“I’m confined to this bed and can’t help with anything. It’s not as if my legs don’t work. I feel useless.”
“You’re supposed to rest,” Isaac parrots back Maeve’s words. “I wanted to come see how you were doing and I wanted to check on the security system.”
We don’t have the corner-to-corner cameras any longer, just a run-of-the-mill security system with a couple outdoor motion-activated cameras. Isaac is so good with stuff like this that it took a couple hours here, and then he went to Maeve’s and did the same thing. Even though she’s been staying here with me, I wanted eyes on her house just to be sure no one was creeping around.
I narrow my eyes. “Did she sic you on me? You sound just like her.”
“Are you seriously being an asshole to her for trying to do what’s best for you?”
Wiggling, I reach a better seated position. “Maybe. A little. Hey, I have something I need you to do for me,” I say. “A favor that has been a long time coming.”
He already looks annoyed. “What?”
I beam at him. “I’ll text you a list.”
“Oh, fuck that. Seriously?” he slings. “You’ll be able to do your own shopping in a couple days. Maeve said you had a checkup and she thinks they’re going to release you into the wild. You do realize if you were a good patient and did what the doctors said from the beginning you wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with?”
“It was a leg workout at the gym, man, not like I was doing the trapeze or something. Christ, everyone is against me.”
“No, everyone wants you to get better quickly and you’re working against us. We miss you at work. The skydiving training trip is coming up and I know you don’t want to miss that. Just be a good fucking patient!”
Groaning, I avert my gaze. “So, about that list I’m going to text you.”
“You’re going to make this unbearable, aren’t you?” Isaac quips. “But if it’s for Maeve, I won’t complain. The woman is a saint.” He echoes my mom’s sentiments.
“She is, so you go ahead and start heading toward the mall, and I’ll send you the list while you drive. Take my credit card from my wallet. It’s on the table in the hallway.”
He stands in one quick movement. “Whatever you say.”
“Hey Isaac,” I say, swallowing hard.
He turns to glance over his shoulder and nods. “When I’m back to one-hundred percent, we’re going to catch Rena. We’re going to make sure she never darkens a doorstep again.”
He nods. “As if there were any question.”
Isaac leaves, and I pull up the browser on my phone to search for the most embarrassing, lewd gifts for Maeve I can possibly find. An eye for an eye, mate.
Chonk jumps up on the bed and settles next to me. I pet his head. “What do you think, buddy? Crotchless edible panties or nipple clamps?”
“Lincoln!” Maeve calls from the other room. “I can hear you!”
I laugh under my breath. “Fine, fine. Let’s send him to the jewelry store. In fact, let’s give him some real sparkly options,” I hiss under my breath. Chonk licks my face. “That is a good idea, isn’t it?”
He licks once more. My hand slides to his bad ear accidentally. It’s crooked and smaller now after the vet sewed it back on. It’s a near-constant reminder of the wretched woman. Chonk is no worse for the wear, though. If anything, he’s a bit better at guarding and sweeter to those who he knows loves him. If only people had the ability to discern that and act the same way. Maeve calls and he bounds away. She has been keeping him around her more often. Uneasiness hits as I think how my mom asked if Maeve was really doing well.
Chapter 3
Maeve
“Aspen, I’m not going to be able to keep him off me one more night,” I tell her as we eat lunch in my office. I toss Chonk a tortilla chip, because he’s begging, and go on, “He is literally like a zoo animal who can only think about mating or something. Sure, it’s been a while, but before me he’d gone, what was it? Six years? Come on, man! I just want the wound to be fully closed before we dive headlong into what’s sure to be… intense intimacy.” I temper my words because even if she’s my friend, we’re also at work. I know it’s a meaningless thing, but I can’t stop it.
Aspen is laughing, thoroughly entertained by my dilemma. I check the big clock over my desk. “Only one more patient today, right?”
For the first time in my professional life, my work has taken a back seat. I don’t stay up late reading files and preparing for the next day. There are no more long nights where I stare at a screen and wonder what else I can do to be the best. I’m content with my new life—a life I never dreamed up for myself. It never seemed like a possibility, honestly. If you told me a few years ago I’d be content in just doing my job well, and nothing extra, I’d have called you a liar. I try to come into the office early so I can prepare for the day, but sometimes my mind slips and I forget. Like now.
“Yes, one more and then you’re off. As you requested, tomorrow you start later than today.”
That’s right. Ms. Gibson has an appointment, so I have to take Turner to school.
“I’m not sure if he’ll be able to drive right away, I expect not, but I think he’s going to be medically cleared tomorrow, to at least go to work and feel like he’s functioning. At least minimally, anyway. It’s been so hard to keep that man down!”
Aspen continues chuckling at my misfortune, but her smile fades. “How is Ramona doing? I haven’t seen her around. Does she ever leave her studio?”
The simple answer is no, she doesn’t leave. And I don’t mean her apartment, I mean her actual studio that is below her apartment. Ramona has been creating art at such a pace that I can’t keep up. Every day I go to check on her and she’s working on something new. I bring her food, I take Shadow out for a long walk, and I try to engage her in conversation. Rarely do we talk about anything of significance, and she really only lights up when she’s talking about an art piece, so that’s where I stay. In the safe gray area she’s laid out for us.
She hasn’t mentioned Stavros or the accident once since the hospital. As if the man never existed, she walked away from the awful situation and never looked back. I know better—I know she’s not sleeping, or eating, and Stavros’ memory is haunting her. There’s no way to escape it. I asked if she wanted to live with me for a while, but she said I should stay with Lincoln and Tuner because they needed me more. Ramona doesn’t want to burden me, no matter how many times I tell her it actually helps me to help her.
I sigh. “She’s the same. It’s going to take a while. I put a call into a big show studio down in Denver. I saw they had an open call for new artwork and Ramona is pumping it out right now.” I check my email at the reminder. Still nothing. “I’m thinking if I can distract her with her work, she might be able to talk about something other than… paint.”
Aspen crosses and uncrosses her legs. “What if we book a girl’s trip? Something big and fun. Something to completely throw her out of her routine.” She taps her chin. “Sonoma. We could get a big rental house and hire a party bus to take us around to all of the vineyards by day. We’ll book out a spa for a whole day. Hire in a chef to do all of the cooking. We’ll go real big and splashing. I’ve been saving for something like this for a long time. You could most definitely use a vacation. Invite Tasha. I know you’ve been talking about doing something like this with her. Let’s combine forces and make this something spectacular.” Her excitement makes me excited.
“I mean, that’s a good idea in theory. If I can get her to agree to go.”
She locks gazes with mine. “Don’t give her an option. Let’s plan it all and pick her ass up. You pack her bag for her. She’ll never know. I have a friend who has a cattle farm up north a bit and he will take all our dogs. They’ll have a blast there. It’s going to be perfect.”
I raise a brow. “Since when did you start dating a rancher, Aspen?”
She smirks. “It’s not dating per se, but
a few weeks now. Just whenever our schedules line up. He really knows how to round up the animals, if you know what I mean.”
Laughing, I reply, “I don’t. I actually don’t know what you mean, but I’ll take your word for it. I’m glad you have someone.” It makes me happy when people aren’t alone. Well, people who don’t want to be alone aren’t alone. “I’ll think about it and talk to Lincoln. See if he thinks it’s safe enough.” The second the words leave my lips, I know he’s not going to want me to go. He wants to protect me from the world. It’s why I don’t worry him with my concerns. I can deal with my demons as long as he can deal with his. I push aside my lunch box and grab the patient file for my last appointment.
Aspen bounds out of my office, bright scrubs brightening the sterile landscape. “This is going to be raging. The most fun you’ve ever had!”
I hope she’s right, but I’ll go into this with low expectations.
I hear her talking to someone in the hallway, and a few minutes later she pops her head in to tell me my patient is in room three. My pulse pounds in my neck as I take the file and make my way to the room, abandoning my ringing cell phone. There’s a possibility this might not actually be a patient. Not a legit one, anyway. When I push open the door and fix my face with a smile, I know right away the warning bells going off are right.
“Hi there, I’m Dr. Maeve Ahern. How are you doing today?”
“I can’t believe we’re meeting. This is so surreal.”
Closing the door all the way, I walk to the small desk to set the file down. “I thought it might be you. When your last note said that you were going to be creative to see me, I didn’t think that meant creating a false identity and making an appointment at my place of business.” There was too little information on the Aria Smith listed in the file. The first name tipped me off right away, and even though Aspen knows the story of my wayward cousin, she deals with so many names on a regular basis I knew she wouldn’t pick up on it. “It’s nice to meet you, Aria.” I extend my hand to the patient bed she’s sitting on.
She shakes my hand. “You look so much like her,” she says, and my stomach flips. “It’s so weird.”
What other choice do I have but to ignore the compliment that I resemble my serial killer mother? There is no other choice. “Listen, we don’t have much time. Aspen is going to expect us to go into the training room. She’s booked a longer appointment slot. Should we plan to meet for drinks or coffee or something?”
“You’re letting me stay at your beautiful house, Maeve. The key was right where you said it would be. I got in just before I came here. Colorado really is beautiful.”
I swallow hard. “What else have you found out, Aria? I still don’t know why you didn’t tell me you knew about Rena, too.”
“I didn’t know about Rena,” she says, looking at me quizzically. “I mean, I didn’t know until you told me. She bought all of the results listed and unlisted directly from some sketchy person at the company. She only knew I was a cousin.”
“How can we get more information?”
She shrugs, but she’s still staring at me like I’m an attraction. Lincoln has no idea I’m still looking into this—that I want to know everything. Really, he should know better. How could I not? Why was Rena put into a wonderful home while I was kicked around between the Girl’s Place Orphanage and foster homes my entire childhood?
“I know I told you that I wanted to keep all this research a secret, and that has to feel really… shitty. Because it feels like I’m hiding you, too. But I need you to do me one more favor. I need to talk to Autumn Glass. I don’t know how I can facilitate it, or if it’s even possible.”
Aria holds up one perfectly manicured nail. “Stop right there. I’ve already looked into it. Not for you, for me! I mean, she is my aunt. There is a process you have to go through to schedule a phone call, and then also if you wanted to see her in person.”
The thought of seeing her clouds me with uneasiness. “I need to see her in person,” I deadpan. “What if she doesn’t know I know? That Rena knows?”
“I don’t think there’s any way she knows, Maeve. How could she? It would be a huge assumption. You could go in and meet her under a guise, though your resemblance is striking enough that she might suspect something.”
I don’t see the resemblance. It’s like I have on these filtered glasses that only show me things I want to see. I’m not an idiot, I know my brain is subconsciously protecting me. “You’re right. Well, if you’ve done the research let’s move forward. Where is she at?”
“California. Northern, I believe.”
Wine country, I think. Aspen’s plan is looking better and better—everything is sort of falling into place. Will I be able to get away long enough to not have to tell anyone though? Fat chance. It’s like I have caution tape wrapped around my body. The person who needs to be protected. Maybe I can introduce Aria into my circle? Then I’d have to explain this weird secret appointment to Aspen, and she’d think I was being shady.
We’re making plans to meet up when Lincoln barges into the room like a damn bull in a china shop. “Are you okay?” he’s breathless. He’s also not in real clothes. He has on a pair of gray sweatpants that show off his bulge, something that is usually only reserved for me, and a black T-shirt. He’s wearing slippers
My eyes widen. “Oh my God, Lincoln. Did you drive here?”
He’s breathing heavy. “Yes, I saw… saw… someone at your house on the security system. It pings my phone if anything trips the motion detectors that’s larger than a squirrel.” I run a hand across my forehead. Ugh, forgot about that. Way to go, Maeve. “Let me repeat myself,” he growls, looking between me and Aria who he now must recognize from the video footage. “Are you okay?”
I put up my hands, palms out. “I’m absolutely fine. More than fine. Promise.” His shoulders relax, but his breathing is still harried. The man is out of shape. I’d laugh if I wasn’t caught between a rock and a hard place. The hard place being a lie.
Aspen bustles in, shoving Lincoln out of the way. “Ow, my shoulder,” Lincoln whines, grabbing his sore shoulder with his good arm. Thank God he has the sling on. When he pulled his gym stunt, he didn’t wear anything to protect it.
“Sorry. He wouldn’t listen to reason, Maeve. I’m so sorry, Ms. Smith,” Aspen drawls, putting on her best manners for the person she perceives as our patient. “Please just follow me to the waiting room, Ms. Smith. I’m sure Mr. Wilds will just need a moment of Dr. Ahern’s time.”
“Wait,” I call out, silencing the room. Aspen is aghast as she looks between Aria and me, trying to assess what I’m doing. Sucking in a huge breath, I tell them the truth. “This isn’t a patient, I mean, I don’t think she’s an actual patient.” I glance at Aria, and her reply is a firm headshake. “This is my… my, cousin.”
“What?” Lincoln says. Because it’s his reaction I’m most concerned with, I let my gaze meet his. “I asked her to come here so we could talk about our… family. Since I’m staying with you, I told her she could stay at my house. You saw Aria on the security footage. She’s not associated with the cartel, nor is she here to harm me. Actually, she made this sneaky appointment because I’m the one who wanted to keep her visit secret.” Looking down to my toes, I exhale noisily—embarrassed. When I look up, I can tell Lincoln is fuming mad.
“How am I supposed to protect you if you’re going to lie to me?” His nostrils flare as his features harden into stoic rage. Shit. “You told me you weren’t looking into this stuff, and that you were done.”
Aspen and Aria quietly slip into the hallway and close the door behind them. He’s never looked at me like this before—like he’s seeing a side of me he doesn’t want to have any part of.
“Lincoln, I didn’t want you to worry.”
“Well, now I’m not only worrying about your safety, I’m worried about you lying to me.” A chill hangs on the edge of his words and I sink lower into myself, retreating to the place where I shu
t down completely. “You have no clue who that woman is. We know she’s related to Rena, and that’s not a fucking good start, is it?”
“She’s not dangerous. I know she’s not.” But do I really know that? He’s right. In the same vein, though he needs to back off a little. “You have to trust me. That’s the only way this is going to work. I can’t always be worried about what you’re going to think as I live my life. I don’t report to anyone. That’s how I am. I’m my own person and you can’t take away my freedom of choice.”
He’s glowering at me. “Do you have any idea how a relationship works?”
A string of curses falls from my mouth. “Of course I do!”
“Then you’d know that a partnership is where two people work together. They tell each other stuff. They plan together. Sure, they have their separate lives, but they also report back to each other. Maeve, I know you haven’t been able to rely on anyone for most of your life, but this isn’t going to work unless you trust me. Rely on me. You have to talk to me.” He takes a deep calming breath, and the mask breaks. For a moment, I see how terrified I’ve made him and that hurts me. “I wouldn’t have had a problem with you meeting your cousin in person, in fact, I would have encouraged it during any other time in our lives, but you have to agree that right now, things aren’t normal and knowing who to trust and who to watch is kind of a strategic game. One that we are still figuring out the rules to.”
“You’re right. I’m so sorry. I want a relationship with Aria and I don’t know why. I told you I was putting it to bed and not thinking about it anymore because I didn’t want to think about it anymore. Like, I really didn’t want to care. Deep down, I do. She’s a person who might be able to help me figure out my life.”
He crosses to me in one big step and pulls me into his embrace with his right arm. I’m careful of where I’m at because the last thing I want to do is hurt him. He presses a kiss on my head. “Maeve, Aria has a record.”
On His Six : A Summit Seduction SEAL Novel (The Summit Seduction SEAL Duet Book 2) Page 3