note of the mess. She couldn’t cook in this chaos; she could barely find a clear spot where she could put the pie down.
She tried to resist it, but as she started straightening up, her compulsive side took over. It was part of her nature. She cleared clutter and bounced back and forth between that and putting a pot of meat sauce on the stove to go with some pasta she found in a cupboard.
As she worked, the phone rang twice—two women left syrupy messages for Brody, then a third female caller left one that was rather X-rated.
Hannah huffed a laugh. She wasn’t completely surprised. Brody’s reputation as a ladies’ man—and that was the polite term for it—was quite well established when she met him. It was part of what attracted her to him, actually. He was wild, different and very, very experienced.
She’d wanted to be with someone like that to create a few memories she could carry into old age once she settled down. She hadn’t been disappointed. When they’d been together, she and Brody were exclusive, even though he’d had offers rolling in steadily, and Hannah had been the recipient of many bitter female glares. Not unlike the one she’d received from J-e-n-n-a.
After a while, the place was looking better, homier, and the sauce smelled amazing. Hannah felt much calmer. She was looking forward to her dinner in the now-tidy kitchen when someone walked in the back door.
It definitely wasn’t Brody. Instead, a slim, petite honey-blonde stood gaping at Hannah.
Wow, this one had nerve, waltzing right in.
“Can I help you?” Hannah said, offering a cool glance that she hoped cautioned the woman about entering any farther.
“Yeah, is my brother here? I need to talk to him.”
“Brody... Um, no, he isn’t here. He left this morning, hasn’t been back. I don’t know where he went.”
The woman regarded Hannah with open suspicion.
“Who are you, then, and what are you doing cooking dinner if he’s not here or coming home soon?”
“We had an argument, and he took off. I’m waiting him out,” Hannah answered matter-of-factly. “But I needed to eat in the meanwhile. And the place was a mess, so I cleaned up a bit.”
“Okay. That’s either really admirable or really scary.”
Hannah realized that she sounded like a stalker.
“I’m sorry,” she said, rushing to explain. “I’m a friend. Brody and I know each other through Reece Winston and his wife, Abby? I’m Abby’s best friend. I don’t know if you know—”
“I do. I know Reece pretty well, though I only met Abby once.”
“Brody and I spent some time together last year, at the track, and I was in the area, so—”
The other woman’s eyes suddenly widened. “Oh, wait, you’re Hannah? The Hannah?”
“I guess. Is there more than one?”
“Could be. Anyway, I’m Brandi.”
“Nice to meet you. So...Brody mentioned me?”
Hannah felt silly asking, but the words slipped out before she could stop them.
Brandi’s lips twitched as she looped her thumbs in her jeans. “Oh, you could say that. When he was under the influence of the drugs they gave him at the hospital when he fell off the horse, you were a very frequent topic. But I won’t share details since he wouldn’t have, either, except that he was pretty out of it.”
Hannah’s jaw dropped, her face heating as she tried not to imagine what Brody might have said about her. After a few seconds, she saw the humor in it and started to laugh. Brandi joined in.
Soon, a more serious thought occurred to her. “Can I ask, is everything okay with Brody? He didn’t seem like himself.”
“I agree. He hasn’t wanted to talk about much since he retired from the circuit. He just sort of sticks around here and works on the ranch, but doesn’t say anything about what he’s doing next. Believe me, we’ve tried, but it’s like poking a bear most of the time. Our parents think he just needs time and space to adjust, but I’m not sure.”
Hannah nodded. “I was surprised to hear about his accident, though he seems to be recovering. Still, he does seem...off.”
“He is. Anyway, I’m sorry I thought you were another, well, you know...”
“Oh, I know. Believe me. There was someone here this morning, then that pie was dropped off by another young woman, and a few phone messages since... I thought you were, um, a female friend, as well.”
Brandi rolled her eyes. “It’s as though they come out of the walls. You’d think they would lose interest since he retired, but it’s been even worse. I guess they all want to be the one who finally snags him. The one who brings Wild Brody Palmer to heel. It didn’t help that one of the reporters let leak something about him wanting to settle down.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”
Brandi grinned. “Believe me, if there’s anyone less likely to settle down on this earth, it’s Brody. I don’t even know why he retired. At first we were glad. It was getting hard on my parents, watching him take his life in his hands every day. Whenever there’s a crash, we all hold our breath, you know?”
Hannah did know. Being at the track was exciting, but it had also been frightening, watching what he did for a living.
“But he’s not happy, especially since his accident,” Brandi added with a sigh. “Maybe you’ll have better luck at getting him to say what’s been bothering him.”
“It is hard to imagine him no longer racing. Didn’t he and Reece talk about owning their own car, having their own driver?”
Brandi shrugged. “Maybe, but Reece has settled into the winery, and Brody’s never been one to sit back and watch.”
That sounded exactly like Brody, and it made Hannah wonder, too: Why had he retired? He’d never talked about it when they were together, except to say “in the future” or “in time.” Retirement had been forced on Reece because of a horrific accident on the track. That hadn’t been the case for Brody.
Unless there was something none of them knew. Was he keeping a secret? Was he sick? Worse?
Hannah’s mind reeled with new, awful possibilities. Something so serious that he wouldn’t want to tell his family or friends? And that was why he was so surly?
“Anyway, whatever you have on the stove there smells great.”
“Thanks. Just some sauce and pasta,” Hannah responded, still distracted—and even more worried—by her dire thoughts. “Would you like some?”
“It’s nice of you to offer—Brody said you were nice—but I have to get home to my son. I’ll catch up with Brody tomorrow. Good to have met you, Hannah.”
“Same here.”
