Free The Secrets of Rosa Lee by Jodi Thomas Page B

hit her mouth with the toothbrush.
    By the time they finished, Randi and he were both laughing so hard, Micah couldn’t catch his breath. They collapsed on a worn couch in the small cluttered living room.
    â€œYou think you had a problem with Ada May.” Randi slugged him with one of the dozen pillows surrounding them. “You should have tried to get Beth Ann’s support hose off.”
    Micah surrendered. “You win. I haven’t put a drunk to bed since my college days, and if I don’t do it again in this lifetime it will be too soon.” He stood and offered his hand to help her up. They walked out the front door and onto an equally cluttered porch.
    Two lawn chairs had been pushed close with a TV tray table in between them. An old, handmade backgammon board rested open on the table. Randi picked up a piece of the game. “Ada May told me tonight that the last thing they do every night is play one game. Whoever loses has to turn out the lights. Sometimes they argue over who won.” Randi stared at Micah. “On those nights, the lights stay on till morning.”
    She tossed the chip to him. He placed it back on theboard. “Stubborn women,” he said more to himself than her.
    â€œThat’s why it surprises me they were so shaken by what happened today.”
    He had no answer. For a few minutes they both watched a car pass down the rain-swollen street.
    Randi took a long breath. “I love the rain.” She held her hand out to touch a tiny waterfall sliding off the roof.
    Micah raised his hand, almost touching her hair. Moisture sparkled in it like silver glitter.
    She glanced at him with eyes the green of a dense forest. “What?”
    â€œYour hair gets even curlier when it’s damp.” He hadn’t meant to touch it, but the mass was so beautiful, all shiny with red and brown highlights. He let the tips of his fingers brush one curl.
    â€œIt’s natural.” She winked. “All over.”
    Micah turned his face to the rain. She’d done it again, he thought. Treating him like just any person—like just any man. It felt good and frightening at the same time. Since he’d buried Amy, he thought of himself as a father, a minister, a friend. He’d set all other definitions aside. Now, to be accepted for being nothing more than simply human overwhelmed him. He felt free somehow.
    Randi elbowed him. “How about I clean up their place a little? No one wants to wake up with a hangover and have to face all the empty bottles sitting around.”
    â€œI’ll help.”
    â€œNo way.” She spread her hand out across his chest stopping him from following her. “I think you should find a hose and wash out your car before you take me home. It’s too far a drive to hold my breath.”
    Micah glanced out in the rain. “I’ll get wet.”
    â€œI’m not riding back with that smell.”
    â€œI’ll get wet,” he repeated.
    Randi patted his shoulder. “You’ll dry.” Then, without warning, she shoved him into the rain.
    Micah stumbled off the porch, laughing. He told himself he wasn’t attracted to her or any woman, but it felt great to have someone touch him. Just touch him. Not friendly handshakes or polite hugs, but an honest touch.
    He dug around in the flower beds until he found the garden hose rolled up neatly beside a rosebush. He did his best to avoid stepping on any of the rosebushes. Everyone in town knew how the sisters loved their roses.
    Turning the water on full force, he dragged the hose to his car and pulled out the mats. He hardly noticed the rain. He couldn’t remember how long it had been since he’d been so alive. Maybe it was the excitement of this morning, or the way Randi talked to him, or maybe it was just time to start living again. He didn’t know. He didn’t care. It just felt good.
    By the time he got the hose rolled back up in the mud beside