From Ashes To Flames (A West Brothers Novel Book 1)

by A. M. Hargrove

  I hung up before she had a chance to respond. Let her think about that when she was digging around in my closet, looking in my underwear drawer.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Marin

  * * *

  Did he need underwear?

  Unless you want me to wear some.

  What the hell was I supposed to do with that? Take him underwear or not? The thought of him not wearing any was hotter than flames charring my skin. But did I want him to know that? Sweat seeped out of my pores as I thought about it, and the more I did, my heart tapped out a rhythm that had me wondering if I should call him back. Only because I was worried about my damn health.

  Kinsley pushed my door open and ran into my room. “Marnie, I had a bad dream.”

  “You did?”

  “It was about Aaron and that he went to live with Mommy.”

  “Oh, sweetie, come here.”

  She climbed up on my bed and I hugged her. “Aaron’s getting better already. I just talked with your daddy and he told me so.”

  “He is?”

  “Yep. And I bet his legs will be kicking again in no time. And guess what else.”

  “What?”

  “You get to go to Ashley and Dr. Josh’s today and play. You even get to have a sleepover.”

  “I do?”

  “You sure do. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

  “Yeah! Do they eat good stuff over there? Like snacks and cookies?”

  I hid a laugh. “I bet they do.”

  “Can I call Daddy?”

  “I don’t see why you can’t. Here.” I hit his number and handed her the phone.

  “Daddy!”

  I heard him call her his polka dot and then tell her about Aaron getting better.

  “I get to have a sleepover party tonight.”

  They talked a bit longer and then ended the call.

  I brushed her thick hair off her forehead and asked, “Feel better now?”

  She nodded.

  “Good. And now we both need to bathe since neither of us did last night. So why don’t I get your bath ready or do you want to take a shower so you can wash your hair too?”

  “Shower, please. I can do it myself cuz I’m a big girl.” She spread her arms out for emphasis.

  “Okay. Make sure you rinse your hair really good and put the conditioner in because if you don’t, it’ll hurt when we comb it.”

  “I know. Ouchy.” She grimaced.

  “Right.”

  We both went into her bathroom where I got the water going and set everything out for her. She was pretty good about this. “Do you want me to stay in here while you shower?”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “All righty. I’ll be in and out if you need me.” I wouldn’t take mine until she was done, just in case. While she showered, I decided to pack Grey’s things. It felt completely weird thinking of him like that. But then again, it had always felt so stiff and formal calling him Dr. West. But he was stiff and formal most times. And grouchy. Hopefully, he was changing.

  I slowly opened his bedroom door and walked in. I’d only been in here once, and that was before all his furnishings and belongings were moved in. The room was massive. It was actually two rooms—a bedroom with a small sitting area off of it. It had a fireplace in it, which I thought was so romantic the first time I saw it. The bathroom was palatial—like something out of a magazine, but then so was the rest of the house. When I entered the closet, I didn’t know where to begin. It was kind of sad in here since this was built as a his and hers. The hers side was completely empty obviously. It held massive built-in dressers and shoe racks and shelves and anything your heart could possibly imagine. A giggle burst out of me because all my things would fit in less than a quarter of this space. Moving over to his side, I found a suitable duffle bag to hold everything. Then I located his jeans. It was easy because everything was very organized. Next, I grabbed a dark grey shirt and then hunted for a pair of socks. I opened drawer after drawer of ties. Good lord, how many did the man own? And folded shirts. He had an endless supply. Before I got to his sock drawer, I found the stupid underwear drawer and much to my shame, my fingers buried themselves in pair after pair of them. There were cotton boxer briefs, regular boxers, silk boxers, bikini briefs, and tightie whities. The man must have an underwear fetish because there was every style of men’s underwear imaginable. And I pulled every type out and inspected them. Before I knew it, I’d made a mess of the damn drawer and realized when he went to fetch a pair, he would certainly know an underwear spy had been in here lurking.

  “Marnie! Marnie, where are you?”

  Fuck! The drawer was nothing but a heap of unfolded skivvies. What the hell was I supposed to do?

  “I’ll be there in a minute.”

  I started to fold a few but knew it was hopeless, so I just threw a pair in the bag, not really paying attention. I figured while Kinsley was watching something on TV, I’d sneak back up here and rearrange it. On the way out, I grabbed a pair of shoes and tossed them into the bag too.

  “I’m here.”

  “Whatcha got there, Marnie?”

  “I’m taking this to your daddy when I go to the hospital later.”

  “I’m hungry.”

  “Let me get you some breakfast and then I have to shower. But first, did you comb your hair and get all the tangles out?”

  “Yep.”

  “Okay. How about waffles today?”

  “Really?”

  “Really. Let’s go.”

  After she was settled, I told her to watch a video when she was done. I showered and then quickly dressed in jeans, a white T-shirt, and sandals. Then I remembered about Grey’s toothbrush. I stopped in his closet to quickly fix up his underwear drawer and did the best I could, but it wasn’t anywhere near what it looked like when I opened it. The thing was, I couldn’t remember exactly how it was organized and I was sure he would never find anything when he went in there the next time. I was so screwed.

  The bathroom was another story. I eventually found a toothbrush, but it was after opening drawer after drawer. Standing in here made my heart twinge all of a sudden. Here was this man living in this beautiful place, but he had no one to share it with. If I were him, I would want somewhere small to live so I wouldn’t have to stare at so much vacant space. It would only remind me of all that I had and lost.

  Kinsley was eager to get to the McBride’s house. Once there, Ashley assured me everything was fine and she could stay as long as need be. When I left her, she was already playing.

  Grey was happy to see me when I walked into Aaron’s room. I had worried about his reaction toward me, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure how things should be between us. My concern was unnecessary. He immediately came to my side, pulling me into his arms. His embrace took me by surprise. But his kiss really threw me off kilter.

  I dropped the stupid duffle and clutched his shirt at the waist. Jesus, what was going on with this man? Had the stodgy old doctor disappeared? Was I falling for this older dude? I mean the guy was in his forties, way older than anyone I’d ever dated. But he was also way hotter than anyone I’d ever dated.

  “Are you okay?”

  My head bobbed. “Yeah, you?” I hardly recognized my breathless voice.

  “Fine. I had to ream an ass or two, but things are better.”

  “What happened?”

  “The care in here wasn’t up to par. That’s all. It’s great now.”

  I looked at him. Really looked and noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the lines of stress he was attempting to pretend weren’t there. The urge to press my fingers to them was overwhelming.

  “You need to go home and sleep.”

  “No, I’m not leaving. Let me shower and I’ll feel better.”

  I gave in and gently smoothed my fingertips over the space below his eyes. “You’re tired. You can’t hide it.”

  He took those fingertips and pressed kisses to them. “I’ve gone far longer
than this without sleep. Thanks for bringing my stuff. I’ll be back.”

  He left and I checked on Aaron. He was still asleep, which I supposed had to do with the drugs. I ran my fingers through his soft curls and held his chubby hand. He was so stinkin’ precious. I loved this kid and started to ponder what I would do when I didn’t have this job. The scary thing was how attached I’d become. And then … what about Grey? What were we? That was even weird to think about. How had we gone from being almost completely uncommunicative to this? And I had barely given him a glance before. Oh, I noticed him all right, but a much older him than me. That was then. Now, all I thought about was that strong jaw covered in scruff, chiseled cheeks, those large eyes that were thickly fringed in dark lashes, and his sexy mouth. I pressed my fingers to my lips thinking of how his had crushed mine last night and that it triggered an urge for more. I remembered how my hands seized his arms, feeling the strength of his rigid biceps, and recognized the safety they brought. How had I missed so many things about him?

  Grey was a man who commanded the room. When he was in it, people took notice. I saw that at the picnic. And it wasn’t that he tried. It just happened.

  Aaron kicked one of his legs, and I smiled, thinking of Kinsley. I still held his hand and he tried to pull it away, so I let him. He rolled to his side and whimpered. The IV must’ve tugged a bit, so I rearranged it to give it more line. Ugh, I hated seeing him like this. My eyes welled up with tears and I scrubbed them away.

  Two hands clamped down on my shoulders and I jumped.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” Then he asked, “Why are you crying?”

  “Seeing him with that IV is killing me. I know he’s uncomfortable.”

  The pads of his thumbs stroked my cheek to wipe the tears away. “Please don’t. I’m hopeless seeing you cry.” Then he held me to his chest. “IVs aren’t that bad and the sedation will help with it. But I don’t want him to continue with that. Since he’s had some really good sleep, I want to talk to Jane about getting that reduced.”

  “Jane?”

  “His doctor. Jane Sutton.”

  “I see.” I should’ve known they’d know each other.

  “I have a question. Did you have fun poking around in my underwear drawer?”

  Holy shit. I stepped out of his embrace. “Uh, why?” I asked, cringing.

  He smirked. “Because you stuck Christmas underwear I got as a joke in the duffle bag. They have a reindeer nose with bells on them. Did you really want me to wear them?”

  My hands flew to my face in horror. Oh. Jesus. “I grabbed the first thing my hands landed on,” I mumbled.

  “Is that so? I’m pretty sure those things were buried in the back of the drawer.”

  I spread my fingers apart to see he was grinning at me. “Stop it.”

  “Did you inspect all my underwear?”

  “No,” I lied.

  “Yeah, you did. Admit it.” He pulled my hands down and held them. I tried to tug them away, but he wouldn’t let me. “Well?”

  “I was going to grab a pair, but your drawer was so damn organized that I started admiring all the different styles and then Kinsley called me and I was sort of busted.”

  He chuckled. “If you want, I can model them for you.”

  “Oh, my God.” I would never live this down.

  My face burned with embarrassment. His hand brushed across one cheek and he said, “I didn’t take you for the shy type.”

  “I’m not shy. This goes way past shy. This is like a home invasion.”

  He bent down and pulled those damn underwear out for me to see. “I can’t believe you brought these for me.” He laughed as he held them up against his hips. Not only did they have a reindeer nose, it was exactly where his penis would be with jingle bells dangling by his balls. I’d really done it this time.

  “I swear I didn’t even look at them.”

  “Uh huh. So, the way I’m thinking is what’s fair for the goose and all.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think I need to get a good look at your underwear drawer.”

  “You’ll be greatly disappointed, I can promise you.”

  He waggled his brows. “You have no idea. I may be a granny panty kind of guy.”

  A huge snort of laughter busted out of me. It was so loud Aaron cried out. “If you’re into granny panties, you’re dead to me.”

  Now it was his turn to laugh. “Yeah, that was kind of bad, right?”

  “That would only confirm that you are definitely an old geezer.”

  He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me against him. “I can show you things that will prove to you I am nowhere near an old geezer. Which brings me to my next point. I would very much like to pursue this thing between us, Marin. That is if you’re willing.”

  “What if we don’t work? Then what happens to me as the nanny? I love your kids and it scares me that I’ll never see them again.”

  “I’ve thought of that too, but if we don’t try, we won’t know, will we?”

  “No, but I’m not sure I could live in your house if things between us don’t work.”

  He brushed my hair back. “I have a very good feeling about us. You’re the only person I’ve been interested in since Susannah. I never thought I’d date again. Here’s the thing. You’re not someone I ever would’ve given a chance either. We’re so different. But I can’t stop thinking about you. Please say yes.”

  “We’ll be practically cohabiting.”

  “We will be cohabiting. There is no practically about it. But you’ll keep your room and I’ll have mine. We won’t compromise that for the children’s sake.”

  “Okay. We can try, but I have to tell you, this scares me. A lot.”

  “Don’t be afraid, Marin.”

  “I don’t want to get hurt.”

  “I know. And I won’t be the one to do that.”

  Weren’t those the promises they always made? Damien said that to me and look what happened. But I did know one thing about Grey. His wife had cheated on him and he wasn’t very happy about that. He wasn’t the cheating kind so if my heart were to get broken it probably wouldn’t be because of that.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Greydon

  * * *

  Marin surprised me, she really did. I suspected all along she would push me away. But she didn’t. Now all I wanted to do was learn everything possible about her. We were stuck in Aaron’s glass cubicle all day, so we might as well start now.

  I began with questions about her college days and why she chose journalism.

  “My dad had visions of me practicing law with him, but I’m afraid I was a huge disappointment. I had this urge to write. In high school, I would sit for hours, creating these stories and handing them in to my teachers. They encouraged me to study creative writing and literature, but it wasn’t for me. My interests were more in current events, so I turned toward journalism. When I was a junior, I had this amazing teacher who helped me after school each day, He taught me how to craft journalistic articles. My school didn’t have a journalism class until you were a senior. He was the one who encouraged me to go to Emerson. So, there’s that.”

  “And you graduated magna cum laude?”

  She squints at me. “How did you know that? I never told you.”

  “My mom did. I did ask a few questions about you after you came to work for me. I didn’t know what your degree was in though until you told me. And after I found out you went to Emerson, imagine the good laugh I had over the shit you gave me about Harvard.”

  Two bright spots of pink dotted her cheeks. I reached out to brush the back of my hand over them and felt the heat radiating off her. “Don’t be embarrassed. I have a tendency to act like an ass. It’s a defense mechanism when I’m challenged. Or when I’m pissed.”

  Her hands covered her cheeks after I took mine away. “I hate that I get so red like that.”

  “I think it’s sexy.”

  “Can I
ask you something?”

  “Sure.” I wanted her to feel she was able to question me about anything.

  She tilted her head and appeared hesitant for a second before she blurted, “Why are you so distant with the kids?”

  No toe dipping with this one. She took the plunge, head first. “I wasn’t always. I’ve not been in the best place and I … it’s been hard. It’s not right, I know. I try. You don’t see it, I’m sure. This sounds like I’m making excuses. Before Susannah died, I was in the thick of things with them. When it was just Kinsley, I did it all. You probably can’t picture it, but it’s true. I was Mr. Mom. What she did really destroyed me and it wasn’t just the cheating. It was the effect on the family. It was the destruction of trust. And the lying. Those were always my two deal-breakers and she knew it. We’d talked often about it. She traveled a lot for her job and I put my trust and faith in her and there she was, cheating for over two years. It shook the foundation of everything for me.”

  Marin was silent for a moment. “They need you, Grey. Go back to them.”

  Those words were an arrow to my heart. I vowed to make a change starting today.

  “It may seem like a mountain, but it’s not. Take it a day at a time,” she said.

  “You’re right and I’m such a shit.”

  She rested her hand on my arm. “Not a shit, just an absentee dad. And it’s an easy thing to change. So why cardiology?”

  My mind reeled with how I had to change things at home, but I answered her anyway. “Nice diversion. When I was in medical school, I did my cardiac rotation and that was it. I knew if I couldn’t do cardiology, it would crush me. That’s how important it was to me.”

  “Why so?”

  We’re seated, she on the recliner and me on the hard chair. I scooted closer to her and picked up her hand. “Some people think it’s the God syndrome—you know where people feel like they’re God saving other’s lives. But that’s not it for me. I found that saving someone, preventing them from dying, and keeping them with their loved ones longer, made being in school and all the years of residency and fellowship worth everything. There are a lot of jobs out there that people love. But I am crazy about what I do. I know without a doubt I made the right choice.”