Talking to Johnny hadn’t made him feel any better. All he learned was that she had backed up, slid, and then slammed into an eighteen wheeler. People die from that shit. The minute she was out of his sight…trouble. “Make sure she doesn’t have a concussion or a broken nose. ,” he ordered. “Get her to IHOP as soon as she’s done at the hospital. And I will be there as soon as possible. I’ll catch the next flight. We’ll rent a minivan and drive home. We’ll just get home later than we expected.”
He soon realized that was all great in theory, but that he would have to put that plan into action. He threw what few clothes he had salvaged from his house into a carryon bag and headed out the door, making phone calls the whole way there.
After being taken to the emergency room by ambulance, having x-rays and even a cat scan, she was declared well enough to travel. Her nose wasn’t broken, but merely bruised…which didn’t make it hurt any less in her estimation. And finally she was told that she could resume normal activities, including and most especially…eating. By the time she met up with the guys in the waiting room, she was beyond famished and slightly medicated.
“Can we go eat?” She asked quietly.
“Is everything about food with you?” Joey asked as he stood up from a seat behind the column.
“Oh my God! How long was I in there?” She walked over to him. He met her halfway. It wasn’t how she pictured it. In the movies it would have been an epic embrace, the hug of all hugs, the moment of all moments. In reality, her ribs hurt, her neck ached, her nose throbbed so that talking, breathing, and moving seemed impossibly difficult. When he wrapped his arms around her, glad that she was alive, thrilled to have her close once more. “Ow. Ow. OW, dammit!” She yelped into his chest.
He looked her over. She seemed to be intact. She seemed as feisty as ever. And to him, she looked beautiful. He checked her all over. And finally, he checked her wrist. The bracelet was there, still intact. “I brought you something,” Joey said with a smile. “For your first ambulance ride: an ambulance charm.”
“I can’t believe they make such a thing,” she chuckled sadly as she held out her wrist.
Joey added the new charm and kissed her wrist when a cold familiar voice called her name from across the waiting room. “Martha!” His voice was harsh, rigid. And Marti wondered if he wasn’t upset to see another man kissing her wrist.
“Blaine,” she said without even turning to acknowledge his presence. She could see from the corner of her eye that he was walking toward them. Hot on his heels was Suzette. Together, Marti and Joey turned to face him.
“I hope this means you moved everything.” He looked down his nose at her and then studied Joey. He sniffed, which was an obvious indication of his disapproval. She knew it well. And his disapproval really made her laugh, which actually hurt.
“Yes, I removed everything. And I have hired an attorney, so it looks like we’ll be fighting this out in court.” She frowned. “I’ll see you then, although I doubt you’ll recognize me. Really, there’s nothing more for us to say. I need to get home.” She didn’t know how to end the coversation. This was more than goodbye. There was too much dislike for her to ever lie and wish him a good day. And the honesty was simply too much for him to handle, and likely to incite a fight she hadn’t the energy to begin. That’s why she merely took Joey by the hand and walked away.
They didn’t talk again until they exited the hospital. They piled into the minivan. And as soon as he was confident that she was comfortable, he asked her what she wanted to do. “Want to go eat?” He reached over and placed his hand on her knee.
Gingerly, she nodded her head. “Yeah. Let’s eat. Then take me home, please?”
“Absolutely.” He smiled at her and they drove off.
It was the drive to the beach all over again, only this time, when she opened her eyes at the end of the trip, she was facing his house. “You backed in, I see,” she said with a wry smile. “I get it. Lesson learned. Future tragedies averted.” She glanced at her phone. It was already mid-morning. They had driven through the night. There were already members of Joey’s crew hard at work on her house. She stepped out of the vehicle and smiled. The air was crisp, but not unbearable. “I love this,” she said with a smile. “Let’s go to the café for breakfast. I’d dare say that Laurel will have whatever you want…”
“It’s very tempting. Let’s just do a couple of things first.” He threw an arm around her shoulder and walked her into her house. “What do you think?”
Her eyes were wide with surprise. “It’s done?!”
“Well, no, but the main floor is. You have that downstairs bedroom. The bathroom is a three quarter bath. And the kitchen is fully functional. You can move in.” He stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders. “What do you think?”
“Will you come, too?” She turned and smiled up at him. “It’s not like you have any other offers. And have you even made any progress on your house?”
They walked back out to the porch. She was silent as they stared across the road at his home, which looked even more destroyed by the light of day than it had while still ablaze that night. He looked down over the porch railing for a moment.
“You told me that you didn’t want me to be your rebound, that you wanted more from me.” He laced his fingers as he leaned on the railing. “And honestly, a week ago, I would have told you there was nothing left for me to give. I was empty.” He was quiet and Marti patiently waited.
“While I worked to heal you, you have healed me, too. You asked if I would come live with you. I know we’re talking temporary, but before I can even do that…will you help me with something?” She could feel that he was watching her for a response.
“Sure. Anything. You spoil me.” She smiled at him affectionately. And while she really wanted to kiss him, to wrap an arm around his neck and hold on tightly, she felt his need for space.
“Good. Come on then.” He grabbed her hand and half dragged her behind him because he was walking so fast. Still, she remained silent as she waited for him to explain. They walked right in the front door, down the hall, and straight to his bedroom closet. There he reached up and grabbed a huge old shoe box. It was covered with a thick layer of dust.
Holding it in both hands, he nodded for her to follow him. And soon enough they were once again near that fire pit. He looked up at the window next door. Sure enough, the curtain was pulled back. “It’s just us, Miss Gracie,” he called. “No need to report this.” When the curtain fell back across the window, he started to talk once more.
“There was a girl I loved. Maybe I only thought I loved her. What I know for sure is that she very nearly ruined me. And all the years of my father lecturing me about the dangers of love and me ignoring him and thinking him to be a cynical old man caught up to me. She was young. She wanted to try new things. And while I loved her sense of adventure, it turned out badly. She ended up hooked on drugs. She sold my possessions out from under me. She ruined my credit. I could go on and on. All I ever wanted was to save her, to rescue her so we could live this future I imagined for us. When it seemed like I was out of options, I ran away. My father had left me this house. I just…left. I thought it was a sign.” He shrugged. “Maybe I should stop looking for signs and start making my own luck. Starting today. Be with me. Stay here while I start to burn all of these memories of a sad past.”
“So, we’re having a cleansing ceremony. I think that’s smart.” She held the box while he started the fire. As he worked diligently to create a big enough flame to ignite his past and destroy any remnant of that low point in his life, Marti simply stood there, willing him to feel the support she offered.
Slowly he began to feed the fire with pictures, scraps of notes, ticket stubs, and even a calendar. He added bit by bit, watching the flames lick at whatever he fed them, until they completely consumed that portion of a life he once lived.
“Now what?” She asked, glad to have helped.
“We should get cleaned u
p. We should take a nap. We should talk and start making happy memories.” He looked at her for a reaction. “What do you think of that idea?”
“Sounds perfect.” She sighed happily. “So, we’re going back to Hope House?”
“No. We’re going back to your house,” he said.
“But my house doesn’t have any furniture…” she protested.
He took her by the hand and walked her to the front yard. The eighteen wheeler was parked in front of her house. The POD was in the driveway. And the guys were unloading all of her belongings.
“Nothing should surprise me anymore where you are concerned,” she said seriously. She turned to face him. “Thank you. Thank you for all of this.”
The POD was unloaded within the hour. The furniture was placed where she directed. And the boxes were neatly stacked in the rooms that they were labeled for. She had taken the bed from the guest bedroom at the Vermont house, having decided that she wanted nothing to do with the bed that Blaine had no doubt been carrying on his affair in. She had always preferred the guest bed anyway. It was a queen sized bed with a white wrought iron head board and foot board with this ivy scroll work pattern. In fact, she had taken all the furniture from that room…the night stands, the dresser, the chest of drawers, and even the Lane cedar chest from the foot of the bed that she had been filling for years with quilts she had made in various patterns and sizes.
Joey watched her direct his crew with a firm yet gentle hand. He saw the excitement building as she turned her new house into a home. She looked great, despite having slept in a car, being long overdue for a shower…and the bruises that had formed on the side of her face. She was clearly in her element. He couldn’t help but smile as he watched her. And once everything was unloaded and the truck had pulled away, he went outside to give them further instruction.
“I’m giving you guys a long weekend, since you’ve already had a long week. See you bright and early Monday morning. Enjoy.” And with that he turned and headed back into the house.
Marti was puttering around in the kitchen, starting to unpack boxes and find a place for all the dishes and cooking supplies. When she saw him standing in the doorway staring at her, she smiled. “What do you think?”
“It’s just like I imagined it,” he said. Walking over to her, he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. “So you ready for that shower and nap? We can have a late lunch when we wake up.”
She smiled and nodded happily as she followed him to her room.
They undressed each other lovingly and with the confidence that comes from closeness and shared experience. As soon as they had finished removing every item of clothing, he carried the pile into the laundry room and started the wash. She smiled to herself. It wasn’t terribly romantic, but it was practical. Blaine had been charming, but there was no substance to him, to their life. She was ready for more after all those wasted years.
The shower was incredible. He had remodeled the shower so that they had multiple shower heads. There was no fighting for hot water. Instead, they could easily stay warm and still lather each other up. It was a lovely experience, but the longer she spent being close to him without the sex, the more impatient she became. Joey sensed it and because of her reactions to his touch and his kisses, he had taken to laughing at her.
“Listen, princess, I want you, too.” He used his finger to force her chin so that she had to look at him, but she still tried to avert her eyes.
“What makes you think I want to be with you again?” She jutted that chin out defiantly and earned a smile.
“Oh, you don’t? Well, then never mind.” He started to turn away from her, when she stopped him with a hand to his shoulder.
When he faced her, he found a look on her face that he tried to decipher. She seemed suddenly insecure and it bothered him some that he had made her look that way. “I might be just a little anxious for a repeat performance,” she admitted with a smirk. “I really think I should know for sure whether that was just a fluke. Maybe you’re a one trick pony and that was our golden day. Maybe there’s nothing special left. We should know now, before we get serious.” She smiled up at him.
“Baby, I want you, but I want it to be good and special and more than anything, I want it to be memorable. And right now, I’m running on fumes. Come nap with me and we’ll take it from there.” He pulled back the comforter on the bed she had just recently made and watched as she slipped beneath the Egyptian cotton sheet. She looked so damn appealing that despite his claim to be disinterested in sex at the moment, he was sporting a mighty fine semi.
She flopped onto her side, so that he could fit his body to hers. Before long they were both asleep. At some point, he started playing with her nipples. It wasn’t really that he was trying to start anything, but they were there and he enjoyed touching her. He felt himself getting harder. He pressed his erection up against her firm ass and felt her respond. She pushed her backside into him. He knew she was still asleep, reacting as if in a dream and he was rather enjoying this play session. He slid her closer to him so that he could slip a hand beneath her cotton bikini panties. He knew just where to touch, just how to stroke a woman to achieve the end he desired. It was no different with Marti, except that he cared about her enjoyment so much more than he did with any woman before.
Running his hand the other direction, he tried a different approach. And when she threw her leg over his thigh and he snuck a finger under her panties into her pleasingly wet opening, he was rewarded with a moan. She arched her hips some, rubbed against him. Every movement she made simply encouraged him to try something else, until finally he pulled her panties off and threw them over the side of the bed. Her eyes were still closed and he wanted nothing more than to make them fly open in surprise and drop sensually shut once more while he pleasured her.
Spreading her thighs, he bent low, and watching for a response he began to lick her most intimate of places. Soon, he had her writhing in bed. “Have you ever come this way before, sexy?” He asked in a low voice as he manually teased her.
“No,” she managed to gasp out her response, while arching her back and grinding against his hand. “There,” she murmured. “Yes, there, uh, harder, please.”
He was torn. Part of him really wanted to make her achieve that orgasm. And the other part, the greedy, aroused, painfully hard man wanted to be deep inside her, feel her muscles tighten around him, and suck on those hard nipples and kiss those sweet lips until the only word that would be able to escape them would be his name over and over and over again. It wasn’t a tough choice. Greed won out…mostly because he knew she wanted him, too.
When he stopped touching her long enough to position himself between her thighs, he was rewarded with a whimper. Damn, she knew how to make him feel like a man. He guided his cock to its new favorite place and glided into her warmth. Instantly, he was rewarded. Her legs wrapped around him. Her hands flew down to grip his ass. And he went deeper and pushed harder and harder. He could tell she was close. He had paid attention last time. He was learning her tells. Her eyes squeezed shut, she struggled to open wider for him, allow him deeper access. And then she stopped breathing. He could feel her muscles contracting around him as she murmured, “Ah, Joey.” She said it over and over again, until her orgasm ended.
All of that merely excited him more. Seconds later he felt that familiar release. In the past he would have been suited up. In the past he would have pulled out. In this moment, nothing felt better or more right that releasing deep inside her. She hadn’t objected last time. And if she minded now, she wasn’t saying. He pulled back and reached for the hand towel she had absent mindedly brought with her from the kitchen that now was on the nightstand. He cleaned gently between her thighs. He wiped himself off. Then he gathered her into his arms and slept more.
It was just after 2pm, when he awoke and found her staring up at him with those rich, expressive brown eyes of hers. “Let’s eat,” she said. “I’m starving. Let’s get dressed and head to the
café. We can get it to go, if you want. I need chocolate cupcakes.”
She said the magic word. It was cupcakes. And when he thought of Laurel’s cupcakes he practically started to drool.
They dressed quickly. He pulled out the keys as they started to cross the road to his truck. A car pulled up in front of his house. It looked familiar. The driver stepped out and turned so quickly to get her bag from the back seat that he couldn’t even catch a glimpse of her face. He frowned, unlocked the truck for Marti, and headed over to the curb. His gut was already clenching. It couldn’t be. Every time he was happy, it was as if she knew. It was like she was still determined to make him miserable.
She turned, dressed in her tight navy blue skirt and white blouses. Her long caramel colored hair was pulled back into a long pony tail the laid flat on her back. Her eyes still held that same sultry appearance. Then her lips began to move. He had always been mesmerized by those lush lips and what she could do with them. His hand flew to his chest.
“Hello, Joseph,” she said confidently, in a way that didn’t even indicate she had been involved with him for nearly two years or that they had lived together the last six months of it.
“Finn,” he said. He crossed his arms over his chest. “What are you doing here?”
She smiled. She always enjoyed making him uncomfortable. “I’m your claims adjuster.” And with that, she turned toward the house, but paused. She surveyed the truck before she met his face once more. “And you may want to tell your girl over there in the truck that this may take a while.” With that she walked straight up to the front door.
He stood there, his chest hurting. He knew Marti was watching completely and utterly confused. And all he could think as he rubbed that hairless spot over his heart was I wonder what a coronary feels like. Maybe I’m going to die today.
Stormy Surrender (New Hope #1) Page 20
