite and licked her fingers. “I’m not making a lot of progress with the packing.” She put her foot up on a box and winced as the key in her back pocket stabbed into her seat.
“You okay?”
“Yah. When I found the key to Ned’s camping trunk yesterday, I stuck it in my pocket. I need to put it someplace it won’t get filed .”
“Give it to me.” He put the key into his shirt pocket. “How’s that going? The filing ?”
“Interesting. I think I told you the other day, but once Ned moved out, things started reappearing. No order, no rhyme or reason to it. Maybe that means I’m growing out of it the way you did.”
“I was thirteen, Gemma. Puberty changes that kind of thing.”
“Well, I was going on the theory it was more about transitions.” She swallowed and took a sip of soda. “But now, with everything that’s happening, I don’t want to take any chances it will start up again.”
“When are you putting this place on the market?”
“I’m going to let the Realtor put up a For Sale sign as soon as I get two or three more rooms packed up.”
Mike rattled the ice in his cup. “Why wait? Just pick up the phone and call a mover. And don’t say it’s money,” he added, as she opened her mouth to say exactly that. “You’re loaded, remember?”
“Maybe when everything gets sorted out.”
“I’ll have someone here tomorrow. You need to get out of here, Gemma. You can pay me back later. Deal?”
She stared at him, thinking. “They can store everything, too, can’t they? Until I find a place?”
He nodded. “Well, I’m glad you mentioned that. It just so happens, there’s a house for lease about four blocks from us. I was planning to drive you over to take a look at it this afternoon. It belongs to a friend of ours, and you can stay there month-to-month until this all settles out and you decide what you want to do.”
Gemma swallowed hard and caught her breath. “A house? Just like that? God, Mike, that’s like jumping off the end of the pier. Up to now, I’ve just been standing there with my toes hanging over the edge, trying to make myself move.”
“Yeah, I know. I can tell when you’re stuck. That’s when it’s a big brother’s job to give you a sneaky little push.”
“Okay,” she said after a long inhale. “Let’s go see it, and if it’s okay, I’ll call the movers myself. But not tomorrow—the day after.”
“Deal.” He grinned at her.
She didn’t smile back.
“Okay, Brat. What’s up?”
“I want to talk to you about that guy you’ve sicced on me. Since you want to talk about pushing
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