Forget Me Not

by Madden, J. M.

  Yes, it was the perfect height, and her mouth was within easy reach too. Cupping her head in his hand he pulled her to him. Angling his head, he kissed her hard. With a moan she leaned into him, resting her hand on his jaw. Chad wished he had shaved for her beforehand because her skin blemished easily. He would just try to be gentle.

  Lora didn't seem to be worried about the feel though. She was too lost in the moment. When she shifted against him and reached between them to angle him in, he let her. Then he guided her knees up around his hips as he pushed into her.

  "Oh, Chad," she sighed.

  Her perfect breasts with their hard pink nipples pressed against his chest. He looked down the slim line of her tummy and to the nest of pale blond hair below. It mingled with his own much darker hair. Drawing his hips back, he watched his body pull out of hers. His aching dick glistened with wetness. That was all her. For a moment he stilled, just feeling the throb of his pulse strum into his sex, and into her heat. His heart raced as he pushed forward again, going deeper than he had the first time. She exhaled in time with his movement, moving her arms to wrap around his shoulders and neck. He felt her heels dig into his flanks and he knew she could come this way. She'd already begun to quiver.

  Chad looked up into the mirror behind her and was struck with the eroticism of the moment. Lora was significantly smaller than he was, but she was strong. The long muscles along the length of her spine flexed as she arched into his thrusts. Her perfect little ass was dimpled by his fingers. He flexed them into her flesh just to see it, and she panted into his neck. Still holding her ass he pulled his hips back, then slammed forward again, and again. Leaning his head down he nibbled at the tender skin of her neck, just like she was doing to him. He glanced up at the mirror, watching himself curl into her, his arousal burning.

  She broke first, her head tilting back as her pleasure began to overwhelm her. Shifting his hold, Chad spread the fingers of his right hand over the base of her spine, pulling her in tight against him. With his weaker left hand he tugged at her distended nipples. Lora cried out, one arm bending behind her head, lifting her breast higher for his attention. Chad could feel her body twitching, jerking as she neared the crest and he shifted his touch to her other breast even as he leaned down to scrape his teeth along her earlobe. Tightening his fingers, he tugged on her breast, his body grinding into hers. He felt her pussy clamp down until he could hardly move, then suddenly ripple as her orgasm rolled over her. Crying out, she dug her fingernails into his shoulders, her body jerking in his hold. Chad's vision had gone dark, though, as his pleasure responded to hers. The rolling contractions of her body's pleasure brought his own. He tipped his own head back with a growl, gripped her hips in his hands and pushed into her as hard as he could.

  The pleasure rolled through him hard, arching his back and tightening his muscles, but even as he came he had to be cognizant enough to keep his feet. He held Lora to him as tightly as he could without bruising her, his release filling her.

  "Oh, damn," he moaned, struggling to keep his quivering thighs braced as his orgasm receded. Eventually a wave of relaxation hit him, then it was really hard to keep his feet. Chad looked down into her shining eyes and smiled. "I needed that," he admitted.

  One side of her swollen mouth kicked up. "You know, I did too."

  Feeling like a voyeur, he looked down their bodies again as he backed away from her. What a beautiful sight she was as she put her knees together and slipped from the vanity. She padded to the shower and turned it on. Within seconds the hot water was rolling steam through the small bathroom.

  Chad wanted to lose himself in the love he felt for Lora. He'd gotten a little guarded about expressing himself and what he wanted, because he wanted her to follow her dreams, he truly did, even if he was inconvenienced a little. It wasn't fair for him to put his needs ahead of her own. But, he had been disappointed when he had expressed some minor wish, only to be shut down by her schedule.

  Pushing all that bitterness away, he reached for the shower gel. He would enjoy this moment for as long as he could.

  Chapter 8

  Garrett had a scowl on his face like she'd never seen before. He sat straight up in the bed, scowling at the nurse that puttered around him. "What do you mean it's been delayed?"

  The woman smiled at them, calm, and shrugged her shoulders slightly. "The surgeon has had two emergencies one right on top of another. Your surgery has been delayed."

  "Mine is an emergency, too," Garrett growled.

  The woman's smile never wavered as she tapped something into a tablet. "Technically it's not. You are stable at this moment. Mr. Lowell," she told him chidingly, "do you really want a surgeon who's been up for twenty-eight hours to operate on you?"

  Garrett frowned and looked to Francine. Chad's mother shrugged lightly. "She's right, dear. You don't want him to mess this up. It's too important."

  Scowling, he looked out the window beyond her head. "I need to get home," he complained. "I can't be sitting here on my ass while the ranch goes to hell."

  Chad shared a glance with Lora, then looked back at his father. "Dad, you know it's not going to hell. Brock and Jackson are taking care of everything. They wouldn't let the Blue Star decline in any way."

  Garrett continued to glower and Lora wondered what he needed to hear. Francine seemed to be at a loss too. She rubbed her husband's good hand.

  Lora stepped forward to the end of his bed. "What do you need right now, Garrett? How can we make you feel better about being here?"

  He shook his head mutely and he reminded her so much of Chad in that moment, stubbornly clamping his lips and not letting anyone in. "I'm tired," he said finally. "I want a nap. And I want something to eat. If he's not going to operate I need some food."

  The nurse smiled her standard smile. "I'll order you a tray, Mr. Lowell."

  Reaching for the side rail he pushed the button to lower the head of the bed.

  "Okay, we'll let you take a nap. We're going to take Francine down to eat something. We'll be back in a little bit."

  He didn't acknowledge them as they left the room.

  Francine allowed Lora to wrap her arm around her shoulders. "He's just frustrated and not feeling like himself at all," she told her.

  "I know," Lora told her softly. "And I don't blame him. He's had a lot to deal with in the past few days. You have too. But you're both doing very well."

  Chad reached out to rub his mother's back and she leaned into him for a hug. "Let's grab Mercy and we'll go get some lunch."

  * * *

  If anything, Garrett was worse when they returned. Resorting to guerrilla warfare to improve his mood, they snuck Mercy into the room. Her eyes widened when she saw Garrett in the hospital bed but she didn't freak out. Lora had worried that seeing him like that would scare her, but her little girl tipped up her chin and marched to the side of the bed. "Hey, Grampa."

  Garrett gave her a smile. "Hey, Munchkin. Got a smooch for your old pap?"

  Mercy climbed to her knees on his good side and leaned into him to give him a kiss.

  Garrett's mood did improve with Mercy's visit, but he still seemed so restless. When she murmured that to Chad, he nodded. "He's used to doing literally everything. It's like when Duncan needed his surgery. He had to let go of a bit of the control and it was a lot harder than he thought it would be. Dad's been in control of the ranch much longer than Duncan, though. The better part of thirty-five years, anyway, when he took over from his father."

  Lora nodded, wrapping her arm through his as they sat in the chairs and watched Mercy play checkers with Garrett on the rolling bedside table. Before long, though, Garrett was looking tired.

  "We should let him sleep,” Lora suggested.

  Chad nodded. "Dad, we're going to go out and let you sleep. Might take my girls around Amarillo and let them look around. See if we can catch a tiger or something."

  He waved a hand at them but didn't say anything. He did lean over for Mercy to give him a ki
ss on the cheek and gave her a wink in return.

  "Mama, do you need anything?"

  Francine shook her head. "No, I'm good. Cheyenne packed everything I needed. And I have a book and games on my phone for when he's sleeping."

  They headed out of the hospital and Lora was shocked at how bright everything was. They'd been in the hospital all morning waiting for Garrett's surgery. Now that it was cancelled till the next day they had some free time on their hands.

  Chad led them to the truck and they climbed in. He swatted Mercy on the butt as she got in and she giggled.

  Lora loved hearing her laugh. Sometimes the sound caught her off guard and she moved to quiet her before she remembered that Derek wasn't around any more. It was just habit to curb the noise.

  "Mind if we go to the zoo?” Chad asked them. “It's not very big but they have a nice variety of animals."

  "That sounds wonderful."

  "Yes, yes, yes!" Mercy chanted.

  Chad drove them to the zoo and they spent a leisurely couple of hours there. Mercy loved the ring-tailed lemurs and their crazy antics.

  "When I brought Grace, Caroline and Savannah a couple years ago they loved them, too," Chad told her.

  She also seemed entranced by the lions, thought they weren't particularly active. In the heat of the day they lay beneath the shade of a rock overhang in their enclosure, tails lazily swatting flies.

  "They're just like the horses, swatting with their tails," Chad laughed.

  Mercy giggled, reaching for his hand.

  Lora watched the interaction, a little shocked that this kind of happiness had wandered into her life.

  After touring for about an hour they hit a thatched hut ice cream stand. Chad guzzled a bottle of water, the muscles in his throat rippling as he swallowed. He wore a Grunt Style muscle shirt with a stylized skull on the front, shaded with the colors of the American flag. The ever-present Levis and Ariat cowboy boots clad his bottom half. Today he wore a ball cap instead of his Stetson, and he looked scrumptious, his lean muscles bulging as he played with Mercy. They'd made love this morning in the bathroom but she could feel her body hum with excitement as she looked at him.

  "You're husband is very good looking."

  Lora startled a little and jerked her head to look at the woman speaking. She was an older woman and seemed to just be holding a table. Her family must be in line for ice cream.

  "Thank you very much," Lora murmured. She didn't correct her on the husband part. "I think so, too."

  "And your daughter is a beautiful mix of you both."

  Again, she didn't correct the woman's assumptions, just nodded her head. "Thank you so much."

  "No, thank you for taking the time to be with your daughter." She waved a hand at the line. An older man and two boys stood in line, looking up at the sign and trying to decide what to order. "We bring our grandsons here, and we love spending time with them, don't get me wrong, but I wish my daughter and her husband would take the time from their schedules to do this sort of thing from time to time. They work too hard."

  Lora nodded. "It's easy to fall into that trap."

  She was saved from more conversation as the woman's family returned. Finishing their cones, Mercy and Chad stood to throw their trash away. With a final wave at the friendly woman, Lora followed them.

  It was easy to fall into the never-ending work trap. For the past year and a bit she'd done almost exactly that. In her mind she kept telling herself she was doing it to secure Mercy's future, but that wasn't completely the truth. There was a lot of satisfaction in having input in the running of the huge investment corporation. She could see the immediate effect of her actions on the response of the personnel and especially on the movement of the stock market. It was a true gauge to what had been happening with the company. When Rosalind Malone had been murdered the stock had plunged, then plunged even further when Derek exposed for what kind of man he was and how much money he had embezzled from investors. It had been an incredibly hard road bringing the failing company back from ruin. And it had taken a lot of very intelligent, savvy business people to help her do that.

  Now the company was back in the black. The stock was climbing and they were being innovative, looking for ways to grow. Rosalind had been content with the status quo, but Lora would not be. She couldn't be. Not anymore.

  Chad reached for her hand. Curling her fingers around his, she swung their hands together. The sun was sliding down the sky, but the past few hours had been idyllic. It seemed like an ideal time to talk to him about a few things, though she felt a little nervous.

  "I want to tell you that I'm sorry I've been working so hard recently," she told him. "I think I've gotten a little blind to everything going on around me. Without sounding like I'm making excuses, learning to run this business has been beyond difficult. Even with William's help. And there are certain things I'll never learn, probably." She paused and turned to him. Mercy had stopped at the bear exhibit and seemed absorbed. "But I want you to know that I see everything you've done to keep our family running, and I love you for it. Well, I love you for many things, but that's one of the biggies right now. The other biggie is how much you love Mercy. You are the father she's always deserved to have, I was just unable to give her."

  Chad lifted his sunglasses to the top of his hat. "You shouldn't take responsibility for anything to do with Derek. He saw a vulnerable young woman, whose mother had just died, and he took advantage. He wanted a pretty piece of arm candy and you fit the bill." He reached up and caught some hair the wind was trying to steal, tucking it behind her ear.

  She laughed. "Right. I don't know about the arm candy bit but I'll try not to feel guilty."

  Chad shook his head, his bright blue eyes direct. "You're a beautiful woman, Lora, and you rock my world. I can't tell you that enough. I know you've been working your ass off and I'm proud of everything that you've accomplished."

  Lora's eyes burned with tears and she had to look away from the directness of his stare to take a breath. But she had to look at him again, because everything he said was right there for her to read in his expression. She knew in her heart he loved her. It was just hard for her to feel worthy of it.

  "Thank you, babe. As much as I hate that your father is having issues I appreciate the chance it's given me to take a bit of a break," she laughed. "It's been a long time since we did something like this."

  Chad wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her tight against him. Lora buried her nose into his neck and inhaled, loving everything about him. He had a scent to him that was pure masculinity but it was tempered by sweetness, usually because he had some kind of candy either in his mouth or in his pockets. It had become Chad's scent.

  He stroked his hand down her back. "I know this has thrown your schedule out of whack."

  She shrugged against him. "I emailed my professors to let them know. They're flexible. And William knows what's going on. We do most of our business by phone and email anyway."

  "I'm not sure what's going to go on with Dad, but I want to be available if Mama or Brock needs me."

  "Of course," she leaned to look up into his face. "Do you think they'll need help on the ranch?"

  He pulled in a heavy breath. "I'm not sure. It kind of sounds like it. I guess I'll have to talk to Brock about it and see what he says. I have no idea how long the recovery time will be. And I don't think he'll bounce back a hundred percent."

  She nodded. So much was up in the air right now.

  They left the zoo a bit later and headed out to get some dinner, but on the way back to the hospital for a final Garrett check Mercy fell asleep in the back of the truck. Rather than wake her and drag her through the hospital to wait in the waiting room they decided to take her to the hotel, and Lora would stay with her.

  "If you need anything call me," she told him firmly.

  He pressed a kiss to her lips. "I'll be back in a bit."

  A few hours later he climbed into bed and pulled her tight agai
nst him. “Everything is good,” he assured her. “Go back to sleep.”

  Chapter 9

  The surgery went surprisingly fast the next day. Actually, it took a couple of hours, but that was a small amount of time compared to what they had already waited.

  The doctor, a disturbingly young man with kind eyes, came to the waiting room with a smile on his face. He headed straight for Francine.

  "Your husband will be fine."

  Mama nodded her head, as if she'd had no doubt. Chad reached out to rub her shoulder and she gave him a vague smile. Cheyenne had her arm wrapped around her shoulders and Brock stood leaning against the wall. Emily, who he hadn't seen for months, had walked in just a few moments ago, and now stood with her arms crossed over her stomach. Lora had met the young woman for the first time just a few months ago and she could tell she was no-nonsense and incredibly smart. Chad had called her Brainiac and pulled her in for a tight, brotherly hug when he saw her.

  "The fracture went together easily once I got in there," the doctor told them. "But it was a proximal humerus fracture, meaning that the ball of the humerus had broken off, as well as the break in the humerus bone itself. He has a long plate going up the length of the bone and eight screws to fix the three pieces together. I'm hoping this will be the end of the repair, but these kinds of injuries are difficult sometimes. It's very common for patients not to regain full use of the arm even with extensive physical therapy, which he will require."

  Chad cringed. PT was a necessary evil. Dad would not be happy.

  "The good news is that the radial nerve seems fine. We'll check with Garrett in a bit but I think the numbness he was feeling in that hand will be gone now."

  Chad shared a look with Lora. He hadn't been aware there was numbness and it didn't look like she had either.

  "When can he get out of here, Doc?" Brock asked.

  The young doctor glanced up at the scowl on Brock's face then away, as if he didn't like the look. "Probably within a couple of days as long as he keeps improving. He's going to be on a movement restriction, though. These fractures are notoriously bad about not healing well."