by Vivian Arend
Tamara dipped her chin. “The best part of the clan, you’ll discover. Hey. You must be Dare.”
“I recognize you,” Dare said. “You were in the room when we visited Justin yesterday.”
“Good eye.” Tamara pushed Jesse aside without blinking, moving to the bedside. “Be useful and put her things in that bag, J-man. My turn to help your lady.”
Tamara got Dare seated in the wheelchair, all the while ordering Jesse around. Her nurse’s scrubs were a pale blue with little bears dancing over the surface. She was bossy and friendly, and even Jesse relaxed a little as Tamara cracked another joke.
Dare actually caught herself smiling as she was pushed into the elevator.
“You get one of the finest views in the hospital.” Tamara stepped to one side until Dare could see her face. “It’ll be quiet too. There’s a second bed, but no one’s using it at the moment, so you get the room all to yourself.”
“Are you going to be my nurse?”
Tamara nodded. “Hope that’s okay.”
“I thought you were on the delivery ward,” Jesse asked abruptly.
She turned toward him, one brow arched high. “You’re so out of date, cuz. One of the joys of small-town hospital practice is I get to do it all. Delivery was before Emergency which was before Rehab. I switched to general Maternity six months ago.”
“So I’m still considered maternity?” Dare asked, her hand rubbing her belly like a touchstone.
“Of course. You’ve got a bun in the oven, and we’re going to do what we can to make sure everyone gets baked for as long as necessary—or something like that.” Tamara winked. “Analogies always fall apart if you push them too far.”
“Pretty much,” Dare agreed. “If there’s internet, I’ll be fine. I can get ahead of things on my blog.”
“Basic internet is doable. No porn, though.”
Jesse rolled his eyes. “You are a killjoy, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, that’s me. Stick in the mud, no sense of ha-ha whatsoever.”
They’d arrived on the second floor. Dare was rolled down the hall and into a neat but very hospital-looking space. Light yellow walls, furniture made of shiny metal and pale particle board. The blue blanket-covered beds were separated by a green curtain until Tamara pushed it back to the wall.
Jesse placed the bag with her clothes on the chair beside a small closet before slipping up to the wheelchair and laying a hand on Dare’s shoulder. “Back in a few.”
“Okay.”
He pressed a kiss to her cheek then was out the door before she could say anything more.
Tamara helped Dare get as comfy as possible with just her T-shirt and undies because even her maternity jeans were too uncomfortable to consider wearing while sitting around for a couple days.
“If you’ve got them, a pair of sweats will be the most comfortable. If you didn’t bring any, I can loan you a pair. Make a list of the things you need to make your stay more comfortable, and I’ll make sure you get any approved items.”
“Approved?”
Tamara slid a tall, moveable tray into easy reach at the edge of the bed, adding a glass and a pitcher of water.
“No tuba practicing allowed, I’m sorry to say,” Tamara informed her brightly.
“Well, damn. There go my aspirations to win the world tuba championship.” Dare made an attempt to smile, which probably failed miserably. “Cell phones…?”
Tamara lost a bit of her shine. “Rotten reception most places except in a few corners and right outside the main doors, and the internet isn’t fast enough for Skype. I’m sorry. If everything goes well tonight, I’ll break you out for a while tomorrow morning. Okay?”
“Sure.” She tried to keep her disappointment out of her voice. No phone was shitty news. If she didn’t have a phone, she couldn’t chat with Ginny. “Jesse and I will figure it out.”
Tamara frowned, then glanced around the room. Dare realized she was looking for Jesse who hadn’t returned yet.
The woman marched to the door and poked her head out the door. She glanced back then shrugged. “Guys have the worst timing. He probably got lost in the cafeteria. I’ll grab you a few things.”
Tamara was back within a minute with some magazines and a pad of paper, and she piled them on the bedside table.
“I have to make my rounds now.” Tamara adjusted the backrest of the bed one notch higher without Dare having to say anything. “Buzzer is there on the right side of the bed. Sorry, but for now you’ll have to call when you need to pee so I can be on hand if you get dizzy. Otherwise, relax best you can. I’ll be back for the list in a bit and to give you the medication for your inner ear infection. If you want to chat.”
“Thanks,” Dare said sincerely.
Tamara left the room at full stride, the door closing with a soft swoosh behind her.
Silence.
The next second Buckaroo nudged her, and Dare’s soul clung to the sensation. She slid her hands under the sheets to caress the little rounded spot under which who-knows-what was going on. A miracle? A tragedy?
Another soft flutter teased her from the inside—the sensation that had barely begun to be familiar over the past couple weeks. A touch of reassurance from her baby—and it was perfect and exactly what she needed…
Yet not nearly enough because the room was empty except for her and shadows and unanswered questions.
The soft buzz of hospital life drifted from behind the closed door, itching in Dare’s ears. That and the sound of her breath, slightly ragged, echoed in the quiet. The longer she sat there, the more tension increased until her chest ached and her throat felt raw. The sheets were cold against her bare legs. In spite of the sunshine outside the window, in spite of the cheerful yellow stream of it falling across the bed where she lay…
She wanted it all to be a bad dream.
Coldness struck deep, dragging her into memories full of bitter loss and loneliness, and Dare closed her eyes against the stinging hurt striking her heart.
And yet…she wasn’t a teenager anymore, torn from her family and stung by shock. She was a grown-ass woman with the ability to survive and save herself.
Another deliberate breath brought air burning into her lungs. Then slowly, determinedly, Dare opened her eyes and focused on the bright blue sky outside the window.
She’d get through this. One moment after another, she’d make it to the other side, whatever the other side looked like.
If she didn’t completely acknowledge that faint voice inside whispering Jesse will help, an unexpected warmth in her heart budded from a seed into a tiny green hope.
She didn’t have to face this alone.
Chapter Eighteen
Jesse paused down the hall from Dare’s room to get himself under control. He’d been moving like a madman since he’d left because he didn’t want her alone for too long, but the last thing she needed was for him to barrel in as if pursued by a horde of demons.
He put his back to the wall so he could close his eyes for a moment and calm his breathing. As he waited, he went through his mental list in the hopes he’d remembered everything.
“You holding up that wall for a particular reason?”
Jesse turned on the spot to find himself being accosted by Tamara. Accosted was the right word, because there was fire in her eyes and her tone was pure trouble.
He didn’t have the time or energy for bullshit right now.
“What’d you want, Tamara?” he demanded. He should have gone straight in to see Dare. “It’s been a hell of a day already, and I’m not looking for any Coleman lecturing.”
“Poor baby. Sometimes we just don’t get what we want.” She stepped forward to poke her finger against his chest. “I hope you’re ready to get your head out of your ass.”
“If you didn’t read between the lines a moment ago, I was telling you to shut up and mind your own business,” he warned.
“Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?” Tamara didn’t look at
Jesse sighed. He loved his family, really he did. His immediate family and the extended cousins, he loved them all, but sometimes they were more punishment than any man deserved.
He rubbed his temples. “Get it over with. I’ll give you exactly thirty seconds, then I’m getting on with my day.”
She lowered her voice, glancing down the hall before glaring sternly. “You don’t seem to get it. I mean, you obviously care about Dare a little, but I wanted to make sure you know how serious this is.”
His stomach dropped a mile, and he pulled up from his slouch, ready to run to Dare’s side. “Did something happen while I was gone—?”
Tamara had the grace to look sheepish as she held up a hand to stop him from racing off. “No, I didn’t mean that. Dare’s fine, but you were bitching at her pretty hard when I picked her up in Emerg.”
For fuck’s sake. Jesse pinched the bridge of his nose. Overprotective, snoopy cousins—although, Tamara meant well. He had to give her that much.
He met her gaze directly. “She was overdoing it, and I was trying to protect her. She’s as stubborn as they come. Didn’t even want to get checked out even after passing out.”
Some of the implied violence in his cousin’s eyes lessened. “Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. I’m worried about her, okay? I might have snapped harder than I should have, but we’re okay.”
Tamara wrinkled her nose, her glasses shifting position. “I’m sorry. I thought you were flouncing around like you were making sacrifices. When you took off because you needed a hamburger, or whatever that was more important than being there for her—”
“You need to either curb your imagination or try minding your own business,” Jesse drawled. Now he understood the lecture, but he didn’t need to explain himself to Tamara. “Can I go see my fiancée, now? So I can tell her why I flounced off?”
“Brat. Don’t rub it in,” Tamara murmured. “I wa—”
“Are you holding a medical consultation in the middle of the hallway?” A good-looking doctor stared sternly down his nose at Tamara. “I’m sure you wouldn’t be doing anything improper, now, would you, Miss Coleman?”
“Improper? Me?” Tamara laid a hand on her chest, her mouth gaping as if in shock. “Never.”
“Don’t give me attitude,” he warned.
“Or what? You’ll send me a scary email?” Tamara snapped back instantly.
The man’s face went red, and he straightened up until he loomed over her. He took a step closer—
And found himself face to face with Jesse.
Jesse had no idea what was going on, but no one was going to mess with his cousin while he was around. That was his fucking job, thank you very much.
“You work here?” Jesse asked.
“I do.” The man flicked his nametag importantly. “I was—”
“Good,” Jesse interrupted. “The men’s shitter on the first floor is jammed. You should go unstick it.”
The doctor’s face went white. Behind Jesse, a low choking sound escaped Tamara as she attempted to hide her amusement and failed miserably.
The asshole, Dr. Tom, according to his nametag, drew himself to full height again. “I am not a janitor.”
“Oh. Whatever.” Jesse waved a hand and before biting his nail and ignoring the ass completely. He turned to his cousin. “So, Tam, what do you think? Extra bacon on the pizzas, or should we let the rest of the crew decide?”
Dr. Tom stood motionless for a second longer before growling in frustration and pointing a finger at Tamara. “You watch yourself. I’m keeping an eye on you.”
“Yes, sir.” She waited until he’d stepped out of earshot to mutter. “Only thing you can do is watch, asshole, because you’re a nearly-dickless wonder.”
Jesse snorted, his earlier anger and frustration washed away by her good intentions and his rising curiosity. “Gee, you know how to make friends and influence people everywhere, don’t you?”
“He’s a bastard,” Tamara said, leaning on the wall beside Jesse as she checked her watch. “I went out with him a few times, and he seemed nice enough at the start. Decent dancer, and he gave great back rubs.”
“Do I want to hear this?”
She shoved her glasses into place and pulled a face. “I should never have forgotten my rule to not fool around where I work.”
“Bad breakup?”
She nodded. “He’s been on my case ever since. He hassles me without cause, and I can’t really tell him to fuck off.”
He hesitated for all of a nano-second. “Dickless wonder?”
“Nearly-dickless.” She held up her hand with thumb and pointer finger spaced out two inches. “He drunk emailed me a shot of it.”
Jesse lost it. It was partly her expression, partly the tension that held him in its grip, but once he started laughing it welled up from deep down and poured out of him. “Oh my God, was that the scary email?”
Tamara eyed him wryly. “Yeah, it was funny at the time, at least to me. He didn’t appreciate the fact I couldn’t stop laughing long enough to apologize for laughing.”
“You know what they say, it’s not the length but how you use it,” Jesse offered between gasps.
“Said by the guys who have neither the length nor the moves, sadly.” Tamara laid a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry for being a jerk and getting on your case, but I care about you and I want you to be happy. Dare seems like a great person. You’ve got a shot at something special here—I’d hate for it to get screwed up.”
The one thing he truly understood was his family only got in his face because they cared. “I need to get back. Anything I need to watch out for or avoid?”
She gave him the look. “Don’t go fooling around. I don’t want to go blind if I walk into the room and interrupt you.”
Jesse patted her on the shoulder and escaped, pushing through the door into Dare’s room.
He’d expected to find her waiting impatiently, but she was sitting cross-legged on the mattress, eyes closed. Her palms were turned upward, wrists resting on her knees. Deep, even breaths lifted her chest before she let the air out slowly.
Like he’d attempted to do a few minutes ago, and he smiled as he crossed the floor. It took a moment to get his boots off, but once he was down to his socks, he hopped up on the foot of the bed and twisted to face her.
Her eyes were closed, but she was smiling.
Jesse shifted awkwardly before giving up his attempt to cross his legs. Jeans weren’t meant for yoga moves. Instead he let his legs open, feet draped off the edges of the bed, then he worked to match his breathing with hers.
Dare’s smile widened.
He took advantage of the moment to examine her face. The shiner on her right eye was darkening rapidly, but the worry crease between her brows was gone, and she looked peaceful.
She looked beautiful.
Even more so when she opened her eyes to meet his, grey-green darkening to near hazel as she spoke. “Hey.”
Jesse’s heart did this weird kick-flip thing, and he had to work hard to keep from jolting upright. Suddenly the distance between them was way too much.
“Come here,” he growled softly, opening his arms.
She shifted forward on her knees before turning and settling with her back against his chest, tugging his hands where she wanted them. One arm ended up around her body above her breasts, the other she deliberately adjusted until his palm rested on her belly.
Over the past month the gentle curve had been growing steadily, and as he rested his chin on her shoulder, she slid her fingers over his and held him there. Intimate—more intimate in some ways than the night before, slipping his body into hers.
“You doing okay?” he asked quietly, not willing to break what seemed to be a spell that had taken over the room.
“Shhh. Buckaroo is holding a hoe-down.”
Jesse matched her breathing as he waited. She’d tried to get him to feel the baby move before, but so far, there’d been—
Her belly shifted under his thumb.
He held his breath.
Another fleeting touch, this time under his palm. “Is that you?”
“Nope.” Dare let out a little happy sigh. “And it’s not gas, if that was going to be your next question.”
“Good to know, considering where you’re sitting, and all.”
She giggled. “Stop it. Don’t make me laugh, or he’ll stop moving.”
“Our kid? Hell, now that he’s started, I bet he doesn’t give you more than a minute or two off. Get used to nonstop Buckaroo Love Taps.”
She leaned back into him. “I needed this,” she whispered.
Jesse waited. The heat between their bodies wasn’t sexual, but a connection nonetheless. She stroked his knuckles softly as he kept his hand in place, thrilled at the continued sensation of bubbles percolating under her skin. “It’s pretty damn cool.”
Dare twisted her face toward him, and he couldn’t resist. He brushed their lips together softly. A single kiss. Another.
The weight of her body against him increased, and he supported her as he took the kiss deeper. Tasting her lips, tongue teasing gently. Dare’s even breathing picked up a notch, and his body came alive with something more than peaceful relaxation.
A cough echoed in the quiet of the room, and Dare broke away from him. Her gaze lingered on his face for a second before they turned toward the sound.
Dare was still buzzing with some weird combination of sexual desire and utter relief, but Vicki waited awkwardly near the door, examining the ceiling with great interest, and it wasn’t right to leave her standing there.
Behind her, Jesse had stiffened. Silly man. Probably embarrassed to be caught cuddled up and smooching. Dare squeezed his fingers then escaped from his hold, sliding back to the head of the bed so he could hit the floor.
“It’s safe,” Dare informed Vicki.
The other woman smiled as she stepped toward the bed, a familiar bag in her hands. “You look good.”
-->