Can't Forget You

by Rachel Lacey

  “Thanks.” Mark turned and headed for the door with the dog at his heels. He’d never bring her back to this building full of abandoned animals. Her family might have driven her out here and left her, but she wasn’t homeless anymore.

  She looked up at him with those big brown eyes as if to say thank you.

  He had no idea how much she understood about her situation, but in his estimation, animals were pretty perceptive, sometimes more so than their human counterparts.

  He loaded her into his SUV and headed for town. Not until Jess’s house came into view did he realize he’d turned onto Riverbend Road, taking the roundabout way back toward Off-the-Grid. He still had that paperwork for her after all, and her black Kia Sportage was in the driveway. He pulled in behind it and parked.

  After cracking the windows for the dog, he grabbed the envelope Ryan had given him and headed for her front door. He knocked and then stood back and waited. And waited. He was about to leave when she pulled the door open, wearing black jogging pants and a green hoodie, her hair swept back into a loose ponytail.

  “Hi,” she said with a small smile, giving him a “what are you doing here?” look.

  “Got some paperwork for you,” he said, holding up the envelope. “Zoning request came through.”

  She took it from him. “That’s a relief. Should be clear sailing from here then, huh?”

  He nodded. They stared at each other for a few beats of silence. He cleared his throat. “Ah, there’s one page in there that you need to sign. If you want to sign it now, I can drop it off later today with ours, make everything official.”

  “Okay.” She stepped back, inviting him in. “I was about to have a cup of tea. Would you like some?”

  He hated tea, but he wouldn’t mind spending a little more time with Jess. “Sure.”

  Her eyes focused on something behind him. “Oh, your dog’s with you? Well, you can’t leave her in the car.”

  “You mind if she comes inside?”

  Jess shook her head, holding the door open as he went and fetched the dog from the car. “So have you named her yet?”

  He remembered his conversation with Ryan and Emma yesterday. “Calling her Bear,” he said as the dog followed him through Jess’s front door.

  “Bear?” Her eyebrows lifted. “That’s not very feminine.”

  Who said the damn dog’s name had to be feminine? “Thought she was a bear when I first saw her slinking around in the bushes. It was the first thing that came to mind.”

  “Have you decided to keep her then?” Jess walked toward the kitchen, where a kettle already sat heating on the stove.

  He and Bear stood in the open area between the living room and the kitchen. “Yeah.”

  Jess smiled. “I’m glad.”

  “No one came looking for her, and the shelter’s full.” He glanced down at Bear. She sat at his side, her tail swishing against the hardwood floor.

  “She knew she was yours since that afternoon you found her in the woods,” Jess said.

  “How’s your knee?” he asked, both to change the subject and because something seemed off with Jess this morning. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something about her movements suggested she was in pain.

  She shrugged, rubbing at her knee absently. “Still sore, on and off.”

  “You had it looked at yet?”

  “Keep thinking it’s better, and then it’s not.” The kettle started to whistle, and she walked to it. She filled two cups with hot water and handed him one, gesturing to a box of teabags on the counter.

  He just stared at it. “You pick.”

  She dipped a tea bag with a purple tag into his cup, and then chose a yellow one for herself. He decided not to ask why his was purple. Instead, he followed her to the kitchen table. Bear walked beside him and lay down at his feet, resting her head on her front paws.

  “Who would have thought you and I would end up business partners?” she asked, a soft smile curving her lips.

  “Yeah.” It was something, all right. Hell, it was amazing to be able to sit here with her at her kitchen table, almost like friends. That wasn’t something he’d ever thought he’d be able to call Jess, but now that it was within his grasp, he wanted to grab hold with both hands.

  “The Halloween party at the spa is next weekend. I had to step up my game this year after you guys put on such a great show at the haunted zip-line.” Again with the sweet, sexy smile.

  “Ethan’s idea,” he said.

  “I figured. Too bad he missed most of it on his honeymoon.”

  “They got back a few days ago.” Mark swirled his teabag in the cup, watching the water turn a golden brown. They talked while they drank their tea—which wasn’t as bad as he was expecting. He still didn’t care for it, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as some of the excuses for drinking water he’d had overseas. At least Jess’s tea wasn’t likely to give him dysentery.

  He stood to take his empty cup to the sink. When he turned around, he bumped right into Jess, who had come into the kitchen behind him. Automatically, his hands went to her shoulders to steady her. She let out a breathless sound that shot straight to his groin.

  Their eyes locked, and she leaned closer.

  Fuck. His blood heated, and his pulse pounded. He shouldn’t do this. It was better if they stayed friends. But his head bent toward hers, drawn by a force too powerful to resist. Just before their lips touched, her eyes rolled back and she fell limp in his arms. Her teacup hit the floor and shattered, and he could have sworn his heart stopped too.

  * * *

  Jessica fought against the bursts of light blasting behind her eyelids. She’d been battling a migraine all morning and had been feeling much better, but then right before she kissed Mark, the pain had intensified until she felt like the top of her head might blow off.

  “Jess,” Mark’s voice drifted in through the waves of pain.

  “I’m okay,” she whispered.

  But she wasn’t. She was starting to think she wasn’t okay at all. These headaches, the constant fatigue…and yesterday, the pain in her knee had switched from her left knee to her right. What if she’d inherited the arthritis that had crippled her grandmother? How would she be able to keep up her duties at the spa if her body rebelled against her?

  “Not okay,” Mark said, echoing her thoughts. “You blacked out for a second. I’m driving you to the hospital.”

  “What?” She forced her eyes open, looking up into his concerned face. Spots danced around her vision, and her stomach roiled. “I don’t need to go to the hospital…”

  He swept her into his arms and started toward the front door, apparently not taking no for an answer.

  “It’s just a migraine,” she protested, but okay, she’d never had them like this until a few weeks ago, and she’d definitely never blacked out during one before. “My purse…”

  He bent to lift the black bag from the table by the front door. “I’ll come back for Bear.”

  “Mark, you really—”

  “We’re going to the hospital,” he repeated. Supporting her easily with one arm, he opened the passenger door of his SUV and set her inside.

  She would have protested this macho display, but she wasn’t altogether sure her legs would hold her right now. The pain in her head was so intense that it seemed to radiate through her whole body. She leaned back and closed her eyes as he fastened the seatbelt around her. His fingers brushed her arm, warm and comforting.

  Oh, this man…why did he have to be so damn good?

  By the time they got to the ER, that intense wave of pain had passed, and she insisted on walking inside. Now that she could think clearly again, she felt a little uncomfortable about being at the hospital, especially with Mark. She signed in at the front desk and then settled into an uncomfortable plastic chair near the back of the waiting room with him at her side. “You really don’t have to stay. Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

  He shook his head. “I’m not on the sched
ule until noon today.”

  Still, she was sure he had better places to be than here with her. “I called in sick today. Hate having to do that.”

  He gave her a sharp look. “Why didn’t you say so when I first stopped by?”

  She shrugged. “I was feeling better for a little while there.” And there’d been something in his face when he’d shown up, something almost…vulnerable. She’d wanted to spend some time with him, maybe see if she’d finally encountered a chink in his seemingly impenetrable armor. Instead she’d swooned in his arms like an idiot and wound up here at the ER.

  “Jess…” He shifted in his seat. “Are you sure it’s just a migraine?”

  “What do you mean?” She drew back, the movement causing her head to throb.

  “You just haven’t seemed quite well these last few weeks. Maybe you should get checked out, that’s all.”

  “Well, I’m here, aren’t I?” she grumbled, closing her eyes.

  They sat there for almost an hour together. She was too groggy to come up with small talk and ended up falling asleep with her head on his shoulder instead. As a result, she was already feeling a lot better by the time she was called back.

  And what a big waste it all turned out to be. She’d been poked, prodded, and irritated, and all for nothing. The ER doctor gave her a prescription for the pain and told her to follow up with her regular doctor. She was just signing her discharge paperwork when her mother came bursting into the room, wearing scrubs decorated with brightly colored balloons, huffing for breath as if she’d just run all the way from the pediatric wing (which she probably had).

  “I just heard you were here! What’s going on?” Paula rushed to her side.

  With a sigh, Jessica recounted the events of the morning while her mother buzzed around her in concern. Paula read over the paperwork the ER doctor had given her, gasping dramatically when she learned Jessica had lost consciousness.

  “For like a second, Mom. I’m fine.”

  “But you don’t usually have migraines like this.”

  “No,” Jessica acknowledged. “I’ve been having them a lot the last few weeks though.”

  “Definitely follow up with Dr. Rimmel to be sure that’s all it is,” her mom said. “Plus, if they keep up like this, there are some really effective medications available that might help.”

  “I will.” Jessica stood, giving her mom a quick hug. “I promise. You’d better get back to work, Mom. I’m ready to get out of here.”

  “How are you getting home, sweetie?”

  “Mark’s here. He’ll drive me home.”

  “Mark?” Her mom raised her eyebrows.

  Jessica nodded, regretting it as the movement brought a fresh wave of pain radiating through her head. “He stopped by my house this morning with some paperwork for me to sign. He’s the one who insisted I come get checked out.”

  Paula smiled, her expression softening. “Well, tell him thank you for that. You’ve always been too stubborn where doctors are concerned.”

  “Stubborn, but not stupid,” Jessica said. “I’ll follow up with Dr. Rimmel, I promise.”

  “Okay, keep me posted,” her mom said. “And I want to know more about why Mark’s name keeps coming up so often lately, but right now, you need to get home and rest. Lunch later this week?”

  “Definitely.” Jessica said good-bye to her mom, checked out of the ER, and went to find Mark in the waiting room. He was still sitting right where she’d left him, messing around on his phone, and oh, he was a welcome sight. She wanted to lose herself in the comfort of his embrace and let him hold her until she felt better, but that was silly.

  Instead, she let him lead the way out to his SUV. She could hardly wait to crawl into her bed for a nice, long nap. Mark insisted on stopping at the pharmacy on the way home to fill her prescription, and while she wanted to protest, the promise of pain relief was too tempting in the end.

  “Thanks for your help this morning,” she told him when they got back to her house.

  He nodded. When she opened her front door, his dog came barreling out, tail wagging, looking more excited than Jessica had ever seen her. “Call if you need anything,” he said.

  “I’ll be fine.” She stepped closer. “But thanks…really.”

  It was such a shame she hadn’t gotten to kiss him earlier, but maybe she could still fix that. She leaned in. Her blood heated, and her heart started to pound, but dammit, the pain in her head intensified until spots danced in front of her eyes. She closed her eyes and drew a shaky breath. If only she could kiss him without her pulse racing…“I’m going to go in and lay down,” she said, accepting defeat.

  Mark nodded.

  “If I don’t see you before, you’ll be at the party on Saturday, right?” She suspected he’d only be there if Ryan and Ethan dragged him kicking and screaming, but she didn’t care, as long as he was there. Her annual Halloween party was one of the highlights of her year, and she could hardly wait.

  Mark made a noncommittal sound.

  “Come?” She gave him what she hoped was her sweetest smile. “It’ll be fun. Promise.”

  “I’ll stop by,” he said.

  “Don’t forget your costume.” She stepped inside, closed the door behind her, and then released a long, shuddering breath. Dammit, her head really hurt. Her knee hurt—the right one now, not the left—and she just felt generally awful. She walked to the kitchen for a glass of water and washed down one of the pills the ER doctor had prescribed for her.

  Please let it help.

  She walked to her bedroom and curled up in the middle of her bed, blinking back the tears that burned in her eyes because, if she cried, it would only make her head hurt even worse.

  Something’s not right.

  The feeling had been nagging at her for weeks now. Ever since her bout with the flu earlier this month, she just hadn’t been herself. She’d been plagued with fatigue, aches, and pains. She’d managed to keep the feeling at bay until this morning, when Mark had voiced his concern. Now that he’d spoken her fear out loud, she couldn’t shove it back into its little hiding place in the back of her mind. She drifted into a fitful sleep filled with frantic, unsettling dreams. When she woke up, it was just past three o’clock, and her head did feel better, but that knot of fear was still wedged in the pit of her stomach.

  It was time to call her doctor.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Mark stood inside the front door of the shop, reading an e-mail on his phone from the contractor he’d hired to deliver lumber for the raised portion of the mountain bike course.

  “If you don’t pick your own, we’re going to pick one for you,” Ethan said.

  Mark scowled. Somehow they’d dragged him into the Halloween store to get costumes for the party tonight at the spa. Ryan and Ethan were excited. Mark was not. “I don’t need a costume,” he said, even as he remembered Jess’s parting words to him last Friday.

  Don’t forget your costume.

  “I totally see you in this,” Ethan said, deadpan, as he held up a Batman costume in a clear plastic sack.

  “Not a chance in hell,” Mark answered.

  “Got mine.” Ryan held up a package containing a white suit like John Travolta wore in Saturday Night Fever.

  Mark lifted an eyebrow.

  “Emma’s going to be a disco ball,” Ryan said. “You know, with the baby bump…”

  “Coordinating costumes?”

  Ryan shot a look at Ethan, who’d gone noticeably quiet.

  “You too?” Mark asked.

  “We’re going as the characters from King of the Desert,” Ethan said, referencing the adventure-style video game that Gabby had helped develop.

  And okay, as far as couples’ costumes went, that was pretty cool.

  “Which just leaves you,” Ryan said, pointing at Mark.

  “I don’t dress up.”

  “Today you are,” Ethan said, turning his attention to the racks of costumes in front of him. “So what’s it going
to be?”

  Mark gestured to the plain black T-shirt on the wall that read, THIS IS MY COSTUME. “That.”

  “Yo, even for you, that’s lame,” Ryan said.

  “Agreed,” Ethan said. “Look, you could be Darth Vader, complete with the helmet. No one would even know who you were, and then you wouldn’t have to talk to anyone.”

  While the thought of being incognito did hold a certain appeal, no way in hell was he dressing up as Darth Vader. He shot Ethan a look that said as much.

  “I’ve got it,” Ryan said, holding up a white mask. “You can be the Phantom of the Opera. Just wear black clothes and this mask.”

  “Bro, that’s perfect.” Ethan slapped him a high five. “You’re wearing it.”

  And Mark apparently didn’t get any say in it because Ryan was already walking to the cash register with his disco outfit and the Phantom of the Opera mask in hand. Mark didn’t even know who the Phantom of the Opera was—some dude from an opera, he was fairly sure—but if he had to wear a mask and his own clothes to put in an appearance at Jess’s party, he could live with that.

  Since that was settled, he left the store to wait for his friends outside. He’d happily never step foot inside a Halloween store again.

  “Here you go, man.” Ryan came out of the store and handed him the white mask.

  “Thanks.” Mark took it and headed in the direction of their condo building. Ryan followed while Ethan waved good-bye, off to get ready for the party at his and Gabby’s house.

  “You’re cool with the mask, right?” Ryan asked, falling into step beside him.

  “Yeah. Sure.”

  “Everything okay with Jessica? I heard you took her to the ER last week.”

  “Migraine,” Mark said.

  “Don’t usually go to the ER for that.”

  “She blacked out for a second, had me worried.” He was still worried. Jess hadn’t seemed like herself this past month, and he didn’t like it one fucking bit.

  “Shit, that would have me worried too. Is she all right?” Ryan asked.

  “Hope so.”

  “You don’t sound too convinced.” Ryan shot him a look.