Peter laughed at her comment. "Don’t let our mother hear you say that. We’ve managed to brainwash her over the years into thinking that we’re wonderful."
Jarrod and Peter had turned their backs when she started to undress. Tasha stood nearby, her eyes also averted. Briana, still rested against her father’s chest, her eyes closed in exhaustion.
When she finished with the buttons on her shirt, she opened it wide so Peter could examine her ribs.
Tasha’s gasp of surprise made Jarrod turn in spite of himself. All the color drained from his face as he saw the extensive bruises on Nikki’s chest and ribcage. The green of the bruises almost matched the silk bra that covered her large, firm breasts.
Jarrod’s shocked gaze met Nicole’s. Some of the bruises were already almost black. Others were green and blue and all of them would get a lot worse before they got better. How could she even move? That must hurt like hell! And she’s packed Briana around as if nothing was wrong!
She flushed at Jarrod’s scrutiny. He turned his head again, face flushed, as he realized he’d looked more at her breasts than the bruises after the first glance.
She flinched as Peter probed her bruised ribs and wondered why it felt as if there were burn marks where Jarrod had looked at her bare flesh.
Peter stepped back from the table. "You’re right, of course. None of your ribs seem broken. You’re going to be quite sore for some time, what with your ribs, your neck, and your head. You do have a slight concussion. My recommendation would be for you to spend the night in the hospital for observation."
"NO!" Nikki shouted. She took a deep breath and lowered her voice to a more reasonable tone, "Lainey can take care of me. You have a list of all the symptoms to watch for, right?" She buttoned up her blouse with unsteady fingers.
At Peter’s nod, she continued, "If I have any more problems I promise to call a doctor or go to the hospital, okay?"
Peter folded his arms and looked her straight in the eye. "Who’s this Lainey? Is he or she responsible and reliable?"
She almost smiled at that. "Lainey raised me since I was twelve. She’s one of the most responsible and reliable people I know. We share a duplex so she’ll be right next door. Good enough?"
Peter tipped his head and considered carefully. "Only if you promise to call if you have any problems." Nikki nodded quickly in agreement. "All right then, Tasha . . ."
Tasha handed him the instruction sheet for concussions and he grinned. "She reads my mind."
"It’s not hard, usually it’s a blank!" Tasha gave him a saucy grin and scooted away before her husband could swat her bottom.
"Saucy wench! I don’t know why I put up with you." He smiled at his wife with so much love in his eyes that Nikki could understand exactly why he "put up with her." She swallowed around the lump in her throat. Would she ever find someone who loved her like that? More to the point, did she want someone to love her like that? Did she want that level of commitment and that kind of vulnerability?
Peter scribbled on the top of the form. "I’ve written our home phone number on here. If you have any problems, call us. Day or night. Understood?"
Nikki saluted smartly. "Can I get off this table now?" Peter nodded, grinned widely. She climbed down from the exam table and looked at Jarrod and Briana. "Did you want Bri to have a check-up too?"
Jarrod nodded and stood. He walked over to the exam table and tried to set Briana down. She clung like a limpet, refused to let go. "Bri? Uncle Peter wants to listen to your heart and make sure you’re okay. Honey, please let go of Daddy’s neck."
He sighed and looked at the other adults. "I don’t know where she gets this stubbornness from. Certainly not from her father’s side of the family."
"Yeah, right." Nikki snorted rudely. She walked over to Briana and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, sweetie, what’s up? Why don’t you want a check-up?" She could smell Jarrod’s cologne from where she stood. It made her inexplicably want something she knew she shouldn’t have.
Briana lifted her head briefly from her father’s shoulder, her brown eyes wide. "Uncle Peter hurt you. I don’t want him to hurt me."
"He didn’t mean to hurt me. He was just doing his job. Do you have any places that hurt?" Briana shook her head. "Well, I had places that hurt before Uncle Peter gave me my check-up. That’s why it hurt. He had to make sure nothing was really wrong with me."
Briana pulled away from her father a half inch and looked at Nikki thoughtfully.
"So, that means if you don’t have any places that hurt, Uncle Peter won’t hurt you. Right?"
Briana sucked in her lower lip and nodded slowly.
"Can you sit down on the exam table now?"
She shook her head no, her lower lip trembled.
"How about if Daddy sits with you?" Briana shook her head no again.
"How about if I sit with you, would that work?"
Briana nodded and held her arms out so Nikki could pick her up.
Just like a few hours ago. Nikki took the little girl into her arms. She felt a sharp pain in her heart at the little girl’s trust.
She turned, stepped over to the exam table, and sat down with Bri on her lap.
All three adults looked at Nikki with the oddest expressions on their faces, almost as if a wild animal had come right up to her and eaten out of her hand. Her lips quirked briefly as she looked into the surprised faces. "Uncle Peter?" Nikki prompted. "Anytime you’re ready."
Peter gave a slight start and walked forward. He leaned down so he could look in Briana’s eyes and smiled.
"How about if we start with your heart?"
Briana shook her head vigorously, her curls flew wildly.
"Why not?"
"Don’t like the stet’scope. Too cold." She paused as Nikki whispered in her ear. A grin spread across Briana’s face, then she pointed at her uncle. "You first!"
He looked surprised and pointed at his chest. "Me?"
Jarrod and Tasha snickered quietly. He opened the top few buttons on his shirt, put the stethoscope to his chest, and gasped in mock horror at the cold stethoscope.
Briana giggled happily and stage whispered to Nicole, "Daddy next?"
Nikki nodded and held back a grin. Peter listened to Jarrod’s heart, who gasped appropriately when the stethoscope touched his chest.
"Auntie Tasha now!" Briana laughed delightedly as her Uncle Peter listened to his wife’s heart, and wiggled his eyes like Groucho Marx as he put the stethoscope to her chest. Tasha gasped as if the stethoscope was made of ice.
"Nikki now." Briana chortled. "It's Nikki’s turn."
"Hey, you." Nikki squeezed Briana’s shoulders gently. "I’ve already had a turn, remember?"
Briana cocked her head to the side. "I don’t ‘member," she said slyly. "Do it again."
Nikki heaved a sigh as if disgusted and motioned to Peter. "Get it over with, Doc, I can take it."
Peter listened to Nikki’s heart again while she made the appropriate faces at the no longer cold stethoscope.
"My turn, my turn!" Bri chanted eagerly.
Uncle Peter proceeded to listen to Briana’s heart and check her reflexes. He looked into her eyes, ears, nose and throat.
He gently pulled her shirt up to examine her chest and then her back. He felt her legs and then her arms for any soreness, then paused when she flinched. "Ow!"
All the adults froze and looked at Briana. She held her right elbow and pouted. "That hurt!"
"I’m sorry. Will you let me see it?" Peter said gently to Briana. "I won’t touch it right now, just let me look at it."
Briana tucked her elbow in closer to her body, leaned into Nikki’s chest, and pouted some more.
"Bri, let Uncle Peter look at your elbow. He needs to see if anything is wrong with it," Nikki spoke softly into her ear.
Slowly, Bri let go of her elbow and let her Uncle Peter look at it. He held her tiny hand in his own and slowly rotated her arm. "It looks like there’s a bruise here on the outside of t
he elbow." He gently bent her arm, then moved it from one side to the other. "Does that hurt?"
Briana shook her head and looked up at him. "Nah. Only when you held on to it with your hand."
"What happened to your arm, Briana?" Jarrod asked.
"When that bad man hitted Nikki’s pretty pink car I covered my head like she said." She covered her head with her arms to demonstrate. "Like this. And I hitted my arm on the side of the car."
Jarrod nodded slowly and cleared his throat. "So, if you hadn’t covered your head with your arms, it would have been your head that hitted, er, hit the side of the car." He looked intently at Nikki.
"Uh-huh." Briana nodded vigorously.
Nicole’s cheeks turned pink as she shrugged. "I thought she would be safer that way."
Peter and Tasha looked at Nikki with raised brows. "You did the right thing. A bruise on the arm is a lot less serious than a bruise on the head," Peter commented dryly, as he looked at Nikki’s head pointedly.
"I’m hungry, Daddy, can we go now?" Briana’s voice interrupted their thoughts.
They all said their good-bye’s. Nikki promised to call if there were any problems and to give Lainey the list of symptoms to check.
Chapter 8
After they were all strapped into the Jeep, Nikki gave Jarrod directions to the duplex. Coincidentally, it turned out that she lived only a few miles away from Jarrod and Briana.
When they pulled up in front of the duplex, a short, slightly plump woman with shoulder-length salt and pepper hair and worried blue eyes ran out to meet them. She yanked open the passenger door and wrapped her arms around Nikki as soon as she stepped out of the Jeep.
"Oh, honey, I’m so glad to see you! Are you okay? Maybe we should take you to the doctor. The reporters must not know where you live yet . . . there haven’t been any obnoxious phone calls or knocks at the door. It’s only a matter of time though, just like last time."
"I’m fine," Nikki interrupted Lainey before she could say any more. "Jarrod made me go see a doctor, his brother, before he brought me home. I have a concussion so you have to check my eyes and all that to make sure I’m okay."
While they talked, Jarrod got out of the Jeep and walked around to the passenger side. "Hello. I’m Jarrod McKay. You must be Lainey. It’s a pleasure to meet you." Jarrod held out his hand to Lainey.
"Hello, Jarrod. My name is actually Elaine Patterson, Nikki’s aunt. Nikki called me Lainey when she was just a girl. I liked it and it stuck. You can call me Lainey too." She beamed and shook Jarrod’s outstretched hand.
"Daddy!" Briana’s outraged voice came from the back seat of the Jeep. "Daddy, I want out!"
Everyone smiled as Jarrod moved to open her door. She climbed into her father’s arms and chirped at Lainey, "Hi, I’m Briana, can I call you Lainey too?"
Lainey laughed delightedly. "Of course you can, my dear. And how are you?"
"I’m hungry."
"Briana!" Jarrod scolded lightly at his daughter’s lack of manners.
Lainey and Nikki laughed as Briana pouted. "But, Daddy, I am. It was a long time ago that the bald man fed us."
Jarrod and Nikki spluttered as they tried not to laugh outright at the description of Captain Edwards.
"I’ve got a nice big pot of homemade stew on the stove, you’re both more than welcome to stay." Lainey invited.
"No, we really can’t impose," Jarrod protested, though weakly.
"It’s no imposition, really," Lainey insisted. "If you two don’t stay, Nikki and I will have leftovers for a week." Lainey turned to Briana. "How about some homemade stew and some freshly baked bread? Doesn’t that sound good?"
Briana nodded her head vigorously. "Yeah. What’s for dessert?"
"Briana Kristine! You have better manners than that!" Jarrod scolded. "You know that’s not a polite thing to ask!"
"I’m sorry, Daddy. I’m sorry, Lainey." Her lower lip trembled and her eyes filled with tears.
"That’s all right, dear," Lainey said soothingly. "Why don’t we wait until after dinner to worry about that, okay?"
Briana nodded in agreement and her eyes dried instantly. "Can we go inside now? I want to see Nikki’s room."
Nikki turned. "Sure, let me get my things out of . . ."
"I’ll get them, you ladies go ahead." Jarrod set down his daughter then turned back toward the Jeep while the ladies went into Lainey’s side of the duplex.
When Jarrod came in a few minutes later, all was quiet. Lainey stirred a big pot of stew on top of the stove. "Where’s my little jabbermouth? It’s too quiet in here."
"She went to Nikki’s side of the house to see her room." Lainey opened the oven door to check the bread.
He sniffed appreciatively at the wonderful aroma of homemade bread and stew and said, "I didn’t see them come back outside. How did they get over there?"
"There’s a door between the duplexes in the hall on the left. Go ahead, I’ve got things under control here." She waved him away then pulled the dishes out of the cupboard.
Jarrod went down the hall and heard voices the closer he got to the connecting door. Actually, he heard his daughter doing her twenty questions routine while Nikki patiently answered her.
Jarrod knocked on the doorjamb. "Hi guys. Do I get the grand tour?"
Briana excitedly showed her father around the duplex; she sounded like an experienced tour guide. She led him down the hall and showed him the kitchen, dining area, and living room. Back down the hall they went while Briana chattered excitedly, to show him the bedroom made into Nikki’s office, the half and full bathrooms and Nikki’s bedroom. Each room was neat and clean with comfortable, attractive furnishings.
Jarrod noticed that each room had several pieces of solid wood furniture. Each piece was attractively stained to allow the natural beauty of the wood shine through and polished to a high gloss. Not a speck of dust showed on anything.
He bent to examine the finish on the huge dresser in Nikki’s bedroom. "This is great. I’ve looked for one like this. Where did you get it? If you don’t mind my asking."
"No, I don’t mind. I got all the wood furniture at one of those stores that sells unfinished furniture. Then I put the finish I liked on them," Nikki replied.
Jarrod’s eyebrows rose slightly. "I thought these were done professionally. You did a great job. Can I hire you to do one for me?"
"Well . . ." Nikki hesitated. "I have too many irons in the fire right now. Maybe when things slow down a little."
"Maybe you could at least show me how to do it myself. I’ve done a few pieces of furniture, but my results were never this good. I always contract out for any cabinet-type work." Impressed at the quality of the work, Jarrod ran his fingertips over the satin finish of the top of the dresser.
Nikki smiled vaguely. "We’ll see." Jarrod’s eyes narrowed. She had a strange look in her eyes. Actually, it was as if a wall had come down between her and the rest of the world.
"Dinner’s ready!" Lainey called from the doorway. They all trooped into Lainey’s side of the duplex and stuffed themselves with the wonderful food.
"I’m think I’m going to be sick if I eat any more." Jarrod pushed back from the table with a groan. "I don’t remember the last time I had food this good or ate this much. You’re a wonderful cook."
Briana pushed back from the table with a groan, an imitation of her father. "I’m stuffed too."
Everyone laughed. "Well." Lainey sighed. "I guess if everyone’s stuffed there won’t be any need to get the homemade cherry pie out."
"I want cherry pie! I’m still hungry!" Briana bounced excitedly in her chair.
A high-pitched cry sound interrupted the conversation. Nikki and Lainey exchanged looks. "I fed him last," Lainey said. "Besides, he’s yours. You brought him inside."
"Yeah, well you heard him squall first. You just made me go get him so you wouldn’t have to crawl under the house then take care of him." Nikki looked at Lainey and sighed in mock exasperation. "Get his bott
le ready, I’ll go get him."
She turned and left the room, with a smile at Jarrod’s and Briana’s puzzled expressions. Lainey smiled at the McKays who still sat at the dinner table and stood. "Why don’t you two go in the living room. I’ve got to get Bunc’s bottle ready. We’ll clean up the dishes later."
Still confused, they went into the living room. Nikki came back with a tiny bundle of white and black fur wrapped in a soft rag. The high-pitched squall came from the tiny ball of fur.
Briana’s eyes got huge. "What’s that? Can I see?"
Nikki sat on the couch and Briana crowded close to her. "It’s a baby kitten. His mama must have died because she left him under the house all alone. Lainey heard him cry for hours, so when I got home I went under and got him out. He was only a couple of days old, so we had to bottle-feed him. He’s about two and a half weeks old now. His eyes just opened a few days ago."
Nikki unwrapped the bundle in her lap so Briana could see the tiny kitten. He weighed less than half a pound and mewed loudly as he crawled around Nikki’s lap in search of his bottle.
Briana edged closer to the kitten. "He sure is small." Her eyes were round with wonder. "I never seen one so little before."
Lainey came into the room with what looked like a doll bottle filled with formula. She handed the bottle to Nikki and sat down beside Jarrod. Bunc saw the bottle and increased the volume and intensity of his cries. Briana backed away from the kitten. "He sure is loud!"
Jarrod looked on in astonishment. How many people would bottle-feed a tiny kitten to make sure it lived? Most people would have it put to sleep, taken it to the pound, or left it where it was to die. That woman definitely had the heart of a marshmallow.
Nikki took the bottle from Lainey and stuffed the tiny nipple into the kitten’s open mouth. He immediately quieted and turned his energy to depleting the level of formula as fast as possible.
Briana laughed at the loud noises the kitten made as he drank. "Can I hold the bottle? Please? I’ll be careful."
"Sure." Nikki transferred the bottle to Briana’s small hand without interruption of Bunc’s meal.
Alice Carpenter Page 6