Wild Spirit

by Mari Carr

  But never…fun.

  Leave it to Yvonne to knock him off-balance in the bedroom and introduce him to something he didn’t even know he’d been missing out on.

  Of course, he shouldn’t be surprised. Heaven knew she’d been throwing him for a loop the past couple of weeks.

  “You’re asking for it, baby,” he said, trying—and failing—to evoke a warning with his words.

  “You’re right. I am,” she said with a saucy wink. “Hurry up.”

  He tugged on her wrists, intent on giving her exactly what she wanted, his fingers itching to spank her, but before he managed to do more than pull her to a sitting position, there was a knock on her bedroom door.

  Leo had closed the door, but he hadn’t locked it.

  Yvonne quickly pulled her T-shirt back on as she called out, “Who is it?”

  “It’s Padraig. Listen, I’m really sorry to interrupt you, but…Leo, are you in there?”

  Padraig knew he was.

  “Yeah,” Leo called out. “Give us a second.”

  Yvonne pulled her lounge pants back on as Leo walked to the door and opened it. Padraig stood in the hallway. When he saw Leo was shirtless, he grimaced. “Your brother’s been trying to reach you. When he couldn’t get you, he contacted Ryder, who told him you were here, so he called the pub. Leo…your dad has had a heart attack. He’s at Hopkins right now. Josh thinks you should get over there as quick as you can.”

  It took a second for Padraig’s words to sink in, but once they did, Leo flew into motion. Yvonne had already retrieved his shirt from the floor, handing it to him.

  Padraig rubbed his hands on his jeans, then said, “I need to get back down to the bar. I left Emmy keeping an eye on things.”

  Leo nodded, silently acknowledging Padraig’s “I’m sorry, man. Hope everything is okay,” as he left Yvonne’s room and went back downstairs.

  “Leo,” Yvonne said when he dug his truck keys out of his pocket, terrified that he wouldn’t make it to the hospital, that he might not have a chance to say goodbye to his dad.

  Fuck Karma.

  He was the one who’d just gotten spit at.

  “Do you want me to—” she started.

  “No,” he stopped her. He knew she was going to offer to come with him. He didn’t want her there, didn’t want her to see him fall apart.

  He was barely holding it together, and the sound of her voice pierced something inside him, shattering it, the shards cutting him deep.

  She made him feel too much.

  Fuck it.

  It was all too much. All of it.

  “I should never have started this, Yvonne.” He forced himself to look into her pretty eyes. “This is what I was trying to tell you. My life is constant chaos.”

  “I don’t care about th—”

  “I care. I have too many responsibilities, too many people relying on me. I’m already pulled in too many directions. I can’t add anything else to the mix right now. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

  “Leo. Wait—” she started again.

  “I have to go. I’m sorry, Yvonne, but I think it’s better for both of us if we just stay friends. It’s all I have to offer you. All I’ll ever be able to offer.”

  Then, he took the coward’s way out, leaving before she could respond.

  Chapter Six

  Yvonne listened as Leo’s footsteps pounded down the stairs. She stood in the middle of her bedroom, staring at the rumpled comforter on her bed.

  He’d come to her. On his own.

  After their date last week, she’d discussed her next move with Aunt Riley, who said nothing drove a man crazier than getting what he asked for.

  Yvonne had agreed to give her aunt’s advice a try, returning to the just friends status Leo had claimed to want.

  She’d almost caved tonight, tempted to grab her car keys, drive to his place, and seduce the hell out of him. Then Leo had called Darcy.

  Darcy had been certain that meant Yvonne’s plan had worked, that Leo was going to her. Darcy had even texted to say he was coming to the pub. But then, too much time passed and Yvonne began to question whether or not he’d ever cave. In a fit of annoyance, she’d picked up a dirty book, casting herself and Leo in the roles of the main couple, figuring that was the only way she was getting laid tonight.

  Then…he’d shown up, stripped her naked, pushed her to the verge of an orgasm.

  And now…

  Yvonne blinked quickly, trying to combat the tears threatening to fall. She wasn’t going to cry.

  No crying, she repeated to herself.

  She caught sight of the messy bed again.

  “Fuck it,” she said. “I gotta get out of here.”

  She pulled off her T-shirt and lounge pants, and put on a bra, panties, jeans and a clean T-shirt, grabbed her car keys, then headed downstairs.

  Riley and Pop Pop were sitting at the bar with Padraig, who had clearly filled them in on Leo’s hasty departure.

  “Good for you,” Riley said when she saw her with keys in hand.

  “What?” Yvonne asked, confused.

  “You’re going after him, right?” Riley asked.

  Yvonne shook her head. “I don’t think I should. He’s with his family now. That’s not really my place.”

  “What’s with the keys then?”

  “I was just going to take a drive. Try to clear my head.”

  Riley rolled her eyes. “I don’t know who’s stupider about all this—you or Leo.”

  Padraig chuckled. “Always there with the stellar pep talk, Aunt Riley.”

  Yvonne glanced at Pop Pop. “I thought you were having dinner with Lochlan.”

  “Came over to check the score on the game.” Pop Pop reached out to touch her cheek consolingly when Yvonne climbed onto the barstool next to him. “All these years. It’s still him, isn’t it? It’s always been him.”

  “Always?” Padraig asked.

  Yvonne nodded. “Yeah. I’ve had feelings for Leo for a long time.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  If Yvonne wasn’t feeling so crappy, she might have laughed at Padraig’s tone. It was very rare that anyone ever pulled the wool over his eyes.

  She shrugged. “I kept it a secret for the most part. Riley’s right. I’m not getting any smarter when it comes to Leo. He said all he has to offer me is friendship. And I know I should be okay with that, Pop Pop…that it should be enough for me, but—”

  “Enough for you?” Riley interjected. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Friendship is just as important as love. They’re both gifts, both things to be treasured. It’s better to have Leo as a friend than not at all.”

  “What kind of bullshit is that?” Riley asked.

  “Language,” Pop Pop murmured.

  Riley ignored her father. “You’re being a coward, Vonnie.”

  Yvonne looked at Pop Pop, who shifted uncomfortably on his stool, clearing his throat but not speaking.

  “Wait,” Riley said. “Did you say all that stuff to her, Pop? I’ve never heard you tell someone not to take a chance when it comes to love.”

  “In my defense,” Pop Pop said, “Yvonne was fourteen when I offered that advice, and Leo had just asked someone else to the homecoming dance.”

  Riley rolled her eyes and scoffed when Padraig laughed. He turned briefly and glanced down the bar. Yvonne followed his gaze to a pretty brunette sitting at the end, who was typing fast and furious on her laptop. Then the other woman looked up as if feeling Padraig’s gaze and gave him an amused grin, letting Yvonne know they had an eavesdropper.

  Great.

  “Well, you made this mess, Pop, so fix it. Give her the good advice this time. I gotta finish up a couple things in the kitchen. We’ll leave for home once you’ve fixed your mistake. The poor girl has wasted years on this crush.” And with that, Riley rose and returned to the kitchen.

  Padraig gave her a quick wink, then meandered down the bar toward the woman with t
he laptop.

  Pop Pop grimaced. “I am sorry, lass, for guiding you wrong.”

  Yvonne shook her head. “You weren’t wrong. It’s the timing on me and Leo that’s always been wrong. Still is, apparently.”

  “Is that what your young man thinks?”

  She nodded. “He said his life is constant chaos, and he’s trying to spare me from having to deal with all that.”

  Pop Pop gave her an astonished look. “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. Why, Sunday and I raised seven kids in an apartment above a pub. If that’s not chaos, I don’t know what is. What’s more, I wouldn’t trade a single one of those insane lost-homework, boys-fighting, broken-lamp days for the quietest, most relaxing, sleepy-eyed day on a fishing boat. Chaos is what makes life worth living.”

  “I’ve tried to tell him that, but he’s one of those chivalrous types, trying to save me from what he considers his own disasters.”

  “Sounds like he needs you.”

  Yvonne closed her eyes against the tears forming again. She wished he did need her. The problem was…Leo had been making it pretty much on his own since the beginning.

  “And you need him.”

  “I want him,” Yvonne clarified.

  “No, from the look on your face, I’d say you need him as much as he needs you. You’re lonely, aren’t you, my graceful girl?”

  Yvonne started to shake her head. It was impossible to live in the Collins Dorm, to work in the pub, and still be lonely. Then she realized he was right. “I look at Leo and see a future that…” She stopped, uncertain how to explain.

  She should have known Pop Pop would get it without the words. “I know the last few years have been hard on you, even if you haven’t thought so. Watching Caitlyn, Lochlan and Sunnie find their paths, their loves. Your future isn’t settled, though I think you’d desperately like for it to be. This young man, he’s the one who’s won your heart?”

  “He’s so honest and trustworthy and kind. Leo is a good man, who puts his family and friends first. And he’s the most incredible father. You should see him with Vince, Pop Pop. The way he’s raised his son is just…I think he’s probably a lot like you were with your sons when they were younger.”

  Pop Pop smiled, and she got a sense he was recalling those years. “There is no greater thing on Earth than being a father…unless it’s being a grandfather.”

  Yvonne smiled and placed her hand on top of his wrinkly one, trying to ignore the fact that he seemed to shrink a little bit more with each passing year. When she was a child, her Pop Pop reminded her of a giant, a larger-than-life man, stronger than a bear.

  She pushed aside thoughts of him aging.

  “I was there, you know,” she said. “The night Vince was born. Leo called and asked if Lochlan and I would come sit with him. Denise hadn’t been comfortable having him in the delivery room, so her parents were with her instead. I think it hurt him, knowing that his son was being born, and he couldn’t be there to see it.”

  “I didn’t realize you and Lochlan had been there for him. That was very kind of you.”

  “It was a pretty long labor, close to fourteen hours. Lochlan and I kept taking turns, running out for food and stuff. Leo wouldn’t leave the waiting room. I swear he must have walked a thousand miles around that tiny room. And then, just like that, the baby was there. A nurse called us into a different room, and she put Vince in his arms. I’ve never seen a look like that. It was the most powerful love I’ve ever witnessed. I want that for my own children, want him raising them with me, loving them.”

  “And,” Pop Pop prodded.

  “And…me.”

  “I was wondering if you were going to get to that part. Loving a man because he’s a good father is a wonderful thing, but it’s not the only thing.”

  “No. It’s not. And I hope you don’t think I’ve been pining for him for years on end. I haven’t. We’ve both lived very full, very busy lives. And the timing has always been just a little off. Until last week.”

  “Last week?”

  “He kissed me. And…” Yvonne flushed, slightly embarrassed by her admission.

  “I’ve done a fair bit of kissing in my life, lass. Can I assume you liked kissing him?”

  “I’ve been falling in love with Leo in bits and pieces ever since I was fourteen. But when he kissed me…that was it for me. Hook, line and sinker.” Her Pop Pop loved fishing, so she knew he’d appreciate the metaphor.

  “Well, then, I think the answer is obvious.”

  Yvonne sat there for a moment, trying to recall the question. “It is?”

  Pop Pop nodded. “Go to the hospital. Your place is there. With your man.”

  “My man?” she asked, teasing. “Not my friend?”

  “My dear girl, if you have an ounce of compassion, you will forget that terrible advice, and perhaps do an old man a favor and not tell anyone about my brief lapse in judgment. I do have a reputation to uphold in the family.”

  Yvonne laughed, leaning forward to kiss her grandfather on the cheek. “I won’t say a word. I won’t have to. Twenty bucks says Riley didn’t have a damn thing to do in the kitchen. I suspect she’s already managed to call at least three of her six siblings to tell them the story.”

  Pop Pop grimaced. “I never take a bet I won’t win. I suspect you’re right. So you go to Leo and show him that a chaotic life is better when it’s shared with a partner. And I’ll go to the kitchen and take Riley’s phone from her.”

  Yvonne walked to her car, then drove to Johns Hopkins, trying to still the butterflies in her stomach and hoping that this time her Pop Pop was right. She didn’t want to barge in on his family at such a stressful time if her presence there was an imposition, if Leo truly didn’t want her there.

  Her phone rang when she was halfway to the hospital.

  “Hello?”

  “Yvonne, it’s Sunnie.”

  “Hey, listen, this really isn’t a good ti—”

  “I picked up an extra shift at the hospital tonight because quite a few nurses are out with a stomach bug. People are puking left and right around here.”

  “Lovely,” Yvonne murmured. “Thanks for sharing.”

  Her cousin, Sunnie, was a nurse at Johns Hopkins. Though she typically worked in the oncology unit, Yvonne knew she pitched in wherever and whenever needed.

  “That’s not why I called. Leo’s here. His dad had a heart attack.”

  “I know,” Yvonne said. “I’m on my way, unless you thi—”

  “Excellent,” Sunnie responded, before Yvonne could ask if her cousin thought that was a good idea. “Leo doesn’t look right.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He’s…I don’t know. He’s always struck me as the steady-as-a-rock type, but he looks pretty shaken up right now.”

  “How is his dad?”

  “They’re still running tests.”

  “Okay. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  Yvonne broke a few speed limits to get there quicker. She parked her car, then walked into the emergency room.

  She spotted Leo, his mom, sister and brother sitting in a quiet corner of the waiting room before they saw her. Then, as if he sensed she was there, Leo looked up, his gaze meeting hers.

  She hesitated, but Leo didn’t.

  He was across the waiting room in less than five seconds, and then, she was in his arms. He hugged her tight. “I’m so glad you’re here,” he whispered, his lips next to her ear.

  “I was worried,” she said, her voice muffled, her face pressed against his chest. Leo wasn’t letting go. And neither was she. “About your dad.”

  And you, she thought.

  They stood there for a minute, Leo clinging tightly to her. She started to pull away once, but his grip firmed up, so she held on longer. She would stay there as long as he needed her.

  Finally, he released her. “I really am glad you’re here. I…”

  “You what?”

  He frowned. “I thought I was go
ing to lose it there for a minute. I was barely holding on by a thread, and then you walked in.” She could tell he took no pleasure in admitting that.

  “Are you okay now?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. I…uh…the way I left your place, and then coming here, my dad…”

  His words were a jumbled mess, but she could follow his line of thought just fine. “How is he?”

  Leo shook his head and shrugged. “They’re not telling us anything. When I first got here, I went in and saw him. He looked gray and they had a bunch of wires hooked up to him. I’m not used to seeing my dad look so…weak.”

  She’d just had a similar thought about Pop Pop.

  “Then the doctor shooed us out so they could run some tests.”

  “He’s in good hands, Leo. This hospital is the best. They’ll figure out what’s wrong and fix it. And Sunnie’s working a shift tonight. I’ll find her and see if she can come tell you what’s going on.”

  Leo nodded, but when she started to walk away, he tugged her into his arms again for another quick hug. “Thanks for coming, Vonnie.”

  “All you ever have to do is ask.”

  One of his lips curled upwards. “Ask for help. If I’m not mistaken, that might have actually been your first advice to me.”

  Yvonne laughed softly. “I’ll be sure to add it to the list when I get home.”

  “There’s a list?”

  “There will be when I get home. I’m losing track. Told you that you were a tough case.”

  He laughed, and she soaked in the sound of it.

  Unfortunately, it was short-lived. “Listen, Vonnie, about earlier—”

  She placed her finger over his lips. “No. There will be time to talk about that later. Right now, we focus on your dad. Okay?”

  “Will you at least let me apologize?”

  She grinned and shook her head. “Not necessary.”

  “Of course it is.”

  “No. It really isn’t. Let me see if I can track Sunnie down while you go sit with your mom. It looks like she needs you.”

  One mention of his mom seemed to do the trick, as shaken Leo vanished, replaced instead by the strong, take-charge man she’d loved half her life.