Page 36 of The Nice Guy
“Poor Brynlee.”
If she didn’t have my attention already, she has it all now. I sit up straight and jut my chin out. “What do you mean by that?”
“I saw her at the store, and I was goin’ to talk to her. She about jumped out of her skin when I walked up to her, and then I heard the bitches in the next aisle over talkin’ shit about her. The things they said were out of pure jealousy, but she hightailed it out of there with tears in her eyes.”
“They said ittoher?” Carter gasps. “I didn’t think anyone in this town had guts like that. Besides you.”
Shaking her head, Darla clenches her fists at her side as she bounces from foot to foot. It’s making me nauseous watching her like this, but I can’t tear my eyes away. “Oh, no, they don’t have the balls to do that like I do. She overheard it, and she left her cart and bolted. What I overheard before she took off had me throwin’ a fit. I can only imagine what they said before that, and Todd threatened to call the sheriff if I didn’t leave. Hence, the hands in fists rather than holdin’ bags.”
“What’d they say?”
“What I heard was about her bein’ stupid and a whore. I don’t doubt she heard them attackin’ her appearance. This is exactly why I’m friends with so few women around here. Twats, all of them.”
Standing, I just nod at Carter and run to my pickup. I barely remember the drive to Brynlee’s house because I can’t shake the image of her crying and alone. It makes my entire chest ache, and I race up her front porch.
I’m unsure if I even turned off my pickup as I pound on her front door, refusing to stop until she answers. And when she does, I pull her into my arms.
“H-how’d you know?” Brynlee stammers as I run my hand over her hair.
Brynlee clutches the bear I won her last night to her chest as I hold her tightly, and I almost smile. “I was at Carter’s house when Darla stormed in.”
Picking her up, I cradle her as I carry her into the living room, kicking the front door shut, and sit on the couch with her on my lap. She clings to the bear as the tears continue, and it breaks my heart.
“Those women d-don’t even kn-know me. And they’re m-making up all these l-lies about me. I don’t know what I d-did to th-them.”
“You didn’t do anythin’,” I say, rubbing her back. “They’re just jealous.”
“That’s not jealousy,” she says and hiccups. “I’ve d-dealt with jeal-jealousy. That was just cr-cruelty for the sake of b-being cruel.”
The pain in her voice makes me wish I’d found out from Darla who it was she caught talking badly about Brynlee. “If it makes you feel better, Darla said she may still need bail money.”
“What?”
“She may have lost it on the women after you left. The owner threatened to call the sheriff if she didn’t leave,” I say with a laugh. “Everyone knows her reputation, and they should be scared.”
Pulling back, she wipes her eyes and looks into mine. “She got in trouble? He didn’t c-call the sheriff, did he?”
I would do anything in the world to keep her from crying ever again. It’s like a punch to the gut to see her this way. “It wouldn’t have mattered if he had,” I say, cupping her face and giving her a smile.
“Why not?”
“Because the sheriff is Edwin Dillon. My oldest brother.”
This makes her laugh, and I relax. “Of course he is. God, I must look like such a mess.”
“You look beautiful.”
Sniffling, she runs her hands through her hair self-consciously, and I take her hands to hold them. “You came over because Darla told you what happened?”
“I came over because she said she saw tears in your eyes, and the thought of you cryin’ was more than I could stand.”
“I was hoping she didn’t see me. I learned a long time ago to never let anyone see me cry, but clearly that failed today. You really are a nice guy, Rhett Dillon.”
The words are my kryptonite. The wordswe should just be friendsusually follow that statement, but when her mouth crashes against mine, all worry that she doesn’t see me as someone she wants to take to bed anymore disappears. In fact, the only thoughts in my mind make my jeans rather uncomfortable.
My need becomes obvious as I hold her against my chest, and she shifts to straddle my lap. Her arms wrap around my neck, and she runs her fingers through my hair before massaging my scalp. Everything she does is so damn erotic, and I moan when she tugs gently.
“Do you feel better?” I ask as I kiss her jaw and down to her neck.
