by Natalie Ann
“Go fast,” she told him.
“Touch yourself,” he breathed out. “If I go any faster I’m done. I want you there.”
“I’m almost there,” she said, her hand coming off the sink, her body sliding back when he pushed in and then moved closer when he pulled out.
His hands were on her thighs now keeping her in place so she wasn’t moving as much and she slipped her hand down and touched herself like she often did when she was feeling lonely.
Her head was back. Her hand moving fast. His body just pushing in almost in jerky motions.
“Please be there,” he said.
“Let go, Justin. Stop controlling it all.”
“Not until you’re there.”
She dropped her hand and then pulled him close, sending him so deep while she ground against him. It only took seconds before she was coming and shouting out his name.
He turned and had her back against the wall, bracing himself with one hand, while the other held her hip in place, bucking up into her like a bronco trying to throw his rider. But she was holding on because she wanted to feel every last delicious movement he had to give her.
When his body stilled, his forehead dropped down to hers, his lips touching her tenderly. Then he helped her unwind her legs from his hips.
The minute her feet hit the floor, she slipped in some water and had to grab him before she fell on her butt.
She burst out laughing causing him to laugh too.
“I’m not sure what it is about you that just makes me lose so much of myself.”
“Does it matter what it is?” she asked. “We said this was fun and if that is how it makes you feel, then go with it.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said.
“You can’t hurt me when I know where we stand,” she said. She wasn’t going to allow herself to be hurt because there was no way she was going to fall for him.
He’d said more than once he was only here temporarily. It was no secret and shouldn’t or wouldn’t be a shock when he left.
There was no reason to try to get him to stay when she wasn’t sure what she wanted in life anyway.
Hadn’t he asked her that recently and she had no answer?
It was the truth. For so long she went by the seat of her pants and this time wasn’t going to be any different.
23
All Remember Everyone
And though she said she was flying by the seat of her pants, she still was showing up at Max Hamilton’s house for a Fourth of July party a week later with Justin by her side.
Justin had this Sunday off and was more than willing to spend it with her, and since they didn’t get a lot of time together, she was just as thrilled.
“We won’t stay long,” she said. “But I told Max I’d stop in.”
“We can stay as long as you want to,” Justin said. “Unless you’ve got things to do or get ready to bake in the morning.”
“I do have some prep work to do tonight before the morning, but that doesn’t take too long,” she said. “I know what I’m making to bring to the park. I’ve found it’s pretty easy because I’m not going overboard on decorations there. It’s more about taste than anything.”
“And everything you make tastes wonderful. What do you have for today?”
“Just a cake,” she said. “Lemon raspberry again. Quinn, Max’s wife, is a great cook and loves to bake, and I believe Celeste McGuire will be here too and she’s another baker. They’ve got cookies covered but said a cake would be great.”
“How many people will be here?” he asked.
“Not sure and honestly I won’t know everyone. Believe it or not, a lot of the people here married others not from the area too. And some will have to work later or will be there now, I’m sure. Logan and Kennedy are at the park today, so they won’t be here.”
“And your brother?”
“Trevor might be here and he’ll be lucky I don’t skin him alive when I see him.”
“He’s just doing his job as an older brother,” he said. “If you make a big deal out of it, he’ll think I made a big deal out of it and I didn’t.”
She didn’t think of it that way. “Fine. I’ll just give him a few dirty looks and he’ll understand.”
They moved to the backyard of Max’s house on the lake. He had a beautiful piece of property that was pretty secluded.
“This is a great place to grow up,” he said. “I’ve met Max twice now, seems like a nice guy.”
“He is.” She lifted her hand and waved to Max on the lawn and he made his way over where he’d been talking to his sister Riley.
“Hey, Taryn. What’s in the box?”
“Quinn said lemon cake for you.”
“She spoils me even when she isn’t doing the cooking or baking,” Max said. “And, Justin, good to see you again. I know most of the people here will be strangers to you, but you’ll probably remember a few. Even Taryn might not know some of them so I’ll introduce you around.”
“Thanks, Max,” she said. “I was just telling Justin I wasn’t sure who some of the spouses here were either as they aren’t from the area.”
“Follow me,” Max said, “and I’ll introduce you to my wife first.” They moved to the table where she placed the purple cake box down where Quinn was now standing with Riley. “Justin, this is my wife, Quinn, and my sister, Riley Miles. If you need a dentist while you’re in town, check out her practice.”
“My sister-in-law is pretty good at what she does,” Taryn said as Justin shook hands with both women.
“My kids are over there on the swing set. My oldest is Davy, then Lara, and the little one on the swing being pushed by Davy is Jocelyn.”
“No more for you?” Taryn asked Max and Quinn.
“I’m game for another, but that’s up to Quinn since she has to do all the hard work.”
“No comment,” Quinn said, laughing. “For now we are going to enjoy Riley’s baby when it comes.”
Riley put her hand on her flat stomach. She wasn’t even close to showing yet and Taryn tried to push thoughts of the broken condom from two weeks ago out of her head. She should be getting her period soon...fingers crossed.
They moved over to a group of Max’s coworkers. “I’ll introduce you to my staff. Not sure if you’ve met any yet in the ER.”
Justin smiled. “I met Dena the other day when she was called in. Or I should say the other night for a burn victim.”
“Good to see you again,” Dena Winters said. “Taryn, we had to wrestle Amber for the last of the tarts you brought in when you had your stitches removed.”
She’d met the rest of Max’s staff that day. “That’s always good to know.”
“This is Dena’s husband, Matt Winters. Matt, Dr. Justin Cambridge.”
“I’ve heard your name at the resort,” Justin said. “You’re my parents’ new lawyer?”
“I am. Hope all is well with your father,” Matt said.
“He’s hanging in there. If you know him, you know he’s stubborn enough to push through this like nothing is going on.”
Matt laughed. “That about sums up your father in my eyes.”
“Amber, how are you feeling?” Taryn asked her next.
“Great. Can’t wait for junior to pop out next. I just hope he isn’t running his mouth as much as his father.”
“You love me and you know it,” Amber’s husband said, slipping his arm around her shoulder.
“And this is Zach Monroe,” Max said. “Amber’s husband.”
A blond-haired little boy came running over yelling for Uncle Zach and lifted his arms. “And my nephew Blake Buchanan. His parents are over there with Quinn now. Nick is my best friend and colleague.”
“Boss,” Amber said.
“Please,” Zach said. “He’s no more my boss than he is Caleb’s.”
“You two can go bicker somewhere else,” Max said, laughing. “Nick and his wife, Mallory, are over there and I’ll introduce you as we get closer.
Their son, Blake, is in Zach’s arms. And the last of the girls that boss me around in the office is Rene McGuire.”
Rene shook hands with Justin and then turned her head when her husband, Cole, walked over. “I’m also Nick’s sister but Zach failed to mention that and that Blake is my nephew too. He thinks he’s so special all the time.”
Zach laughed and turned his shoulder and walked away with Blake. “Good to see you again, Cole,” Justin said. “Not sure you remember me.”
“You were a few years ahead of me, but in Lake Placid we all remember everyone. This is my son J.T.”
They moved further along, closer to Nick and Mallory, then she got to see Trixie Miller again.
“If you remember Cole, then you probably remember his twin, Celeste,” Max said. “And Celeste’s husband, Caleb. Their son is sleeping in the playpen behind them. That’s everyone for now. There will be a few neighbors that will stop in, I’m sure. Logan and Kennedy said they might swing over later, but I’m not banking on it. On a day like this the park has to be jam packed.”
The two of them moved back over to where the drinks were, Justin grabbing a beer, Taryn sticking with water. “It should be a relaxing day. I’m glad you know people other than me.”
“I can handle pretty much any situation,” he said. “Don’t worry about me if you want to move off. This looks like a pretty close-knit group, but I’m good.”
“I know you are.” Her eyes moved over to see Trevor coming around back and she shot him a look. He only laughed at her and then moved right past with a nod of his head, searching out his wife.
And forty minutes later she was able to break away and see him at the snack table and pull him aside. “Are you happy now?”
“With what?” Trevor asked.
“Questioning Justin the other day?”
“I didn’t question him. Just stopped to say hi. Did he say I was questioning him?”
“No. Just said you pulled in when he was getting gas and that he saved you the trouble of asking questions and just told you point blank what was between us was between us.”
“That’s right. He did,” Trevor said. “He’s not one to be intimidated by anyone.”
“He’s not,” she agreed. Then held his stare. “That is what you were looking to see, weren’t you?”
Trevor shrugged, finished filling his plate and then strode off toward his wife.
Yeah, she’d had a lot of losers in her past. Men that couldn’t stand the heat from her father when she was younger.
As she got older she tried to find someone with more backbone, but having not been at home for four years of college and then five years after, she didn’t get a good idea of how they’d be around her father or brother.
And then she had to tell herself it didn’t matter because Justin was going back to his life in a few months and she’d be here still wondering what the next day would bring.
24
Life On Hold
The next morning Justin was in the waiting room with his father. Blood work had been drawn and they’d see the doctor next for the results and then go to the infusion room. Treatment number four. Halfway mark. Getting close now in his eyes. Every one after this would be almost more monumental until the end.
On one hand he was looking forward to returning to Rochester.
On the other, he didn’t want his time with Taryn to end.
The party at Max’s had been great. Everyone he met was nice and easy to talk to. They welcomed him in like a friend they hadn’t seen in years rather than a stranger to most of them.
He wasn’t by Taryn’s side the whole time and it didn’t seem to bother either of them.
What did bother him—more like make him think—was the number of kids and pregnancies going on there. It’d been a few weeks or so since the condom had broken and Taryn hadn’t said a word to him yet.
He wanted to ask but held back. It might be too soon and she did tell him not to worry about it. For now he’d just have to let it go and bring it up in another week or so. Maybe wait until the one-month mark and just double check.
Yeah. He had to trust she’d tell him and put it from his mind. He had way too many other things crowding that space.
Like the fact his father spent the whole weekend working when he shouldn’t have been.
Yes, they had a massive wedding at the resort on Saturday; he knew that. And they were in the peak tourist season and the golf course and restaurant had been packed all weekend on top of the ballroom for the wedding on Saturday.
His sister oversaw the fifty-room hotel as part of the resort. His mother planned all the events and worked on the marketing with his sister. His father had always run the golf course. He had some good staff and he should be letting them do it.
But nope. His father had to be there this whole weekend pushing himself when he shouldn’t.
Though he hadn’t gotten lightheaded again—or so he was told—his mother said his father was sleeping more. That he’d work six to eight hours and then go home and be sleeping on the couch after dinner, then get up late in the morning.
He supposed he should be happy his father was at least resting and not pushing it too much. Normally this time of year, his mother, his father, and his sister were all pulling twelve-hour days, six to seven days a week.
Ashley still was, his mother not as much that he could see.
“Bruce,” he heard the nurse call, then stood up with his father to go to the doctor’s office.
“Have a seat,” Dr. Willis said. “I’ll do a quick exam, but there won’t be any treatment this week.”
“What?” Bruce said. “Why?”
“Your white blood count is too low. You need more time to recover before we have another treatment.”
Justin knew this was a possibility but kept his lips sealed. His father had to hear this from someone else.
“How long do I have to wait?”
“I’d like to give it a week and see if your body can respond on its own. If not, we’ll give you a booster.”
“Why not just give it to me now?” his father asked.
“Because even if we did, it takes time to work and you’d still not get the treatment today,” Dr. Willis said.
“So next week if he’s still not high enough, you’ll give it?” he asked.
“Yes. But that would push off that treatment too.”
Which Justin didn’t want. Not that he worried it was prolonging his time here but then it’d be almost a month between treatments and there was a reason treatments were set up biweekly. Pushing off one week happened, two weeks wasn’t good for anyone.
“Can we just check again in a few days?” his father asked. “That way if it’s not up, I can get the booster and not wait almost two weeks for another treatment.”
Interesting that his father was realizing this too.
“We could if you’d like,” Dr. Willis said. “I’ll schedule you to come in on Thursday for blood work. If it’s still low we can administer a booster which should allow the treatment next Monday.”
“What can he do to help right now?” Justin asked.
“In terms of increasing the white blood counts,” Dr. Willis said, “the only medically proven results is the Neupogen injection. I would encourage you to follow the diet guidelines I gave you in terms of proteins and some of the better foods to eat. Try not to overtax yourself and get a lot of rest. When your numbers are low, your body is more susceptible to infection. If you are fighting off infections then you might not be able to have treatment either. Everything is connected.”
“So in other words, he shouldn’t be trying to work every day as if nothing is going on?” he asked.
“If you can avoid it, Bruce,” Dr. Willis said. “I know you’ve got the business to run, but you’ve got a lot of staff.”
“It’s not the same,” his father said. “This is our busiest time.”
Dr. Willis looked at Justin. “And it’s being handled well by my mother and sister and t
he rest of the staff.” He turned to look at his father. “Dad, if you continue to push yourself you are prolonging this for everyone. Get it through your head that your treatment is going to take you right through the busy season. If you take the first week slow, and increase in the second week on days that are the most important to be there, I’m sure you can find a happy medium.”
“Justin has some good advice for you,” Dr. Willis said. “Sorry I didn’t have better news for you. Go home and relax. If you need to be part of the business there is such a thing as phones and live chats.”
“It’s not the same,” his father said, standing up.
When they were in the car, Justin decided it was best to just keep the silence until they were home. He hoped to hell his father didn’t tell him to bring him to the course instead.
Once his father was in the living room and settled, he said, “I’ll let Mom know what is going on. Are you good for the day or do I need to stay here and make sure you rest?”
“I’ll stay here,” his father snapped. “I want this done as much as you do. I’m sure you’re just seething inside because it’s another week added to your stay.”
He snorted. “I’d hardly say I was seething. I fully expected one or more of your treatments to be postponed. It happens to most cancer patients. You can’t always control it. Dosages sometimes have to be adjusted too.”
“Why didn’t they do that last week when I was low?” his father asked.
“That might be a question for Dr. Willis next week,” he said. “As I said, this is very common. If you don’t respond well on your own, that might be the next step.”
He’d had these conversations with his colleagues back in Rochester. So far everything was pretty textbook. If he didn’t see an improvement in a week or so then he’d start making some more calls.
“I’m fine now if you want to leave,” his father said, looking away. “I’m going to have a pity party and do a lot of swearing, but if I do it while you’re here then you’ll be concerned my blood pressure might rise. I can’t have a good fit if I’m being watched or monitored.”
