The Damaged Heroes Collection [Box Set #1: The Damaged Heroes Collection] (BookStrand Publishing Mainstream)

by James, Sandy

  He was relieved when Sarah stopped trying to ease out of the office and glanced over at Cheryl. “I hate to take advantage. He doesn’t have to hire me.” She looked back to Ross. “Really, you don’t have to hire me just because of your sister.”

  “Stop it, Sarah,” Cheryl scolded in her demanding voice Ross had heard a million times. He couldn’t help but smile because when his sister used that tone, she always got her way. “Ross needs a receptionist, and you need a job. You’re really nice and you’re cute. You’ll make a good first impression on anyone who comes here. And you’re more than capable of answering phones and taking messages. Really, you’d be doing him a favor.”

  “I’d love to have you work here, Miss Reid,” Ross added. “My executive assistant is going out on maternity leave in a couple of weeks. If you start now, Sheila can show you how to handle things before she has to go. I need someone to help hold things together ‘til she gets back. And even then, she’s not coming back full time. I could really use you, and I’d rather hire someone I know than someone answering a newspaper ad.”

  Although she still had a skeptical expression painting her features, Sarah finally gave in and nodded. Ross couldn’t help but smile. His baby sister always got her way.

  “Thank you,” Sarah said. “I appreciate the job. I really do.”

  “Then I’ll see you first thing Monday.”

  Ross watched Sarah and Cheryl leave, wondering what his wife was going to think about his new receptionist. He picked up the phone and dialed her office. She answered in three rings. “Laurie? You’re not going to believe who just showed up here.”

  Chapter 20

  Josh grabbed the phone and answered it without even looking at the Caller ID. “Bruiser?” He’d already waited way too long to hear back from Bruiser Glenn, a private investigator he’d used on a few occasions. The P.I. usually returned Josh’s calls immediately, and he always got the job done. Josh couldn’t think of anyone better to put on Sarah’s trail. Hopefully, it would still be hot enough to follow.

  The wait had seemed an eternity, each tick of the clock another reminder that Sarah was gone. Every minute that passed might find her farther out of his reach. God, he couldn’t bear the thought he might never see her again. The time apart had already been agony. He couldn’t face a lifetime of that kind of pain.

  “No, it’s not Bruiser. It’s Laurie.”

  “Laurie, I don’t want to be rude, but I’m waiting for an important phone call.”

  “Wow. Tactful and eloquent as ever, Josh. I’m your favorite cousin, remember? Wouldn’t you rather talk to me than anyone else?” she teased.

  Squelching an aggravated sigh, he replied, “I really am waiting for a call.”

  “I know. You want to talk to Bruiser, right?”

  “Yeah. He’s supposed to get back to me when he knows anything about Sarah. She’s missing. She left her house, and I’ve got no idea where she is. I was going to call you to warn you in case she tries to reach out to you. You guys got awfully close in Montana. I just wanted to see what Bruiser could find out first, then—” His rambling stopped as it finally dawned on him Laurie couldn’t know he’d called the P.I. “How did you know I was waiting for—?”

  She interrupted his question, reminding him of Sarah’s endearing habit of finishing his sentences. Hurt rolled through him that he pushed aside so he could concentrate on what Laurie was saying. “Ross told me you’d called a little while ago asking for Bruiser. But you won’t need him.”

  “Laurie, I’ve got to find Sarah. If you’ll wait awhile, I’ll call back later and explain it all. Bruiser should be calling—”

  “I told you. You don’t need Bruiser. Relax, Josh. Sarah’s here.”

  Josh was so surprised, he jumped to his feet, knocking his desk chair back several feet. His heart clenched in dread as he assumed Sarah went to Laurie because she was in trouble, maybe even thinking about visiting that parking garage roof again. “Oh, God, Laurie, is she... She’s not...”

  “She’s fine.”

  “Really? She’s not hurt? She’s not...” He was trying to wrap his mind around the notion Sarah was still healthy, still in one piece. His heart would probably never settle back into a normal rhythm. Clearing his head, he tried to figure out what Laurie was really telling him. “She’s in Chicago? What’s she doing in Chicago?” Sarah was practically in his backyard.

  “Before I say anything—”

  “Laurie,” Josh growled, “if you know anything about Sarah...”

  Libby popped her head around the office door. “Pop? You were shouting. What’s wrong?”

  Josh held up his index finger so he could keep Libby’s questions at bay for a moment. “Talk to me, Laurie.”

  “Evidently, when Sarah left Indianapolis, she called Cheryl.”

  “Ross’s sister?” Josh had almost forgotten that Cheryl had been the person who set this odyssey in motion. Sarah had cured Cheryl’s lupus. He just couldn’t figure out why Sarah would turn to Cheryl and not Laurie. Or better yet, why didn’t she call me?

  Because Sarah hated him. Not that he could blame her.

  “Yeah. I don’t think Sarah’s made the connection between Ross, Cheryl, and me. I mean, think about it. Sarah knows me as Miller, thanks to the silly nickname you always use. Ross is a Kennedy. And Cheryl still uses her ex-husband’s last name.”

  The name he’d used in the story. The damned story that had caused this whole stupid mess. “Cheryl Sutton.”

  Libby was obviously having a hard time hearing only one side of the conversation. She came to stand next to him and clutched at Josh’s arm a couple of times until he took her hand in his and gave her a quick squeeze. With a nod, she released his hand.

  “Yeah, Sutton. But it gets better,” Laurie said. “Sarah wanted a job, so Cheryl brought her in to answer the phones for the Miller Foundation. Ross figured out pretty quick who she was, especially since you’d asked him about Bruiser tracking her. Ross hired Sarah to keep her close until we could figure out what to do.”

  “What to do? What to do?” Was Laurie kidding? He had already stalked out of his office to find his car keys, with a clearly confused Libby following at his heels. “What do you mean ‘what to do’? I’m heading there now.” Hell, he’d break land-speed records to get to Ross’s Bolingbrook office.

  “Pop?” Libby squeaked. “You’re leaving?”

  Josh nodded, promising himself he’d explain it all to his daughter as soon as he found his keys. She could go with him. Between the two of them, they might be able to reason with Sarah, and he’d be able to calm Libby down. He just didn’t know how to calm himself.

  “Josh, wait.” Laurie sounded stern.

  “Wait? Wait? Are you freakin’ kidding me? I’ve been worried sick! I haven’t seen Sarah in...in... God, something like three weeks. I was sure she was...” He couldn’t even finish the terrifying thought. The keys weren’t sitting on the kitchen table. Josh started digging through the pockets of the jackets hanging on the coat tree like he was some kind of squirrel trying to find the precious nuts he’d buried for the winter. Where were the damn keys?

  Libby arched an eyebrow.

  “Car keys,” Josh said, holding his palm over the phone.

  Libby nodded before she started opening the drawers on the kitchen island and rummaging through the contents as if anyone could actually find something important in all the junk he and Libby had a habit of shoving inside.

  “I had a long talk with Cheryl,” Laurie explained in that counselor voice Josh always hated to hear because she was usually right. Unless she gave him directions to make the trip faster, he didn’t want to hear it. She obviously didn’t care because she plowed right on. “Sarah doesn’t know I’m Ross’s wife, so she’s content to stay here. She thinks she’s...anonymous. That her sister can’t find her. That... Well, Sarah thinks you can’t find her.”

  “But...but I love her.”

  “She’s still really hurt, Josh. If you just sho
w up, she’ll run again. Trust me on this.”

  “But—”

  “And this time you might not be lucky enough to find her again.”

  Damn it. Laurie was right. Josh just didn’t want to admit it. He knew where Sarah was, and every cell in his body was screaming at him to go get her, to bring her back to his home and never let her leave again. His chest was so tight, he felt like someone was smothering him.

  “Josh? You there?”

  He just grunted. Libby stopped searching for the keys and stared at him.

  “Didn’t you wonder why she left?”

  No, he had to admit. He’d been so worried about where Sarah was, he hadn’t really speculated at what set her to flight. “I figured she was tired of the press camped out on her front lawn.”

  “Then you don’t know.”

  “You’re pissing me off, Laurie. What exactly don’t I know?

  “Cheryl says Sarah can’t heal anymore. That she left because she’s lost her gift.”

  All Josh could do was gape at his daughter like a catatonic. Libby, on the other hand, had started pacing around as if she’d just sucked down a couple of espressos.

  “Josh?” Laurie asked. “You still there?”

  The news took a long time settling in his mind. “She can’t heal anymore.”

  Libby stopped pacing and looked at her father with enormous eyes. “Sarah can’t heal?”

  Josh nodded.

  “You’ve got to give her a little time to adjust to that,” Laurie said. “You’ve got to admit, her life has been a little crazy the last couple of months. Let her get used to the change.”

  Sarah had to be devastated. Healing had meant so much to her, and to have that gift suddenly leave... “But maybe I can help. Maybe I can—”

  “Maybe you can, but remember, she’s angry at you. She thinks you never believed her.”

  “Did Cheryl say why?” he asked.

  “Why what?”

  “Why Sarah can’t heal. What happened to make it leave?” That question turned somersaults in his mind. The reporter in him couldn’t simply accept anything at face value. There had to be a reason Sarah suddenly lost her gift, and he sure didn’t think she’d been struck by lightning again.

  What if it was because of him, because of their relationship? Sarah was already so hurt, she would surely hate him if he’d had anything to do with her loss. He started to pace the kitchen.

  Libby planted herself in his path. “Tell me what’s going on.”

  “In a minute, Miss Elizabeth.”

  She folded her arms over her chest and gave him a stern glare. “Is Sarah okay?”

  Josh nodded but then wondered if Sarah really was all right. He had to find out for himself. “I’m coming there now, Laurie.”

  “Listen to me, Josh. This is what I do. I help people in trouble, remember?”

  Screw that. He wanted to get to Sarah. Now. He wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her until neither of them could think straight. He wanted to make love to her until she was too tired to move. Then he could explain everything and try to help her through her loss. She had to forgive him. He’d die if she didn’t.

  “Josh?”

  “Laurie, I can’t... I have to see Sarah.”

  “And how exactly are you going to force her to listen?”

  Ah, well there she had him there. If he turned their reunion into a struggle, Sarah would only have more reason to hate him. Taking a calming breath, he said, “Fine. What exactly do you suggest?”

  “Two things. Give her a little bit of time to adjust to everything that’s happened and find a way to talk to her where she has no choice but to sit and listen to what you have to say.”

  * * * *

  Sitting on the closed toilet seat, Sarah frowned at the little white stick that sat resting on the edge of the porcelain sink. Ten minutes had never seemed so damned...long. It wasn’t like she didn’t know what the stick would tell her. Her heart already understood the reality of her situation. Her head was where the difficulty rested.

  It had been Cheryl’s fault Sarah even started to consider the startling possibility. Just an innocent question Cheryl had posed before she headed to the store about whether Sarah needed anything...personal. Up until then, Sarah hadn’t realized she hadn’t needed anything...personal for several weeks. Too many weeks. Not since a week or so before Josh had taken her to Montana.

  She’d been lying to herself for far too long already. The morning nausea had easily been attributed to being anxious about her first days at a new job. The fatigue could have been nothing more than getting used to sleeping in a new place. The only thing Sarah didn’t have a stupidly inappropriate rationalization to cover was her sore boobs. But if she put her mind to it, she could probably come up with a somewhat reasonable explanation for that, too.

  Yeah, right.

  And things had been going so well. Too well, evidently. Life had a way of complicating things whenever she thought she’d found some calm waters, and Sarah’s cynicism kicked into high gear. She loved her new job. She loved working with Ross and Sheila. She even loved Chicago and had settled herself in the Windy City with little effort. Life was good.

  Or was it really all that good? She missed Josh more than he could ever know, and it hurt so much to not be with him that some days it was hard to even function. She missed Libby, too—missed her sparkling personality and her mischievous nature. Sarah had promised to plant flowers with Libby and to make things right with Josh so Libby could remember her mother as she wished to. She’d let Libby down.

  Things were good, yet not so good.

  And now this.

  Checking the clock yet again, Sarah whispered as she counted off each second of the final two minutes before she reached her shaking hand out for the prophetic white stick. A big blue plus symbol had formed in the tiny window. Sarah went numb.

  God obviously had a very peculiar sense of humor.

  Cheryl’s loud knock drew her from her zombie-like state. “Sarah? Well? What did you find out?”

  I found out I’m pregnant by a man I love with all my heart who doesn’t love me in return.

  Should she be thrilled or terrified? Sarah couldn’t decide. This complication changed everything, no matter that she’d vowed never to see Joshua Miller again and to never relive the heartache. That vow would have to be broken. He might be a part of the seedy press and a snake of a person to have used her the way he did, but he was a fantastic father. It wouldn’t be right to keep the news from him. Or Libby, for that matter. This baby would know her father and her sister. It would be selfish to keep them all apart.

  And it wasn’t like Sarah couldn’t acknowledge that she’d wanted him. Josh might have been an asshole for taking her virginity when he really didn’t love her, but she’d been a more than willing participant. She honestly couldn’t blame him for taking advantage of what she’d so freely offered. He was, after all, only a man.

  “Sarah?”

  With a heavy sigh, Sarah stood up and opened the door. Cheryl was standing just outside, clearly waiting for an answer. Her arms were folded over her chest and her foot tapped against the hardwood floor. “Well? What did it say?”

  “It said I’m up shit creek without a paddle,” Sarah replied.

  Cheryl nearly knocked the breath out of Sarah when she grabbed her and gave her a bear hug. “That’s wonderful! We can turn that third bedroom into a nursery and—”

  “Cheryl, I can’t impose on you—”

  “Bullshit,” Cheryl replied, taking Sarah’s hand and dragging her to the spare bedroom. “It’ll be great. Just look at this place. Southern exposure. The baby will have sunlight most of the day. Even in the winter.”

  Amazed and humbled at the constant generosity of her friend, Sarah forced a weak smile. In the past few weeks, Cheryl had begun to talk about their roommate status as if it was going to be something permanent. She’d even referred to them as “Laverne and Shirley” a couple of times. And it had be
en easy for Sarah to think of them being friends and roommates for quite a while—at least until Sarah had saved enough money to quit being an imposition. She’d offered to pay rent to Cheryl and suggested several times that she should look for a place of her own. Cheryl would have none of it, refusing to even discuss the possibility. Her generosity was touching, and Sarah hadn’t honestly wanted to leave.

  Now, she knew she was going to have to be a burden for a little while longer.

  Cheryl kept rattling off a list of what she wanted to do to transform the extra bedroom into something wonderful for the baby.

  The baby.

  My baby.

  Joshua’s baby.

  “Cheryl, you can’t say anything to anyone.” Sarah had opened up to Cheryl about her life, and it was wonderful to have a friend to confide in. Needing to talk about Josh, she’d told Cheryl all about their relationship. While she trusted her, Sarah was still concerned Cheryl might go to Josh with the news simply because she would think it was the right thing to do. “Please. I don’t want Joshua to know yet. I...I need to consider my options.”

  Cheryl had been looking out the window and talking about buying teddy bear curtains when she suddenly whirled around to face Sarah. “Options? You’re not thinking... You wouldn’t... You’ll have the baby, won’t you?”

  “Of course, I’ll have the baby. What did you think I meant?”

  With a wave of her hand, Cheryl dismissed the topic. “Sorry. You just scared me there for a second. So how will you tell your intrepid reporter about his impending fatherhood?” She snorted a laugh. “He’ll never see it coming.”

  “I’ll tell him,” Sarah said with a sigh. Cheryl threw her an incredulous smirk. “I will! I just don’t know how to... I’m not sure...” Sarah finally shrugged.

  “It’s simple, Sarah. Pick up your phone and call the man.” Cheryl pretended her hand was a receiver and pressed it against her ear. “Hello? Josh? Guess what? I have a helluva surprise for you!”