"They aren't there. I gave them the day off."
She thought about how beautiful it was outside and was a bit lost by his words. Tara didn't expect them to work at all, but he had been so sure that he wanted the house done as fast as possible. She was sure he wanted her out of his house.
"It's beautiful out," she said. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes," he said with another groan.
"Heath," she said with a nervous feeling in her stomach.
He grunted again.
"Look at me please," she said.
He shook his head.
"Later," he said. "I have a headache."
"I didn't tell Lisa about me being here. I didn't tell her that you're working on my house. I'm so sorry for being such a bitch yesterday. Please don't be mad at me. I should have been more understanding about how your day was going."
"Okay," he said.
She felt her body tense and felt slightly irritated.
"Will you please look at me?" she asked.
"Headache," was all he said.
She let out a sigh before walking to the bathroom, getting out some pain reliever, pouring a glass of water, and walking back to the room he was sleeping in.
"Take these," she said, as she stood waiting for him to move to take them from her.
"Put them there," he said. "I'll get them in a minute."
"Take them now," she said. "You'll feel better."
He pulled a hand out from under the pillow and waved her off. She covered her mouth just after the gasp escaped her.
"What the hell," she said, and reached out to grab his wrist before he could get it back under the pillow. "Let me see it."
He moved to pull away, but she didn't let go of her hold on him. His knuckles were cut and bloody.
"Look at me right now, Heath," she said.
"I'm fine," he said.
"If you don't look at me right now, I'm going to climb over you and sit there until you do. I thought you came home last night. Your food stuff is there and everything. What the hell happened?"
"I told you I'm fine. Leave it alone, Tara," he said.
"Fine," she said. "I'm calling Lisa. This is bullshit."
"No," he said, as he lifted his head a little. "I don't need her up my ass right now."
Tara couldn't help the tears that were forming in her eyes. He didn't want Lisa to know. That no was pretty loud and stern. Was he embarrassed to be friends with her?
"Are you embarrassed of me?" she asked. "You said we were friends. That was you. If you're so damn afraid of what she'll think, I don't know what to say. I was just trying to help. You've been there to help me when you had no reason to be. I was only trying to be a good friend. Screw it! Suit yourself."
Tara turned to walk out of the room.
"I'm sorry," he said.
She could tell from the sound of his voice that he was looking at her. Not sure what she was going to find after seeing his hand, she turned slowly toward him. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open before she quickly snapped it shut. She went back to him and sat down on the bed.
"What happened to you?" she asked, as she reached out to rub his cheek without thinking.
Her stomach dropped, and she felt like she was going to be sick. Where was he? Who would do such a thing? He was a great guy. She couldn't imagine him getting into a fight. His eye was swollen, and there was a cut under it. He winced when her fingers ran across it.
"Where were you last night, Heath? I can't believe you went to bed like that. Do you know what could have happened? You could have had a concussion. Why didn't you call me? I would have come back. Shit!"
Tears slid down her cheeks. She couldn't stop them. The thought of someone hurting him made her so upset. She felt horrible and wanted to take his pain away. When she handed him the pain reliever and water, he took it without saying a word.
"Talk to me," she said.
"It's not a big deal," he said. "The fucker got me first, but I got him last. It's nothing. I'll be fine."
She grabbed the sheet and pulled back looking for any other signs. Her eyes stopped on his ass for a second before moving back up his body. Those damn boxers were thin, but not thin enough to where she could see through them.
"Spill it," she said. "I'm not playing. Who the hell did this to you?"
"I don't need you to fight my battles. Settle down, killer," he joked with a wince just as he smiled.
"You think this is funny?" she asked. "I never took you for a fighter."
"It's not something I do often, but last night it was unavoidable. Like I said, he swung first. He got a good one in, but that was all."
"You're going to tell me what happened. Friends tell each other those things. I'm your friend, and I want to help you. Let me clean that cut and wrap your knuckles. I can't believe you went to bed like that."
She looked down to where he lifted his head from to see blood on the pillow. Tara shook her head, took off to her bathroom, grabbed a bunch of stuff, and sat down on the bed next to him.
"Are you my doctor now?" he asked with a laugh.
"You better hush or I'm going to give you matching eyes," she said with a smile, as she cleaned the cut on his face.
When she leaned down close to his face so she could see how bad his eye was, she felt warmth spread through her body. She chuckled to herself. It was time to move on and date. That was not the time or situation to be getting warm and tingly. How sad was she, she wondered?
"What was that laugh for?" he asked.
"Nothing," she said with a shake of her head.
He looked into her eyes, and she felt like melting into him.
"Thank you for taking care of me," he said. "It means a lot."
She sat still, looking back at him but couldn't speak. His undamaged hand reached up and wiped the tears from her cheek. She felt bad for not being there the night before. Would he have been out if she had been home? Home, she thought. It wasn't her home, and she needed to remember that. Her mind started to wander but stopped when he pulled her closer and covered her lips with his. Their eyes never lost connection. Her free hand went to his hair. She felt electricity flow through her as his tongue moved across her bottom lip. Lost in the moment, she opened her mouth and slid her tongue out to meet his. The kiss was soft and loving. She felt so many feelings in that moment. The thought of something happening to him brought tears to her eyes again. She gripped his hair and kissed him with passion, as she thought about him being okay. Tara was so glad that he was there with her.
His other hand moved to the other side of her face and held her cheek. He winced while trailing tiny kisses down her neck. She dropped what was in her hand and began running it down his chest, amazed at just how good he felt under her fingers. The hair on his belly felt soft against her skin. Just as she slid them under the waist of his boxers, his phone jerked her from the moment they were having. He fell back onto the bed. They were both quiet while they caught their breath. The phone stopped but immediately began to ring again.
"Where is it?" Tara asked.
"I think in my jeans on the floor," he said.
She reached into his pocket and looked at the screen before handing it to him and turning to leave the room. The feeling that was running through her veins just moments before had vanished instantly.
"Tara," he said. "Wait."
She turned back around as he looked down at his phone and motioned for her to come back. When she sat back down on the side of the bed, he put the phone to his ear.
"Hey Lisa," Heath said.
Tara could hear a muffled voice speaking fast but couldn't tell what she was saying.
"What? Is she okay?" he asked.
Again more muffled sounds.
"I'm on my way," he said.
Heath hung up the phone and sat up. Tara saw his eyes close for a moment before he opened them again. She waited to see if he was going to say anything.
"Gavin took Becky to the hospital," he said.
> "Oh no," Tara said. "She still has a long time to go. Is everything okay?"
"Lisa's not sure. She thought Josh said she was having the babies. They called him not knowing he wasn't home."
"Are you going to get Lisa?" Tara asked.
She couldn't help the jealous feeling she had thinking of him running over to get her.
"No," he said. "I'm going to the hospital. Come with me."
Tara sat silent for a moment. Did he really just say that? Everyone would know they were friends.
"What?" she asked.
"You know Becky too. Come with me," he said.
She shook her head. He was just being nice, she thought. It wasn't because he wanted her there.
"I can't," she said. "I have to pick the boys up. My mom told me not to be late. Let me put a bandage on your face and wrap your hand."
"It's fine," he said. "I'll be fine."
"No," she said, as she stood up in front of him. "You don't want anything to get in the cut. I'll hurry."
She stood between his legs making sure not to look down. They were in a hurry, and she didn't want to get distracted. She put something over the cut under his eye, cleaned his knuckles, and wrapped them. Then she walked over to his dresser.
"Jeans?" she asked.
"Third drawer," he said.
She tugged open the drawer and pulled out a pair of jeans. Then she looked at him with a smile.
"Second drawer are the shirts. I swear your safe in every drawer," he said with a smile.
"You never know," she said with a laugh, as she opened the second drawer and pulled a t-shirt out.
She opened the top drawer and pulled out new boxers and socks before turning back to him. Then she held the boxers out to him.
"Put these on in the bathroom," she said. "I'll help you with the rest."
"I can do it myself, but," he began.
"Don't be funny," she said. "You do the boxers. I'll do the rest."
"Are you afraid you'll be too tempted?" he asked as he stood.
"Go," she said.
Tara knew her face was probably ten shades of red. She grabbed all of his sheets from his bed so she could throw them in the wash and made sure to keep aside anything that had blood on it. His pillow seemed okay beneath the case. She was pretty sure she could get out what little had gone through the pillow case. When he came back out of the bathroom, she was putting new sheets on the bed. Tara motioned for him to sit and pulled his socks over his feet for him. She helped him with his t-shirt so he wouldn't scrape it across his face. Then she had him put his legs in his jeans and helped him snap and zip them. He looked down at her with a smile.
"What?" she asked.
"Thank you," he said.
"It's not over," she said with her eyes narrowed up at him. "We're going to talk about what happened."
"Yes dear," he laughed out. "You look cute when you're being tough and bossy."
Tara was shocked at his words. He called her cute. Shit! Knock it off, she thought. You are not twelve.
They went down the steps. She grabbed two sandwiches she had wrapped and a soda from the fridge for him to take with him. Then she hurried to the door to get his boots. She had him step into each one and laced them up for him. When she looked up, she saw emotion in his eyes.
"Becky's going to be fine," she said.
"What?" he asked.
"Becky," she said. "I know you're worried about her. She'll be fine."
He nodded with a confused look which just confused her too.
"I'll tell you what happened when I get home," he said.
"Text me and let me know what they say," she said.
He nodded as he took the bag of stuff from her and left for the hospital.
Tara grabbed her purse, phone, and keys, and locked the house on her way out. She got to her mom's house, and the boys were in the middle of a game. Tara felt bad making them stop but wanted to get out of there before her mom started on her. There was a knock at the door so she hurried to answer it. She didn't want her mom to waste any more time and thought it would help if she got rid of the person. When she swung the door open, she felt like she couldn't breathe. Rick stood on the other side of the screen. His face was an absolute mess. She hurried quickly out and shut the door behind her. There was no way she wanted the boys or her mom to see him.
His nose was wrapped and swollen. Both of his eyes were black. His mouth was cut and had dried blood on it. She stood still without saying a word.
He reached out to hand her something. It was a check. She took it from his hand and looked down at it. Her name was on the check. It was made out for five hundred thousand dollars. She knew her eyes were wider than ever.
"What is this?" she asked.
"It's for you. I'm sorry for doing those things to your house both times. I shouldn't have done it. This should help. I'll leave you alone from now on," he said.
"Both times," she whispered.
"Yes," he said. "I'm sorry for cheating on you. I know it doesn't make it better. I just wanted to say I was sorry. You deserved better than that. Believe me, it's kicking me in the ass hard."
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing," he said. "I won't go to the house again, and I'll leave you alone. For what it's worth, I really am sorry."
Rick turned around, walked down the walk, got in his car, and drove away. She could not believe what had just happened, and then it hit her like a ton of bricks. He said both times. She only knew about once. Oh shit! She hurried into the house, grabbed her phone, and pulled up a new text.
Tara: Were you at my house last night?
Seconds later she heard the familiar buzz and looked at the screen.
Heath: Yes
Tara looked down at the check in her other hand and then through the doorway at the two beautiful boys in the kitchen. She looked back down at her phone again and a strange feeling wrapped itself around her. Nobody had ever done anything like that for her before. She wasn't sure exactly what happened, but she knew Heath had something to do with it. He was right, Rick looked much worse. She wasn't sure what to think. Why had he gone through all that trouble for her? Was it because she was Lisa's friend? Was it simply because he thought what Rick was doing was wrong? Was there more to it than she thought? There couldn't be. She was reading in way more than she should. Part of her wanted to be upset that he kept things from her, but another part wanted to thank him for being there when nobody else was. When she let her body move to sit on the couch behind her, she felt good for a moment. For just a few minutes she let herself feel cared for and wanted. It didn't last long. She wouldn't let it. She knew better than to think someone as wonderful as Heath would want anything to do with her. Rick let her know more than once those last few years that her body wasn't what it was before she had gotten pregnant. He made sure to point out every flaw in her personality as well. Just when she moved to put her phone back in her purse, it buzzed.
Heath: We need to talk. I'll tell you everything tonight. I'm so sorry.
Chapter 21
Heath
Heath walked into the hospital feeling awful for leaving his house without telling Tara what had happened the night before. He knew she wasn't going to be happy and needed time to explain the entire thing to her. It wasn't something he wanted to tell her on his way out the door. Becky wasn't due for almost two more months. He didn't know much about babies but was sure it wasn't a good thing that he was being called to the hospital. As much as he wanted to put off going long enough to talk to Tara, he knew he couldn't do it. Gavin needed him, and he would be there. Heath had a smile on his face as he thought about Tara taking care of him and sending him off with the sandwiches he was eating on the way to the hospital. He also thought about John and Ethan dropping everything for him the night before and realized how lucky he was. Their group was close, and they all needed each other. He thought about how Tara would feel with friends like that. She deserved people like them in her life.
The pills she had
given him kicked in by the time he got to the hospital. He was so worried about Becky that he had forgotten about his face. They told him at the front desk where to go, and he took off in a sprint to find them. One of the nurses walked him back to Becky's room. He opened the door to find he was the last one to arrive. John looked at him with concern.
"Everything good?" John asked.
Heath nodded and looked between John and Ethan before walking deeper into the room. Lisa was too busy talking and moving around Becky to notice him. He shook Gavin's hand and gave him a bro hug.
"Lisa's going to flip when she sees you," Gavin said low in Heath's ear.
He pulled back and smiled with a shrug. Then Heath moved over toward Becky.
"You alright little mama?" he asked, as he leaned in to hug her.
She pulled back and looked him in the eyes.
"Apparently better than you," she said. "You alright?"
"Sure am," he said.
Lisa turned back from looking at one of the machines and let out a gasp.
"What the fuck happened to your face?" she yelled out.
"I'm fine," he said.
Lisa was around the bed in seconds. She rubbed her hand over his eye and he pulled away.
"Leave it alone," he said.
Her fingers rested on the cut just below his eye.
"Get your fingers off of it, woman. That shit hurts," he snapped at her.
"Where were you? What happened? I can't believe this. Why didn't you call me? I would have come over and cleaned it up," she babbled on, as she reached down to take his hand. "Your hand. What the hell, Heath?"
He pulled his hand back from her. Something felt different to him. Normally, he would have loved that she was worried about him. It would have comforted him that she was touching his eye and wanting to help. For some reason he didn't feel that way. Heath felt like he was being scolded instead. When she touched him, he felt the need to back away from her touch. What the heck, he thought? Why was he feeling that way? She was his best friend. He always liked that she cared about him. Why was he feeling offended by her actions?
Built for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #5) Page 11
