Mend

by Autumn Grey

  I peered at my father in the rear view mirror. He leaned into Èric, his glazed eyes meeting mine. “You took the bullet meant for Selene. Why did you do that, Father?” I asked.

  “Because I had to save someone you loved. For once in my life, I wanted to do something that didn’t benefit me. I have been trying to call you to thank you after Caleb’s surgery, but you wouldn’t answer my calls or emails. Stubborn like your old man—” He chuckled, then stopped and groaned, breathing raggedly. “I found out through Adele about your life, your son. Selene. I was a fool and I regret the years I spent away from you. I was proud and made mistakes, and I wish I could turn back the clock and do this all over again. Adele told me about Selene’s accident, and also about the woman causing trouble in your life. Upon further investigation, I found out she was pregnant. I wanted to protect you, protect her and everyone else you loved. I’ve been a bad father to you . . .” he trailed off, panting. “God, I want to tell you so much . . .”

  My eyes burned with tears. “It’s okay. We can talk about this later. Just—save your energy for now.”

  I darted a look in the mirror and saw him shake his head stubbornly.

  “No. I won’t rest until—until I know that you forgive me for being—bloody fucking hell!” he yelled, his face contorted in pain. His head fell back; the only sound filling the car was his heavy, uneven breathing.

  My foot automatically pressed on the accelerator as I met Èric’s gaze in the mirror. He shook his head, panic coloring my vision.

  “You saved me the minute you saved her, Father.” I forgive you.

  Ten minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot. Èric leaped out of the car to alert the hospital’s staff. Within minutes, my father was loaded on a stretcher and rushed into the ER.

  “I could have been on that stretcher right now, Remington,” Selene mumbled, her wide eyes staring blindly at the doors.

  I shuddered at the thought and quickly grabbed her in a hug. Her body came alive immediately and she returned my embrace with a fierce one of her own.

  “I will go insane if I think like that. You’re safe.”

  She pulled back. “But your father is not. He took a bullet for me.” Her eyes filled with tears. “What if he doesn’t pull through? I can’t—”

  I cupped her jaw, forcing her to focus on me. “He is Remington Newport and he is a fighter. He wouldn’t be who he is if he wasn’t.”

  AFTER ANSWERING the nurse’s questions at the counter, Remington slid his arm around my waist. I tensed then relaxed as he led me to one of the chairs facing the TV in the waiting area. He dropped his arm and weaved his fingers with mine then fixed his worried gaze on me.

  “Talk to me,” he finally murmured, giving my hand a squeeze. “How are you feeling? How is the baby?”

  He looked exhausted. There was no way I was going to burden him with how I was feeling. “Tired. I just want to forget this day ever happened.”

  “I wish I could take back what happened today.”

  Suddenly, I felt tired. Everything was coming down on me, painfully buzzing in the back of my head. I closed my eyes, leaning back on the wall. “I can’t do this now.”

  “Come here.” He tugged my hand, but I shook my head. “Allow me to hold you, please. I almost lost you, Selene. Every time the memory of how close . . . mon Dieu. I cannot not have you in my arms right now. I need this.”

  I opened my eyes and met his, sucking in a breath at the pain there. I scooted into him and lay my head on his shoulder, curling my fingers around a fistful of his shirt as pain flashed inside my head. Taking that as a sign, he literally snatched me up and onto his lap, not caring the room was full of people. I snuggled into him, welcoming his strength and warmth.

  “You want the truth?” I mumbled in his shirt. “I’m so mad with you right now and I’m also really terrified. I love you and I’m angry in equal measures.”

  “It’s over now. Colette will not harm you anymore.” He rubbed circles on my back. “You have a right to be angry with me, but please don’t shut me out.”

  “I could never shut you out, even if I wanted to.” We fell silent, the sound of machines beeping, the PA blaring to life, feet shuffling on the floor . . .

  “Selene Michaels?”

  Both Remington and I shot to our feet and glanced up at a tall, dark-haired nurse. Her eyes lingered a little too long on Remington, color rising to her cheeks. And he hadn’t even unleashed his smile on her. In fact, his jaw was set in grim determination, his beautiful green eyes dark with worry and his lips taut. His hand tightened on my hip, pulling me closer to him as if announcing to the woman and everyone else in the room where he belonged. She turned to face me, eyeing me up and down and all I could think was, can you handle these curves? Despite being angry with Remington, warmth tingled in my blood. He was so irresistible, this man.

  The nurse finally focused on me and gave me a tight smile. I didn’t even have the energy to scowl at her. I was still seething at Remington, worried about the little sharp pains twitching inside my belly, and battling a killer headache.

  “Please follow me. I’ll show you the room.”

  Remington dropped his hand from my hip and grabbed my hand, following the nurse. We halted in front of room number three.

  “I’ve placed a robe for you on the bed,” she announced. “The doctor will be with you shortly.” She faced Remington. “Would you like to wait for your wife outside—”

  “Not happening,” he barked and pushed the door, pulling me inside, but not before I saw the nurse jerk back as if slapped.

  Remington was such a Neanderthal, and I loved him even more. Not that I was about to tell him. I needed to hold onto my anger a little longer. Childish, I know, but Jesus, Colette? I still couldn’t believe he’d kept that information from me.

  As soon as the door slammed shut in the nurse’s face, he whirled around and gently pushed me against the door, as though he was afraid I’d break, before sinking his face into the crook of my neck.

  He inhaled deeply. “I don’t like it when you’re angry with me.”

  “You should have thought about that before you hid that information about your ex-wife from me. We always tell each other the truth, remember?”

  He flinched, releasing a trembling breath. “There are some truths that hurt more than help. This one would have hurt you, ma belle. Probably destroyed you. I vowed to protect you. I also said I’d always endeavor to tell you the truth. I failed on the first but I was sure as hell not going to tell you about Colette. I wanted to protect you.” His body was coiled tight against mine. He didn’t try to kiss me or touch me, other than his chest and thighs brushing mine.

  I shut my eyes quickly as dizziness and nausea swept through me, laying my head on his shoulder. Immediately his body loosened, as if that single act of my head on him gave him strength. “I need to use the bathroom.”

  He lifted his head and cupped my jaw, fixing his tortured gaze on mine. “I know what I did was wrong. I hope you understand that, under different circumstances, I might have told you. But you had woken up from the coma and I wasn’t going to make things worse by telling you. This was my burden to carry.”

  Everything he said made sense. But still . . .”I don’t want you to carry that burden alone.”

  “I know.”

  Biting my cheek to keep from caving in, I tangled my fingers in his hair, nudging his head down to kiss his forehead. “I need to change.”

  He dropped his hand and took a step back, watching as I walked away. I sneaked a look over my shoulder. He stood where I had left him, flexing his curled fists at his sides. God, I loved him so much, but I was so conflicted about the situation. I just needed some time to come to terms with everything that had happened.

  Do you know how it feels to watch you walk away from me?

  Those words flashed inside my head, so I knew how difficult it was for him, standing there as I left his side.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but instead
snapped it shut, unable to say anything. I turned and entered the bathroom, locking the door behind me.

  After quickly turning the tap on full, I grabbed the sink as nausea rolled in my stomach. I jerked forward and vomited.

  Oh, God, I’m going to die. It was like endless torture as my stomach roiled, emptying its contents down the drain.

  “Selene?”

  Shit. “I’m fine.” I rinsed my mouth. “Can you please wait for me in the waiting room?”

  I heard footfalls through the door. He was probably pacing, with his hands gripping his hair. Moments later, he said, “Not until I know you’re all right.”

  “I am.”

  “I want to see you,” he growled from the other side of the door.

  I sighed. Stubborn Remington had just made an appearance.

  After drying my hands and mouth with the tissues from the dispenser, I slipped down my pants, followed by the panties, and froze. My hand automatically shot out and grabbed the sink for support as dizziness once again threatened to cripple me.

  Every snippet of anger and worry I had felt the entire drive to the hospital vanished, replaced by dread. My free hand tightened around the panties.

  God, no, no, no! Please don’t do this to me.

  I continued to stare at the spots of blood on the white material, unable to breathe for several seconds. A sob ripped out of my throat.

  “Selene?” Remington called out in a panicked voice. The doorknob rattled forcefully. “Open up, ma belle. Please.”

  I quickly wiped my cheeks and stepped out of the panties. “I’ll be out in a minute,” I choked out, gathering my clothes in my hands.

  There was a long pause. “You’re crying. Open this bloody door.” The knob rattled again. “Merde!”

  “I’m not crying,” I announced, my voice muffled by the fabric. “Please, I just need a few seconds, okay?” He was already worried about his father; I wasn’t about to become baggage as well. I grabbed my sweater and pressed it into my face to drown my sobs.

  “Not fucking happening. Open this door or I’ll break it down.” He gritted the words from the other side.

  “Give me a damn minute, Remington!”

  He cursed severely in French, but seemed to do as I asked. After splashing water on my face, I dabbed tissues under my eyes to get rid of any signs that I’d been crying. One look in the mirror and I knew Remington would be all over me the second I opened that door.

  I could handle this situation. Handle him like I always did. Easy.

  What if . . . Jesus, what if I lost the baby?

  Suddenly I couldn’t breathe; couldn’t get air into my lungs.

  Breathe.

  Oh, my God, I need to breathe.

  Nothing.

  Bracing my back on the wall, I slid down to the floor, ignoring the chill racing up my body as my butt connected with the cool floor. I dropped my head between my knees, taking in huge gulps of air.

  “Selene!”

  I shouldn’t have locked the door. I shivered, hyperventilating. “Oh, God,” I moaned.

  Suddenly, air rushed inside the room, brushing against my bare legs as the sound of the door slamming against a wall echoed through the small bathroom. Seconds later, Remington was sitting on the floor next to me, dragging me into his lap.

  “Is she all right?” a female voice asked worriedly in French. “Should I page the doctor?”

  “She’ll be fine,” Remington answered, wrapping his arms around me and hugging me tightly. “Ask the doctor to give us a few minutes. It’s okay, I’m here now.” He kissed my hair, running a hand down my back repeatedly.

  Feet shuffled on the floor, followed by the sound of the door being shut. I didn’t have the energy to look up. I curled myself into Remington’s chest, my head buried into his shoulder, listening to his soothing voice as he encouraged me to breathe. I did, absorbing some of his warmth and strength into my body.

  “Feeling better?” he asked.

  I nodded, lifting my head to look at him.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked as panic filled his features.

  My eyes flicked to where my panties lay, and my breath began to leave me again.

  I knew the moment he saw the panties. He sucked in a breath, and his body tensed against mine. The hand on my back halted, clenched into a fist, before flexing out and pulling me tightly into his chest. He kissed my forehead then pulled back and stared at me through red-rimmed eyes. His hair looked disheveled and his shirt wrinkled. He seemed to have aged between earlier when we made out in the car, and now. I’d never seen this look on him and I hated he had to go through this.

  “It’s going to be fine,” I said, forcing a smile. I swept the hair off his forehead, twining it with my fingers and giving it a gentle tug. “You and I have gone through so much. We can face anything, okay?” Lifting my free hand, I brushed the tears fighting to fall from the corner of his eyes. He took a deep breath and nodded.

  “Now kiss me and let’s get out of here,” I said in what I hoped was a calm voice. I wanted my Remington back. Yes, he was allowed to cry, but worrying about me and his father was just too much. He’d probably be less worried if I perked up a bit, even though I felt like I was dying inside.

  He slowly lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me softly, tenderly. A kiss that spoke of so many emotions it literally stole my breath away. I pulled back, dropping my head to his chest.

  “You’re my favorite girl in the world,” he murmured hoarsely against my ear. “I bloody love you so much, you know that, oui?”

  I raised my head and grinned at him, knowing I’d effectively lightened up the mood. “Of course I know you love me. How could you not? Besides, I’m made of awesome.”

  A slow smile spread across his lips, and sweet Jesus, that smile, the one that always left me breathless, appeared, chasing away the tired-looking Remington.

  “Are you trying to make me come? Because that’s what happened the first time you flashed those dimples at me.”

  He threw his head back and roared in laughter. God, so, so potent. I couldn’t believe I was turned on, even under the circumstances. I was such a slut when it came to this man. “You never told me that.”

  “If I did, you’d add them as weapons to your already overflowing arsenal and unleash them on me when you felt like it,” I said, pushing away from him and standing up.

  “And now that I do, be very afraid, ma belle.” He stood up and grabbed the hospital gown, holding it out for me.

  “As if that’d scare me. Just don’t let it go to your head, baby.”

  He chuckled and before I knew it, he’d scooped me into his arms and marched out of the bathroom. Stopping at the bed, he laid me down then stood back to watch me like he always did—as if he was seeing me for the first time. “You’re incredible, Selene.”

  “You’re not so bad yourself.” I wiggled on the bed to sit properly and watched him as he disappeared back inside the bathroom and returned with my clothes in his hands. “In fact, you and I go together like rama lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong . . .” Jesus, I was on a roll. I didn’t take anxiety very well.

  He grinned, folding the clothes and placing them in a neat pile on a chair next to the wall. “Grease?”

  I nodded, rubbing my hands along my arms to keep warm. Remington grabbed his sweater from the hook on the wall next to the door and draped it around me. “My mom loves that movie. I know most of the songs off the top of my head.” I cleared my throat, lowering my voice.

  The expression on his face was a mix of amusement and worry.

  I dropped my gaze to my lap, swallowing the ball of anxiety in my throat . . .”I’m very nervous. You might want to get used to this because it’s what I do.” I peeked at him through my lashes.

  He cocked a brow at me.

  God, I love when he does that.

  “And you’re probably thinking it bothers me? I was seconds away from bawling in there,” he points to the bathroom, “but you brought me back. You ar
e . . . mon Dieu . . .” He shook his head as if he couldn’t find the words to convey whatever he wanted to say, then started to pace up and down beside the bed.

  “You too,” I said, propping my legs on the stirrups and tugging down my gown as it slid around my hips. His eyes flared and darkened as they followed the movement, leaving me hot and flushed. I preferred him like this, better than the broken man of earlier. “Come sit with me.”

  “I like this view better.” He stared pointedly at my legs before grabbing the chair with my clothes on it and dragging it to the bed, just as a doctor with sandy-blond hair, probably in his mid to late thirties, entered the room. He was really hot, if you liked the surfer-type guys.

  Remington tensed beside me.

  “Don’t even think about it,” I whispered under my breath.

  “Think about what?” he asked innocently, but the overprotective grip on my hip said differently.

  “Scaring him off by using one of your patented looks.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His breath was warm on the shell of my ear as he nipped my earlobe.

  I sighed, fighting the urge to turn around and mesh his lips with mine. “I love you. I’m still mad at you, but I love you.”

  His body relaxed, and the growl rumbling in the back of his throat eased.

  After the doctor introduced himself and shook our hands, I gave him a short version of what happened and finally the spotting on my underwear. He already knew about my medical history, since this was the same hospital I was admitted to five days earlier. He asked me to lie on my back as he pulled the table holding a stainless steel tray toward him. Remington gave it a look, something between a glare and terror. I pressed my lips shut, fighting a smile even though this wasn’t in any way funny. How did he manage that?