Crossroads Read online

  Brady stepped into his large shower stall. It had a seat in the corner, and I couldn't help but wonder if that had been installed for the elderly woman that had lived here.

  Whatever the reason for it being in his shower, we could make good use of it eventually.

  I joined him under the stream. His showerhead was mounted in the ceiling and the water fell on us like the waterfall we'd played under. The water pressure was delicious. He pulled me close and kissed me under the falling water as I arched my back against him. His arm wrapped around my waist, and he held me up as he passionately kissed me. The feel of his cock pressing into my abdomen and mine rubbing against his leg, combined with the passion of his kiss was enough to start my orgasm tingling deep inside.

  His hand moved to my cock, and I mimicked his actions, stroking him slowly and sensually as I lost myself in the sensations of the water and Brady's slick skin.

  We orgasmed at the same time, resting our heads on each other's shoulders. It wasn't as frantic as the night before. It was more like the world's best hug with a happy ending.

  Both were wonderful. I wondered as we soaped each other up how many different ways there were to make love, to have sex, to fuck. I wished it would all work out so that I could discover all the ways we could explore one another's body.

  "I enjoyed last night," I said as I washed his back. I knew when I was done, he was going to ask to do mine, and if I let him do mine, I'd have to tell him how I got the scars.

  I rinsed him off and prepared for the inevitable, but it never came. He soaped up my hair from the front, rinsing then moving on to my body. He caressed me with care, washing my body as if he wanted to memorize every plane. When we were clean and sated, we exited the shower and dried off.

  "Here," Brady said, handing me a robe. He kissed my lips softly. "Now, I have got to run. I'll go to the diner later and grab some breakfast."

  Smiling at his back as he ran into his bedroom, I walked quickly downstairs. By the time he was dressed, I had a simple egg and cheese sandwich ready for him to eat in the truck. As if I'd let him eat at the diner when I could cook for him.

  He stopped dead when he saw me holding out his lunchbox, a Thermos of coffee, and a breakfast sandwich wrapped in a paper towel. "Have a good day at work, dear," I said with a cheeky wink.

  Taking everything from me, he leaned down and kissed my cheeks. In a deep, booming voice, he replied, "Make sure the kids do their homework, darling. I'll see you after work."

  Stomping out to the garage, he turned back to blow me a kiss, which I caught with flair and pressed to my ass.

  I shut the door, but his laughter followed me across the kitchen to do the dishes until the sound of the truck door shutting cut it off.

  After cleaning the kitchen then dressing quickly, I walked to the diner to see if Daisy needed any help.

  "Lord, child, I'm glad to see you. Head to the kitchen." Daisy was running around the front of the house, and I entered the kitchen to find food cooking with nobody watching it. Daisy thundered through the swinging door and slipped the eggs off the griddle and onto a plate just as two pieces of toast popped out of the toaster. I gaped at her as she exited, butt to the door.

  "Don't stare, honey, work."

  With a snort, I grabbed one of her fluffy aprons and dug in.

  By the time I turned around and took a breath, I'd worked through the morning rush and the lull between breakfast and lunch had begun. Working clean was my motto, but I took the time to catch up on dishes and wipe everything down.

  Daisy walked in, finally able to slow down a little. "My afternoon help will be here soon, Sugar. Take off. You did a great job, again. I'd really like to put you on the permanent schedule," she said with raised eyebrows. "Is that a possibility?"

  Shaking my head, I hung up her apron and took the money. "Not yet, but it's not totally out of the question."

  The smile that broke across her face was enough to make me want to stay in Three Lakes. "I hope you stay. But for now, scat."

  I scatted, heading home to start planning a surprise supper for Brady. I knew I should count my money and plan a bus ticket, maybe start searching online for cities to go to, but Brady had been pretty insistent I hang out for a while, get my head straight. What would a few more days hurt?

  Brady

  Corey making my egg sandwich was the sweetest thing. However, it didn't sit long in my stomach, and I found myself slipping the sandwich he'd made me out of my lunchbox far too early as I cruised around Three Lakes. It was my day on patrol.

  By the time the afternoon rolled around and I headed in for desk-duty, I was starved. I stopped in at the diner to grab a bite to eat before going to the office to take over desk duty. Parking in the diner's lot, I spotted Carson's car a few spots down. He walked up to the diner at the same time I did. "What's up, Brady?" he asked, grabbing my hand and shaking it. "Long time, no see."

  "I just saw you like, what, two days ago?" I laughed and held the door open for him.

  "Less, but still. How's it going?" That was a loaded question and would take more than a few minutes to get through. I was so worried about what Corey would decide to do. He'd only been in my life for a few days, but it felt like an eternity. I wanted it to be much, much longer. Unless he turned out to be a murderer, I wanted a chance to explore our options. The idea that I should do a background check on Corey popped into my mind. I’d considered it, but I really didn’t want to go there. Unless I had no other choice, I wanted to trust Corey and his word.

  I checked my watch as I followed him in. I had a few minutes before I had to be back at the station. "Pretty...Uh, great. You have time to sit down for a bite?"

  He gave me a quizzical look and nodded. "Sure enough. I'll grab a table."

  Daisy handed me menus as Carson grabbed the only open table in the place. "You just missed your honey," Daisy said as she reached for silverware. The place was packed, lunchtime on a weekday a prime time to get a bite at the diner, apparently.

  "My honey?" I asked, bewildered. Did the town already have Corey and me married off? "Corey?"

  "Yeah, his shift ended a couple of hours ago. I figured you'd stop in for breakfast to eat his cookin', but you must've been busy."

  I tried not to look too confused. "Yeah, busy morning." Driving around aimlessly was a real back-breaker. How had Corey started working at the diner without my knowing anything about it? He seemed pretty open with me but hadn't shared this. The only time he could've done it was the previous morning while I was at the station.

  I didn't begrudge him getting a job, but it bothered me that he hadn't mentioned it.

  Carson was smiling at his phone as I sat down. "What's got you so happy?"

  "Nothing, it's nothing." His phone dinged again, and he read the message with a bigger smile before stuffing it into his pocket.

  "It's something," I said as I handed him a menu.

  "There's a guy, but it's too new. I don't really want to talk about it yet."

  "Oh, but you're sure willing to grill me about Corey," I teased.

  "Of course." He stared at me, challenging me to tell him it was unfair.

  "You know I won't pressure you to talk about anything you don't want to," I said as I looked at the menu pointlessly. I knew what I was ordering, I'd memorized their menu years ago.

  "We were together last night," I said softly after looking around.

  Carson's eyes flew up. "Took you long enough."

  I grinned and waved my hand at him. "Hush, you know I'm not like that."

  "Of course not. Does he know?"

  "I think so. We've wanted to nearly since the moment we met, but I kept pushing it off. I wanted him to know that I was serious about him and that he wasn't just a fling."

  "Did you succeed?"

  "I think so. He's still not sure if he wants to stay in town, though. He keeps saying it's casual, but Carson, he's too deep for casual. He's been hurt badly in the past. If he leaves, it's gonna wreck both of us."

/>   "So, don't let him leave. But you need to find out more about his life before you push him for a commitment. You've given him access to your home, but what do you really know about him?" I hated to think that way, but he was right. I knew virtually nothing about Corey or what his values were. He obviously needed love and support, and I was willing to give that to him, but not if he kept pushing me away. The background check still was an option, if it came to it.

  Daisy came back to take our order then, and talk moved on to the brewery and the station. After wolfing down lunch, I had to run to get back to work.

  "Carson, next time we run into each other, I want to hear about this guy you've met."

  He nodded and rubbed his neck. "Okay. Hopefully, there will be lots to tell."

  The afternoon passed slowly like time knew I wanted to get home and ask Corey why he hadn't told me he got a job.

  Eventually, I found myself finishing all my paperwork. "Martha, I'm heading out. Call me if anything happens."

  I was about an hour early getting home and walked in to find Corey playing my PlayStation while amazing smells filled the house.

  "So this is what you do while I'm at work?" I teased.

  Corey jumped and laughed. "You're early," he exclaimed. "Everything okay?"

  "Of course," I said, suddenly uncomfortable. Was he intentionally trying to hide the job from me? Surely not. "I’m gonna go change. Be right back." I headed upstairs to put on casual clothes, trying to figure out how in the world I’d broach the subject with him. If he wanted to hide his job, would it be rude of me to confront him about it? The last thing I wanted to do was push him further away.

  17

  Corey

  As I watched Brady walk up the stairs, I couldn't help but wonder what was bothering him. He wasn't himself, at least, not the same guy I'd gotten to know over the last few days. That guy was warm and considerate. This guy was distant and bothered. His vibe screamed anxiety.

  It was time to tell him my plan, and about the diner. Maybe he caught wind of it and wondered why I hadn't told him.

  The only reason was that I was pure chicken shit. Nothing else.

  Checking the casserole in the oven, I found it was done, so I pulled it out to go ahead and dish up dinner since he was home.

  He came back downstairs as I poured drinks. "Hungry?" I asked.

  "I should've called. I had a late lunch at the diner." Ah. He'd been to the diner. He sat at the table anyway, and I was starved, so I dug in.

  "It's okay," I said. "This will freeze well. You can have it next week."

  His head snapped up. "Just me?"

  "Well, I didn't want to presume," I said with a small smile. "I'm not sure, still, where I'll be."

  "Is here on the list?" he asked me.

  My heart swelled. "Of course it is. It's at the top of the list. But my life has been... it's so much. And I just want to do as you suggested and clear my head. Can we please just enjoy each other's company for now? That would mean the world to me."

  Tears threatened to rise as he studied my face.

  "Of course. Absolutely, we can." He reached across the table to take my hand. "That sounds wonderful."

  Pushing aside my emotions, I finished eating, trying to think of something not so heavy to talk about. "I do have something to tell you," I said, even though I was pretty sure he already knew.

  "Oh?" He sipped his drink as I ate. "What's that?"

  "For the past two days I worked at the diner."

  With a halfhearted grin, his expression revealed it. He had known. "Daisy told me at lunch today."

  "I hope that doesn't bother you."

  "Not at all. I just was mildly worried that you hadn't told me. I would've thought taking a job would be an indication that you're staying, so you not telling me makes me think you took it for another reason?"

  He was too damn astute. "John took off with my money. I'm penniless. If I decide to leave..." My plan for saving up enough for a bus ticket, then getting the hell out of Dodge popped into my mind, making me feel guilty for not telling him. I pushed the guilt away. I'd been so sure that was my plan, but every minute I spent with Brady pushed the surety of the plan closer to a possibility. "If I decide to leave, I'll need money. Daisy needed help, so it worked out. And I need to stay busy. I couldn’t just sit here in your clean house all day, thinking about my messed-up life and John."

  He nodded. "She really does need help. When Tyler wakes up, he'll have a long recovery, and Daisy is going to need help, for sure. If you stay, would you want to work for her long-term?"

  "I think so," I said. "I enjoy it. I like Daisy. I could see myself running her kitchen."

  Brady burst out laughing. "I don't know if anyone will ever be allowed to run that kitchen, but she might let you borrow the reins."

  He was right. She was far too motherly to let anyone else take charge. "Still. Maybe I will." I shrugged. "Speaking of the diner, I've been hearing so much about Tyler. What happened?" I knew he'd talked about him, that was the fundraiser we did. But the details were fuzzy.

  "It was a hit and run. It happened really late at night. He'd been at the diner late doing inventory. He walked out onto the sidewalk and that's where the diner's camera loses him."

  "The diner has a camera?" I asked dryly. It didn't even have a touch-screen cash register.

  "Yeah, it was Tyler's idea. He got it cheap on Black Friday. He says it deters criminals." Brady laughed as he said it. "That's Tyler, though. He gets an idea in his head and won't let it go until he's sucked all the life out of it."

  "So what happened after the camera lost him?"

  "Someone driving by found him about five minutes later, unconscious on the sidewalk. Called emergency services, and we ended up taking him in the ambulance to a field where the helicopter could land. He's in Bend now."

  "Do you ever go see him?" I asked. He spoke so fondly of Tyler I couldn't help but wonder if there had been something there.

  "No, I haven’t. He’s got all his family around, and I always feel like I would intrude. I should,” He looked so guilty, bless him. “But it would be... I don't know, awkward?"

  "Why awkward?" I cocked my head at him. Had I discovered something the nearly perfect Brady wasn't good at? "Is it too much?"

  He lowered his eyes to his drink. "I think so."

  "Would you like to go see him? I could go with you."

  "What if he dies?" he asked softly. "And the last image in my head of him is him lying there hooked up to machines?"

  "What if he dies and you never went to see him?" I wasn't going to let him throw out excuses for why he shouldn't go see his friend. That wasn't right. "Do you have plans tonight?"

  "You'd really go with me?" he asked.

  "I'd really go with you."

  He took my hand again and squeezed it. "Thank you."

  I packed up the rest of the casserole. "Put it in the fridge if you don't mind," Brady requested. "I'd like to eat it when we get back."

  The drive to Bend was far less tense than I thought it would be. Brady told me about growing up in Three Lakes. I shared a few stories from my childhood, carefully leaving out anything that would indicate how and why I ended up leaving my family behind. I had lots of fun tales to tell from elementary and middle school, though, so we swapped stories for the drive to the hospital.

  As we walked in, I noticed at an after-hours clinic. I mentally calculated the amount of money in my pocket. "Brady, can I ask you something embarrassing?" I didn't know any other way to go get tested besides coming out with it. Anyway, if he was willing to fuck me, he had to be willing to be tested.

  "Can we go get tested?" I included him in it because damn, it was safer and smarter. I berated myself for being so caught up in trust of the man that had in a way saved me that I'd sucked his dick like a wanton trollop, swallowing his baby batter like a champ. Should've used a fucking condom. Rookie fucking move.

  "That's a great idea. Especially since we aren't at the county hospital
in Three Lakes where everyone there knows me and would know my business."

  I pushed open the door to the clinic. "That's illegal. They have laws against sharing that sort of information."

  He snorted. "Three Lakes isn't up on the HIPAA laws, I don't think."

  I knew he was kidding, but I also knew he wouldn't want to have STD tests done back home, so I was glad to see there was only one person in the waiting room.

  "You usually this slow?" I asked the receptionist as we walked up to the after-hours clinic desk.

  "Never," she said. "Not even this close to close. They must've known you were coming and gave you rock star access. What can I do for you?"

  Brady stepped forward. "We would just like to get some lab work done. Nothing fancy."

  She nodded, a knowing look in her eye. "You got it. Fill these out."

  Two clipboards full of paperwork later, we were being ushered into the back and put in chairs in a small built-in lab. “You two are our last customers of the night,” the kindly woman said. “Just gonna run these and then head home. You okay with me sitting you both together?” She didn’t give us time to reply. “I didn’t think you’d care since you came in together.” I shrugged and gave Brady an amused look. I didn’t mind, exactly. Maybe a little. Getting tested was awkward in the best situation.

  I'd left a fake last name, the same one I’d put on the ride-along form. I was pretty sure Brady didn't even know my last name yet. If he did, he might run a background check and then he'd face the decision of either arresting the guy he liked or losing his job when he found the warrant for my arrest.

  "Okay, a few basic questions. How long has the possible exposure been?"

  Brady's cheeks colored before he replied. "Uh, close to a year."

  "Okay, your testing will be reliable. And you?"

  They really could've taken us into different rooms for this. Geez. "Well, a week or so. Maybe a week and a half."

  "Okay, yours we will want to take blood, but I'm also going to need you to pee in a cup, and I'll swab your cheek. We'll do the rapid testing, but you need to do a blood test in six months, okay? That way you can cover the possible false negatives in the rapid tests."