Unexpected Ride

by Rebecca Avery

  She hadn’t realized how close she was standing to him until he turned his head to the side to look at her. Whatever argument he had, died before ever being spoken when her eyes went straight to his mouth. For once she could respect why a man would talk to a woman while staring at her breasts because his lips had that same effect on her and no amount of shame kept her from looking at them.

  The only thing that broke her gaze was catching his hand motioning for her to take over. As much as she wanted to push the cart to her car as quickly as possible just to get away from him, it would do no good since within a few minutes he would be in the vehicle with her. There was no escape from his handsome face, the wicked sensations just being near him brought out in her and definitely no way to keep from staring at his mouth.

  Getting him in the car turned out to be yet another lesson on those things that were harder for him to do for himself now. After getting in the front passenger seat, instead of waiting for her to close the door for him after unloading the items from the cart into the car, he reached across his body and tried closing the door with his left hand.

  This simply jostled his injured arm before the door bumped it which resulted in a stream of cuss words and a couple of sharp breaths on his part. Rather than saving him from his own stupidity, she finished unloading the cart and then walked over to his side of the car. Catching his gaze to ensure he knew what she was about to do, she closed the door for him. No pain this time. She nearly laughed out loud when she noticed Greg rolling his eyes after he thought she wasn’t looking.

  The trip to the pharmacy was much the same. Try as she might not to get frustrated at his unwillingness to ask for help as well as his refusal to accept help, she was ready for a shot of something out of the liquor cabinet by the time they made it back to the house. Thankfully, Chuck had made lunch for the boys while Meredith went to a baby shower for Lilly Jackson.

  Lilly was actually a friend of both Carla and Meredith. She and her husband Bobby owned a motorcycle repair shop where both Chuck and Meredith were working at the moment. Carla had wanted to go to the baby shower as well but not wanting Greg’s sister, Becca, to miss it for having to pick him up from the hospital, Carla had just sent her gift with Meredith instead. Becca had done some legal work for Lilly and Bobby as well. Carla knew how much Becca wanted to go so she had offered to pick Greg up since she would be helping him out for a while anyways.

  After getting Greg situated at the breakfast bar in the kitchen and then unloading the car, Carla asked, “Would you like a salad for lunch?” His frown told her he had hopes for something more substantial.

  Laughing, she said, “Or at least something light for lunch since I was thinking of grilling this evening.”

  “Yea, salad is fine,” he replied sitting down on one of the barstools.

  As she began pulling out fresh vegetables to cut up for the salad, Chuck entered the kitchen and said, “The boys ate a good lunch and Nathan said he would pick them up around three this afternoon.” Then, after a brief pause in which he studied her closely, he said, “Are you going to be okay here by yourself until we get back?”

  For having grown up without anything even remotely resembling a family, Chuck’s perceptiveness was second to none. Knowing that tomorrow would have been her and Doug’s anniversary, Chuck was clearly torn between taking Meredith to the beach that Doug always took her to and not leaving Carla alone overnight at such a time. The young man stood hesitantly waiting for her response.

  “She’ll be fine… I’ll be here with her since she insists on treating me like an invalid,” Greg replied.

  Chuck looked between them for a moment before nodding his acknowledgment at Greg. Then he picked up a duffle bag he had brought downstairs, looked at Carla and said, “Call us if you need us, hot stuff.”

  “I could always just take you back to the hospital,” Carla threatened Greg after Chuck left and they were once again alone in the kitchen.

  “You don’t want to send me back there,” Greg replied with a smile. “Then you would just have to continue visiting me there every day in order to boss me around.”

  “Bossing you around? Is that what they call it these days? I have always referred to it as trying to help,” she smiled back as she began chopping up the ingredients for the salad.

  “Chuck’s awful protective of you isn’t he?” Greg asked.

  “Becca said much the same thing a while back. I think it’s for two reasons. One is that he doesn’t want to think of Meredith suffering anymore loss, especially losing another parent. The second reason is that he is just now experiencing what it is like to have a family, so he doesn’t want anything to ruin that,” she replied.

  “I understand that but I would think you’ve spent time alone here before… even since the break-in. He isn’t worried because I’m here is he?” he asked as she set his salad down in front of him along with a napkin and a fork.

  Carla tried not to think of that horrible day, when Chuck’s unfortunate past caught up to him here… in her home… where she thought he would be safe. In this case, it was more a matter of her mental state than her physical safety that caused Chuck such concern. Having always been very emotional, Carla was used to it, as were the boys and Meredith, but it somehow bothered Chuck to witness her tears. Knowing that tomorrow would have been their anniversary had put the young man on full alert.

  “It’s not that… tomorrow is… would have been… my wedding anniversary. Aside from birthdays and holidays that is the worst,” she finished softly.

  Feeling the sting of tears that were always simmering in the background when she thought of the accident, especially here recently, she swallowed several times trying to rein them in. Once she was able to get it together she sat down at the bar with him and they ate in companionable silence.

  When he finished she convinced him to take some pain medicine and then lay down for a while. Then she pulled out a small package of steaks to grill and set them to marinating. She also made a list of those items she still needed to get at the store for Thanksgiving Dinner and for Chuck’s birthday both of which she would be hosting the following weekend.

  Since Chuck was gone she went ahead and pulled his birthday gifts out of the closet in her bedroom and wrapped them while the boys watched television and waited for their grandfather in the living room. By the time her father picked up the boys for the weekend, she was in need of a nap herself but instead decided to read over the care instructions from the hospital.

  Having spent all those months caring for Meredith’s injuries, she should be a professional at it by now but for some strange reason she found reading about how to care for wounds and the different types of medications used to treat injuries interesting. The fact that Greg Sanders was the one she would be taking care of only heightened her interest in making sure she was able to do so properly.

  “What are you reading?” Greg’s voice made her jump since she hadn’t known he was even awake let alone that he had come downstairs. She had been so engrossed in the pamphlets from the hospital she’d lost track of time.

  “Oh nothing really. Are you hungry? I could go ahead and start dinner,” she offered, setting the brochures aside.

  “Sure. Can I help?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure what you could possibly do one handed but you can keep me company if you’d like,” she suggested, getting up from the couch and walking into the kitchen.

  He followed her and sat at the bar again as she pulled a pineapple out of the refrigerator and began cutting it so she could grill it.

  “Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?” he asked after she managed to cut the prickly outer shell off of the pineapple.

  Swallowing hard she said, “Sure, go ahead.”

  What could he possibly want to know? He was such a handsome man that he probably had his pick of women or possibly a serious girlfriend back in New York. Though it was doubtful he was in a relationship because if he were the woman would have come down here to Fl
orida in order to be with him when he was injured. Right?

  “What was your husband like and how long were you married?” he asked as she cored the pineapple and then began to cut it into thick slices.

  Of all the things he could have asked her, that was the one thing she least expected. Almost no one asked her about Doug both right after the accident or even now that some time had passed. Perhaps they didn’t ask out of fear that trudging up memories of the accident and of losing the man she loved would be too painful for her to talk about.

  Or maybe they were just unsure what to say. Either way, it kept people from asking. Now that someone had finally asked her about Doug, what could she say? What did Greg really want to know? Did he want her good memories of being with Doug, the bad part of losing him, the funny things he used to say or maybe the guilt she felt that she’d not been the one who had went out in the storm to pick up Meredith that night.

  This time when the tears burned in her eyes there was no turning them down or even off completely. Instead she could feel them sliding silently down her cheeks. All these months… a year in fact… she had let her grief simmer and it chose now to boil over? Fighting the emotions only succeeded in making her throat burn as well.

  She both heard and felt him approach where she stood until one thick muscled left arm forced her to set the knife down she still held. Then it wrapped around her shoulders from behind and cupped the side of her face. He awkwardly pulled at her until she gave in and turned into his embrace. He kept his injured arm turned away from her to avoid accidentally bumping it as he had earlier in the car but he held her none the less.

  Holding her against him she could not help but take in the scent of his aftershave but beyond how good he smelled and his devastating smile was something she desired even more. Comfort.

  There had been so many friends that she and Doug had known over the course of their marriage that had shown up for his funeral. Their kind words and hugs had tried to offer condolences. Even the group of bikers she had come to know vicariously through Chuck often tried to offer comfort. This man who rarely actually spoke to her and only had one shoulder to offer at the moment was whose arms she found around her now that the flood gates were finally open.

  “I guess that answers my real question,” he whispered into her hair. “I’m sorry for your loss and though it’s nothing in comparison to what you’ve already done for me over this past week, I hope that I can be here for you in return.”

  Chapter Two

  Having watched Carla fall apart in his arms was an experience Greg hoped never to have to repeat for as long as he lived. That was the only reason he was still using the guest room in her home instead of going to stay at the beach house. It had been nearly two weeks since the surgery on his shoulder and a full week since he’d been released from the hospital.

  His follow up appointment with the surgeon a couple of days ago had resulted in having some of the stitches removed and getting confirmation that the infection that had kept him in the hospital much longer than he would have preferred was gone.

  The man who shot him had been arraigned and brought before a grand jury. According to Becca, who was the intended victim, the man had taken a plea deal so a trial wouldn’t be necessary. However, Greg was still stuck in Florida until he was well enough to travel back home to New York.

  There were a couple more physical therapy sessions coming up but his arm and shoulder still ached horribly. As if that wasn’t bad enough the stupid sling that kept his arm at an odd angle did nothing more than annoy him and itch like it was infested with fleas.

  He had a doctor’s appointment in a little while and was hoping the last remaining stitches and the sling would be things of the past because all he could think about was taking a shower… baths were for women and little kids. The surgeon had advised him to keep his arm in the sling and avoid getting his surgical wound wet, which made showers next to impossible.

  As if he could actually shower one handed anyways. His uninjured arm was too useless to do a very good job at even something simple, like washing his hair.

  Frustration was his middle name and tomorrow Carla was having half the state over for Thanksgiving dinner and a birthday party for Chuck. She had insisted that Greg at least stay until after the holiday was over before going to stay at his sister’s beach house. This meant he should at least attempt to shave since he was starting to resemble something that just came down out of the mountains. And maybe take another stab at shampooing his hair.

  After her emotional outburst his first day out of the hospital, he had listened as Carla talked about her late husband and how much she missed him. The following day he had went with her to visit her husband’s grave and then that Sunday he went to the cemetery again with Carla, her two boys, Meredith and Chuck.

  Seeing the soft hearted woman trying to comfort her children had made Greg want to be there for her even more as she tried to be the rock her children needed as they remembered the life… and death… of their father.

  Aside from trying to be a friend to Carla since, much to his disappointment, she wasn’t really ready for anything else, he had been pretty much useless after getting out of the hospital. His left arm was nothing more than an appendage to make him appear symmetrical.

  Besides wiping his own ass and feeding himself with a fork or spoon there wasn’t much else it was useful for. Carla knew this but for the most part was patient when he felt the need to at least attempt to do things for himself. This only served to piss him off more since he wasn’t just another one of her children she needed to take care of and encourage.

  “Sports are good for kids and can help their grades, right, Mom?” Carla’s oldest son, Matt, said as he entered the kitchen.

  “I appreciate your attempts to help your brother, but no football until he starts doing better in school. He needs to be worried about paying attention and doing his assignments when he is supposed to,” Carla replied as she gathered up her keys and purse.

  “But, Mom, he loves football! Maybe if he plays it will use up some of his energy so he can pay better attention,” Matt argued.

  “No… absolutely not… so arguing is pointless. That is the end of this discussion,” Carla said and then looking at where Greg sat at the bar she said, “Are you ready to go?”

  When he nodded she looked back at Matt and said, “I’ll see you when I get back. Behave yourself for your sister and make sure your room is picked up for tomorrow.”

  Matt huffed out of the kitchen and Greg followed Carla out to her car. Her youngest son Ben was six and a half and in first grade and had talked non-stop for most of the week about playing flag football. He had brought home paperwork from school for Carla to look at during the holiday break for a pee wee league that was forming since Ben was still too young to play for the school.

  Unfortunately he’d also brought home a less than favorable report from the teacher about paying attention in class and not talking so much.

  Though Greg hadn’t been around long enough to actually watch Ben play, even Chuck had expressed that the boy was a natural. Being able to play was one thing but even if he wasn’t able to play so well just yet, his size would make up for any lack of skill. At six, Ben was almost the same size as his older brother, Matt, who was nine. Ben was tall for his age and built like he belonged on the defensive line.

  As much as Greg shouldn’t get involved since it wasn’t really any of his business and for the most part they all ignored the fact that he was even there anyways, Matt did have a point.

  Greg had also been one of those kids with too much energy and a healthy dose of adrenaline that was often released at the wrong times, so he could relate to Ben. Hell, he had been bored out of his skull most of this past week while he’d been unable to do much, so having to sit still all day at school was probably really hard to do for a six year old boy.

  “I don’t mean to pry but…” he started to say when she got in the driver’s seat after having closed his door.


  “Then please don’t…” Carla said, obviously frustrated. “I feel like the only one in the whole house who thinks that Ben’s behavior and grades are more important than his obsession with football. Even Chuck acts like I am being too harsh on him… but his schoolwork has to come first.”

  Waving his left hand defensively he said, “Sorry. I just think that Matt has a point. An overactive boy having to sit still and pay attention to things he couldn’t care less about is probably even harder if every muscle in his body desperately wants to get up and move. That’s all…”

  “I understand that but I can’t hold him to a lower standard than I expected out of Meredith and Matt… it’s not fair to them or to Ben for that matter. I realize he struggles a little more with his school work and is much more active than either of them has ever been, but he may just need to try harder since it doesn’t come as easy for him,” Carla replied. “He’s kind of like bull in a china shop most of the time so I can understand why his teacher has problems with him.”

  “He’s built like one too,” Greg mumbled under his breath and then said, “Was your husband a big man?”

  As much as he feared she might again break down crying over the husband she clearly loved and missed, she needed to talk about him. That much was obvious. She looked thoughtful for a moment and then smirked slightly.

  “Ben definitely has more of his father’s build than mine. I think he will end up being bigger than Doug was though… taller and bulkier. Doug was about your height but over the years he became… heavy. Ben isn’t overweight, he’s just really big for his age,” Carla smiled at whatever memory or thought was behind the faraway look in her eyes.

  He remained quiet about the topic during the remainder of the car ride. As he sat in the waiting room and then in the examination room and then later in another room after getting another set of x-rays taken, he truly could sympathize with Ben’s situation. Sitting still sucked.