by J. M. Madden
Duncan gave her a considering look, as if wondering if she was truly interested. “Yes. Lora struggled with an abusive ex-husband and we had to get her out. Mercy was present when Lora fought for their lives. She had to kill her ex to secure their safety.”
Alex had heard a lot of incredible stories over the years, but his words made her gasp. She looked across the room at the blond-haired woman and child. Wow. What an incredibly harrowing experience. Chad, the man who had dressed up as Santa for a while and checked on her in the back room smiled at the two and opened his arms. One of his hands was curled painfully, the skin contracted with burn scars. Lora and Mercy didn’t seem to mind. With slow, confident smiles, knowing he would catch them, they sagged into his arms.
“This is an interesting group of people,” she told him softly.
Duncan turned his head to look at the people congregated around each other and his eyes softened as he smiled. “Yes, they are.”
Alex loved that look on his face. There was knowledge there, and experience with these men, but love as well. Had she ever been a part of anything similar?
One of the men stood to look out the window and gave a low whistle. “We better check the weather, y’all.”
Alex blinked and looked outside. Oh, heck. The snow had been falling fitfully when she’d gotten here but it had kicked in with a vengeance now. “I’d better call a cab to take me to the hotel.”
Duncan made a sound in his throat, but he was looking at the phone in his hand. Alex could see a weather map scrolling across Denver, and there were white, blue and heavy blotches of purple, which meant there was a lot of snow coming down.
“When is your flight?”
“Well, it’s open ended,” she admitted, feeling a little embarrassed. She didn’t want him to think that she’d come out here planning to stay, but she hadn’t known what to expect, so she hadn’t set a firm departure date. If things hadn’t turned out the way she hoped here, then she would have rented a car and found a resort to hang out at for a few days. She’d worked the holidays for the past several years so that others with families could have time with them. This year she’d scheduled to take the time she was allowed. Some of those that had gotten off in previous years had given her dirty looks, but she’d decided that she was allowed to have a life, too.
The few moments of time she’d had with Duncan months ago had been enough to make her fly out here and see what could happen.
“What hotel are you staying at? Are you on the airport side of the city?”
Alex shook her head. “I didn’t know where I would be meeting anyone so I chose a hotel downtown. The Monaco? I figured I would be an equal distance from everywhere.”
Duncan’s mouth turned down.
“Did I do something wrong?”
He shook his head. “No, great hotel. I’m just not sure if we can get you there is the problem.”
Alex looked outside again. It was really starting to come down. Around them, the families and couples started packing things up.
The big guy with the scarred face walked over and gave her a sweet smile as he started to gather up their mess. “Sorry you didn’t get to stay longer. I’m glad I got the chance to m-m-meet you.”
Alex returned his smile. “And I you. This is a neat place. I can see why you like to hang out.”
He gave her another smile and turned away. Each of the men and women in the room made eye contact with her and nodded or gave a little wave and smile. Alex appreciated that they seemed concerned about her.
“So, do you want me to call a taxi?”
Duncan looked at her for a long moment before he shook his head, mouth turned down in a frown. “No. I’ll drive you.”
Alex retrieved her coat from the back office. When she returned Duncan was in conversation with John, Shannon’s new fiancé.
“This isn’t a good idea,” Duncan warned.
John barked out a laugh. “I think it’s an excellent idea.”
“What’s an excellent idea?” Alex asked, joining them.
John’s dark eyes flashed up to her. “You’re going home with Duncan. He only lives a couple of blocks away. It’s too iffy to head downtown if he can’t make it back.”
She couldn’t agree more.
Duncan wouldn’t look at her though and she wondered if they were pushing him too much. Then he seemed to take a fortifying breath and looked up at her. “Of course you can come to my house. You are more than welcome.”
It seemed to have already been decided because Flynn had retrieved her suitcase from the back office and was loading it into the back of Duncan’s truck. He gave her a jaunty wave as he reentered to escort Willow out to his own vehicle.
Alex was sad to see the party break up. It had been warm and inviting, and so inclusive of every personality. Hopefully they could get together again before she had to leave.
Duncan grabbed a heavy-duty black coat from the booth bench behind him and slipped it on, then a pair of rawhide gloves. He slipped a toboggan over his short salt and pepper hair. Alex bundled up, regretting not grabbing a few other cold weather items. She’d brought nice stuff, not necessarily heavy-duty, blizzard-worthy apparel.
There was a flurry of activity as Duncan led her to the door. She was patted on the back and smiled at and hugged, and she lost track of everyone after a while. Eventually, cane in hand, Duncan headed through the door and out into the snow.
Alex wished she’d worn her snow boots. As well as about ten pounds of other gear. Duncan led her to a truck parked in a handicapped spot in front of the restaurant. He handed her into the vehicle and closed the door behind her, then circled the hood to climb behind the wheel. The truck was already running when they got in, and warm. Thanks to Flynn, surely. Alex fastened her seatbelt and looked at the snow.
In the light of the streetlamp it was almost blinding. She watched Duncan spin the steering wheel as he pushed a button to engage the four-wheel drive and backed out of the space. He glanced at her as they took off. “Not exactly what you expected, huh?”
Alex laughed lightly. “Well, my cute outfit was a total waste. Should have just worn the parka and gotten it over with.”
He grinned at her. “Not a total waste,” he assured her.
Her heart warmed at the subtle praise. Well, at least he’d noticed something; that was good to know.
Duncan had no problem driving through the snow and as promised, he pulled up to the single story house without incident. Luckily, it had an attached garage, completely out of the weather. There was a handicapped ramp along the front of the house, as well as several mature trees.
Duncan pulled into his spot and turned off the ignition, then stepped out of the vehicle. Alex didn’t want him to have to circle the truck to open her door so she quickly gathered up her purse and gloves and slipped out of the vehicle.
She was so glad they were out of the weather, but even in here the cold was brutal. In the time she’d been in Frog Dog, the temperature had to have dropped about twenty degrees. As she looked out the slowly closing garage door, the snow was coming down so hard she couldn’t even see across the road.
Alex heard a noise behind her and turned to see Duncan lifting her snowy suitcase out of the pickup truck bed. “Oh, I can get that.”
Duncan waved her away, though, and motioned toward a door a few feet away. He handed her his truck keys. “If you would, open that door for me. It’s the broad gold key.”
Rather than arguing and making them both uncomfortable, she hurried to do as she was told. She opened the door then stood aside as he dragged her case inside the house. As soon as he let her, she took the case herself.
They were in a laundry-room slash mudroom. Duncan propped his cane in a corner then shed his coat and hung it on a coat hook on the wall, shuffling a few other jackets to give her a free hook. “If you want to leave your case here for a few minutes we’ll let the snow melt off, then I’ll show you where you can sleep. Can I get you something to eat or drink?”
>
She really didn’t want either, but she asked for a bottle of water just to have something to do with her hands. Duncan led her into the kitchen, a bright open area that seemed to get a fair bit of use, judging by the amount of implements scattered along the counters. Everything was pristine, though. There were no glasses in the sink, or tea towels tossed onto a counter after a use. Everything was in its place.
“Wow,” she murmured. “Nice kitchen.”
Duncan glanced at her, his dark eyes narrowed. “I like to cook. It gets tedious eating take-out all the time.”
Alex snorted, crossing to a stool at a raised breakfast bar on the far side of the island. “You’re telling me. I don’t know what I would do without takeout. Some of it is nasty stuff, but when you have five hours to eat, sleep, shower and get back to work, you shave corners where you can.”
Duncan nodded. “I can see that.”
Crossing to the refrigerator he opened the right side and withdrew two bottles of water. He crossed the kitchen and handed her one. Alex noticed that his limp seemed more pronounced now than it had earlier in the night. Actually, was he limping more than when she’d seen him at the hospital in Kansas City? “Sorry about the suitcase. I know it’s monster heavy.”
Shrugging, he moved to the table and chairs a few feet away from the breakfast bar. “It’s no big deal. Your suitcase was just one of many things I did today.”
Did she dare mention that his limp seemed worse? Yes. She was a doctor, damn it. “It seems like your gait is more painful now.”
That dark-eyed look assessed her again. “It is, but again, not because of your suitcase. I lifted with my upper body. The temperature has dropped significantly in the past few hours. That’s a large part of my pain. And I had a long day of on-site meetings and had to oversee an investigation in a rubber facility. I’ve walked more today than I have in a couple of weeks. Your sixty-pound suitcase was a drop in the bucket. Thank you for your concern.”
Though he said it softly, there was a bite to his voice that Alex didn’t like directed toward her. She gave him an elegant shrug before taking the cap off her water and taking a healthy swallow.
Though he hadn’t actually asked for her opinion she felt a little offended that he didn’t appreciate her concern. Then she realized how egotistical that sounded and laughed to herself. Duncan Wilde seemed to be a man used to taking care of himself and others, but not appreciating the reverse.
She glanced out the window. From the glow of the surrounding lights she could see that the snow was still falling heavily. “How long will this storm last?”
Duncan’s dark brows twitched. “Well, this is Colorado. It could snow for days. Easily.”
Alex sighed, knowing he was right. She’d seen the weather forecasts before. Kansas City got snow as well, but nothing like what Colorado did. “Well, I’ll try to be a proper guest for the time that I’m here then. I appreciate you letting me stay here. I’m sorry if it’s an inconvenience.”
Duncan shook his head as he took a swallow from the bottle of water. “It’s not an inconvenience. Don’t worry about it.”
Alex didn’t say anything as she curled her hands around the bottle, kind of wishing she had coffee in her hand. It was very strange trying to shift down from her hectic work schedule. But the quiet of the evening, with the snow softening everything outside, made her feel like she was moving in slow motion. Jet lag from a two-hour flight? Not likely.
She glanced at Duncan. He was staring at her.
“Why did you come out here?”
Alex frowned. “I told you. To see if anyone had seen Aiden.”
At his skeptical look, she held up a hand. “Okay. It wasn’t all for him. I wanted to see you too.”
Duncan blinked as if she’d taken him by surprise. Surely he’d guessed she’d come out for him?
With a wince he pushed up from the table and walked across the kitchen, his broad back to her. At the sink he leaned over, propped on his arms. He didn’t say anything for a long time. “As incredibly flattering as it is that you flew all the way out here for me, I’m afraid my people have set you up for disappointment. I’m not a family man. Hell, I’m not even a good prospect for a hook-up.”
Though he laughed she could hear the pain in the sound. “Hmmm. You’re not egotistical or anything, are you?”
His head snapped around in surprise. “Excuse me?”
Alex stood and crossed the expanse of the kitchen to him. She leaned against the counter a few feet away. “You’ve stepped into a time warp or something, because you’re moving a lot faster than I am. I’m not proposing marriage and I’m not offering to jump your bones. There’s no chance that I came out because I liked the way you stood by your friend and would love to have a friendship like that? There’s no chance that I just wanted to see if we could connect without a patient between us? There’s no chance that I’m intrigued by your entire group and want to see and learn more about them?”
Duncan was scowling, now, as if her words had confused him.
“I enjoyed talking to you and the little bit I got to know you, but you’re dreaming up scenarios neither one of us are ready for yet.”
Blinking, he turned back to the window, arms crossed. “Okay, maybe I assumed things when I saw you that were incorrect.”
“I’m not ruling out a relationship at some point, but I came out just to see if the attraction I felt between us was real or not, and if the people out here were as amazing as they seemed.”
“They are,” he told her firmly, completely avoiding the beginning of her statement.
Alex smiled. “I have a feeling they are,” she agreed. “I’m a little tired. Can you show me where I’m going to sleep?”
Duncan stared at her for a long moment, then turned toward the front of the house. “Of course. Follow me.”
Alex retrieved her suitcase from the laundry room, the wheels guiding easily on the hardwood floor. It was indeed mostly dried. She also grabbed her bottle of water, knowing that she needed to drink it down. It wouldn’t be good to have altitude issues while traveling.
She followed Duncan down a hallway to the last door on the right.
“Sorry, I don’t have visitors very often.”
Alex was surprised he even had a bed. A made bed, no less, with a nice, serviceable comforter. That was the military in him. There were some boxes stacked against the far wall as if this was his overflow from other rooms, but she didn’t mind. The room would do fine for her.
“The bathroom is back the way we came. Help yourself to anything in the fridge. And if you need anything please just ask.”
Alex smiled at him, appreciating that he was trying to make her feel at home. “Thank you very much, Duncan. I’m sorry I’ve crashed on you. As soon as the roads are clear, I’ll move to the hotel.”
He shrugged as if it didn’t matter. But before he could move away, she reached forward and gave him a hug.
Though she planned it to almost be a hit and run, as soon as his arms wrapped around her and actually squeezed in a real hug, she paused to absorb the feeling. Oh, damn.
He held her for two incredibly long seconds, then let her go. Alex stepped back, a little devastated. She’d never had a hug feel like that before. Before he could see the tears in her eyes, she turned and disappeared into the room.
Chapter Three
John seemed to be in a daze. As he went through the process of driving home exactly as he always did, Shannon had to wonder if she’d sent him into shock. Occasionally she felt his gaze resting on her, then the truck would jerk a little as he pulled it back into line.
“You need to watch the road, honey. You can look at me when you get home.”
John deliberately turned his attention back to the road, both hands on the steering wheel and the controls to operate the truck modified for his paralysis. The puppy slept quietly on her lap, bundled into a blanket.
Shannon could almost imagine it was a baby curled in her arms.
Ju
st when she’d thought her boyfriend was as dense as post, he’d come through for her. No, it wasn’t the most romantic proposal she could have imagined, but it was absolutely one hundred percent John Palmer and that made it perfect.
It was good to know that she could put him off his game occasionally, though. She laughed lightly to herself, remembering the look on his face. That would be a look she would cherish for a long time. John was a smart man, sometimes too smart for his own good. The confident male part of his personality had grown as he’d become more secure in their relationship. Which was fine. She loved that he was secure with her. But he’d gotten a little big for his britches, as her mother liked to say, and had needed to be knocked down a peg.
Her pregnancy had done that. John was about to be immersed into something he knew absolutely nothing about, babies. She had no doubt that books would be on the way to the house soon, though. That was one thing he did supremely well—research.
The snow was really coming down now and it took all of John’s concentration to get them home. Because he was paralyzed from the waist down, wrecking a vehicle took on an even more serious degree of risk. If they wrecked into a ditch, it would be up to Shannon to rescue them and get help. They were usually home long before now but John took extra care driving because he didn’t ever want her in any kind of danger.
The thoughts of the pregnancy had barely begun to sink in though. She had a feeling he would wrap her in cotton and stow her away in bed for the duration, if he thought he could get away with it. Shannon would have to be sure to stand up for herself. And the baby.
Finally, they arrived at the long ranch house she’d lived in for the past few years. Pressing a button on the remote John waited until the garage door lifted, then drove in. Pressing a few more buttons he closed the overhead door, turned off the truck and started the process of lowering his wheelchair to the garage floor. They’d added a ramp inside the garage now so that he could just roll into the house without having to go outside to the ramp to the front door. They hired a neighborhood teenager to clear the sidewalks in the winter, but he wouldn’t have been around this late and it would have been up to Shannon to clear. On nights like this, they both appreciated the value of the inside ramp, it had been well worth the time and expense.