Page 7 of Frankie (Big Northwest #5)

CHAPTER SEVEN

FRANKIE

“ Y ou okay?” JD’s question was hesitant. Rightfully so, all things considered.

“I’m fine.” Fine was relative after the night—and day—she’d had.

JD glanced her way across the cab of his pickup. “They might be wrong, Frank.”

Who was he trying to reassure? Not her. She was fine. Had been her whole life. Met every bit of bullshit head on with a bad attitude and a foul mouth. This wouldn’t be any different. Except she would be doing it pretty much alone. Like everything else lately.

“I said I was fine.”

JD’s jaw clenched tight as he looked her over from where he sat behind the wheel. “Who’s going to go with you to see the specialist? ”

She shot him an annoyed look. “No one. I’m an adult. I’ll go by myself.”

That wasn’t the exact reason she’d be going alone, but whatever. Bothering her sisters over a little health issue would be a dick move. Danny had Jude and a business to take care of. Alex was busy trying to manage their finances. Charlie was probably pregnant and nobody knew it. And Sam was planning a wedding. All their plates were full. She would have to manage her own plate by herself.

“I’m going with you.” JD said it like it wasn’t up for debate.

“I don’t need you to go with me,” she spat at him.

“I didn’t say you needed me to go with you.” He slowed down and made an unexpected right turn. “I said I was going with you. Two different things.” He pulled up to the speaker at the chain coffee shop she frequented way too often. “Can I get a large, iced matcha latte?” He paused, scowling at the menu board like it had personally wronged him. “And a large black coffee.” He leaned out the window, adding on, “Nothing in it. Just black.”

Frankie huffed out a little laugh. “They’re not going to try to sneak weird shit into your coffee.”

JD pulled away from the speaker while the guy was still rattling off their order and the total. “You don’t know that.”

Frankie rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty confident the baristas don’t go around screwing with the orders of men with crazy beards. ”

The guy at the window passed her drink through first. JD handed it over before taking his boring, acrid beverage and swallowing down a scalding hot mouthful.

Frankie stared in shock, and a little bit of concern, as he repeated the process. “How are you not burning every taste bud off your tongue right now?”

JD took another swallow before answering. “Practice.” He settled the cup into the holder. “I’m good at keeping my tongue where it belongs.”

Frankie blinked in surprise at the slightly suggestive way he said the words. She was normally the one making inappropriate jokes, but never around JD. His teasing was odd and unexpected and left her completely unsure what to say next. So she didn’t say anything. She turned away and took a drink of her own, letting out a little moan as the sweet, slightly grassy flavor filled her mouth.

Matcha was an acquired taste, one she’d taken to immediately. Her sisters all hated it, leaving her the only one with an appreciation for the pale green concoction. She took another sip but froze halfway through. Swallowing the mouthful, she slowly turned to the man next to her. “How did you know this is what I get here?”

JD’s eyes refused to come her way as he answered. “You’ve damn near always got one in your hand.”

That might be true, but she also damn near always stayed the fuck away from him. “I’m starting to feel like you’ve been spying on me.” One hand absentmindedly moved to make sure her curls were arranged correctly after spending a few hours on a hospital bed getting poked and prodded. “First you knew what a bonnet was for, and now you know I like matcha.”

JD stared straight ahead, expression unbothered. “I’ve known you for over a decade, Frank. I’d have to be fucking dense not to know a thing or two about you.”

She pursed her lips, interested in the turn this conversation was taking. “What else do you know about me?”

“I know you wear the dumbest panties I’ve ever seen.” He listed that off first, disdain dripping from the words. “I know you named your little heathen dogs after demons.”

Frankie rolled her eyes. “ Everyone knows that.”

Undeterred, JD continued. “I know you’re allergic to penicillin.” His eyes came her way and he shifted in his seat. “And I know you’re… a pain in my ass.”

Frankie glanced down, following the path his eyes took before his last suggestion. He might have said she was a pain in his ass, but he for sure looked at her tits.

“You’re not going to mention that you know I have my nipples pierced?”

JD shook his head, gaze fused to the windshield. “Nope.”

The denial was hilarious. Funny enough she grinned for the next five minutes. Right until JD missed the turn to Shadow Pine.

Her eyes slid his way. “Where are we going?”

“To my house. I need to stop and get a few things. ”

“Fine.” She was at his mercy, and honestly the guy had driven her to the hospital and basically carried her around like a baby for the better part of the day, so if he needed to go grab some things from his house, she could probably allow it.

JD lived in the same house he’d grown up in. He bought it off his parents when they decided to downsize, and it was nostalgic to be going back there. Last night was the first time she’d been to the place in years, but the dark had done a pretty decent job of hiding most of it from her. Now it was the afternoon, so the first real home she’d ever known was on full view as they pulled into the driveway.

And it looked a little different.

The once white wood siding of the outside was now painted a deep, rich green. Cedar shutters accented the windows and a brick overlay had been added to the cement porch. There wasn’t much in the way of landscaping, but that wasn’t surprising. JD loved the outdoors, but preferred to enjoy it from the middle of the woods, not on his knees in a flowerbed. Just like he loved to camp, but not if he had to sleep on the ground.

JD put the truck in park and opened his door. “Be right back.”

“Not like I can go anywhere.” She meant it as a joke because even after the painkillers and anti-inflammatories the hospital gave her, moving around still wasn’t super easy.

But JD was unamused. His lips pressed into a frown as he looked her over. “Are you still in a lot of pain? ”

Frankie shifted in her seat, testing the waters. “Not really in pain. Just feeling weird.”

JD nodded, still looking troubled. “I’ll be quick.”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to rush.” Frankie tilted her seat back. “I might take a little nap since I was up all night.”

And because she didn’t have anything else to do. JD had rushed her out of the house so quickly, she didn’t bring anything with her. Not her phone. Not her wallet. Nothing. Thank goodness she’d been to that hospital before—needing a tetanus shot and stitches for a laceration—so all her information was already on file. Otherwise JD would’ve had to make the long drive back to Shadow Pine to collect her things.

She must have been more tired than she expected, because she actually managed to drift off, all but passing out as the mountain air drifted through the open windows. JD’s return had her jerking awake, sucking in a breath as both eyes flew open.

Then she saw what he was tossing into the backseat and her spine straightened. “What’s that?”

“You know what it is, Frank.”

Frankie started shaking her head. “No. No way. Absolutely not.” Having him parked beside her house in his camper had been bad enough. “You are not staying with me.”

“Would you rather go stay at the B&B with Kenneth and Jeffrey?”

It wasn’t a question, it was a challenge.

Like it or not, JD did actually know her. Pretty well obviously. Well enough to know staying with Jeffrey and Kenneth sounded like a complete fucking nightmare to her.

He tipped his head in a little nod at her silence. “That’s what I thought.”

There had to be an alternative. Being in the same house as JD was the worst-case scenario.

Unfortunately, her options were slim to none. If it was just her, she could have maybe gone to stay with Danny or even Alex. But it wasn’t just her. It was her and her three little demon dogs. And unfortunately, the only family member they liked was Winston, Sam’s bloodhound. The girls were a fucking nightmare when it came to other people, and even worse when it came to other people’s houses. One single time she’d attempted to have Danny dog sit while she took a quick trip out of town. She returned to find all three of the little monsters had refused to do their business anywhere but their own yard, gone on a complete hunger strike, and tried to bite anyone who came within a three-foot radius.

Of course, to stay with one of her sisters she would also have to fess up to why she needed to stay with someone and then deal with everyone being up her ass about it. No fucking thanks to that.

“I’ll be fine.” Frankie offered her most convincing tone. Nothing good would come of her playing slumber party homicide with JD. And that’s what I would be. She’d go all Dread Pirate Roberts and likely kill him before morning .

“We’ll see.” JD sounded unconvinced as he directed them toward Shadow Pine.

Before long, they were pulling up in front of her house and he was coming to collect her, supporting nearly all her weight as she slid out of the truck and hobbled to her front door. Most of the pain was gone, but now her joints felt almost hollow. Like putting weight on them would turn each bone to dust. It was a feeling she’d experienced before, but never quite this severe. Then again, she’d never been stuck dangling in a net for six hours before either.

“Just a few more steps.” JD punched in the code to her house and opened the door, taking her straight to the sofa. After helping her get settled, he went to let her dogs out. The process was shockingly smooth—like it had been that morning—without a single one of her girls dishing out a growl or bite.

It was disappointing as fuck.

Once everyone was back in and settled, JD came to where she sat. He handed over her phone before lowering to sit in the armchair beside her. “You want to talk about it?”

“No, I do not want to talk about it.” She opened her phone, unsurprised to find no one had called or texted. Her sisters were all busy with their own lives now. Too distracted to notice much of what she did or didn’t do. “Like the doctor said, I don’t have that rash most people get, so maybe it’s not lupus after all.”

Even saying the word made it hard to breathe. No way could she end up with an illness that might rob her of what she loved most. Fate couldn’t be that unfair.

“It’s true. You don’t have the rash.” JD’s voice was gentle as he added on, “But everything else fits.”

That was the part she didn’t want to focus on. How, while she might not have one of the more obvious symptoms, the rest of what she was experiencing fit the diagnosis almost to a tee.

“I’m sure it’s not it. I probably just overextended my joints or something.”

That was the possibility keeping her from losing her shit right now. From falling into an even deeper despair than the one she’d been fighting since her sisters fell like dominoes, knocked over by good looks and good dicking.

A familiar, shave-and-a-haircut style knock came from the door, and JD got up to let Jeffrey in, holding the door as her found father breezed in carrying two giant bags. Jeffrey’s eyes went to her immediately, his expression pinched with worry. “Oh honey, you don’t look great, do you?”

Very few people in this world could say something like that to her without being offensive, and Jeffrey was one of them.

Frankie pointed at JD. “Blame him. He picked my outfit and fixed my hair.”

Jeffrey’s brows lifted as he gave her an appraising once over. “Well in that case, you look magnificent.” Jeffrey’s critical eye moved to JD. “I’m surprised he didn’t find a flannel shirt for you to wear.”

“There’s nothing wrong with flannel.” Frankie shifted around on the couch, trying to get a little more comfortable. That was the only reason it took her a few seconds to realize she’d accidentally defended JD. And, based on the way Jeffrey was staring at her open-mouthed, she wasn’t the only one who noticed it.

Clearing his throat, JD stepped forward to take the bags Alex’s father-in-law still carried. “I’ll take those.”

“Perfect.” Jeffrey handed off the bigger of the two before following JD into the small kitchen.

She and Sam bought their houses at the same time, but while her eldest sister’s former house had a large, eat-in kitchen, her house had a galley-style set up. She didn’t necessarily enjoy cooking, so a space like Sam’s would have been wasted. She’d made better use of her square footage by choosing a three-bedroom layout instead of the two Sam’s house sported. One for her, one for the girls, and one she used as an office. With the way her logging company had grown over the years, being able to occasionally work from the comfort of her own home was well worth the sacrifice of cabinet space.

Her ears pricked as she heard her name said in the kitchen. No doubt Jeffrey was trying to pump JD for information. To her surprise, he didn’t offer any, sending the older man out to talk to her.

“That one won’t tell me anything.” Jeffrey thumbed over one shoulder as he came to sit next to her on the sofa. “What did they say at the hospital?”

Frankie took a deep breath, hating what she was about to do. “They said I probably just stressed my joints since I was stuck in a weird position for so long.”

If JD had any opinions about her blatant lie, his face didn’t show it. His expression remained impassive and unreadable as Jeffrey let out a relieved sigh.

“I’m so glad. I was worried when Kenneth came in and said JD had carried you out of the woods this morning.” Jeffrey’s hand went to rest in the center of his chest. “I was afraid something terrible must have happened, and I’ve been just sick worrying about you.”

Frankie gave him as bright of a smile as she could muster up. “Nothing to worry about. They said I should feel fine in a couple of days.”

Or something like that.

“Thank goodness.” Jeffrey reached out to squeeze her hand. “I’ll talk to Kenneth and we’ll make sure you get your rest time in.” He pointed to the kitchen. “I brought some soup and some homemade biscuits, a tray of lasagna, and some breakfast burritos.” He paused, lips pursing as he thought. “And potatoes.”

Her smile grew more genuine. “Maybe I should get stuck in a net more often.”

“Don’t you dare.” Jeffrey continued holding her hand tight as he turned to JD. “You and Kenneth need to get out there and put up some sort of alert system so we know immediately when those traps go off.”

JD nodded. “He’s already ordered what we need from McKinley Security Systems.”

She wasn’t surprised to discover Kenneth already had the ball rolling. He and Jeffrey had always wanted more children and hadn’t missed a beat claiming her and her sisters as their own. It was...

Weird.

Not bad, weird. Just strange, weird.

“I better get going. I need to make sure everything is running okay at the café in the bakery, and I’m sure you’re ready for some peace and quiet.” Jeffrey leaned closer, holding her eyes. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“No.” Frankie shook her head. “I really appreciate all the food though.”

“Any time, honey.” Jeffrey gave her cheek a little pat before standing and leaving the same way he came in. The man was both a breath of fresh air and a ball of energy. His presence was palpable, and she loved it, but sometimes it could be a lot.

Not today though. He’d breezed in and out before she could get twitchy.

JD turned to the kitchen. “Lasagna or soup?”

“Neither.” She wiggled her toes, preparing to stand.

“That wasn’t an option, Frank. You need to eat. You haven’t had anything all day.” JD seemed to realize what she was planning, and he quickly came her way. “What the hell are you doing now?”

“For your information, I have to take a shit, and I would really love to go to the bathroom before I even think about eating.” She tried to get upright, but that weird crumbly feeling in her bones persisted, making them feel like they’d disintegrate under her weight.

“Fine.” JD helped her up, not batting an eye at her mention of bodily functions. “First we shit. Then we eat.”