Page 15 of Wrecked
Logan's chuckle brought me back to the present in time to catch the tail end of his sentence, "…maybe you should head over to Mrs. D's and show her some—" he waggled his brows, "—southern hospitality. Maybe it'll help remove the stick out of both y'alls asses."
It was a good thing that I wasn't holding a tool because the urge to fling it at my friend's head was as strong as it was sudden. Kenzie wasn't mine, and I had no right to want to hurl a tool at Eli too if he just thought about going over to the guesthouse.
And just like that, I was pissed at Kenzie again. How the hell did the woman still have that strong of a hold over me?
"Ha ha funny," Eli answered dryly. "I just came to drop off the pie momma sent, but now I'm thinking I'll just have it myself."
"Hey, hey, don't you dare leave this shop with my pie." Logan snatched the container from his brother and grinned. "You coming tonight?"
Eli flicked his wrist and pulled back the cuff of his shirt, "Yeah," he said when he dropped his arm again. "I'm dropping Molly off at about six."
"Flynn had his bag packed this morning already."
Eli made a weird sound that was probably meant to be a chuckle, "Molly threw all her drawing stuff in my truck, too. She's afraid I'll forget them. I'm not sure who's more excited over the Monday night sleepovers. The kids or the adults?"
"Oh, it's definitely the adults," Logan retorted.
There was no doubt that Logan and Harper adored their little boy, but I knew that my friend appreciated the one night a week he had his woman to himself for the entire night. I'd forgotten how it felt to spend a night just holding a woman. I tried to remember the last time I did and came up short. No one occupied that space in my heart after Kenzie. In my defense though, there was no heart to occupy. Kenzie had made sure of that, too.
The thoughts filled my chest with new bitterness. Again, I found myself envious of the people surrounding me. A heaviness settled on my chest. I was aware of Eli saying goodbye, but I only managed to grumble in return.
Logan had walked him out, and when I heard his footfalls draw near, I fiddled with a few parts under the hood under the guise of looking busy, willing my friend to go away.
"What's up with you?" Logan leaned his hip against the car and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
I fiddled some more. "Nothing."
My friend, unfortunately, was not deterred by my mood. "Ooh, somebody's panties are all twisted up."
Without giving him an answer, I moved to the workbench behind me and began tidying up the strewn about tools. I heard Logan chuckle before he slapped me on the back. "Or maybe you've lost your touch and had to settle for some self-love?"
The wrench I was holding dropped to the bench with a loudclank.Jaw clenching, I spun around and glared at him. "Back off, okay!"
"I told you—" hell-bent on saying what was on his mind, he ignored my anger and just spat out more words. "—at some point the women you're always entertaining are going to get tired of you just using them for a quick release."
"Dammit Logan," I yelled. "Just because you're stuck screwing the same woman every night doesn't mean I have to be."
Unmasked anger flashed on his face as he took a few determined steps toward me. "You watch your mouth," he seethed.
"Or what?" Clearly, I was past the point of reasoning because I would never intentionally bate my friend for a fight.
Logan gave me a two-second-death-stare. "Or I ram my fist through it."
"Yeah, I'd like to see you try."
We were about a second away from settling things like a pair of adolescent boys when Harper's loud, "Hey," reverberated through the shop. I blinked, and she was standing between us with her hand pressed against Logan's chest. When she looked at me, I swear I saw understanding shine in her eyes. "I think you need to take a walk."
She wasn't wrong, I needed to clear my head. I gave her a small nod and turned for the door. As I walked away, I heard her ask Logan, "What happened?"
"He was being an idiot."
There were a few seconds of silence during which I felt their eyes on me before Harper continued in that soft voice that she only reserves for the men in her life. "Or maybe he is hurting and lashing out is his way of dealing with it."
Her assessment was so accurate it had me speeding up and storming out of the shop. Blinded by anger and whatever else was brewing inside me, I stomped down the sidewalk utterly oblivious to the pedestrians until it was too late.
Chapter 8
"Oh, I'm—" I bent down and picked up my shoppingthat had slipped from my hands when I'd walked into someone. After I retrieved the fallen items, I pushed to my feet and looked straight at Brett. At his bobbing Adam's apple to be precise. "—sorry." The single word blew over my lips in a whisper.
