When the Dead Come a Knockin' Read online

  “For?”

  “Yanking you into the tub. I was just so happy and wanted to have fun.” I tried to explain. Miles smiled at me his emerald eyes softening.

  “Lexie, you weren’t the only one filled with relief.” He pointed out. Huh, I guess he was right.

  “Oh, well, sorry about your shoes.” I tried again. He snorted.

  “I’ve got more shoes, Lexie.” He said patiently.

  “You make it hard to apologize to you.” I pointed out. He grinned.

  “Only when there is nothing to apologize for.” He countered. I shrugged giving up and waited. Though Miles wouldn’t let me drink any more coffee. He did sneak me one of Asher’s homemade chocolate chip cookies. I winked at him before eating it. He just shook his head still grinning at me. Miles figured I was safe enough to sit alone for a bit and ran upstairs to go to the bathroom. Trisha came in eventually and glared at me. I figured I should apologize.

  “Sorry about that Trisha, I was just really happy.” I offered. She nodded as she eyed me.

  “Asher said something about good news?” She asked as if she couldn’t remember. She was checking our story.

  “Yeah, my seizure disorder.” I threw my arms up in the air. “I’m not dying!” I gave her a big smile. She was still eyeing me. So, I tried again. “To be honest, I didn’t even know it was Asher. I saw a big dude, empty arms and jumped.” I snickered at myself. “I bet I looked nuts.” She smiled, it wasn’t friendly.

  “Yeah, you did.” Trisha’s voice was sharp, and not so pleasant. I tilted my head at her. “Don’t touch my boyfriend again.” I raised an eyebrow at her. Was she fucking serious?

  “Um, it wasn’t like that. Asher’s my friend, and I had just got awesome news.” I pointed out, trying to be nice. Her eyes narrowed at me. Miles was coming down the hall behind her.

  “I understand that,” She began, her voice softening as her face became pleasant. I didn’t buy it for a second. “But I didn’t appreciate you jumping on Asher.” Miles stopped inside the kitchen doorway.

  “I understand that, which is why I apologized,” I said carefully, what was with this chick? Yeah, it probably didn’t look good, but if she didn’t trust Asher, then that was her own problem. “I hug the guys all the time, they’re family.” Her eyes narrowed at me.

  “That is going to change.” Trisha said confidently. I raised an eyebrow at her. “There will be no more hugging and no more touching between you and Asher.” She took a breath. “A lot of things will be changing now that I’m here and his relationship with you is only one of them.” Part of me wanted to laugh her off, but the other part... the part I tried to keep locked down got nervous. Stop it, Lexie, stop putting doubt in your head. The guys weren’t going anywhere. But that other part of me was a stubborn bitch. Trisha turned and froze. Miles looked at her coldly. I’d never seen him look at a girl that way before.

  “What else are you going to change around here?” Miles asked calmly in his cold voice. Trisha stood up straight, her shoulders back, but kept her mouth shut. “You might want to ask Asher how he feels about it before you start making ridiculous demands.” Trisha’s shoulders grew tense. Miles walked around her and came into the kitchen. He went to the cookie jar. It sounded like a threat, but knowing Miles, it wasn’t meant that way. He was merely giving her advice. But Trisha looked pissed as she glared at Miles’ back and opened her mouth. I leaned into her view of him. I gave her my dead face and shook my head. I might be trying to get along with her, but if she messed with Miles I would tear her down, loudly. She seemed to think better of it, she turned around and walked back to the family room. Miles came to stand next to me and handed me a cookie. I hit my cookie against his then we both ate our sneak cookies. But that damn part of me wouldn’t go back to sleep.

  Miles let me leave the kitchen eight minutes later. I had a headache, and I wanted a nap, but otherwise, I was back to happy. Well, except for that one word I found, but I’d figure it out later. I went to sit on the floor and winced.

  “Hey, can someone throw me a pillow? I fell on my ass in the snow outside.” I said.

  “Swear jar!” Isaac shouted as he tossed me a pillow. I reached for my wallet and realized I didn’t have it.

  “I’m going to have to owe you, I must have left my wallet at Miles' house.” I leaned to the side and put the pillow under my butt. Ahh, instant relief.

  “And your cell phone, and your keys, and your socks,” Miles mumbled as he came in and sat next to me. I pulled my jean leg up and saw he was right. I giggled and dropped my pant leg.

  “Why were you at Miles’ house?” Cece asked with an odd subtle note to her voice.

  “Uh, because he’s awesome.” I pointed out like it was obvious. Miles chuckled. I bumped into his shoulder, then he bumped into mine. We went back to watching some TV show.

  It wasn’t long before someone’s cell rang. Asher answered it. I was trying to remember what I said to Miles while I was in the tub when Asher called to me.

  “Ally girl.” I turned around and looked at him. He tossed me his phone. “Dylan’s looking for you.”

  “Shit.”

  “Swear jar!” Ethan shot at me. I snickered.

  “I still don’t have my wallet guys.” I pointed out before getting to my feet and heading into the kitchen. “Hey you.”

  “Hey, what happened to your phone?” Dylan's voice rolled over my ear and made me smile.

  “Oh, I kinda got really excited and left it at Miles' house,” I admitted. I realized I was going to have to tell Dylan the cover story. Otherwise, Trisha might. I hopped up on the counter in the kitchen.

  “What did you get that excited over?” He asked. I winced. This wasn’t going to be easy.

  “Well, um. I kind of have this seizure disorder.” I told him wishing I didn’t have to. “And I had some test results come in while I was at Miles’ house. Good news. I’m not dying.” I tried to play it off as a joke. It fell flat.

  “What? You... huh?” Dylan sounded shocked.

  “The doctor thought I might have some complications and I don’t, so, I’m all good,” I reassured him. “I got the good news, I got a little manic and Miles drove me out to Asher’s because I was bouncing around like a rabbit apparently. I jumped on Asher, surprising the hell out of him by the way. And pissed off his girlfriend in the process.” When he didn’t say anything, I continued. “Then I ordered the guys into the kitchen and told them the good news, then I kinda dropped. They gave me coffee, food and I’m fine again.” I got nothing but silence. “How’s your day going?”

  “Lexie...” I winced, his voice was strained. “You…” He went quiet. My stomach knotted. “Run that by me again.” His voice was hard. Shit

  “Which part?” I asked cringing.

  “All of it.” He said, his words clipped. Okay, this was not going well.

  “I have a rare seizure disorder.” I began again. “My doctor thought I might have been having some complications. Ran some tests, tests came back clean. I’m fine.” He said nothing, so I kept going. “Miles took me over to tell the guys because I bouncing around like a rabbit. I jumped on Asher and pissed off his girlfriend in the process. That’s about it.” He was quiet long enough that I was getting worried. “Dylan?”

  “I’m here.” His voice thicker than usual, it worried me. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” I swallowed hard. “Are you okay?” He snorted.

  “I...” His voice was strained. “I just...” I winced, he sounded like he was trying to hold something back. There was the sound of a bell. “I have to get back to work. I’ll... I’ll talk to you later.” He hung up on me. I sat on the counter for a couple minutes running his voice back through my mind. He didn’t take the cover story well, in fact, he sounded upset about it. All over a lie. Shit. I needed to make sure he was okay because he didn’t sound it. My mind made up I hopped off the counter and walked into the family room to hand Asher his phone.

  “How’s Dylan?”
Asher asked, putting his phone away.

  “I actually don’t know.” I admitted. I didn’t bother sitting down. “I think he was upset.” Asher’s eyes went wide. I looked to Miles and Zeke. “Can one of you drop me back off at my truck, I need to head up to Dulcet.” Both Miles and Zeke got to their feet.

  “I was going home soon anyway, I’ve got a game date with Autumn.” Miles offered. Zeke sat back down. We said goodbye to the others and headed back to Miles’ house. I told him how Dylan reacted, and he agreed that I should go see him. I picked up my stuff and hit the highway. I had to go shopping today, I could do that just as easily in Dulcet as I could in Northridge. Besides, Tara had mentioned a couple stores she liked there, and Tara did know her clothes.

  The drive to Dulcet was boring, but pretty with all the green pine and white snow. It wasn’t long before I was pulling up to Miller Hardware just off Main St in Dulcet. I’d never been to the store, but it was easy to find on Google. I parked, got out and hopped up on the curb. I didn’t like bothering Dylan at work, but I needed to know he was alright. The more I kept running his voice through my head, the more I worried.

  The counter was to my immediate left with a guy around my age behind it. The aisles weren’t cramped, everything neat and clean. In short, it was a hardware store. I looked at the guy behind the counter. He had sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, and a nice face. But he wasn’t Dylan. His blue eyes ran over me as a smile grew on his face, the effect was creepy.

  “Welcome to Miller Hardware, if you need anything, let me know.” He said as his eyes ran over me again. I raised an eyebrow, it irked me. I decided to mess with him. I looked at his name tag on his green apron.

  “You can help me, Luke,” I said sweetly. His smile grew bigger.

  “Anything you need, gorgeous.” His voice went soft. He probably thought it was his sexy voice. It wasn’t.

  “I’m looking for a hottie. Tall, blue eyes.” I waited for a beat while he smiled. “His name’s Dylan. Can you tell me where to find him?”

  “I’m guessing you’re Lexie, the new girlfriend?” Luke’s voice sounded relieved. I nodded. “Good, maybe you can do something with him. He’s been bitchy since I got here.” I winced as my stomach knotted worse.

  “Yeah, sorry, that’s probably my fault,” I admitted. “Where is he?” Luke pointed toward the back of the store.

  “He’s stocking down the far-right aisle, just follow the cursing.” Luke said. I sighed and headed to the aisle. I heard Dylan mumbling under his breath, cursing and slamming things. I headed down the aisle watching as he kept muttering as he stocked hinges. He was frowning, his shoulders tense. I bit my lip as I got closer.

  “Hey,” I said hesitantly. Dylan’s sapphire eyes ran over me, his jaw clenched. My stomach knotted some more.

  “What are you doing here?” He asked, his husky voice rough. “I thought you were going to Northridge today?” He crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes meeting mine.

  “I was worried about you.” My voice was soft, my pulse picking up as I stepped closer. “You didn’t sound okay on the phone.” He looked away from me to the shelves, his jaw clenching and unclenching. It was only a moment before he turned back to me his hand running through his hair.

  “Luke, watch the store,” Dylan called loudly.

  “Got it.” Dylan stuck his hands in his jean pockets as he turned. “Come on, we can talk in the office.” My heart ached with every step we took to the back of the store. His body was almost rigid as he led me through a door that said employees only. He was going to dump me. I knew it. He didn’t want a girlfriend with some weird health problem, and he was going to dump me. All over a fucking lie. It figured. He led me down a dark hall then held open the door to a cluttered office. I stepped inside and walked into the middle of the small office. The door closed. I turned around to ask if he was alright, but I never got a word out.

  He bent down and lifted me by my legs, his hands just under my butt. I had to grab his shoulders to keep my balance, I instantly wrapped my legs around his waist. His lips found mine as my back hit the wall. The world went fuzzy as I kissed him back, clinging to him as his mouth moved against mine. My hands went to his jaw. His chest and hips pinned me to the wall. My stomach did that low hard flip as his body pressed completely against mine. I gasped at the feel of him as warmth poured through me. One of his hands moved to cupped my face, the other sliding to my butt, his fingers kneading. My lips opened under his, he slipped in and left me scrambling for thought. It was a hard, desperate kiss, and with what little thought I had left I realized I had scared the shit out of him. I was just trying to keep up with his mouth when the kissed changed, he slowed down. His mouth became gentler, softer until eventually, he was only brushing his lips against mine. When he pulled back a little, we were both breathing heavy. My back was still pinned to the wall, my legs around his waist. My body was still flush against his, and his body was very happy to be there. It kept my heart racing, my body humming. I opened my eyes to look up at him, his eyes were a little wild as they met mine. I slipped my arms around his neck and shifted, bringing my chest against his. His hand left my face to slip between my back and the wall. He buried his face against my throat, holding me tight. He was acting like I had just triggered some issue he had. Like Zeke with his guys hitting girls thing. I understood that, but I just didn’t know what this was about. So, I just stayed where I was, in his arms, pressed against him, holding him back and breathing in sandalwood. He’d let me go when he was ready. It was a while. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He lifted his head to look down at me, his eyes full of shadows.

  “Dylan, are you okay?” I whispered. He sighed deeply as he rested his forehead against mine.

  “I’ve been freaking out since I got off the phone with you.” He admitted, before taking a deep breath. “My Mom died from complications from a simple fucking surgery.” His husky voice was rough making my chest tight. My hand moved to the back of his neck, fingers massaging. “So, when you said complications from your seizure thing. I kind of lost it.” Shit. My luck was legendary.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to trigger you like that.” I kept my voice soft and soothing. He pulled back, he looked at me with an eyebrow raised.

  “Trigger?”

  “Yeah, it’s a specific event that caused trauma, physical or emotional it doesn’t matter. It brings up what you felt when that event happened.” I tried to explain. “Like when that guy pushed me at Vegabond. That triggered Zeke, and you know what happened there.” His eyebrow dropped, his eyes resting on my face. “Have you ever had a reaction like this before?” He shook his head, his eyes unfocused. “Everyone has them, honey. At least everyone I know. Well, Zeke, Miles and I do. I don’t really know about the others.” His eyes were focused again and running over my face.

  “You have a trigger?” He asked, his voice full of doubt. I smiled gently at him and nodded.

  “Yeah, you want to see me flip out? Make me lay on my stomach, big emotional reaction. Almost took Zeke’s head off once.” I told him matter-of-factly. He grinned at that. It eased the tightness in my chest. He took a deep breath and let it out.

  “I acted crazy, didn’t I?” He asked, cringing as he waited for my answer. He looked so cute like that. I smiled gently at him.

  “Well hon, you did practically mount your girlfriend of two days, against the wall, in the office at work.” I pointed out whispering. “And you still haven’t put me down yet.” He groaned, closing his eyes for a few seconds.

  “I’m sorry Sunshine, I...” He looked down to see my legs still around his waist, his arms around me and his body still pinning me to the wall. “Shit.” He didn’t put me down. Instead, he pulled me away from the wall. I held on as he walked across the small office to set me on the tall desk. He didn’t move too far away from me, his hips stayed between my knees. His hands began running up and down the outside of my legs. I don’t think he was even aware he was doing it. He tilted his head back
, his eyes closed.

  “I was just going to kiss you....”

  “Hey,” I said my voice soft, he looked back down at me. “It’s okay, I get it. You needed to feel that I was okay.” His eyes were still shadowed, and I didn’t like it. “And that’s what you needed right then.”

  “I didn’t mean to pin you to the wall like that.” He said as his hand ran through his hair.

  “I know.” I said. His eyes met mine again.

  “I’m so sorry, Sunshine.” He reached out and cupped the side of my neck, his thumb just in front of my ear. I liked that he kept touching me, it was like he couldn’t stop himself.

  “Dylan, hon, I get it,” I said honestly, my voice gentle. My voice dropped down to a whisper. “But that needs to not happen again for a while.” He nodded.

  “I completely agree with you.” He said adamantly. He leaned in and gave me a quick soft kiss on the lips, then pulled back so I could close my legs. Then he held my legs just above my knee, his eyes on my face. “Now, tell me about this seizure disorder.” Oh shit.

  For the next half-hour, I wove a tale of bullshit that anyone would be proud of. I used the real seizure disorder as my frame and explained that I don’t usually have shaking seizures, but I do get bloody noses and get sick from it occasionally. He asked questions, and I gave him answers from the website Miles had shown me. I even managed to convince him my beads were for a pressure point that helped prevent seizures. It was disturbing how good I was at lying to Dylan.

  “Okay, so what if you're out with me and you have a seizure?” He asked, his hands were rubbing along the outside of my legs again. I thought about how to answer. All the guys now had Lexie kits, but they were filled with nausea meds, salt, and salted holy water. They kept them in their cars and their book bags. Maybe we could give him one and tell him it was medicine? I needed to think about it.

  “It depends on how serious it is. If I have a bloody nose, I just need tissues and probably a walk. If I have a bloody nose and throwing up. Leave me alone until I’m done. It’ll be awhile to get that nosebleed to stop.” Then I hesitated at the third level. “If I’m with you, and I drop like a rock. Make sure I have my bracelets on and call the guys or Rory.” He gave me a look. “They’ve been through it before, they know what to look for and what to do. Mostly it's getting me home to Rory.” His eyes narrowed on me.