Dare.
A tall woman with short, mahogany-colored hair blocked the view of the occupied bed. She wore jeans, a short-sleeved green blouse, and slip-on canvas shoes. Dark circles were under her puffy eyes.
“You must be Jenny.” The woman smiled. “I’m Susan. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances, but thank you for coming to see Darragh.”
Susan made this visit seem totally normal. If only…
“How is he?” Jenny asked.
“In and out. He had another surgery today. With all the hardware they’re putting inside him, he’ll be setting off metal detectors for the rest of his life.”
Dare was alive. That was all that mattered. Jenny swallowed.
She walked toward the bed where a man lay. Wires connected him to machines that made noises and lit up. An IV line went into the top of his right hand. One leg was elevated in a traction device. A cast covered part of his left forearm and hand. A white bandage concealed half his forehead. Cuts and bruises marred his face and arms. But he still looked like…
Ash.
Her heart lurched.
She did a double take. Blinked. Refocused.
Not Ash.
Dare.
A hand touched her shoulder. Susan.
“Are you okay, Jenny?”
Not trusting her voice, she nodded, even though her world had tilted off its axis and was spinning out of control.
Dare was in his mid-to-late twenties and more gorgeous than she’d imagined Ash. Even with the injuries Dare had sustained. The way his features fit together was perfect.
Her pulse took off faster than the speed of light.
This was who found her bottle? Her BFF? Her…friend?
Susan gave her shoulder a squeeze and then lowered her hand. “It’s so hard to see Darragh like this. He’s always been so active and athletic. Rarely caught colds. He played wide receiver for his junior college football team. He could have transferred to a four-year university, but after he got his associate’s degree, all he wanted to do was enlist and become a ranger.”
Like Rob—only his dream had been to be a marine.
“Honorable,” Jenny said, thinking of both men.
“That’s Darragh.” Susan’s gaze traveled from him to Jenny. “You know my son well.”
It didn’t sound like a question. For that, Jenny was grateful because she wouldn’t have known how to answer.
“He’ll be so happy you’re here,” Susan added.
Jenny hoped so. “He looks young.”
“Darragh always had such a baby face growing up. Even in high school. Now his sisters call him a pretty boy. He hates that.” Susan laughed. “Twenty-six, and his sisters can still get to him.”
Twenty-six. Five years younger than Jenny. Not that she didn’t have friends of all ages. “He mentioned having three sisters.”
“Yes, Kate was here for the first two days. She left yesterday because she had to work. Claire and Fiona just started classes at their respective colleges, so I told them not to come. They’re furious at me for that. At least Claire is in New Hampshire and can check on the house while I’m here. I did what I thought best and what Darragh would have wanted.”
Interesting. All four kids had Irish names. Jenny wondered if Dare had grown up in New Hampshire. She’d never been there. “He’s protective of his sisters.”
“He’s worse than a mama bear. Heaven help the guy who breaks one of their hearts.” Susan yawned. “Excuse me.”
Dare’s mom looked tired. Being on her own with her injured son had to be difficult. That gave Jenny an idea.
“Why don’t you take a break from the hospital tonight?” Missy had guaranteed Jenny’s hotel reservation so all she would have to do was call and say she’d be checking in tomorrow. “I’ll stay here with Dare so you can sleep.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind being here alone?”
“Not at all, and I’m not alone.” Jenny looked at the man asleep in the bed. “Dare is here.”
“Having a night away would be nice.” Susan sounded relieved. “I…I haven’t left the hospital much. I didn’t want to leave him.”
“There’s no reason for us both to stay tonight.”
Susan nodded. “Be warned—that chair isn’t all that comfortable.”
“One night should be okay, but several has probably worn out your back, neck, arms, and legs.”
“Yes. I’m feeling my age.” Susan laughed. “This will work out well. I’m sure Darragh would rather wake up to your pretty face than his old mom’s.”
Jenny’s cheeks heated. She wasn’t so sure since he’d never seen her. “You’re not old. And he looks like he won’t be awake much tonight.”
“In the morning, then.”
She and Dare would be spending their first night together. Well, sort of. Wait until Missy heard. Jenny almost laughed. “Go eat non-hospital food and sleep.”
“You don’t have to tell me again.” Susan picked up a large, lime-green tote bag. She reached inside and pulled out a business card. “Here’s my cell number. I put yours into my contacts yesterday.”
“Okay.” Susan must be the organized type. The only reason Jenny’s life flowed smoothly was because of Missy, who kept track of well, everything, so Jenny could focus on writing. “I’ll call if there’s anything you should know.”
Susan kissed the right side of Dare’s forehead where there wasn’t a bandage or bruise. “I’ll be back in the morning if I don’t hear from you tonight.”
Jenny smiled. “Goodnight.”
“Try to get some sleep. And thanks for giving me a night off.” With that, Susan walked out of the room. The door closed behind her.
Jenny blew out a breath. “It’s just you and me, Dare.”
He didn’t stir.
She walked to his bed, removed her bag from her shoulder, and set it next to the chair. Maybe she could work on outlining her next book, Assassin Curse. She pulled out her spiral notebook and pen but then put them back into her tote. There would be time to work later. All she wanted to do was stare at Dare.
His arms lay outside the blanket. Part of a tattoo showed at the bottom of his sleeve. He was tall and fit, but he looked so vulnerable lying in the hospital bed.
“I’d give anything to make you all better.”
Jenny touched his thumb on the hand with the IV in it. That seemed a safer choice than the arm with the cast.
His skin was warm. Calloused and scarred, too.
He stirred.
She jerked her hand away. “Dare?”
His eyes remained closed. “Jenn…”
Her heart raced. “I’m here. I’m right here, Dare.”
She couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. That should send off warning bells and flashing caution lights, but she didn’t mind.
As Jenny pushed the chair closer to the bed, she kept her gaze on Dare. They had never met, but she felt as if she knew him. His emails and texts had filled something that was missing inside her. That was why she’d kept writing back and getting excited when she heard from him.
Friendship, yes, that had been part of it, but there was more. Jenny liked the Dare she’d gotten to know from his correspondence, and she cared what happened to him. She couldn’t deny her physical attraction, either. Something that made her feel weird given he was injured and in the hospital. She shouldn’t be thinking he was hot.
Sitting, she leaned closer to the bed and released a long sigh.
“It looks like my message in the bottle did bring me my dream hero.”
Jenny didn’t know whether to laugh or cry…because she had a sinking feeling she’d have a better shot at dating Bigfoot than Dare O’Rourke.
CHAPTER SEVEN
What was going on? Dare opened his eyes. The light hit like a sledgehammer, so he squeezed his eyelids shut.
Noises sounded. Mechanical ones. Beeping.
Some sounded at a set interval. Others randomly.
His body felt…different.
Weird. Unattached. Floating like a balloon let loose in the sky. Well, a balloon that had survived a hurricane and a meteor shower.
His head throbbed. A dull ache filled his stomach. A pressure built in his arms and legs. Or was that his hip? He couldn’t tell.
The pain felt as if it were distant, no longer in his face—raw, intense, jagged—as it once had been. He remembered that much. He tried to remember more.
The beeping increased.
Weird. His mind seemed to be a patchwork of memories. Pieces sewn loosely together.
Someone pressed against Dare’s leg. Movement. Machinery cutting into metal. Yelling. Hearing the 9 Line MEDEVAC Request over the chaos.
For some reason, line three had stuck with Dare: “One Alpha, three Bravo, four Charlie, one Delta.”
Urgent, urgent surgical, priority, routine.
Dare had no idea which of the nine patients he’d been. He hoped he’d been the alpha. If he’d been the most seriously injured, then the others would be doing better than him and recovering quickly.
Recovering where?
He blinked open his eyes to find out. The light was still bright, but it wasn’t as blaring as the first time he’d tried.
He was in a hospital, but he’d already guessed that. Which hospital, or even which country, he wasn’t sure. Panama? America?
Machines with wires and cables attached to him made the noises. He listened closer. Someone was in the room. He could hear breathing.
As he turned his head toward the sound, a knife dug into his brain. Okay, not really, but moving his head hurt worse than a whiskey hangover.
A woman was asleep in a chair. She sat sideways with her knees over the chair arm. Her head was angled downward. Long, caramel-colored hair with blond highlights covered her face.
Dare could make out pale, smooth skin and full lips, but that was it. He didn’t recognize her coloring or hair, but he liked what he saw.
Who was she? And why was she here?
A door opened. Footsteps sounded on the tile floor.
He tried to use his peripheral vision to see who’d entered, but couldn’t. “Hello?”
His voice sounded rough. No kidding, his mouth felt as if it were stuffed with cotton.
“You’re awake,” a familiar voice said.
That sounded like his… “Mom? What are you doing here?”
“Where else would I be?”
And then he remembered. His mom had been here for a few days. He’d forgotten that and what else she’d said had happened.
A Blackhawk had picked up him and his squad. They were en route to get Hamilton and the others when the helicopter went down.
Dare’s jaw clenched. “Any word on my guys?”
“Yang was released yesterday. He stopped by before he left and wants to talk when you feel up to it. Humphreys is improving every day. I spoke to his mom at the support center while you were in surgery. Garcia is still critical.”
“The flight crew?”
“I don’t know, honey. I asked, but getting answers isn’t easy.”
No news had to be good news. If anyone had died, it would be in the papers. Still, he wanted to find out about the crew.
His mom stood at the side of the bed. “Looks like Jenny got some sleep.”
Jenny.
The air rushed from Dare’s lungs. He couldn’t breathe. A machine beeped faster.
His mom touched his arm. “Relax, honey. You had a collapsed lung.”
He tried to calm himself. Focused on his breathing as if he were taking aim for a shot. Air went in and out. The beeping slowed.
Dare stared at the woman—Jenny—sleeping in the chair. “Why is she here?”
“You asked her to come.”
“I did?” His mind was a blank.
“You kept calling for her. Over and over. You woke up long enough to tell me the passcode on your phone so that I could call her. You spoke with her for a minute.”
“I don’t remember.”
“That’s okay. You’re hurting. Having surgeries. On pain meds.”
Maybe that memory would come back to him like some of the others, but only one thing mattered now. Jenny was here.
He stared at her. “What do you think about Jenny?”
“I can see why you’re so taken with her. As soon as she arrived, she said she’d stay here and sent me on my way. I didn’t realize how much I needed a full night’s sleep in a bed. Not that I haven’t wanted to be here with you.”
“I understand, Mom.”
His mom glanced at Jenny before looking back at him. “You haven’t mentioned her. Is this something new?”
“Since early July. I…” His face warmed. He wasn’t sure what to say that wouldn’t sound crazy to his mom. “We live in different states.”
“She must care to have dropped everything and flown here to be with you.”
“Yeah.”
“She’s older than I thought she’d be.”
Dare didn’t care. “Age is just a number.”
“Oh, sweetie, I didn’t mean anything by that, but you’re right. A few years doesn’t make a difference. As long as she’s not like Kayla.”
“She’s nothing like her.” The words came out harsher than he’d intended, but Jenny didn’t deserve to be compared to his ex-girlfriend in any way.
Dare might not remember asking Jenny to come, but he knew why he would have. She’d been on his mind constantly. Maybe she’d felt the shift in their emails like he had. Not quite intimate, but they’d shared more private things, and a closeness had developed over these past weeks. One that hadn’t been there before he’d deployed.
His mother held a large plastic cup with a lid and a straw up to his mouth, and he sipped. “You haven’t stopped looking at her.”
A Humvee seemed to be parked on his chest. “I missed her.”
He missed texting her. When they were replying in real time, it almost felt as if they were talking to each other. They hadn’t seemed like they were on opposite sides of the country. He’d liked that.
His mother set the cup on the bed table. “Based on the way Jenny was staring at you last night, I’d say the feeling is mutual.”
Dare felt warm all over.
Jenny stirred. Stretched. Opened her eyes. Straightened.
She pushed the hair off her face.
The force of seeing her hit Dare hard. The blips and beeps from the machines accelerated.
Oh, man, she was beautiful. High cheekbones and lips made for slow, hot kisses.
Her tangled hair and not-quite-awake eyes made her look sleep-rumpled adorable. He fought the urge to reach out to her. To touch her to make sure she wasn’t a fantasy. If she wasn’t real, she was part of the best dream ever.
Her green-eyed gaze met his. “Good morning.”
Emotion tightened his throat. He tried to lift his head, but it hurt too much. “Come closer.”
Jenny stood and stepped forward until she was right at the edge of his bed.
Dare reached up with his good arm. The one with bruises, cuts, and an IV. He touched her shoulder to prove to himself she wasn’t an illusion.
A burst of heat rushed up the length of his arm at the point of contact. Not a dream—real. “You’re here.”
“You asked me to come.”
“I don’t remember.” He felt like an idiot. “I’m sorry.”
Her gaze hadn’t wavered, and Dare was glad about that. He could stare into her green eyes for days.
Jenny.
The emotions running through him had nothing to do with friendship. Not even close. They weren’t brand new feelings, if he was being honest with himself. They just seemed clearer now that the two of them were together.
“That’s okay,” she said, and he had no doubt she meant it.
It was okay. With Jenny next to him, everything felt better. “I never found out the real name of your star.”
“We can do that together when you feel better.”
“Thank y
ou for staying here last night,” his mom said. “I haven’t slept so well in days.”
“Anytime,” Jenny said.
“I’m going to grab a cup of coffee from the cafeteria. I forgot to get one on my way up.” His mom’s smile brightened her face. “Would you like a cup, Jenny?”
Jenny nodded. “I’d love one with cream and sugar, please.”
“I’ll be back.” His mom walked out the door.
Holding up his arm was getting harder to do. He hated showing any sign of weakness because he needed to be strong. People counted on him—his mom, his sisters, his guys, and now Jenny. He ran his fingertips along her smooth skin until he reached her hand. He could rest his arm on the bed this way.
“Thank you for coming.” Though he hated her seeing him in pain, on meds, and not in control of…anything. “This must be weird for you.”
“A little, but I figured it might be.”
He appreciated her honesty. “Is Missy okay with you being away?”
“Yes, we talked after I arrived. She knows I want to be here, and she told me she’d be okay. I’m confident she will be. She seems more content than she’s been since my brother passed.”
That was good news. Dare could tell Jenny was pleased, and it made him happy.
He rubbed his thumb against her hand. “I can’t believe you came all this way, and I don’t even know your last name.”
“Hanford.”
Jenny Hanford. “Mine’s O’Rourke.”
“Your mom told me.”
“Oh, right.”
“How do you feel?” Jenny asked.
The concern in her voice and eyes wrapped around him like a hug. “Better now that you’re here.”
A smile spread across her face, reaching all the way to her eyes. The result was breathtaking.
“You’re beautiful, Jenny. I mean, I thought you were before I saw you, but you are in person, too.”
Circles of red formed on her cheeks.
“I’m sorry.” Dare had embarrassed her and himself. “We’re friends, but I’m getting all gushy.”
“I like gushy.”
That was a relief. “But I’m not making sense.”
“For someone who’s been injured, you’re doing great.” She bent over. “Now that you’re awake, I want to give you something.”
Jenny (Beach Brides Book 5) Page 5
