by Marie Force
She tugged her hand free and got out of the truck. “Thanks for the ride.”
When she heard his door slam, she spun around, intending to tell him not to even think about following her. She encountered the broad wall of his chest and uttered an unconvincing squeak of protest when he put his arms around her, cupped her ass and lifted her onto the hood of the truck.
Shocked and aroused, the heat of the engine was nothing compared the heat that zipped through her veins as he leaned over her.
“Give yourself permission, Caro,” he whispered, his gentle tone in sharp contrast to the rough way he’d handled her. His use of her nickname twisted her insides into knots. “Take what you know you want.” He flexed his hips and pushed the hard column of his erection into the V of her legs. “Take it.”
“I can’t,” she said, thinking of Joe and the family Seamus would someday want. Burying her fingers in his thick auburn hair, she tugged him in for a searing kiss. “I want to,” she said many minutes later when she had no choice but to come up for air. “I won’t deny that.”
“Don’t deny us, Caro.” His fingers dug into her bottom, as he throbbed against her. “We could be so great together.”
“Until you wake up one day and realize what you’ve sacrificed. I won’t take that away from you.”
“You’re not taking anything I’m not freely giving, love. I want you. I’ve wanted you from the first time I laid eyes on you. I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you.”
Carolina couldn’t deny that she was seduced, as much by his heartfelt words as the rocking motion of his hips.
“What would your mother say?”
At that, he froze, looked down at her in the faint moonlight and let out a deep, ringing laugh. “What in the name of Jesus, Mary and Joseph does my dear sweet ma have to do with this?”
“If, and I use that word very, very rhetorically, this were to happen, someday, I might have to face her.”
“She’d think the world of you, love. She’d have all the respect in the world for a woman who was widowed far too young and raised a fine son all on her own while helping her parents run a successful business. What’s not to respect about that woman?”
“The part where she’s sixteen years older than the dear sweet ma’s precious son and having wild sex with him?”
His lascivious grin almost drew a smile from her. “It was rather wild, wasn’t it?”
With her hands on his face, she said, “Focus.”
“I’m very focused.” He turned his attention to her neck and made her whimper when he nibbled his way from her ear to her throat. “It’s really quite simple, love.” His breath on her sensitive skin touched off an outbreak of goose bumps. “I want to be with you. I want to sleep with you and eat with you and talk with you and wake up with you and fight over the TV with you and go to bed with you.” His teeth closed on her earlobe. “I want to make wild love with you every single day.”
Carolina blinked back tears. She was so far out of her league with this man and so powerfully charmed by him. “How can you possibly know that will make you happy?”
“I can’t possibly know for sure, but I have a sneaking suspicion it could make us both happy.” His lips found hers in the dark for one of those long, deep, wet kisses he specialized in. By the time he drew back from her, she was quivering and on the verge of an explosive release. “I know you’re worried about what Joe might say, and to tell you the God’s honest truth, so am I. I think the world of him and would never want to disappoint him.”
As he spoke, he smoothed the hair off her forehead. “But he’s found his love, and he’s as happy as any man could ever hope to be. I can’t imagine the man I know and respect would want anything less for the mother he loves so dearly.” He kissed her again, softly and sweetly this time, and then lifted himself off her. The cool night air was a shock after the heat of his body. With both hands, helped her down from the truck.
Carolina was caught off guard by his unexpected retreat. Reeling, she stumbled, and he caught her.
“It’s okay, love.” He kissed her forehead. “Go on in now. You think about what I said, and when you’re ready, you come to me.”
She started to walk away, but turned back to him. “It’s not about whether I want you, Seamus.”
“I know that.”
Nodding, she went inside and closed the door, leaning against it until she heard the truck start up and pull out of the driveway. Then she slid down to the floor and sat there for a long time, thinking about what he’d said and wishing things were different. Oh how she wished things were different.
Owen and Evan tuned their guitars in a ritual as old as their friendship. They’d been playing together since they first met when they were in high school. That’s why it had pained Owen to say no to Evan’s business proposal. At one time, he might’ve been intrigued by it. But now he was intrigued by the idea of living and working with Laura. Funny how things changed.
With a fire burning in the hearth and most of his favorite people gathered around him, Owen should’ve been more at peace than he’d ever been in his life. But Justin’s demand weighed heavily on Owen as he let Evan lead the way through the first set.
Evan, who’d been plagued by worse-than-usual allergies this fall, signaled for Owen to continue without him when a relentless bout of sneezing sent him from the room.
As Owen strummed his guitar, he sought out Laura, almost willing her to look at him. When her gaze met his, he felt the impact from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. What a lucky, lucky bastard he was to have found her. Now that he had her, there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do to keep her close. He wondered if Justin had any idea how determined they were to be together. Well, he’d soon find out if he chose to make an issue of their relationship.
He smiled at Laura and played the opening chords to George Harrison’s song “Something.” Playing for her and only her, he put everything he felt for her into the song, letting her know she was different than every other woman in the world.
At first, only Laura realized he was sending her a love letter in the form of a song, but by the time he hit the second chorus, everyone else had tuned into the moment unfolding between them. I guess we’ve gone public, he thought to himself, satisfied that their friends were in on the secret they’d been keeping.
Laura sent him an intimate, loving smile that warmed him all the way through. He couldn’t wait to go home with her, to debrief the party, to sleep wrapped up in her. He couldn’t wait for everything with her.
The door swung open to admit Slim Jackson, Luke’s good friend and the island’s number one charter pilot. He was tall and muscular with dark hair and eyes and an easy, relaxed manner. His grandfather had tagged him with the nickname when he was a gangly kid, and it had stuck, becoming funny when Slim grew into a well-built man.
“Hey, you made it,” Luke said to Slim as Owen finished the song to enthusiastic applause.
Slim said something to Luke that had him turning to signal Owen.
He put down his guitar and went over to see what was going on. Shaking hands with Slim, he noticed the other man seemed uncharacteristically rattled. “What’s up?” Owen asked.
“I just flew your mom over from the mainland.”
Owen hadn’t spoken to his mother in a couple of weeks, and she’d never mentioned a trip to the island. “Really? What’s she doing here?”
“She didn’t say, but she’s in rough shape. Her face was all red like she’d been crying, and it seemed like she was in pain or something. When we landed, she cried out from the impact. I tried to talk her into letting me take her to the clinic, but she insisted I drop her at the hotel.”
A red haze of rage blinded Owen as Slim’s words registered. He knew what must’ve happened, because it’d happened before.
Laura came up to him and rested her hand on his back. “Is everything okay?”
“We need to go.” Owen’s calm tone belied the uproar going on inside him. “M
y mom is here.”
“Did you know she was coming?”
He shook his head, not trusting himself to say anything more. Crossing the room, he put his guitar in the case and closed the latches with fumbling fingers. He was aware of Laura saying goodbye to the others, but he focused on breathing through the rage. He could only imagine what must’ve happened this time. Had she finally left him? Owen refused to entertain a hope that had been dashed so often in the past.
“Yo, O, are you okay?” Evan asked quietly. He crouched next to Owen and rested a hand on his shoulder.
“Did you hear what Slim said?”
“Yeah.” Evan was the only person on the island who knew the truth about Owen’s upbringing with the rigid air force general who’d beaten the crap out of his wife and children every chance he’d gotten. “What can I do for you?”
Owen didn’t know what he wanted. He was tempted to run and hide the way he’d done as a young child when his father’s rages would overtake him. Owen had run away and hidden until he was old enough to get between his father and the victim of choice. Running and hiding wasn’t an option with his mother possibly hurt and waiting for him in town.
Evan seemed to sense Owen’s indecision. “I’ll give you and Laura a ride home, and we’ll see what’s up, okay?”
“Thanks, Ev.”
“Come on, let’s go.”
Evan smoothed the way with the others for a quick escape.
Owen settled Laura in the front seat of her car, stashed his guitar in the trunk and took the back seat, thankful for Evan’s offer to drive. Owen had no idea what to expect when they got to the hotel, and the sick feeling in his stomach brought back memories he’d run from his entire adult life. Images ran through his mind like a horror movie, snippets from the past he’d tried so hard to forget. Sometimes he suspected the reason he’d kept moving from one place to another was because he was afraid of what would happen if he ever stood still for too long.
Laura turned in her seat and extended a hand to him.
He closed his cold hand around her much warmer one and held on. “There are things I should tell you. . . Things you should know. . .” He wondered if she’d be angry that he hadn’t told her before now.
Evan glanced at the rearview mirror and met Owen’s gaze.
“The most important thing right now is whatever your mom needs,” Laura said. “Don’t worry about me, okay?”
He gave a small nod, loving her for understanding.
“Whatever it is, I’ll be right there with you,” she added.
“Me, too,” Evan said.
Owen’s throat tightened. How could he tell his two closest friends that he didn’t want them there? He didn’t want them to see what his father had done to his mother. He didn’t want them to know. But he could hardly send them away when neither of them would think of leaving him.
They weren’t like the transient people he’d encountered growing up in the military who were quick to turn the other way at any sign of trouble, especially in the family of a high-ranking officer. These people truly cared about him, and they wouldn’t let him go through this alone.
He wanted to thank them for their support, but he couldn’t seem to form the words. They’d left the porch light on, which is how Owen saw her sitting on the front stairs, leaning against the rail. “Stop.”
When the car slowed, Owen jumped out and jogged the last two blocks to the hotel. “Mom?” Her chin-length blond hair hid her face, so he couldn’t tell if she was asleep or unconscious.
Mindful of her injuries, he rested a hand carefully on her shoulder. “Mom.”
Her puffy blue eyes opened and immediately filled with tears when she saw him.
“What’re you doing out here?”
“The hide-a-key was missing.”
Crap, Owen thought, remembering they’d taken it with them. “What happened?”
She released a sigh full of weary defeat. “You know.”
“Do you need a doctor?” He was aware of Evan and Laura standing behind him, waiting to hear what they could do to help.
“I don’t know.”
“Can you stand up?”
“I think so.” But when she tried, her cries tore at Owen’s guts.
“Evan, go get David Lawrence. Hurry.”
Laura materialized on the other size of his mother, and between the two of them, they managed to get her inside.
“How did you travel all the way from Virginia in this condition?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“I wanted to be here, at the hotel. I wanted to see you.” She broke down into sobs that shattered his heart. He would kill that son of a bitch for doing this to her. He should’ve killed him years ago and spared them all the nightmare he’d inflicted upon them. Choking back the rage, because it wasn’t what his mother needed and it certainly didn’t change anything, he tried to stay focused on getting her settled on his bed.
Laura found a throw blanket and helped him cover her.
“Laura, this is my mom, Sarah. Mom, this is Laura McCarthy. She’s my. . .” Owen didn’t know what word would be appropriate. He looked to Laura for guidance.
“I’m his girlfriend,” Laura said with a loving smile.
Sarah looked up at him, the pain making her eyes heavy. “You never said. . .”
“I hadn’t gotten around to telling you, but I was going to. Soon. Laura is the manager Gran hired to get the hotel open again.”
“Oh, Mother mentioned you.”
“I’m a big fan of your mother’s,” Laura said, speaking as if they were meeting at a cocktail party rather than in the aftermath of violence. In that moment, he appreciated Laura more than he ever had before. “I’m looking forward to meeting her in person.” She tucked the blanked around his mother’s feet. “Is there anything I can get for you, Mrs. Lawry? Some water or tea maybe?”
“No, thank you, honey. I’d like to close my eyes for a minute. I’m so tired.”
“You rest, Mom,” Owen said, bending to kiss her forehead. “The doctor will be here soon to fix you up.”
Sarah released a deep breath and was asleep within seconds.
Laura took Owen’s hand and led him into the sitting room. Turning, she put her arms around him and held on tight.
Woodenly, Owen returned the embrace, even as his mind raced with questions and worries and rage. Always lurking right below the surface was the rage he’d fought so hard against. It would’ve been so easy to become like his father Choosing the alternate path had been a lifelong struggle. In the past, he would’ve run off. He wouldn’t have allowed anyone to touch or comfort him. Allowing Laura into his nightmare seemed as natural as breathing even though he was ashamed. He’d lived with the shame almost as long as he’d lived with the fear and pain.
“What can I do for you?” she asked after a long moment.
“Just this,” he said, tightening his hold on her. “I can’t figure how she managed to get here from Virginia when she can barely move.”
“She was fueled by determination.”
He held on to her until they heard the main door swing open.
Evan rushed into the sitting room with David Lawrence following him.
“Thank you so much for coming, David.”
The island’s only doctor shook Owen’s hand. “No problem. Evan said you suspect domestic abuse?”
Gritting his teeth, Owen nodded.
“You understand I’m a mandatory reporter,” David said, “meaning if I suspect a crime has been committed, I’m required to report it to the proper authorities.”
Laura’s hand on Owen’s back propped him up in more ways than one.
Owen had lost count of the many times the authorities had tried to intervene on behalf of Sarah Lawry and her children. Each and every time, they’d been steamrolled by the general. Not this time, Owen decided. This time would be different. “I understand.” He gestured for David to follow him. “She’s in here.”
David asked Owen to leave him
alone with Sarah.
Owen hesitated, unsure of what to do.
Again, Laura took his hand and drew him out of the room. “It’s okay,” she said. “Let him examine her and see what she needs.”
He reluctantly allowed Laura to lead him back to the sitting room.
She urged him to sit next to her on the love seat and never let go of his hand.
Evan took one of the chairs.
Owen appreciated that neither of them said a word while they waited a long time for David to emerge from the bedroom. When the door opened, Owen jumped up. “Is she okay?”
“She will be, but it’ll take some time. She gave me permission to tell you that among a litany of other bruises, she has severely injured ribs. Tomorrow, I’d like to have her come in for an X-ray. Until we know if any of the ribs are broken, she needs to take it very easy. With broken ribs, there’s a danger of piercing a lung. I wanted to take her in tonight, but she refused.”
Owen forced himself to meet and hold David’s steady gaze when he wanted to look away. Even at thirty-three he was still embarrassed by the nightmare of his family. “Did she say how her ribs came to be injured?”
“She said her husband punched and kicked her.” His even tone lacked judgment or condemnation, though Owen wouldn’t have blamed him for either.
Owen’s jaw pulsed with tension at the confirmation of what he’d already known.
“I need to call Blaine,” David said.
“Does she know you’re doing that?”
David nodded. “I explained what would happen. Blaine will report the incident to the authorities in Virginia, who will arrest her husband. We’ll document her injuries, and Blaine will take the report.”
Owen tried to imagine his father being arrested in Virginia and the fury that would unleash. He shuddered at the thought. “She may change her mind about pressing charges in the morning,” Owen said, his voice faltering.
Once again, Laura’s hand on his back and her steady presence gave him the courage to proceed.
“That’s the pattern,” Owen added.
