Page 27 of Sipping Seduction
“No, I don’t want the Girthy Garth.”
Miller took the phone from me at that point. “Thanks for your assistance. My brother’s in a bad place right now. He had such a special relationship with Mick, it’s been extremely hard for him to let it go.”
“You little shit.” I grabbed for my phone, but Miller had already disconnected. “I can’t wait for you and Amalie to get married. Don’t be surprised if you find a Girthy Garth and a Thick Rick wrapped up with your wedding gifts.”
“If I do, I just might have to tell Frannie all about how you snuck into her closet and went through her personal things.” He didn’t look spooked at all. In fact, he looked thrilled at the possibility of having something to hold over my head.
“I thought I was stealing a moon pie.”
“Maybe you should just tell her the truth. You were trying to save her beavers from being violated by the dog, so you stuffed the blanket into the closet. Then, lo and behold, a box of moon pies fell at your feet. Being the sack of shit you are, you opened the box, hoping to stick your tongue in the creamy center and discovered her secret pleasure stick instead.” Miller shrugged. “Or you can put the beaver blanket back where you found it and pretend like the box fell on the floor on its own. Maybe Pete the Dog was the one who ripped it open and found Magic Mick.”
I stared at my brother for a long beat. “Miller, you’re a fucking genius. Why didn’t I think of that?”
He brushed his knuckles against his shirt and puffed out his chest. “I do have an advanced degree, you know.”
“In accounting, not sneaky spy shit.” I was already in motion, pulling the closet door open and yanking the beaver quilt down from the shelf. “Pete the Dog is the perfect straw man. Or perfect straw dog. He even looks guilty.”
Miller tossed the remainder of the pink nub on the bed near Pete the Dog’s paw. “Where did you put the box? We should leave it on the closet floor. Maybe even rip it up a little like the dog pulled it apart trying to get into it.”
In under a minute, we’d staged the scene. It was the perfect setup. I wouldn’t say a word and Pete the Dog would take the fall. Frannie would be too embarrassed to ask me about it and just assume the box had fallen from the closet like Miller said.
Relieved I wouldn’t have to confess to being responsible for ruining Frannie’s vibrating friend, I headed to the kitchen. “You want to stick around for a while and catch the end of the Vols game?”
“Hell no. I’m getting out of here before your new roommate gets home. There’s no way I’ll be able to keep a straight face when she walks in the door.” He tilted his head toward my refrigerator. “I was over at Mom and Dad’s place for a while tonight. Mom asked me to drop off a couple of meals for you on my way home. I think she’s afraid of you and Frannie starving to death since she knows you can’t cook.”
I yanked on the handle of the freezer and pulled it open to find a few of my mother’s favorite dinners stacked in vacuum-sealed bags. “What were you doing over at their place?”
“Dad asked me to drop off last month’s statements. He likes keeping an eye on things at the distillery, even though he’s technically retired.” Miller bumped his shoulder against mine. “You think you can keep things under control here? Amalie and Jack are waiting for me at home. We’re on the second Star Wars movie in our outer space movie marathon. They’ve got the popcorn ready.”
“Yeah. Thanks for your help with…” I wasn’t sure what to call the experience we’d shared this evening.
“You’re welcome.”
Miller gave me the half-handshake, half-hug thing that we usually did, then made his way toward the front door. I followed, grateful I had a brother like Miller. Vaughn and Cole had always had each other. Even though they didn’t always see eye to eye, they had that twin-bond thing. Growing up, I sometimes felt like a third wheel when I hung around with the two of them. Miller got me. He understood why I’d felt like I needed to get away from Beaver Bluff after high school when everyone expected me to go to college and work in the family business.
He also understood my feelings for Frannie and had been the first one to call me out about them. The only thing we didn’t really agree on was what I should do about them.
Right before he got to the door, he turned around. “You sure you know what you’re doing with Frannie?”
“What do you mean?” I slid my hands into the pockets of my sweats, suddenly eager for my brother to go before he said something I’d have to think about later.
“I know how you feel about her. Maybe you need to tell her before she gets tight with this new guy. That’s all.” One of Miller’s shoulders lifted in a half shrug. “I mean, what if they get serious and you never get the chance? You don’t want to live your life with a regret like that.”
“Yeah, I’ll think about it.” Eager to get him out of my house and out of my head, I nodded toward the door. “Give my nephew a hug from me, okay?”
“He’d probably tell you he’s getting too big for hugs.” Miller chuckled.
“Then give him a fist bump from his Uncle Evan, okay?”
“You got it, bro.” Miller made it all the way to his truck before he turned around. “Think about what I said, will you?”
Nodding, I waited for him to turn around and head down my drive before I went back inside and closed the door. Think about what he said? All I’d been doing for the past couple of weeks was thinking about Frannie… wondering if I should tell her anything… and if so, how I should break the news. Hey, Frannie? Can we talk? I just wanted to let you know I’ve pretty much been in love with you since grade school. What do you think? Wanna get married and make babies and live happily ever after?
After she finished laughing at me, she’d probably put me on a psychiatric hold until I came to my senses.
Actually, I knew Frannie a hell of a lot better than that. She wouldn’t laugh. She’d let me down easy and then everything between us would change. I refused to be one more person she needed to take care of, one more problem she needed to solve.
I couldn’t do that to her. Couldn’t tell her how I felt. Not until I was whole again.
