by David Horne
He wouldn’t let Andrew into the room as Caitlyn was still sleeping and they were doing their observations, but Andrew was allowed to stand at the window. It was the least Andrew could expect; he was too tired to argue too much about it.
At least Caitlyn was well looked after. Jackson often worked on the ward in question, and he often spoke highly of his colleagues. Caitlyn was in safe hands.
“Andrew?”
Andrew turned as someone touched his shoulder. Jackson had appeared as his side. He hadn’t realized Jackson had come back after wandering off with the doctor.
“How did it go?”
“Archie’s going to talk to Caitlyn when she’s awake. Now she’s eighteen, all decisions go through her. It’ll be up to her who she wants visiting her.”
“Thank God for that.” Andrew let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. “I thought he wasn’t going to let me see her.”
“He’s scared of Antoinette filing a complaint. It wouldn’t be the first time she’s done that here.”
“She likes to complain a lot if it doesn’t go her way.” Andrew grunted. “That’s been something her whole life.”
“And you still married her.”
“Don’t remind me, Jackson. Harry’s already pointed that out.” Andrew turned away from his daughter and leaned against the window, folding his arms as he stared at the floor. “God, I feel so weak. My daughter was stabbed, and I couldn’t help her.”
Jackson was silent for a moment. Then he moved to leaned against the window beside him. Their arms touched, and Andrew felt a spark travel up his arm to his shoulder. But he didn’t move away.
“You helped her.” Jackson said gently. “You were there when she needed you, and that’s enough.”
“I didn’t help her. You did.”
“But she wanted you, and that was enough for her. You stayed around while she was in surgery, and if you hadn’t acted quickly, things could have been a lot worse.”
He did have a point. But it still didn’t make Andrew feel any better. He felt like a failure as a father, as it was, not knowing about the abuse his sons were going through, without seeing his daughter get stabbed.
“If Caitlyn puts restrictions on who sees her, Antoinette’s not going to be happy.” He commented.
“She doesn’t have a say anymore.” Jackson pointed out. “Besides, we have Blackhawk bikers as security. I doubt they’ll listen to Antoinette’s tirade once they know she’s on the premises.”
Andrew could very well believe that. His club were loyal to each other, no matter what. When Antoinette suddenly turned around and started to turn Andrew’s life upside-down, they had rallied around him. Their club lawyer even looked after his court appearances whenever Antoinette tried to think up something to stop Andrew seeing his children. The speed at which they had turned on her was incredibly fast. Andrew wondered if Antoinette had expected that to happen.
Probably not. In her mind, the woman was the victim.
“Andrew,” Jackson put a hand on his arm, “It’s best you go home. There’s nothing you can do here.”
“What about Caitlyn?”
“They’ve given her painkillers. They’re not going to wear off until much later. And the nurses will keep you updated. I’ve made sure of that.”
Andrew hadn’t thought about that. He stared at Jackson.
“You’re doing too much for me.” He murmured. “And I didn’t even ask for it.”
Jackson smiled. It was a warm smile that reached his eyes. Andrew liked watching his eyes twinkle.
“That’s what friends do, Andrew.” He straightened up, tugging Andrew upright. “Come on. I’ll take you to get your bike.”
“Okay.” Andrew hesitated. He didn’t want to be alone, and he suddenly didn’t want Jackson walking away. “Come back to my place? I want a friend around right now.”
Jackson stared at him. Andrew wondered what he had said wrong. But then he smiled again, and Andrew wanted to tug him closer.
“Sure. I’ll come back.”
Chapter Five
Andrew lived in Westlake, his house backing onto the lake. It was a quiet neighborhood, practically dead at the late hour. Jackson pulled his car into the drive behind Andrew’s bike and climbed out as Andrew stepped onto the porch. The man looked completely drained, his whole body slumped. He was such a confident man. The owner of a successful business had his carrying his confidence around like a jacket.
Now it looked like had lost his jacket.
Jackson followed Andrew in, and they went straight into the lounge. Andrew kicked off his boots and stripped off his vest. Jackson’s mouth went dry as he saw sweating, rippling muscles and the tattoos curling up around the center of his back. They were beautiful. Andrew was beautiful. Forty-two and he was every inch the perfect man.
Jackson stopped himself. Now was not the time. He needed to get his mind out of the bedroom. Andrew didn’t bring him here for this. And now was not the time.
Which was a shame. If Andrew gave him any type of offer, Jackson would happily take it.
Andrew bundled his vest into a ball with a heavy sigh.
“I need a drink.” He headed into the hallway. “Do you want something?”
“Just a water.” Jackson took off his shoes and put them neatly against the wall, doing the same with Andrew’s boots. “I’ve got work tomorrow and it goes straight to my head.”
And one of them needed to keep sober.
Andrew didn’t reply, and Jackson wondered if he had heard him. But Andrew came back into the lounge with a bottle of beer in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He handed the water to Jackson, and Jackson tried not to shiver as their fingers touched.
He sat on the footstool as Andrew slumped onto the couch. The man used his teeth to take the beer bottle top off, tossing it onto the coffee table. Then he took a deep gulp, lowering the bottle with a heavy sigh.
“How did I not know that Antoinette was such a bitch?”
Jackson didn’t say anything. There wasn’t anything he really could say. And it sounded like Andrew just wanted someone to listen. He chugged at his water, seeing the blood stains on his hand. He needed to have a shower.
“I thought I was in love with Antoinette.” Andrew went on. He was staring at the huge TV on the wall. “We were together for sixteen years. She didn’t care that I was with the Blackhawks. She supported me while I built my company from the ground up. And I thought she was a great mother. And then she tore that all down with just a few words.”
“Harry told me that you two had broken up just after Charlie was born.” Jackson said. “But he didn’t say why.”
“It was pretty much an hour after Charlie was born.” Andrew said bitterly. “I was holding my son, and then Antoinette told me to put him down, that I wasn’t the father so I shouldn’t have my hands on him. Right in front of the medical personnel in the room.”
Jackson whistled. He had expected something harsh, but that was just cold.
“Then Antoinette went on to tell me that Caitlyn and Billy weren’t mine, either.” Andrew chugged back some more beer. “That was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. I said I wanted a DNA test for all of them, and Antoinette messed around for three months before Lacey got a court order for it all and had a witness for taking the samples. None of us expected her to play ball. Thank God they were mine.”
That was something. Jackson knew Andrew well enough. The guy would have been devastated.
“Did she have drugs messing up her head?” He asked. “Drugs make us say strange things.”
“No. She’s been drugged tested, as have I. She’s always come up clean. She just said that she had fallen out of love with me.”
“Couldn’t she have waited until after the birth?”
Andrew shrugged.
“I don’t know, and I didn’t ask. I was mostly in shock. If it hadn’t been for the Blackhawks, I probably would have gone downhill.”
There
was silence as Andrew finished off the beer and put it on the coffee table. Then he stood and left the room. Jackson could hear the clink of glass in the kitchen. Andrew was going to drink himself in a drunken stupor. That wasn’t the best solution, but Jackson wasn’t about to stop him. Andrew could be very stubborn when he wanted to.
Finally, Andrew came back with his arms full of bottles and a bottle opener. He sat on the couch and began to arrange his bottles, lining them up on the coffee table. Jackson sipped at his water. It was very tempting to ask for a beer himself, but it went through him too fast. He had never been good with alcohol.
“What set it all off?” Jackson asked. “Do you know?”
“It was all about the money.” Andrew opened one bottle and took a long swig, covering his mouth as he belched. “We never combined bank accounts. Antoinette protested, but I was firm on that. I had seen how Dad had gone through all the family’s money and left Mom with nothing for me and my sister when he took off, and I didn’t want that to happen again. Antoinette sulked about that. At the time, I thought she understood.”
“But she wasn’t.”
“It was something she probed me about over the years, but I let it go. I wasn’t changing my mind. Then when she was pregnant with Charlie, Antoinette asked if she could help with my company.”
“Be your bookkeeper,” Harry said.
“That’s it. But I told her no. Math isn’t my problem, and I can handle my accounts on my own. That’s how I prefer to do it, then I know where every penny is going.” Andrew made a face. “Antoinette kicked off after that. It wasn’t until she filed for divorce the same day I got the DNA tests back, that I discovered it was all about the money. The papers said she deserved half of my company and half my money.”
Jackson was glad that hadn’t gone through. Because she had no investment in the company or her name on Andrew’s account, Antoinette would get nothing.
“You think she wanted to be your bookkeeper so she could siphon money off you.”
“I know she did. I found out shortly before she asked about it that her bank account was in the red to the point her overdraft was almost gone.” Andrew shook his head. “I wasn’t about to trust her with anything involving my money.”
Even deeply in love, Andrew had kept some sense. Jackson would have done the same thing. He was glad Andrew hadn’t been a complete fool.
“You’re a sap, do you know that?”
“What?” Andrew blinked. “I’m a sap?”
“It took a long time for the rose-tinted glasses to come off regarding her.”
Andrew snorted.
“Never mind rose-tinted glasses. I wish I’d never married her in the first place.”
“No, you don’t.” Jackson shook his head. “Because then you wouldn’t have your kids. Or your company.”
Andrew was silent. They hadn’t turned the lights on, so Jackson couldn’t see his face clearly. He thought Andrew had passed out, sitting on the couch unmoving. Jackson jumped when Andrew spoke.
“I wish you’d stayed in Sacramento, Jackson. You’re the level head that I needed back then.”
“You mean Harry didn’t do a good job?”
“Not really.” Andrew paused. “Look, I still don’t want to be on my own. Would you mind staying with me a bit longer? You can camp out on the couch.”
The thought of being in a house alone with Andrew was temptation that Jackson couldn’t turn away. His heart raced as he realized that this was the first time they had been alone like this. Andrew wasn’t interested in anything beyond a friend to talk to, but Jackson’s mind was already thinking of the possibilities. Maybe get Andrew to take a few more pieces of clothes off…
Not now. This was the most inappropriate time. Andrew was not looking for someone to share his bed. His crush for the man was getting out of control. And Jackson wasn’t prepared to leave him right now.
“I’ve got work tomorrow afternoon, so I can stay longer if you need me.”
He could see Andrew’s smile in the darkness.
“Thanks, bud.”
Chapter Six
Andrew could hold his liquor, but after four bottles, his head started to spin. It had to be exhaustion doing that. Andrew remembered a time when he could drink the younger bikers under the table. Then again, he wasn’t young anymore. Fifty was around the corner - a long way off but still coming closer - and now Andrew was starting to feel it.
At least Jackson was here. Even though he was sitting across the room nursing the bottle of water Andrew had managed to scavenge from the fridge, his presence was very calming. If he hadn’t been there, Andrew might have done something stupid. His younger self might have gone to find his biker pals to exact some revenge, created havoc. Andrew had never been in trouble with the law - when your best friend was a cop, that wasn’t something he wanted - but he had come close several times. And even Harry couldn’t turn his back on Andrew’s actions.
Besides, even after everything, they were girls. Teenaged. Foolish, immature brats who thought going in a pack and taking a knife to a fight was going to give them the upper hand.
Then again, Andrew would have done exactly the same thing. The Blackhawks always did things in packs. They backed each other up, no matter what. And they were already rallying around for Caitlyn. Phone calls had been coming in all evening offering their help with anything Andrew needed. The moment someone in their family was in trouble, walls went up and everyone stood side by side.
Andrew needed that right now. As long as Jackson was there with them, he would take what he could.
It was well after midnight by the time Andrew passed out on the couch. He had no idea how long he had slept when he finally opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling, waiting for the world to stop spinning. He hadn’t had a hangover in a long time, and it was painful. The urge to be sick was strong, and Andrew rolled onto his side clutching at his belly as he breathed deeply.
The sickness urge passed after a moment, and Andrew focused on the dark shape lying on the other L of the couch, lying on his back with one hand under his head, the other hand dangling off the side as he snored quietly. Andrew found himself sitting up and watching him. Jackson looked delicious when he was sleeping. Younger, softer. More handsome. Everything about him in his face was more relaxed, like he didn’t deal with blood and guts every day.
His shirt had ridden up a little, and Andrew could see the firm flesh of Jackson’s belly, the thin band of his boxers above his jeans and how his jeans had shifted down. Andrew’s eyes were snagged by the bulge in Jackson’s crotch. If that was him soft, what was he like when he was hard? Andrew’s mouth watered at the thought.
He had to be mad. It had been twenty years since Andrew had even had a sexual encounter with a man, and yet he was craving this sexy nurse. Perhaps not having sex in five years since Antoinette ended everything had something to do with it. Andrew was craving someone he, essentially, couldn’t have. Harry wouldn’t be too happy to know his best friend and his brother were getting together.
But the more Andrew thought about it, the more he realized he didn’t care.
His mind had the worst possible timing. His daughter had just been stabbed and could have died, and yet he was thinking about fucking the nurse who had saved her life.
Andrew was jerked out of his thoughts when his cell phone started buzzing. Snatching it out of his pocket, Andrew vaulted over the couch, his legs almost buckling, and hurried into the hallway and toward the kitchen. The call stopped and almost immediately started again. The ID said Harry.
“Yeah?”
“Hey, pal. Did you have your phone switched off?”
“No.” Andrew winced. “I passed out drunk.”
“Well, Caitlyn was trying to get hold of you. She couldn’t, so she called me.”
That had Andrew more awake.
“She’s awake?”
“Yes. A little groggy, but she’s doing okay considering the circumstances.” Harry sighed. “She wants to
see you so much. She was crying down the phone to me.”
“I wanted to see her, too. But Antoinette wouldn’t let me near her.”
“Well, you won’t have a problem with that. I’ve told Caitlyn that she’s an adult and she can choose who she wants to see. Immediately, I heard her telling the nurse not to let her mother in no matter what.”
“She really did that?”
Harry chuckled.
“Yep, she did. And you don’t want to know the words she used to describe her mother.”
“I think I have a general idea.” Andrew sat on a stool and rubbed his eyes. “I didn’t stab my daughter, but Antoinette is going to blame me for it all. I was nearby and she hates me, so I’m the easiest person to blame. She’s going to be saying I hired Tina Marko to stab my own daughter next.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if she says that next.” Harry grunted. Andrew could hear the shuffling of papers at his friend’s end. “Caitlyn also said if she shows good progress and the doctor’s satisfied, she can be discharged the day after tomorrow.”
“That quickly?”
“She was lucky, so the doctor is happy to discharge her providing she gets lots of rest.” Harry paused. “Caitlyn says she wants to come stay with you. She believes that she’ll get the rest that she needs at your place.”
It was difficult not to have Andrew’s chest swelling with pride at that.
“But Antoinette’s going to cause a fuss. She’ll be there to drag Caitlyn back to hers.”
“Not happening, unless she wants to explain to the judge why she’s blocked you from seeing the kids for the last month. And Caitlyn’s an adult, so that would be paramount to kidnapping. Plus, I’m going to be there to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“You’re coming out of your way to be an escort?”
“Caitlyn asked me.”
Andrew grunted.
“As long as it’s just being an escort, that’s enough.”
“What do you think I’m going to do? Seduce her? She’s just been stabbed in the gut.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised.”
