I closed my eyes and sighed. An odd sense of relief settled over me, and it felt like I could breathe again. Damn, that felt good to get out.
My eyes snapped open at the sound of Frankie’s hurried footsteps. She launched herself at me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered over and over.
“Doll, it’s okay.” I couldn’t be mad at her. I wasn’t mad at her. There wasn’t any way for her to know about my mom.
I felt wetness on my neck, and she sniffled. “I was such a bitch to you,” she sobbed.
“Frankie, doll, stop crying.”
“I’m not crying,” she hiccuped. “I just have something in my eye.”
“Such a hardass you can’t even admit when you’re crying,” I chuckled. I wrapped my arms tightly around her and buried my face in her hair. “I’m glad you came over.” I hadn’t realized I was suffocating staying at the house.
I loved being with my mom, but it was like I was always waiting for the shoe to drop on the next time her memory slipped.
“I again came over here thinking I was going to sling a wrench at your head because you were ignoring me.” She tilted her head back, and I lifted my head to look down at her.
“Was there a wrench in that bag?”
She shook her head and snorted. “No. I was going to improvise and throw the nearest heavy object.”
“I’m gonna have to glue everything down when you come over. I can’t have you with easy access to things that could maim me.”
Her face softened, and I wiped a tear rolling down her cheek. “I’m really sorry about your mom and dad, Brooks. That can’t be easy to deal with on top of her memory problems.”
“I always knew my dad was a dick. I guess I just never thought he was that huge of a dick that he would leave my mom for something she had no control over.” I caressed her cheek and watched her bite her bottom lip. “It’s for the best that she’s here with me.”
“You really are a good guy,” she whispered.
“You’d do the same thing for your mom, Frankie.”
She smiled and nodded. “She was my best friend. She always told me it was her and me against my brothers and Dad.”
“I bet she was right. I’ve met your brothers, and I have to assume they are just like your dad.”
“You would be right,” she laughed. “She always told people I was a gift from God to help her battle against her houseful of boys.”
“We’re quite the pair, aren’t we? You don’t have your mom anymore, and mine is fading away.”
“But she's still here, Brooks. Just like I still have my mom with me. I’ll always have my memories, and so will you.”
I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against hers. “I don’t know how you do it, but you always come in like a freight train and just make everything better.”
“It’s a gift,” she whispered. “Though don’t let anyone know. Most just think I’m a bitch.”
I opened my eyes. “No, they just don’t wanna take the time to really get to know you.”
“Oh, so that’s what this is. You getting to know me?”
I slightly nodded my head. “Yep. And it all started with you chucking a wrench at my head.” I closed the gap between us and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “The day that changed everything.”
“An almost decapitation will do that to you.”
“Such a smartass.”
She reached up and threaded her fingers through my hair. “You like it?” she asked.
“Oh, I more than like it, doll.”
“Then maybe you should kiss me again?”
I brushed another kiss to her lips, and she moaned lightly when I pulled my lips a hair away from her’s. “Like that?”
“Yes, but more,” she pleaded. She tugged gently on my hair to pull me close, but I didn’t move.
I loved Frankie’s strong personality, but she wasn’t going to run this. I was in charge right now. “Yeah? You want more?”
She bit her bottom lip and tilted her head slightly. “Yes.”
“You’re so beautiful, Frankie.” She gasped at my words, and I pressed my lips to her before she could spew some bullshit about me being full of it.
Her taste was intoxicating. The moment my lips had touched hers, I had a pretty good fucking idea of what I wanted with Frankie.
Her in my bed.
I was going to have to settle for stealing a kiss from her for now. “Doll, my mom is literally twenty feet away.”
“Do you want to go out to my car?” she mumbled. She followed my retreating lips with hers and managed to pull me in again.
Not that it really took much to persuade me to kiss her again. I was hanging on by a thread to not take her up on her offer to go out to her car.
“We gotta stop, doll.”
She whimpered against my lips and shook her head. “No.”
“Later,” I promised. I knew my mom and Susan weren’t going to stay quiet in the kitchen for long.
She pulled back and rested her hands on my shoulders. “Fine, but remember I’ve got a hell of an arm on me, Brooks.” She patted my chest and strolled into the kitchen.
I glanced over my shoulder and watched her lush ass walk away. Now I could blatantly watch her without feeling like a pervert sneaking looks at her.
Frankie was a tough-as-nails chick who didn’t take shit from anyone, but I also knew deep down she had a heart of gold who didn’t want to hurt anyone.
She was the perfect blend of spunk and sweet, and she was going to be all mine.
*
Chapter Twenty-Four
Frankie
“It’s done.”
“Oh good, I’ve been smelling it cook for the past forty-five minutes.” Susan walked into the kitchen, straight to the steaming pan of lasagna.
Brooks had been sitting at the kitchen island nursing a beer and talking to his mom while I cooked. “Well, it’s time to chow down.” I handed Susan a plate and nodded toward the platter of garlic bread. “Grab a couple of those, and I’ll cut you a slab of lasagna.”
Brooks laughed as Susan trotted over to the garlic bread and giggled like a schoolgirl when I set a huge piece of lasagna on her plate. “I don’t know why you two are sitting there like Frankie didn’t just cook the most delicious meal known to man.” She held her plate close to her chest and scooted to sit next to Christy.
I held up the spatula and pointed down at the pan. “You two just going to sit there, or are you going to want some of this?”
Brooks put his arm around his mom and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. “I’ll get you a plate, Ma.”
She patted his arm and nodded. “Make sure I get a bigger piece than Susan.”
I was learning that while Brooks’ mom was sweet and quiet, she also had a bit of a feisty streak in her. “Don’t worry, Christy, I have the perfect corner piece saved for you.”
Brooks grabbed a plate and held it out. “I see how it is. My mom gets the best piece, and I’m left with whatever scraps you have left.”