The Summer Deal (Wildstone #5)(46)

She bit her lower lip. “I put you in the I Don’t Know What to Do with You file.”

He cocked his head. “Do you lump all the people in your life into categories?”

“Yep. My moms are in the Love Me to Death file. My ex is in the Men Are Assholes file. Kinsey’s in the Bully Mean Girl file, although I might have to move her to just the Pain in My Ass file.”

“And where am I now, in the Men Are Assholes file?”

She held his gaze. “No. I don’t think of you as being anything like Ashton.”

“So what file do you have me in?”

“The I Don’t Know Where to File You file.”

He gave a wry smile and had to nod in agreement. “Fair enough.”





Chapter 15


From fifteen-year-old Brynn’s summer camp journal: Dear Moms,

Guess what?????? Kinsey isn’t here this year. No one knows why. I’d ask Eli, but he isn’t here either.

Guess what else? A boy asked me to hold his hand on the walk to the campfire. He said it was because he knew I couldn’t see at night, but he didn’t let go, not even once we got there. No, I’m not going to tell you his name. I’m not stupid. I love you both, but you’ll pester me about him forever if you know his name.

Love,

Brynn

p.s. But he’s cute!

BRYNN JERKED AWAKE at her alarm blaring and then groaned as she reached for her glasses on the nightstand.

They weren’t there.

She’d left them on the bathroom counter last night when she’d brushed her teeth. Damn. She rolled out of bed and made the sound her grandma used to make when trying to move too fast. She wasn’t even thirty, and staying up until midnight made her feel ancient. When had that happened?

Hands out because her eyesight was always worst first thing in the morning, she tentatively made her way across the room, tripping over her own shoes and then something that let out an “oomph.”

“Mini!” she gasped. “Are you okay?” She bent to pet the dog, who rolled onto her back for more love.

Brynn gave the obligatory belly rub and got a sweet morning kiss. “I don’t suppose you’d go get my glasses?”

Mini licked her face again.

“Close enough.” Brynn straightened and headed toward the bathroom. Feeling for the handle, she opened the door, belatedly realizing that in her morning fog, she hadn’t caught onto the fact that the shower was running and the mirror was steamed.

“Hey!” Kinsey stuck her head out from behind the shower curtain. “What the—”

“Sorry!” Brynn whirled to leave, only to freeze in place when she saw a brown hairy . . . thing on the floor that—dear God—looked like a huge, massive spider. “Oh, shit!” she said. Actually, she might’ve screamed it. Acting on impulse fueled by sheer panic, she opened the vanity cabinet under the sink, grabbed the small bucket sitting directly beneath the pipes, and—while yelling “omigod, omigod, omigod” like a mantra—dropped the bucket over the biggest spider she’d ever seen.

“What the hell are you doing?” Kinsey yelled.

“Saving you from a mutant spider attack!” Brynn, heart still throwing itself against her ribs with every beat, slapped her hands down on the counter, looking for her glasses. Finally finding them, she shoved them onto her face just as Max and Eli rushed through the doorway. Max was in boxers and carrying a baseball bat, Eli in jeans that he was buttoning up as he entered. Levi’s, sitting dangerously low on his hips. He didn’t have a weapon, at least not in his hands, and although his expression was calm, his body language suggested he was ready and able to fight whatever monster had dared come after her and Kinsey.

Unable to form words, she pointed to the bucket.

Eli stepped into the bathroom and tilted the bucket to look beneath.

“Careful!” she said quickly. “It’s a mutant spider.”

To her horror, Eli lifted the bucket and revealed . . . her own hairbrush.

Max burst out laughing.

Eli looked like he wanted to do the same, but managed to control himself. “Attack of the killer hairbrush,” he said.

“Wow,” Kinsey said. “You really can’t see shit, can you?” Shaking her head, she vanished behind the curtain again. “If you could all get out of here, that’d be great. And, Brynn, you might want to start wearing your glasses around your neck on a granny string.”

“Hey,” Brynn said to the shower curtain. “Those things aren’t just for grannies!”

Kinsey shrieked.

“Oh my God, a real spider this time?” Brynn asked, stepping closer to the shower to help.

“No, I just ran out of hot water. Get the hell out!”

Max went back to bed.

Brynn and Eli retreated into the hallway.

“Thanks for the early morning adventure,” he said with a smile in his voice.

She sighed. “Maybe I need to try contacts again.”

His smile was warm. Affectionate. Not at all mocking, and she felt an answering smile curve her lips. “You remember that whole thing about not knowing where to file you?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“I’ve been working on that.”

His smile went from affectionate to hot. “Good to know. And since we’re sharing, you should know that I like your pj’s.”