Chapter 21

Brooklyn

I go over to the bakery on the way to see Eden and grab us something for dessert. I just catch Verne before she's closing and grab a half a dozen box of her famous red velvet cupcakes.

I'm making my way back to the car when I see Gray and Hart on the other side of the street parked outside the general store. I wave on over as they wave back and start to cross the street over to me.

"Hot date?" Gray raises his eyebrows looking at my attire.

Yeah, okay I'm wearing dark pants instead of jeans, and I ironed my velvet look black button-down shirt. I even left the cowboy hat at home.

I don't know exactly how to answer that, so I go with a joke, like always. "Not exactly. Just fine tuning my non divorce as it happens."

Hartley's face lights up, it seems she is unsuccessfully trying to hide her smile.

"How's that all working out for ya?' Gray asks, bemused. Of course he's heard, and I felt bad it wasn't from me, but the whole thing got leaked before I had a chance. I only confided in Gabe first because he was there at the time.

I sigh. "You probably know more than me."

"Well, if you need a hand with anything this time around, let me know," Hartley says kindly.

Hmm, maybe she knows more about Eden's take on it all than I do.

"Thanks, I will." But inside I cringe because it's not what I want at all.

I want Eden to want me back. To tear up the papers and tell me we made a huge fucking mistake. Because that's what I feel like doing.

"Is she ok after Saturday?" Hartley asks.

"She's fine. Though I've a good mind to track that asshole Kirk down." Just the thought of that guy makes me see red.

"A true asshole." Gray shakes his head.

"He's long gone," Hartley says. "I don't think he will show his face around here any time soon."

"I'll be first in line to punch him in the face," I grit. I'm just thankful he is out of her life for good. Thank fuck he hasn't tried to come groveling back.

"I'm sure it won't come to that." Gray pats me on the shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow, yeah? GB has been working on the design, and working with the sketches you showed her for your label. I think you're going to be impressed."

"Sounds good." I smile. I can't not smile when I think about that. It's the one thing going right at the moment.

"Say hi to Eden for me," Hartley says.

"Will do. I'll see you two lovebirds later."

"Have a good night." Gray casts me a wink. "Oh, and next time you decide to keep a secret that big from your oldest brother, can you at least tell me before Gabe?"

"Will do." I give him a sheepish smile as they walk off arm in arm. Luckily he doesn't hold it against me, especially since we've been in cahoots over my Moonshine since day one.

They are so loved up it makes me chuckle. Gabe isn't much better. I still maintain they've both been way easier to deal with now they've both got decent girlfriends.

I'm happy for both of my brothers; they've been through a lot.

I wonder how long it will be before Gray pops the biggie — even Gabe. He might even beat Gray to it the rate he and Skye are going. She's practically moved in with him already. I know Gray would get married again and I believe if he married Hart this time around, it would be the icing on the cake for him. They're a perfect match.

I walk around to the driver's side of my truck and I'm just about to slide the cupcakes over onto the seat next to me when I see a Mercedes parked just across the road, opposite where I'm standing. The same fucking Mercedes that pulled up to Blake's birthday party.

My heart hammers in my chest at a thousand notches in one second.

Kirk's in town? No fucking way.

There's clearly no one in the vehicle, and I don't see him along the street.

I could wait for the asshole and rearrange his face for him, but I don't want to be late meeting Eden or get arrested for assault. Speaking of which, I pull out my cell and dial Eden. I wait for a few moments but she doesn't answer.

I get into the car and start her up, taking another glance over at the car before I drive away. That asshole better not be in town trying to make any move on Eden.

Then shit is really going to hit the fan.

I try Eden again but it rings until her voice message comes on again.

I'll be there in five minutes anyway and then I'll break the news to her that I saw Kirk's car in town. There's only one reason he can be here.

I'm knocking on the door to no answer. Her car is in the driveway and Noodle is barking away behind the door, so maybe she's out back or in the office.

I try the door handle but it's locked. I scoot around to the side gate which leads to her office. Unlatching it, I step through, calling out her name as I go.

Noodle runs around to greet me when I get to her office. I stick my head in but she's not in there either. I bend down to give Noodle a pat and tell her to take me to Mama.

I head to the double set of French doors next to the doggie flap and try the handle, thankfully one is open. I call out again as I step inside.

"Eden, are you in here?"

I hear yelling from down the hallway. I rush up to her bedroom, my heart in my throat for a moment while I search for her.

"Brook, I'm in here!"

Noodle leads the way with a bark, bringing me to Eden.

"Eden?" I'm frantic as I burst into her bedroom but she's nowhere to be seen.

"In the bathroom!" she yells.

I move to her ensuite and shove the door open and there she is on the tiles, naked, laying in a ball on her side.

I curse pretty heavily as I rush to her.

"Eden, what the fuck?"

"I slipped, Brook. I think I twisted something, it hurts."

I reach up to the rail and grab a towel, quickly wrapping it around her. "How long have you been laying here?"

"A little while." She's shivering.

I glance up to the cabinet where her cell is charging; no wonder she wasn't answering. My eyes glance to the closer end of the cabinet to the bath where there's a little hot pink gadget… holy shit.

I quickly look back at her, my breath escaping me for a moment.

"Don't say a word," she mutters. I'm also trying to not look at her body too closely because that would be wrong when she's laying here like this.

I hold up my hands in protest. "Not here to judge, honey. Let's just try and get you up."

"I haven't even started cooking dinner!" she wails as I try to move her. She is on a bit of a twisted angle.

"Don't worry about that right now."

"I think it's my hip. At least I landed halfway on my butt and not my head."

It's not a laughing matter but the way she says it makes me chuckle quietly.

"You better not be laughing at me."

"Not at you, E, with you. And if you wanted to get naked for me, you only had to say."

She throws me an exasperated look without any qualms. "Trust you to joke at a time like this!"

"Sorry, I'm trying to take your mind off things."

"Just help me up, and don't look at anything."

I chuckle. "I told ya, it ain't nothing I've never seen before, E."

"There you go again!"

"Would you like me to grab you a robe?"

"That would be good, I'm freezing. There's one hanging up on the back of the door."

I get up from my knees to go and grab her the robe. I've covered her partially with the towel, but that can only do so much.

"I'll tuck my hands under your shoulders and try to get you sitting up, okay?"

"That sounds good."

I slide my hands under her shoulders slowly as she holds the towel to her chest.

"Thank fuck I was coming here," I say as we move her slowly. She winces in pain and I hear her suck a breath. I slide the robe under her lifted shoulders and help each arm through.

"God knows how long it would have been until someone found me. Poor Noodle was beside herself."

She's hovering around us now probably wondering what the fuck is going on.

"How does that feel?" I ask as I hold her back to my chest and we still for a moment.

"It hurts, but I don't think anything is broken," she says.

"I'm going to hook my hands under your legs and lift you up, okay?"

"Oh boy," she sighs. "Twice in one week."

I chuckle again, seeing the funny side for a moment. "At least you're sober this time, you don't have that as an excuse."

"Very funny. Can you grab my cell, it's been ringing non-stop."

"That was probably me."

"Oh, was everything okay?"

"I'll tell you about it when we can get you to the couch." I try not to glance at the little pink bullet on the counter. Fuck, was she reaching for that when she slipped?

I don't want to embarrass her by pressing on the subject, so I drop it for now, even if my curiosity is piqued.

"On the count of three, I'll pick you up, alright?" I slide my arm under her legs.

"Alright. So one, two and pick me up on three? Just so I can brace myself."

"I was going to go one, two, three, then lift."

"Whatever, Brook. I'll just brace when you get to two, just to be safe."

I chuckle. For fuck's sake.

"Okay, here we go. One, two…" She sucks in a breath as I pull her close to me. "Three." I hoist us up from my knees as she cries out in pain, slowly getting my balance as I stand. She weighs absolutely nothing. "Let's set you down first and I'll go back for your cell." The last thing I want to do is drop her while reaching for her fucking phone.

"Thanks, Brook," she murmurs.

"I think I should take you to the hospital."

"I'm sure it's just the way I landed, and it's going to be bruised. I'll be fine."

"You're not a doctor, Baby Doll, so you don't know that." I walk out to the living room, Noodle on my heels, and carefully place her down on her cozy couch. Then I help get the rest of her robe around her. Again, I try not to look down at her body while she's doing that, but it's a little hard. Her small frame and creamy skin is just as I remembered it. Not much has changed, and quite frankly, I love it. I always have.

"My left side is really sore," she says.

"I really think we should get it checked out."

"I need to finish making dinner."

"Fuck dinner, E. You're hurt. I'll grab us some takeaway in town if that makes you feel better."

"You're getting all macho on me now, Brookie?"

I swallow at my nickname again. "So what if I am?"

"You keep saving me lately."

"I know it. I'm gonna be going for ex-husband slash husband of the year before long."

She giggles. "Don't even joke like that. Tonight was about going through all of that."

"Look. I'll go get your cell and take you to the hospital just to get you checked out. Then we'll grab dinner and if you're still up to it, we'll talk?"

"That sounds good."

I walk back to the bathroom and unplug her cell from the charger, taking one last smirk toward the bullet. Did she already use it? And more importantly, who was she thinking about?

My smile is quickly replaced by a frown as a message pops up on her home page and I catch a glimpse of it before the screen dulls again. Fucking Kirk.

Baby, pick up. Please.

Oh, no fucking way.

"E." I walk back into the lounge and she looks up at me. "There's something I gotta tell you." I pass her cell to her as she rests back on the cushions, trying her best to get comfy but wincing all the while.

She unlocks her screen and I watch her eyes grow wide as she sees the message, and probably the missed calls from the both of us.

"You saw that?" she whispers.

"I thought you blocked him."

"Yeah, I should have that day, but with so much going on I forgot. I don't know why he's texting me, I've not sent anything to him. And I don't wish to."

Thank fuck for that. "Well, on the way over here I went to Verne's to grab us some dessert and I'm pretty sure I saw his car across the street."

"Oh, God no."

"He better not be on his way over here, E. I don't know what I will do if he shows up."

"Shit." She bites her lip nervously. "Why would he do that? I made it clear I NEVER wanted to see him again."

"Can you do me a favor and block the asshole now?"

"Not before I tell him to leave me alone."

"Okay. And I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but maybe add ‘fuck' in there too. Make it more dramatic. He might get the picture then."

I kneel down on the floor in front of her while she types. Fuck, she's actually going to tell him to fuck off.

"There," she says, flashing me the message.

Eden

You need to leave me the fuck alone!

"That's my girl."

She looks at me quickly and smiles, despite the situation. Bless her.

I shrug my shoulders. "You know what I mean."

"What the hell am I gonna do with you?" She ponders, her eyes raking over me.

"Whatever you want to do, baby doll. Now I know you don't want that fucker anymore, it changes things."

Her breath catches. "Changes things? What do you mean?"

I sigh and roll a hand down my face. "Doctor first?"

"I can survive a few more minutes. This is kinda important."

"Fine. I'm feeling the pull toward you, Eden. I have been for a while. When I found the divorce papers and realized we were still hitched, something happened."

She sucks in a breath. Her eyes widen, looking at me with an intense curiosity. "What happened?"

I run a hand over my hair. "I don't know exactly, but my feelings for you grew."

"I can't believe you haven't told me this before."

"How could I? You were with him for one. And I didn't know how you felt, I still don't."

"This is complicated, Brook."

"It doesn't have to be. We can be completely honest."

Her teeth bite into her bottom lip and my heart sinks a little bit. I wasn't expecting her to leap for joy at my confession, but it seems she's still holding her cards close to her chest.

"The truth is, I don't know," she says. "I know there's a spark, in some ways it's always been there. But this is so soon after Kirk. I don't want to do something irrational."

I nod. "I get it. I'm just asking that you consider it."

"I had no idea you felt this way. I mean, the kiss was one thing…"

"Yeah, it sure was."

"But as far as us getting back together or anything like that, we have to tread carefully."

I'm not sure how much more careful we can be, but I need to know how she feels. I get the sense she's holding back, but the last thing I want to do is push her.

"I know it," I say. "But you felt it on Sunday, I don't just mean the kiss. I mean us three as a family. With the animals and Noodle. It felt right, E. It always has."

She shifts a little, her eyes flicking down, then back to me again. "I need to think about this. We can't just jump in for Blake's sake."

"I never said we should just jump in. And it's for both our sakes first, you and me. We're just talking about it, that's the first step."

"And the kiss?"

"We're consenting adults, E. And it felt good. You don't have to beat yourself up over it, if that's what you're doing. You've gotta ask yourself what you want, that's all that matters."

"And what is it you want?" she asks, the depths of her hazel eyes landing on mine.

I pop a shoulder, but it's not as though I'm uncertain. Far from it. "It's simple for me, E. It's you. It's always been you."