Road to Recovery (24 page)

***

Brooke watched Mac, Lucas and Ryan
standing over by the cooler talking and laughing, enjoying a beer.
She was right. Mac fit right in with Lucas’s family, more than she
did.

It didn’t seem to faze him in the least
when Lucas’s mom reached up and gave him a hug, or when Thomas and
Ryan gave him a handshake with a half man hug. Mac was so at ease.
Just like Lucas, he was always fast with a grin and a laugh.
Sometimes Brooke wished she could be more like them.

“
Who’s that?” Cori asked
breathlessly, fanning her hand in front of her face.

Brooke stopped looking at the men by
the cooler and focused her attention on where Cori had indicated,
to the man walking across the lawn. “That must be Ryan’s friend
Jack Reynolds. Lucas mentioned he might be stopping by,” Brooke
stated and then watched when Ryan broke away from the group to
greet the newcomer.

“
Wow, he’s hot. With a
capital H.O.T. Look at that body. He is bigger than Ryan and I
didn’t think that was possible. Built the same too. Look at those
shoulders.” Cori sighed dramatically.

Brooke noticed that Jack indeed had a
build as thick and muscular as Ryan’s. But that was the only thing
they had in common. Ryan, always the epitome of modern fashion, was
dressed in designer flat front shorts, with a fitted vintage washed
blue T-shirt and slip-on sneakers. Jack was in wrinkled cargo
shorts with a faded vintage-looking T-shirt, most likely from age
and wear, rather than design.

Suddenly Cori interrupted her thoughts.
“Want to ride the jet skis for a bit to cool off? Because Ryan’s
friend there got me even hotter than I already was,” she said with
a smirk.

“
Sure, let me go put my suit
on and find out where the smaller life jackets are.”

“
Okay, I’m going to go in
and change myself,” Cori said, then she practically skipped
away.

Brooke shook her head and marveled at
how fast Cori always moved. She never walked. She always skipped,
ran or slid in and out of rooms. She had one speed—full
throttle.

When Cori waltzed out in her hot pink
bikini, she knew every eye was on her, exactly as she had expected.
One of the reasons Cori always wore bright colors. The other
reason—bright colors were fun. And Cori was all about
fun.

Brooke, on the other hand, had come out
zipping the life jacket up over her own pale blue bikini, trying to
draw less attention than Cori always managed to do.

The two girls stopped in front of
Lucas, who was still talking with Mac, and asked the guys to push
the skis off the beach for them.

“
Cute suit.” Mac grinned at
Cori. Then he pulled her red hair out of her collar so that she
could zip up the life jacket.

With a wink and a grin back, Cori said,
“Thanks. Where’s yours?”

Mac caught Brooke’s stare, ignored her
and continued to flirt with Cori. “In the house. Maybe I’ll take a
ride with you a bit later.”

Straddling the watercraft next to
Brooke, Cori started it up and then looked over her shoulder with a
dip of her chin. “Maybe.”

Mac turned back to Lucas. “I can’t tell
if she is joking or flirting with me.”

“
Who? Cori?” Lucas asked.
When Mac nodded, Lucas replied, “Most likely both. Cori’s a good
time, doesn’t take much seriously. But I’ve never known her to be
the one-night-stand type of girl either,” he warned Mac with a
glint in his eye.

“
No worries,” Mac assured
him. “I’m not the one-night-stand type of guy myself. Nor would I
consider angering Brooke.”

Lucas rolled over the next morning,
eyes searching for Brooke. Huddled under the covers on her side of
the bed. Figures.

He considered reaching over and waking
her up for some early morning fun, but then remembered Cori was
sleeping two doors down. Not to mention Mac two floors below. Well,
maybe if he was quiet enough, but then he reconsidered. He knew he
could be quiet, but he didn’t think Brooke could.

So lying on his back staring out at the
morning sun, he thought of last night. Memories of Cori drinking a
little too much, causing her hyperactive little body to be even
more over animated resulted in roars of laughter from
everyone.

Brooke, drinking water, having stopped
after two glasses of wine, declaring that she wasn’t about to
overindulge and fall asleep early like she did Memorial Day
weekend.

Mac, keeping pace with Ryan beer for
beer, relaying stories of college football days, proving to Lucas
he was right when he pegged Mac as an athlete. Too bad Ryan’s
friend Jack couldn’t stay longer. He had left before the girls had
gotten back from their ride on the lake.

Then he thought with a chuckle, Mandi,
in the corner scowling at the girls most of the night. Then
scowling at Ryan whenever he laughed at something Cori said, or
ignored her completely in favor of Mac.

Of course it probably didn’t help the
girls any that Mandi overheard them earlier laughing over her
attire for the day. For the life of him Lucas couldn’t imagine what
Ryan saw in Mandi. Then realized, he knew what he saw in her, but
couldn’t understand how he stayed with her for more than a few
nights. If Mandi wasn’t whining and complaining, then she was
scowling or demanding Ryan’s attention.

Last night was all the things Lucas had
wanted when he built this house. All the things hidden in the back
of his mind, but never really knew until last night. He always
wanted a place for friends to come and hang out. To feel welcome.
To sit in front of the fire pit with the woman he loved while his
friends and family laughed and joked around with each
other.

Shaking his head and chuckling, Lucas
realized that he was romanticizing about white picket fences and
happy ever after. If Ryan knew what he was thinking, he would never
let him live it down.

Suddenly he felt the bed move and
looked over at Brooke blinking her eyes open against the sunlight
and covering a yawn. “You’re up early.”

He watched her face come to life. The
woman he knew was the one, the one he wanted a life with, the one
he wanted a life with in this house. The one he was trying hard to
not scare by declaring everything he was feeling at the
moment.

Thankfully his stomach chose that
moment to growl, giving him an out for what was really on his mind.
“I’m hungry. And waiting for my breakfast.” He reached for her and
gave her a quick hug.

***

Later that morning, after cooking
French toast and pancakes for everyone, Brooke instructed the boys.
“I cooked, you clean.” Then she marched to Lucas’s bedroom, changed
into her yoga gear, grabbed her mat and headed out to the backyard
to stretch and get a quick session in.

“
How can you do that after
the breakfast you just ate?” Cori asked, holding her third cup of
coffee in her hands.

Brooke finally realized why Cori always
seemed so wound up, caffeine. She was drinking it faster than the
rest of them and didn’t seem intent on stopping. “Easy. I didn’t
eat as much as you did. And it helps with digestion.”

Cori snorted, then took another sip of
her sweetened coffee. “Always practical, figures.”

***

Inside, the boys were finishing up the
dishes and wiping down the counters when Mac asked, “How did we get
roped into this? You, I can understand, but me? Why do I have to
clean up?”

“
Excuse me?” Lucas asked all
indignant.

Mac grinned at Lucas’s tone. “Yeah,
you. You’re a guy, you sleep with my sister.” Ignoring the choking
sound coming from Lucas he continued, “You want to keep doing it,
so you keep her happy.”

Lucas looked over at Mac.
“Did you just bring up the fact that I’m sleeping with your sister?
The same guy who fought tooth and nail not to stay here for that
very reason, because it made you
uncomfortable
? Yet you throw it out on
the table like that?”

Mac shrugged. “Well, yeah. Don’t get me
wrong, it still makes me uncomfortable, but she’s an adult. And I’m
trying to respect that.”

“
Lectured you on that Friday
night, huh?” Lucas said with a lift of his eyebrows.

Mac figured there was no use denying
it, so he smirked in response. Then his tone and face took on a
more serious demeanor. “How is she doing? Honestly? She always
tells me fine, always acts like she is fine, but sometimes I know
she can’t be.”

It was Lucas’s turn to feel
uncomfortable. “You know her well. I’m sure it will come as no
surprise to learn she feeds me the same lines. Always says she’s
fine.”

Lucas pulled a stool out and settled
down to get comfortable, gazed out the windows to see Brooke
balancing herself on one hand and one leg while another leg and
hand were pointing at a ninety-degree angle. “I watch her mostly,
her movements, her reactions. She hides the pain, but I can see it.
I try not to bring it up, or baby her. Or lecture her. I get the
feeling she gets enough of that from your parents.”

Mac looked over at Lucas more
thoughtfully. “I guess you know her well, too. Just keep her happy.
She’s had a rough year. I don’t want to see her heart broken
again.”

Lucas nodded, pain reaching his eyes,
and replied solemnly, “It’s more likely that I’m the one who’ll get
my heart broken.”

Looking at Lucas’s face, Mac felt the
need to say more. In the past twenty-four hours he had come to
really like Lucas. He was rooting for him, and felt Brooke finally
found someone she could count on, and be with, someone who
understood her and loved her for who she was, not for what she
could bring him.

But his loyalty to Brooke kept his lips
sealed. She was going to have to figure it out on her own. He hoped
she did it right and didn’t let Lucas slip away.

***

“
Don’t be such a stranger,”
Brooke said, then reached up to give Mac a quick hug.

“
I could say the same to
you,” he said, joking and lifting her off her feet, prolonging the
hug.

“
Argh, are you trying to
break my ribs?” she said in a huff, but then spoiled it by smiling
and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“
Just want to make sure
you’re as strong as you keep telling me you are,” he said with a
grin, which produced a frown from her.

“
I’m
fine
, Mac.”

Waving her answer away and rolling his
eyes, he huffed right back at her. “Yeah, yeah.” He turned toward
Lucas, reaching out his hand to the one already extended toward
his. “Keep her in line.”

Ignoring Brooke’s eye roll, Lucas
nodded. “Deal. But I will echo Brooke, don’t be a
stranger.”

“
Hey, what about me,” yelled
Cori as she came running outside to get a hug from Mac too. She hit
his body with a thud that caused them both to laugh.

He lifted her a foot off the ground to
bring her eyes level with his and placed a loud kiss on her lips.
“Don’t be a stranger,” he said, mocking her. Then set her back on
the ground and with a grin. “You have my number. I want tabs on
Brooke.”

Cori bumped her shoulder with Brooke,
ignoring the frown that Brooke sent Mac’s way. “You got
it.”

***

After a final wave to Mac, Cori turned
back to Brooke. “Do you want to catch a ride back with me since you
came with Mac?”

“
No, I’ll bring her home
tomorrow,” Lucas piped up before Brooke could respond. Then noticed
her hesitation and amended. “If that works for you?”

“
Sure, if it’s not too much
trouble for you. It’s a bit out of your way, so we would have to
leave pretty early for me to have time to change,” she
explained.

“
No problem. I have some
catching up to do.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her and watched her
start to blush. “Besides I have a long week, and unfortunately we
might not see much of each other until the end of the
week.”

“
Lucas!” Brooke scolded him
for saying that in front of Cori, while her blush continued to
deepen.

Cori looked back and forth between the
two of them, at Brooke’s red-faced frown and Lucas’s grin, then
decided she had overstayed her welcome. “Alrighty then. I’ll grab
my stuff and get out of your hair. Let you get to that ‘catching
up,’” she said, making quotation marks with her hands, then dashed
back into the house.

“
What has you smiling over
there?” Lucas asked after taking a sip of beer.

Startled out of her daze, Brooke tore
her eyes away from the sunset over the lake in front of her and
turned to Lucas to reply, “Nothing much, just thinking.”

“
Well, it has to be
something if it has you smiling like that. So spill.”

Conceding with a shrug and a half
laugh, she told him, “Just thinking of how pathetic my life has
been.”

“
And that has you smiling?”
he asked, slightly shocked.