Page 14 of Nails
She tried to buck her hips, but all it did was make matters worse as her leggings started inching down.
“Oh, come on!”she said as she hung there, half inside, half outside, and her dignity slipping as fast as her leggings.
“Fan-fucking-tastic!Now I’m flashing the entire neighborhood my undies,” she grumbled as she tried to twist her body enough to get her one arm back out the window to pull her pants back up.
After a few minutes of trying, she gave up.
“Great.Just great,” she muttered, “This is how I go out.Stuck in a window likeWinnie the Pooh, except less cute and way more pissed off.”
Minutes passed.Her face was turning red from being upside down, blood rushing to her head.Her chest also began to ache slightly.
Just as she was about to accept her fate as a permanent window decoration, she heard the unmistakable sound of the attic’s pull-down ladder unfolding.Seconds later, the sound of heavy footsteps approaching had her twisting her neck awkwardly to look up.
But she froze when she saw the tall, dark-haired, and ridiculously handsome man standing next to her.
Either she was hallucinating from the blood rushing to her head, or the attic fairy just sent her a walking action movie poster with biceps and bedroom eyes.
Damn!
Nails gripped the steering wheel with one hand as he drove down the main road leading to his mom’s house.The salty air of the small beach town filled the truck, and he took a deep breath, letting it settle inside him.He always felt at ease here, a stark contrast to the high-intensity world he lived in as a Navy SEAL.
Beside him, Snow leaned back in the passenger seat, sunglasses on, one arm draped lazily over the open window.“Man, I don’t know why you ever left this place,” he said, shaking his head.
Nails smirked, eyes on the road.“Because I wanted to do more than sit on a beach all day.”
Snow snorted.“You could’ve been a lifeguard or something.You know, they still save lives and get paid to flirt with women in bikinis.That seems like your dream job.”
Nails chuckled.“Tempting, but I think I made the right call.”
The truth was, as much as he loved this town, it wasn’t enough for him.He needed action and purpose.That’s what led him to the SEALs.
As he turned onto the familiar street, his mom’s house came into view.It was the same charming two-story home he had grown up in, grayish blue with white shutters, a wraparound porch, and a flower garden that she still tended to religiously.
As he pulled into the driveway, he immediately hit the brakes, his brow furrowing.There, dangling from the attic window like a scene from a slapstick cartoon, were a pair of legs flailing in the breeze.
What the actual fuck?
His entire body went rigid.Was someone trying to break into his mother’s house?
His pulse pounded as he threw the truck into park.“I think someone’s trying to break in,” he growled, already reaching for the door handle.
Snow followed his line of sight and swore.“Oh, Shit!”
They were out of the truck in seconds, moving fast towards the front door.His frustration spiked when he found the door unlocked.His mom knew better.
The thought of her inside and vulnerable sent his mind into overdrive.He switched into SEAL mode as he stepped into the house, his voice sharp and commanding.
“Mom!Where are you?”
There was a shuffle, then a familiar voice.“Good Lord, why are you yelling, you big oaf?”
Nails turned toward the kitchen just as his mother hobbled into the living room.His stomach twisted when he saw the bulky black medical boot on her foot.
“What the hell happened to your leg?”he demanded.
She waved him off.“It’s nothing.Just a little foot fracture.”
“A little—” Nails cut himself off, taking a slow breath through his nose.His concern for her leg was momentarily overshadowed by the presence of the intruder upstairs.He pointed toward the ceiling.“Mom, someone’s trying to break in through the attic window.”
