Hers to Heal

by Vonnie Davis

  The water cooled, chilling her skin. Gina slipped her big toe from the spigot so she could add more hot. She turned it off and inserted her toe again to stop the plop, plop, plop of water. She glanced around the bathroom and visualized how she wanted it to look someday with a shower, a large vanity with marble-top sink, and new flooring.

  A shriek sounded from the kitchen, startling her, and one wet, sudsy, wild-eyed cat skittered around the corner as if its tail were on fire. Whirlwind jumped into the bathtub with her. Shocked to find it filled with water, too, the kitten’s little paws sought for purchase on the side of the tub as it huffed in panic for a dry breath.

  Piper bolted into the bathroom, the front of her outfit wet and muddy with suds up to her armpits. “Is my kitty all right?”

  Gina had her hands wrapped around the squiggling mound of wet fur and held him up. “Hurry! Get a towel!” The cat’s hind legs were scratching her wrists and, man, were his claws ever sharp.

  Her daughter stood in front of the linen closet, her index finger tapping her chin. “A Snow White towel or King of the Jungle? I better go with the jungle one; using a princess towel might give him a complex.”

  Gina rolled her eyes. Oh, for fuck’s sake.

  Piper wrapped the wet, hissing feline in the towel and tried her best to rub the squirming animal dry. “Do you feel more relaxed, Momma?”

  “Depends on how Whirlwind got wet and you got muddy.” Gina soaked the burn of the cat’s scratches on her wrists and waited for Piper’s reciting of the events.

  “Well, he kept batting at the bubbles. There were mountains of them. I was rinsing off the silverware with the water sprayer when Whirlwind toppled into the sink. He jumped out right away like a good kitty and I sprayed him with the hose, you know, to rinse him off. I didn’t want soap to get in his little eyes. I’m thinking that’s what set him off. Ahh…” Piper nervously looked at Gina.

  This couldn’t be good. “Go ahead. Tell me the rest.” She took a deep calming breath. After all, how much worse could it be? Water over the cabinets and on the floor, no doubt.

  “Your kitchen curtains might have fallen into the sudsy water. They probably needed a good washing anyhow. Right?”

  Gina closed her eyes. Last weekend while she’d brooded about Reece’s silence, she’d washed the curtains as part of her spring cleaning frenzy. Once she got out of the tub, she’d put the curtains on the rinse and spin cycle of the washer. No need to get upset, they’d be okay.

  “Does an aloe plant live after it’s been pushed into hot, soapy water? I used the sink sprayer to hose it off…” Piper heaved a sigh and wiped mud from her curls and then her top. “I covered the bare roots with a dish towel.”

  Gina leaned her forehead on the edge of the claw-foot tub. Dirt in the water with her curtains? A rinse would hardly do it. “Anything else?” Do I have time for a glass or three of wine first?

  Her daughter’s brown-eyed gaze uneasily dashed about the bathroom as if she couldn’t look Gina in the eye. Crap, there was more. She was almost afraid to repeat her question. “Piper, anything else?”

  “Too bad the lid fell off the flour canister when Whirlwind back-kicked it into the water with the curtains.” Piper lifted her feet covered with gobs of wet flour goo. “Things are a little sticky out there.”

  “Piper Morgan Wilson! I’ll be working the rest of the night to clean up that mess.” Gina cussed under her breath and stood—or tried to. Her big toe was stuck in the faucet.

  She straightened and grabbed her foot, trying to pull the toe out. No luck. She jerked her foot. Nada. “Oh, damn, I’m stuck! Piper, help me get my toe out.” Gritty hands circled Gina’s arch, while she grabbed her ankle. Both pulled with zero luck. “Get me some Vaseline from the basket under the sink. We’ll try that. I don’t understand. I just had my toe out a few minutes ago to add hot water. Yeah, it was a little red, but I was thinking of other stuff and didn’t give it any attention.”

  “Bet you were thinking about Reece, weren’t you?”

  Hell, her daughter was too perceptive for being so young. Slathering the base of her toe and the spigot with Vaseline didn’t help. Piper tried wiggling her little gel-covered finger between the old cast-iron faucet and the toe. To gain better footing—that’s the only reason Gina could think of—Piper stepped into the bathtub, her sneakers making a plopping noise. She pulled and bounced with the effort to unstick the big toe until her tiny butt was soaking wet.

  Gina went into laughing and crying hysterics. Sweet Baby Jesus, my life is a freaking comedy show.

  “See?” Piper stomped out of the tub with all the indignation an intelligent six-year-old could muster and grabbed a towel to dry off her tights. “This is exactly why we need a man in this house. I’m calling Reece.” She marched out of the bathroom, her sneakers squishing on the hardwood floors.

  “You don’t have his number, little girl.”

  “Bet me!”

  Chapter 10

  Tonight was an exercise in heartburn. Reece glanced around the supper table where the tension was damn near palpable. JJ stared at Ashley, his jaw set and eyes narrowed. Ashley, a sight with her new hairdo, glared right back. Both Junebug and ZQ tried their best to keep the conversation going. Even Reece had joined in, hoping to break the stare-off going on between JJ and Ashley.

  Nance kept tilting her head and watching Ashley, a whine escaping now and then, almost as if she couldn’t quite place the person who looked like a man and sounded like a woman the rare times she spoke.

  Ashley slammed her fork onto the table. “Jerryl, quit that damn staring and spit out whatever it is you have to say. You’re giving me freaking indigestion!”

  The German shepherd quietly slipped off her chair and rounded the table to Ashley. She sniffed the irritated woman who petted her.

  “Nance, sweet doggie, how did you lose your ear?”

  Recognition must have dawned for the canine because she howled and licked Ashley in welcome. Nance’s tail swished sixty miles per hour.

  Reece’s cell rang and he excused himself from the table, stepping into the living room. A quick glance at the display told him it was Gina. Did she need to talk about today? “Hello?”

  “Daddy! Come quick! Mommy’s got her big toe caught in the bathtub faucet and we can’t get it out. She’s pulled. I’ve pulled. Now she’s crying.” The fear in Piper’s voice stopped him from reminding her they were just special friends, not father and daughter.

  “Calm down. What’s your address?” He’d have to go help. Considering whatever Gina kept hidden about her past, she couldn’t handle just anyone coming to her rescue if she was naked. She’d probably freak over his showing up in her bathroom, too, but maybe not as much.

  “Four-twenty Bluebell Street.”

  He’d pulled men from burning buildings, the raging sea, treetops when a skydive went bad, but never a naked woman from a bathtub. He’d have to approach this a little more delicately, especially with a woman he didn’t want to upset. “Okay. Is there still water in the tub?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Can you drain it out?”

  “Yes. I’ll pull the plug.”

  “Good girl. Once all the water is gone, cover Mommy with a blanket so I can’t see her belly button.” Or her breasts or her private parts or those long legs she keeps encased in those sexless scrubs.

  “Come to the front door. The kitty and I kinda made a mess of the kitchen. Mommy didn’t like it when Whirlwind jumped in the tub with her after I tried spraying soapsuds from its eyes.”

  Reece didn’t know whether to smile or thank God he didn’t have children. “How did it get soapsuds in its eyes?”

  “He fell into the sink.” A sigh drifted across the airwaves. “Then he pulled the kitchen curtains into the sink with him…and the aloe plant…and a canister of flour. We pretty much trashed the kitchen.”

  Reece could almost see Piper’s blond curls shaking as she spoke. Kee-ryst, just the sound of her voice made him wa
nt to laugh. What a piece of work.

  “I got most of the floury goo off my sneakers when I stepped into the tub to try and yank Mommy’s toe out. I don’t think she appreciated my efforts. We need a man.”

  He slapped his hand over his eyes. “Does she know you’ve called me?” God, the woman would bitch.

  “I…I told her. She said I didn’t have your number, but she didn’t know you’d written it on my arm. I’ve read it so often, I’ve got it memorized. I am the next thing to a genius, you know.”

  This time he did smile. “So I’ve heard.” This little girl would never have a problem with self-esteem. “I’ll need to gather together some tools and I’ll be right there.”

  Reece stepped into the kitchen. “ZQ, do you have any plumbing tools? Gina has her big toe caught in the faucet of her bathtub and can’t get it out.”

  ZQ wiped his mouth with his napkin and stood. “Sure. What will you need? Do you want me to come along?”

  Hell no, he didn’t want any other man to see Gina naked, even if she was covered with a blanket. “No, thanks. I got this.” He named the items he’d need and ZQ went out to the garage, but not before giving him a know-it-all smirk.

  As Reece hurried to his bedroom, he unwrapped the gauze bandage over his stump. He’d need his prosthesis to help hold the plumbing tools. It felt good to be needed, even by a six-year-old genius and her stubborn mother—her naked stubborn mother.

  ZQ waited beside Reece’s modified truck, holding a small toolbox and dangling a tool belt from his index finger. Even though dusk approached, Reece could make out his smile—and it was more smart-ass than friendly.

  “Sure you don’t need me to ride shotgun, chickenshit ladies’ man? I could wear this sexy tool belt to keep Gina’s attention on me while you check her out.”

  Reece snatched the tool belt from him. “Since when is a tool belt considered sexy? And no, dammit, I don’t need your sorry ass to drag along.”

  His former commander propped his elbow on the edge of the bed of Reece’s white and silver truck. “You’re getting it bad, aren’t you? Damn if you’ll admit it, though. You afraid she won’t be physically attracted to a one-armed man?”

  Of the many things Reece knew about the well-respected motherfucker goading him, one of them was the assurance ZQ wouldn’t repeat what he told him. “Hell no. That’s not what I fear. She’s seen my stump.” Two horses whinnied back and forth and he looked toward the stable for a couple of beats, mentally searching for the right words.

  “I’m attracted. I won’t lie. Any man who gets the whole package of Gina and precious Piper will be a helluva lucky bastard.” He opened the passenger door and set the toolbox on the seat before closing it. “It’s my PTSD that holds me back, man. Some days I’m perfectly sane and others, I’m asshole-deep in depression, crawling into the dark, shadow-filled realm of insanity.”

  ZQ nodded. “I feel you, man.”

  Because he trusted his former commander more than any man he knew other than his father, Reece opened his soul. “What if I hurt either one of them? Hell, I couldn’t live with myself if I’d scare or wound one of my girls.” He winced at how much he’d revealed and glanced at ZQ out of the corner of his eye.

  ZQ crossed his arms, biceps bulging. The former SEAL still kept himself in shape. “It’s a helluva scary feeling to know you’re not in control of your emotions or actions. I remember the night I went into a rage and punched some dents into Mom’s new stainless steel refrigerator.” He slowly shook his head.

  “Then I raised a fist to her. Can you believe it? I was so out of control, I was actually going to hit my own sweet mom. The scary part? I didn’t know it was her or what the hell I was screaming. I’d gone feral. One of the worst nights of my life.”

  ZQ was sharing something immensely private, which upped Reece’s trust for this proud man.

  “It was a rough time for my folks when I retired and came back here. Hell, Dad was slowly dying of cancer and I was acting butt-crack crazy off and on. They had no clue why.”

  ZQ slipped his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. “Thank God for Gina’s suggestion I see Doctor Raymond. Took months of heavy counseling sessions, but I finally resolved a lot of my PTSD issues. See, every time one of my men got hurt, I took it as a personal failure. Fuck it all, Steelhead, I hated I was even alive. I’ll always be grateful to Gina for encouraging me to go into therapy. She’s special to me, son.”

  “She’s special to me, too. That’s why I won’t allow anything serious to grow between us.” Reece’s chest constricted with the proclamation. Lying never came easy for him. His mom had taught him the value of honesty. Truthfully, he wanted more. More of her kisses, her embraces, and her constant talking that, for the oddest reason, grounded him.

  ZQ clasped Reece’s shoulder. “Don’t make a promise you can’t keep. Relax. Allow things to develop, if she feels the same way. If something goes tits up, I’ll have your six. You know that.”

  Reece nodded. ZQ had always been there for each member of the team. He was a leader who’d earned everyone’s loyalty and respect. “I’d better get going. Thanks for the loan of the tools. Oh, how do I get to Bluebell Street?”

  He followed ZQ’s directions and pulled in front of Gina’s house a few minutes later. He eyed the worn leather tool belt. What the hell could it hurt? He buckled it on and slipped in items from the toolbox. Piper opened the front door, ran across the little porch, and jumped into his arms.

  She burrowed her face into the crook of his neck. “Momma’s been using both of my names. She’s really, really, really mad ’cause I called you.”

  “It’ll be all right, Precious. She’s just tired and frustrated.” He kissed her curls.

  “You’ve got your prosthesis on.” Her little hand went exploring. “Can I see it?”

  “Sure. After I get Mommy out of the tub.” He set Piper down and followed her inside to a neat living room. “Lead the way.”

  “Mommy, our man is here!” Extra emphasis on the our man. “I’ve got her covered just like you told me.” Piper ran down a hallway and into a room. He followed.

  One embarrassed, irate woman glared first at her daughter and then at him. “I’m sorry Piper Morgan took it upon herself to call you, but I have to admit I’m glad you’re here. It was very sweet of you to come to my rescue.”

  Her attention drifted to his tool belt and a slow smile spread. “Oh, the tool belt is a nice touch.” Her voice took on a breathy quality that had his cock stirring in response. Maybe women did find tool belts sexy. Who the hell knew?

  Reece cleared his throat. “Don’t be upset with Piper. I gave her my number for emergencies. And this definitely looks like an emergency. Is your cutoff valve here?” He leaned over the faucet and ran his hand down the pipes until he found the needed valve. “I don’t want waterworks flying everywhere once I get the faucet off.” A furry black-and-white paw reached from under the claw-foot tub and batted Reece’s hand. “Is this the cat that started the kitchen fiasco?”

  “Yes.” Piper pouted. “His name is Whirlwind.”

  “Aptly named, let me tell you.” Gina smiled, her gaze locked on his waist. “I have to say that tool belt looks good on you, hanging low on your hips.”

  “Yeah, just keep it up, Blondie.”

  “Whatever you say, Mr. Tool Belt.” She batted her eyes.

  “Will you be quiet for once while I loosen this nut?”

  “Which nut would you be talking about?” Her voice lowered. “The tubs or yours?”

  She was teasing him. “Minx, behave. I have work to do.”

  Piper tugged on the sides of each compartment of his tool belt and peered in. “I don’t see any nuts in here.”

  “Did you forget your nuts, Reece?”

  He was about to spray some WD-40 through a narrow red straw into the tiny space between the base of her toe and the side of the cast-iron spigot. Gina’s double entendre made his head swivel in her direction and the WD-40 squirted over
his chin. Dammit.

  “Oh, you’ll pay for that,” he warned.

  Gina leaned her head back and laughed.

  “How much do nuts cost?” Piper wiped the errant spray from his chin with a wet washcloth.

  “Depends.” He reached into the tool belt and snatched an adjustable wrench. Mentally, he told his prosthesis to move over the faucet and grab hold of it. To his relief, it did.

  “Very good, Reece. A smooth execution of effort. I see you’ve been practicing your prehensile movements.” Gina was in PT mode now, leaving the sexy vixen part of her behind, thank God. “I don’t know why you dislike using it so much.”

  “Seeing it is a reminder.”

  “Not every reminder is bad. Some remind us we’re still alive.”

  “Right, Tobs.”

  She narrowed her eyes in response. “You don’t get to call me that. I’m not in the Marines anymore.”

  A grunt escaped. He gripped the adjustable wrench with his real hand and began loosening the old corroded nut holding the faucet in place. Years of oxidation had the fixture damn near frozen onto the water pipe. He tried to release it several times with zero luck. Beating on the wrench with the heel of his palm helped a little. He moved the tool to put the handle at a different angle and leaned into it as he used his body strength. A pop. A scratching screech and the nut released.

  “I got it.” He glanced at Gina. “Is your toe okay?”

  “Yes. Still stuck, but okay.”

  “Let me know if the faucet turns and starts to hurt your pretty ankle…er…toe.” Geez, didn’t he sound suave and competent?

  Gina’s eyes went soft. “I will, Mr. Tool Belt.”

  He couldn’t look at her. Wouldn’t. Not when he felt heat crossing his face and damn near boiling his crotch at the same freaking time. Circling around the issue so he wouldn’t be a bad influence on a sweet little girl made him dizzy.