I wasn’t exactly fond of being the subject of their bet. But something in my chest tugged at Tejas’s words, something at the back of my brain that was working overtime trying to put together pieces I couldn’t quite grasp. Things that caused the smoke to fill my lungs until I let out a choked cough.
Maisey raised a brow. “You okay?”
I nodded. I wasn’t sure I was. I felt like things were unraveling around me, taking a lifetime of beliefs with them. A lifetime of safeguards I’d carefully put in place.
When I didn’t say anything else, she pulled on her ponytail and said, “Thanks for helping me move the big stuff. I’m going to go check on my dad and then start putting my bed together.”
She moved down the hall toward the room her dad had taken.
“Maise,” I called after her, my voice full of apology.
“It’s all good, Beckett. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again so you believe it…I know what I signed up for.”
My chest ached, and I couldn’t put my finger on all the reasons why. It had to be the lies we were telling. I was good at joking around, but I’d always tried to be honest. It was something my dad had pounded into me. A code we both believed.
Damn. I needed to talk to my dad before the rumor about Maisey and me hit his ears.
I’d call him later, but first I’d do what I’d planned. I’d get Maisey settled and then get her out of here for a few hours. With a renewed purpose, I strode out to the detached garage for my tools and was already putting her bed frame together by the time she came out of her dad’s room.
“How is he?” I asked.
“He seemed embarrassed by his outburst and apologized, and then he asked for help setting up the WiFi so he could stream his shows. But by the time I got it all hooked up, he was asleep on the bed.”
My jaw clenched. At least he’d apologized before asking for more help. Lewis Campbell was a nice guy. You couldn’t be in the room with him and actively dislike him, but I could despise the way he had never hesitated at using Maisey.
We assembled the bed and moved her dresser and bookshelves to where she wanted them, andI stepped back to assess what we’d done. The tiny room was crammed so full of furniture, there was hardly room to walk, but Maisey didn’t seem to notice—or at least, she didn’t complain.
Then again, it had never been Maisey’s style to complain any more than she lied.
I wiped the sweat off my forehead with my shirt and shot a scowl at my dog. He’d claimed Maisey’s bed as if it were his new favorite spot and was watching every move she made. I let my gaze follow my dog’s. She was sweating too, ponytail askew, gray T-shirt damp. But it was the shadows under her eyes that really got me.
She needed an escape from the heaviness of the entire week, and we both needed to cool off. So, as she flipped open a switchblade and opened a box of shoes, I pulled it out of her reach.
“No more unpacking for today. It’s time you let off a little steam.”
Her eyes went to my mouth, and her voice was breathy when she asked, “What did you have in mind?”
My dick twitched, a reaction that had somehow become my new norm with her, after years of putting her in a zone carefully labeled “friend” and never detouring from it. If I didn’t get a handle on these emotions soon, I was going to have a permanent hard-on with her living here.
“We’re busting out of here.”
“I’ve got a lot to do,” she said, reaching for the box, and I just pushed it farther out of her reach.
“It’ll all be here when you get back. Vader and I need to cool off at the lake.”
Vader went from relaxed to ready to pounce in a nanosecond. He barked his approval, thumping his tail so hard it sounded like a bongo.
Indecision warred over Maisey’s face.
I tapped her on the nose with a finger. “Put a swimsuit on, my Maisey-girl, and meet me in the living room in ten minutes. If you’re not changed and ready, I’ll just toss you over my shoulder, haul you to my rig and dump you in the lake fully clothed.”
She pushed my hand away. “That’s book three you owe me, Fireball.”
I heard the hesitation in her voice. The desire to escape was just hovering around the corner. But then her gaze darted to the wall dividingher room from her dad’s, and she sighed. “I don’t think I should leave him.”
“We’ll be back in a couple of hours. In plenty of time for dinner. That’s less time than you’ll be away at work on a normal day.”
She bit her lip, worrying some more.