“Wait, you're gonna feed me?”
“Sure, why not. I want to help Jurnee. Come on, it will be fun, I’ll even play airplane with you.” He chuckled.
Next thing I knew Braxton had a forkful of food high in the air coming right at me, airplane noises erupting from his sexy mouth. Focus on the food Jurnee, or you may not even make it in your mouth with his help. With the food next to my mouth, there was nothing to do but open up, and there was the fact that I was hungry as heck. Right on cue, my stomach chose that moment to make a crazy sound. Braxton just smiled and shoved a fork load into my waiting mouth. As I swallowed, our eyes met, and I knew then that I was in trouble.
“Thanks for everything. For being there with me at the bar when this happened.” I pointed at my shoulder. “And for being here helping me now.”
“There’s no place I’d rather be,” he said. “Now open up, the plane is ready to land again.”
What a goofball and so damned sweet. So that’s how we spent the next twenty minutes. A little strange, but amazing nonetheless.
I hadn’t wanted this moment to end.
Chapter Five
Jurnee
Two weeks, that’s how long it had been since I was released from the hospital and I hadn’t seen a glimpse of Braxton, the very man that stayed with me the majority of the time I was there. He’d called Alley almost every day to check on me but hadn’t talked to me himself or came over. I knew he was busy trying to get his business off the ground and his house organized, but I missed him. Is that even possible? I mean, he was only with me for the few days I was laid up after surgery, and then poof, he was gone like smoke in the breeze. But did that warrant wanting him to be around now? What was it about him that got to me?
The truth was, I believed it was just Braxton. As a kid, he had always warmed my heart, whether it be from how he took care of Alley, or how kind he was to others like Summer and me. He may have been a boy back then, but I knew if I spent more time with him now, the man he was today would be almost perfect in every way.
Even though I was itching to see him, I’d been fine during my time at home. I had the girls there to help me if I needed it and my parents had been over a lot. Alley worked at home, writing her smutty romance novels, so she was always around if I needed something, and Summer being a nurse, had been hovering and helping when she wasn’t at work. I was still sore and had more recovery to do, but I was physically getting better. Mentally, it was still hard to believe I’d been shot and I knew I had to cope with that aspect of the evening, but I hated being away from my baby this long. Baby, being my job. I was ready to try and ease my way back into my regular schedule and life.
I loved the non-profit organization I created and not being there even though I had amazing people working for me, was killing me. It was something truly dear to my heart, helping foster kids or any children for that matter who needed it. Whether it be an outlet and place to go for help with homework or other issues, a place to play instead of going home alone, or somewhere to make friendships and have people to socialize with. Even Summer and Alley volunteered their time there and it was fabulous.
Hopeful Jurnee, that was what I’d named it. That place and volunteering at the hospital in the pediatric cancer wing with all the sick kids was truly special to me. I knew all too well what it was like being so little, sick, and lost beyond reason.
I couldn’t stop thinking about how excited I was to get back to my regular schedule a little bit at a time while I finished my physical therapy. Even with everything that was going on in my brain, something Braxton had said kept replaying in my head. He’d told me we needed a do-over. He wanted to dance with me.
That would be a fantasy becoming a reality and boy do I want that.
I knew I shouldn’t, and I wasn’t exactly sure how Alley would feel about it, but she had been cool about the time he spent at the hospital with me. The girls had always teased me about the crush I had on her brother, but we weren’t kids anymore.
Now everything was different.
I was getting ahead of myself. Remembering who I was and what I looked like, why would he be interested when he could have anyone he wanted? Another thing was, I knew I shouldn’t get close to anyone because I might not be able to make them happy in the long run.
I needed that do-over though, craved that dance, and I wanted to believe someone like Braxton would be intrigued and interested in a person like me.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved myself and my life, but I also wouldn’t allow myself to be fooled about how another person would fit into it and whether I could have the future I so desperately wanted. This was the biggest reason why I never got really close to others. Except for the girls that is. They didn’t give me any choice and they’d burrowed their way into my heart and planted themselves there, roots and all.
I had a feeling Braxton could do the same in no time at all. Did I want that?
Besides being scared, the fact was, I’d never really had strong feelings for someone that filled me with the passion to accept them into my world the way I was longing to now. Nobody had made my pulse race like Braxton had, as though there was a rhythm section of beating drums thumping away in my heart like a marching band took up residence in it whenever he was near. There had been men and there had been dates. I wasn’t a virgin, but I’d only been with one man that way, so you could almost call me one.
To say the pipes were rusty and I was inexperienced was an understatement.
With all this flying through my head as fast as I flew through the pages of Alley’s hot romance novels, I didn’t hear her walk in the living room. Can’t blame me, I mean, there was a lot to think about and yet one thing always made its way to the forefront of my mind.
Braxton.
On top of being the finest specimen I’d ever met, he was also fun. Seriously, what grown man wanted to feed a twenty-four-year-old like she was a toddler and play around while he was doing it? Obviously, he had, and it made him that much more appealing. I know I said I shouldn’t get close, that I couldn’t make someone happy forever, but I was struggling to hold back being around him after seeing him again and spending just a few short days together. I just prayed it didn’t cause issues with my bestie.
She and Summer both, they were my tribe.
As if reading my mind, Alley started in. “Don’t go getting locked up in your head about why you shouldn’t go for what you want. If you think for one second I would be upset if you were with my brother, then you're crazy. I just don’t want you or anyone to get hurt. But if you two got together it would make me happy. I love you both. You, my brother, and Summer are my world.”
I was wondering what happened to Landon’s place in Alley’s world because at one time he’d been a big part of it, but it was something we didn’t talk about anymore and hadn’t for some time.
Anyway, how she’d always been able to read my thoughts I could never figure out. Alley was just that way, and it was a little scary. She always had the skinny on what Summer and I were thinking and never failed to tell us and give her two cents about it. Some may not have liked that about her, but me, I loved it. I never had to guess what was going on in her head and everyone always knew where they’d stood with the girl. She was one of a kind and I adored her. Us three girls were sisters and had the tats to honor that bond.
Once we’d all turned eighteen and could make our own choices, none of us hesitated to put the ink on our bodies which just tied us together in another way. We didn’t need it, we were thick as thieves, but we wanted it. The matching tats we had placed on each of our right shoulder blades, displayed for others to see, were ones we wore proudly.
It was an amazing design and tribute to our friendship. There was an infinity sign with a swirling heart that weaved through it. Written in script on the bottom of the heart a word was placed on each side, that said Soul Sisters because that’s what we are. Curving around the top of the heart, also in script, it said, not Sisters by blood but Sisters by hear
t.
United we were and would forever be.
So yes, I was hesitant about taking that rain check Braxton mentioned, exploring an old crush, and getting to know him as a man a woman would have an interest in. I was reluctant for many reasons, but a big one was because this was Alley's brother. She said no and I just hoped she was right. Because against my better judgment my heart was doing the talking. I was going to explore this thing with Braxton and I damn sure hoped my decision didn’t backfire on me.
I already know Braxton is lethal.
Not hearing a word Alley had been saying until she was snapping her fingers in front of my face, I blinked at her clueless.
“Geez Jurnee, wipe that look off your face. When I know it’s for my brother, it kinda creeps me out.” She laughed in a totally amused tone.
“I don’t have a look, you don’t know what you're talking about.” Alley usually always knew what she was talking about, but I wasn’t about to tell her that. She would just be smug about it. Plus, I didn’t really want to give her the willies and make her have second thoughts about me and her brother spending time together, because I was going to make it happen.
Someone help me now.
“So, how are you feeling, and when are you headed back to work?”
Change of subject, probably worked in my favor right now.
“I’m heading over there for awhile tomorrow. Everyone there has been doing an awesome job while I’ve been recovering, but I miss it something fierce.” I was ready to go back and see all the kids and get back in my groove. It was another one of my happy places. My job, here with my friends and maybe, just maybe, spending time with Braxton could be another one too.
“Just don’t overdo it,” Alley said cautiously.
“I know, Mom, I will be careful.”
“You're a real comedian,” she said, laughing.
“I know, right? I made you laugh,” I smarted off. “Don’t you need to get back to writing your hot and heavy romance shit?”
“You're just dying to read it is why you want me to get back to work.”
“Darn tootin’ I am.”
“Fine girl, back to work I go. But watch your dirty thoughts about my brother while I’m busy.”
She stuck her tongue out at me and walked out of the room. Rolling my eyes because it’s what I did best, I just laughed and started contemplating my next move that would get me near Braxton again.
Chapter Six
Braxton
It seemed like forever since I’d seen Jurnee, but in reality, it had only been a few weeks. I was dying to be near her. I’d been busy so one would think it wouldn’t be so bad, yet she was always on my mind. Those big brown, expressive eyes were etched in my mind and her timid, dimpled smile starred in my dreams every night. I knew the reaction I was having for her seemed crazy given the way we’d grown up, and who she was to my sister, but I couldn’t help myself. There was something special about Jurnee and I needed to explore those feelings, almost as much as I needed my next breath. The anticipation to see her again was thrumming through my veins.
I had gotten most everything done at my new house, office, and the facility for the business too, so things were moving forward. It was pretty much set up and ready to go. This new venture with Gyth and our company was a chapter in my life I was ready to explore. Kinda like Jurnee. I wanted to see where that went too. Geez, see she takes over my thoughts again and again. The girl has already weaved her way in like nobody ever has. I needed to get my head in the game so Gyth knew I was serious about this place and could handle the demands running your own business could take. I had been talking about this for some time during our military days, but it wasn’t until he was medically discharged that he decided to come on board. It was both of our futures now on the line.
Arranging some things in my office, I heard the wheels of Gyth’s wheelchair rolling down the hall. He must have been having a hard day or he’d be out of the chair and using his cane. Things had been improving slowly, but I wasn’t sure he’d ever be one hundred percent again, and I knew he worried about that. All that shrapnel to his leg after the explosion had done a number on it. But the man was still a beast physically, as well as a wiz on the computer. Who would have thought, right?
Rolling into my room, Gyth asked, “You all set up in here, man?”
“Yup, how about you? You ready to rock and roll, take on some clients and shit?”
“Man, I was born ready. I miss the old life and the guys, the ones we lost and those we served with. But I am glad we are doing this.”
Gyth still struggled with the loss of a couple of our close buddies. Finding a way to cope with their deaths had been one of the hardest things I’d had to do, and I knew it was for him too. But on top of our brothers dying, Gyth’s injury and when he had to leave the military made it even harder for him. Our friendship was strong and I’d hoped I’d be able to help him navigate through this rough patch in life.
“Earth to Braxton. I said, are you gonna make the lady wait any longer and torture yourself in the process, or are you going to go see the girl?”
I hadn’t heard him the first time, but I did now and I had no doubt who he’d been referring to. Jurnee, since I talked about her all the time. Pretty much non-stop is more like it. “Hey, she just got hurt, something I should have prevented. Plus I’m trying to give her space to heal.”
“Braxton, that’s bullshit. That crap was not on you. It was a crazy situation and you did what you could. She doesn’t blame you at all, you told me yourself she said the same thing at the hospital. And by the way, with the way she was looking at you at the club and in the room as you’d sat by her side, I would say the girl is just as smitten with you as you are with her. So put both of yourselves out of your misery and go to her. You think retreating and making her feel like you don’t like her is the best course of action?”
“What the fuck man? I didn't say I didn’t like her, and I wouldn’t want her to ever feel that way. And did you really just say smitten?” What the heck, this big bear of a man is using words like smitten, what in the hell is going on around here? I wondered.
“You’re damn right I did, and don’t say another word about it. Just go see your girl.”
“My girl, nobody said anything about her being my girl. She is younger, I grew up with her and she is my sister’s best friend.”
“Yeah, I know all that and it doesn’t matter. Your sister’s awesome and she already talked to you about this. She told you she wouldn’t be upset, just as long as nobody got hurt. So stop beating around the bush and go.”
“Alright, alright, if you insist. I’m going. While I’m gone, you figure out a name for this place, we need to get that done and that part set up.”
“I know, and I was wondering what you thought of No Surrender?” Gyth said as he wheeled closer and threw a jab to my arm. Damn, did I say the man is strong? He’s like The Hulk when he throws a punch. It’s a good thing he isn’t green though, that may scare off the clients.
“It’s perfect man, love it. Get that set up and order a sign since you're shoving me out the door. I’m going to see about a girl.”
“Not just a girl, your girl, remember?”
I gave him the finger and left him sitting in my office chuckling.
Pushing the front door to the building open, eyes on the ground below me as I thought about Gyth’s and my conversation, I hadn’t seen the man approaching until the last second. And almost walked right into him. Head in the game Braxton, always be aware of your surroundings. As I looked up, I was flabbergasted at who’d been standing right in front of me. “Kace, what the fuck are you doing here man? I thought you were headed back home when we last talked?”
“Yeah, well I missed your ugly mug, but if you tell anyone that I will deny it to the bitter end.” He leaned in and we bro hugged, giving each other a hard pat on the back.
Oh, he thought he was a funny guy, always did. Truth was, he actually was hilarious, but just li
ke him, I wasn’t going to admit that right now, or to anyone else for that matter. At least not when he could hear me. Didn’t need his ego bigger than it already was. Placing my right hand over my heart in a dramatic way I said, “Aww, man I’m touched.”
“Shut it, dickweed. Where is the other dipshit at?”
Leaning my head back in the door, I yelled for Gyth and told Kace to come in. Standing just inside the doorway, Gyth came rolling out of the office. Eyes bugging out a little, he was just as surprised to see our friend as I had been.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Gyth asked Kace. “Not that I’m not happy to see you man, just shocked.” Kace leaned over and gave Gyth the same hug he had me but slapped him a little harder on the back. Everyone knew Gyth could take it.
“Well like I told Braxton here, I missed you guys. But like I told him, if you tell anyone I said that I may have to take you both out. I was also curious if you wanted to hire your old buddy?”
Both mine and Gyth’s mouths had been practically on the floor. He wanted a job? Never in a million years did I think one of our buddies would have traveled all the way to Portland and would want to work with us. Last I knew they were all headed home. But it was awesome.
Gyth and I had spoken at the same time. “Hell yes, we want you here man.” Then I asked him what happened to him going home.
“Well,” Kace said. “I didn’t have much at home keeping me there, so I figured I would come check you guys out and your place. We are a good team, aren’t we?”
“You bet we are, but what about your girl and the baby?” Gyth asked.
Kace’s expression changed in a flash, and he mentally shut down. The fun, carefree man that was there a second ago, was gone in a flash. Just like a bolt of lightning so swift and fast. What the hell happened? I was curious but could tell then wasn’t the time to talk about it. Gyth must have had the same thought because he dropped it and continued on as though he hadn’t even asked the question in the first place.
Entwined Souls (Soul Sister Book 1) Page 4
