Reaching for her phone, she texts Rachel.
From Olivia: How could you leave me here with Ethan?
From Rachel: Hey! I’m glad you’re feeling better! Trust me you are better off with him than me
From Olivia: I doubt that
From Rachel: Scott says Ethan took a year or two of medical school before he switched to business. I on the other hand couldn’t figure out how to work the thermometer.
From Olivia: Ethan was a med student?
From Rachel: Apparently. Scott says he doesn’t like people to know that.
From Olivia: When are you coming back?
From Rachel: In about an hour why? Everything ok?
From Olivia: Yes, just come back ok?
Ethan’s phone rings and when he rushes back into the room to answer it, he stops dead at the strange way she looks at him. “What?” He lets the call go to voicemail, since he’s much more curious about what’s on her mind.
“You were going to be a doctor?”
He takes a seat on the side of the couch. “Hardly, I took one year of pre-med.”
“Why did you quit?”
No longer eager to send him away anymore she looks at him with wide eyes, full of curiosity. She wants to hear about his life. She’s intrigued now.
Ethan’s thoughts flash to his childhood. “When I was a child the family business was struggling. My mom was forced to work with my dad at the office and I was left to look after my three sisters when they were at work.” He adjusts the way he’s sitting starting to feel a little bit uncomfortable with sharing something so personal with her.
“You have three sisters? You’re the only boy?” She sounds surprised.
“Yes.”
That doesn’t sound right to her. “You don’t have a brother?”
“No.”
A look of bewilderment glosses over her face, making him narrow his eyes in an inquisitive manner. “What’s going on in that mind of yours?”
She tries to hide her embarrassment. “Nothing. I was just wondering.” She’s confused. He’s never mentioned a brother so she has no idea why she thinks he has one. In her mind, she sees the two brothers together and they look very much alike. For some strange reason she feels like he’s a twin or that they’re very close in age. Where on earth is that thought coming from? Shaking her head quickly, she tries to jiggle that thought loose. “Are you the youngest or the oldest?
I’m the oldest.” Ethan squirms uncomfortably, starting to feel a little vulnerable.
“My youngest sister, Kaylie, was very premature, such a tiny little thing, no bigger than a lady bug, and always so sick. She almost died from the complications of a high fever when she was a little over a year old.” He was just a child himself at the time and he shudders at the memory of her lying lifeless in the bed she shared with two other sisters in the cold, cramped family home in the country, where they moved to save money.
Olivia listens, watching him as he tries to hide his emotion behind a masculine veil. “I would never have forgiven myself if she had died on my watch.” He looks off into the distance avoiding eye contact with her.
Starting to feel compassion for him, Olivia sits up and leans in against him. For a moment, he’s hesitant, but he puts his arm around her tucking her in under his arm and presses her snuggly against the hard muscles of his chest. He feels tightness in his belly and he’s not sure if it’s because he’s talking about his past or if it’s being this close to her. The back of her head rests on his shoulder and she reaches for his hand. ”No parent should ever place that much responsibility on a child, Ethan.”
“They had no choice.” He shrugs his shoulders. “I spent my teenage years looking after bumps and scrapes, broken bones and broken hearts. When I finished high school I thought that’s what I wanted to do. Fix people.”
Well that makes sense, she thinks. When she starts to caress his hand with her thumb in a soothing gesture, he nuzzles his chin against her head. Her touch is so warm and tender it stirs something inside him. He stops talking and matches the rhythm of her breathing. Why does it always feel like there’s an electric charge running through his body when she’s near?
“So you took a year of pre-med... then what?”
“Like I said, my parents were struggling financially. I had to work in order to put myself through school. I took odd jobs wherever I could. I ended up in a small sales office working on commission. That’s where I learned that I had a gift for business.”
She’s amazed. “Wow!”
“I changed focus and after my first year the company I was working for was so impressed with my grades that they paid my full scholarship so I could pursue my business degree. Then they hired me full time.”
“Really? Was that at Aurora?”
He looks down to find that she has now intertwined her fingers with his and is holding his hand. That electricity zings through his blood stream, making him feel warm. “Yes, at Aurora. I owe them everything and I almost screwed it up.” He starts to tense. He shouldn’t have brought that up, now she’s sure to have questions. “But that’s enough about me. It’s a really boring story really.”
“Do you regret not being a doctor?
“No, not really. I’m really good at what I do. I’ve made money and been able to help my parents. I still work with the emergency response team… or I do, when I’m in Ireland. I’ve applied here to work as part of the volunteer emergency and rescue team, but I haven’t heard back from them yet.”
Looking over at the shelf by the TV, she sees her sister’s picture and she becomes curious about his. “What are your sister’s names?”
“Madison is the oldest; she’s two years younger than me and then McKenna. Kaylie is the youngest. I was 14 when she was born. My mom thought she was going through menopause, so that pregnancy was a shock to my parents.”
“’I would guess so!” Olivia is touched by the vulnerability Ethan shows her while he shares his life with her.
“Kaylie was a twin.” He offers, not knowing why he suddenly has the urge to tell her everything. That’s something that he never even shared with Jessica. He becomes nervous when he realizes that this woman wields a lot of power over him. Too much, he worries. He’s never wanted to share the details of his life with someone before and it’s making him feel more than a little unnerved.
Olivia is surprised. “Was?”
“Yes, my mother was very sick during the pregnancy and had complications that caused her to go into labor before she was full term. Kaylie’s twin, Katelyn, died shortly after she was born. She went into distress and the hospital wasn’t equipped to deal with the needs of a baby that premature. It was really tough on the family.”
The door swings open, startling them both. Rachel stops dead at the sight of them cuddling on the couch. Olivia sits straight up, realizing how it must look when Rachel flashes her a look that basically says ‘what the heck are you doing?’
Olivia pulls her hand away from his. “You’re lucky Ireland. Reinforcements have arrived.”
“I guess I can leave now.” He looks disappointed as he stands up and heads to the table, closes his laptop and stows it in his duffle bag. Rachel stops him and asks for the update on the medication routine as he makes his way to the door.
“Did she do what she was told?”
Ethan gives her a wicked grin. “Yes, every four hours… she did EXACTLY what I told her to do.”
The words are no sooner out of his mouth when he’s hit square in the face with a cushion from the couch, lobbed at him by an extremely perturbed Olivia.
“You wish, Ireland!”
Ethan snickers and tosses the cushion to Rachel. “I think that’s my cue to leave.”
“Don’t let the door hit you in the ass.” Olivia growls from the couch.
Ethan gets Rachel’s attention and nods his head in the direction of the door, indicating that he wants to speak to her outside. She follows him out and closes the door.
“Wha
t’s up?” She’s concerned.
“She doesn’t remember much about the last couple of nights. I thought it was best not to tell her.”
“Really? She doesn’t remember?” Rachel is surprised.
“No. She has vague memories of the bath and she’s asked a few questions but I kind of played it off as if it was just a dream induced by the fever.”
Rachel agrees. “Good call.”
“So I’ll leave her in your hands and get on my way. Please make sure she eats some soup or something.” Ethan looks dejected and Rachel wonders if it’s because he’s had no sleep for two nights or if it’s because he doesn’t want to leave. She holds out her arms for a hug to thank him for all he’s done.
When he’s gone, Rachel walks over to the couch and stands in front of Olivia demanding an explanation.
“OK Seriously? What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing.” She pretends that she doesn’t know what Rachel is talking about.
“Don’t give me that crap, lady. First you beg me not to leave you here with him. Then I get here and you’re cuddling on the couch together. THEN not two seconds later you’re throwing things at him and being rude.”
Olivia gets defensive. “I wasn’t rude.”
“Yes, you were. Ethan has been here for two days looking after you, and you are no picnic let me tell you. Instead of thanking him you tell him not to let the door hit him in the ass?” Rachel scolds her and Olivia realizes that she probably deserves it.
“I can’t help it. He makes me so angry.”
Rachel sits beside her. “Did you ever think that maybe he makes you angry because you actually LIKE him?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Olivia snaps.
“Whatever… if you didn’t care about him you wouldn’t let him get you so riled up.”
She thinks about it for a moment and frowns. “Things would never work out between us.”
“Why?“
“I don’t know… he’s rude… and bossy. Girls fall all over him and his ‘look at me I’m Irish’ accent.” She pauses. “Besides he doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who would be happy to settle down with one girl.”
Rachel looks at her in astonishment. “Really? That’s the best you’ve got? I think you should give him a chance. He’s smart and successful and an extremely sexy man. Scott says he’s taken quite an interest in you. He said that you are the most beautiful woman he has ever seen.” She pokes Olivia playfully in the arm. “Just get to know him a little better before you kick him to the curb. Ok?”
Look at her friend being all sincere in pleading Ethan’s case. “I don’t think that’s going to happen, Rach. Every time I talk to him he says something so ridiculous that it makes me want to stomp REALLY HARD on his toes.”
Rachel laughs.
“Did he really tell Scott that he thinks I’m beautiful?” She’s drawn in for a moment and.
Rachel celebrates inside. There is hope after all. Now all she has to do is keep her away from Noah.
“Yup, that’s what he told Scott.” Rachel gets up and heads for the kitchen. “Ethan says you need to eat so I’m going to make you some soup.”
Olivia’s head is spinning. She doesn’t know what to think anymore. Just a few days ago she had decided that there was something dangerous about him and that she needed to stay away. Now she’s seen a very different side of him. One that’s tender, kind and gentle. She looks to see if Rachel is out of sight, then picks up her phone, and sends him a text.
From Olivia: Hey, thank you for looking after me. Sorry about the pillow to the face
Almost instantly, she receives a reply.
From Ethan: No worries beautiful. I’m glad you’re feeling better.
Ethan gets back to Scott and Rachel’s house and tosses his bag on the floor in his room. Stepping into the shower he lets the warm water rain down onto his sore and aching muscles. He hadn’t realized just how tired he is. Thoughts of Olivia linger in his mind as he rinses the lather from his hair. When he’s finished drying off, he pulls on a pair of athletic shorts and props up the pillows on the bed. Settling in, he turns on the TV, opens his laptop, and answers emails until his eyes are tired and sore. He closes them tightly and pinches the bridge of his nose trying to relieve some of the pressure. Sighing heavily, he leans his head back against the wall with a thud.
Thinking about Olivia again, his erection tents his boxers. It doesn’t matter how hard he tries to put her out of his mind. He’ll have to figure out what he’s going to do about her. He can’t ignore the fact that he’s been dreaming about her, since he arrived here in Canada. The minute she got out of her car at that soccer game, it was as if she walked right out of his dreams. He didn’t understand it. Didn’t want to. All he knows right now is that after being with her the past few days, staying away from her is no longer an option. He can’t. He won’t.
Chapter 7
It’s been several days since the stubborn infection knocked Olivia off her feet. Finally feeling better, she wanders around the house feeling bored and lonely and decides to call Rachel. “Hey, I’ve got to get out of this house. I’m going crazy.”
“Don’t you dare even think about coming to work on a Monday if you don’t have to!”
The same small brick townhouse that has kept her safe for the last three years now feels like a prison. “Honestly, Rachel. I can’t stand being stuck here another minute.”
“Well don’t come in here for heaven’s sake. It’s bad enough that you insist on working from home. Scott said they dropped your car off this morning, why don’t you go for a drive and get some air? Maybe do some retail therapy?”
Olivia opens the door to the back yard and sees her car in the driveway. There’s an envelope on the back porch and based on the lump in it, she assumes it holds the keys. “That’s actually a pretty good idea. Do you want to go with me?” Fumbling to open the package, she dumps the keys into her hand.
“Sorry, sweetie. I’m stuck here.” Rachel is a little distracted, shuffling papers on her desk.
“You suck!”
“I love you too, but I’ve gotta go.” The phone goes silent and Olivia knows that she has been hung up on. Something Rachel is known to do when she’s finished with a conversation. She heads upstairs and looks at herself in the bathroom mirror. Yuck! She makes a face as she reaches over and turns on the shower. Being sick sure makes a girl ugly. The water is warm and soothing and the soapy bubbles smell so good.
Dressing in a pair of casual slacks and a pink, frilly tank top, she feels like a new woman, strong and healthy. Grabbing her purse, she heads out the back door and is startled by the flutter of wings as they whiz past her head and lands on the fleet car parked beside her Mustang. The little green bird chatters at her like its trying to give her an important message, hopping frantically back and forth on the hood of the silver grey car. “Are you trying to tell me something bird?”
Walking down the side of her car she’s impressed that the garage not only repaired the engine, but washed it and polished the chrome trim. The original midnight turquoise paint sparkles in the sunlight and she’s eager to take her for a drive. She tries to unlock the driver’s side door on her mustang several times before realizing that the key in her hand is for the other car. The little green bird watches her intently from the hood of the car that’s on loan to her from Aurora Tech; as if it knew the whole time that she was holding the wrong keys in her hand. “You’re starting to creep me out, you know that bird?”
As she flips through the key ring for the Mustang key she has an idea and looks over at the fleet car. Ethan has checked in on her daily by email or text but she hasn’t seen him since he left her in Rachel’s hands. She can’t deny that they developed a deep connection, while he nursed her back to health, and while she would certainly never admit it to him, she misses him. Returning the car to Aurora Tech provides the possibility of running into him. Making her way over to the fleet car, she unlocks it and gets in, then immed
iately pulls out her smart phone to call Scott. “Hey!“
“Hey yourself! How are you feeling?
“100% thanks! Are you going to be coming home at the regular time today?”
“I think so, unless the Senior Vice President of International Sales has other plans for me. He’s annoying like that sometimes.” He laughs. “Why? What’s going on?”
“I need to get out of this house. I was thinking that I could drive to Toronto, return the fleet car, and then maybe do some shopping downtown until you’re done work. Do you mind bringing me home?”
“No, I don’t mind, but Olivia... Ethan will freak when he finds out you brought the car back. He’s already asked me to make the arrangements for someone to pick it up.”
“Now you don’t have to. And you might be afraid of your boss, but I’m NOT!” She adds.
Scott’s tone gets serious. “Well maybe you should be.”
“I’m coming anyways. I’ll see you soon.”
“Fine. Have reception notify me when you get here.” He knows there’s no point in arguing with her.
“Will do. Bye.”
Scott hangs up the phone and looks up at a coworker who has wandered into his office with some papers to be signed. “Freaking women in my life are determined to drive me crazy.” His co-worker nods his head knowingly as Scott picks up his pen and takes the documents out of his hand.
An hour later, Olivia pulls into the only downtown lot that still has available parking. She doesn’t mind that it’s a block away since it’s a short walk and she could use the exercise and fresh air. Well, as fresh as the air gets in a big city. As she steps onto the main street, her eyes follow the majestic Toronto high-rise office building from ground to skyline. WOW! She starts walking towards the cross walk, taking in all the storefronts along the way, when something catches her attention. Her eyes follow a small pathway that leads to a rustic door discreetly tucked in between its obviously renovated neighbors. The wooden trim painted in dark green and burgundy has obviously hidden itself from any threat of modernization. The window is decorated with beads, baubles, and an amateurish hand painted sign. “Eva Storm - Psychic, Palm & Tarot Card Readings”
Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series Page 13
