by J. S. Scott
Kade limped toward them, Tucker lumbering behind him. The dog was panting, its pink tongue hanging from its mouth as it plopped at Max’s feet and gave him an irritated stare.
“It’s not my fault. You went with him,” Max answered Tucker’s silent castigation, glaring back at the hound. Like Tucker didn’t know Kade? His brother-in-law, Mia’s brother, pushed himself on his mangled leg as though he had something to prove. When he’d had the motorcycle accident that had ended his stellar professional football career, his doctors hadn’t even thought he’d keep his leg. But he did, and Kade was still in better physical shape than any man Max knew.
Max released Maddie, who smiled at Kade as he plopped his ass onto the bench beside her, leaving her sandwiched between them. “Did you two have a good romp?” she asked, reaching down to pet Max’s pathetic hound. Tucker was already snoring, but released a satisfied doggie whimper as Maddie stroked his head.
“Yeah. Tucker completely wiped me out and worked me out. The dog sets a brutal pace,” Kade answered facetiously and smiled at Maddie as she leaned up again, looking like he could hike at least another several miles without breaking a sweat. Max was positive that Tucker had waddled along at a snail’s pace, which had no doubt irritated the hell out of Kade.
God, he reminds me so much of Mia.
Kade and Mia had the same deep blue eyes, blinding smile, and blond hair. At the moment, Kade’s hair was disheveled and longer than usual, touching the collar of his incredibly ugly, garish floral shirt. For some reason, Kade had always been a prime candidate for the Worst-Dressed list. It certainly wasn’t because he had no money. His brother-in-law was beyond wealthy, his net worth probably greater than Max’s. He’d taken over the Harrison Corporation along with his twin brother, Travis, when their parents had passed away over four years ago, and he’d been a star quarterback for a Florida pro team for years before his accident, commanding a huge salary and lucrative endorsements. Max was willing to bet that even though the shirt looked like it needed to be tossed in the nearest trash can, it had a designer label. Honestly, Max was pretty certain that Kade dressed the way he did just to annoy his twin brother. Travis was completely anal and meticulous—traits that Max also had—which should have made him closer to Travis than Kade. But after losing Mia, Max and Kade had gotten closer, spent more time together. Kade had been willing to talk about Mia; Travis remained stoic and secluded.
“Well, it was very sweet of you to take Tucker for some exercise,” Maddie told Kade, leaning over to peck him on the cheek.
“Hey, knock that off. Sam puts up with Max getting a little affection, but if you aren’t related, you better keep your distance.” Simon Hudson, Sam’s younger brother, approached the table with his very pregnant wife, Kara, his voice holding a serious note of warning.
“We are related by marriage…sort of,” Kade replied, grinning as Simon helped Kara step over the bench on the opposite side of the table and sit. “She’s the sister of my brother-in-law. That should count.”
Simon was frowning, his concern for his ready-to-pop-any-moment pregnant wife evident by the stressed look on his face. Kara was glowing, her face rosy from her walk with her husband. Simon finally glared at Kade as he sat beside his wife and commented gruffly, “Doesn’t count. If you aren’t related by blood, forget it.”
Kara smacked her husband in the arm. “Kade’s like family. Leave him alone, caveman. We happen to like it that he treats Maddie and I like sisters. I’ve made Kade and Max my honorary brothers.”
Max barked out a laugh. “So can we come on over there and give you a brotherly little hug, Kara?” he asked, watching Simon carefully. Honestly, he really shouldn’t bait the poor guy. Simon was obsessively jealous and his wife was nine months pregnant, but Max just couldn’t help himself. Shooting Kade a conspiratorial glance, both men began to rise.
Simon growled—actually snarled—as Kade and Max stood.
Kara beamed, delighted, looking pleased with the idea of giving both men a brotherly hug.
“Come one step closer and you’ll both end up in the hospital,” Simon warned dangerously.
Max smiled, while Kade laughed uproariously. Yeah, it was definitely not nice to tease Sam and Simon about their women, but since neither Kade nor Max actually had a woman, it was just so entertaining to watch Simon’s reaction. Both of them sat back down, knowing better than to push the jesting any further. Max had no doubt that Simon would make good on his promise.
“Just wait,” Simon warned. “Payback sucks.”
Max’s smile faded. While Kade had recently been dumped by his longtime girlfriend, his brother-in-law would probably find a good woman someday and get paid back for teasing Simon. But Max knew he never would. And he’d never treated Mia the same way Sam and Simon treated their wives. His parents had loved him, given him everything an adopted child could ever want, and in return, he’d always tried to make them proud by behaving with control. Not that he hadn’t wanted to go completely cave dweller on Mia at times—actually pretty much all the time—but he hadn’t allowed those emotions to claw to the surface. He’d ruthlessly crushed those feelings, burying them deep inside him, and he had loved Mia with the same tepid, felicitous affection his dad had shown his mom. But, Holy Christ, it hadn’t been easy. Max knew his possessive, animal instincts had been there with Mia, snarling to get out, but he’d always hid them, constantly struggling to keep them leashed. Now, he wished he would have set them loose and loved her wholeheartedly. He’d been afraid of scaring her off, freaking her out with his irrational behavior. But watching the other men with their women, he wasn’t entirely certain that she wouldn’t have wanted him that way. Kara and Maddie seemed happy, entirely certain that they were loved. Had Mia felt that way? Max wasn’t sure she had.
Sam brought over a huge platter of freshly cooked burgers and hotdogs. Picnic tables were hastily pushed together to seat everyone, the wood nearly groaning with the weight of all the people and enough food to feed a small army. Kade slid in next to him on his left, and Maddie slipped into the seat to his right.
Max’s eyes scanned the crowd sitting at the table and then around the perimeters of the park, wanting to laugh at the amount of undercover security that surrounded them. Already knowing Sam and Simon would have the park surrounded, he hadn’t bothered to include his small security team in this event. Now, he was really happy that he hadn’t. It would have definitely been overkill. The Hudson siblings practically had an entire SWAT team around the park to guard their wives. Not that Max really blamed them. Maybe if he had been firmer with Mia about her security, maybe if he hadn’t let her convince him that she didn’t need to be followed every minute of the day, maybe…
He was reaching for a hamburger bun when he saw her, his hand stopping abruptly before it reached the platter, his entire body frozen in place as he met the stare of a woman about fifteen feet from him, her body still and half hidden by a palm tree. His heart surged and then plummeted to his feet as his eyes locked with hers, eyes so very much like Mia’s. He might have been able to blow off the fact that her eyes were the same azure blue as his deceased wife’s, but he couldn’t ignore the sense of recognition he felt and saw reflected back at him from her gaze. Sweet Jesus. “Mia,” he whispered huskily, his hand lowering to the table as he openly gaped at her.
Hearing Max’s quiet declaration, Kade looked at Max, following the direction of his stare, looking at the woman for a moment and then back at Max. “Don’t do this to yourself, man. It isn’t her,” Kade told him harshly.
Yeah. Sure. For the first year after Mia’s disappearance, Max had seen her everywhere he went, in every crowd. But this wasn’t the same thing. “I feel her,” Max answered, his eyes never leaving the woman, his body tensing as he rose to his feet.
Kade grasped his arm. Hard. “Her eyes are the same color, but that’s all. It isn’t her. Look at her, Max. She has short, dark hair. She’s thin. No
thing is the same except her eyes. There are lots of women with blue eyes. Stop torturing yourself. Mia’s gone and she’s never coming back.” Kade’s voice was low, grating, his head turned so only Max could hear him.
Max ignored him, shrugging off his brother-in-law’s hold as he stood, the sorrow that he felt coming from the woman beckoning him, calling to him. Stepping over the bench seat of the picnic table, he kept his focus on her. The sense of recognition he felt made every sound fade around him until all he could hear was the thundering sound of his heart pounding in his ears, and all he could feel was the eerie sensation of knowing the woman who was so close to him, yet too far away.
Déjà vu.
Those were exactly the same sensations he had experienced the moment he’d first looked at Mia and had fallen into her deep blue eyes.
As he took a step toward her, she bolted. Breaking his gaze, she pivoted and started sprinting away from him, her slim, bare limbs exposed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, moving gracefully in quick, fast strides.
Dammit. No. Don’t run. Please don’t run.
Desperation seized him as his body kicked into motion, his feet pounding the dirt as he ran after her, covering the distance between them quickly. “Wait. I just wanted to talk to you,” he yelled, close enough to almost touch her.
Her head jerked around while she was in motion, startled by his voice so close to her, her expression panicked. Concentration lost, she stumbled, not seeing the elevated sidewalk in front of her. She went down hard, her head the first thing to hit the pavement. Because she had been looking back at him, she’d never had a chance to throw out her arms to break her fall.
“Fuck.” Max’s breath left his body as he leaped to avoid landing on top of her, cringing as he saw her head connect with the cement as she went down. He slowed and turned, dropping to the ground beside her, hating himself for chasing after her like a madman and causing the brutal fall. “Are you okay?” he asked hoarsely, turning her body over gently, cradling her head.
She was dazed, her expression befuddled as though she was trying to figure out what had happened. “You didn’t shave today.”
It should have been an odd thing for her to say, but it wasn’t. He used to be meticulous about shaving, sometimes having to do it twice a day to keep the stubble from his face. He didn’t worry much about it anymore, shaving only once in the morning and ignoring his five o’clock shadow.
The sultry, confused voice flowed over Max and then sucker-punched him in the gut so hard he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. “Mia?” He could barely get her name past his lips as he gathered her fragile form into his arms, his whole body quaking with shock.
The woman shook her head, a gesture that looked like she was trying to clear her brain. “No. I’m not the woman you want,” she said as she continued to shake her head, her expression going blank as her eyes fluttered closed and her entire body went slack in his arms, her head flopping against his chest.
Bullshit. You’re exactly the woman I want.
As Max clasped her tighter against his chest, he whispered fervently, “No. Wake up. Stay with me.” The palm cradling her head was damp, and as he moved it slightly away, it was saturated with blood from a cut on her head.
Head wounds bleed a lot. It might not be as bad as it looks. Stay calm. Oh hell, who am I trying to fool? She’s out cold.
Sam, Simon, and Kade arrived as Max stood, holding the woman’s slight weight in his arms.
“Have you lost your damn mind? Why did you take off like that?” Kade stared at the woman Max was holding. “What happened to her?”
“Fell. She’s unconscious, smashed her head against the concrete. We need to get her to a hospital. Call an ambulance.”
For once, Kade didn’t argue, his hand diving into the pocket of his jeans for his phone.
Max started walking, his rational mind working automatically, knowing he needed to get her through the park and to the road where they could meet the ambulance. He could feel her warm breath against his skin, her pulse beating rapidly underneath his fingertips that were resting against her neck.
She’s alive. Mia’s alive.
That particular fact was astounding on more than one level, but Max knew he couldn’t think about that now. He’d figure everything out eventually. Right now, Mia needed him to take care of her medical needs. If he didn’t focus on that and only that…he’d totally lose it, and his famous Hamilton control would desert him completely.
Max moved as quickly as he could through the park, trying not to jostle the woman in his arms too much, Simon and Sam flanking him silently on each side. Kade was behind him, still on the phone, briskly directing emergency personnel to their location.
“I can carry her for a while,” Sam said quietly, putting his hand on Max’s shoulder to try to make him stop walking.
“No,” Max growled. It would be a cold day in hell before he relinquished his hold on her. He’d just gotten her back. He wasn’t letting her go. Shrugging off Sam’s hand, he kept moving.
“You can’t hang on to her until the ambulance gets here. It could take awhile.” Simon tried to reason with him.
“The hell I can’t,” Max answered harshly, his hold tightening on his woman involuntarily as he lengthened his stride. “She’s my wife. I’ll carry her as long as I need to.” He needed to keep her, needed to hold her.
He didn’t notice Sam and Simon’s astonished looks as they both gaped at him like he’d suddenly lost his mind.
“You think that’s Mia?” Sam asked, confused.
“It is Mia,” Max answered confidently.
“Max, she doesn’t look like Mia—”
Arriving at the parking lot, Max jerked his head around to look at Sam, telling him belligerently, “It’s her.” He knew his own wife. She smelled like Mia; she felt like Mia; she was Mia.
The woman in his arms began to stir just as Kade joined the three men. Sirens were wailing distantly, rapidly moving closer. “Ambulance is coming,” Kade muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets, his expression concerned as he looked at Max. “Max, I know you think that’s Mia, but you must know that she really isn’t.”
Max watched Mia’s eyes flutter open slowly, blinking like she was trying to focus her vision and looking around warily. “What happened? Why are you carrying me?” she rasped.
“You fell and hit your head, sweetheart,” Max answered softly.
“Can you put me down please?” she requested, squirming.
Scowling, he answered, “Not happening. You’re hurt.”
Irritated, she looked at her brother. “Kade, can you tell Max that I’m fine? Where did you get that horrible shirt? I think that’s worse than the one with the purple birds.” Her confused eyes moved over Simon and Sam. “Why are Simon and Sam here? Where the hell are we? Dammit! I feel like I got run over by a semi-truck.” She rested her head against Max’s shoulder and closed her eyes, no longer arguing about Max holding her, her lucid moment apparently over.
The four men all looked at one another, none of them moving as they stared at the female Max was holding.
“Holy shit,” Simon and Sam grumbled in unison.
Max’s heart accelerated, his mouth going dry. He found himself incapable of speech as he tried to wrap his mind around what was happening…and failed miserably.
Kade yanked the phone from his pocket and punched one of the buttons. Raising his voice to be heard over the sirens of the arriving ambulance, he shouted into the phone, “Travis? I need you to meet us at the hospital. We think we found Mia, and she’s alive.”
Maddie, Kara, and the rest of the guests for the picnic arrived, everyone talking at once as a paramedic hopped out of the ambulance and rushed over with the gurney. Max reluctantly laid Mia on the board that rested on top of the pristine sheet, but he gripped her hand and never let go. Ignoring the chaos around him,
he followed wherever his wife was going. Hopping into the ambulance, he sat near her head and let the paramedic do his job, but he gripped her hand, squeezing it lightly, needing to keep the connection.
“Are you hurt, sir?” the brisk voice of the young medic asked.
The question barely penetrated the fog around Max’s brain. Slowly, he glanced down at his t-shirt, realizing he was covered in blood from Mia’s head wound.
“No,” he said huskily, shaking his head. “Not anymore.”
The perplexed young man in uniform looked at Max for a moment and shrugged, obviously convinced that the blood on Max belonged to Mia. Setting back to work, he stemmed the blood from Mia’s head wound, stabilized her head and neck, and started peppering Max with medical questions about his wife.
Yanking himself brutally from his own thoughts, Max went into autopilot, answering every question, responding coherently, giving the paramedic every bit of information he could to help Mia.
Mustering every bit of the Hamilton control he could find, Max calmed and buried his emotions. It should have been easy. It was something he’d done most of his life. But right now, it was an enormous effort, one that he almost didn’t care whether he accomplished or not.
Do it for Mia. She needs you to be sensible and get a grip on yourself.
With that thought, Max was able to totally rein himself in, become the rational man she had always expected.
By the time the ambulance arrived at the hospital, Max was in command of himself; the only signal that he hadn’t quite managed to completely bury his emotions was the steadfast, unwavering grip he retained on Mia’s hand.
By some unknown phenomenon, Max knew he was actually getting a second chance. As improbable as it was, his wife had been given back to him, and he wasn’t going to fuck it up this time.
