by Regan Black
It was a good reminder of all the reasons why she couldn’t forget that she was a woman on the run, having committed a serious crime. Even though she had good reasons, she would be treated like the criminal she was.
“Thanks for calling, Melissa. I appreciate it. And whatever happens, please know that no one will ever know that you helped me.”
“I’m not worried about that. Just be careful,” her friend said.
“I will be. Goodbye.” She put her phone back into her purse. Looked back down the hallway. Saw that Rico and his mom were back in the waiting room. He was watching her.
She walked back, breathing deep, trying to get her nerves under control. Neither she nor Hannah were in immediate danger. She would figure out what to do.
“Everything okay?” Rico asked softly, as she approached.
“Fine,” she said, nodding her head.
“I guess I didn’t realize you had a cell phone,” he said. He sounded stiff, maybe even curt.
“Yeah, when it didn’t work at the cabin, I just tossed it in my purse. Sort of forgot it was there.” That was lame but maybe he’d buy it.
He stared at her, his gaze intent.
“How’s your dad?” she asked.
“Sleepy.”
“To be expected,” she said.
“Nurses said best thing for him would be to get some rest. I was just telling Mom that I think I’ll run home and let Lucky out.” He paused. “Would you and Hannah want to come? She’s been really well behaved but I have to guess that she’s getting restless.”
She nodded. “She should take her afternoon nap and I doubt that’s going to happen here.”
Ten minutes later, they were on their way. Hannah was chattering, telling Ja-Ja that Play-Doh’s heart was all better.
When they got to the house, Rico pulled into the garage. Shut the door behind them. Then it was into the house. Lucky went a little wild and Rico got him outside as fast as he could. By the time they came back in, she had Hannah down for a nap. The little girl was very tired from getting up so early.
Rico wiped off Lucky’s paws and the dog promptly took a seat on the couch. He stretched out. That left the love seat for Rico and Laura.
“This is the first minute we’ve had to be alone in almost twenty-four hours,” Rico said.
“After being cooped up with me at the cabin for a couple days, that was probably a relief,” she teased, wanting to keep it light. “You should probably take a nap. You couldn’t have gotten good sleep last night.”
“I am too old to sleep in a chair,” he agreed.
Rico, even on crutches, was the most fit, the most virile man that she’d ever met. “I’m sure he appreciated the company.”
Rico opened his eyes. “He was curious about you.”
“Me?” she repeated, her voice squeaking.
He laughed. “Yes, you. He thought you were very pretty. I told him that his eyesight was still twenty-twenty.”
She felt warm.
He reached for her hand and pulled her close. “It seems like forever since I’ve held you,” he said. “I missed you.”
She’d missed him, too. What the hell did that mean? “Hannah will sleep for at least an hour. Time for a good nap,” she said, retreating to safer ground.
He shook his head. “It wasn’t all bad last night. I dreamed about you.” He reached over and played with the ends of her hair.
That made her skin tingle. “Was it a good dream?” she asked, her voice soft.
He leaned closer. “We were at the cabin. Playing outside in the snow.”
“Nice,” she said. Her chest felt heavy. His lips were just inches away.
“We got cold and came inside. Took a hot shower.” He leaned closer. She could feel his warm breath. He smelled of mint. “Together.”
“Good to get clean,” she murmured. It was going to be so hard to leave this man.
“Very good,” he said. “I washed your back.”
“Hard to reach.” His hand was on her knee.
“Not as much fun as your front.”
“You washed there, too?” she murmured. Her throat was so dry.
He nodded. “Such pretty breasts.”
His lips touched hers. His mouth was warm, wet and instantly demanding. And she felt her need spike. “Rico, we can’t. It’s your parents’ house.”
“It’s like I’m seventeen again,” he said.
She could imagine a young Rico. Confident, cocky, dark and handsome. “I’ll bet you broke some hearts.”
“Never,” he said. “Never made any promises I couldn’t keep.”
She suspected that was true.
His hand inched under her shirt. “Tell me no now or else.”
If the or else was anything close to what had happened at the cabin, how was she to resist? She would have this one last time. “How did your dream end?”
He whispered in her ear.
He was a good storyteller, using clear, concise, very descriptive words.
“Me, twice?” she clarified.
He smiled. “You were very happy.”
Oh, God. “Let’s go,” she said.
* * *
Rico took her by the hand and led her downstairs, to his old bedroom. He wanted her badly, more than he’d wanted a girl at seventeen, more than he’d wanted a woman ever. The need was pulsing through him and he told himself to slow down, to be careful.
He wanted her enough that he was going to accept the explanation she’d given earlier that Hannah imagined her parents were in heaven. It didn’t ring true. Granted, he’d known the little girl for just a few days and she did have a great imagination, but to say something like that, there had to be some other explanation.
He’d told his dad that Laura hadn’t been very forthcoming with him. That was a nice way to say that she was lying to him. And normally, that would send him flying out the door. That was deal-breaker stuff. But in his gut, he believed that Laura was lying to him for a good reason. And he also believed that in time, she’d tell him the truth.
She had so many good qualities. So wonderful with Hannah. Hell, she deserved a medal for having come to the hospital with him, for having stayed with his mother without him and for enduring lunch with Peter, the idiot.
“Is this where you slept?” she asked, standing in the doorway of the twelve by twelve room with a double bed in the middle.
“Yes.” After he’d left for the air force, his mom had cleaned up the room, painted the walls, and put new sheets and a bedspread on the bed. When he was home, he still slept down here. “Charro had the room that you and Hannah are sharing. Mom and Dad have the other bedroom upstairs. I thought it was great that there were only two bedrooms upstairs. I had a boy cave. You know, an adolescent version of a man cave with video games and pictures of girls on the walls.”
She slipped into his arms. “What kind of girl did you like when you were a teenager?” she asked, pressing up against him.
“Easy girls,” he teased.
“Like this?” In one smooth movement, she pulled her shirt over her head. Her bra today was black. And so very sexy. He put his hands on her bare back. Her skin was warm. Soft.
“I liked the smart ones, too. Especially if they knew about sex and were willing to teach me.”
“Showed you what they liked?” she asked. She reached behind her to unbuckle her bra.
“Oh, yeah.” His voice cracked when she tossed the lingerie somewhere over his head. Her breasts were so pretty, so full, so ready for him.
He bent down and took her nipple into his mouth. She arched her back and he supported her with one arm. After a few minutes, he lifted his head. “Do you like that?” he whispered.
“God, yes,” she said.
He gave her other breast equal attention.
“I w
ant you inside of me,” she said.
“Sexy, smart and not afraid to ask for what she wants. The perfect girl.”
“Not perfect,” she said, looking too serious. “Don’t put me on a pedestal, Rico.”
Too late. “How about flat on your back?” he asked, sweeping her up in his arms and gently depositing her on the bed.
She squealed. “Watch your ankle.”
“It’s not my ankle doing this work,” he teased, glad that she was smiling again. He lay next to her.
She slipped her hand into his pants, closed her fingers around his already pulsing length. “Definitely not an ankle,” she said.
* * *
She lay on her back, her right arm curled above her head. She felt her heart rate slow down. Could hear Rico’s breaths get longer, steadier. “Wow,” she said.
He turned his head. Smiled at her. “I think my heart stopped. Oh, wait, no problem. I know a good doctor.”
“I feel a little guilty. I mean, I know your dad is probably just resting but maybe we should be there.”
“My dad would be the first person to tell me that I should definitely be having sex versus watching him lie in a bed.”
“I like your dad,” she said. “What’s he think of Peter?” she added casually.
“The same thing the rest of us do. That he’s a bit of an ass.”
She propped herself up on one elbow. Pointedly ignored the appreciative glance Rico gave her chest. “But yet you’re suddenly giving him a job. A couple days ago, you acted as if that was a bone of contention between you and Charro.”
“It was and probably still would be except I found out that she asked my parents for a loan to make the house payment. I can’t let her lose her house and I definitely can’t let her bother Mom and Dad for money. I could offer her a loan but I promised Dad that she wouldn’t know that I was aware that she’d borrowed money from them. Charro is very proud.”
“Do you think that she loves Peter?”
“I don’t know. But I suspect that she wants to keep her family intact.”
“She’s got two great kids,” Laura said.
“Proving what they say that kids are resilient.”
She lay back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. She hoped he was right. That Hannah was very resilient. “We should get dressed,” she said. She did not want to take the chance of Hannah waking up from her nap and wandering around the house, only to stumble upon them in the basement.
She was young enough that she’d probably take it in stride. After all, she’d easily accepted that Laura, her daycare teacher, and her were off on a wonderful adventure. Hadn’t once expressed any concern about missing Hodge Rankin, the man Ariel had married. Not even Mrs. Wise, the nice woman who cared for her most of the time when she wasn’t at the daycare.
But there might be a time later, likely when Laura was telling her the truth about their situation, the memory would resurface and there might not be enough therapy in the world to take care of that. We were on the run and you were screwing around. Ugh.
She got out of bed and picked up her clothing. It was hard to pretend that there was nothing going on. That this wasn’t the last time that they’d make love.
She’d decided she couldn’t risk driving the Mustang again. Which meant that it would make no sense to return to the cabin with Rico. Instead, her best opportunity to use public transportation was right here in Torcak. She and Hannah could take a bus somewhere.
Where, she hadn’t quite decided.
But within the next couple of hours, she would make that decision. A lot depended on where the buses ran. She had her computer in her bag. But it did her little good. She wouldn’t risk turning on the Wi-Fi connection, in the event that someone would be able to trace her that way.
But this morning, on her many trips to the hospital lobby to see the aquarium, she’d seen an information desk staffed by a woman wearing a volunteer vest. Laura was counting on the fact that the woman, or whoever happened to be sitting in that spot when they got back this afternoon, would be happy to look up the bus schedule for her.
She slipped on her shoes. Rico was now sitting up in bed, pulling his own clothes on. “I’m going to check on Hannah,” she said.
He moved fast, getting to the door before her. He was wearing just his boxers. “Hey,” he said, sounding concerned. “Are we okay?”
“Yeah, sure,” she said.
“Because you’re acting kind of off,” he said, his dark eyes very serious.
“Maybe a little tired.”
“Right,” he said, not sounding convinced. He gave her another long look before stepping aside so that she could get to the stairs.
She practically ran up them. She’d been stupid to think that she could have a physical relationship with Rico without getting emotionally involved. She wasn’t wired that way. And now it was going to hurt because she knew it was going to be a bad surprise when he suddenly couldn’t find her.
Maybe she’d send him a note someday. An apology.
Just the idea of that was appalling. What the hell would she say?
Certainly nothing that would make any of this better.
CHAPTER 14
She checked on Hannah but the little girl was still sleeping. “Sweetie,” she whispered, sitting on the bed. “Time to wake up.”
The little girl’s long eyelashes, so like her father’s, fluttered. She smiled, showing her small white teeth. “Where’s Rico?” Hannah asked, proving that she, too, was going to feel the loss when they ran again.
“In the other room. We’re going to go back to the hospital.”
“Can I see the aquarium? And go to the cafeteria?”
For Hannah, the place was better than a theme park. “Of course,” Laura said. “Why don’t you get up, go potty, and then you can have a little snack before we go.” She’d seen some grapes and sliced cheese in the refrigerator last night when she’d helped clean up after dinner. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”
When she walked out of the bedroom, Rico was standing in the living room. “She okay?” he asked.
“Great. I’m going to get her a snack. Would you like some grapes and cheese?”
“Sounds good,” he said.
He washed the grapes while she sliced the cheese. Then, probably because he couldn’t stand not having a vegetable, he also cut up a few radishes and an orange pepper.
When Hannah got to the kitchen, she had one arm around Ja-Ja and she threw her free arm around Rico’s knees. “I slept,” she announced.
He swung her up into his arms. “And you look beautiful,” he said. “Just like Sleeping Beauty.”
“Sleeping Beauty gets kissed by a prince. That’s why she wakes up,” Hannah said.
He kissed the tip of her nose. “Like that?”
She giggled. “No. On the lips, Rico,” she said, as if he was a big old dum-dum. Then she demonstrated by giving Ja-Ja a big wet smack on the mouth.
He sighed. “Well, that proves it—I’m no prince. But you’re still a beauty.”
He was wrong, Laura thought, her throat feeling tight. He was a prince of a guy. A real catch. If they’d only met under different circumstances, in a different time.
She set Hannah’s plate down with a clatter. “Eat up,” she said.
Hannah chatted to Ja-Ja and to Rico. Laura managed to eat a few grapes and a piece of cheese. Ten minutes later, they were walking out to the garage. She had her purse but had left their backpacks behind. Rico would have wondered why she was bringing them along. They literally would now only have the clothes they were wearing. At least Hannah had Ja-Ja. She got the little girl buckled up in the back seat and took her spot up front on the passenger side. This would be the last time in Rico’s SUV, the last time it felt as if…oh, it was crazy to even think this way…as if they were part of his family.
She closed her eyes, willed the tears back. She would not cry. It would confuse Hannah and make Rico curious. She couldn’t afford either emotion from them.
She’d gone to his bed knowing it wasn’t going to have a happy ending. It was ridiculous for her to be disappointed now that she’d been right.
Neither she nor Rico talked on the way to the hospital. When he found his parking place, he got out as fast as his crutches allowed. He waited while she got Hannah out of the vehicle, then leaned in and reached for a black duffel bag that was behind Hannah’s seat. He looped the strap over one hand. “There’s some things in here I think my dad might enjoy.”
When they got to the waiting area, Charro was there by herself. She smiled at Hannah, then looked at Laura. “Did she sleep?”
“Yes. Thank goodness.”
“I was so sorry when my kids gave up afternoon naps. That hour was a real relief sometimes.”
It was dangerous territory to be talking about kids and habits and anything remotely connected to that. She’d only worked at Hannah’s school for three months, and prior to that, had very little experience with children. “I know,” she said.
“Is she in preschool right now?”
Excellent—a question she knew the answer to. “Yes, three mornings a week.” The daycare offered a preschool option to interested parents. But she needed to stop this before the questions got harder. “If you’ll excuse us, I promised Hannah another look at the fish in the aquarium. Give your dad my best,” she said, switching her gaze to Rico.
“Absolutely,” he said. He ran a hand over Hannah’s head. “Have fun.”
“Ja-Ja likes the yellow fish with the black stripes,” Hannah said, very seriously.
“Ja-Ja has good taste,” Rico said, just as seriously.
“Is that a compliment?” Hannah asked.
“Yes,” Rico said.
“Then thank you. Mama always said that we needed to say thank you when somebody gave us a compliment.” She ran to the window, looked up at the blue sky. “Did you see that, Mama?”