by Melody Anne
“It feels good enough for a walk,” he told her. She tried to grab the coat, but he held it open. She sighed and gave him a look, then turned around and let him slip it on her.
He caressed her shoulders for a moment too long to be appropriate and felt her stiffen beneath his touch. She was worried she’d cave in to him―that was why she went overboard on trying to maintain proper distance. Nick didn’t mind that at all. It just proved to him that she wanted him even if she didn’t like feeling that way.
“We’d better get going. I don’t want you moving too fast since this is the first trip outside. I want you to watch where you’re going and to take it easy. If you’re thinking about trying to impress me, the way to do it is by acknowledging the injury and doing what I ask.”
“I love when you talk to me in that doctor voice,” he told her, unable to tear his gaze from her face. She rolled her eyes. He wanted to grab her and haul her in for a kiss. He stopped himself, but just barely.
They walked outside, and he gripped the railing to step down the stairs. She kept her eyes on him, but maintained a couple feet of distance as they reached the path that would lead them on a trail to the dock. She tried to take him in another direction, but he moved where he wanted to go. It was about six or seven minutes to the dock moving at the slower pace he was forced to travel.
She kept silent the first couple of minutes, and Nick purposely stumbled, drawing her immediately to his side. Her arm came around him, and he had to fight the satisfied smile from appearing on his lips. Now he had her where he wanted her. She tried to pull away once he was steady, but he kept his arm around her and held on tight.
“I better hold onto you so I don’t trip,” he said, almost choking on the words. But to get her attention he had to seem vulnerable. He could do that if it meant her sidled up beside him. The feel of her pressed against his side was pure heaven.
The stiffness in her body slowly evaporated as the two of them continued moving down the trail. He was watching the ground carefully, something he’d never had to do before. But he didn’t want to ruin the night he had planned by stumbling over some root or rock on the ground. If he landed on his knee, pain would radiate through him and making love to her on the nicely set up dock would be the last thing he’d be thinking of. Okay, maybe not the last thing, but it would be knocked down several rungs on the ladder.
“I don’t want to push this too far, Nick,” she warned when he kept moving steadily foreword.
“I have a surprise for you. It’s not much farther,” he told her.
She stiffened again in his arms, and he could feel her looking up at him. He stopped and gazed into her eyes while giving her his most seductive grin.
“What sort of surprise?” she asked.
“You’ll have to keep walking to find out,” he told her, tugging to get them moving again.
She kept her feet planted. “I don’t want anything. I’m here to do a job, remember?” she said, her voice back to the stern schoolteacher one she preferred.
“Too bad. You call the shots all day long. It’s my turn,” he said.
This time he exerted more force, and she was pushed into moving. She grumbled something he didn’t quite manage to hear, and he had to hold back laughter. Though he wouldn’t go so far as to call Chloe predictable, he would definitely say she was stubborn. If something wasn’t her idea, she tended to veto it. She’d have to learn to bend as long as she was in his life.
That thought sent an unwanted pang through him. He wasn’t sure how much time he had left with Chloe. He had no doubt she would be ready to run out the door without looking back the second he was pronounced good enough to be on his own. He didn’t think he wanted that to happen. Nick enjoyed being with this woman. This was his chance to see if he wanted to maybe date her after all the physical therapy stuff was finished.
Nick didn’t normally enter into long-term commitments, but for this woman he might consider it. He could almost visualize the unbearable teasing he would have to take from his brothers if that were to happen. But Chloe was a one-of-a-kind woman. She might be worth the good-natured ribbing.
When they rounded the bend, Chloe once again stopped and Nick looked up. His brother had done well. The dock had a beautiful gazebo built on the end of it, and Cooper had hung a lantern that was glowing softly. On the ground was a thick blanket and a basket he was sure held excellent food. There was a bucket beside it with a bottle of wine chilling.
It was a warm summer evening, but even that didn’t matter. Nick had known from the moment he’d bought the property that he would spend a lot of time at the end of the dock, fishing, soul-searching, sitting back playing guitar, whatever he wanted. He preferred being outdoors. He didn’t love being cold, though, so he’d installed a gas fire pit that did a great job keeping the gazebo area nice and warm. Flames flickered in it, adding to the entire atmosphere.
“What’s going on, Nick?” Chloe asked. She didn’t seem anxious to get down to the place.
“I thought we could have dinner down here by the water,” he told her.
“How did you manage to get this all set up?” she asked. He couldn’t tell by her tone if she was pleased or not. She should be―it was damn creative, if he did say so himself.
“I called my brother earlier and had him do it for me. Soon, I’ll be moving around a lot better and can do it all on my own,” he said. It still bothered him that he was depending on other people to do the simplest of things for him. Nick didn’t like asking for help. He was the one who was normally being called for assistance.
“This is a bit much, don’t you think?” she said, but he saw the beginnings of a smile on her lips. That gave him hope.
“Not at all. When I’m my normal self, I eat down here all the time,” he said. That was honest at least. “I’ve missed being here.” The hint of vulnerability he allowed to touch his voice changed her mind. She was beginning to cave.
“With low lighting, wine, and a blanket?” she said with a touch of sarcasm.
“Well, I wanted to make sure you were comfortable,” he said. He tugged on her and was grateful when she fell in step with him.
“What am I going to do with you?” she said, but a soft chuckle escaped, and the sound was music to his ears.
“I can give you a few suggestions,” he told her with a wide smile.
Normally, at this point was when she pulled away from him. This time, though, she simply laughed, which encouraged him greatly. Damn! He should have tried the romance route a hell of a lot sooner.
“Sit down, Romeo,” she told him when they reached his perfect setting.
Getting up and down was still a chore for Nick, especially with the brace giving him only limited movement. There was no graceful way for him to slide onto his butt. Bending his good knee, he went down, and then slowly shifted until he managed to get all the way down. He was more than a bit disgusted with himself when he found his breathing strained from the effort.
“Join me,” he said, holding out his hand.
She looked back up the dock, and he nearly panicked when he realized she could rush away and there’d be nothing he could do about it. He couldn’t catch her yet―soon, but not yet.
With a sigh, she sat across from him and lifted the lid to the picnic basket. Nick hoped his brother had done what he’d asked and not tried to be funny. Chloe pulled out fried chicken, fruit, salad, crackers, cheese, and olives. She looked at him and smiled again.
“I approve,” she said. Her compliment had him practically glowing. How far he’d sunk into the pits of what he’d once considered hell. He’d never been so worried about impressing a woman before. He didn’t appreciate that he cared right now.
“I’ve learned a thing or two about you the past few weeks,” he assured her.
She raised her eyebrows and looked at him with skepticism. “Really?” The word was drawn out, and she was letting him know she doubted he was speaking the truth.
“I pay attention, doc,” he
said, accepting the plate she handed him with a little bit of everything on it.
“Prove it,” she told him.
Nick’s heart raced as she picked up some cheese and a piece of fruit and popped them into her mouth. This was a test. He was sure of it. And never in his life had he been so worried he wasn’t going to pass.
But Nick had been through hell and back in his job, and he’d never run away from a challenge. He would ace this one―and then he’d have Chloe exactly where he wanted her―in his arms and in his bed.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Chloe knew she shouldn’t have accepted the third glass of wine when Nick offered to top her off. But she was on her best behavior every single moment she was around the man, and it felt good to let her guard down, to laugh and enjoy his stories. It felt good to forget for a single moment who she was and who he was.
She wasn’t so foolish as to think this would change anything between them, but to have a single night off without her father’s voice in her head―without analyzing every move Nick made―wasn’t asking too much of herself. So she did accept the refill, and she leaned back against one of the posts on the gazebo as she picked at her chicken and laughed at yet another story Nick was telling her from his days at the Coast Guard base.
“. . . After the itching powder incident, our captain had to ban all practical jokes. About ten of us were going around shifting a hell of a lot as a part of our bodies burned that we’d rather were in perfect health,” he finished.
“I have never understood how guys think it’s so funny to hurt each other,” she told him, but she’d been laughing right along with him, nullifying her words.
“It’s not that we want to hurt each other. We just want to get the upper hand,” he said.
“And were there any winners in this practical joke campaign?” she asked pointedly.
“If I had to declare a winner, I would say it was me. Johnson had to shave his head to get the glue out of his hair. That was genius,” Nick said proudly.
She looked at him as if he was insane. That only made him laugh all the more. “Come on, give me some credit. It took me a while to find the right glue and to get it in his shampoo bottle without him knowing it.”
“You are terrible. And it really isn’t fair because he won’t be able to get his revenge with the captain’s ruling,” she pointed out.
“Nah, after a few months, the captain will forget all about it, and then the games will begin again,” he told her with a chuckle.
“Don’t you think it’s time to grow up at some point?” she asked.
“I’ve never understood that exactly,” he said, sounding almost serious.
“Understood what?” she asked.
“Growing up,” he said. “Just because we turn a certain age, does that mean our entire personalities should change?” He waited as if expecting an answer.
“Well, we can’t be kids forever,” she told him. Though there were a lot of days she would love to have no responsibilities, to be free like a child. Why had she rushed to grow older? She didn’t really know.
“Why not? Why can’t we have fun and embrace life? Why is it so important to change into a new person just because the number of candles on your birthday cake has increased each year?”
He was serious as he said this. The questions surprised her. She wasn’t sure what the correct answers were. Everyone said you had to grow up. It might not be an actual law, but it was just what people did.
“Well, I guess it’s because if adults ran around acting like children the world would be in chaos,” she said.
“How so?” he asked.
“What do you mean by that?” He was really pushing this point. She wasn’t sure what to think about that.
“Do you honestly think the world would have half as many problems if people didn’t take themselves so seriously?”
“What are you talking about?” she asked with exasperation.
“Okay, here’s an example. When you are in grade school and you want to make a friend, what do you do?”
“I don’t understand,” she said.
He sighed as if he were talking to a child. “It’s a simple question. Think back to your elementary days and tell me specifically what you did to make friends.”
She thought for a moment. It had been a long time since she’d been in school. But he seemed to want a genuine answer.
“I guess I shared my toys,” she began before she smiled. “And my mom used to put a treat in my lunch every day, usually something coated in chocolate. I met my best friend, Dakota, that way. I would sneak it into class with me, and when we were supposed to be having quiet reading time, I would pull it out and give her half,” Chloe told him.
“Were you stressed that the teacher might catch you?” he asked.
She laughed. “No. As a matter of fact, she might have known what we were doing, but she never called us on it. We weren’t hurting anyone,” she pointed out.
“That’s my point, exactly. You made friends by sharing your treats, by helping a friend with homework, or by playing at recess. You didn’t have to put on airs, didn’t have to try to be someone you weren’t. You were yourself and you drew people to you. Why can’t it be that simple now?” he pushed.
“Because we have to grow up,” she said with a huff.
“But why?”
“I want to know why you’re pushing this,” she said, her voice growing more agitated.
“Because I’ve been told since I was young that I needed to grow up, that I needed to take on responsibility and act like an adult. But why can’t I have the best of both worlds? What’s wrong with playing baseball in the rain and getting coated in mud? What’s wrong with having an epic Nerf battle with my friends and family? What’s wrong with sharing my candy with a pretty girl?”
As he finished his little speech, he pulled out a box of chocolates that had been hidden. She immediately smiled and reached for them. They were the creamy fruit-filled chocolates that were a secret vice of hers. She had no idea how he had figured that out.
“There’s nothing wrong with playing,” she reluctantly admitted. “But we do have responsibilities as adults―to have a job, pay bills, follow the law,” she said, moving closer to him to reach the chocolates. He was holding them just out of reach, and she was growing more frustrated by the second.
It took her several moments before she realized she’d made a point about breaking the law and hadn’t immediately thought of him during the sentence. That took her back. Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was his company, and maybe it was his persistence, but from the beginning of all of this, she’d had her doubts he’d been responsible for killing her brother. Now that she knew him better, it seemed impossible. There was still a small part of her that held him responsible, but there was a bigger part that couldn’t see him ever doing anything that would endanger someone he cared about. Afraid of what she was feeling and thinking, she scowled at him as she tuned back in to what he was saying.
“We have those same responsibilities as children,” he pointed out.
“We don’t have jobs in grade school,” she said. She didn’t realize how close she was getting to him in her attempt to get to the chocolate.
“Yes, we do. We have chores. We have homework we have to get in on time, and we have bedtimes and curfews. We get older and those things are given different names, but we still have to adhere to the rules. But as a child we also have recess, movie nights, and sleepovers. All I’m saying is, it’s okay to be young forever. I can live by the rules, but the day I have to grow up is the day I give up on life.”
His words hit her hard. She’d grown up in an incredibly strict household where if she didn’t listen to her father, she would be punished―and punishment was a spanking by a paddle that had left bruises on her. She’d learned quickly that either you obeyed the head of the household or you paid the price. What if her life had been different growing up? Would she be an entirely changed woman?
“Do you l
ive by the rules?” she asked him, trying desperately to focus on the original task she’d been browbeat into accomplishing when she’d taken the job as his therapist.
He smiled. “Of course I do,” he said with nonchalance.
“Always?” she pushed.
Nick’s smiled faded as he analyzed her expression. She was too tipsy to mask anything she was feeling, making this a really bad time to be asking him any sort of questions, but she also couldn’t seem to stop.
“What are you getting at?” he finally asked. “This seems like a pointed question.”
“I’ve just heard that pilots are reckless and have a God complex. I wonder if you’re the same way―that because you fly a rescue chopper that maybe you might think the job rules don’t apply to you.”
Nick’s mouth set firmly and his eyes narrowed in a way she’d yet to see from him. She might have pushed him too far. A tremble quivered through her. And almost as quickly as his frown had appeared, Nick wiped it from his expression.
“I think you’re getting close to me, and it’s scaring you, so you’re trying to cause a fight by questioning my honor,” he said before his lips turned up again. “Not gonna work. The night has been too perfect so far to allow that to happen.”
Strangely, Chloe let out a relieved breath. She didn’t want their perfect night to get away from them. She pushed away her father’s voice that was a constant sound in her ear. She didn’t want to hate Nick tonight.
“Okay, I concede,” she said, practically sitting on top of him. She hadn’t even realized she’d still been reaching for the chocolates, even throughout their small spat. He finally released the box to her. She ripped off the lid and pulled one out, popping it into her mouth and savoring the sweet tang it left on her tongue. The last of her tension drained away as she chewed.
“I don’t think you do. I think you were just trying to get the candy so you’re agreeing with me,” he said. “Now that you have the treat, are you going to change your mind?” It was a good question. She should say yes, but she was too content to do that.
