“Wrong fucking answer, arsehole.” Without hesitation, I raise my fist and pound it into his face. “Now you have a matching pair,” I say. Fuck that felt good. He deserves a hell of a lot more after what he did to her, but I decide to give him a break. He’s just lost the best thing that’s ever happened to him. I’ve been exactly where he is right now, so I know firsthand that he’s gonna regret it for the rest of his life. Letting him go, he stumbles backwards.
“My eye,” he cries.
“You’re lucky that’s all you got. Stay the fuck away from Indiana. If you don’t, next time I won’t be so forgiving.” My tone is full of warning as I turn and unlock the door and head back to my car.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Indiana
I let LJ sleep in his doggy bed in my bedroom last night. He’s too little to sleep outside. Plus it’s coming into winter, so the nights can get pretty cold. I love this little guy already. He brings back so many memories of Lassie when he was a pup, all the good ones that have been clouded by his death. I want to embrace all those wonderful memories and try and forget the horrible ones I have of that day.
For years I’ve wanted another dog, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I didn’t want to feel like I was replacing Lassie. I could never do that. I’m grateful that Carter took that choice away from me. He has no idea how much his beautiful, thoughtful gesture means. He can be the sweetest, gentlest, most caring man when he’s not being an overbearing, infuriating arse. I can’t bring myself to look at his sketches of Lassie yet, but I will in time.
I didn’t see Carter again after he dropped me off yesterday afternoon, but when I was going to bed last night, he was in his bedroom. When I waved to him, he blew me a kiss. It sent my heart into a flutter. It beats the finger he used to give me.
I laid in bed for hours thinking about him being only a few metres away—just two walls and a small distance separating us. It’s too soon after Mark to go there with him. I want to take it slow. I need to know he’s going to stick around this time. I can’t give him my heart again until I’m sure. If I did and he left me again, I know it would break me.
I’m awoken early Sunday morning by LJ’s little cries. A smile graces my face as soon as I look over the side of the bed and find him sitting there looking up at me. He has the sweetest face. After taking him out back to do his business, I feed him before carrying him back into my room and climbing into bed. My headaches are still playing havoc. Some days the pain is bearable, other days not so much. I know it’s all the stress I’m under. The sooner I can get my life back to normal, the better.
Surprisingly, I’m not missing Mark as much as I thought I would. I think I miss my job and the animals I cared for more. I loved working there. The hardest part for me is the way things ended between us. I gave him a year of my life and I hate that it ended so abruptly. I guess he wasn’t the good guy I thought he was. That’s the part I’m still trying to wrap my head around. As it turns out, the only two men I’ve cared about did the same thing; walked away from me, and everything we shared, without a backwards glance. I can tell you that’s a huge knock to the ego. You think you know someone, then boom, you realise you don’t know them at all.
A little later, I’m pulled from my sleep by the sound of a lawnmower. Looking over at the clock on my bedside table, I notice it’s 10:30am. It’s not like me to sleep in this late. Rising, I rub my eyes as I make my way towards the window. That’s when I see him. Holy hell. Swoon. I say a silent prayer to the sun gods for blessing us with a reasonably warm day for this time of year. Carter is in the back yard mowing his mum’s lawn, shirtless. I swear I lick my lips as my eyes take him in. What a sight to behold.
His body is even more muscular and defined then I remember. He’s wearing a pair of faded denim jeans that are ripped at the knees. So sexy. They hang low on his waist, revealing his delicious V and the band of his boxer briefs. Don’t even get me started on those tattoos of his. What I wouldn’t give to run my hands over every inch of his body again. I remember all too well what his hard, toned muscles felt like against my fingertips.
I stand there staring for the longest time. I can’t seem to drag my eyes away from him. I’m pulled from my thoughts when LJ whimpers at my feet. Picking him up, I run my hand over his fur. “I’m just checking out your daddy,” I whisper. “Shhh. Don’t tell him.” He cocks his head to the side, staring up at me with his big brown eyes. It brings a smile to my face. “He looks mighty fine without a shirt. Mighty fine,” I murmur. I turn LJ’s face in the direction of Carter, and he lets out a cute little bark when he sees him.
After peeling myself away from the window, I take LJ out back again before jumping in the shower. Having Carter home makes me feel invigorated. I no longer want to be locked away in my room. I want to be outside, or wherever he is.
••••
I may have made a little effort in my appearance this morning, but after the hot mess Carter found me in yesterday, I find myself wanting to look nice for him. I’m only wearing a white top with a pair of black tight jeans and my black long boots. But I took extra time with my hair and even added a touch of makeup to my face.
When I’m done, I head into the kitchen to get a cold drink for Carter out of the fridge. I can still hear the mower, so I know he’s still out there. “You look pretty today, Pumpkin,” my dad says looking up from the paper he’s reading at the kitchen table.
“Thanks, Daddy. I thought I’d take a cold drink over to Carter.”
“That’s nice,” he says smiling at me. “Oh here. This is for you.” He picks up an envelope off the table and passes it to me.
“What is it?” I ask.
“I believe it’s the money that dick owes you from the restaurant.”
“What? How did you get it?” I ask, annoyance lining my voice.
“Does it really matter how? Just be thankful you got it back,” he says angrily. I can tell by his tone he’s far from over what happened. I thought he was going to burst an artery when he picked me up from the restaurant after Mark left me behind. I’ve never seen him so mad. He wanted to head straight over to his place, but I begged him not to. Beating him up wasn’t going to solve anything.
“Did you go and see him?” I ask frowning. I specifically asked him not to. He ignores my question. “Daddy, what did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything,” he says looking back down at his paper. Did nothing my arse. I know Mark. He wouldn’t just hand it over. His family is very well off, but as tight as you can get. They don’t part with money easily. I open my mouth to say something, but my father raises his hand to stop me. “Just drop it, Indiana. Why don’t you go and give Carter that drink. I’m sure he’d be grateful for it.” I know, when my father says that, the conversation is over. Ugh! Men.
After putting LJ on his leash, I walk down the side of the house and out the front. That’s where Carter’s moved to. LJ pulls back on his leash as we approach. I guess the loud noise of the mower is frightening for him. Bending down I pick him up, cuddling him into my side so he feels safe.
When Carter looks up and notices me approaching, he smiles. Reaching for the lever, he shuts down the mower. “Hey,” he says as I walk toward him.
“Hey. I heard the mower. I thought you might like a cold drink.” I hold up the can of Coke in my hand.
“Thanks,” he says, taking it with one hand and wiping the sweat off his brow with the other. The shimmer of perspiration covering his delicious body only seems to enhance his muscle tone. My eyes travel down to his chest. That’s when I notice one of his nipples is pierced. Holy cow. I find myself wanting to lean forward and swirl my tongue around it. “Hey, my eyes are up here,” he says with a chuckle. I feel my face flush when I make eye contact with him again. They’re the same words I used on him when he was checking out my tits that day.