She piped down, a tension leaving her shoulders as she looked away for a moment then back up at me.
“Okay,” she said. “I won’t argue.”
“Thank you. Lead the way, where’s your bathroom?”
She took me through the master bedroom and gestured at the bathroom door in here.
“Grab whatever you’re going to sleep in,” I told her and switched on the light in the bathroom going for the medicine cabinet and the razors. She had a little basket of washcloths on the back of the john within reach of the shower. I stacked the cloths on the counter and started tossing sharps and pill bottles into the basket.
“You don’t have to do that, I’m not going to do anything,” she said from the bathroom doorway.
I said, “I thought you weren’t going to argue.” I looked over my shoulder to where she stood in the doorway, clutching fresh PJs to her chest.
“Fair,” she said with a fatigued nod. She looked thoroughly strained around her edges.
“You got three minutes to change and I’m coming in,” I told her with a faint smile to try and take the sting out of the statement. She tried a tremulous smile back, but it fell a little flat.
“I’ll leave the door cracked,” she murmured.
“I won’t look,” I assured her and took the basket of dangerous items into the bedroom with me and dropped onto the edge of the bed. She swung the door shut until only a sliver of light illuminated the bedroom. I lifted the dust ruffle on the bed and slid the basket under it.
While I was down there, I took off my boots and socks.
“Why did you come?” she asked softly, and I tried to glue my eyes to anywhere but that sliver of light as I heard her clothing rustle as she changed it.
“You called. Didn’t sound good. Why wouldn’t I come?” I asked with a shrug, getting to my feet and working my belt.
She ran water in the sink in the bathroom and I risked a peek. She was changed into this country nightgown, white, eyelets, something that belonged on an old lady except it looked somehow right on her. It made that innocence and purity of hers shine even brighter. I folded my jeans and put them on top of her dresser before I pulled the faded black TOOL tee I had on with the sleeves ripped out off over my head to fold it up too.
I was lucky I hadn’t gone commando this morning, instead opting for some form-fitting black boxer briefs. I sniffed, threw my tail of braids with their beads back over my shoulder to hang to just above the middle of my back and turned around just as she halted in the bathroom doorway, her lovely face freshly scrubbed of all that awful, muddied makeup.
Color creeped up from her chest into her cheeks and I made nothing of it, not wanting to make things worse.
“Did you want me to sleep on the couch?” she stammered, and I frowned at her.
“Fuck no,” I said. “This is your house.”
She shook her head and said, “It’s my mom’s house, actually.”
I got into the bed on one side and lifted the blankets on what would be her side tonight, arching my eyebrows, silently asking what she was waiting for. She stood for a second, her arms crossed over her chest, hands digging into her bare upper arms, one foot adorably crossed over the other and finally with a little sound of defeat, she snapped out the bathroom light and got into bed beside me. She laid down on her side, facing me and I adjusted myself onto my side to face her.
We stared at each other for a moment in silence, the light from outside tinged blue with the night coming in softly through the bedroom window and illuminating her face gently.
“Your mom’s gone, baby,” I said the gentlest I could. “That makes it yours now.”
“Not really. Um, my mom left it to me and my brother, Copper. When Copper died, everything that was his went to Christen and their son, Silver. Everything is sort of a mess right now. Nothing is settled. He and I agreed we would sell it, divide the proceeds in half but that was before he died and I found out what Charles was doing.”
I frowned and reached out a hand, curling it around her free hand where it wasn’t curled beneath the pillow like her other one was. I gave it a light squeeze and said, “Talk to me. What’s up? I can’t help you if I don’t know the full story.”
“The day after Copper died, I was wrung out. Exhausted. I’d been at the hospital all night, worked all day, and when I got home…” she shrugged. “I don’t know. I cooked dinner in a fog and when I finally sat down,” she shrugged, “I just fell asleep. Charles was on his phone and leaning against me. I woke up and happened to see his screen.”
“Texting another woman?” I guessed.
“A man, actually.” She snorted. “He was texting back and I quote, ‘Well, I was trying to come over and suck your cock but you didn’t answer me in time.’”
“Oh, shit,” I said, and she closed her eyes and just looked tired.
“It was the day after my brother had just died, exactly a month after my mother died. I’m surprised I didn’t lose it.”
“You didn’t?”
“Mm-mm. I just demanded to know who he was talking to and told him not to lie to me.”
“Let me guess, he lied.”
“Oh, of course he did.”
“What’d you do then?”
“I packed a bag, told him to leave me be, and that I would have the rest of my belongings out by the end of the week. I came here.”
“Atta girl,” I said evenly, suppressing my savage pride.
“Doesn’t matter,” she said. “He’s going to take everything from me.” She gave a bitter laugh and said, “Never mind that I was carrying us, and he was hiding money from me. Never mind that, come to find out, he actually made more than me last year. I don’t think I can fight him. All of my savings went to inheritance tax… I can barely afford my attorney for the divorce!”
“Hey, hey, hey!” I tried to head off her getting more wrapped around the axle, untangling my hand from hers and smoothing some of her wild blond curls away from her face.
“One thing, one day at a time.”
She sealed her lips into a grim line and with a slight whimper nodded, trying valiantly to stave off tears.
“You were right to call me,” I said, and I took a deep breath and let it out slow. “Nobody should have to deal with this alone.”
A tear escaped and dripped down her nose and she squeezed her eyes shut, gritting her teeth through what had to be an unimaginable pain. I thumbed the moisture away and said, “Come here, no fuckery. Just come here.”
She came to me and let me hold her tight while a fresh storm went through her. I sighed and had to wonder why was she alone? I mean, where were her kickass gal pals? Or had that wild snatch back at the bar been her only friend? God, I fucking hoped not.
There was more to this. I could feel it. All in good time, though.
She had a friend, now. A friend in me. I just hoped it would be enough.
Chapter Seven
Aspen…
“Hm, not yet.” His arms tightened around me as I went to creep out of bed and I froze. “We still need to talk,” he murmured.
I swallowed hard. “T-talk about what?” I stammered.