CHAPTER EIGHT
As Everett pulled his shoes off in Deanna and Lucky’s front hallway, he still wasn’t sure why she’d asked him to come by. He’d gotten a text from her before he’d left the bunkhouse to meet Lucky and Eli at Lucky’s gym for a workout. Had Georgia told her about what had happened yesterday?
As he took the stairs two at a time, he wondered how pissed she’d be if she knew.
“Deanna, you decent?”
“Make yourself at home, cuz,” she called out in a weak voice from her bedroom.
When he stepped into the room, his cousin was in the middle of the bed with the blankets pulled up to her chin. Her coloring was pale, and her eyes were dull.
“I figured letting myself in was nicer than making you get out of bed and come downstairs.”
She gave him a small smile. “I won’t argue with that.”
“You look like shit.” Everett hung back from the bed, not wanting to get too close for fear of contracting whatever she had.
“Why does everyone keep telling me that today?”
“Because it’s true?” He raised an eyebrow. “Have you seen a doctor?”
She nodded. “Dr. Lee came by since it’s been a few days. Said it’s the worst case of flu he’s seen in Hope Falls in years. Lucky me.”
He grimaced. “Anything I can do to help?”
“Actually, there is.” She shifted in bed. It was difficult seeing his physically strong, firefighting cousin challenged to do even that.
“Name it.”
“I was hoping you could take Georgia under your wing. You know, show her around town, go and do some activities, make sure she has fun. I want her to see the best of Hope Falls so that, if she’s offered the job, she’ll move here.”
Of course Deanna would have to ask him to do the one thing he’d have trouble doing. Not that he couldn’t show Georgia a good time. He had a whole list of ideas in that regard, but most of them involved her being naked. That wasn’t what his cousin was asking for though.
“Work is pretty busy this time of year. What about Lucky…or Eli, for that matter?”
“Eli is on shift starting tomorrow, so he’s out for a few days, and Lucky insists on doting on me until I’m better.”
Everett rubbed the back of his neck. “Are you sure she’s going to want me to keep her occupied?”
“I’m pretty sure she’ll have no complaints,” she said. “Do you not like Georgia?” She raised an eyebrow, which almost felt like a challenge to him.
Was she baiting him?
“I like Georgia just fine,” he said. “That’s not… Whatever. Sure. I’ll spend some time with her, make sure she has fun.”
A small smile formed on his cousin’s face. “Thanks, cuz. I owe you one.”
Everett could think of worse things than being asked to spend time with a beautiful woman. “Don’t mention it.”
“I’m really hoping Georgia will be offered the job and decide to stay in town. I have friends here, but it would be so nice to have one of my old girlfriends here.”
Everett remembered well what it had felt like in Sacramento, being surrounded by people he’d known for years. The feeling of comfort and familiarity. For the first time, he realized he hadn’t had that since he’d left there after the accident.
Not wanting to dwell on that, he cleared his throat and told his cousin that he was taking off to let her rest.
“Okay. Thanks again. I appreciate it, and I’m sure Georgia will too.”
He smiled at her and made his way out of the house. Based on Georgia’s fleeing from his place yesterday, he wasn’t so sure that was true. But a promise was a promise, and he’d prove to Georgia that she belonged in Hope Falls.
Everett set the barbell down and wiped his face with a towel while he tried to catch his breath. He was no slouch—he worked out every day. But today was kicking his ass. He wondered if he was coming down with what Deanna had, but he brushed the thought aside. It was probably because he’d barely slept a wink the night before. Sexual frustration had ensured a workout for his right hand, but even afterward, all he’d seen when he’d closed his eyes was Georgia.
Georgia, with her long, blond hair and perfect ass. Georgia, with her bright-blue eyes, which sparkled when she smiled, and her soft, full lips, which tasted so damn sweet.
He blew a frustrated breath out and scrubbed his hands over his face.
“You throwing in the towel, big brother?” Eli taunted from where he was lifting nearby.
“Pfft. Please. I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction.” Everett had a close relationship with his little brother, but that didn’t mean they didn’t enjoy throwing digs at each other when they could.
“What has you wound so tight?” Eli asked with a grimace as he hefted the dumbbell up into a curl.
“Maybe you should ask who,” Lucky said behind him.
When Everett turned, his cousin’s fiancé was sauntering toward them with a shit-eating grin.
“Oh, so it’s a woman that’s got your panties in a bunch,” Eli said.
Everett pressed his lips together as he stretched his triceps. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He walked to the corner of the gym, where Lucky had set up a variety of different punching bags, hoping to avoid the line of questioning.
Unfortunately, the two grown men followed behind him like a gaggle of high school girls eager for the latest gossip.
He rolled his eyes as he threw some boxing gloves on to expend some energy on the bag.
“I bet you I know who it is too,” his brother said, standing beside him.
Lucky positioned himself on the other side of the bag to hold it in place. Thinking it’d be best to ignore his brother, Everett punched the bag with everything he had, focusing all of his frustration and confusion about his feelings for one Southern, blond bombshell into each hit. Lucky grunted a couple of times from the assault but managed to hold onto the bag.
“It’s Georgia, isn’t it?” Eli asked, not at all put off by his silence.
“Whatever you say,” Everett huffed out between his sharp intakes of air.
Another hit square in the middle of the bag. It was soothing to let off some steam, to sweat—even if it wasn’t how he really wanted to be working up a sweat.
“You think I didn’t see you giving her the fuck-me eyes the other night at the bar?” Eli laughed.
Lucky joined in with him.
“What’re you laughing at?” he asked, directing his question to Lucky. “You were barely there more than a minute that night. Eli doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about—as usual,” he added for good measure. The best Everett could hope for was to throw them off his trail.
“Maybe so,” Lucky began, “but I caught you checking her out at the diner when you first met her, man. Can’t tell me you don’t think she’s hot.”
Great. Now, it was two against one. These guys were worse than the old biddies who played bingo down at the rec center every weekend.
Everett laid off the bag and wiped the sweat from his brow with his forearm. He shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “Any red-blooded man with a pulse can see she’s hot. Doesn’t mean I have the hots for her.”
“So, you wouldn’t mind if I asked her out, then?” His brother smiled at him, issuing a challenge.
Everett fisted his hands inside the boxing gloves at the thought of his brother anywhere near Georgia, but what was he supposed to do? If he admitted how much it bothered him, it was akin to saying that, yes, he did have feelings for her. So he did the only thing he could do.
“You do what you want, man, but don’t come to me when Deanna shoves your balls down your throat because you screwed over her friend.”
Eli laughed in response, the kind of laugh that indicated how full of shit he knew his brother was.
Smack.
Everett leveled a punch at the bag so hard that the vibrations shot up his arm and Lucky, not ready for it, had to take a step back to keep from falling on his ass.
“Sorry, man,” Everett said to him.
“Just give me a heads-up before you try to push your fist through the other side of the bag. I’ll be sure I’m ready.”
A flash of red in his peripheral vision had him glancing in that direction. The other two did as well. Georgia was standing in the entrance to the gym. She had a gym bag on one shoulder and her winter coat slung across her other arm.
His entire gut clenched as he took in her fitted, red dress and her lips painted the same color to match. Her legs were covered with black tights, but it was easy to see how shapely they were. The high, black pumps she was wearing did nothing to calm his libido, which had apparently come back out to play.
A snicker beside him interrupted his thoughts and had him giving his brother a sidelong look.
“I guess we’re about to find out how much of what you just said is bullshit, brother.”