Beyond Just Us (Remington Medical Book 4): A Single Parent Marriage of Convenience Romance

by Kimberly Kincaid

  Charlie blinked, but recovered fast. “Like you even have to ask that. Of course.”

  “You’re a goddess among women,” Tess said. Turning toward Declan, she passed Jackson and the keys over. “You know his routine, but he’ll probably be pretty off. Just try to stick to whatever you can. He can have more ibuprofen in four hours. And call me if it gets really bad, okay?”

  “It won’t get bad,” Declan promised. “But if I need somethin’, I’ll text you.” Shifting Jackson to one side, he hooked a forefinger under her chin. “I’ve got him, Tess. We’ll see you at home.”

  The kiss she brushed against his lips was automatic and so, so good. “Okay. Bye.”

  “Is there something you’d like to share with the class?” Charlie asked with a grin as soon as the door to the lounge closed behind Declan and Jackson, and Tess’s face flooded with heat.

  “Like what? You already know we’re sleeping together.” Of course, she’d told her BFFs—albeit somewhat discreetly—that her orgasm drought had indeed come to an end. Declan hadn’t slept in the guest room for a solid week now.

  “Okay, but that is not a casual sex thing,” Charlie said, pointing to the door. “You’re trusting him with Jackson.”

  “I trust you with Jackson,” Tess pointed out. “And Parker. And Nat and Jonah and Connor and Harlow. Declan lives with us. He and I are friends. He’s a good guy, and he offered to help me out. It’s not a humongous deal.”

  Charlie put down her medical journal in favor of standing to look Tess directly in the eye. “Would it be so bad if it was?”

  “It’s not,” Tess insisted. “Anyway, I’m way late to get back to the ED. Meet up here at six for that ride home?”

  “Absolutely,” Charlie said.

  Tess fast-footed it through the door and headed for the elevator. Charlie had the best of intentions, Tess knew. For her, happy meant happily-ever-after. But Tess just wasn’t made for humongous deals the way Charlie and Parker and the rest of her friends were. All she did was fuck them up.

  And that meant this thing that was happening with Declan absolutely could not be a humongous deal.

  Because it felt far too good to fuck up.

  20

  Declan had done a lot of treacherous shit in his life. Jumped out of perfectly good airplanes. Executed top-secret military ops in no less than six different countries. Survived one particularly harrowing emergency landing in the middle of a South American jungle. But never in his twenty-seven years had he needed as much testicular fortitude as he did right now.

  Jackson was fecking miserable. And every time the poor lad cried out in pain, Declan wanted to holler right along with him.

  Cue up round 6,394 of fussing, and they’d only been home for two hours.

  “Alright, Jackson, here we go.” He shifted the boy to his opposite hip, taking another turn around the condo. He’d tried damn near everything he could think of to distract the lad, including the TV shows that Tess used as sparingly as she could. Declan had even given some vanilla yogurt and arrowroot cookies—Jackson’s favorite—a go. But the only thing that kept him from a full-on howl was being held.

  And if Declan were being entirely honest? It was actually kind of nice, being needed like that.

  Still, his arms would probably fall off at some point if he didn’t figure something out, no matter how many overhead shoulder presses he’d done to strengthen them.

  “We’re going ta need a better plan for this,” Declan said. Of course, he knew Jackson couldn’t understand a single syllable. But Tess talked to him all the time, and it seemed to soothe him, which was absolutely the goal right now. Before Declan could try to figure out a Plan B, though, a knock sounded off on the front door. Declan’s body went into full alert. He hadn’t buzzed anybody upstairs and he definitely wasn’t expecting anyone. But a quick glance through the peephole settled his racing pulse.

  “To what do I owe the honor?” Declan asked as soon as he’d opened the door—one-handed, of course.

  Connor grinned. “I’m happy to see you, too. I brought pizza.” He held up two square boxes, breezing past Connor like nothing-doing.

  “It’s two thirty in the afternoon,” Declan pointed out. “On a Thursday.”

  “Details,” Connor snorted. “Hey, J-Man.” He paused to make an exaggeratedly goofy face at Jackson, who looked on with curiosity from the comfort of Declan’s grasp. “Heard you’re feeling crummy, my dude. Crap luck on the ears.”

  Understanding dawned on Declan like a jab to the throat. “Ah. So that’s why you’ve come. You think I can’t handle a baby by myself?”

  Connor’s massive shoulders jerked up in surprise beneath his T-shirt. “Dec, I’ve seen you do, like, thirty static line jumps out of a perfectly good C-17. I know you can handle a baby. And more importantly, Tess knows it, too, otherwise she’d never have left the little dude with you for even a second, much less a whole damned day.”

  He had a point. Or several. The arsehole. “So why are you here, then?”

  “Because I have the afternoon off and we’re friends,” Connor said, putting the pizza boxes down on the coffee table in the living room, then turning back to continue. “Because you’re going through a rough patch with your health. Because you uprooted your life to fake-marry a woman you barely know to take part in a trial to save your kidney. Is my giving a shit really that foreign of a concept to you?”

  Declan wanted to say no, but… “Kinda, yeah.”

  “Jesus. I am a terrible friend.” Connor shook his head and sighed. “Grab a slice. We’re fixing this.”

  “First of all, there’s nothing to fix,” Declan said. He’d been just as distant as Connor since he’d been diagnosed and kicked out of the Air Force. “You’ve got a life, and you were out here in Remington, living it. I didn’t exactly reach out, either.”

  “Until you did,” Connor pointed out, going to the kitchen to wash his hands. “And I was too caught up in my own stuff to realize you needed something.”

  Ah, hell. Declan should’ve known better than to think his friend would let this go. “And now I’m set with this clinical trial, so it’s all bygones, yeah?”

  “Except for the part where I’m actually here for you now, sure.”

  Blowing out a breath, Declan switched Jackson to his opposite hip. His biceps were screaming, but at least Jackson wasn’t, and Connor raised an auburn brow as he made his way back to the living room with two plates and a bunch of napkins.

  “Doesn’t Tess have one of those sling-thingies around here somewhere?” Connor asked, and Declan pulled back to look at his friend as if he’d gone mad.

  “Are you even speakin’ English, mate?”

  Connor’s laugh told Declan his easygoing streak had only grown wider in their time apart. “Forgive me for not knowing the technical term. J-a-c-k-a-s-s,” he added with a grin. “But Tess has a hammock-looking thing you can wear around your shoulders that’ll kind of hold him for you, so you can use your hands. I know I’ve seen her use it before. In fact, Harlow might’ve given it to her, hang on…”

  One text later, and Connor crowed, “Ah! A Moby Ring Sling! That’s the thingy.”

  “Still not English,” Declan said, and Connor laughed.

  “It looks like a small bedsheet, with a big silver ring at the top.” Connor flipped his phone around to show Declan an image from the company’s website. “Harlow said the one she gave Tess is gray, with stripes.”

  Huh. It would free up his hands. Not to mention take a lot of pressure off his shoulders and back. “That doesn’t seem so bad.”

  Of course, then they found the damn thing, and Declan discovered the seventh circle of hell.

  “Are you sure this is how it works?” Declan asked as Connor fiddled with the fabric, trying to get it properly secured around Declan’s torso for the fifth time.

  “Not even a little bit.” Connor laughed. “Just hang on to the little guy until I can figure out these directions.”

  Declan sno
rted and looked down at Jackson, who had been oddly content to watch the two of them make a hash of things. “He’ll need a degree in engineering to figure out those directions, don’t you think, Jackson? We may be here a while.”

  Jackson leaned his head against Declan’s chest in reply, making Connor’s smile turn wistful.

  “He really likes you.”

  “Try not to sound so surprised,” Declan said dryly.

  Connor? Not having it. “Dude, please. I know we haven’t hung out in a while, but I didn’t exactly tag you as the baby-loving type. Ah! There we go.” He gave one last tug on the fabric. “That should do it.”

  Connor stepped back, and what do you know? The sling actually did feel pretty secure.

  “Yeah.” Declan tested things carefully, removing one hand, then switching to be sure all systems were go before trusting the material to keep Jackson snuggled firmly against his chest and shoulder. “That’s much better, actually.”

  “Excellent!” Connor rubbed his hands together and turned toward the pizza. “Because I’m starved.”

  Declan had to admit, he was just short of famished, himself. He’d only made it halfway through his turkey sandwich before Jackson had fussed so hard he’d had to abandon the idea of finishing lunch. “Thanks for bringin’ this by,” he said, accepting the plate Connor had loaded up and parking himself next to his friend on the couch. “And for helping with this contraption.”

  “No sweat. That’s what friends are for.” They ate in companionable quiet for a few minutes. Jackson’s eyes began to glaze over in the silence, his eyelids drooping into blinks that lasted longer and longer, and Declan slid a little farther back against the couch cushions to ensure the boy’s comfort.

  “There, lad. Get a bit of shuteye,” he murmured.

  Once Jackson was—ah, thank the saints—napping away, Connor said, “You look pretty comfortable here.”

  Declan’s pulse snapped. “Tess has a nice place.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “My bein’ here is temporary,” Declan said, his defenses forming the words and covering them in edges sharp enough to slice. “It’s just until the trial is over, remember?”

  Connor’s easygoing smile never budged. “It would be okay if you decided to stick around longer, you know.”

  Declan wanted to say no, that was very fucking far from okay. He’d only truly belonged in two families in his life, and he’d lost both without warning or pretense.

  But instead, he heard himself say, “Stayin’ would be complicated.”

  “Only if you let it,” Connor countered. “Look, I’m not saying I don’t get it. Things with me and Harlow weren’t always a walk in the park, either, remember? I know that whatever’s going on between you and Tess is different,” he added quickly, probably because he’d seen Declan open his mouth to say the same. “Still. Something is clearly happening between you two.”

  Declan nodded. He might not want to advertise the fact that he’d been sleeping with Tess, but he damn sure wasn’t going to hide the truth, either. “Yeah.”

  Connor lifted one muscled shoulder, then let it drop. “All I’m saying is that you look happy together. And sometimes happiness is worth getting complicated over.”

  Declan’s heart raced, a feeling he didn’t quite recognize filling his chest with every beat. “I s’pose you’re the expert on that. And for the record, you’re far from a terrible friend.”

  “Aw, stop.” The weight of the conversation lifted with a perfectly timed brow waggle from Connor. “You’ll make me blush, you smooth talker, you.”

  “Feck off,” Declan muttered, but his laughter refused to let his gruffness stick.

  “That’s more like it.” Connor grinned. “So, now that we’ve gotten all the sappy stuff out of the way, you want to watch an action movie with a lot of swearing and totally unrealistic stunts to pass the time while the little dude naps?”

  Declan settled back against the couch cushions, making sure Jackson was comfortable before saying, “Sure. Why not?”

  It wasn’t until much, much later that he realized that the feeling in his chest had been hope.

  Tess looked at her watch and cursed. She’d had every intention of leaving the hospital with enough time to do the dinner/bath/bedtime routine with Jackson…which, of course, meant that they’d had a huge rush of patients fifteen minutes before she’d wanted to clock out. Even with Charlie pitching in to help her and Parker get the waiting area out of standing-room-only territory, they hadn’t been able to get out of Dodge until nearly two hours after she’d planned. At this point, she’d be lucky if she had enough time to pat her poor sick kid’s back a few times before he fell asleep for the night.

  God, she was starting to think she’d never find a balance between work and parenting.

  Stuffing back the nagging voice in her head—hello, Mom—Tess slid her key into the front door lock and made her way into her condo. The kitchen lights were on, showcasing tiny signs of chaos around the condo—two pizza boxes stacked on the breakfast bar, a scattered pile of toys beside the coffee table, a sippy cup full of water and an errant pacifier discarded on the couch. But the place was quiet, and, more to the point, empty, so Tess ditched her keys and her shoes to tiptoe down the hallway. Soft light spilled from Jackson’s room, the low rumble of Declan’s voice arrowing directly to her sternum. She couldn’t make out what he was saying, but as soon as she nudged the door farther open, it didn’t matter, because Declan was sitting in the rocking chair with Jackson in his arms, the baby content and fully focused on whatever Declan was telling him, and Tess’s heart exploded into a giant fucking mess.

  “Oh, hey,” Declan whispered, looking from Jackson to her, then back again. “See? I thought I heard Mam come home. Just in time for the best part of your day, you lucky thing.”

  Tess swallowed past the grapefruit-sized lump that had formed in her esophagus as Declan shifted easily to his feet, allowing her access to the rocking chair. “Thank you,” she whispered back, sitting in the chair and taking Jackson as Declan carefully passed him over.

  “Hey, little man,” she crooned, her heart folding over in her chest again as Jackson looked up at her and gave up a sleepy smile. Declan slipped from the room, and Tess took advantage of the few minutes she had. She snuggled Jackson close, kissing the top of his sweet-smelling head as his eyes drooped, then fluttered closed. Making sure he was all the way out before sliding him into his crib with Henry, she took one last look before closing the door and padding down the hallway to the living room.

  “I take it he’s out?” Declan asked from his spot on the couch, and she sat next to him, nodding.

  “Like a light. You must have really worn him out.”

  Declan huffed out a laugh. “It was mutual, trust me. Carryin’ him around all day was the best workout I’ve had in months.”

  Shock panged at Tess’s belly, followed quickly by concern. “You held him all day? Declan, he weighs twenty-two pounds!”

  But Declan just shrugged to cap off his smile. “Ah, it was all good. Connor came by for a bit and we figured out that…what do you call it?”

  He lifted his chin at the Moby sling Harlow had given her when Jackson had grown too heavy and too squirmy to hold with one arm, making Tess’s brows shoot upward. “You used the Moby sling?” She’d practically needed a fricking Master’s degree to figure that damn thing out the first time or two. “Color me impressed.”

  “Well, it was that or my arms were going ta fall off, so…”

  “Ugh, I’m sorry.” Tess bit her lip. “I should’ve known he’d be really clingy. It probably didn’t make things easy at all.”

  Declan smiled. “Lookin’ after a wee one isn’t easy, I’ll grant you that. But I didn’t mind. It was…” He trailed off, his gaze softening for just a breath before shuttering back to neutral. “Well, it kept my mind off what Gupta said, at any rate.”

  He proceeded to give her a rundown of Jackson’s day—his fever
had broken after he’d finally napped, he’d managed a semi-decent dinner, and he’d taken his medicine like a boss—capping off the report with a sheepish half-smile. “I made a bit of a hash of bath time, I’m afraid. It’s not nearly as easy as you make it look. But your bathroom’s been freshly mopped out of necessity and your bath mat’s in the laundry, and I think Jackson got mostly clean. So, I s’pose it was a win overall.”

  Tess’s laughter bubbled up and welled right out of her. “Yeah, baths have always been kind of an adventure. He still makes a mess for me, too, sometimes. But he’s happy while he’s doing it, so I can’t really complain.”

  “Well, I’d love a chance at redemption. If he needs ta stay home tomorrow, I can look after him again, if you’d like,” Declan said, making Tess’s pulse tap faster at her throat.

  “He is supposed to be fever-free for 24 hours before he goes back to childcare,” she admitted. “But you already spent today with him. I don’t want to impose on your time. Plus, I should be a better mother, and—”

  Declan’s fingers were on her mouth, gently and firmly all at once. “Stop right there,” he said, his voice low, and oh, God, Tess felt his touch everywhere. “We’ve already covered this ground, Tess. You are an excellent mother.”

  Frustration pushed her next words right past her brain-to-mouth filter. “Then why can’t I balance all of this on my own? I feel like I’m constantly asking for help, or not giving enough attention to either work or Jackson. It’s as if no matter how hard I try, there’s always this pile of things I didn’t get to or can’t do.”

  To her surprise—and, okay, pleasure, too—Declan didn’t just fire off some there-there pleasantries. He tilted his head in thought for a minute before saying, “I don’t know that you’re meant to do it on your own. Not that y’need a man about in order to be a good mother,” he added quickly. “Just that it’s alright to ask for help now and again. Especially when you give it so often to others.”

  “Okay, but, of course I helped you.” Yeah, marrying Declan had been a pretty extreme form of help, but… “Dr. Gupta’s trial could save your life.”