Mended Hearts

by Tammi Lynn

  “Sure, Sweetheart, I could use some too.” I walk into the bathroom and after relieving myself and splashing water on my face, I get us both a few and a glass of water from the sink. Mia looks so beautiful in my bed, her hair is a mess and she’s still wearing my jersey, but sexy as hell. Yes, by the way, I put that jersey on her because I didn’t want anyone looking at her sexy ass that I couldn’t help but to smack myself. My jersey is big on her and helped cover her in those fucking tight ass jeans. I had a hard time keeping myself from taking them off of her earlier in the night.

  She’s just hanging up the phone as I walk back in and smiles at me. I wish I could have some more time with her by myself. I know we’re all supposed to be okay with this sharing her thing we have worked out, but sometimes I wish it could just be me and her. Rationally I knew that wasn’t how this was meant to go, but there was a bit of a possessive part of me that wanted to hide her the fuck away all for myself. I’m not one to fall fast, but when I do fall? I fall hard. I have fallen hard for Mia and there is no returning from it.

  I hand her the pills and water as she hands me my phone back. “Thank you, your my hero.” Swallowing the pills and taking a drink she hands me the glass back and lays down. “You aren’t going into work today either are you?”

  “Nope, I always take the day after the Super Bowl off, I’m not usually this hungover the next day though.”

  “You did have a lot to drink. Is everything okay?” I don’t want to tell her it was kind of about her. I was just so scared she was going to run from us because of Cade. I just need more time with her, to help me believe she’s really here and going to stay.

  An idea pops into my head. “Do you think you’d be able to call out tomorrow too?”

  “Yeah actually, Jim said take another day if I need it, I swear he’s the best boss ever, that or he’s afraid to make my Aunt mad.” She laughs and then winces curling herself up into a ball. Damn it looks painful, women are tough.

  “Okay, stay here, I’ll be right back.” I quickly throw on some clothes and run out of the room and shut the door to a hurricane of a fucking mess. A lot of people went home that hadn’t been drinking but there is still a lot of guys sleeping on couches and floors. The guys are going to be pissed that I’m leaving them with this mess, it’s not something I’d normally do. They’ll be even more pissed when they find out I took Mia away without telling them. Out of all of us I feel as if I get the least time with her so they can fuck off for one night.

  Grabbing a duffle bag out of the closet by the door I run over to Mia’s. Miklo is just getting home and walks in with me. He stayed the night at Killian’s and since he’s suspended for the day, Killian’s mom dropped him off at home on their way to school. “Morning Jayson.”

  “Morning, Lil Man. Your mom just woke up but she’s not going to be going into work today.”

  “Yeah she called me from your phone earlier actually, to tell me good morning.”

  “Hey, do you mind if I take her away for a night? I’ll bring her back tomorrow, and one of the other guys can stay here tonight with you.”

  “Go ahead Jay, she needs a little vacation.” He starts to head towards his room, but I stop him.

  “Um, let’s keep this between us, at least till this afternoon, okay?” I don’t want my brothers finding out just yet.

  “Sure thing.” Laughing he claps his hands together. “This is going to be fun.” Take away how they look and you’d swear Miklo was Jesse’s son.

  “Thanks, have a good day off Rocky.” He laughs.

  “Later.” He heads into his room as I go into Mia’s.

  I call a colleague that owes me a favor before grabbing a few pairs of pajamas, some jeans and a sweater, and some bras and underwear from her dresser drawers. I throw in some clothes for myself that I have over here and head into the bathroom. Her make-up case is next to go in and then I search under the counter for her woman products that she will probably be needing. Tampons or pads? Shit if I know so they both go in the bag. Looking around to make sure that I’m not forgetting anything I see her book and kindle on the nightstand and throw them in the bag as well. I want this to be a relaxing get-away.

  Finding her phone and purse are the last things on my list and after grabbing them I lock up and toss everything into my truck. Heading back inside a few people are starting to wake up and I pass by them without a word and go to my room. Mia’s sitting at the end of my bed with a pair of my black sweats on, she’s so tiny she had to roll them a few times at the waist.

  “You ready?” I walk closer to her.

  “Yes, although I still don’t know what I’m ready for?” She says it in a question and raises a brow, waiting for me to tell her. She’s so fucking cute, there’s a bigger and sassier person in that little body of hers than you’d think.

  “You’ll see.”

  “You and your surprises.” There’s that smile I love. “Do we wake the guys?” Grabbing onto the cover she pulls a little to reveal the back of Cade’s head from under them. He’s passed out. He drank a lot last night too. Hope he has a hangover, fucker put us all through a lot of unnecessary bullshit. He’s lucky I love him. Asshole.

  “No. Let’s just sneak out. I want it to be just me and you for awhile. We’ll turn our phones off for at least until tonight.” I hold my hand out for her to take so I can help her up and she takes hold.

  “You sure? The guys are going to be pissed.” She laughs as she stands and then makes a face. “Ouch, will you please grab the tylenol to take? And I’ll need to grab a few things from home.”

  “I’ve got everything you need, and I’m sure.” I grab the pills from the bathroom and put them into my pocket. When I come back out she’s kinda crouched over so I reach behind her knees and grab her up into my arms.

  “You don’t have to carry me, I can walk.” Placing an arm around my neck she lays her head on my shoulder. Poor thing is exhausted, she’s been through a lot.

  “I know, but I want too.” Walking out of the room I close the door slowly so I don’t wake Cade. We get a lot of stares as I walk through the house and I’m glad none of them are Roman and Jesse’s, they’re probably still passed out upstairs.

  We walk outside and I put her in the truck next to the driver’s seat. “Oh good, you got my phone. I need to text Miklo and let him know what’s going on.” She starts pressing on her phone to turn it on.

  “He knows, I caught him on his way out this morning, told him one of the guys will stay over with him.” I get in beside her and turn the truck on.

  “Sounds good, I’ll just text him to tell him to behave then.” She laughs. “Any chance we can make sure it’s not Jesse who stays with him? They’ll never get to bed.”

  “I’ll ask Roman later.” She’s right, they’d be up all night playing games and messing around. Miklo may not have school tomorrow but Jesse is going to have to get up early to drive a long ways for work.

  ∞∞∞

  We drove west to the coast. I stopped once at a grocery store to get us some food and her some chocolate. She’s asked me at least five times in the past hour where we’re going and it’s gotten harder and harder not to tell her. That pouts a killer. We’re finally here and I know she’s going to love it. Pulling up into a pebble driveway her eyes go everywhere taking everything in.

  “What is this place?”

  “A colleague of mine owns it. He owed me a favor and I decided how he could pay up.” We’re parked next to a square building, not too big in size, with two of the four walls being completely glass. The windows look out upon the ocean only about a hundred feet from the wrap around porch. I’ve only been here once and it was for a beach party, but I’m glad I remembered the place.

  “I swear you know the best people. First the boat, and now this?” She’s never asked any of us how much we make, I really don’t think she cares, but I think she’d be surprised at how many influential people we meet and just how much our net worth is. Me being a lawyer and the othe
rs owning their own successful businesses we’ve all had our vehicles and the house paid off for at least two years now. Almost all we make goes into savings now. I know there were times in Mia’s past they didn’t have a lot when she was raising Miklo on her own with no help from Dre. Of course she’s never said anything but Miklo has slipped up a few times with some of his ‘remember when’ stories. She’s never going to have to worry about anything like that again. Even if her stubborn ass does sneak and pay the restaurant bill whenever she can. She’s made it into a who can grab and pay for it first game. Said she’s not used to having everything paid for her.

  “Come on, let’s go inside.” I open the truck door and help her out, getting our bags from the back. Finding the key where I was told it would be under a loose brick in the flower garden, I let us in.

  The whole building is one huge room except for the large bathroom in a corner. There’s a kitchen a living room area with a TV and a sectional with a large ottoman that can be pushed close to make a large bed. There is also a large king sized bed in the room as well. The view is amazing. It’s an overcast day but the grey clouds over the rolling sea is beautiful. I place our bag on the bed and take the groceries to the kitchen to unpack.

  “This place is just wow.” She shakes her head. “ I’m going to change, I think someone spilled beer on me last night.” She pulls at her jersey and sniffs it before making a face, puffing out her cheeks and running to the bathroom. Shit, is she sick?

  I put the groceries away and sit on the couch for a while to give her some privacy. After about five minutes I hear the tub water turn on. She’s going to need a change of clothes. I grab her a pair of pajamas, no need to get dressed today, might as well be comfortable, a change of underwear, and one of each of her girly products.

  I knock lightly on the door. “Sweetheart? Can I come in?”

  “Yeah.” I can barely hear her but open the door and go in.

  She’s in the spa tub, the steam from the warm water rising and bubbles forming. Her heads back against the side and her eyes are closed. I place her clothes on the counter and kneel next to the tub. “You okay? I didn’t know you even drank last night.”

  “I didn’t, the smell of stale beer was nasty though and had my already hurting stomach rolling. I’m okay, I didn’t even throw up, just dry heaved a bit, I feel completely fine now.” Her eyes are still closed and she opens them when I reach over to push some strands of hair behind her ear. I want to see her face and that wild hair of hers is always hiding it. She grabs my hand in one of hers and links our fingers together, water dripping down. “So are you going to tell me what’s wrong? I don’t want to pry but I’ve never seen you drink like that before.”

  “It was kind of a build up of things.” I let out a breath, I don’t want to keep things from her. “Here let me wash your hair for you while I talk. Lean forward a little.” I grab the detached shower head and switch it on tilting her head back to wet her hair. “It’s nothing really, I just kind of got lost in my head this past week. That bullshit with Nichoal, with what Cade put you through while he got his shit together. I thought for sure you were going to run from us, Sweetheart.” I start rubbing shampoo into her scalp and down the long brown strands. The look on her face, I can tell she wants to say something but she’s waiting for me to finish. “I was so pissed at him. Had you left, I don’t think we all would have stayed together.” Now she looks like she wants to cry, I don’t want her to cry. Running the water back over her head to rinse out the soap, I hope any tears wash away too. “Even though everything’s back to normal I still couldn’t help but to be pissed at the fucker, and it’s been driving me crazy, but if you had left it would have killed me. That’s kind of what all led to last night.”

  When I start putting conditioner in her hair she turns her head to face me. “The last thing I would ever want to do is come between you guys. That’s not what I want at all.” Shit. Now I’ve made her feel bad.

  “Don’t worry Sweetheart,” I speak softly, “just never leave us okay?” I try to keep the end light-hearted but I am not sure it worked.

  “I’m more afraid you guys are going to leave me. I mean how can you all be okay with just having me. One or all of you guys is going to end up wanting more. I’m just sitting here hoping it will all last as long as it can.” I can hear the honest insecurity in her words.

  Rinsing out the last of the conditioner from her hair and squeezing out the strands, I stand and get her a towel. “That’s never going to happen. Even if the others become the stupidest fuckers on the planet you’ll always have me.” She pulls the plug in the bath and stands so I can wrap a towel around her. When I help her out I pull her against me, her hair wetting my shirt and kiss her. “Always.” Letting her go I take a step back. “I’ll let you get dressed.”

  “Hey Jayson?” A worried look crosses her face.

  “Yeah Sweetheart?”

  “Talk to Cade. Please? For me? I don’t want there to be anything between you guys, especially because of me. Despite everything with Nichoal, I know how hard dealing with exes can be. I don’t want him beating himself about this forever.”

  “I will tomorrow when we get home. Tonight I just want to have you all to myself.” That brings her smile back.

  When I get back out into the big space I start a fire in the stone chimney situated between two floor to ceiling windows. Then I grab a blanket from the end of the bed with some pillows and take it to the couch where I make up a comfortable spot for us. She doesn’t take long in the bathroom and comes out braiding all of her hair to the side. “Did you pack my make-up bag? It has some hair ties in it.”

  “It’s in the duffel.”

  “You always remember everything.” She searches through the bag pulling out a tie and wrapping it around the end of her braid. “You brought my book.” She pulls it out of the bag and walks over to where I am on the couch.

  “I figured it would be the perfect way for you to relax.”

  “Yeah, but that’s me, what about you?” The concern she has for me, for wanting to make sure I’m okay too, has me loving her more.

  “Just let me hold you while you read, and I’ll be good.”

  A sly grin pulls at her lips and she blushes. “You know, the book goes back and forth between a girls point of view and a few guys. Would you read it with me? I’ll read the girl parts and you read the guy ones?”

  I like to read. I do prefer to read romance, mystery, and horror, at least that's what I normally like I like. Why not? “Sure, come cuddle on the couch with me.” She hops on the couch and cuddles into my side with her book and I put the blanket over our laps. She opens it up and starts reading.

  She’s about halfway through the book but I think I’m starting to get what its about. The female lead is a witch or a mage, possibly both I believe, and she has five or it might be more guy friends, there’s a lot of names being said. The story is interesting so far and the main characters emotions making the weather bad seems to be affecting the real storm outside. Rain hits the windows hard and it’s coming down so hard we can no longer see the ocean in the distance. The warmth from the fire is a blessing and I hold Mia tight against my side.

  “Here now it’s your turn.” She hands me the book and lays her head on my chest. Not sure why but she’s giggling.

  I begin to read and it’s not long before even I might be blushing and she’s full on laughing out loud. The character is no joke, eating this chick out and two other guys just walk in. “What the fuck kind of book do you have me reading?” I mean, I’m not exactly complaining, but this is not what I was expecting. That does it and she has to hold her stomach she’s laughing so hard and tears start streaming down her face.

  “Oh my god, that was so funny, the way your voice started to change as it got more heated.” She wipes the tears from her face. “It’s RH, reverse harem, I discovered it after we all first got together. I was curious about a few things.” A blush rises to her cheeks and she looks away for
a moment. “Anyway I fell in love with it. Please keep reading? It was funny because you didn’t know what was coming but it was also fucking hot.”

  How could I deny her? “Only if you promise me your going to be reading some of the porno parts.”

  “Believe me, I will, this is the fourth book in the series.”

  We sat there and read all day until we finished the book. There was a lot of dick rearranging on my part hearing all of those dirty words come out of her mouth reading some pretty explicit scenes. We did stop for lunch at one point, to get something to eat and she had to take more painkillers.

  It’s dark now and I’m making some homemade potato soup, perfect for the weather which has now started to hail. It’s nice and warm in here with the fire and all the cuddling and I want to make sure she’s perfectly comfortable.

  “We should probably turn our phones back on now. I need to call and tell Miklo goodnight.” We should but I’m not looking forward to the wrath of my brothers. She hands me mine and starts to turn hers on. Turning the stove off I do the same and the minute they are both on, a slew of messages start coming in.

  Rome: Hey man where are you at? Is Mia with you?

  Jesse: Nice leaving us with the mess fucker, get your ass back here. Have you seen Mia?

  Cade: Where the fuck did you guys go?

  Cade: Seriously what the fuck?

  Jesse: Seriously is Mia with you? Her phone goes straight to voicemail.

  Rome: Answer your phone asshole.

  There’s a lot more and they only get more frustrated, threatening bodily harm. Mia’s reading all of hers, laughing at some and giving ‘oh shit’ faces to the rest. “We’re in trouble.” She laughs again and my phone rings. “Cade?”

  “Yeah, should I answer it?”

  “Yes, cause if not he’ll call mine and this one’s all on you to explain. Besides I have to call Miklo.”

  “Chicken.” She sticks her tongue out at me and starts to dial on her phone. I answer mine just before it’ll go to voicemail. “Hey Cade, what’s up?”