Stef’s eyes fell shut as she thought about Tania’s phone call earlier this morning. After everything, her friend called every year on the anniversary to see if Stef was okay, when it should have been the other way around.
“Hey, I’m happy I caught you!”
Stef looked up and spotted Callie jogging toward her. Dressed in scrubs and a lab coat, she fit right in with the rest of the scenery, except for the dog and cat silhouette stitched above her name.
“Hey,” Stef greeted. “What are you doing here?”
“Coming to beg my favorite sister-in-law for a favor,” Callie said.
“I won’t bother pointing out that I’m your only sister-in-law.”
“Even if I had others, you’d still be my favorite.”
“Uh oh.” Stef laughed. “It must be a really big favor.”
Callie looked around. “Is there somewhere we can talk?”
“Sure.” She guided her to a small alcove a few steps away from the charge station. “What’s going on?”
“I need your help in surprising Stefan,” she said. “Dustin is throwing us a party at his place. A reception for the friends and family who we couldn’t invite to the wedding.”
“Really? That’s so sweet of him.” How could that man melt her heart even when he wasn’t trying? Although Stef found it strange that he hadn’t mentioned anything yesterday.
“He just called me today with the idea,” Callie said, as if answering Stef’s mental question. “But that’s not Stefan’s surprise.” The excited giddiness in Callie’s voice, along with the glow Stef was just noticing on her face, told her everything she needed to know.
“Oh my goodness.” Stef clapped her hands over her mouth. “You’re pregnant.”
Callie’s head bobbed with her vigorous nod.
“Oh my God. I knew it! I knew it wouldn’t be long before you two got pregnant.” She wrapped her arms around her sister-in-law, pulling her in for a hug that lasted no less than a full minute. Her arms still clamped on Callie’s shoulders, Stef leaned back and looked over her face. It positively beamed. “Stefan is going to be scared shitless. You know that, right?”
“Yes, I know.” Callie laughed.
“How far along are you?”
“Three months. I didn’t even recognize what was happening until we got home from Grand Turk. I’d skipped a few months, but I’ve been so nervous about the wedding that I thought it was just the stress. But when I told Kiera and Jada, they immediately demanded I take a pregnancy test.”
“Have you only taken the home test?” Stef asked, knowing those were not one hundred percent reliable.
“I went to my doctor yesterday. I’m definitely pregnant.”
“Yes! I am so happy for the two of you I can hardly stand it.” Stef wrapped her arms around her again. This woman was going to make her knuckleheaded brother a father.
“So, about the surprise,” Callie said.
“What do you need me to do?”
“I’m creating a family album, and I need pictures of Stefan as a kid.”
Stef grimaced.
“I know,” Callie said. “Stefan has told me all about his childhood and his relationship with his dad. From what he’s told me, it was pretty rough.”
“There are rigid, unfeeling people in this world,” Stef said. “My dad happens to be one of them. Stefan and I dealt with it in different ways. Stefan confronted him every chance he could. I rebelled.”
And had to count on her dad to bail her out of trouble when her rebelling finally caught up with her.
“Are there any happy pictures of Stefan as a child?” Callie asked. “I want to present it to him as sort of a ‘starting our lives together’ album, with pictures of both of us through the years, then shots from the wedding. At the very end, I’ll have a blank birth announcement. Does that sound cheesy?”
“That sounds adorable,” Stef said. “But, then again, I love cheesy, so I’m probably not the best person to give advice on it.” She waved her hands. “I’ll find some pictures. I’m sure my mom has some.” She shook her head. “Stefan is going to be ecstatic. After he throws up a few times, of course.”
Callie laughed again, but then she sobered, her expression taking on a more somber, cautious look.
“Are you…uh…are you doing okay today?” she asked. Her shoulder lifted in a hesitant shrug. “Before he left the house this morning, Stefan mentioned that today is the anniversary of the accident. At first I assumed he was talking about your late husband, but—”
“No,” Stef interrupted. “He’s talking about another accident. But, not too worry, I’m doing fine.”
“Are you sure? I know it never gets easier,” Callie said.
Yes, she knew. Her sister-in-law had lost her parents in a car accident back when she was in college. Callie understood grief.
“I’m okay,” Stef said. “I promise.”
“Well, Stefan will probably call later to check up on you anyway.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to keep my lips zipped when it comes to the surprise,” Stef reassured her.
She promised Callie she’d have some pictures for her by the next afternoon, then actually said a brief prayer of thanks when their conversation was interrupted by EMS’s arrival. Thank goodness the patient they’d brought in from the nursing home only had a stomach bug. Stef would have felt really guilty over her relief if it had been something life threatening.
By the time her half-shift ended, she’d managed to quell the disquiet that lingered in her belly from the day’s earlier reminders about the accident. As she made her way to her car, her cellphone rang. Stef smiled at the sight of Dustin’s name. It was both surprising and a bit alarming. This was supposed to be a temporary friendship. She shouldn’t allow just the sight of his name to stir up such excitement within her.
She tried to maintain an air of detachment as she answered, but within seconds his voice drew a smile across her face.
“You’re not bailing on me are you?” Dustin asked.
“No, I’m leaving work right now. Give me about an hour.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come and pick you up?” Dustin asked. “I promise to come in a car this time.”
“Dustin, you live in New Orleans. It doesn’t make sense for you to drive all the way to Maplesville to pick me up and then have to drive all the way back to bring me home. I can meet you. Of course, it would be nice to know exactly where we’re going once I get there.”
“You’ll find out soon enough.” Amusement colored his voice. “Just park in the lot at the base of the French Quarter, the one not far from Decatur Street. I’ll see you there.”
“Fine,” Stef said with a dramatic sigh.
“And get ready to get over that fear of bugs.”
Anxiety skated down her spine just at the thought.
Even though ninety percent of her common sense told her to back out of whatever crazy scheme Dustin had prepared for her, she tamped it down and decided to pay attention to the ten percent that was too curious to say no. She wasn’t sure why she trusted him, but she did.
“You’ll probably regret this,” Stef muttered once she got behind the wheel and started en route to New Orleans. She continued to question the wisdom of what she was doing as she traveled south across the yawning stretch of Lake Ponchartrain and into the heart of the French Quarter. Her worry had less to do with whatever bug-related adventure Dustin had up his sleeve; it was more about the man himself. He stirred things within her, feelings that could become addicting if she were not careful. Stef knew it would be dangerous to crave him more than she already did.
She turned into the open-air parking lot that butted against the levee lining the great Mississippi River and found a spot that faced the Beinville streetcar station. As she got out, planning to call Dustin, a gleaming black motorcycle pulled into the empty space alongside her. Its driver straddled his feet on either side and set the kickstand in place. When he took off his helmet,
her insides went liquid.
Good Lord, but this man was trying to kill her.
Stef leaned against her driver’s side door and folded her arms across her chest. She waited until he’d stowed the helmet in a compartment at the rear of the bike before nodding in the direction of the gleaming machine. “Were you planning to pick me up on this?”
He shook his head. “I was going to use a car, but I can take you for a ride if you want one.”
She so wanted a ride on his bike. Among other things.
Heat instantly shot down her spine at the barrage of images flashing across her mind.
The bad girl that lived within her—that crazy, risk-taking adrenalin junky she’d worked so hard to suppress—screamed at her to say yes.
Instead, Stef shook her head. “No thanks.”
The temptation was just too great. It would start with a motorcycle ride. Next thing she knew she would be sitting in a jail cell, waiting for her father to bail her out.
Okay, so maybe that was a bit of a stretch, but Stef knew just how quickly things could get out of control. She’d lived it.
“Let me guess,” Dustin said, his tone teasing. “The nurse has seen her share of motorcycle crash victims in the ER.”
That had nothing to do with her decision not to climb onto that gleaming mass of shiny metal, but it was easier than sharing the harsh truth.
“You got it,” she said. Needing a subject change, she asked, “Now, what exactly is there in the French Quarter that can help me get past my bug phobia?”
“You still haven’t figured it out?”
She shook her head. Nervousness slid down her spine at the mischievous gleam in his eyes. He rubbed his hands together. “This is going to be fun.”
Oh, yeah. She was definitely nervous now.
“By the way, sorry I was a little late.”
“You got here a minute after I did,” Stef said.
“But I wanted to get here before you did. I had to stop in on one of my mechanics. He’s been out for a couple of weeks, dealing with an old injury and VA bureaucracy. I went over to his place in Broadmoor to see if I could help him figure it all out.”
She looked over at him, staggered by his nonchalance. “You do realize how amazing that is, don’t you?” she asked.
“What?”
He truly didn’t see it. She was stunned. And, yeah, maybe her heart took a slight tumble for him, too. It was hard not to fall for a combination of gorgeous, hot, funny and humble.
“Just a little FYI…most company owners don’t make house calls to their sick employees. In fact, most company owners would be trying to find a replacement, not seeing how they can help.”
He shrugged. “I came out of Afghanistan in pretty good shape. A few nicks and scratches, but nothing to get too worked up about.” He brushed a thumb back and forth along his hip. “Doesn’t matter whether you want to call it lucky, blessed, always avoiding the wrong place at the right time—I got out practically unscathed. But we both know our share of men and women who didn’t.”
Stef nodded. Even without taking into account the injury that had ended her brother’s navy career, as an army nurse, she’d treated more than her share of soldiers who had returned home both with physical and mental wounds.
“It’s everyone’s duty to take care of the vets with battle scars,” Dustin continued. “The injuries you can see and those you can’t.” He tapped the side of his head. “Your brother is the perfect example. Looking at Stefan on the outside, you would never think he suffered an injury severe enough to get him discharged from the navy.”
“Stefan is the perfect example of how important what you’re doing is to your employees,” Stef said. “I don’t know what he would have done if not for you. What would any of your employees do without you?”
A shadow crossed his face, but before she could question it, he said, “Here we are.”
They stood on the sidewalk in front of the stately US Custom House on Canal Street, just before the entrance to the Audubon Institute’s Insectarium and Butterfly Garden.
Stef shook her head. “No way.”
“What?” Dustin asked. “This is perfect. The best way to get over a fear is to face it head on. You’ll be surrounded by thousands of bugs in a controlled environment.”
“I run out of the room when commercials for this place come on TV.”
“How did you deal with the spiders and scorpions in Afghanistan?”
“My unit understood my fear. They kept them away from me.”
“Wow. That’s how they roll in the army? Be happy you weren’t with the guys I had to deal with over there. They would have had the entire unit collecting bugs to torture you with.”
“Uh, duh. Didn’t I tell you what Stefan did to me as a kid? I see now that he fit right in with you crazy navy men.” He tugged her by the hand, but Stef refused to budge. “Do I have to?”
“No, but just think of how proud Jacob will be when the two of you are catching lightning bugs?”
“That’s a low blow. Mentioning my baby’s name at a time like this.”
“Whatever it takes,” Dustin laughed. “Now, let’s go touch some bugs.”
“You didn’t say anything about touching.”
Dustin’s shoulders dropped in exasperation. “We’ll see how it goes. If you’re not ready to touch, then we won’t touch.” A grin curled the corner of his mouth. “Just to be clear, we’re talking about bugs here. When it comes to other things, I definitely want you to touch. I’m begging for you to touch.”
She cursed every one of the sensual little pinpricks that skidded along her skin. This was not the time. In an effort to prevent herself from dragging him to her car and having her way with him in the back seat, Stef took him by the hand and entered the Insectarium.
Dustin claimed they would start out slowly. Apparently, he thought tackling the butterfly garden first would ease her in to seeing the really creepy bugs.
“I’m afraid of butterflies too,” she admitted.
“Who in their right mind is afraid of a butterfly?” Dustin asked. His look of incredulousness would have made her laugh if she wasn’t scared to death. “What can a pretty insect with wings do to you?”
“I never said my fear was rational,” Stef argued.
He dragged her to the exhibit room where hundreds of butterflies flitted around. Her heart beat so fast she could feel it pumping in her ears.
“You really are scared,” he said. “Your hands are cold.”
“I know. It’s ridiculous.”
After a significant pause, he said, “No it isn’t. We all have something we fear.” Another beat passed. “Doesn’t matter how outlandish it seems. If you’re afraid, then it is what it is.”
The seriousness in his voice gave her pause. For a moment, Stef forgot that she was terrified. She was more interested in finding out the story behind his statement than worrying about the swarm of demon insects flittering around her.
“What do you fear?” she asked.
“That I’ll never get to see you in that red string bikini.”
She elbowed him in the side. “That bikini is a figment of your imagination, remember?”
“I can buy you one.” The boyish hope in his eyes drew a sharp laugh from her. “Really,” he said. “We can stop over at the Shops at Canal Place when we leave here.”
“You’re not getting me in a bikini. Just put that dream out of your head.”
He snorted. “Army women.”
Stef didn’t miss that he’d avoided answering her question, but she let it slide for the moment. They still had two weeks together—plenty of time to figure out what that was all about.
After several failed attempts, including a choked scream that turned the heads of other patrons strolling around the butterfly garden, Stef let a small butterfly rest on her hand. She was scared out of her mind, but at least she’d taken this one tiny step.
As they traveled from exhibit to exhibit, her comfort level mar
ginally increased. Stef felt she deserved a medal for getting through the Termite Gallery without scratching her skin off. She hated every second, but at least she wasn’t on the verge of bolting anymore. Maybe there was something to Dustin’s plan. Eventually, with lots of prayer and screaming, she just might be able to catch fireflies with Jacob.
“There is one more place we have to visit before we leave,” Dustin said as they exited the Termite Gallery. He took her by the hand and walked across the corridor.
Stef’s feet halted just inside the entryway. “No way. Forget it.”
“What? The Bug Buffet is the best part of the Insectarium,” he said. “Some of these bugs are delicacies in other parts of the world.”
“I am not eating a bug.”
“What if I dare you?”
Stef shook her head. “I don’t care. I’m not doing it.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, an inquisitive hitch to his brow. “So, what happens if I dare you to do something and you don’t do it? Is it like truth or dare? You have to tell me something that I really want to know? Do something outrageous?”
“Who says I have to do anything? I can just say no and that be the end of it. Period.”
“What’s the fun in that?”
“I’m not doing it,” she repeated.
He put both hands up. “Okay, okay. How about this? I dare you to watch me eat something from the bug buffet.”
Stef folded her hands over her stomach, but she knew that queasy feeling wasn’t going away. “You are a twisted soul, Dustin Patrick.” She forced herself to swallow past the revulsion climbing up her throat, but then finally relented. “Fine. But you’d better chew with your mouth closed.”
Disgust twisted her lips as they ventured further into the room. It was filled with kids laughing and joking as they chomped on bugs. Dustin found them a table in the far corner where Stef could look at the wall instead of the bugs being consumed. He left her there for several minutes before returning with a plate.
Stef looked over and spotted two cookies with something that looked like spiders in them. She covered her mouth with her hand and had to force herself not to bolt for the bathroom.
I Dare You! (Moments in Maplesville Book 4) Page 7
