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the floor when I came to full wakefulness by the splintering of the cabin door. Tucking and rolling, I reached for the gun I always kept near me as I came up on my feet in a crouched position. When my hand had come out empty, I silently cursed myself at the foolhardiness of being so preoccupied I'd left my gun in my purse in the other room.

From across the room, Nathan's voice slurred, "Brianna? Where the hell are you?"

As I peered in his direction, I could see his silhouette standing out in bold contrast to the brightness of the moon at his back. He stepped the rest of the way in through the destroyed door and fumbled for the light switch on the wall.

Suddenly, the room flooded with light, forcing me to narrow my eyes against the glare. "What the hell, Nathan?" I hissed.

Head jerking in my direction, he wove his way over to where I continued to crouch. When he stood before me, peering down at me, he asked, "What you doin' down there?"

He was so unsteady on his feet, he swayed back and forth before me. "Jesus Christ, Nathan, you're drunk!" I hissed, as jerking to my feet, I grasped his arm to help steady him before he fell.

Shaking loose one of my hands, he raised an arm, running his fingers through his hair, and with a sarcastic laugh, he slurred with a thick tongue, "That what you call this? I call it anee…anethe—ah fuck, you’re right, I’m fuck-faced!"

Nathan didn’t get drunk often. So, the fact he was now, was alarming.

"How'd you even get out here, anyway?" I breathed, only to find myself aghast when peering damn near cross-eyed at me, he hiccupped out, "My bike—"

"You rode your goddamn bike?" The tone of my voice betrayed how horrified I was.

Reaching up, he placed his hands in my hair, as running it through his fingers, he slurred, "Um...hmm." Within seconds though, a puzzled look crossed his features. "I think I did. Wait, no—yeah—maybe?"

Then with a shake of his head and as if he couldn’t be bothered thinking about it any longer, he gazed at me for several seconds, then placed his finger on the tip of my nose. “Such a cute little nose," he breathed.

I grasped his hand and pulled it back down. "I’m going to call Tami so she can come get you. You are not driving anywhere else tonight."

“At work,” he slurred.

“Oh,” I breathed as I tried to decide what to do. FInally, heaving a breath, I tugged Nathan with me as I picked my jeans up off the floor, and awkwardly slid into them, at the same time trying to stop him from falling flat on his ass.

Afterward, pulling him to the kitchen with me, I jerked my purse off the counter, and slung it over my shoulder. Then, reversing our steps, I led him back into the living room and toward the gaping hole that had been my front door.

Glancing at his pickup parked askew in my yard as we crossed the porch, I shook my head.

~~

Patience gained a whole new meaning, as with every faltering step, he'd pause, laughing, before we'd start again. Though our steps were slow, and I had to use a great deal of perseverance, I finally got him into my pickup, and by the time I got him to his house, he'd passed out in the seat, emitting little snores. Reaching out, I caressed his cheek, causing him to stir a little.

But when he didn’t rouse fully, I ran my fingers across his cheek again. “Come on, wake up Nathan, I need you to help me get you inside."

After a bunch of tugging, pulling, and outright cursing, I finally got him into the house. Now, as he sat on his bed, snoring again, I held him in a sitting position, struggling to get his shirt unbuttoned.

When I finally freed the last button, he slit one eye open, peering at me blurrely, as he muttered, "I didn’t think you were ever coming back…I would have waited for you."

Within seconds of the words leaving his mouth, he flopped backward on the bed, and started snoring again.

With moisture in my eyes, I heaved a shaky breath, then began pulling off his boots and socks, setting the boots beside the bed, I stuffed the socks in the tops. From there, I let him be. Removing his jeans in his state would be damn near impossible.

Finally, reaching down, I folded the side of the blanket he wasn't lying on, across his length. Then, gazing down at him, I pushed aside the hair that was half-covering his face. Afterward, bending forward, I kissed his forehead.

With one final glance at his prone body, I left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar behind me, as the sound of his snores blended with my sniffles.

For the next hour, I lay restless on the couch; wishing things could be different between us. I hadn’t wanted to leave him and go back to Oklahoma, but my mama had needed me more than he had.

~~

It was still dark outside when I sensed someone was watching me. The feeling skittered up my back and shot straight to my brain, jolting my eyes open wide. They collided with a set of dark brown ones surrounded by soft, white fur.

Emitting a soft giggle, I reached out and scratched Otis on the head, at the same time hearing a groan come from the other side of the room. Sitting up on the couch, I turned my head until I was gazing at the owner of another set of eyes, ones that were squinting against the sunlight coming in through the windows.

"Jesus," Nathan breathed, his voice hushed as if fearing anything louder slipping past his lips would make his head fall off his shoulders. Raising his hand, he rubbed at his forehead. "God, my head hurts," he groaned.

Rising, I walked in his direction, all the while peering at him as I noted the dark stubble on his chin and jaw. His hair was still sleep-tangled, as though he'd climbed from bed and came straight to the living room.

Eyes roaming over him, my heart began to trip in my chest, and the love nest between my legs came alive. However, I pushed aside the sensation, muttering, "Coffee, and aspirins."

When I came back out of the kitchen and into the living room, Nathan had disappeared. Thinking he might have gone back to bed, I made my way down the hall toward his room. Lightly pushing at the door, I hesitated to enter, in case he was sleeping.

As I peered in his direction where he sat on his bed, I noted he was sitting on its edge, his head clasped in his hands.

A small breath easing from between my lips, I took another step forward. "I've got your coffee and aspirins."

Head lifting at the sound of my voice, he gazed at me, his face confused. "It seems I'm missing a few things. Like, uh, what happened last night, and what you're doing here?" His words emerged still in that hushed tone of earlier.

I shrugged. "I don't know what went down before you kicked my door in—" I began, but Nathan interrupted me.

"I did what!?” he exclaimed. As his voice boomed around us, he winced before it seemed a light went on, illuminating a previously dark area within his memory. Moving fast for a man who only a few seconds earlier had been suffering from a horrendous headache, he was suddenly standing before me. Breath harsh, he gazed down at me. “Shit, I’m sorry.”

Words barely passed his lips, his phone began ringing, and grabbing it off the dresser, he gave the screen a swipe, carrying the phone to his ear. "Yeah?"

Silence reigned on his end for several seconds, before he quizzed, "No, it’s okay. I’ll take care of it, Tami.”

If Tami's calling wasn't a big, fat neon flashing sign, I didn't know what was. Turning, I ran from the room, grabbed my purse on the way through the living room, and continued out the front door.

As I reached my pickup, I wrenched the driver’s door open and climbed in. For two-seconds, I rested my forehead on my steering wheel, then, raising my head, I grabbed the driver’s door and slammed it shut. It would have been so easy to push Nathan back on the bed and give into what I know I wanted.

Shaking my head, I started the engine and jerked the transmission in reverse. Afterward, tossing my arm across the back of the seat, I pushed down on the gas as I tossed a glance over my shoulder.

Immediately slamming on the brakes I felt the pickup shudder to a jarring stop, as I shouted, "You, stupid-ass-motherfucker, I almost ran over your ass.”

Nathan stood several feet behind the bed of my pickup, barefoot and shirtless. Stepping around the bed, he began making his way toward the driver's door, and hit the gas again.

As I roared out of the drive, Nathan shouted my name, but ignoring him I kept barrelling backward. After my bumper scraped loudly in the dip at the end of the drive, I cranked the wheel, and pointed my pickup in the direction that would take me away from destroying both our lives. God forgive me for my filthy thoughts!