He narrowed his eyes. “What did she say?”
“Huh?”
“Melody. What did she say about me?” He reached out for her hand and closed his fingers over hers.
“Ooooh, she played it up that you're whiny, mean, and milking this for all it's worth. How true is it?” Taryn laughed when he made a sour face. “Because I have to tell you, I won't tolerate you milking it. I might be a little harder on you and make you do stuff you don't want to.”
“I'll get her yet,” he grumbled. “It's not that true. I don't have a lot of energy and I'm sore, but other than that, it's getting better. I'll be able to take you dancing and swimming again in no time.”
“Maybe I'll go a little easier on you then.” Taryn squeezed his hand.
He sat up straighter and leaned forward. “I'm not one to beat around the bush, even though I'm dreading this conversation.” Chris raked a hand through his hair.
“The I love you comment, right?” Taryn shrugged. “You-”
He moved his hand to cover her mouth gently. “Before you go and try to excuse it, about me being under the influence of anesthesia, hear me out.”
She nodded, fighting the urge to lick his hand. This was too serious a conversation to be playful, even if it would lighten the mood. Her heart thudded, and blood thundered through her, making her ears ring.
“I was overly sentimental when I woke up. I said a lot of things I might have used better tact to say if I'd have been more coherent.”
What was he trying to say? Taryn waited, hoping he'd start making a little more sense.
“If I were to say I love you for the first time,” Chris brought her hand to his lips, “it would be when I looked into your eyes while dancing. It would be when you swam to my arms after you gave it your best effort. I don't want the first time I tell the most unique, fun, and interesting woman I love her to be while I'm doped up from anesthesia.” There was so much depth and emotion in his eyes, they captured her heart and soul with their intensity.
“Chris...” At a loss for words, she stopped short, unsure what else to add.
“I don't want you to forget that I said it, but I want you to know I'd have planned those words a lot better.”
“You … love me?” Taryn managed to finally say something.
He struggled to get out of the chair, then sank to his knees before her. “I feel a lot for you, we'll put it that way, which is why I said what I did when I did it. I know, I'm not making a lot of sense, but that's because I'm trying to understand all of my feelings right now. Saying those words out loud doesn't come easy to me. It never has. The best I can say is that when I say them again, because I have a strong feeling I will, it'll be at a moment neither of us will ever forget.” He cringed, then rubbed his backside.
“As much as I love you being close to me, you might want to get comfortable again. Nurse's orders.” Taryn brushed her fingers along his cheek. “Don't make me turn into a mean nurse.”
“I could pull out the couch bed and get comfortable with you beside me. Don't tell the other staff, but you're my favorite nurse.” He winked, then slowly stood up.
“You say that now. Wait until I wake you up every hour!”
“I doubt you'll do that. It means you won't sleep, and you've been working all day.” Chris moved the pillows and cushions from the couch, rubbing his side continuously.
“You might have a point. Plus, I seem to sleep better when I'm with you. Here, move, let me grab some of the cushions. Don't overdo it.” Taryn wheeled over to the couch and moved one of the large pillows.
Chris turned around. “Do I need to give you the name I gave Melody?”
“That depends. What's the name?” She tossed another pillow out of the way.
“Nurse Naggy.”
“Umm, no. If I'm your favorite nurse, I deserve one better than that. And don't be so mean.” Taryn picked up a smaller pillow and swatted his arm with it.
“Yes, Nurse Naked. I'm sorry.” Chris dodged her second pillow swat.
“Nurse Naked? That's the best you've got?”
“Well, you don't want to be called Nurse Naggy, and I like getting naked with you.” His sly grin made her laugh.
Resigned to her fate, Taryn let out a dramatic sigh. “Fine, but I'm nicknaming you Patient Pain In the Ass.”
“If the shoe fits. I'll take it.”
After moving the pillows, Chris pulled the bed out, then headed for his linen closet. He put the sheet on and tossed a few of the couch pillows at the end.
Taryn pointed to her duffel bag on the other side. “I brought season one of The Waltons, so you can understand my 'Good night John Boy' reference.”
“Is this a girly show?” Chris sat at the edge of the bed and picked up her bag.
“No! It's a family show. Don't knock it.” She gestured. “It's at the top if you just want to grab it.”
“Sure. I'll pop it in and get the remote. Do you want anything?”
“Shouldn't I be asking you this question?”
“What I want is to hold you close. I knew I wouldn't need much nursing. You offered, so I took the chance.”
“You really are milking it,” Taryn teased, eying the height of the couch bed. “This might be a little high for me, but I think I can manage.”
“I'll get you up there then.” Chris dropped the DVD on the bed and started toward her.
“No! You were already rubbing your side when you knelt beside me!” Taryn put her hands up in front of her as if that would stop him.
“I won't hurt you, and I won't hurt myself, drummer girl. The last thing we need is for you not to be able to make it up there.” He stopped just before her. “I'm not dizzy and only a little sore.”
Taryn glanced at the bed, then at Chris' hopeful expression and allowed him to pick her up.
*****
“Okay, I would go visit the Walton family if they were real. I could live in their time and house for a week without going crazy,” Chris admitted after watching three episodes with Taryn so far.
“I know. So could I. I used to have a wild crush on John Boy Walton.” Her cheeks reddened.
“Did you now? Hmm.” He pretended to ponder this.
“Oh shush!” Taryn swatted him again. “My tastes vary. What can I say?”
“I didn't say anything!”
“The hmm gave you away. Are you mocking me?”
“No. I was thinking about what it would take to create a John Boy Walton look. You know, to bring back your fictional crush memories.” Chris ran a thumb along her bottom lip.
Taryn snorted. “You wouldn't.”
“Ooh! I've got an idea. We could go to a costume party dressed up as each other's fictional crushes!” He snapped his fingers.
“Umm. That scares me, for multiple reasons. Who was your fictional crush?” Taryn's thick lashes lowered, intrigue flashing in her eyes when she met his gaze again.
“Hmm. I had a few. Zelda, for one.”
“Zelda? Why?” Her eyes widened.
“Why would you even ask a man why his fictional crush is his fictional crush? She just was. Come on, I was young. Why is John Boy your fictional crush?”
“Because he's passionate.” Taryn shrugged. “It was just something to latch on to back then.”
He rested his head against hers, enjoying their closeness. Taryn was so cute when they bantered back and forth. Hell, she was cute regardless. He'd debated earlier about asking her more about what she felt the night they made love, but decided to leave it alone right now. It was already a hard enough subject for her, and tonight, he didn't want any tension. They had plenty of time to get to that point again. “I'm getting restless. What kind of convincing do I need to do for you to say we can go for a stroll around the complex?”
“Let me think about that.” Taryn tapped her chin.
“Come on. Please?” He clapped his hands together and shot her his best pleading look. Taking a cue from what his sister always pulled, Chris even fluttered his eyel
ashes.
“You know that doesn't work on me, right?” With those words, Taryn ruined his momentum. “But if you want a stroll, then a stroll it is. Are you sure it's not because you're tired of The Waltons and want to distract me from getting you to watch more?”
Chris laughed, then kissed her lightly. “I told you, I actually like the show. You might have to bring the rest of the episodes over and let me watch them, or watch them with me.”
“I don't have all of them any more.”
“Well then, we'll have to buy them.”
“We? Then who gets to keep them?” Taryn jerked her head in surprise.
“That depends. Why don't you have them all any more?” he teased, ruffling her hair.
“I lost them in the move from Nashville back to Texas, and I never did get them replaced.”
“Did you live with Kyra in Nashville?”
“Yeah. After the accident, she made sure the apartment was paid up for a few months, then she moved. I think that was her manager's doing, but at the time, I didn't care. They wanted her somewhere else, and since I pretty much cursed her at the hospital, it was easier for us not to see each other. When I first moved to Nashville, I took on a part time job and found a few college students needing a roommate. Cheap room, decent place, and there we go. They kinda made a mutual decision to kick me out during my first tour with Kyra, so we got a place together for when we were actually home.”
“Ah, okay.” Chris stretched and forced himself to let go of Taryn. As much as he wanted to get up and walk around, he didn't like the idea of getting out of her arms. But they had all weekend for that. “Gotta love that Amazon one-click button. You might have convinced me to get the rest of them. Come here, let's get you down from here.”
Taryn shifted and got herself in a good position. Chris picked her up and moved her to the chair, then kissed her. Then he folded the bed down and left the cushions off the couch. They'd probably get back up here later, but there wasn't enough room for Taryn to get out like this.
“Let me put shoes on, then I'll be ready.” Chris headed toward his room and stopped short at something he hadn't seen before. “I thought I lost this,” he muttered, picking up the shirt. He hadn't seen it in months. An old, beat up shirt that his dad bought him when they went to a baseball game about twelve years ago. Chris had chalked it up to someone stealing it from the laundromat when he went to wash it. Unfolding the shirt, he discovered something. Huh? What the hell happened to it?
Words were scrawled across it with a black Sharpie. Once mine, always mine.
Dropping the shirt, Chris muttered a curse. The texts were definitely not a one-time thing. This just turned from kinda serious to something to talk to the police about.
“Are you okay? Do you need help?” Taryn called from the living room.
He held up the shirt to her, completely flabbergasted. “Someone's been in here. I lost this shirt months ago, or at least I thought I did. I'm guessing Melody never thought anything of it, just assuming it was a shirt I left out. This wasn't here before I left. And then...what it says...” Not that he needed a reminder, but it didn't stop Chris from turning the shirt around to re-read it again. Who the hell was this?
“I'd say you officially have a stalker, and that freaks me the hell out.” Taryn paled. “This is some serious stuff, Chris.”
“You're not telling me anything I don't know.” Scratching his head, Chris tried to piece together this whole thing. It wasn't Alice, or at least so she said, and it wasn't Serena. Now he believed her more than anything, because while Chris might have hurt her feelings a little, she seemed like a well rounded woman. Alice, on the other hand ... he sensed some instability there. Had he given someone a key? No, he wouldn't have done that. The only person who had a key to his apartment was Melody. Alice, Jerri, and Serena were the only three women he'd been with more than once. He had no idea where the hell Jerri was, so why would she pull this?
There were a few others when he'd first come here, but damned if he could recall even what they looked like. Fuck, maybe he really had been a playboy. It wasn't like he meant to go looking for an easy lay, or even a lay at all. They just happened. Cringing at how much he'd screwed up, Chris tossed the shirt back on the floor and headed toward Taryn. Her eyes were full of worry, which matched his mood.
“I wonder if it's Alice.”
“I know. I'm thinking that, too. She could have faked her attack that night. If it's Alice, then you need to be careful.”
“Great,” Taryn muttered.
“Hey, I'm not going to let anything happen to you, understand?” Chris swore.
“Right, because you can be around me 24/7? I'm not trying to get crazy on you, but this hits too close to home for me!” Taryn sucked on her bottom lip, lost in thought.
A phone rang, and Chris practically jumped. Damn, this startled him beyond belief.
“That's Kyra's ring tone. I wonder why she's calling me.” Taryn pulled her phone from her purse. “What's up?”
Chris racked his mind while Taryn talked to Kyra.
“What? Tomorrow afternoon? Umm, I guess. I thought we had more time. Oh, okay. Hold on.” She looked up at him. “Kyra's photographer had to cancel, and they have a replacement, but they want to do the band's photo shoot tomorrow afternoon.”
He shrugged. “Okay. Not a big deal. If I feel off and don't want to drive, I'm sure Melody or someone will. Just name the time and place, and we'll get you there.”
Taryn flashed him a thumbs up and spoke into the phone again. “Sounds good. Hey, pick me out something to wear for it then, because I didn't think to pack my best clothes.”
Chris stifled a laugh at that when Taryn's eyes shifted his way again, and a hint of a smile played on her lips.
“Seriously? That's where they want to do the photo shoot?” Taryn's smile faded. “No, fine. I guess we'll manage. You'll be there, though? That helps. See you then.” She hung up.
“Well, this weekend isn't turning out like I thought it would at all.” Chris leaned against the linen closet door and blew out a deep breath. “Where do they want to do the photo shoot? You don't look too happy about it.”
“Some creek not too far out of town.” Taryn shook her head. “Another thing I didn't think about. There's going to be a lot of places that would be really neat to do photo or video shoots, places that are going to be a little more difficult for me. I don't want to ruin things for everyone.”
Chris straightened. “You say that a lot. I know, it's harder for you, but why do you always say something about ruining things or being an inconvenience?”
“Probably because I feel like it. There were times Martin said things-”
“Martin? What things did he say?” Chris growled, picturing his own image of this man's face and throwing darts at him mentally.
“Towards the end of our relationship, which was probably when Dad started looking into him, Martin always got annoyed at me. If I didn't transfer fast enough to the car from the chair. If I took too long getting ready at night. I think he did it to Dad, too. Something changed with him even before we discovered what he had going on.”
“Taryn...” Again, he knelt beside her, running the pads of his fingers along her jaw. “I know you were vulnerable at that time in your life. I know it must still fill your head even to this day, but you are not an inconvenience. What the hell was wrong with that man for making you feel anything but amazing, I'll never know. Don't listen to what he said. He's a lying freak who took advantage of a vulnerable woman.”
“I know, and it's not just him. There's so much-”
He kissed her. “Silence those demons,” he whispered against her soft, waiting lips. “For now, let's skip that stroll. I think I should check the rest of the apartment and see if anything else is out of place. And then I should call Melody and ask her if anything seemed odd when she came in the other day.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“This is getting out of hand. You need to show this to the
cops working on Alice's alleged attack. I don't trust her. I never did.” Melody grilled Chris while en route to the creek the next afternoon. “I'm betting she's behind the whole thing and faked her attack.”
“Already did. I called them before I called you yesterday. They took my statement and said they'll look into it.” Chris leaned back in the seat. From beside him, Taryn shifted and set her purse on the floorboard of the car after looking for something. Needing her touch, Chris reached for her hand. “They have no new leads, and they'll keep me updated.”
“I haven't seen her at the inn the last week, and the few times I've run into her recently, she's been very agitated,” Melody continued.
“Yeah, but she's always that way,” Jameson piped up. “She can be very moody. Alice was quiet, but odd as far back as I can remember.”
“Maybe so, but this seems to be worse,” Melody argued. “Sorry. I just don't trust her.”
“Can we get on a better subject now, please?” Chris begged. “I've been mulling over this for days already, and I'd really like a new topic. I'm not taking this lightly, by all means, but I feel like this has been in my face over and over. Trust me, I get it. I messed up, and it's coming back to bite me in the ass.” Hell. Time to chill.
“Okay then. My bad. I'll stop talking about it.” Melody's tone came out clipped.
No matter what he did or didn't do, someone turned out upset. Damn it! Chris closed his eyes, trying to dull the growing ache in his head. After too much silence, Chris decided to make peace. “I'm sorry, Mel.”
She let out a sigh.
“Come on. Forgive me, or I'll start singing,” he threatened.
Taryn stifled a laugh.
“It's tooooooooooo late to apologize,” Chris wailed, making sure to be extra annoying. “It's tooooooooooooo laaaaaaaate!”
“Melody, forgive him so he shuts up!” Jameson exclaimed. “I might drive off the road otherwise!” He jerked the wheel before straightening back out.
“Chris, shut up! I forgive you!” Melody gave in. Then she socked Jameson. “Not funny, considering.” She nodded her head in Taryn's direction.
Offbeat (Love and Music In Texas Book 5) Page 29