Chapter Eighteen
Aiden
“Thanks, Aiden,” my client said. “Best sparring session I’ve ever had.”
There was a reason I’d worked him so hard, but it wasn’t like I was going to explain it to him.
I nodded. “Glad to hear it. Next time we’ll focus on your footwork. You still have a tendency to want to square up in front of me, you’re leaving too much of your body open.”
He grinned. “After today, that’s the last thing I want. Felt like I was facing you back in your fighting days.”
Somehow I managed a polite smile. There was a reason for that. In that tiny closet, I’d almost descended on Isabel like a ravenous fucking beast. One more second, and without the interruption that had stopped me, I would’ve torn clothes, knocked over shelves, held her still while I lost my mind from want.
It wouldn’t have been slow or sweet or respectful. And if I was expected to share space with her, even for five minutes, I needed to sweat all of it out.
“I’ll see you next week,” I told him.
“Sounds good.” He hooked his gym bag over his shoulder, smiling at Emily as she approached with the gym phone in hand.
Judging by the look in her eye, I was not going to get out of here like I wanted. I was already itching to go get Anya.
“Phone’s for you,” Emily said. “You can take it on the cordless or in your office.”
I sighed. “Did they say who it was?”
“It’s Molly Ward. Isabel’s sister.”
Brows lowered in confusion, I took the cordless from her outstretched hand.
“This is Aiden.” It was still loud in the gym, and I pressed my free hand to my other ear to hear her better. And as soon as I did, my stomach dropped out of my feet. “Shit,” I barked. “And you haven’t heard back from her?”
“No, I’m so sorry. And I don’t want to distract her by trying to call if she’s right in the middle of climbing down with Anya.”
I jogged back to my office and snagged my keys and cell phone. “Unfortunately this doesn’t surprise me. My daughter has a tendency to do this whenever she wants a little extra attention.”
“I’m sure she’s okay,” Molly insisted. “Isabel would never let anything happen to her.”
Words stuck in my throat, because even if I knew Molly was probably right, and the likelihood that Anya was hurt was slim, even the idea of it had my body going cold with terror.
Losing Beth had been awful. Exhausting. Heartbreaking.
But if anything happened to Anya … I wasn’t sure I could survive it.
“I’m leaving the gym now, but this is my cell,” I rattled off my number and Molly repeated it. “Call me if you hear anything.”
“I promise, I will.” Molly said my name quietly. “Just take a deep breath, okay? Especially before you get behind the wheel.”
I clenched my teeth, but somehow her voice was comforting enough, kind enough, that I was able to do as she said.
Disconnecting the call after thanking Molly, I shoved my phone in my pocket and yelled for one of the trainers. He looked exactly like one of the other guys, and they were both in college, and I still couldn’t remember their fucking names.
“I need you to stay and help Emily close up. If you can’t, ask the other one.” I snapped my fingers. “What’s his name again?”
He grinned. “He’s Grady, I’m Gavin.”
“No fucking wonder,” I mumbled.
“What?”
“Nothing. You can stay?”
“Yeah, no problem.”
I jogged out of the building with a shove to the front door, my feet pounding on the pavement.
The peel of my tires drew a few dirty looks as I turned out of the parking lot, as did my driving abilities as I broke just about every land speed record from the gym back to the house.
She was probably fine. My daughter, the little shit, climbed everywhere. This was hardly the first time she’d bitten off more than she could chew. But I was used to it. My family was used to it.
Isabel wasn’t.
And that was probably why Anya did it in the first place, to gain her notice. My hands tightened uselessly on the steering wheel. Of course she’d want Isabel’s notice.
I was no better than my daughter because Isabel’s notice was turning me into an animal. At least in my head.
That was something to deal with later, as my foot pressed just a little bit harder on the gas, the roar of the engine matching the energy under my skin.
By the time I pulled onto their street, I felt the same kind of tense, rolling motion in my stomach that I used to get before my fights. It wasn’t nerves, not exactly. It was not knowing the outcome of a short, specific window of time. No outlet of the energy making my feet bounce, no way to take control of the situation yet.
That’s when I saw the red and white of the ambulance in the driveway.
“Oh, God,” I breathed. I wasn’t sure if it was a plea or a prayer or a way to prepare myself for the absolute worst.
The back of the ambulance was open, no one was in sight. I saw a few neighbors standing in their front yard trying to get a glimpse of what was happening.
I yanked the truck up onto the curb and threw the gear shift into park, sprinting around the side of the house into the backyard.
I saw the back of the paramedics first, Emmett standing to the side next. He was wiping tears.
“Anya?” I shouted.
A male paramedic turned and I saw Isabel reclining on the gurney, her arm in the hand of the other medic, blood on her temple, and my daughter wrapped tight in her arms. Anya turned her face to me with a smile, and my panic eased immediately. Her grip never lessened on Isabel.
“What happened?” I asked, running my hand over Anya’s back.
“We fell,” Anya said.
My heart stopped when I saw the broken branch on the grass.
“Your daughter is fine,” the paramedic assured me.
Isabel’s eyes finally met mine, and I saw her apology before she even opened her mouth. “I should’ve been watching them more closely.”
I held up my hand to stop her. “It’s okay, I promise.”
The sight of the cut at her hairline, the way she winced when the female paramedic pressed onto her wrist, it was almost too much.
“Is it broken?” I asked.
The woman turned to me and shook her head. “I don’t think so. But it’s almost impossible to know without getting it checked out at the hospital.”
Isabel’s eyes closed tightly. “I don’t need to go to the hospital.”
Judging by the look the paramedics shared, this was not the first time she’d said it.
Instead of arguing with the bleeding woman on the gurney, like I wanted to, I turned and set my hand on Emmett’s shoulder. “You okay, buddy?”
He nodded, but I could tell he’d been crying.
The guy tending to Isabel’s forehead gave Emmett a smile. “He was the one who called nine-one-one as soon as they fell.” Isabel hissed when he cleaned around the cut. “I don’t think it needs stitches, but Miss Ward, you very well might have a concussion, I’d strongly advise you to let us take you in.”
Isabel glanced at me, but her eyes didn’t hold mine for very long. “I don’t feel nauseous, I never lost consciousness—”
“That you know of,” the woman wrapping her wrist interjected.
Anya snuggled her face into Isabel’s neck, her arms tightening to the point that Isabel winced.
“Gingersnap,” I said quietly, “can we give the paramedics a little room to finish checking her out?”
When Anya didn’t immediately get off Isabel’s lap, Isabel turned her head and whispered something I couldn’t make out. Her good hand smoothed soothing circles on my daughter’s back, and Anya nodded at whatever she heard.
The sight of it almost knocked me to my knees. I couldn’t breathe through it, couldn’t even name it if I tried.
“She’s okay,�
�� Isabel said quietly. “I don’t mind.”
Through the roaring in my head, my heart, all I could manage was a slight nod.
The woman finished wrapping Isabel’s wrist and gestured for me to step away from the gurney with her. I swiped a hand over my mouth and tried to gather my racing thoughts.
“Your daughter is very lucky,” she said quietly.
“You sure she’s okay?”
She nodded. “From what the boy said, Miss Ward took the entire impact with how she turned her body. Her side is going to have a nasty bruise, but it seems like her wrist hit first. ”
My jaw tightened dangerously. “You think she should go in?”
With a sigh, she shrugged her shoulders. “We can’t force her. Emmett agreed that she never passed out when she fell. Her wrist and hip took the brunt of her fall, but there’s no telling exactly where or how hard she hit her head.”
Isabel smiled at something Anya told her, even as the guy finished cleaning the cut, and when he covered it with a butterfly bandage, she never took her eyes off my daughter.
The way my heart raced took on a dangerous edge, a hazardous speed that I couldn’t quite pin down.
Too soon.
Too soon.
Too soon.
Isabel as a temptation for me alone was one thing, hidden in quiet moments between the two of us where it was about greedy hands and whispered desires. But Isabel showing me glimpses of a future I’d mourned was something I wasn’t prepared for.
“She can’t be alone tonight,” the paramedic said, interrupting the speeding train of my thoughts. “She mentioned her family is out of town, but I don’t know how soon someone could be here. She didn’t want to worry them if she could avoid it.”
“I’ll talk to her,” I replied.
Like she heard me, or heard the hard-edged tone of my voice, Isabel’s eyes locked onto mine.
No longer did she look apologetic or pale.
Instantly, I was transported back to the night we were in the gym, she had that same combative look in her eye.
As I approached the gurney, Isabel sat up and my daughter finally unfolded herself. Anya held out her arms to me, and I gathered her into a tight hug. Her small body clutched in my arms, I finally let out a full breath.
“Am I in trouble?” she whispered.
I smiled a little. “No. But no more climbing tall trees, okay, gingersnap?”
“Okay, daddysnap.” She leaned back to smile at me, and my stomach turned over when I saw a smudge of dirt on her cheek.
“Can you go watch some TV with Emmett while I talk to Miss Isabel?”
She nodded.
I set her down, and gave a manly nod to Emmett. “Thanks for taking good care of her, bud.”
He smiled, the color in his face looking better. “You’re welcome.”
The paramedic helped Isabel stand from the gurney, and she winced when she brought her full weight to her feet. Both medics watched her carefully as she walked toward me, but her balance seemed fine, even if her progress was slow. I snagged a chair from the patio table next to me and slid it closer to her.
She smiled gratefully, bracing her hand on the back. “I should probably get some coverage for class tomorrow, huh?”
I exhaled in a sharp burst. “I’d say so.”
“I’ll call Kelly,” she sighed. “She owes me. But I’ll be back on Monday.”
Tilting my head, I regarded her steadily. “If you’re making a call right now, it’s going to be someone in your family to see who can come back and stay with you.”
She swore. “I need to call Molly.”
“How long until she can be here?” I asked.
Isabel wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I’ll just … text her real quick.”
“How long until anyone can be here?” I amended.
She ignored me, pulling her phone out of her pocket and tapping out a text. After she hit send, I snagged it from her hand.
“Hey,” she protested.
“All good here. Sore wrist and a scratch on my forehead. No need to worry,” I read out loud. I pinned her with an incredulous look, and she set her jaw. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”
The paramedics were still within earshot, and the guy approached us immediately. “Sir, she cannot be left alone tonight. Someone has to wake her up every three to four hours, and I’d strongly advise against leaving her alone.”
With a lift of my chin, I handed her the phone back. “You have one chance to call someone over here.”
Isabel swallowed visibly but tucked her phone in her pocket. “I am not forcing them home from their jobs, or their trips because I bumped my head. I am fine. I’ll ice my wrist and take some Tylenol and set an alarm.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “You’re going to wake yourself up if you’ve got a concussion?”
She shifted on her feet. “I can ask a neighbor.”
“To stay with you all night?”
Isabel rolled her lips between her teeth and stared past me. “Mmmhmm.”
The paramedic shook his head.
“It’s fine,” I told him. “I’ll handle it.”
Isabel’s eyes narrowed. The paramedic went back to the gurney to help his partner load up their equipment.
“You can do all those things if you want to. The ice, the Tylenol, the rest,” I said evenly. She eyed me suspiciously. I leaned in until less than an inch separated our faces. “But you will do it at my house, and if you argue with me right now, I’ll load you up and drop your stubborn ass off at the hospital myself, do you understand?”
Tense silence stretched like a rubber band, and she opened her mouth to argue. I saw the heat of it in her blue, blue eyes.
“I get it,” I said before she could disagree. “I hate it when people need to take care of me. Nothing makes me feel more powerless.”
Isabel huffed out an annoyed breath.
“This is not just about you, okay?” I gentled my tone. “I owe you, Isabel.”
At the sound of her name, her eyes softened.
I’d never said her first name out loud before, or not to her, at least.
Something switched in her head, maybe I’d never know what, because she pinched her eyelids closed, let out a slow, deep breath, and then nodded.
“Good,” I said quietly. “Do you want to pack your bag or should I?”
Chapter Nineteen
Aiden
The inside of my truck was separated into two very distinct moods on the drive back to my and Anya’s house. The back seat, holding Emmett and Anya, was giggles and laughter, her telling him all the toys she had, all the things they could do during their sleepover.
The front seat was a bit quieter. Isabel stared out the window, her black backpack at her feet. From the corner of my eye, I could see the dried blood on her temple, and my hands tightened on the steering wheel.
Her silence didn’t bother me, because I wasn’t sure what to say either.
Guess what? Six hours ago, I imagined screwing you against the closet door, and here we are, on the way to my house, so you can spend the night.
The words didn’t exactly flow naturally off the tongue.
I opened my mouth to say … something … and I stopped myself. That indecision rankled. Nails on a chalkboard type discomfort. I never second-guessed my decisions, never doubted what my next move would be.
But this position I found myself in—one of my own making—had me on unsteady ground.
Isabel shifted in the passenger seat, and I caught the way she tried to hide her wince.
“Did you take anything yet?” I asked.
She glanced at me, her eyes holding that same wariness as when we first met. Eventually, she shook her head. “I feel like I got hit by a car,” she admitted. “I think the adrenaline is wearing off.”
“Tomorrow’s going to be even worse.”
Her head angled back, she sighed heavily. “I know.”
I pulled the truck into our neighborhood, and Em
mett pressed his face closer to the window. “Cool! You guys are right by the lake.”
“Pretty close,” I told him. “We can walk there after dinner if your aunt wants to take a nap.”
“What are we having for dinner?” Anya asked. “I’m starving.”
“Please don’t let Isabel cook,” Emmett begged.
Isabel turned her head and smiled. “Hey, I didn’t let you starve this weekend, did I?”
“Not technically,” he muttered under his breath.
I caught myself smiling a little at the exchange.
Our house came into view, and her head tilted with interest when I slowed. It looked small, from the front, with the pine trees towering over the top of it. But inside, it opened to the kind of space and view I never could’ve provided for Anya in California. She had a yard to play in. Mountains and water practically in our backyard. It was as idyllic of a childhood as I could give her, as the sole person responsible for her upbringing.
And for the first time since Beth died—no matter what the circumstances were—I was going to walk into the front door with another woman so that she could sleep under our roof.
As I hit the garage door button, I couldn’t help wondering what the fuck I was doing, bringing her here like this. The instinct to do so, standing in her backyard, had been overwhelming and impossible to ignore. I never would’ve been able to walk out of that door if I’d known she was alone.
This, however, was different. Because now, there was no going back from it.
Denying that I was attracted to her was a fool’s errand. I could lie to myself about a lot of things, but not this, no matter what had grown between us the last couple of weeks.
But having her in my home, the place I shared with my daughter, after the experience they’d just shared, felt like I was tempting fate.
I parked the truck and let the kids out, watching carefully to make sure Isabel was walking steadily as she waited for me to unlock the door into the house. Her progress was slow, her hip clearly bothering her more as time passed.
Forbidden: A Ward Sisters Sisters Novel Page 17