Wanting More (Mitchell Family #5)(5)
Author: Jennifer Foor

I insisted. “It’s fine.”

“I know you think he’s an ass.” She was right, I did.

“It doesn’t matter. You’re my best friend. I love you and I will help your brother. The worst he can do is hit on me and I have no interest in someone like him. Just go get some rest.”

I watched her walk into her bedroom and shut the door before I turned around and saw Conner staring at me on the couch.

Chapter 3

Conner

I shouldn’t have let someone like Brina talk me into taking another pill, because I had to go through the withdrawals all over again. To make matters worse, Miranda’s friend was over and appeared to be staying the night. I tried to go into my room and stay out of their way, but I started feeling so bad that I needed to be around someone.

At first my sister wanted to stay up with me, but for some reason, her friend, that I was a total ass to, insisted that she would stay up with me. I had nothing to say to the woman, but there she was, just trying to be nice, even though her life was obviously a mess.

With the television on, it was easy to avoid conversation at first. Miranda had gotten us both a cup of hot tea before she headed off to bed. We talked about what we were watching, but never about each other and I just wasn’t in the mood to be my normal cocky self. Between the jitters and the feeling like I could vomit at any second, I was just trying to keep my composure.

As the night progressed and television got raunchier, Amy seemed anxious. She got up to go to the bathroom and when she came back she sat further away from me. Some romance show was on and to be honest I wasn’t paying it any mind. Her sudden movement caught me off guard. I’d like to say that it was me being irritable, but she really just rubbed me the wrong way all together. “I won’t bite you know.”

She turned to face me and smiled without showing her teeth. “I find that hard to believe.”

I leaned over and grabbed a blanket, tossing her an end. “It gets chilly in this room at night. Hope you don’t mind sharin’.”

Amy refused to cover even her feet up. “I’m fine, thanks anyway.” She stared at the television instead of making eye contact with me.

“Suit yourself! So, I reckon you had another fight with the hubby?” I needed to get my mind off of wanting to take a damn pill. I was prepared to talk about flowers and rainbows if it helped me stay grounded.

“That’s none of your business.” She looked at me for only a moment and when she did, I couldn’t help but smile at her again. She was a beautiful girl.

“You don’t have to get all snappy. I was just tryin’ to be nice and talk to ya.”

She put her head down and shook her head. “Sorry, you’re right. I just don’t even know what is going on right now. My life is a train wreck.”

“Lady, my life is the train wreck.”

She turned her body while still at the opposite side of the couch, so that she was facing me. “I know you’re having a rough time. I’ve been around people trying to get clean. How long since you took a pill?

I could have been a real dick and walked back in my room. Miranda shouldn’t have told this woman my business. “Talk about somethin’ else. No disrespect, but I can’t talk about it right now.”

She pulled her legs up to her chest and I could see the bruises on her arms. “Sorry.”

I pointed to her arms. “He give you those?”

She took her shirt and covered up the marks. “Maybe we shouldn’t talk about that either.”

I tried to smile, but ended up squinting up my face. “Yeah, you really don’t want my opinion on that.”

“Well since I don’t want to talk about my marriage and you don’t want to talk about your problem and neither one of us wants to go to sleep, what would you like to talk about?” She hugged her knees and finally looked my way again.

“Do you have any family?” It was a simple question that I felt was pretty safe to ask.

She put her head down again. “I have family but not really anyone I can turn to. My mother disowned me out of high school and my father did the same once Rick came into the picture. He’s remarried and raising a son, so he doesn’t have time for my bullshit. He lives a couple towns over and runs a hardware store. To be honest, he hasn’t made an attempt to contact me in a few years now. To say I disappointed him would be an understatement. My older brother and sister live out of state with their families. They are both in the military and move from place to place. I haven’t seen them in years. I don’t even know their phone numbers.”

Obviously I sucked at asking questions. “Sorry to hear that. I honestly don’t know where I’d be without my family. It isn’t huge, but we’re all very close. Holidays are always a real big deal. I’m surprised Miranda hasn’t invited you to Kentucky before.”

She shrugged her shoulders and looked sad again. “Saying this out loud is going to sound worse than it is, but I don’t think Rick would let me go.”

I leaned into her and rested my elbows on my knees. “Look, I don’t know nothin’ about bein’ married, but I do know that you’re your own person and that shit ain’t right. If you want to see the world, well your pretty little self should be able to.”

She became defensive and I knew it was because she knew I was right. “He has a daughter that I take care of.”

“How old is this daughter?”

“Seventeen.”

I stood up to grab something to drink out of the kitchen. “She’s plenty old enough to take care of herself.” I turned around to ask if she wanted something and she was standing behind me, bumping into me. My hands grabbed her elbows and steadied her back. “Do you need somethin’?”

She stared right at me for a second and then finally pulled away from my fingertips. “Sorry, I was thirsty.”

I took another step toward her and pushed the hair away from her cheek. “Is that all you want?”

She backed away from my hand and sat down on the other side of the breakfast bar. “Yes, just the drink.”

I handed her an ice tea and leaned across from her. “I don’t bite, well only if I’m asked to and I can assure you, it would be something you couldn’t get enough of.”

She turned around, jumping off the stool and walked back into the living room without saying anything. I took my time going back, in order for my words to sink in. The woman wouldn’t stop staring at me; I could tell she was attracted to me. She clearly needed a good f**king and I’d give it to her, if she’d just ask. I plopped down beside her, but kept enough distance to make her look over. I noticed she was rubbing her feet and I looked down at them. Her little white socks made her feet look even smaller than they were. Without her permission, I grabbed one of them. She pulled back at first. I reached over and grabbed it again. “It’s just a foot, woman. If I was tryin’ to seduce you, you’d know it. I can promise you that.”