Whispers and Wishes (Untouchable Book 4)

by Heather Long

  “I don’t mind delivering it, Mr. Archie, then I can say I have actually seen you and you are fine when asked.”

  I laughed, “Fair enough.”

  “Do you think Miss Frankie would enjoy the beef roast, or would she prefer something more comforting? Like the chicken and dumplings?”

  Frankie liked food. “She’ll love anything you make, you know that. But, the roast and the potatoes are one of her favorites.”

  “Then I’ll get that in the oven. It should be ready in ninety minutes or so. The potatoes are just about there. I’ll have a pot of chicken and dumplings ready for the weekend. I’ve also fixed up the room attached to yours if she changes her mind. If you’ll make me a list of supplies the cats would need, I can get those set up as well.”

  “You’re the best, Jeremy.”

  “I try, Mr. Archie.”

  “Any word from Muriel?” She’d gone off on a shopping weekend or something right before Homecoming. Honestly, I didn’t remember where she’d been going, only that she’d been leaving and I was glad to have her out of my hair.

  “I have heard from her, yes. She is taking time at a spa retreat in Arizona. I believe her itinerary will have her there for at least a week. I have the number should you require contacting her, but…” He didn’t need to finish that sentence.

  I hadn’t needed to contact Muriel in a long time. “Great. What about Wittaker? Has he called?”

  “No, I have a call to him scheduled for three this afternoon. Would you like me to move it up?”

  “Three’s great, Jeremy.” I scrubbed a hand over my face and grimaced at the stubble. I hadn’t shaved in two days, and it was going to start stinging her face if I wasn’t careful. Not that we were making out. She’d been too bruised and battered for that. Cuddling, however, had been high on the list.

  “Very good. I’ll be over with lunch and your bag at twelve-thirty. If you could gather your things for washing and anything of Miss Frankie’s as well, I’ll get it laundered and returned.”

  “You really are the best.”

  “Just doing my part to make it easier for her. If you require anything else, let me know.”

  “Will do.”

  Then we were off the phone, and I checked my messages. Some from Coop, mostly just check-ins. Thankfully, email meant we could get most of our assignments directly from the teachers, not that I’d even looked at mine since we got her home from the hospital.

  Opening it now, I headed into the kitchen. There was still coffee in the bottom of the pot, so I just poured it into a mug and stuck it in the microwave.

  Coop had done dishes before school, and Jake took the trash out. I had dish duty for after dinner tonight. Funnily enough, it didn’t look hard, but I could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I’d had to do “chores.” Spoiled?

  Yeah, probably.

  I scrolled through my school mail. Most of this stuff was just reading and a couple of assignments. I’d have to make up a pair of tests, too. No biggie.

  The government test Frankie and I could study for together, but not like it was hard. Coffee ready, I pulled it out and sipped. Reheated it wasn’t too bad. There were notifications in my email for Instagram tags. Tabbing out, I switched apps and opened Instagram.

  Homecoming pics were everywhere. Lots of them had us tagged. Anger swarmed through me, stinging like I’d kicked over an angry hornet’s nest, or maybe the pictures had. There were a few where we were all out there dancing together, Frankie had this great smile on her face.

  The first three were only a few minutes before she left to use the restroom. A few minutes before the rest of the night went sideways. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around it. One minute, we were dancing and having fun, the next, she was just gone.

  Those had been the longest five minutes of my life.

  I didn’t want to even think about how long it had been for her, or how long he’d had her before we realized she was gone. Moving to the sofa in the living room, I sat down and just scrolled through the pics.

  Frankie and Rachel.

  Frankie and Rachel’s girl with Rachel. I had no idea what that chick’s name was, and at the moment, I didn’t care.

  Frankie dancing with Coop. Another where it was the two of us. I wanted that pic. I screenshot it and saved it to my album with her. For a moment, I flipped through those pics. The most recent ones were from when we were getting ready and then mugging it up at the beginning. Fuck, I’d been having a good time. I was sorry Bubba screwed shit up, but I was damn glad it was all of us getting to be there and hang out, and we weren’t stepping on anyone’s date.

  Sighing, I went back to Instagram. After…after we found her, and after Bubba knocked Mitch out. It had all gone a little crazy. I was still blurry on some of it. My head hurt, and my stomach had been rebelling. It wasn’t until we hit the hospital and Frankie was so out of it, I even thought about the water she’d come back to the table with.

  Water she’d nearly drained and I’d had some, though it had been warm, and I figured that was where the funny taste had come from. At least they’d been able to test me to figure out what had been done to her. That helped.

  Not much.

  In between the blurrier moments though, one thing that stood out was the fact that Homecoming was still happening. The music still played. People still danced. Kids were having fun.

  And we were putting Frankie in an ambulance, and Coop hopped in to go with her.

  Fuck me, there were pics of her on the gurney and others of Mitch being put in one with the cops there. The comments on Mitch’s made my stomach roll.

  Feel better soon!

  OMG What happened?

  We’re with you Mitch!

  Was there a fight?

  Was there a fight? We’re with you? There were so many more of the same. Fuck all of them. Did they not know what he did? They were with him? I hated every one of these jackasses. I hovered my thumb over the one of Frankie on the gurney, it had comments, too. A lot of them.

  Five bucks said they’d tagged her. Currently, her phone was off, and we’d kept it that way unless she wanted it for something. The well-meaning text messages got out of hand at the hospital, and after we got her home, we just shut it off.

  Fuck it, I downed a mouthful of the coffee and clicked the picture.

  What happened?

  Is that Frankie?

  Was there an accident?

  Is she drunk?

  Heard she attacked Mitch.

  Pain pulsed behind my right eye, then I caught the reply to that last one.

  Then get your hearing checked or your sources. Jockstrap attacked her. Now shut the fuck up.

  Rachel.

  I hearted that comment.

  She was all over the comments, too. Where they were nice or asking questions, she left them alone. But the stupid ones? Damn.

  Her blistering tone left my skin chapped.

  I was glad she was on our side. Well, Frankie’s anyway…

  Leaving that picture, I scrolled some more, then switched apps again. The more I looked, the more tired I became. The squeak of the door and Tiddles bounding out of the hallway had me standing. The bathroom door closed, and I blew out a breath. Sweeping the living room with a glance, I made sure there weren’t any messes. We’d been trying to pick up after ourselves, especially after coming home to the mess of mum building.

  Jake had offered to get rid of her mum from her room if she didn’t want it to bother her. But the reproachful look she gave us had us all raising our hands. Do not touch her mum.

  Got it.

  A part of me was oddly grateful she still wanted it. The door to the bathroom opened, and I picked up my coffee cup so I didn’t look like a dork just standing there waiting for her to come out. She might go back to bed or she…

  She shuffled around the corner and gave me a faint, but genuine smile. Apparently, she’d taken the time to comb her hair while in the bathroom. The bruise on her face looked be
tter, and I used that term judiciously. The swelling had gone down, and it was more a mottled green and blue rather than angry black and purple.

  The bruise on her back actually pissed me off more, but don’t think about it.

  “Hey,” she said, and I grinned at her.

  “Hey, Sleeping Beauty, get tired of napping the day away?”

  She snorted and shuffle stepped over to me, and I put the coffee cup down to wrap her up in a hug. This I could totally do. Face tucked against my shoulder, she let out a little sigh. With care, I rubbed her shoulders gently. The tank top and sleep shorts were thin enough, if I glanced down, I could make out the dark bruise still on her back. Better to not set it off.

  “I can’t believe I slept this late,” she murmured.

  Rubbing my cheek against her hair, I smiled. “If it makes you feel any better, I only got up about fifteen—no, twenty minutes ago.”

  “You got up earlier, too, when the guys were getting ready for school.” So had she, but I didn’t call her on it. She’d been disappointed they got to go and she didn’t. Frankie loved learning and hated being behind more than anything. I didn’t think we’d have much luck getting her to take it easy after this week.

  “True,” I admitted. “Then I promptly snuggled up to the prettiest girl in the world and went back to sleep.”

  Her laugh lifted me a little higher, and I leaned away to glance down at her.

  “Hey, why don’t you throw on a hat and a hoodie, and I’ll run us out to get expensive coffee? Jeremy is bringing us lunch in a little bit.”

  She bit her lip, then winced. There was still a small, if healing cut that she’d been worrying at. Another nail I’d like to drive into Mitch’s coffin. “Sure you want to be seen out with me? People might get the wrong idea.”

  Yeah, I didn’t give a fuck about what other people thought. “Babe, I’d be your arm candy any day of the week. We all know I’m the good looking one in this relationship.”

  “Oh my god,” she groaned, and rolled her eyes, but I counted a win when she laughed and smacked my shoulder. “Ass.”

  “Sometimes,” I agreed. She ran her fingers through her hair and then studied me.

  “You sure it will be all right?”

  “We can do whatever you want,” I promised. “If you don’t want to go, I can ask Jere to stop on his way. He’d love to do it.”

  “He’s already bringing us lunch,” she argued, just like I knew she would. “He’s gone out of his way the last couple of days to bring stuff over here.” She wasn’t wrong. He’d sent food, as had Alicia and Carly – Jake’s and Coop’s moms respectively.

  “He likes doing it,” I reminded her. “If Jeremy could spoil you every day, he would. Just like me. Good thing you’re not into older guys, or I might have to worry.”

  That got me another hit and second set of rolled eyes. Oh, I was scoring big today. “Just for that,” she told me, “I’ll give you my freebie list after we get coffee.”

  Oh, someone was getting feisty. Wait… “You have a freebie list?”

  “I do now,” she told me, then tapped my chest. “I’ll go grab a hoodie. Should I put on real clothes?”

  I glanced down at her long, lean bare legs. “You look great. We’re not getting out of the car unless you want to go someplace else.”

  Fuck, I’d take her anywhere she wanted to go. I’d take her to mini-golf if she wanted it.

  “Okay.” She made it three steps away, then turned around and came back.

  “Problem?”

  “No, I just…” She rose on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to mine. It was a quick, blink and you’ll miss it kiss, but I savored every nanosecond of it. “Forgot to say good morning.”

  “Morning, babe,” I answered, and she gave me another little smile before she padded back toward her room.

  Ten minutes later, she leaned back in the passenger seat next to me as I pulled out of the apartments. Not only did she have on a hoodie over her tank top and a baseball cap that I was pretty sure had to have belonged to Coop at some point, but she’d also put on sunglasses. It was a decent enough day out, not too hot and not too chilly, so when I offered to roll down the windows, she’d given me a thumbs up.

  As soon as we had our coffees, I studied her profile. “You want to head back, or you want to take this nice day out for a spin?”

  Frankie cut a look toward me. “Isn’t Jeremy coming over?”

  “Yep,” I said, but then tapped the time on the dash. “We have an hour, maybe a little longer. Time for at least taking a loop around the lake. Music, coffee, my girl, and me?”

  The corner of her mouth kicked up. “That sounds really nice.”

  “Then tell you what, just this once, you get to pick the music.” I unlocked my phone and passed it over. Frankie put her coffee into one of the cup holders before cradling my phone like I’d handed her the holy grail.

  “You mean it? I really, really get to pick the music?”

  Yeah, give me shit. That was what I wanted to hear. “You better pick it fast before I change my mind.”

  She snorted, and I hid a grin as I took the next turn and angled for the lake. At the next light, I’d text Jeremy, until then—the first song that blared out of the speakers had me groaning.

  “Seriously?” Her laughter was worth every ounce of my pain at that damn hamster song. No, LMFAO didn’t record a hamster song, but since it was used in all of those commercials, she’d played them to death on YouTube.

  “You said I could pick the music.” She held up my phone, but I didn’t have to look to know she’d hit the Frankie’s playlist on my music app. “Also, this is beyond adorable that you’ve got all my favorites on here.”

  “Adorable, yep. Totally scoring the boyfriend points.”

  Another laugh, and she handed me the phone back. With her right arm still in a splint and wrapped to stabilize her wrist, she was doing almost everything one-handed.

  When she started singing along though, I relaxed a little more. I was sorry the other guys weren’t here for this, but daily drives where she could just relax and sing were now officially added to my to do list.

  We made it back to the apartment about five minutes ahead of Jeremy. The coffee was done, and Frankie was tired and aching, but she seemed a little more settled.

  “I think I want to try and take a shower.” But she eyed her wrist.

  “If you can wait a few, I’ll help.” Jake had helped her with the first, she couldn’t get the splint wet, so we wrapped it in a plastic bag, but Frankie had a lot of hair.

  “I hate that I have to ask for help.”

  No kidding. “You’re not asking,” I reminded her. “I’m offering.”

  At her sigh, I backed off a little.

  “We could run a bath.” It wasn’t much of a concession, but she didn’t need me if she wanted to just sit in the tub.

  “Hard to wash my hair there.”

  “I know. Look, I get that it’s not something you want to ask me to do,” I told her. “But getting to look at you naked is definitely something I like doing. So, win win?”

  It was a gamble. I didn’t want to push anything. In fact, I wanted to maintain a healthy distance from anything that made her uncomfortable. The fact that she still wanted our hugs and didn’t retreat, even when she grew a little distant at times, was a godsend.

  I wasn’t trading that away for some cheap laugh.

  “True,” she said slowly, and I let out a breath. “I’d get to see you naked, too.”

  “No, I’m sorry, that will cost you extra.”

  She made a little sound of outrage, but before she could say anything, there was a knock at the backdoor.

  “Hold that thought,” I said with a grin. “Jeremy’s here.”

  The little growl she released tickled me, but I kept that to myself as I opened the door. Jeremy stood there with a duffle bag in one hand and a large dinner box in the other.

  “More in the car?” I asked him as I grabbed
the duffle.

  “I can go get it, Mr. Archie,” he informed me primly before handing me the first dinner box.

  I’d argue with him, but I was pretty sure that in almost eighteen years, I’d never won an argument with him.

  “Yes, sir, I’ll get my laundry.” I set the first dinner box on the table and then carried the duffle deeper into the apartment. Frankie eyed the bag, then me. “Clean clothes. And he asked for our laundry, so I’m throwing all your stuff in with mine.”

  Her eyes widened. “I can’t ask Jeremy to wash my clothes.”

  The back door opened again. Damn, Jeremy was quick. “It’s really no trouble, Miss Frankie,” he informed her. “Truly, I would love to take care of more for you. I have a room ready for you at the house, and I asked Mr. Archie for a list of pet supplies, so if you wanted to come stay, you could bring the cats with you.”

  He was setting the table, and I divided my attention between him and Frankie. Wearing a shell-shocked expression, she surprised me when she said, “Jeremy, I think that’s the sweetest offer you’ve ever made me, and I remember the first time you went to the store to get stuff for French toast because I asked.”

  The older man smiled. “It was my pleasure, I like cooking for people who enjoy food. In fact, I’ve made the roast and potatoes. I also included a salad and some cheesecake. I know you prefer ice cream, but I thought the cheesecake would make a nice difference. There should be plenty for all the boys as well.”

  She blinked really hard and turned, but not before I caught the sight of tears. Oh shit. “Hey,” I said softly, rubbing her biceps before I hugged her gently from behind. “If you want something else, you have to tell him, or he’s going to blow up my phone.”

  It was a joke, and she gave a watery laugh that promised she got the humor.

  “It’s okay,” I said in a lower voice. “If you don’t want me to send your laundry, I won’t, but he wants to help. We all do.”

  And her trying to do laundry with a broken wrist was right at the top of my nope list.