by J. M. Madden
Nodding, Hope lifted her arms into the nightgown. Her skin was still a little damp, so the fabric stuck a little, but they got it.
Paul was still in the kitchen, hand wrapped around the ice bag. He smiled when they entered. “Well, you certainly smell better,” he told Hope, sniffing the air.
Giggling, Hope ran at him and flung her arms around his neck. Paul winced, but he didn’t let her see. “Are you ready for bed, sprite?”
Hope burrowed into his shoulder. “I don’t know if I want to stay in my room tonight. Can we sleep in the living room? Sophie and I?”
Paul pushed her back a little with the prosthetic. “If you feel you need to, but I don’t think you do. We have more police officers in the area tonight, and your window is wedged shut and locked. I have a guy coming tomorrow to install a new camera on your window. I believe you’ll be safe.”
“But they haven’t found him,” she whispered.
Jess wasn’t going to step in, but if Hope wanted to sleep with her she wouldn’t argue. She wasn’t sure she wanted to sleep with the dog, though…
“Hope,” Paul said, voice low. “Do you have any idea why Viktor would be looking for you, if it was him?”
Hope cocked her head to the side. “He probably wanted to know where Mom put the money. I don’t think he really wanted me.”
Jess looked at the little girl. “Do you know where your Mom’s money is, baby?”
Face scrunching up, she shook her head. “Not exactly. I know we left it at a bus store.”
Bus store. “A bus depot?”
“Is that what they’re called? People get on buses there.”
“Yup,” Paul said. “It’s like an airport for buses. You think that’s where she put the money?”
Hope nodded. “And she got an orange key. I haven’t seen it for a long time, though. Maybe we lost it in the crash.”
“Maybe,” Paul said softly.
Hope slept with her that night, as well as the next two nights. Jess didn’t mind. She was recovering from a shock, and they could be flexible. Besides, the kid was a warm bundle to curl up behind when the AC got too cold.
14
Knowing that he had to bite the bullet, Paul went out into the garage. There had been a box of Tara’s stuff handed over to him when he’d gathered Hope and the few belongings she’d had with her. As soon as he’d realized it was her stuff, he’d closed the lid and thrown it in the trunk. At the time, he’d debated throwing it away completely, but he hadn’t.
Cursing as his hand slipped off the corner of a box, jarring it, Paul debated the wisdom of being out here. If he hurt himself on her shit…
Then he found the box. It was against the wall of the garage, underneath a couple of nylon yard chairs. Propping one of the chairs open, he sank down into it to go through the box.
Swallowing back the anger, he popped open the cardboard flaps. If there was anything he could keep for Hope, he would, but this was as good of a time as any to decide what needed pitched and what needed kept.
There were a lot of clothes in here. Shorts and t-shirts. A few things he recognized. Hope wouldn’t need any of those things, so he made a trash pile to his left. There was a purse in the bottom corner. It was narrow and kind of square. He upended it into the box, dumping out everything inside, then he looked for closed pockets. Everything had been open when he dumped it. Setting the purse aside, he started going through the junk.
There was a pill bottle with the label torn off. Had it been hers or stolen? He had no way of knowing. It rattled with a few pills, but he didn’t open the lid to see what was inside. It didn’t matter now. Her wallet was a ragged thing. There were a few cards inside, but he doubted she had any money on them. In the zipper part of the wallet there were a few hundred dollars in cash. He set that aside to ask the detective about.
Then he found the key. Like Hope said, it had an orange plastic head, and a metal tag hanging from it. There were numbers on the tag, but no name, so he had no idea what depot it came from. Again, he would leave that to the detective to figure out.
Paul went through the rest of the stuff, but nothing else seemed worth keeping. And if Hope hadn’t mentioned it or asked for it by now, she’d probably forgotten about this stuff anyway.
Pocketing the key, he headed inside.
The next day, Paul went back to work. He hated to go back, but he needed to.
He needed to do a lot of things. Top of the list was to stop mooning over the help. This morning the two of them had entered the kitchen, and Hope had been laughing. Jessamy Swan had come into their lives at the perfect time, and he would be forever grateful to Erin for suggesting he contact the Helping Hands, Healing Hearts company.
Jess took care of Hope better than anyone ever had, and Hope was flourishing, though she still had worries about Viktor coming in at night.
He called Detective Elkhorn and repeated what Hope had told them. Elkhorn was interested enough to send a car over to pick up the key, but he didn’t make any promises. Paul assumed it would be entered into evidence and forgotten about.
There had been no sign of the tall burglar anywhere, and Elkhorn didn’t expect there to be. He’d apparently gone into hiding, waiting for his next opportunity to approach or attack them. It was worrisome. Paul hung up from the detective feeling more on edge than before. When the police officer arrived, he handed over the key and answered all the man’s questions.
It seemed like he’d been at the hospital days rather than hours by the time he finally went home. He just wanted to relax. Heading to his bedroom, he changed into shorts and a t-shirt, shucking the khakis and button-down shirt. Then he headed out to the patio, ice bag in his hand.
The bruising had finally begun to fade. The knuckles were still damn sore, but he’d gotten used to that. The stitches in his forehead were bothering him the most right now. And his damn ribs. He was pushing forty, and his body didn’t heal the way it used to.
“I know it’s early, but do you want me to take those out? You’ve already gotten three of them out.”
Paul looked at Jess sitting across from him, and shrugged a little sheepishly. Obviously she’d seen him trying to brush the stitches away. “I think I scratch them in the night. I’m not used to anything on my forehead.”
He ran his healing hand over his hair. As soon as he could, he would go in for a cut, as well. “Yeah, if you don’t mind, I would love to get them out.”
She nodded once and padded into the house. When she returned, she had a few paper towels in her hand, as well as a tube of all-purpose ointment and orange-handled scissors. They were little tiny scissors, but had very sharp tips. Jess set the items on the patio table, then moved close.
Paul swallowed. Maybe he hadn’t thought this out very well. Today Jess wore a teal tank top with ragged jean shorts. He’d gotten used to her attire, but was very careful about his proximity to her. The woman was stunning, but he didn’t want her to feel compromised in any way. She was too valuable to him for a quick roll in the hay.
That need had been pressing on him, though. They’d been getting close before the Viktor incident had derailed everything.
Grinning wickedly, Jess motioned for him to sit up straight, then, with one of her legs on either side of his left knee, she leaned close. “Tilt your head down.”
Paul did as he was told, tipping his head so that she could reach the stitches better. It put her long, tanned legs directly in his line of sight. She’d painted her toenails a shade of aqua blue, lighter than her tank top, and there was a tiny silver toe ring on the second toe of her right foot. It was so damn sexy. The urge to run his hand down her sleek thigh was so strong, he had to clench his sore hand on the arm of the chair.
“This one is a little deeper,” she murmured. “Sorry if I hurt you.”
There was a tug in his skin. It did hurt a little, but not too bad. She shuffled forward a little and bumped his toes. Instinctively, he reached out to steady her, holding her hips. He glanced at the rig
ht hand to make sure he hadn’t gripped her too tight. His precision was a little iffy when he tried to move fast, but it seemed okay.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
Paul took that as permission to continue holding her.
“One more,” she whispered.
There was another tug, but it was light. Setting the scissors down, she used one of the damp paper towels to blot at the skin. “It didn’t even really bleed… let me put some ointment on it.”
Her fingertip stroked gently down his forehead, and he closed his eyes. Just that tiny brush of skin was enough for him to close his eyes to relish the feeling. Rather than stepping away as he expected, she ran her fingers through his hair.
Paul was shocked. He looked at her, and she grinned. “I’ve been wanting to muss your hair for a while,” she admitted.
He flexed his hands on her hips, unable to help himself, and he gave her a grin. “Anytime you want to muss my hair, you go ahead.”
Her lips quirked to the side, and she ran her hands down his cheeks and across his jaw. Then she used her fingernails on the stubble, rasping her thumbs back and forth. One of her fingers brushed across his lips, and her gaze focused there. Then she leaned in…
“Are you gonna do the sex stuff?”
Paul jerked in the chair, but Jess moved away more slowly. Hope stood directly behind Jess, grinning devilishly. The little shit had sneaked up on them deliberately.
Jess turned to look at Hope. “Your dad and I are just getting to know each other better. It’s not very nice coming up behind us like that.”
Some of her enjoyment dimmed. “I’m sorry. I thought it was funny.”
“Why don’t you go in and get cleaned up before we go to the vet?”
“Okay.”
Paul watched Hope trudge into the house, Sophie hobbling along behind her. “The appointment isn’t for another hour,” he murmured.
Jess turned, giving him a coy smile. “I know, but I felt like we were leading up to a kiss, and she needed a distraction.”
With a pointed look, she leaned in to him again. Just before their lips touched, a mere hairsbreadth apart, she hesitated, as if checking to see if he would stop her. Paul had no intentions of stopping her. Instead, he cupped her head in his hand and sealed their mouths together.
He’d wanted to taste her for the past week. Yeah, she’d aggravated him at first, but the aggravation had changed to intrigue. And the intrigue had changed to need. Paul knew he had a limited amount of time with her. She had a prior engagement planned for two weeks from now — she’d already told him that — and he had yet to even look at the suggestions his assistant had given him for a full-time nanny.
All that worry fell away as he tasted her for the second time. As beautiful as she was, she’d probably had many lovers, but she kissed with a gentle curiosity. Back and forth her mouth moved. And he didn’t want to stop. Uncaring that Hope could surprise them again any moment, Paul took the time to savor her.
At any time, she could have pulled back, but she continued to explore and allowed herself to be explored.
For Paul, the kiss shook him to the core. It had been so long since he’d been with a woman. Especially a woman that… he didn’t allow himself to finish the thought. Jess wasn’t staying, he reminded himself.
There was no one to say that they couldn’t enjoy themselves while she was here, though. She’d proven that his amputation didn’t bother her, and the longer he was with her the more he enjoyed her. Jess was well-traveled and level-headed. And her easy, casual look had grown on him. Actually, it enticed him. That was part of the problem. Those gauzy, shifty dresses and the short shorts.
Apparently, he wasn’t the only one that needed more. Spreading her sleek thighs, Jess settled across his lap, close to where he needed to be, but not quite. He’d gone hard as soon as she’d started kissing him, and her proximity was making it worse.
It made it easier to kiss the hell out of her, though, now that she was on his level. With his good hand, he pulled her hips closer to where he needed her to be, then ran his hand up her lean back to cup her head again. He tried not to abrade her skin with his beard, but he knew he was enthusiastic.
Her taste, her scent, was intoxicating, and he didn’t want to let her go.
Eventually, she pulled back a little. Because they were on the same level, now, the eye contact was fierce as she gave him a lopsided smile. “Your daughter is going to interrupt us any second now, and I would prefer she not see us together like this. It’s already going to be hard to leave, and I don’t want her to get her hopes up that I’m going to stay.”
That was like a splash of cold water to the balls. He drew in a breath, and hoped she didn’t see how shaky it was. Her words were a reminder to him, as well. “You’re right, of course.”
Giving her his hand, he helped her off his lap, then stood up behind her. She was watching him, her gaze weighing. “I can’t stay, Paul.”
Anger sparked in him. “I didn’t ask you to.”
Jess was feeling salty as she walked into the house. She’d thought that by laying it out like that, there would be no confusion, but hearing herself say the words was hard. She had no problem finding men to sleep with, and mostly, she was successful at leaving. There was a desperation when she kissed Paul, though, and she wasn’t sure what was sparking it.
Had she thrown that cautionary remark out to remind herself she was leaving as well? Possibly. There was an interesting mix of emotions in her gut right now. Leg-shaking desire for him was top of the list, then anxiety at possibly being caught by Hope and trying to explain that no, she wasn’t trying to take her mother’s place. Then there was excitement at what could happen between her and Paul, and sadness, because she knew she wouldn’t stay.
It had been a crazy half-hour, but she didn’t regret it. She was already looking forward to more alone time.
They walked down the hallway together.
Hope was in her room, brushing Sophie’s hair with a baby doll brush. The dog was looking a little shaggy. They probably needed to get her into a groomer. After her leg was better.
“She loves it when you brush her hair.”
“Most girls do,” Jess told her, and Hope nodded.
“Mom used to brush my hair sometimes, when she thought about it and she wasn’t taking the pills.”
“My mom used to brush mine, too. When she remembered me over the other kids.”
“You have brothers and sisters?” Hope looked up, her eyes wide.
“I do,” Jess said softly. “Four brothers and two sisters.”
Hope’s eyes went wide, and her mouth dropped open. “All in your family?”
Grinning, Jess nodded. “And I was the oldest.”
Her mouth forming an O, Hope shook her head. “You were so lucky,” she sighed.
Yes, she supposed she was, though it hadn’t felt like it at the time. All she noticed at the time was how many diapers she’d changed that day, or how many fights she’d broken up. Yes, she loved her brothers and sisters, of course, but the responsibility of caring for them fell on her shoulders. Mom took care of whoever was the baby at the time and Jessamy would have to run herd on the rest of them. Til Kimmie, her sister, got big enough to start helping.
Hope was quiet for a minute, then she glanced up at Jess. “I know my mom was doing bad stuff, but I loved her.”
Jess went to her knees beside the little girl, then sat flat. “I know you did, honey. And there’s nothing wrong with that. When people get addicted to drugs like that, there’s nothing you can do about it. And you have to realize that underneath the drug stuff, it’s still the person you loved. Sometimes they can’t help but be addicted.”
Hope’s lips twisted. “Isn’t there medicine you can give them?”
Jess sighed. “Well, sometimes. They usually have to go to a hospital to get help. And maybe your mom worried that if she did that, she would lose you.”
That lightened Hope’s gaze for a minute,
and she nodded, smiling. “Yes, that’s what I want to think.”
Jess smiled at her crookedly and tapped the end of her nose. “Let’s get Ms. Sophie looked at, m’dear.”
Hope giggled, as she’d wanted her to do, and they got up. Hope carried Sophie down the hall to Paul’s office.
“We’re going to Dr. Butcher’s. Did you want to go with us?”
Paul looked up from his computer, then looked at Jess. “Do you have room?”
“Of course,” she replied quickly, surprised that he wanted to go.
“We can take my truck if you’d prefer,” he said, but she shook her head.
“No, but thank you. Her seat is already in the Jeep. I’m ready when you are.”
They trooped out to the car and Paul didn’t seem to mind getting in the passenger seat. That was one thing that really impressed her about him. Obviously, he was a strong, imposing man, but he didn’t feel the need to flaunt how masculine he was. She’d been with men before that flat out refused to allow a woman to drive them.
They hadn’t lasted long, she thought with an internal snort.
Jess strapped Hope into her booster seat and put Sophie onto her lap. “Hold onto her tight and I’ll put the roof back.”
Hope nodded eagerly, so Jess moved around, unlatching and un-Velcroing the top to fold it back. Then she climbed in, grinning. She retrieved a blue scrunchy from the gearshift and pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
“I love California weather, exactly for this reason.”
She backed out of the drive and took off down the road. As the wind swirled their hair, Hope giggled. Even Paul had a wide smile on his face as he braced his prosthetic on the window ledge. He’d retrieved wraparound sunglasses from the truck, and he looked intimidating as hell, not to mention sexy.
Jess jerked her eyes back to the road, but it was hard. Kissing Paul was unlike anything she’d ever done before, and she didn’t exactly understand why. Actually, it was like basking in the California sun; warm and luscious, and not necessarily good for you. But you couldn’t help yourself.
