by Starla Kaye
She'd honestly thought about calling him, and thought better of it. He'd probably only have believed she was somehow manipulating him again. "I'm perfectly capable of doing things by myself."
"Obviously not hanging outside lights," he countered. Then he faced the doctor, who was watching curiously. "It's obviously not a serious enough concussion to hospitalize her. Thank God. So, can she leave now?"
Kandee heard the relief in Sean's voice, which again touched her. But it annoyed her that he was taking charge of her release. "I believe that is the question I should be asking."
Both men acted as if she hadn't spoken.
"Ms. O'Connor will need to take it easy for a day or so. Drink lots of fluids. Take a mild pain reliever when needed." The doctor focused on Sean. "It would be best if someone kept applying ice for 20-30 minutes at a time for the next two to four hours."
Sean nodded. "I know the routine, Doc, too well. I've been through this a number of times."
"Right, being a football player you probably have."
Annoyed at being left out of the discussion, Kandee again attempted to sit up. This time she managed it but moaned and drew everyone's attention. Still she managed to snap, "This is my concern, not his."
The two nurses edged quietly out of the room. Chad tugged Aimee toward the wall. It was apparent they all were letting Sean deal with her. She didn't want anyone dealing with her. She had a horrible headache. Her entire body ached. She wanted to go home and climb into her bed and be miserable in peace.
Sean gave her a tolerant look. "Being testy comes with the powerful headache. But don't worry, Doc, I can handle this."
"Whoa there, cowboy," she interrupted. "I don't need anyone taking care of me. All I need is a ride home and--"
The look Sean gave her was almost as good as a slap to her bottom. She slammed her mouth shut, but steamed inside. Here she was lying in an emergency room and he wanted to spank her. The thought was right there in his eyes.
"Now, Kandee," Aimee said uneasily, inching closer. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to be alone. But you could come home with us." She looked over at her husband, who nodded agreement.
Sean shook his head, grim determination on his handsome face. He jutted out his strong chin. "She'll be going home with me."
Was that relief she saw in Aimee's eyes? Amusement on the doctor's face? Confusion on Chad's? This was all too much. "I most certainly will not!"
The impossible man, of course, ignored her. He looked directly at the doctor. "Let's get this done, Doc."
Yes, that was definitely amusement sparking in the man's eyes. "I'll have someone bring a wheelchair. The paperwork is already taken care of."
When he walked out of the room, Kandee held the ice bag to her aching head and glowered at her friends and Sean. "I'm not helpless, you know. It was just an accident." She narrowed her eyes at Sean. "I don't want to go home with you. You have enough on your plate now without me."
"It isn't up for discussion. You are going home with me." He nodded at Chad and Aimee. "They have children to look after. They don't need an extra burden."
"Kandee wouldn't be a burden on us," Aimee protested, huffing in irritation.
Ridiculous as it was, Kandee felt tears creeping down her cheeks. She hurt all over. She didn't want to put anyone out. But, in truth, she was worried about being home alone at the moment. "I don't want to be a problem for any of you," she said on a wobbly whisper.
To her surprise and delight, Sean stepped in front of her and gently thumbed the tears away. His gaze held tenderness and his voice was huskily soothing as he said, "You're such a stubborn woman."
She sniffled. "I'm not up to arguing anymore."
His big hand cupped her face and he studied her for a couple of awkward seconds. She couldn't read his thoughts. Chad and Aimee stood quietly behind him across the small room. Then he looked resigned and leaned down to carefully touch his forehead to hers. "I don't want to argue anymore either."
* * *
Sean walked in stockinged feet up the staircase, quiet as possible, just as he'd done over and over for the last four hours. He wasn't sure how he felt about the woman tucked into his bed asleep. She had made him nuts with her manipulative games ever since she'd come back to town. She'd wanted him to take her virginity. It had seemed so unreal, the thought of a beautiful woman like her not having been made love to yet. He still couldn't believe he'd been her first lover.
He hesitated in the doorway, watching her sleep. She looked damn good in his bed. Right. But he knew that he wouldn't be her last lover. They didn't belong together. He was too jaded for someone still as basically innocent as Kandee. But it twisted his gut to think of another man being intimate with her.
She winced, pain furrowing her brow, and she shifted to her side, facing his side of the bed. He had three other bedrooms he could have put her in...should have put her in. But he'd carried her up here without even considering one of the other rooms. Of course she'd protested, but he'd gotten his way. He wouldn't always let her manipulate him.
She'd managed to push the covers down so they barely covered her breasts. He smiled as he thought about how they had argued over her needing to strip out of the clothes. He'd seen her naked, but she'd gotten all prim and proper...or tried to. In the end, though, he'd gotten his way again. Because she'd been too lightheaded and aching, he'd been the one to undress her down to her bra and panties. But he'd decided it might be best to cover her up more than that, so he'd dragged one of his T-shirts over her before tucking her under the covers. Ever since then he'd been thinking about her in his bed, in next to nothing. He'd walked around with an erection since the second he'd pulled off her clothes.
What am I going to do about her? Hadn't he just reminded himself that they didn't belong together? Why couldn't he seem to hold onto that belief for more than a minute?
"I'm not really sleeping," Kandee said quietly, startling him.
"You should be." He walked to his side of the bed and looked down at her. "Do you need another pain pill? Some water?" He hated the idea of her hurting. Yet he planned to burn her bottom for being so foolish as soon as she was better.
As if she had read his thoughts, she said, "Forget it. Consider my bottom off limits. No more spanking."
She might have protested, but it hadn't sounded like a complete refusal. "We'll see."
He didn't want to get into that discussion right now. He had other matters he wanted to talk to her about. "Some guy named Brian Henderson called your cell phone. He wants you to call him back as soon as you can. Actually, the asshole wanted me to wake you and talk to him right then."
She flashed him an irritated look. "You answered my phone?"
He'd carried it with him, not wanting a call to disturb her rest. "I didn't want you to miss an important call. But I didn't want your rest being interrupted either." He hadn't liked the pushiness in the other man's tone. "Who is this guy?"
She shifted to her back, flinching as her obviously tender head brushed the pillow. "He's a headhunter. And, yes, my impression of him, too, is that he's pretty much full of himself. But he's good at what he does, even if I have never actually contacted him myself. He came to me."
"That position in London?" Sean thought back to Eric's comments about how she was being foolish not to jump at the job offer. She probably deserved it, but, truthfully, he didn't like the idea of her moving all the way to another continent.
She rubbed her forehead, closing her eyes. "I'd take one of those pain pills you mentioned if it's not too much bother."
He opened the bottle of Tylenol he'd set on the nightstand and tapped out two of the pills. "Here." He handed them to her along with a bottle of water. He couldn't remember ever having taken care of someone else, but it made him feel good.
After she'd swallowed the pills and drank them down, she handed the bottle back to him. "Thanks." She settled against the pillow again. "Today is the deadline he'd given me for the job. I guess I'd better call hi
m back."
"Are you taking it?" He was reluctant to give her the phone.
"No. I've never wanted the position. The money would be good, but I don't need it. There really isn't anything about the job that appeals to me." She held out her hand. "Phone please."
He shook his head. "If you're not taking the position, there isn't any urgency to call him back. You need to rest. He can wait."
She surprised him by giving in. "You're right. He can wait."
Longing curled through him. She looked so delicate, so softly feminine there in his bed. He'd been with a lot of women over the years, but none of them drew him as much as she did. He wanted more than anything to strip down and join her in bed. He wanted to pull that T-shirt off her, remove the bra and panties. He wanted to pull that sweet, luscious body against him and...
"Are you hungry?" he bit out, desperate for an excuse to leave the room. "I can whip us up something." He started edging toward the door.
An amused smile tipped one corner of her mouth. "Scared to join me in this bed? Afraid I'll jump your bones?"
He stopped moving. No way was he sharing the bed tonight. He didn't think he had the strength of will to keep his distance and she certainly didn't need him attacking her. Which he was really tempted to do. "We can't keep doing this."
"Having incredible sex? And then you regretting we did?"
"I've had a lot of affairs, Kandee, but I'm not interested in having one with you."
She looked like he'd slapped her. Tears glistened in her eyes. Immediately she started to climb out of bed, but stopped when she swayed unsteadily.
He hurried over to gently push her back down. Tucking the covers around her, he cringed at the sight of the tears. "I said that all wrong. It's not that I don't enjoy making love with you. Damn, it's great. Too great."
"Then why..." She studied him with such disappointment in her eyes.
He couldn't resist touching her, carefully wiping away her tears, tenderly stroking her cheek. "Because you aren't an affair type of woman. Even as crazy bold as you can be, any man can see that you're the kind of woman who'd make a hell of a wife, a great mother."
That stubborn chin of hers thrust up. "I told you before I don't want a husband. I'm not interested in being part of a failed marriage...and statistics show--"
"To hell with statistics! Not all marriages fail. Your parents have been married over thirty-five years and so have mine." He straightened, frustrated more than he'd ever been. He shouldn't feel this way. He didn't want a long-term relationship either. Did he? No!
He heaved a sigh and tried to calm down. "You need to rest." He strode to the doorway. "I'm going to talk to Todd, then I need to make some phone calls."
"All right."
Her softly spoken comment made him feel like a jerk. But he needed to get away from her for now. If he didn't...well, he just might make a damn big mistake.
* * *
When Kandee awoke again after crying herself to sleep, she found the bedroom was dark except for a nightlight Sean had plugged in across the room at some point. A glance at the digital clock on the nightstand told her it was just after midnight. He wasn't going to join her in bed, his bed. She felt bad about that. She should never have let him bring her here. But she'd hoped... For what? That he really did have strong feelings for her? Even love?
That was crazy. They had great sex and that was all she should want. Hadn't she told him over and over she didn't want more than that?
You're the kind of woman who'd make a hell of a wife. His words pinched her heart. Maybe she'd make a good wife for some man, but not him. Sure she'd spouted off her usual spiel about being against marriage, but she'd used it as a protective thing for a long time. She used it as armor to keep from being disappointed when a man started showing interest in her because she was certain it wouldn't last. At least that's the way it had been each of the few times she'd dated a man. They always lost interest in her. Always.
In that moment she knew that she couldn't live in Cantonville with Sean so near...and yet so far. She was tired of chasing after him, evidently forcing herself on him. Yes, he'd certainly appeared to enjoy himself in the heat of the moment. But time after time he told her that there could never be anymore between them. It was time to cut her losses and move on. Aimee still hadn't been convinced about starting the business together, which was for the best now. She'd close up the house tomorrow or the next day and tell Aimee and Chad good-bye. Then she would go back to Houston at least for a while. Maybe she'd contact another headhunter and see if she could find a position somewhere else, but not out of the country.
* * *
Sean paced restlessly in his great room, unable to sleep. It had been hard as hell to not climb into bed with Kandee. She didn't need any more mixed signals from him. He couldn't keep making love with her and then telling her how wrong it was. She deserved better than that.
He stopped to look out the big window at the starry night. He still felt out of place here, wasn't sure he could ever really settle here. The ranch needed someone who knew what they were doing to manage it, not some ex-football player who had trouble even staying on a horse. Todd could manage it all just fine. Yet he felt strangely reluctant to leave, too.
Basically, he was a mess. His life was just too complicated right now. Maybe he needed to give this ESPN thing a chance, at least go talk with them. Giving up everything football-related was hard. He missed his team, missed playing the game, missed the fans. Hell, it had been his life a long time and he wasn't ready to give it completely up. After talking to his agent earlier, he'd started getting excited again. Which had surprised him, since he'd been so resistant until tonight.
Was it because of Kandee? Because he knew she wouldn't be sticking around this little town, no matter what she said. Sooner or later she would find a big-time job in her field that would appeal to her. No, he couldn't see her staying here. It would feel too odd around the town without her. He had a feeling even this house would feel depressingly lonely after she left here. Another good reason for him to head to New York for the Christmas holiday, go catch up with some friends, talk to the ESPN boys, and maybe--just maybe--check in on Danielle.
His chest tightened. He was going to miss Kandee. A lot.
Chapter Eight
Snow had started falling as they'd headed for the City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport just after dawn for her early morning flight. Now it was getting heavier. Great big flakes like Kandee remembered from when she'd lived here as a child. It didn't snow in Houston, except on the really rare occasion, which she'd never experienced. She had looked forward to seeing snow for Christmas.
Christmas. Excited about not spending another lonely Christmas time in her condo, she'd even dragged out some of the decorations her family had put out each year. Before her stupid light-hanging accident. Before all the joy went out of looking forward to the holidays. She had left them out, unable to face putting them away right now. At least she hadn't bought a tree before her plans had changed.
"I really think you should change your mind and at least stay here until after the first of the year," Aimee said. She turned around in the passenger seat to look at Kandee, tears misting her eyes. "Actually I think you should stay here."
Kandee swallowed a lump in her throat. She gave her friend a wobbly smile. "I'll come back for a visit." She glanced away, her heart pinching. "Maybe this summer." She had looked forward to spending Christmas Day with Aimee and her family.
Chad caught her gaze in the rear view mirror. "This is Sean's fault, isn't it? He said something to--"
"No, he didn't," Kandee cut him off defensively. "This has nothing to do with Sean Masters." Lie, lie, lie.
It was what Sean hadn't said that had put her new plan into action. He'd been gentle with her, caring while he tended to her after the concussion incident. He'd even insisted she stay with him an extra day. But he'd also turned distant after their disagreement about marriages. Okay, he'd gotten angry after she'd gi
ven her much-practiced declaration about not wanting a husband, not being interested in being part of a failed marriage. Of course he hadn't proposed or anything, yet her foolish heart had...
They dodged around parked cars and cars trying to pull away from curbside in front of the terminal. Her stomach fluttered and she steeled herself to face her decision to leave. As Chad stopped the car, she gathered her purse and carry-on bag. She looked at Aimee, who was now softly crying. God, this was hard to do.
"This was never meant to be more than an extended visit home." She unbuckled her seat belt. "I...I just got carried away with a ridiculous idea. At least you had the good sense to know it couldn't work."
Aimee frowned and held her gaze. "I've been thinking about it and I am the one who was being foolish. I was comfortable being a stay-at-home mother. But, Kandee, you were right. I need more than that."
Chad wisely stayed out of the conversation and climbed out of the car and went to open the trunk for her luggage.
Kandee fought hard not to cave in and change her mind at the last second. "I was trying to force you into something you aren't ready for. Because I dislike my job and was desperate to make a change." She opened her door. "I've decided that I will get in touch with another headhunter after I get settled back in Houston."
Aimee got out of the car and met her on the sidewalk as people hurried around them to get into the terminal. "I think we could do it, run a coffee shop, I mean. I've been thinking about it a lot this last week." She looked desperate, like she was prepared to grab onto Kandee and not let her go.
Kandee smiled sadly. She really would like to give the business a shot, but there was Sean. She didn't want to prolong this awkward thing that had developed between them. Tolerance. Yes, he'd looked at her with definite heat in his eyes the last time they'd seen each other at Sally Mae's Diner two days ago. But he'd made no attempt to get close to her, to touch her, or to be more than civil. That had hurt. She'd finally realized she wanted more than that from him. Since she knew she couldn't have it, she didn't want to be anywhere near him. At least not for more than the occasional return visit to see her friends. And that wouldn't be for a while. It was for the best for both of them.