Escaping the Past Read online

“Me, too,” he said.

  ****

  Lou woke slowly and stretched languidly in his arms, her body lengthening against his own. His hand splayed against her naked belly, still clad only in her lacy bra. She could wake up like this every day and wouldn’t complain.

  “What time is it?” she muttered.

  “Who cares?” Brody asked as he kissed the back of her neck and her shoulder.

  She reached back and patted his thigh. “We need to get up.”

  “Why?” he asked, his mouth tracing her collarbone.

  She smiled into her pillow, feeling her pulse quicken. She turned over slowly to face him. He nuzzled her forehead and breathed in the scent of her. “Because we just should,” she whispered.

  His kisses trailed down her hairline to her ear. He grasped her earlobe firmly with his teeth and tugged. She giggled and brushed him off with her hand. She felt him smile against her skin. His trail of kisses continued down her jaw until they reached her chin. Then his lips touched hers, firmly. He captured her mouth in a kiss that had her reeling.

  He moved so his head was above hers. He supported himself on one elbow and reached the other hand to trace a slow line along the lacy edge of her bra with his fingertips. His kiss deepened as he used his tongue to trace her lower lip. He drew it into his mouth and sucked lightly. Her tongue raised and met his. They tangled in her mouth until she lightly caught the tip of his tongue between her teeth. She sucked the tip of it gently and felt his hand begin to shake on her breast. She released her hold and softened the kiss, her lips firmly yet softly slowing against his own. His mouth lifted from hers and they touched, nose to nose. They both breathed heavily.

  “How’s your headache?” he asked quietly.

  “Much better,” she sighed, her breath warring with his as he hovered over her.

  “Glad to hear it,” he mumbled against her skin as his lips moved down to graze her neck.

  Just then, a loud rap sounded on the door. John called out, “Lou! Are you in there?”

  Lou whispered frantically, “Oh, God!” She shoved against his chest. “Get out!” she said vehemently against his ear.

  “Where am I going to go, Lou?” he whispered back. “He’s outside the door.”

  She shoved at him again. “Go out the other door.”

  “He’ll hear me if I do that.”

  Lou grabbed the covers and threw them over him, tossing a few pillows haphazardly around him as well. She picked her T-shirt up and slid it back over her head.

  John rapped on the door again. “Lou!” he called out.

  “Yeah,” she answered weakly.

  “Can I come in?” John asked.

  “I really don’t feel like…” Lou started as she heard the doorknob turn, “…company,” she finished as he peeked his red head around the door.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, his brows drawn together. “You look a little peaked.”

  “Yeah,” she responded, her voice shaky. “I just had a headache so I took a nap.” She wiped the sleep from her eyes with the tips of her fingers.

  “You have company. Elizabeth Patton is downstairs and wants to see you and Brody. Have you seen him?” A slow, sneaky smile spread across John’s face.

  “What does Elizabeth Patton want?” she asked absently. “Never mind,” she waved off his further comments. “I’ll go downstairs and see. I’m sure Brody’s around somewhere.”

  “Oh….” John smiled broadly. “When you find him, tell him he might want to cover his toes next time he’s hiding under your covers.”

  Lou gasped as she looked toward the foot of the bed. Sure enough, Brody’s feet were sticking out from under the covers. Lou picked up a pillow and lifted it to fling it at John’s head. It hit the closed door instead as John slipped through it and shut it tightly. She heard his laughter all the way down the hall.

  Brody uncovered his head and laughed out loud. “No one ever accused that boy of being stupid,” he said as he stood up. Lou tossed a pillow at him, too. He ducked and caught her around the middle, pulling her close to him. He kissed her quickly on the lips and walked into her bathroom. He ran her brush through his hair and said, “You want to fix your ponytail and meet me downstairs in a minute?”

  She just nodded a response, tucking her head into his neck as he pulled her close one more time. He kissed her cheek, still smiling, before he walked out of the room.

  Lou walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen to find Elizabeth sitting at the kitchen table quietly. Brody stood at the sink, pouring sweet tea into Mason jar glasses. Lou took a glass from Brody’s hand as he held it out. He handed one to Elizabeth as well. Elizabeth stood as Lou walked close.

  “My dad wanted to come and see the new foal that was born to Lucky Lady. I wanted to drop by and be sure Sarah’s okay. We were all worried about her last night,” Elizabeth said. “Sarah and my daughter go to the same school.”

  Lou indicated she should sit by pointing to the kitchen chairs around the table. Then she took a chair on the opposite side.

  “She’s doing just fine. She left this morning for a short vacation with Jeb and Sadie,” Brody replied. He reached to touch his eye. “She actually fared a lot better than I did. She won’t have any lasting scars,” he said. He looked out the screen door. “I’m going to go out and talk to Mr. Patton. Be right back.” He nodded at them both.

  A pregnant pause filled the space in the room. “Well,” Elizabeth said slowly, taking a deep breath. “I just wanted to see if she was all right. You guys sure gave us a scare last night. Never had that kind of drama at a school dance before.”

  Lou reached over and covered Elizabeth’s nervous hand with hers. “I appreciate what you did, Elizabeth.” She squeezed her hand before releasing it. “I hear you called the police right before you called me.” Lou’s eyes filled with unshed tears. “I appreciate all you did.”

  “It’s Brody you should thank. He fought like a madman.”

  Lou’s eyebrows drew together.

  Liz nodded. “Really.” She covered her heart with a hand. “I’ve known Brody for a lot of years but I’ve never seen him like that. He’s always been strong and powerful but I’ve never seen him fight before. Ever. He went after that man like he was fighting for his own life.”

  “I’m sure he would have done the same thing for anyone else.” Lou replied, taking a sip of her tea.

  “No, Lou.” She shook her head vehemently. “He wouldn’t. He did it for Sarah because he feels something for her.”

  “What do you mean?” Lou asked.

  “You don’t see it, do you?” Elizabeth asked. “She’s an extension of you. It’s you he would have hurt if something had happened to her. That’s why he fought the way he did. You don’t get that desperate look on your face unless you really care about something.”

  “I fail to see…”

  Liz cut her off. “And you won’t see until you feel the same way he does.”

  Brody breezed back into the house, John beside him and Elizabeth’s dad bringing up the rear.

  “We better get home if you want to go out tonight, Liz.”

  “Oh,” Elizabeth took one last sip of her tea. “I almost forgot about that. I’m going dancing at The Pour House tonight.”

  Brody smiled. “The Pour House, huh? That place is still open? I haven’t been there in years. Do you remember that time we…” Brody’s voice trailed off as he caught Lou’s curious look. “Never mind,” he muttered.

  Lou crossed her legs and regarded him coolly. “No. Please continue.”

  “We went there a lot the last year before I left.” He chuckled again. “Boy, those were the days.”

  She pointed to Liz and then to Brody. “You guys went there together?”

  “Well, yeah,” Liz replied uncomfortably. “That was a long time ago.”

  “Yes, it was,” Lou agreed.

  John piped in. “Well, I’m going. That’s where all the good-looking ladies end up on Sunday nights.” He grinned bo
yishly. “You guys know how much I like to follow the ladies.”

  “You can barely walk, much less dance.”

  “I sure can sit a bar stool just fine.” John puffed his chest out. “I might just get some sympathetic attention.” They all laughed.

  “Did you want to go, Brody? For old time’s sake?” Liz asked hesitantly.

  “Only if Lou goes, too.” He regarded her quizzically.

  “Oh, no. You guys go ahead. I have some things I need to get done here,” Lou said.

  “What kind of things?” Brody asked.

  “Just some work,” she lied.

  “I guess we’ll have to take a rain check, Liz. Lou’s a fraidy cat,” Brody provoked her.

  “I am not!” Lou protested loudly.

  Liz stood up and walked toward the door. “It was good to see you again, Lou.”

  “You, too, Liz. Thanks again for last night.”

  “No problem. Someone might need to help my daughter like that someday. You guys are sure you don’t want to go tonight?” Liz asked one more time.

  Lou heard him say to Liz quietly. “Lou’s not like you, Liz. She’s a quiet sort of girl.”

  Lou felt the anger boil up inside her with that comment. Men never picked the quiet girls. They went for the boisterous, beautiful girls with outgoing personalities, like Liz.

  “You know what?” Lou stood up straighter. “I think I do want to go.”

  “Really?” Brody and John both asked in chorus.

  “Yeah, really,” Lou said sarcastically. Lou stepped closer to Liz and asked quietly. “What should I wear?”

  Liz whispered back, “Something sexy and daring.”

  Lou nodded seriously, having no idea what that meant.

  “Do you want me to bring over something you can wear?” she whispered in Lou’s ear.

  “Would you?” Lou whispered back.

  “Six o’clock,” Liz said as she got into the truck with her father.

  ****

  Lou relaxed most of the afternoon, second-guessing herself about going out for the evening. She couldn’t begin to compare to the knockout, Liz, and was feeling completely uncomfortable about spending the evening walking in her shadow. However, Brody had thrown down the gauntlet and she had picked it up. Now she had to make the best of it. Brody knew what she looked like, in and out of bed. Would he still pick me if there are other women within his reach? Would he still be just as interested? Or would he pass me over and move on to someone else? Only one way to find out.

  Brody knocked on her door at suppertime. She opened the door a crack. “Yeah?”

  “Hey. John just burned some chicken on the grill. Want to come down and eat?”

  She glanced absently at her watch. “Is it that late already?”

  “Yeah. Liz will be here in about thirty minutes. Come on down and get something to eat.”

  He reached to put an arm around her shoulders and she sidestepped, avoiding him, walking ahead of him down the hallway instead. “Something bothering you?” he asked.

  She spoke around the fingernail she was chewing. “No. Why would anything be wrong?”

  “Is your head still hurting? We can cancel tonight if you don’t feel like going out.”

  “Oh, no,” she breathed. “We’re going out. With Liz,” she added as an afterthought. She shook the thoughts away. They would get her nowhere. But she wanted to know so badly. . “Tell me one thing?”

  “What?”

  “What kind of relationship did you have with her all those years ago?”

  “We grew up together. We were best friends. Then, in high school, we were boyfriend and girlfriend.”

  “What kind of boyfriend and girlfriend? Casual? Or serious?”

  He stopped her in the hallway and put his arms around her, pulling her close. “What kind of question is that?”

  “It’s the kind of question you ask someone who you’ve been sleeping with,” she snapped at him.

  “Do you want to know if we had sex, Lou? If you do, just ask.” It was almost like he was daring her to do just that.

  “Never mind,” she bit out. “I really don’t want to know. I just want to know how many memories I’ll be up against tonight.

  “If you change your mind, just ask me.”

  “I won’t change my mind.” She pushed against his chest. He turned her loose.

  They ate supper in relative silence. John prattled on about various topics, not oblivious to the tension. After dinner, they cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher. Then they went and sat outside on the porch.

  About five minutes later, Lou saw a cloud of dust coming down the winding drive, created by the red convertible that belonged to Liz. She had the top up this time and Lou realized why as soon as she stepped out of the car. She punched John’s arm as he whistled softly under his breath. Liz was beautiful. Her long hair fell in waves against her bare shoulders. Her tube top looked stunning rather than gaudy, showing off her perfect breasts.

  “She didn’t have those back when I knew her,” Lou heard Brody whisper to John. Her black jeans hugged her thighs and rode low on her hips. Lou saw the dimples at the small of her back as she bent over to retrieve a bag from the backseat of the car.

  Lou shot Brody a scathing look. Then she smiled a fake smile at Liz and rose from her seat.

  Liz cocked her head to one side and regarded Lou’s ponytail, shorts, and T-shirt with a small smile. “You ready?” she asked.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be.” Lou held up two hands as though surrendering.

  “Then let’s get started,” Liz said, walking through the screen door. She motioned for Lou to follow her. “Get moving,” she snapped playfully. “We don’t have all day.” She turned to Brody and John. “I know you both have a certain level of adorability at all times but you need to go and get ready, too.” She snapped her fingers.

  They both hopped out of their chairs and headed for their rooms as well.

  Liz followed Lou up the stairs, chattering the whole way.

  They walked into Lou’s room and Liz turned her around slowly, silently appraising Lou’s figure. “You got some mighty fine assets, lady. Easy as pie. Go get in the shower while I get things ready here.” She shooed Lou with her hands, slowly prodding her.

  Lou stepped into the shower feeling defeated. She showered and washed her hair quickly. She shaved her armpits and legs and applied scented lotion to her whole body. She wrapped her hair in a towel, turban style, and tied a towel around her body. She stepped back into the room, feeling like a teenager back in the locker room.

  “Okay, let get started,” Liz began.

  Lou cut her off, holding up one hand. “Wait.” She took a deep breath. “I need to talk to you about something first.”

  Liz sat down on the edge of the bed. “I was wondering when you were going to get around to it?” she grinned.

  “Get around to what?” Lou asked, biting her lip.

  “Let me make it easy for you, Lou. Brody and I were ‘a thing’ when we were young.”

  “How serious?” she asked, biting her lip again.

  “All the way serious,” she replied. Lou groaned. “But that was when we were young, Lou.”

  “You were old enough for it to be ‘all the way’,” Lou tossed at her.

  “All the way in the way teenagers do, Lou. Not adults. It was over before he ever left town and neither of us wants to strike it back up again.”

  “You don’t?” Lou asked hesitantly.

  “Hell, no, Lou. Anyone can see he’s crazy about you. Anyone but you, that is. He certainly doesn’t want me. To be quite honest, I’m one hundred percent in love with my ‘baby daddy’.” She laughed out loud at her own choice of words. “We’ve been dating for years. I got pregnant and we tried to make it work. We never got married because he just wasn’t interested. So, a few months ago, I kicked him out on his ear and told him not to come back until he had a ring in his hand.” She sighed. “So far, he hasn’t shown up. But, he’s g
oing to be there tonight. Why do you think I dressed like this?” She pointed to her attire. “It sure as hell ain’t for Brody. I could be standing butt naked in front of him and he would see right through me, looking for you.”

  “I don’t see it that way,” Lou replied.

  “Of course you don’t. You’re on the inside looking out. Things can be a little distorted when you’re looking from that direction. Trust me, you’ve got that man wrapped around your little finger.” She dumped the bag she brought with her on the bed. “Now let’s get started. Sexy starts on the inside.” She dug through Lou’s underwear drawer until she found a pair of black thong panties. “Put these on.”