by Mia Josephs
“I doubt that was your worst.” Corinne started tracing the designs on his forearms.
“I’ll concede that point.” He kissed her forehead because she was there, with him, letting him touch her, be with her. “Let’s say you’ve seen me at my most lost.”
“Hmm,” she hummed. “And I’m terrified that your actual ‘worst’ will come back. I’m scared of...so many things.”
“But you’re here with me.” He ran his hand down her bare side, stopping at her smooth hip. “Like this.”
She nodded again.
“Maybe… Let’s face the worst of it. Spend a weekend in California in the middle of the chaos that is the final few weeks before tour, and yeah… Let’s do that together.” He held his breath waiting for her response. “The worst of the crazy faced head-on.”
Corinne leaned forward and slid her lips across his chest. In that one, brief second, every cell in his body both relaxed with the warmth of her and tightened in anticipation. “I’ll think about it.”
Chris grinned, rolled her on her back and rested himself on top of her. “That’s all I ask.”
FOURTEEN
Chris pulled Corinne more tightly against him under the blankets, but Corinne still shivered. “Hey,” he whispered. “You okay?”
“I’m freezing.” Her teeth chattered as she leaned into him.
“You’re not freezing, you’re…” Panic gripped at his chest. “You’re burning up.”
“Oh, perfect.” She shivered again. “I’m sick. I’m so sorry, I’m sick. You’re going to get sick. You can’t get sick. You have singing and California, and—”
“Seriously.” He tightened his arms. “Do not apologize for being sick, okay?”
“But you’re—”
His heart sped in worry and uncertainty. How did he fix this? “I’m gonna find you some medicine, or soup, or…”
She fell limp against him. “I’m too tired to eat.”
Chris let her go and sat up searching the room for more blankets. He piled two more on top of her and turned to see her smiling sleepily at him. “What?”
“You’re still naked. I’m just enjoying the view.” She tugged the blankets more tightly around her face.
He glanced down and shrugged. “Let’s hope this is one of many, many, mornings I’m wandering around naked in front of you.”
“Amen.” She smiled but then shivered again and he snatched his pants off the floor.
He’d never taken care of someone sick before. He didn’t know what to do. He wanted her to be better. Needed her to be. Corinne sick felt...impossible. Everything inside him jumped around, and his thoughts scattered in too many directions to focus.
He half ran down the stairs and nearly crashed into his brother. Right. Sunday. His mom warned him. Hell.
“Oh. Of course.” Braden folded his arms. “Where’s the girl? And your shirt?”
“Stop,” his mother scolded Braden and turned toward Chris. “What’s the matter?”
“I think Corinne is sick. She’s shivering, but her skin is hot.” He was panting from nerves and his run down the stairs.
“Happens when you’re coming down,” his brother said.
Fury swept through Chris so fast he didn’t think before he had his brother against the wall. “Don’t you dare talk about her like that. Ever.” So much for fixing fences or mending bridges or whatever else they were supposed to be doing.
“Boys.” His mom shoved her hands between them, trying to push them apart. “Please. Please don’t.”
“I’m clean,” Chris spat before dropping his arms. “Don’t be such a dick.”
“You’re one to talk.”
For being the smaller brother, Braden really had a mouth, but Chris deflated. Braden was right anyway. Chris rubbed his forehead a few times. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I’m… I’m trying.” Sometimes he hated the truth. Hated how weak it made him feel.
Braden’s whole demeanor changed, but then his mouth hardened again. “For now.”
“Here.” His mom handed Chris a hot drink.
Chris slumped. “No, Mom. No herbal stuff. I need meds. Please.”
She placed her hands over Chris’. “Trust me.”
He paused for a moment longer, realized Braden’s wife, Julia was in the room and gave her a quick smile and a nod before running back up the stairs. That wasn’t quite how he imagined seeing his brother again, but he really couldn’t blame Braden for being pissed.
He heard voices trail in from the living room but didn’t even slow down to listen in as he stepped into Corinne’s room.
“Hey.” He sat on the bed. “Mom made you something hot to drink. Can you sit up?”
She smirked a pathetic little smile and slowly sat up. “When I’m sick, Chris, I’m normally taking care of both Jonah and myself. I can sit up.”
Corinne moved slowly, and he wanted to help but didn’t know how to touch her and he was still holding the damn drink he wasn’t sure where to set until she was sitting, and holy shit how did people deal when this happened to their kids? Just the thought of Jonah being sick tightened his chest into a whole new kind of nerves.
Corinne took the drink and the blankets fell down.
“I should not be staring at you right now.” He stared at her knowing it was not at all the time for this. “But if you need a breast massage to help you feel better, let me know.”
Corinne nearly spit out her drink and slapped his arm away. “Nice try.”
“Was that way too much?” he asked.
“No.” She looked over her glass as she pulled the sheets over her chest. “All I want is for you to be you.”
“Seems like that’s all I can be around you.”
She leaned forward and kissed his shoulder. “That’s what I want. All I want. Remember that, okay?”
He touched her hair and then rested his arm over her shoulders. “Can I get you anything else? Clothes?”
“Your t-shirt would be great.” She took another long drink. “Tell your mom I’m already feeling a little better.”
“My brother is here,” he blurted out. “Expect him to be a jerk and know it’s for good reason.”
Her brows rose slightly. “And tell him to watch himself around Jonah or he’ll be answering to me.”
Even sick, there was a power about her that was addictive. “Damn, that over-protective thing is sort of hot.”
“Just perfect with my fever, right?” she joked, her voice hoarse.
Chris set his t-shirt next to her. “I’m gonna check on Jonah, okay? Don’t move unless you need to. Knock on the wall if you need anything.”
“Knock?”
“That sound travels a lot better than you trying to yell through the wooden walls of this house.”
“I’m so sorry for this.” She grasped his arm. “And thank you.”
Her face was bare, her hair a mess, her eyes pleading. And he wanted her. All of it. The messiness and the happiness and the over-protectiveness, and...everything.
“I want… I want you to know you can trust me.”
Corinne nodded, set her tea down on the end table, and slid back under the blankets.
He sat for a moment, watching her eyes close. Staring at her caramel skin. Her hair across the pillow. This was the picture he’d wanted the first day he met her, and there she was, in a bed they’d shared, sick, and trusting him to take care of her. No way was he going to let her down.
His life was definitely turning around in an incredibly unexpected way.
Chris jogged back to his own room, slipping on a t-shirt before peeking in on Jonah, and then finding himself resting against the doorframe, just watching him sleep.
Melted.
Something he never used to understand. Jonah blinked a few times and Chris’ heart felt as if it were being warmed, spreading a kind of fierce love through his chest. Jonah was a kid. The urge to protect surged through him as Jonah slowly sat up.
“Morning little man,” Chris said quietly.
/>
Jonah’s blinks were still slow so Chris took a couple steps into the room.
“Morning,” Jonah croaked, making Chris smile.
He held his arms up like a small child would and Chris took a few more steps toward him. “You want me to carry you?” he asked.
Jonah nodded. “My legs are still tired.”
“And is that what you tell your… Corinne?”
A sheepish smile spread across Jonah’s face. “Maybe.”
Chris bent forward and picked Jonah up, his too-long legs dangling down, and Chris felt it again as Jonah’s head rested on his shoulder. The warmth. The melting. The need to protect.
“I’m gonna kiss the top of your head, but it’s totally manly kiss, so it’s okay.” Chris smiled before kissing his light brown hair.
Jonah made a sound like a snort and hung limp on Chris’ side as he carried him down the stairs to the kitchen. Feeling Jonah’s small body against him made Chris wonder if this was how amazing it was to be a dad. He never wanted to let them go.
Corinne woke up for the second time sticky, sweaty, and too hot. She slowly slid out of bed, her whole body shaking. Corinne slid yoga pants on under Chris’ t-shirt and pulled her hair into a messy bun ponytail to keep the hair off her face. She needed more tea. Maybe a shower. Maybe some food.
She grasped the wall, careful not to tip any of the pictures as she made her way down the hallway and stopped when she heard voices.
“Oh man!” Chris laughed. “You got me again! How is this possible?”
And then Jonah’s giggle. The one that squeezed her heart every time.
She smiled despite feeling like she’d been run over by a truck the night before. Then she paused again as she heard hushed whispering.
“Mom. Don’t be stupid. He’s going to disappear again. He’s about to go on tour. That’s when we lost him to begin with. I just don’t—”
“Don’t.” She shushed the man. “He’s learned Braden. Look at him with Jonah.”
“He’s always been charming, Mom. That’s not the problem. The problem is that the second he starts getting high, the rest of the world disappears.”
Corinne’s stomach tightened. She knew he’d been to rehab, but that was the point. He’d gone.
She coughed as she reached the end of the hall and stopped when a man she didn’t know came into view.
“Hi.” She tried to wave but she was so dizzy that she lunged forward and grasped the counter. Christian was next to her in a second, holding her waist.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked.
“I woke up sweating.” She leaned against him. “Guess my fever broke.”
He rested her against a stool. “Here. Sit.”
Corinne obeyed.
“And meet Braden, my brother.”
Corinne attempted a smile. She would have never guessed they were brothers. The guy was nothing like Chris. Maybe younger, dark brown hair, and little heavier around the middle than Chris. Still a handsome man, and would have been even better looking if it weren’t for his brother being in the room.
Braden gave her a nod and then a meaningful look was shot at his mom.
“She’s not coming down.” Brooke smacked his arm. “Corinne teaches yoga and has a son to raise.”
Braden shrugged.
“I don’t know anything of your brother aside from someone who has been nothing but good to me and Jonah,” Corinne said before laying her face on the counter. “Oh, no. I’m just getting sick germs everywhere.”
“It’s fine.” Chris rubbed her shoulders and then said, “Thanks, Mom.”
Coldness spread goose bumps up her arms and shoulders and she shivered.
“Mom? What do we do?” There was a tinge of panic to Chris’ voice.
“Relax.” Brooke laughed lightly. “Let’s get her some more tea and some more sleep.”
“I want home,” Corinne said. “I know this is terrible timing, but I just want home.”
Chris ran a hand slowly over her back. “It’s fine. No problem. I can do that.”
“No wait,” Corinne sighed. “I’m so sorry. You haven’t seen each other in so long and I’m ruining it.”
“Oh, Corinne. You haven’t ruined anything.” Brooke patted Corinne’s shoulder. “Go home if you’re sure you can handle the drive. Take some of my tea with you. We’ll talk again soon.”
Corinne nodded, unable to do anything else, her body swimming in a haze of woozy sickness. What wretched timing.
“Okay.” Chris helped her stand. “I’ll make a bed in the backseat of the truck, and Jonah can ride up front with me. He’ll like that.”
Corinne warmed again and grasped on to Chris. “You’re really good at all of this.”
“Not yet.” He squeezed her harder. “But I want to be.”
FIFTEEN
Nothing had been resolved between Chris and his brother, but that relationship was going to take time. The important thing was that he and his mom were talking again, and the drive had been worth it for that. More worth it for the time he’d been able to spend with Corinne. He glanced back at Corinne’s sleeping form and smiled.
Two hours into the drive and he and Jonah were still talking. He’d been sure that they’d run out of things to say, but Jonah had opinions on everything from Corinne to her house to food to Scooby Doo to Phineas and Ferb. There was something amazing about getting to once again see the world from a kids’ point of view.
During the drive, he felt what it would be like to be an actual, real, part of this family. The work part and the caring for each other part… And he wanted it more than he remembered ever wanting anything.
“I love this song.” Chris laughed as he slightly turned up the radio.
“Moon Rising.” Jonah continued pushing buttons on his small tablet, finally pausing in his talk about the second Cars movie.
“You know this band?” Chris’s brows rose. They were huge, but still felt more adult than a band Jonah would know. “I’m impressed.”
Jonah’s small nose wrinkled. “Auntie Corinne doesn’t like them.”
“What?” he mock teased. “Everyone likes them.”
In reality Jaxen Pritt had been a huge influence in getting Chris into music to begin with. His band, Moon Rising, was legendary, had been legendary for years, actually. And everyone kept expecting them to go under, but they’d continued making fantastic music. Jaxen had even contacted Max again not long ago, and Chris would never get over his unwillingness to work with someone like Jaxen Pritt.
“She knows Jaxen,” Jonah said. His arm jerked as he continued the game on Corinne’s phone.
“Huh. Max knows him too…” he started but faded off. The wheels in Chris’ head spun. Jaxen Pritt. The Jaxen Pritt.
How did Corinne know him?
He glanced over at Jonah and everything in him froze. If Jaxen were five or six, he’d look exactly like Jonah. At least now that he’d had the thought, he couldn’t picture one of them without the other.
Chris blinked a few times, and then again.
He opened his mouth to ask Jonah who his dad was, but that was probably not something you asked a kindergartner.
His heart hammered and his next instinct was to call Max. He pulled his phone out of the cup holder and skimmed to Max’s number. No… He wasn’t going to call Max either. Definitely not with Jonah in the car. Corinne should be the one to tell him anyway. When she wanted to. Or…when Chris got the guts to ask, because now he was dying to ask.
Jonah turned toward Chris and he stared at the kid like he never had. He was all Jaxen. So much that Chris was amazed he hadn’t seen it before now. It’s that he wasn’t looking for it. Wasn’t looking for anything in Jonah but signs of his mom. It never occurred to him to look at Jonah to learn about his dad. Corinne wasn’t ready to share, so he had tried not to give it any thought.
Now it consumed him. And it meant so many things about her unease made sense.
Jaxen had a huge comeback about six
to seven years ago. Right about the time Corinne would have gotten pregnant with Jonah. Was the comeback because of her?
Jaxen walking away from his band had given Chris the confidence to do the same. Even though Moon Rising and Jaxen still worked together while he continued to do solo work, and Chris knew that wouldn’t happen with Kincaid. Corinne helped Jaxen the way she’d been helping Chris. No wonder she didn’t want to get involved.
Did Jaxen know he had a kid? Did they talk?
Holy shit. Jaxen Pritt and Corinne. There must be close to a twenty-year difference there.
Their relationship wasn’t definite, but it made so much sense. Max left part of Kincaid’s tour because of Jaxen and what he called a family emergency… All the pieces fit together. At least all the pieces he had.
No wonder she didn’t want to be involved with anyone like him.
Corinne leaned into Chris as he helped her to her door.
“I’m so sorry,” she mumbled. Her body and legs were weaker than she ever remembered being.
He slid open the front door. “You’re allowed to be sick.”
“I know you have to get back home. Tour. Music. I know this, but I don’t want you to...”
His body tensed, and she knew that he’d probably already pushed back his trip home for her. He was at the point where he had to be there for tour prep. For Lita who was notoriously a perfectionist. All things he’d talked about in passing.
“Why don’t you stay on the couch while I work on getting the fire started,” he suggested.
She opened her mouth to talk but her stomach rolled over and she sat, allowing Chris to cover her up.
Jonah’s voice piped up from behind the couch, but she was already falling asleep again.
Corinne scooted up on the couch as she blinked in the darkness. The fireplace cast a light across the room and she let her gaze drift around the room until it landed on Chris. He smiled softly and her chest warmed. How long would this feeling last? His dedication?
“Are you feeling any better?” he asked quietly.
“A little…” She glanced around the room again wondering how long they’d been there. What time it was.