by Becky McGraw
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
A weight lifted off of her chest, cool air brushed her skin. Leigh Ann was dragged slowly toward consciousness, but a wave of exhaustion pulled her under again. Snuggling against the plush material against her cheek, Leigh Ann fought to recapture the wonderful dream she had been having.
She and Wes were riding on a motorcycle in the country, her body pressed to his muscular back, the engine vibrations moving through her, the freedom to put her arms around him and knead the corded muscles of his abdomen. Heaven.
She leaned in and Wes reached back to rest his hand on her thigh and squeeze. The heat of his palm scorched her, as his thumb worked slow lazy circles on her inner thigh. With a moan, wanting to feel his hand a little higher, she scooted closer to his touch, spreading her legs wider.
"Leigh Ann!" a deep voice growled near her ear. Her eyes popped open. Groggily she realized it was a dream, and Wes wasn't rubbing her thigh at all. He was shaking her awake. Disappointment flooded her, as Leigh Ann pushed away from him and heat crawled up her neck.
Wes leaned in closer to demand angrily, "Did you let my son watch a Rated R movie?"
"I made sure I covered his eyes and ears during the bad parts," she told him through a stretch that extended her body.
"He knew I didn't want him watching that damned movie, didn't he tell you?" Wes grated furiously.
Leigh Ann gnawed her lip as guilt surged through her. Fully awake now, she sat up in the chair and clicked the foot rest back into place. "He did tell me, but I didn't see anything wrong with it," she replied defensively. "It's about a teddy bear!"
"That damned movie is about a helluva lot more than a teddy bear," he growled pushing back from her to stand with his hands on his hips. "And if he told you I didn't want him seeing it, who the hell do you think you are to let him watch it?"
Leigh Ann was the adult here, there was no way she was throwing the kid under the bus with his dad over something so stupid. She would take the fall and let the chips fall where they may. "He wanted to watch it, I let him watch it, so shoot me."
"Don't tempt me," he hissed. Leigh Ann stood and stumbled past him. The anger that radiated from him was so intense, walking by him was like walking by the sun.
"Goodnight, Wes," she said tiredly at the foot of the stairs. Her brain was sleep-drugged and now wasn't the time for this conversation. She was already fried emotionally from her talk with his son earlier.
"We're not through with this conversation, Leigh Ann. You're here in my house at sufferance, and you will not interfere with my son."
On the third stair, Leigh Ann stopped, then spun around to face him. She really tried to avoid this confrontation tonight, but it looked like Wes was intent on having the argument right now. Leigh Ann hated to argue at any time, but right now was probably the worst time he could pick. When she was as vulnerable as the motherless child she had spent the evening trying to console.
Tiredly, she defended herself, "I wasn't interfering, Wes. I was watching a movie that is no worse than a lot of the PG movies I've watched."
"That's irrelevant!" he shouted and she flinched.
Sucking in a shaky breath, Leigh Ann told him, "Look, like you said I'm here at your will, and it looks like I've worn out my welcome." The trembling in her voice mortified her. "I'll be out of here in the morning."
Her plans were to leave as soon as possible anyway, but soon just became immediately. She couldn't stay here anymore. Not with Wes and not with his son. Both of the males in this house had worked their way under her skin, and into her heart. A bad thing to let happen when a man hated you, thought you were no better than his bitchy ex-wife.
On a good day, even with people she didn't know, Leigh Ann took on other people's problems. Wes and Trey had major problems that she wasn't equipped to handle, or help solve. She had her own issues to deal with right now. If Leigh Ann let their problems become her own, she would be crushed in the end. Wes Jepson would stomp her heart into the ground, and his son would hold onto it when she left tearing it out of her chest.
Leaving was self-protection this time. She wasn't running from anything.
Hurt rifled through her when his shoulders relaxed and he nodded. His body language told her that is exactly what he wanted. Leigh Ann was proud of herself, because she managed to hold back most of the sob that shot up into her throat.
Tears clouded her vision, as she spun away from him and made the last few steps blindly. When she reached the landing she sped up her pace toward her bedroom. Behind her, she heard a curse, a heavy sigh, and Wes called her name. Leigh Ann didn't stop, she grabbed the door knob. Wes's large hand closed over her shoulder and her whole body tensed.
"I'm sorry for being so rough on you."
"I don't want to hurt Trey," she told him seriously. At least before she left maybe she could help Trey. "He needs a mother, and I don't fit the bill. I do think me being here is confusing him."
She's not the kind of woman I need. She knew it was confusing the hell out of her.
"Just stay until you find somewhere else to go." The guilt in his voice told her that was his only motivation for letting her stay for now. The last thing Leigh Ann wanted to be was a charity case or a burden to him or anyone else.
"I'll just move back into Dylan's trailer temporarily. I'm sorry for letting him watch that movie," she said softly as she twisted the knob.
The room was as dark as her mood, and Leigh Ann didn't even try to find the light, she walked toward the bed. The door opened and the light from the hall backlit Wes as he walked inside, then he shut the door behind him and the room was dark again. She couldn't see him so her other senses heightened and honed in on the scent of his after shave, his light and rapid breaths, the vibrations from his agitation that charged the air.
Leigh Ann inhaled deeply to commit his scent to memory. Tomorrow she was leaving, that is all she would have left of the man who had punctured her heart. There was no way she could see him again after that.
Goosebumps broke out all over her body when his warm hands closed over her shoulders. "I don't mind you staying here for a few days to find somewhere else, if you promise to stay away from Trey. I can't let my son get attached to you."
"Because I'm not the kind of woman you want or need? I'm like your ex-wife?" The words poured out, because they had been eating at her all day. What he thought of her hurt. She needed to let him know that, before she left here. "What does that mean exactly? Although she didn't want to hear his answer, Leigh Ann had to ask, "Does that mean you hate me too?"
She heard his indrawn breath, as his hands tensed on her shoulders. "You heard what I told my mother today?" Instead of answering her question, he had posed one of his own, an answer in itself.
"Every single word," she replied stepping away from him.
Wes groaned then tried to grab her shoulders again, but she sidestepped him. "Just go, I know how you feel about me now. You just used me, no need to beat a dead horse here. I'll be out of here tomorrow."
"I did not use you!" he protested hotly.
"Then what do you call sleeping with me even though you think I'm like your ex-wife, who you consider a selfish bitch?"
"You goaded me into it, remember?" he reminded with an edge of accusation in his tone.
Anger boiled her blood, and Leigh Ann clenched her fists to keep from blasting this clueless bastard. Goaded? Leigh Ann might have initiated the act, but he was fully on board with what happened afterward. "Didn't take much goading as I remember."
A minute passed, before he admitted darkly, "You're right, it didn't. It was all my fault, but I didn't use you, I swear."
Fault? The man considered making love to her a mistake. So did she, now.
Him wanting her to stay here just didn't make sense to her. "Why are you offering to let me continue to stay here? This is your chance to get rid of me, you should grab it with both hands."
"I promised Roxanne you could stay here."
Wes might not car
e about her, but he sure seemed to care about her sister. A lot. Too much. Jealousy shot through her. "If that's the only reason, then there's no reason for me to stay."
Dead silence reigned in the darkened room. Neither of them moved, it seemed to her as if Wes wasn't even breathing. Leigh Ann's voice was choked with emotion, when she finally said, "I get that you think I'm a screw up. My sister thinks that too, so she'll understand."
"I don't think that," he replied quickly.
"But you do think I'm not the kind of woman you want in your life."
The silence between them became as thick as the knot in her stomach again, but this time Leigh Ann didn't speak, because she couldn't.
"The problem is that you're exactly the kind of woman I want, Leigh Ann."
"But since I'm just like your ex-wife, I'm not the kind of woman you need?"
"The only thing you have in common with Laura is being beautiful. That's a problem in itself, because I just don't have the energy left to fight to keep a woman like you anymore. I need uncomplicated."
"So you want an ugly woman?" she asked with a short laugh.
"Hell no, I don't want an ugly woman, I just want one who brings calm into my life."
"And you think a beautiful woman isn't capable of that?" Leigh Ann volleyed.
"Laura craved attention, wanted to be the center of the universe. Dealing with the drama she created, giving her that attention was a full-time job. I want peace...my son needs peace. He's my priority now."
If that was true, Wes would be trying to find a mother for his son. After their conversation earlier, Leigh Ann realized Trey wouldn't be whole until that happened. She was afraid Wes would never be whole again. His ex-wife had really done a number on the man. That was too damned bad, because he had a lot to offer a woman. If Wes would just let down his guard and love whoever his heart told him to, instead of trying to fit that love into a box, only allowing his heart to feel if the woman fit his idea of perfect, maybe both he and his son could find what they needed.
Perfect was a pipe dream. Leigh Ann was living proof of that, but Wes would have to find that on his own. For her entire life, her mother had tried to make her into her own idea of perfection. That ideal was far from what Leigh Ann wanted, but it didn't matter, she had tried to meet her mother's expectations. Never again would she try and fit herself into someone else's box. If they wanted perfect, they could look somewhere else. Leigh Ann was going to be who she was, if that wasn't someone's idea of perfect, that was just too bad. That included Wes Jepson, but she couldn't help asking, "And you think I'll cause an uproar?"
"Chaos," he corrected. "Every time I get near you, I can't think straight."
"So maybe it's better that I leave."
No maybe about it, Leigh Ann thought, as she stepped back and the bed hit the back of her knees, but Wes stepped forward closing her in, so she had nowhere to go. She put her hands on his chest to prevent him from coming closer.
His hands came up to cradle her face, and Leigh Ann knew he leaned closer, because his unsteady breaths brushed her mouth, making her lips tingle. His heart beat erratically under her palms as he gently, deliciously, moved closer to sample her lips. Leigh Ann wanted to fight him, push him away, but a slow burn started at her core, and her hands clenched his shirtfront, as she leaned into the kiss with a moan.
Slow and amazing, his lips teased hers, coaxed them, while sending a message too. Unlike the last time he had kissed her, this one spoke of longing...caring. He didn't seem to be in a rush as he nipped her lips, sucked them, tasting her like a wine to be savored. Wes was telling her with the kiss that it wasn't about sex, without saying the words. Her heart fluttered in her chest as optimism welled there.
Scratching started at the door, followed by low pitched whining. Wes continued kissing her, but when it continued, he pulled back breathing hard. "Silas must need to go outside." With a sigh, he pulled her to him for a final hug.
"Want me to take him out?" she offered.
"Nah, I'll do it...you stay right here," he told her, then walked to the door. When he saw Wes, Silas let out a long low wail. Leigh Ann watched the dog drop down on his belly, then roll to his back and wiggle on the carpet like he was in agony, staring up at Wes with a plea for help in his sad brown eyes.
"What's wrong, boy?" Wes asked with concern, as he quickly knelt to run his hands over the red, blistered-looking skin of the dog's stomach. He turned Silas over, and stuck his fingers into the low-pile of Silas's coat, and frowned. "He has lesions on his skin, wonder what he got into this time? I've never seen a dog with so many allergies before. It's a good thing I'm a vet, or the steroids I've had to give him would put me in the poorhouse."
"What's he allergic to?" Leigh Ann asked uneasily.
Wes scratched the dog's head, and Silas's tongue lolled out in ecstasy. "I still haven't found a shampoo he can tolerate. The last one I used almost killed him."
Silas's accusing brown eyes met hers. "Um, Wes..." she squeaked.
He looked up at her, while he continued to pet the dog. "Yeah?"
"What did you do with that shampoo he is allergic to?" she asked with a sick feeling settling in her stomach.
"Oh, I put it out on the back porch to throw out." Wes leaned in to look closer at the whelps she could see when he separated the dog's fur.
Her stomach cramped, and she put a hand there. She had to tell him what she suspected. Otherwise he couldn't help the dog. "He rolled on a dead coon, so I gave him a bath with it earlier...I'm so sorry, I didn't know."
Wes groaned, dropped his head for a second, then pushed up to his feet. Hands on his hips, he stared at her for a second, before taking a deep breath. "I'll go out to the office and get him some medicine."
"Is there anything I can do?" she asked helplessly. She was helpless. And useless. A total screw up. Or that's how she felt right now. And she called herself a vet assistant? Hell, she was single-handedly keeping the man in business! Or maybe put him out of business, if the medicine he was going to have to give the dog was that expensive. "I'll pay to replace the medicine you have to give him. Take it out of my next check."
"Just stay here..." he told her, before turning to walk down the hall with the dog at his heels. At least she could do that right, she thought morosely.
Wes had just disappeared down the steps when the door down the hall opened and Trey stuck his rumpled head out of the door. Blinking a few times, he asked. "Is Silas sick?"
"He'll be okay, baby. Just go back to bed. Your daddy is taking good care of him." She hoped Silas would be okay, because she did not want to have to tell the kid she had killed his dog. "I think that bath I gave him made his skin itch."
"Yeah, he's lergic to baths," Trey told her groggily, then added, "I don't feel so good either." He put a hand over his stomach and scrunched up his face.
Leigh Ann ran down the hall and knelt beside him. "What's wrong, baby?"
Trey rubbed his stomach and flinched. "Tummy hurts...I think I ate too much popcorn." Leigh Ann had about as much experience taking care of kids, as she did with animals. But it sure looked like she was good at making them sick.
"Would water help?" she asked hopefully. Maybe he just had indigestion.
"Don't think so. Nana usually gives me pink stuff when my stomach hurts."
Leigh Ann sent up a silent thank you that the kid knew what she could do to help him. "Do ya'll have any?" she asked pushing up to her feet.
Looking up at her, Trey shook his head. "Daddy gave me the last spoon when I had a bug in my stomach."
Suddenly, his face paled, his eyes widened and watered, before he clamped a hand over his mouth. He spun on a dime and sprinted toward the bathroom, and Leigh Ann ran after him. He threw back the lid on the toilet then became violently ill.
Wes was going to kill her, she wanted to kill herself.
Darting to the linen cabinet, Leigh Ann pulled out a washrag and wet it in the sink. Once Trey finished, he stood back up and staggered weakly. Her han
ds trembled as she wiped his face, then she noticed how red his skin was. She put her hand to his forehead and it was scorching hot. Maybe this was about more than the popcorn, he could have the flu or something. His whole body shook with a chill and concern rocked her.
"Does anything else hurt, baby?" she asked softly, pushing his damp hair from his forehead.
"Head hurts too," he groaned and sank to the floor, holding his skull.
Leigh Ann sat down beside him on the cool tile to pull him onto her lap and cradle his head against her breast. "It's okay...we'll find something to make you feel better," she promised with a kiss on his forehead. Comforting him was the only thing Leigh Ann knew how to do. At least she could do that right, until Wes came back. Another shiver racked Trey, and Leigh Ann hugged him tighter.
"Gonna be sick again," Trey said weakly and pulled out of her arms to lean over the toilet. Leigh Ann held his waist as he heaved, wishing she could be sick instead of him.
"What the hell is wrong with Trey?" Wes asked angrily from the doorway.
"I think he has a virus," she informed.
"What did you feed him tonight?" he asked gruffly.
"We had some popcorn while we watched the movie..."
"Wasn't the popcorn," Trey said and dry heaved. "Don't yell at Miss Leigh Ann, Daddy," he said and gagged again.
"Leigh Ann, just go to bed and I'll deal with this," Wes ordered shortly.
His tone made it clear he thought his son was sick because of her too. Leigh Ann was sure the popcorn hadn't helped matters, but it wasn't what made the kid sick. Or at least she didn't think it was.
"I want to help." There had to be something she could do to help. If he would just tell her what to do, she would do it.
"Oh, I think you've helped enough, just go to bed," he repeated, a muscle working at his square jaw. Hearing the disgust behind his words, seeing the disappointment in his eyes, sent Leigh Ann staggering back into the vanity. Wes turned his back on her and Leigh Ann spun to run back to her room.
She slammed the door and locked it behind her then flipped on the light switch. The faster she could get out of here, the better. She wouldn't wait until tomorrow, she was leaving here tonight. Her car was still in the shop, because she didn't have the money to get it fixed yet, but Leigh Ann would walk if she had to so she could get away from the man who seemed to blame her for everything wrong in his life. She would start to believe him if she stuck around. This job, and this man were not for her.
