Page 51 of Make Me Whole
His hands came up to cradle my face. The way he was looking at me had my heart doing somersaults. He stooped, the hat on his head casting a shadow over our faces. When our noses touched, he shut his eyes and inhaled deeply.
"If that's what you want," he whispered, when his gaze locked onto mine again.
I realized in that gentle moment what I really wanted was far too complicated for me to fathom. And even if I did, I was too afraid to voice it. My throat worked to swallow the lump stuck there. "It is."
My heart hiccupped when he touched his lips to the tip of my nose after letting out a soft, "Okay." When he pulled back, a smile stretched across his face, however, the worry from earlier still burned bright in those blue depths. "Wanna help me muck the stalls?"
I would never be able to put into words how much it meant that he didn't push. That he offered me comfort while still giving me my space. How anyone could think this man was nothing but a heartbreaker, was beyond me. Because when I looked at him, that's definitely not what I saw.
In fact, my tattered heart had done quite a bit of healing in his presence. Tilting my chin, I pushed the morning's events to the very back of my mind before lifting onto my toes and snatching Bradley's hat.
After securing it on top of my head, I winked at him. "Let's get mucking."
A rich, robust laugh filled the space between us, causing a wide grin to break out on my face. He draped his arm around my shoulders and together we started walking toward the barn.
We were about halfway between the house and the barn when the screeching sound of a woman screaming sliced through the air. Bradley pushed me behind him as he frantically scanned the grounds.
"Sounds like it's coming from the cabins." Spinning around, he faced me. "Wait here, okay?"
My head started shaking before he was done talking. "No way. I'm coming with you."
I could tell he didn't like the idea, still, he grabbed my hand as he set off running. I didn't know what I was expecting when we reached the cabins, but it certainly wasn't a half-dressed woman clutching a tray of eggs while spewing insults at the naked couple standing before her.
"Ah, shit. Not again," Bradley groaned, when he took in the scene as well.
"Again?" I squeaked, eyes fixed on the woman lifting her arm, egg in hand. My own hand came up to cover my mouth as she pulled her arm back and sent the egg flying. My shocked gasped sounded at the same time as the egg landed smack dab in the middle of the naked man's forehead.
The screaming and yelling kicked up a few notches. All three parties trying to get their point across at the same time. From the bits I could make out, I gathered the man had been spending his nights bed-hopping with the two women being none the wiser.
Facing me, Bradley poised his fists on his hips. "I'm going to have to deal with this." He didn't sound very excited, but I couldn't fault him for that.
"Good luck."
He gave me an incredulous look before he moved to position himself in the middle of the fight. Holding his arms in front of him, he approached the egg-wielding woman first. His tone was gentle when he spoke, "I know your upset, ma'am. And no doubt he deserves it, but you're wasting a good breakfast there."
I shoved my fist into my mouth to stop the giggle from slipping out. The woman, on the other hand, tightened her grip on her eggs and shook an accusatory finger at the couple who were still rambling away while trying to cover their bits at the same time.
"That pig deserves so much more than to be egged," she spat.
"I agree with you, ma'am," Bradley cooed, and braved a step forward. "But you see, there are other families staying here too." He motioned toward the row of cabins. "And most of them have small children." He took another step toward her while he waited for his words to register.
The second they did, the woman let out a long breath and pushed the tray into his hand. She turned to leave but paused mid-step, spun around and jabbed her finger in the man's direction. "You stay away from me!" With that, she marched back to her cabin and to my surprise, closed the door rather than slam it.
Once she was gone, Bradley turned his attention to the couple. Shaking his head, he approached them. "Mr. Wilcox, we've been through this."
Cupping his privates and with egg dripping from his nose, the man pulled his shoulders to his ears. "I know. I know. I can't help it. I just love women too much."
"Ughh." The woman standing behind him shoved at his shoulder before storming off too. She, on the other hand, wasn't as gentle with the door. Mr. Wilcox mumbled an apology before stalking off to his own cabin.
The giggle I'd been trying to suppress finally broke free when Bradley reached my side again. "Oh my gosh, I'd never witnessed anything like that before. It was…interesting."
A long, frustrated sound rumbled through his chest when he bent down to put the eggs on the ground; it only made me laugh even more.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek before I confessed, "You're kinda sexy when you're trying to diffuse a situation."
One side of his mouth curved upward as he closed the distance between us and banded an arm around my waist. "Oh yeah?"
"So sexy."
