Crashing Into Me (Crashing Into Me #1)

by R. L. Jackson

  “I took the liberty of ordering you some breakfast as well. I figured you’d come for a visit but I wasn’t sure, since you went straight to bed last night.” Seriously?

  He winked at her and Rachel glanced over at them both. Lana frowned, eyebrows furrowed at the way he just made that sound. She glared at him, then glanced sheepishly at Rachel unsure of what to say. She started eating her oatmeal, with a slight grin on her face.

  “Yeah, well I didn’t feel like talking much. You could understand why,” Lana replied, “unwanted house guest and all.” Kayden sat on the edge of Rachel’s bed and faced her.

  “Yes, I understand, and regarding the accident I’ve expressed my deepest apologies. All her hospital bills, time off from work, physical therapy and anything else she needs will be provided for her by me.” He said, never taking his eyes off her.

  How can he afford to do all of that, she thought, I know Paula’s family had money, but what did he do for a living?

  “Yup, and once I’m back on my feet,” Rachel interjected, “I’m going on a real vacation for a change.”

  “Really? That’s awesome,” Lana replied, breaking his intense gaze, “where are you going?”

  “Probably a cruise, or to New Orleans. I’ve always wanted to visit there but Henry and I could never afford to go, God rest his soul,” she said, as she moved on to the eggs and bacon on her tray.

  “Eat up, aren’t you hungry?” Kayden asked nodding to Lana and the second tray of food.

  He had that damned crooked smile on his face and those eyes began sucking her in like an abyss. The cool bluish green color like an ocean spray captivating her and all she wanted to know was what secrets they kept. What has he seen, experienced, who was Kayden Capshaw? He wasn’t married, she was sure as there was no ring or outline of one recently removed. She noticed it last night as he held his drink in his left hand.

  He couldn’t be much older than she was, no wrinkles in his face, no graying hair, skin smooth like butter. He was in a limited gene pool for sure. Suddenly, being so lost in thought, she felt a tapping on her shoulder. When she looked up, the doctor and six medical students were standing behind her and the trance was broken. Shelby General was also a teaching hospital.

  “Excuse me ma’am,” the Dr. said annoyed, “I need to get to my patient.” She stood, feeling very foolish and embarrassed.

  “I’m sorry,” she replied, and moved out of the way to let them by. Kayden also stood from the bed, allowing them to do their rounds.

  “I’ll come visit you later, enjoy your breakfast,” Lana said and started for the door.

  “Thank you for coming honey, I appreciate it,” Rachel replied as Lana left the room and closed the door behind her.

  What was that? She walked down the long hallway and headed toward the elevators. Rachel is fine and in good spirits, so why am I taking what happened to her, harder than she is? She was almost to the elevators when she wondered how she would enjoy her vacation forced to share a roof with him.

  Standing in the hallway again, she hit the down button for the elevator and waited for it to open. When it did, she stepped in and pressed “one.” As the doors began to close, a hand stuck through it causing it to open. Kayden stepped into the elevator and the doors closed.

  “Of course,” she said out loud.

  “Of course, what?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “You just said “of course”. What’s the matter now?”

  “Nothing. Just thinking out loud.” They stood in the elevator for what felt like forever. This elevator is taking really long to get to the first floor.

  “What was that, back in Rachel’s room?” he asked breaking the deafening silence.

  “I don’t know,” she answered honestly without meaning to.

  She really didn’t know what was happening, but she wanted to tell him to back off and find somewhere else to sleep tonight, to find someone else’s vacation and thoughts to invade.

  “I definitely felt something. Even on the highway and I know you felt it too,” he said turning to face her.

  She was beginning to lose sense of time and space as he spoke the truthful words, she could feel herself begin to unravel again. She backed away from him and bumped into the elevator wall, there was nowhere to go.

  “Please,” she whispered averting her eyes anywhere but his.

  When she did look up at him, she was suddenly on fire. Her legs felt weak and the aching in her body, was too much to withstand. She imagined reaching out and grabbing his unruly hair, kissing and biting down on his full bottom lip. He wasn’t even touching her but she could feel the heat radiating between them. He leaned in close, reached around her and pressed the elevator button for the first floor, never breaking eye contact.

  Shame sank in her chest fast as she then realized she hadn’t hit the button again. He invaded her space, with both arms on either side of her holding onto the elevator rail. Only a breaths space in between them, she could smell his skin and could almost imagine what his mouth tasted like.

  “I don’t know what it is about you,” he whispered, pressing his forehead against hers. As she breathed in, the minty smell of his breath was in her mouth and she had to swallow a few times to catch her breath. When the elevator reached the bottom, the doors opened and a group of people walked in. A woman and her daughter looked over at them and the little girl giggled, holding her mom’s hand, hiding behind her leg.

  “Can you hit three please?” an older man asked Kayden. He smiled, reached over in front of her and pressed the button. Lana pushed past him, out of the elevator and down the hall trying to put as much distance in between them as possible. She was walking so fast, trying to reach the automatic doors to leave, she didn’t notice the garbage can in her path and ran into it knocking it down. She kept moving though, not looking back.

  I didn’t press the damned button. Lana was mortified at how easily she was overcome by him. If that elevator door didn’t open… no, she didn’t want to think about that. She just wanted to get back to Hamby and start the vacation she had intended to—and maybe die of embarrassment. Yeah, that was highly more likely.

  ***

  Kayden stood in the parking lot of Shelby General next to his red Lamborghini Aventador. He owned a garage in town that housed his favorite toys and had it brought to the house earlier that morning. He watched Lana pull out of the parking lot in her truck and head west towards Hamby. He was as drawn to her as she was to him, and watching her fight it was a turn on. All he could think about was running his hands through her onyx black hair, and staring into her almond shaped eyes all day.

  The small dimple above her upper lip, that appeared and disappeared whenever she spoke drove him absolutely mad, and it took the will power of God not to kiss her a few short moments ago. As much as he wanted to follow her back to his sister’s house and finish what was started, he had other pressing matters to deal with. Like how he would convince his mother not to cut him out of the family business. The last time he screwed up this bad, she told him that was his last straw and anymore screw-ups would result in him being on his own.

  Maureen was a stern woman who could be misinterpreted as cold and calculating at times, but she had her moments. Granted, she wasn’t the same since his brother Joel and his father died, but who would be? He felt he was to blame for that and he promised to spend the rest of his life earning back her trust. Last night was not a good start to that promise. She’d often fix his legal issues as they’d pop up over the years, but the days of that were long gone and it was time to do some serious growing up.

  He was surprised he hadn’t heard from her yet, and was certain Capt. Jackson had contacted her by now. He probably couldn’t wait to be the one to spill the beans before he had the chance. As if it would get him any closer to her, Kayden thought. How in the hell will I explain this? Hamby was his childhood home, the place his parents built an empire by restoring most of the properties in town to their original glory. The Ca
pshaw’s soon expanded to a multimillion dollar operation and left Hamby in search of other towns in similar need.

  He loved the idea of being able to keep a piece of history the way it was intended. Most buildings nowadays were planned in a week or so and up and erected in a few months. No real love went behind it. After everything with Joel and his dad, his mother lost the passion and vision the company once had, and he desperately wanted to take over in order to get it back to what Capshaw Realty originally stood for.

  He opened the door to the car and sat, pulling the door down and closed it shut. His cell phone made a noise and he looked at the screen, it read: “Miss you sexy XOXO –Kimberly.” He hit delete on the phone, and looked down the road where Lana’s truck was slowly disappearing in the distance. How did Kim get my new number? It had to be his meddling mother. The woman couldn’t get through her head that it was over between them. It’s the only thing she still seemed to want for him, and he couldn’t understand why.

  Kim and Kayden or “KimKay” as all their friends would call them, dated on and off for about five years. They met at a frat party in college and at one point he thought she was the one and even considered marriage. Only, after his car accident a few years ago, he was hospitalized for months, and that’s when he learned where her loyalties were. She would visit him every day for a while, then that tapered off to a few times a week, to once if he was lucky, to nothing at all. Once he literally got back on his feet, and was able to get back to a somewhat normal way of life, she tried to rekindle things but he wasn’t interested.

  He had considered it at first. She was beautiful, long legs that would go on forever, blonde and perky—the all American girl. And the sex wasn’t half bad either. But her ambition always made him wonder what it was she wanted from life. She didn’t finish college, or go to a trade school, she didn’t work and never really spoke about plans or goals for her life. She was more concerned with partying and keeping up with the Jones’.

  One night at a party thrown by his best friend, he found out through the grapevine that they were sleeping together while he was in the hospital convalescing. It didn’t take her long to move on to her next meal ticket and he was grateful for the betrayal. He didn’t need, nor want anyone in his life like that. Kayden lifted the mini hatch in the middle console of the car revealing the start button and pressed it, revving the powerful engine.

  The onlookers loved to see this car move, but no way, he thought. He’d been in enough trouble over the last twenty-four hours and wanted to just get back to the house and get to know the woman who saved the day for Rachel, because honestly she saved the day for him too. He pulled the Lamborghini out onto the road and headed back to Hamby, the only place he considered home, doing the speed limit the whole way there.

  5

  Lana had gotten a barbecued sausage burrito at Aunt Mae’s. The parking lot was now converted to outdoor seating with picnic tables and she opted to eat there with the rest of the patrons. She didn’t know where Kayden was, but wanted to avoid running into him at the house at all costs. After wiping the last of the sauce remnants from her mouth and tossing the plate in the garbage can, she took a minute to observe her surroundings. She really didn’t know anyone there. Most of her other visits consisted of spending time curled up with a book in the house alone. She considered going to the library, but she was still pretty tired from the day before.

  Lana really wanted to go to the house and take a long nap, but she couldn’t if he would be there taking up residency and ruining her quiet time with more gazes and talk. Her cellphone vibrated in her pocket and she fished it out. One text message showed on the screen and it was from Carmen, her friend and fellow ER Nurse from home. The message read:

  CARMEN: Hey hun... I’m worried about you. Call me.

  Lana knew the gossip must’ve had the walls of the hospital on fire, but decided she wouldn’t respond. She knew anything she texted back would ultimately lead her to reliving the grocery store debacle, followed by an hour long call and more self-loathing. She slid the phone back into her pant pocket instead. She’d call her in a couple days. As she glanced around the parking lot resigned to head to the house, she overheard a couple talking about the accident. Lana sat back down and pulled her phone out, to pretend she was texting, and to not appear that she was obviously eavesdropping.

  “Can you believe that boy? Shame he hasn’t a bit of respect for this town,” asked a man to a woman who looked like his wife.

  “He has zero respect for anyone other than himself. That’s how he’s always been. Makes me sick,” she replied, in between bites of her eggs and ham.

  “After all that family’s done for this town. He’s giving them a bad reputation. Can you imagine what that idiot would do to that company if he ever took over?” he asked.

  “I don’t even care. As long as he leaves here, and goes somewhere else to do it,” she replied back, sipping her ice tea.

  They really don’t like him. Soon others began to chime in around her and the consensus was the same. She never knew much about Paula’s family, only that her father had died. Lana did attend the funeral a few years ago, but she couldn’t recall Kayden being there. Lana was fully aware that Paula didn’t really get along with her mother and of course she knew about the real estate business, but Lana took that to mean single family homes, not multi-million dollar towns.

  Paula’s married surname was Smith and Lana had been accustomed to it after six years, so when Kayden showed up, she didn’t connect the dots then either. Sitting in between all those gossiping people, she stuck out like a sore thumb, and made her way back to the truck. Although it was eleven thirty and the sun was almost the highest in the sky, it was only around thirty degrees. Tonight would be colder than the last, with the weather in the single digits and snow flurries expected by morning, according to the weather app on her cellphone.

  She wanted to be well warmed and cozy by then. Perhaps even catch a movie on the sixty-five-inch TV in the living room. As she climbed into the truck, Lana couldn’t help getting upset at the scratches and dents on the side of it. She was supposed to go to Mason’s, but there would be time later in the week, she rationalized. For now, she just wanted to get in the house before he did and relax.

  ***

  Captain Heathcliff Jackson, sat in his office in the Hamby police station, holding the phone away from his ear. Chief Powell was currently screaming at the top of his lungs about Kayden and the fact that no charges would be pressed against him from Aunt Mae, Rachel or the state. Heathcliff understood his frustration. That kid was slippery and always seemed to get a free pass. Once the Chief took a breath, Heathcliff began to speak again.

  “I agree with you Chief, it’s just that in spite of all that, they have friends in high places. The Mayor for one, who is vouching for him. You know the Capshaw family sir,” he replied.

  “And you know my patience with all of them has run out,” he replied and the line went dead.

  Heathcliff hung the phone up and although he was pissed, he had prepared himself for the call. This wasn’t the first time they had used their position to enlist the help of higher ups, but he knew for a fact it would be the last. He remembered Kayden as a boy. He was quiet, reserved and never got in any trouble. But as a teen, he was wild and loud when he realized what his money and things meant to those who didn’t have them.

  That persona only grew as he became an adult and had gotten him into a great deal of trouble since. It just seemed that everyone else around him paid the price. Five years ago to be exact, was the worst the town had ever witnessed and he hoped it would be the last incident. He picked up his stained coffee mug and took a gulp of the bitter bile the precinct passed for joe. He then thumbed his fingers through a rolodex on his desk and flipped the card for “Capshaw, Maureen”.

  He picked the phone handle up again and began to dial the numbers. He was excited to finally hear her voice, just not necessarily for this reason.

  ***

&nbs
p; When she pulled up to the house, the Lamborghini was parked in the driveway. He has a lot of nerve, she thought as she pulled in behind him. Lana jumped out of the truck, upset that not only was he there before her again, but now she would probably be confined to her room the entire day. It was unfair! All she wanted was solitude and everywhere she went, he was there. It may have been his sister’s house, but Paula had asked her to house sit, not him.

  Her phone vibrated again as she reached the porch and she rolled her eyes. Lana already knew it was Carmen again before pulling the phone out of her pocket. She looked at the screen and hit “open” on the picture message. Her heart stopped a second as a picture of her sprawled across the grocery floor was made into a meme. The caption reading: “WIPEOUT AUDITION ANYONE? LOL.” Then she read Carmen’s message.

  CARMEN: I’m so sorry, I just didn’t want you to find out about it on Facebook. Joanna’s a bitch. Call me please.

  Lana closed her eyes and took a deep breath immediately wishing she never opened the message. This “vacation” was becoming impossible and her pride had taken two serious beatings today. She entered the house cautiously. Not a sound. She walked down the foyer and straight into the living room and kitchen area. Kayden wasn’t there either. She ran up the stairs to the guest bedroom ready to give him a piece of her mind and knocked on the door.

  No answer. She had a sinking feeling and walked to her room down the hall, cracked the door and peered in. Luckily he wasn’t there either, although what would she have done if he were? Through the window next to the bed, she could see movement down below and went over for a closer inspection. There he was, shirtless, chopping wood in the back yard garden. Is he insane? Its freezing outside! He did look good doing it though.

  He stopped swinging his axe and picked up a bottle of water. As he drank he looked up at the window, and winked at her. She ducked out of the way and instantly felt foolish. He just saw you, idiot. What was the point of that? She rushed down the stairs whizzing by all the ornate picture frames and sconces, out the patio door and in to the yard.