Reaching Rose (Hunter Hill University Book 3) (16 page)

"Eventually?"

"He was leaving the bar and she invited him to go home with her. He stopped, thought about it, and I kicked him out."

"So, like, he would've gone with her?"

"I don't know, Rose. Probably not, but if you don't let him know you like him...he is getting other offers."

"When was this? When Tabitha seduced him?"

"Uh. I don't remember...I drove him home that night. Oh...he said he was going out with you the next...day...uh. Oh."

"November eighth?"

"It could have been." Holly shakes her head.

"So he had a date with me the next day and he was considering going out with Tabitha?"

"Having sex. Not going out."

"Oh. Helpful."

"Well, they're two different things."

I toss my hand towel onto the table and walk out the back door.

Holly follows. "Rose. He's a guy. That particular night, even though you guys had a date, which you canceled, by the way, he wasn't getting a vibe from you. He said he really wasn't sure how much you really liked him. Did you ever even tell him?"

"Well...no."

"See. He also said he thought maybe you weren't ready to date yet. That you were still struggling with the accident...and maybe he should stay away."

"He said that?"

"I don't remember exactly, Rose, but something along those lines. If you don't like him, that's one thing. But if you do, let him know you're ready."

"Shit."

"Or get off the pot."

"You're a freak."

"I know. But hey, you said yes to tomorrow night, so that's a start."

As we're walking across my backyard, I realize I haven't even asked how things with her have been. "Holly. I'm such a bad friend. How is Mick? I haven't even asked you, and then you had to go and send him home. Is he eating alone today?"

"Of course not. He's with his sister and his niece. He's good. Griffin and Cali are eating at Griffin's dad's restaurant. It's all good."

"But how are things with you and Mick?"

"They're great. I like having a steady boyfriend."

"Good. I'm glad."

"Yeah. You can have that with Ben too, you know."

"One step at a time, Holl."

"We're gonna have to do something about your sister, though. She's horrible."

"She's not. I'll talk with her. Something's up. She wouldn't just steal him out from under me."

"Ooh...kinky."

"Freak."

"Geek."

"There you are." Ben is standing on the patio when Holly and I return from our walk. "Your mother said dessert's on the table."

"You mind leaving right after?" Holly asks Ben. "I'd like to go see my boyfriend tonight."

"No problem. I have practice early in the morning, anyway."

Holly makes her way inside while Ben holds up his hand and silently asks me to stay put.

"Are you okay with what I said back there at the dinner table? About tomorrow night?"

"The official date. Yeah...I'm okay with that."

Ben sticks his hands in his pockets and bends his neck to look into my eyes. "I may have asked your father in front of everyone to deflect Terri's...advances? But I really had intentions of asking you out after we visited Johnny."

"Thank you. For deflecting
and
for asking."

"I'm not wrong, right? Thinking there's something between us...you and me?"

I shake my head. "No. You're not wrong. I just...I'm..."

"We'll take it slow. You need to get your life back, find the old Rose...I get that. One step at a time. Can we do that?"

"I think so."

"But can I tell you? This new Rose is pretty special. And so beautiful."

His hands still in his pockets, he bows in embarrassment. Something tells me he really isn't one of those sweet-talking guys.

"Thank you for spending the day with us," I tell him. "And for worrying enough to come up last night. It made me feel...it made me feel good." I blush under the admittance. "Let's go have dessert. My mother makes a mean pumpkin chocolate cheesecake."

"That's right...using Molly's eggs."

"Chicken Little’s eggs," I correct him.

"Chicken Little’s eggs." He laughs, takes my hand, and walks me into the kitchen where everyone is already indulging in Mom's desserts.

We sit next to each other, our hands still joined, understanding that something just changed between the two of us. I know I want there to be something between us, but that doesn't change the fact that I still don't want him to see me naked.

One step at a time.

We'll try it his way.

***

After Ben and Holly leave, the first thing I do is approach Terri. "Got a minute?" I ask her up in her room.

"Yeah," she says, not making eye contact.

"What was that about? You flirting with Ben."

Now she looks at me. "He said you weren't his girlfriend. So I made a move."

"What were you expecting to happen last night...when you brought him Dad's clothes?"

"I don't know. I like him. He's cute." She doesn't sound sincere.

"Yeah, well, I like him too, so...find someone back at college."

"He's not your boyfriend. He's fair game."

"When did you become such a brat? He was here for
me
. You know damn well he was."

"Still...all's fair, right?"

"Oh my God. What happened to you? You were never like this."

"Yeah, well...get used to it. We can't all cater to the poor cripple." Her eyes pop. She didn't mean that to come out, but she's not apologizing, so I do something I've never done before. I slap her.

"You fuckin' bitch," she yells.

"No. I believe that title belongs to you." I walk out and slam the door, my hand stinging, not from pain, but from guilt. I should have had more restraint. She's my sister, for goodness’ sake. But, dammit, she called me a cripple.

I just get into my room when my door slams against my wall. "I can't believe you fuckin' hit me, you bitch. You think you can do anything your disabled little body wants, but..."

I sit on my bed, and with strained composure, I say, "Get out of my room. Now."

She comes at me with her fists clenched, but stops short before she swings.

"Go 'head, Terri. Hit me. But just know...this is not how we should be treating each other."

"Ugh. You're such a goody-goody."

"Terri. I'm not quite sure what has you so angry, but I never asked anyone to treat me differently. That's all you."

"No. It's
you
. Just like Patti said, your moping makes Mommy pity you, so we're all supposed to walk on eggshells around you. It sucks."

"You haven't even been home for more than a day. How would you even know?"

"Because it's all Mommy ever fucking talks about when she calls me. I can't stand it anymore."

"Then blame Mommy, not me."

"No. I blame you. Until you're back to normal, Mommy's gonna continue to baby you."

"Well, I'll never be back to normal, so just get out of my room. I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Terri stomps out of my room, leaving me to stew over her insults and my family's
real
feelings.

I take off my leg, feeling heavier than I did all day. This time, though, I don't leave in my father's truck. I stay put and fight the urge to break down.

***

I'm already about a mile down my road, just my bamboo cane and me, when I see Ben's Honda. Limping off the side of the road so he can see me, I wave for him to stop.

His car barely comes to a stop before he's out of it and at my side. "Rose, what the hell are you okay what happened?" His words rush out without a pause between them.

"Ben. Ben. I'm fine." I flatten my palms against his chest. "Calm down."

"What the..."

"I just needed to get out of the house. So I walked."

"Rose, your house is like a mile away. Why would you..." He pauses and his expression goes from eyes wide in surprise to eyebrows dipped in concern. "How's your leg?"

I hold up the cane. "That's why I brought this. But, yeah, it hurts." Walking so far on an unpaved road was stupid.

"Come on. Let's get you in the car." He wraps an arm around my waist and helps me into the car.

While he makes a k-turn, he asks, "What was so bad you had to leave the house?"

"Nothing. It's not a big deal."

"It's not a big deal it's silly? Or it's not a big deal you don't want to talk about it?"

"Both. Kinda."

He nods as he keeps his eyes on the winding road. I feel silly about why I walked out, but it feels wrong not to tell him why I stormed out of my house again. "What kind of music you like? I'm not sure what stations work up here," Ben says, fussing with the knobs on his radio.

"Pretty much nothing works up here."

"I can put my CD back on..."

"I bitch-slapped my sister last night."

Ben turns off the radio and takes my hand. "Let me guess...Terri?"

"Correct."

"Oh boy. She must have done something bad to cause
you
to lose your temper."

"I'm no angel, Ben. I do get mad. I usually don't resort to violence, though."

"So...what made you resort to it this time?"

Leaning my head against the passenger window, I close my eyes and sigh. When I open them, Ben's eyes are on me, not the road.

"Ben. The road."

"Oops."

I laugh and then tell him. "She called me a cripple."

His shoulders droop and he closes his eyes for a second, shaking his head as he opens them.

"You better keep your eyes on the road, Falco. I can't afford to lose another leg," I joke. Kinda sorta.

"Sorry. I can't believe she called you that. What was she thinking? And why the hell would she say that?"

"Evidently," I say slowly, "my sisters resent me."

"All of them or just Terri?"

"Patti and Terri."

"Why would they resent
you
?"

"Right? Ol’ Peg-leg here."

"Oh no. I did not mean it like that. I only meant...you're having a hard time. Why would they resent that?"

"They resent my parents' treatment of me. And Terri's sick of hearing all about me."

"That sucks."

"Yeah. This morning there was this huge fight. Terri was yelling at my mother, saying she didn't even make a big deal about her making the honors band or something at school, 'cause all she could talk about was, 'Poor Rose, she can't even dance anymore,' 'Poor Rose, she's afraid to go to school,' 'Poor Rose, blah, blah, blah.'"

"I'm sorry, Rose. What's your dad say about it?"

"Well, he doesn't help, 'cause I've always been kinda his...not really favorite, but...we have a bond. Maybe it's 'cause I have red hair like him. I don't know. But...he made them cut it out this morning."

"Them?"

"Well, Terri got Patti going. Terri told them I slapped her and Mom didn't defend her. Instead, she asked what Terri did to get slapped."

Ben starts cracking up. "So what happened when you told her what your sister called you?"

"I didn't."

He looks at me longer than a person driving should.

"The road, Ben."

"Right." Bringing his attention back to the two-lane highway in front of him, he asks, "Why didn't you tell?"

"There was no need. I know she only said it because she was mad. Besides, I slapped her. She wanted to
punch
me, but she thought better of it. Which made me more mad, because I bet if I had two legs, she would have."

Ben says nothing, but he does nod.

I'm not quite comfortable sitting in silence yet with Ben, but I'm also uncomfortable sharing more of my drama, so I think of the first thing that comes to mind. "So did you really break up with your high school sweetheart because of baseball?"

He shrugs. "She hated how much time it took away from her. I mean, I was a teenage boy. I enjoyed the time I spent with her, but...she wasn't worth giving up my dream, so..."

"You dumped her."

"Actually, no. She dumped me. I was willing to stay in the relationship. I liked her. A lot. But she gave me an ultimatum, and I couldn't give her what she wanted."

"So you haven't had a girlfriend since?"

"Not really. I've had dates. I go out with girls here and there, but until..." He takes his eyes off the road again to look at me, "Well, until you, I haven't really been too interested."