“That’s why this is a good idea,” Caitlyn said. “How can they ever reconcile if they’re never around each other?”
“It might work,” Lindsey said. She wanted the band to get back together more than anything.
“I know if Owen sees Kellen, they’ll have to make amends,” Caitlyn said to Dawn.
“God, I hope so,” Dawn said. “Kellen’s so moody right now.”
“Are you sure he’s not always like that?” Caitlyn asked.
“This is advanced moodiness we’re talking about.”
“I thought the party was for Gabe and Adam,” Lindsey said.
“It is,” Caitlyn said, “but we thought Owen wouldn’t be able to avoid Kellen if we hold the party here.”
“The house is much too small for a party,” Lindsey said. With three, sometimes four, adults living there, it was already overcrowded.
“But the yard is perfect,” Dawn said.
If the weather cooperated.
“We’ll rent tables and set up out there,” Caitlyn said.
“I’m happy to help,” Lindsey said. “What do you want me to do?”
They hashed out tasks for each of them. Lindsey was charged with the guest list, and Caitlyn suggested that she get Jordan, one of the band’s roadies, to help her.
“He’s our best bet for not forgetting to invite those who should get invitations.”
“But why do you think Jordan will help me?” Lindsey asked.
“Oh, please,” Caitlyn said. “Haven’t you noticed the way he hovers around you? He’s completely smitten.”
Smitten? Jordan was just nice. And because he was nice, he probably would help her, but he wasn’t interested in her. How could he be? She was pregnant with the child of one of his bosses.
“I’d better get going,” Dawn said. “Best if Owen doesn’t catch me here. He’ll think we’re plotting something.”
“We are plotting something.” Caitlyn laughed, her dark eyes crinkling at the corners.
“Keep me updated.” Dawn brushed back her long deep red hair as she rose from the table.
She was so tall and graceful. Lindsey felt like a bloated hippo beside her.
Dawn offered them both a wave. “Be seeing you, Lindsey.”
Lindsey waved back a little too eagerly. She was so uncool, but the ice between them had melted since Kellen had been cleared of fatherhood, and she was so glad for that. Even Caitlyn had warmed a bit. At least enough to include her in party preparations.
“See you, Dawn,” Lindsey said, and the thought didn’t fill her with dread.
Life was definitely starting to look up.
Chapter Ten
Chad and Owen stopped outside the dilapidated fence of the worst-looking house in the neighborhood and exchanged smiles. It was located about halfway between Owen’s house and their parents’ house—close to family, but not on top of them. It was also only blocks from the gym he and Owen had just left. Perfect location. Less than perfect house.
“Maybe I can afford it, “Chad said. He’d be getting his loss of limb settlement soon, and though it wouldn’t make him rich, it would give him the means to put a down payment on his own place. And he’d been squirreling away money for a wedding that now wouldn’t be happening, so he had some extra funds. Normally, even the smallest house in the neighborhood would be out of his reach, but the eyesore in front of him might be doable.
“We’ll have to check it out and make sure most of the problems are cosmetic,” Owen said. “You don’t want to have to sink too much money into it.”
“I can do most of the work myself.” Or he could have before . . . He craned his neck to look up at his little brother, who’d always been a few inches shorter than him. He hated his fucking chair. “You’ll help me, won’t you? I helped you fix up your dump.”
“My dump was never as bad off as this hovel.”
It didn’t look like a hovel to Chad. It looked like possibility.
Owen clamped a hand on Chad’s shoulder. “But of course I’ll help you.”
Dependable Owen. So dependable that pregnant groupies sought him out to be their baby daddy. Chad could be dependable for Lindsey too. Even more so if he had a place of his own and a bigger bed.
“It’s not like I have anything better to do right now,” Owen added. He was still looking at the house, but no longer seemed to see it.
“Besides fuck your new girlfriend, you mean?”
“Yeah, besides that. I was supposed to be touring all summer.”
Chad wished there was something he could do to help his brother get his band back together. Or maybe there was more bothering him than that. Chad hadn’t seen Kellen around since that one rather terse visit in the hospital, and that was plain odd. Owen and Kellen had spent every day together since fifth grade, for fuck’s sake. And Chad considered Kellen a close friend as well, so it was a bit hurtful that he didn’t come around more often.
Chad hated to pry—it wasn’t his style—but . . . “So, what’s Kellen been up to since the band split?”
Owen shrugged. He licked his lips. Was he finally going to confide what was bothering him, what had happened between him and Kellen? Chad didn’t move, didn’t push any harder, but Owen only blinked, his gaze refocusing on the house. “This house looks pretty small. Are you sure there’s enough room?”
Chad didn’t like to share his feelings either, so he let Owen change the subject without forcing the issue.
“I bet it’s bigger than your place. And look at the size of that backyard. I’m surprised someone hasn’t bought it yet.”
The local schools were fantastic. Families wanted in the neighborhood and were willing to purchase less than desirable real estate for the opportunity. Much of the time they demolished these little shitholes and built something new, but Chad liked the charm of older houses, and even though he griped to Owen about helping him fix up his house, it had been one of the most rewarding experiences of his life.
“How long has the place been on the market?” he asked.
“A couple of weeks at least. I saw the For Sale sign the day we got the news of your accident, but it slipped my mind.”
Weeks? Chad cringed. Even for a tear-down, that was a long time to sit on the market. They must have too high an asking price. Or it was built over a haunted burial ground or someone had been murdered in it or something. None of those thoughts deterred Chad, though.
“I’d better get on this quick. Jot down the phone number.”
“It’s best not to go through the listing agent. I’ll call my realtor,” Owen said. “Are you sure you want to do this right now? Maybe it would be better to wait until you’ve healed.”
Why did everyone think he needed to put his life on hold while he healed? He knew people were concerned for him, but he couldn’t move forward by standing still. “This place will be long gone by then.”
“It’s just . . . To be honest . . . I kind of like having you around, you know.” Owen chuckled softly. “And Lindsey definitely likes having you around.”
Chad laughed. “Not as much as I like having her around.” He pulled his attention from what would soon be his new home to find Owen frowning.
“Caitlyn sure was happy when I told her I’m not going to be a father,” Owen said.
“Are you happy about it?”
Owen shrugged. “I was used to the idea, I guess. I like babies.”
Had Owen been hoping that Lindsey’s baby was his? Maybe he was ready to settle down. Chad always figured Owen would end up a family man despite his rock ‘n’ roll profession.
“Does Caitlyn want kids?”
“She has a corporation to run.” He smiled. “But yeah, I think she does. Her ex-husband didn’t want kids. It’s one of the reasons they split.”
“Are you planning to do the whole married-with-children thing with Caitlyn?” Chad asked.
“I’m not sure we’re ready for that step yet. I haven’t known her for long, but yeah, I think we’re headed tha
t way. I’ve always wanted a family.”
Chad smiled, glad his brother seemed so happy with his new, older, and uncommonly sexy woman.
“Any chance you’ll be getting back together with Josie?” Owen asked.
All the air left Chad’s body. He hadn’t let himself think about Josie or the cruel way she’d broken off their engagement. Her disregard hurt far more than the constant pain in his leg or the healing bruises and scrapes on his body.
“Fuck that bitch,” Chad said. He spun his chair around, using his anger to turn the wheels and launch himself along the sidewalk at a speed that had Owen jogging to keep up with him.
“You know I hate to pry as much as you do,” Owen said, huffing slightly as Chad wheeled faster and his own jog became a run. “But what exactly happened between you two?”
“She said she wasn’t prepared to deal with this.” Chad took one hand off the wheel to point at his leg, and the chair skidded sideways. Owen stopped just short of plowing into him.
“She said what?”
Chad shook his head. He didn’t want to talk about it. He wanted to forget about the breakup and move on. “You know she never wanted me to join the military,” Chad said, grabbing both wheels and maneuvering the chair so he could head straight up the sidewalk again. “That’s why I decided not to reenlist a second time even before the accident.” But if he’d been of sound body, he probably would have signed up for a third tour of duty after she’d dumped him. He loved being a Marine. He loved serving his country to protect it from threats.
“Fuck that bitch,” Owen said.
“I have.” Chad snorted, then added, “I’ve had better.” Earlier that day as a matter of fact.
Owen’s scowl was replaced with a smile. And Chad reminded himself for the thousandth time that the best way to move forward was by never looking back.
“I wonder what Lindsey is up to,” Chad said when she returned to the forefront of his mind. He wheeled forward at a more sedate pace. Just thinking about Lindsey calmed him, until his thoughts shifted to the release that she’d offered him that morning and his calm turned to arousal. He preferred that constant burning ache of need over the way Josie’s rejection ate at him. Was it possible to heal deep emotional wounds by fucking someone new? He hoped to soon find out. “I need her to help me as soon as we get home. I could use a postworkout sponge bath.”
“You do stink,” Owen said.
And it had felt great to work up a sweat, even if he had been self-conscious with everyone in the gym staring at him. Or trying not to stare at him. Somehow, their quick glances were harder to take then the outright gawking. At least if they were staring, he didn’t feel like he was being dismissed.
“You smell pretty bad yourself.”
“And I have to bathe all on my own,” Owen said. “Unless I ask Lindsey to help me shower.”
“You’d better not.”
“I guess we’ll see who manages to ask her first,” Owen said. He took off, sprinting up the sidewalk, and Chad wheeled himself in hot pursuit. Chasing after Owen and knowing that he wasn’t slowing his speed to let him win elevated Chad’s competitive spirit and his mood. He wasn’t going to let the world get him down. He had a life to rebuild, and something deep in his soul told him it would start with that so-called hovel. He wasn’t sure what came after that, but for now it would be enough.
Owen beat Chad back to the house and collapsed on his back at the bottom of the wheelchair ramp, tossing his arms wide into the neatly trimmed grass. He was still lying there trying to catch his breath when Chad used momentum to boost his chair up the incline. His upper body muscles strained to keep driving the chair forward when the forces acting against him overtook his head start. He could really feel his morning workout now. He’d concentrated on upper body strength at the gym, because he wasn’t quite sure how to work around having only one leg yet. He’d need to perfect a few common exercises in private—like squats and deadlifts—before he could brave carrying them out in public, but he could still bench press with the best of them. His shoulder felt better than it had in weeks. He’d known immobilizing it wasn’t helping. It had needed a good workout to get the joint loosened up again.
Because he’d worked his chest and shoulders to fatigue, he wasn’t sure he could push himself up the last few feet of the ramp until Lindsey opened the back door and beamed at him.
“How was your workout?” she asked.
His heart thudded with happiness on top of exertion—the poor overworked organ—and another deep part of his soul told him that this woman was part of how he’d rebuild his life. He wasn’t sure how she’d fit or if she even wanted to, but just seeing her angelic face suffused him with pure joy. He didn’t have much joy going on in his life at the moment, but he was smart enough not to push it away when it presented itself.
“I’m all sweaty, angel,” he said, his arms and chest protesting but cooperating as he wheeled himself to the threshold and bumped over it. Soon he vowed to be doing wheelies up the ramp and hopping that threshold like it was nothing. “Do you think you could—”
“Want to help me with my shower, Lindsey?” Owen called from his prone position in the yard.
“I don’t think Caitlyn would appreciate that,” Lindsey said as she followed Chad into the house. She pulled the door shut behind him and then squeezed around his chair in the tight mud room so they were face-to-face.
“How did the ultrasound go?” he asked. “What did the doctor say?”
She lit up. “I’m due September fifteenth, and the baby is healthy.”
“That’s great!” Unable to keep from touching her for a minute longer, he took her hand. God, she was beautiful when she smiled. When she lit up with happiness, those big blue eyes of hers turned him to warm butter.
“But I was wrong again.”
His thundering heart skipped a beat. Wrong about him? “About what?” he asked cautiously, not sure he could take her rejection.
“It’s not a boy,” she said.
His entire body felt lighter, as if he’d suddenly been filled with helium and was in danger of floating to the ceiling.
“A girl? That’s fantastic!” Chad wasn’t sure why he was so excited by the news. It wasn’t his baby. Lindsey wasn’t really his girlfriend either. Sure, she’d had pity sex with him, but he was sure she wasn’t experiencing the same level of attachment that he was. He knew he was falling for her fast because she made him feel good about himself—worthwhile—so soon after his trauma, and also because he’d been dumped hardcore, but that didn’t explain why he was happy to find out she was having some other dude’s daughter.
“I think maybe it’s better that the baby’s a girl,” she said. “I wouldn’t know how to raise a boy as a single mom. At least I know how girls work from personal experience.”
“What makes you think you’ll have to raise her as a single mom?”
“Even if Jacob or Adam want to be part of her life, neither of them will want anything to do with me, so I’ll still be single, right?”
Chad tugged her closer, looking up into her eyes, hating again that he was always looking up at people now. “They aren’t the only two men alive, you know.”
She ducked her chin. “I know. But any man who finds out how she was conceived—what I did—will think less of her, less of me.”
Her bottom lip wobbled, and he reached up to cup her cheek. “You shouldn’t give that kind of man the time of day, angel.”
She bit her lip and nodded slightly.
“What time is it?” he asked.
“Around two, I think,” she said.
“I’m glad you know I’m not that kind of man.” He winked at her, and she laughed.
“Let’s get you cleaned up.” She pulled her hand free to shift behind his chair.
“I’ll do it.” He grabbed the wheels before pushing himself forward.
“Sorry.” She lifted both hands off the chair grips and splayed her fingers wide. “I forgot you don’t like
help.”
“But you’re about to help me with my bath,” he reminded her, though he knew full well that he could bathe himself just fine. He just wanted her hands on him. Wanted her to look at him as she had that morning with desire and admiration and attraction.
“And you’re going to help me with something too,” she said.
“What’s that, angel?”
She leaned close to his ear and whispered, “I’m horny again. Do you think you can lend your aid?”
His belly tightened with instant need. “That can be arranged.”
“I’ll meet you in the bathroom. I need to grab a few things.”
“Shouldn’t we go upstairs?” he asked, drawing in his elbows as he wheeled through a particularly narrow doorway. He was going to make sure all of the doors in his house were wide enough for a wheelchair. Not for his sake—because he didn’t plan to stay in the fucking thing much longer—but to potentially save another person from the frustration he felt every time he was confronted with a tight space. “There’s no bathtub in the downstairs bath.”
“We won’t need a bathtub,” she said. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring lots of towels so we don’t make too much of a mess.”
He wasn’t worried. He was excited. The messier they got, the better.
Chad wheeled himself through the house into the small bathroom. His entire body was taut as he listened to the sounds of Lindsey moving around the house, collecting what she needed to make him clean. Or dirty. He wasn’t sure which. A few minutes later, Lindsey brought in a stack of towels and a handy tote full of toiletries and sponges. She winked at him as she set them on the toilet lid.
“Should I strip?” he asked.
A soft blush flushed her smooth cheeks. “I was hoping you’d allow me to undress you.”
He nodded and sat on his hands. Nervous energy flowed through his body as he watched her leave and a moment later return with a bucket of water she must have filled in the kitchen sink. The tiny sink in this bathroom couldn’t accommodate a bucket. He was ready to get down to business, but she left again. He glanced down at the spectacle his overexcited cock was making out of the front of his gym shorts. Fuck, that woman made him hard. And she hadn’t even touched him yet.
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