His Redemption

by A. F. Crowell

  Chapter Fifteen

  ~Brody~

  Emmery had drifted back to sleep. A dark-haired angel. She was everything I had ever wanted in a woman: educated, beautiful, witty, not affected by wealth and she never backed down. I loved that she challenged me. She wasn’t the slightest bit jealous of other women, whether they were looking or flat-out coming on to me. None of it fazed her.

  She was no delicate little flower, scared of the world. She was real. She was strong and tenacious. And more than anything, I wanted her. I knew that I could be everything she ever wanted.

  ***

  Several hours later, she was discharged and we took her home. Before we left they had a different nurse come in and made some sort of half-cast-looking splint thing. She wrapped her leg in cottony gauze then bound her badly broken leg in the splint with ACE bandages. Barb had brought her metal crutches, but I refused to watch Em struggle getting into the house. She was in pain; hopping around would just make it worse. I scooped her up and carried her. Not once did she object or fight me.

  Now she was on the couch in the living room resting. She teetered back and forth between a drug-induced haze staring aimlessly at the television and rambling incoherently. I was in the office, on a conference call with my contractors regarding the warehouse. As the conversation prattled on, I found myself staring out the window. The rain was now coming down hard and the wind whipped. The trees danced and bowed under the forceful strength of Mother Nature.

  “Mr. Davis. Brody, are you still there?” Sara, my assistant, asked. She always sat in on meetings and conference calls to take notes.

  “Yes, I’m still here. I’m just trying to absorb and decide.” Hitting the mute button on the phone base, I grabbed my cell off the wooden desk and quickly shot a text off to Sara.

  Me: What did I miss?

  I knew she wouldn’t let me down. Immediately, my phone buzzed with her response.

  Sara: They want to push settlement out 2 mths & add 100K to budget for changes

  Me: Thx

  In reality, a hundred thousand for the added renovations wasn’t that much, but I was sure as hell going to haggle. Pressing the mute button once again, I cleared my throat. “That doesn’t work for me. If you want a hundred grand in additional expenses, then you need to finish up in four weeks.”

  “That’s fucking impossible and you know it, Davis. We’d have to work ’round the clock,” Ray bellowed into the phone.

  “Fine. You keep the eight-week schedule and the budget will go up by sixty-five thousand. Your choice, Ray. You’re more than welcome to work longer for less money. It’s no skin off my back. I’m perfectly capable of renting out office space in my building here to house the team for the eight weeks. Your call, man.”

  “You’re a real son of a bitch, Davis. You know what, I need to talk to the subs before I can make the call. I’ll call you back in five,” Ray growled then the line was dead.

  “Sara, please call Sean and get him the specs and blueprints. See if he has any contractors that can get us a rough bid in the next two days. Also, please clear my schedule for the next week. I’ll need to be home. Emmery fell off Noir and broke her leg. I’ll be working from here to make sure she’s taken care of.”

  “Where is Jane?” Sara inquired.

  “She’s here, but she is not able to carry Emmery up the stairs or help her get around.”

  “Why not have one of the bodyguards—”

  “Not a chance. Ridge will fuck anything that’s not moving away from him too fast. Plus, I have Kai, Jaxon, Drew and Kaci working on tracking the guys who have taken a special interest in our girl, Em.”

  “Do you want me to call and send takeout from the Chinese food restaurant down the street?”

  “Let me double check with Jane that she didn’t already take care of dinner arrangements.”

  “Sure thing, boss. Just text me and I will take care of everything. You want the usual, if so?”

  “That would be great. Thank you, Sara. Call me once you hear back from Ray or Sean, please.”

  “Will do. Bye.”

  The wind howled as the storm continued its onslaught of the low-lying island I called home. I went in search of Jane. Meandering through the house, I saw Emmery was asleep on the couch, just as I had thought. I continued on until I found Jane in Emmery’s room, hanging her clothes back up in her closet.

  She turned when she heard me come in. “Is it awful that I’m happy she’s not leaving?”

  “No, she’s your family. It’s normal to want her around. If I’m being honest, I’m relieved she’s not leaving.”

  “I can see that, Prince Valiant,” Jane snickered. “You know this is a sign.”

  “No it’s not. It was an accident. A horrible accident. Listen, before I forget, Sara was asking if we wanted her to call and order takeout. Have you made arrangements for dinner?”

  “Oh, shoot. I didn’t.” She stopped hanging the slinky black dress and checked her watch. “I’m sorry, dear. I have been so preoccupied with Em that I’ve completely lost track of the time. Yes, I’d greatly appreciate her arranging dinner tonight.”

  “The regular?”

  “Please. What do you think we should order Em? We’ve never eaten Chinese together.”

  “How about some soup and just some lo mein? Something light? I don’t think she will want to eat much on that pain medicine she’s taking,” I suggested.

  “Good idea. I’ll finish getting her unpacked and then I’ll be down. I think we should let her sleep as much as possible,” she suggested. That was Jane’s way of telling me to leave her alone.

  “I completely agree,” I said with a smile. My phone vibrated in my pocket. “I need to get this.”

  “I’ll text Sara,” Jane said as I pulled the phone from my pocket.

  “It’s her,” I said as I swiped the screen, answering the call. “Sara, what do you know?”

  Exiting the room, I left Jane and descended the stairs, quietly navigating the lower level, passing a still sleeping Emmery in the living room and closing the office doors as I entered.

  By the end of the phone call, dinner was ordered and on the way and the contract with Ray for the warehouse was inked just how I wanted it. Four weeks and one hundred grand added to the budget then Viper Securities would have its new home.

  ***

  The next day, I woke up earlier than normal to work out hard, hoping to get out some pent-up energy. I took an extra-long shower then checked on Emmery. When I entered the room she was still asleep, just how I left her last night when I carried her up the stairs, on her left side with the mound of pillows under her right leg to keep it elevated as Barb instructed when she texted last night to check in and remind me of my duties.

  Quietly, I walked over to the small dressing table and pulled out the low bench. It was my grandmother’s dressing table from her house in North Carolina. I thought back to my childhood, playing at that table, pretending to use my grandfather’s aftershave and cologne, slicking my hair back to look like Danny from Grease. I was grateful for the weeks during the summer I spent with my grandparents. They were some of the best memories of my life.

  I looked up and soaked up the vision that was Emmery. Her long, dark hair fanned across her pillows and her satin skin glowed where the sun’s rays were dancing across her cheek. She was wearing a pair of my black flannel pajama bottoms and a tight grey tank top. Half of her body was outside of the fluffy down comforter. She had it balled up in her hand and tucked under her chin. She looked so serene I didn’t want to wake her. I just wanted to sit and watch her sleep; she scrunched her face then smiled. Clearly, she was having a good dream.

  I wonder how good.

  As the thought crossed my mind, I felt my dick harden behind my zipper. I had to get out of there before she woke up. The last thing she needed to see was me watching her sleep with a raging hard-on. I stood and quietly slipped out of the bedroom.

  I called Kai to get the latest updates on the Vare
la situation.

  “Kai, do you have a few minutes?”

  “Uhh, what time is it, man?”

  “It’s seven twenty. Are you still in bed?”

  “I am. Ridge, Rosa and I just got in at two this morning,” he reminded me.

  “Shit, man, I’m sorry. With everything that happened with Emmery yesterday, I completely forgot.” We had made flight plans for the jet to take Drew, Bear, Emmery and I to New York then take Kai and his crew to Venezuela to track Alejandra down. Clearly, our plans changed.

  “Yeah, I got your message but cell service isn’t the greatest across the Atlantic or Caribbean. By the time we got in, I was exhausted. I’ll send the hotel info in an email once I wake up later,” he assured me.

  “Sounds good. Where did Joselyn book you anyway?”

  “Maloka Hotel. I’m goin’ back to sleep, boss. I’ll call later,” Kai told me with a yawn.

  “Later, Kai.”

  Leaning back on the couch in my room, I stared out the door until I realized I was waiting for her to wake up. I had to get out of here. I couldn’t just sit around like some little lost puppy waiting for her to need me.

  I stood, slipped my cell in the front pocket of my jeans then headed downstairs to get coffee and see what Jane had on the menu for breakfast today.

  The house was eerily quiet this morning. Even though the sun was shining brightly, raindrops still fell from the trees and the gutters around the veranda. Jane had yet to arrive at the house. She was probably at the barn, checking in with Andrew.

  Pouring a cup of coffee, I replaced the carafe then heard a loud thud from upstairs. “That stubborn woman.”

  Placing the mug on the counter, I made my way up to Em’s room. There she was in my pants and damn if she didn’t look amazing in them, hobbling around on those damned crutches.

  “Did I wake you up?” she asked with a deep frown.

  “No, I was downstairs. Remember last night, I told you to holler for me, or call my cell. Here,” I rushed to her side. “Let me help you.”

  “I’m okay. I can manage on the crutches. It slipped out of my hand when I was standing up and fell. No biggie. I need to use the bathroom though,” she added with a nod. It took a minute for me to understand what the nod meant. She was telling me to go. Ha. Like that was going to happen.

  “Well then let’s get you there.” Carefully but swiftly, I bent down, slipped my arm behind her legs and lifted her to my chest.

  “Brody, put me down. I need to learn how to use those stupid crutches. I can’t have you carrying me around everywhere I go.”

  “You can for the next couple of days until the pain and swelling subside a little. Now, I’ll set you down in front of the toilet then turn around,” I explained the logistics as I turned sideways to fit through the bathroom doorway without banging her into the walls.

  “Ugh, you’re such a great listener.”

  “And you’re a sarcastic smartass who is quite adorable when you’re irritable. When’s the last time you had pain meds?” I set her down and waited for her to gain her balance before turning around to give her a little privacy.

  “Sometime around four, I think. I have an alarm set for every four hours. Could you please wait out in the bedroom?” Emmery huffed.

  I was silent a spell before I agreed. “Fine. I’ll wait out there, but I’m leaving the door cracked.”

  As I was pacing the bedroom I overheard her talking to herself. “How in the Sam Hill am I going to shower?”

  Well, there was an interesting question. Maybe, I would need to get a nurse to come out and help her. Barb maybe.

  Stepping to the door, I called, “Em, I couldn’t help but overhear—”

  “Not a chance in hell, Brody. You’re not bathing me. It would be one big gropefest that would lead to places we said we wouldn’t go. So, no.”

  “I wasn’t going to suggest that, but that’s definitely a possibility.” She groaned. “I was actually going to suggest that we hire a nurse to come out and help you.”

  “Oh.”

  “What if Barb came out?”

  “No. I think I can manage on my own. Do you have a seat in your shower? If you could help me get in there and sit down, I could do the rest. I would just keep a towel wrapped around me until you left. Then when I’m done, I can wrap back up and you can bring me back in here.”

  “If that’s how you want to handle it, then I’m fine with that.” I smiled to myself. “Can I come back in now?”

  “Sure,” she said, followed by the whoosh of the toilet flushing.

  “Do you want me to get your clothes out before I take you to my shower? That way everything is laid out and ready for you?”

  “Ugh, this is so embarrassing.” She rolled her eyes with a sigh. “Yeah… I guess. I don’t have anything loose enough to get over this cast thing, so I’ll have to wear a dress and I need a pair of panties and a bra. The taupe-colored set. I think Aunt Jane said she put everything in the drawers in the closet.”

  “I’ll grab you a fresh pair of pajama pants—unless you’d rather a pair of windbreakers?” I offered more of my clothes at the drop of a hat. I loved her in my clothes.

  “I don’t have anything to wear with either of those, other than tanks that I sleep in. I don’t think a cashmere sweater paired with track pants are the new rage,” she chuckled then groaned as I picked her up. “Definitely need meds before shower.”

  Once she took her pain meds and I got her into my bathroom, she stripped down and wrapped a large grey bath sheet around herself while sitting on the dressing bench I had moved in from the closet.

  “I’m ready,” she called to me from inside the bathroom. Again, I was in the bedroom trying to let her keep as much dignity as she could in the situation. “I need your help unwrapping this thing.”

  “Of course,” I replied, bending down and carefully unwrapping the bandages and gauze from her very swollen, bruised leg. I thought better of broaching the subject with her at the moment. Naked in the bathroom feeling helpless didn’t seem like a good time to say her ankle looked worse than I had expected. Her perfect leg, one I had wrapped around me just a few short days ago, was now obscured by dark purple and red hues of blood trapped below the surface of her delicate skin.

  I swooped in and scooped her up yet again. I liked the way she felt against my chest. Like two pieces of a puzzle had finally found each other. We had been turning round and round, trying to find the right sides when it just fell into place.

  “Okay, I’ll let you turn the shower on.” I slid the detachable shower wand down the shower bar until it was within reach but still high enough she would be able to rinse her hair. I sat her down on the teak shower bench then brushed the dark locks away that had fallen in her face. “Call when you’re done. I’ll be in the bedroom.”

  She refused to look at me. I knew she was mortified at her circumstances. She had nothing to be embarrassed about, and I did not want to push her. Just before I closed the glass shower door, I faintly heard her say, “Thank you.”

  I wanted to turn around and tell her that it was my pleasure to take care of her or that I was glad to help her, but I knew she just needed a little space right now, so that was what I gave her.

  For now.

  Chapter Sixteen

  ~Emmery~

  Between the drug-fueled haze and the few moments of lucidity this morning, I tried to figure out why my mother would want this madness. How far had she fallen from grace?

  Once upon a time, I had idolized her. She was classy, stunning and generous. She would walk into a room dressed for one of her and Daddy’s charity dinners, and she was radiant. She sparkled like diamonds. I wanted to be her. How could I have been so wrong about my own mother?

  I sat in Brody’s shower on his teak wood bench with the glorious hot water assailing my back while these memories of my childhood danced in my forethoughts. I had no idea how long I had been sitting there. Finally, I decided I needed to get cleaned up and get out.<
br />
  Cautiously, I stood up, holding on to the bench to balance myself, un-tucked the towel and dropped it onto the bench behind me. Using the wall for balance, I straightened myself upright and managed to reach the shampoo on the inset shelf. I sat back down and washed my long, messy hair. I knew I looked a hot mess but Brody still looked at me like I was Cinderella at the ball. I wished I believed in fairy tales. If ever there might be a chance of a Prince Charming, surely it was Brody Davis.

  Picking up the bar of hard-milled soap, I held it to my nose before I lathered my body in the delicately scented suds. Rinsing my body, I held the sprayer to my right shoulder and allowed the hot water to pulsate on my sore muscles.

  They always said the second day was worse; clearly they were right. Even with the pain meds, my muscles were achy and tight. As I looked down, I noticed that I needed to shave my underarms. Looking around the shower, I finally saw a razor on the other shelf. Sadly, it seemed to be a football field length away. Four feet. I could do that. I shimmied down the bench to the opposite wall and stood. How in the hell am I going to manage this? I looked down at my broken appendage I was holding up, away from the floor. Hopping seemed like the only way, so that’s what I did.

  Until I didn’t.

  Between the pain medication, wet tiles, my amazing lack of coordination and dizziness, I lost my balance and fell backward, flat on my well-rounded backside with a hard thud and a little squeal. “Ahh.”

  Before I knew what was happening, Brody was hollering from outside the foggy glass door. “Em. Are you okay?”

  “Ugh. Yes. I just fell, but I’m fine. I landed on my butt.”

  “Do you need me to pick you up?” Brody asked frantically.

  “No,” I screeched. “Don’t come in. I’m naked.”

  “Really? Naked? And wet?”

  “God, you really are an ass. I’m hurt. Naked in the shower and all you’re thinking about sex.” Such a guy.

  “Can’t blame a man for trying, right? Cover yourself up with the towel and I’ll help you up,” he instructed.

  “I can manage,” I gritted through my teeth as I tried to roll over and get up to my one good leg. I got as far as my knee, but the tiles were unforgivingly hard and I just did not have the strength. Or the energy. I sat there for a minute, debating whether or not to let him help me.