by KB Winters
“I don’t mind sticking around if you need help. I figured you were getting ready to call it a night and wanted me out of your hair.” He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Tell you what, I’ll run upstairs and get everything ready and then I’ll come help you up.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah,” he replied, already starting for the staircase.
He returned a few minutes later and as promised, helped me up the stairs. I was able to walk, but gingerly and the effort of going up the full flight of stairs had me worn out halfway up. “You sure you’re okay?” Jack asked, noting my slow pace. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
“I’m just sore,” I said, forcing myself upward.
Jack wrapped an arm around my waist. “Want me to carry you?”
I shook my head a little too hard. “No. I’m fine. We’re almost there. The last thing we need is both of us to crash down the stairs.”
Jack frowned at me. “It’s not like I haven’t done it before…”
Heat flushed over me at the memories that popped and flashed behind my eyes. “I’m fine,” I insisted, shoving the steamy images aside.
We made it to the bathroom and I smiled sadly at the spread Jack had laid out. The tub was nearly full of hot, steaming water and from the fragrance heavy in the air, he’d used my favorite vanilla and lavender bath salts. He’d even lit the candles I kept on a small iron table beside the tub. “Thank you, Jack,” I said, my voice thick.
“Sure. Do you—uh—need help getting undressed?”
I sighed and gave a slight nod. “A little.”
Luckily, I was wearing thin cotton shorts with an oversize sweater that was easy to maneuver around the bulky cast on my arm. When it came time to strip off my panties, I flushed. It was a sight Jack had seen hundreds, if not a thousand times before, but things were different now. I kept one arm over my breasts and smiled over at him. “I can manage…” I said, relieving the pressure as we awkwardly danced around the issue.
“All right. Holler if you need me,” he said, shuffling out of the bathroom. “I’ll be right outside the door.”
He closed the door behind him and I sucked in a breath and tugged the panties off one-handed, cursing under my breath at the strain in my battered side as I leaned to get the elastic down my legs. “Probably should have just let him do it…” I mumbled as I finally stepped out of them and found myself breathless. I righted myself and then worked to carefully step into the tub and sink down into the scented, silky feeling water.
“Ahhh,” I sighed, leaning my head back against the towel Jack had folded and positioned at the top. Just like I always did…I squeezed my eyes closed and tried to fight off the memories. It was a pointless attempt. If the house had felt haunted before, now it was a full-on epidemic.
By the time the water started to cool off, I’d managed to scrub the essentials and reluctantly decided against draining some water and adding more hot to prolong the experience. It wasn’t fair to keep Jack trapped outside the door, and I knew I’d be able to fall asleep having been able to take a bath and eat a full meal for the first time since the accident.
I pushed up with my good arm and worked to get my legs under me. A stab of pain coursed through me and I slipped. The force sent a wave of water sloshing out of the tub as a loud curse flew from my lips. “Shit!”
The door burst open and Jack was there in the doorway. “Are you all right?” He swooped in without waiting for an answer and lifted me out of the tub. “Here,” he said, reaching for the towel on the hook beside the shower and wrapped it around me as well as he could with me in his arms.
“Can you stand up okay? Do you want me to take you to the bed?”
I tried to wiggle out of his arms and moaned when a sharp pain went down my side. “No, just put me down. I have to do this.”
He reached for my robe and pulled it open as I held out my casted arm for him to help me put it on. The cast went above my elbow joint and made me feel clumsy and uncoordinated. I knew I’d have to get used to doing things with one hand but I hadn’t quite caught on yet after lying in a hospital bed and being catered to. Working a remote with one hand wasn’t exactly an Olympic worthy feat.
Jack moved to help me finish putting on the robe and I felt my cheeks flush as his eyes dropped to my naked, glistening body. “Oh, Holly,” he breathed, his eyes roving over the cuts on my upper chest and the dark bruises between my breasts and along one side of my ribs. His eyes dropped a little lower and hitched on my blossoming baby bump. I stopped, frozen in place, no longer attempting to hurry and cover myself.
Our eyes met and the air went from damp and clammy to charged with electricity and heat.
“Jack—” I whispered, my eyes searching his.
His lips crashed to mine, conquering them with a fierce, crushing kiss. His tongue slipped past the seam of my mouth and greedily drank me in. Fire flooded my veins and a soft moan bubbled up and fueled the hot kiss.
Just as quickly as it began, it ended.
Jack pulled away, backing up a pace as though he couldn’t trust himself. “Shit,” he growled, raking a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, Holly.”
I wanted to ask him why he was apologizing, but then decided it didn’t matter. Humiliation and frustration and desire all melted together and I was overwhelmed with the need to be alone. I shook my head and reached for the tie of my robe, suddenly feeling naked and clutched the front closed with one hand.
He helped me get dressed, avoiding my eyes the entire time, and then helped me back downstairs to my temporary bed on the pull-out couch that Carly and Rachel had set up for me before I’d been discharged. Once I’d promised him I was comfortable and had everything I needed in the guest bathroom should I need to use it during the night, he finally relented and put his coat back on. He came to the couch and dropped a sweet kiss on my forehead. “Goodnight, Holly.”
“Night, Jack.”
Seconds later, the front door clicked shut and my heart shattered into a million little pieces.
Chapter Fourteen
Jack
I’d called my job in New York a few days earlier and explained the situation to them, asking for a few more days off. They’d agreed as long as I was okay with my co-pilot, Peyton, being assigned to a different team. After the last flight with her, I was more than okay with it. Hell, I didn’t even want to go back to New York now that I knew Holly was carrying my child.
And despite my best efforts—even days later—the taste of Holly’s kiss was still on my lips. I couldn’t get her out of my head. She followed me around everywhere I went and invaded all of my dreams. Every night I went to sleep with her face waiting behind my closed eyes and woke up reaching out for her. It was miserable. Made even more so with the constant reminder that while we were going to have a baby and would always remain connected, things were likely never going to go back to the way they were before. I’d seen her every day since she’d returned home from the hospital, mostly short visits to check in on her. Carly took meals to her and was there with Nick most evenings to help keep her company.
She didn’t need—or want—me. And it hurt like hell.
During the day, I spent my time working with Aaron on the plans for the charter service. He’d lined up a few pitch meetings with some investors and was determined to get our presentation as tight as possible leading up to them.
The numbers were daunting, figures I would never be able to come up with on my own, and even though Aaron was confident we’d find someone interested in investing, somewhere in the back of my mind I was trying to work out a plan B that didn’t involve catering to tourists all day.
Aaron came into his office as I was studying the numbers on the packets he’d printed up. He scoffed at the sight of me hunched over his desk. “Boomer, you’ve gotta stop obsessing.”
I sighed and leaned back in his chair, my back popping and crackling as I stretched. How long had I been working? My bleary eyes shifted to the cl
ock on the wall and I groaned. It was getting close to seven and I’d been in his office since lunch time.
“Seriously, you’re gonna walk into these hot shot offices and they’re gonna smell the stink of desperation on you. Where’s your confidence, man? Your last military assignment was the commanding officer of air wing A-703, you ran an entire base in Germany. Oh, and let’s not forget you’re a fucking American hero. I mean—the President of the United States hung the Medal of Honor around your neck in front of the whole fucking world. Do you know how many service men get a Medal of Honor? Maybe one in a million! These rich fuckers are gonna throw money at you just to get their name beside yours in all the press releases. And for the record, I’m not broke, Boomer. I have quite a bit of cash stashed around.”
Aaron plopped down onto the lone couch along the opposite wall from the desk and I snorted at his certainty. “When did we switch places?” I asked with a chuckle. “Seems to me, you used to be the one flapping around in the wind and I’d be reeling you back in and getting your head in the game. Now it’s like we flip-flopped. You’re this big rich businessman and I’m the one flappin’ around.”
Aaron laughed and leaned back, throwing a small ball into the air and catching it. “Business is a whole different world, Jack. You’ll see. You just haven’t been in it long enough. And whether you like it or not, people will want to shake your hand and take selfies with you forevermore. What you did over there was bad ass. You gotta get your shit together, my friend, and start acting like the Jack McGuire we all know and love.” Aaron sat forward on the edge of the couch, his elbows resting on his knees. “Look, I never told you this, but maybe you need to hear it now. When I woke up in the hospital after the plane crash, I was scared shitless, man. When I saw you walk in my room, I knew everything was gonna be okay. I can’t tell you how that made me feel knowing my back was covered. Bring back that Jack and watch it all fall into place.”
I looked over at him. Why ya gotta talk about that stuff, man?”
“’Cause that’s the Jack I know!”
“I guess we’ll see in a couple of weeks.”
“Yes, sir.”
I pushed up from the chair and stretched once again, working out the kinks in my back. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I’d spent six plus hours in an office chair. “What are you still doing here?” I asked Aaron, reaching for my jacket I’d tossed over the back of the chair.
“Gemma’s at the hospital so I figured I’d hang out over here. I need to round up some shit to send over to make sure payroll gets done on time. You wanna hang out? We can order take out and get a six-pack.”
I laughed. “Not sure your employees would appreciate their paychecks if you get wasted midway through payroll.”
Aaron threw the ball at me and I caught it midair. “Ha-ha. Come on, what do you say?”
I shook my head and then tossed the ball back. “I have an early flight. I need to get a few things thrown together and turn in.”
Aaron nodded. “You going to Holly’s first?”
“Yeah. I’ll stop in and see how she is. Nick and Carly are probably already over there.”
Aaron raised an eyebrow. “You don’t sound too happy about that. They cock blocking ya?”
“Come on, man, you know it’s not like that with Holly. Not anymore. We’re friends. Soon to be parents.”
“Uh huh…” Aaron grinned. “Come on, Boomer. Get real. You don’t want to be Holly’s friend.”
I clenched my teeth. “It doesn’t matter what I want. It’s not about me, or her, for that matter. It’s about doing what’s best for the baby.”
“And don’t you think the best thing would be to be with her?” Aaron cocked his head. “Dude, I’m not judging. Single parents can do it, but wouldn’t it be better if you were together?”
“Hell yeah it’d be better if we were together. But, what happens when the shit hits the fan and we start arguing again? Don’t you think it’s better we give the kid two happy parents, not parents who fight and breakup and drag them on some kind of rollercoaster ride?”
Aaron frowned. “Whatever you think is best…”
Without responding, I slung into my jacket and then headed for the door. I stopped in the doorway and glanced back. “I’ll see you in a couple of days, when I get back from New York.”
“All right, man. Safe travels. Say hey to Holly for me, will you?”
“Sure thing.”
****
To my surprise, Nick’s truck wasn’t parked out in front of Holly’s house. Neither was Carly’s car. Princess was beside me in the passenger seat and perked up when she realized where we were going. She let out a happy bark when I pulled into the driveway and killed the engine.
Hunter was just as happy when Princess charged up the stairs and into the house when Holly opened the front door. Holly grinned down at the dogs as they danced around each other and did that whole signature ass-sniffing thing dogs do. “Looks like they missed each other,” she said.
I nudged Princess to the side and they tore off into the living room. “How are you feeling?”
She looked great, wearing a pair of black yoga pants and a hot pink tank top. Her hair fell around her shoulders and she was even wearing a little eye makeup. The bruises and cuts on her face were fading and as she moved back to let me inside, I could tell her ribs weren’t causing her as much pain. The gingerliness from her steps seemed to be gone.
“Much better. The bruising and swelling has gone way down. This cast thing is still a bitch, but I’m getting better at doing everything one handed. Although it would have been nice if it had been my left hand instead of my right.” She frowned down at the cast and I couldn’t help but smile at the look on her face. God, she was so damn beautiful. It didn’t matter what happened, I’d always think she was the most beautiful woman in the world. A fireball angel with a feisty streak to protect her heart of gold.
I closed the front door and followed her into the kitchen. The TV was on an interior design show, her favorite thing to watch, and it looked like Carly must have been by at some point judging by the blue boxes on the counter. Holly caught my eye as I glanced at the boxes and she shook her head. “Carly is apparently not going to be happy until I’m three-hundred pounds! She made cinnamon rolls and brought me a dozen!”
“I can help you get rid of a couple,” I teased.
She waved her hand at the boxes with a wide smile. “Help yourself. Please!”
I moved to get a plate and warmed up one of the rolls in the microwave. I reclined back against the counter and scarfed down half a roll without stopping for breath. Holly laughed. “Wow! A little hungry?”
“Yeah. Been working all afternoon on the business proposals for the meetings Aaron has set up in the next couple of weeks.”
“That’s exciting.”
I nodded. “He’s confident we’ll find someone who is interested in taking on the project. It’s going to be a lot of work.”
“It’ll be worth it.”
“I think so. It’s both exciting and exhausting at this point.”
“Been there.” Holly gave a knowing smile. “You know who might be interested? Noah. He does investing for more than just real estate. I could put in a good word for you guys.”
I laughed. “Aaron would shit a brick.”
Holly’s brows knitted together. “Why?”
“He’s still bent out of shape over the whole O’Keefe thing. He doesn’t trust any of these real estate mogul guys. He thinks they’re going to try and swoop in and steal his land or his business from under his feet.”
She scoffed. “That’s ridiculous!”
I shrugged one of my shoulders and polished off the last few bites of the cinnamon roll. “Maybe so, but I’m not going to argue with him about it. Besides, I’m not sure Noah and I would get along.”
Holly’s eyes flashed. “Because of me?”
“I saw he stopped in to see you at the hospital.”
Holly si
ghed. “Jack, really?”
“Hey, you asked.”
“He’s my boss, Jack. He brought me flowers and told me to take six weeks off, paid, and not to worry about anything. He’s a good guy.”
I raised a hand and pressed my eyes closed. “Holly, I don’t want to start this again. If you want to be with Noah—” I paused, the words so vile it almost hurt to spit them out. “If that’s what you want to do, you’re free to do so. I’m here to be your friend, to help you out, and help raise our child.”
Holly’s eyes blazed. “Yes, you’ve made that very clear, Jack. I don’t even know why you bother coming by. Newsflash, the baby isn’t going to be here for another six months. I’ll give you a phone call when it happens.” She turned and walked from the kitchen, unable to go full blast like she would have in the past.
I pursued her, following her into the living room. “Why are you pissed at me? Seriously, what did I fuck up this time?”
She lowered herself onto the couch and a wince flashed over her face. When she was seated and leaned back, her fiery eyes returned, fixed on me. “You didn’t fuck anything up but you’re sending some pretty big mixed messages here, Jack. I don’t want to play this game.”
“Mixed messages? I tell you that I care about you and that I want you in my life, even if all I can have is you as a friend and the mother of my child. I come over here to try and help out and take care of you. That all seems pretty clear to me!”
Holly’s eyes dropped to the ottoman, all the fire leaving her. “Then what was that kiss for?”