Midwest Fighter (Kendall Family Book 2)

by Jennifer Ann

  “She was simply herself,” I say with a slight shrug. “Don’t let it worry you. Unless you’re able to convince her that she has something to gain by staying and entering rehab, she’ll find some excuse to return to her narcotic-induced bubble of ignorant bliss.”

  “She’s missing out by not being in your life,” he bites out as his gaze darkens. “You shouldn’t have to put up with that shit. It’s a miracle you turned out the way you did when you were raised by someone that fucking self-centered.”

  “Perhaps that’s why you were meant to come into my life. You’ve more than made up for her negligence.” I resume stroking his face and ask, “Your mum must’ve been a kind woman to have raised such a tenderhearted son. Were you always this protective of your loved ones?”

  “Some really bad shit went down when I was in high school,” he answers with a shake of his head. Then he looks away to the room’s windows overlooking the nurse’s station “I guess it made me realize everyone I care about is vulnerable in one way or another. I started boxing around that time in an attempt to keep my anger in check.”

  My heart tears with the thought of something happening to young James. “Tell me,” I plead quietly, brushing a thumb across his lips. “What happened, luv?”

  “Not my story to tell.” He looks back at me with tears in his eyes. “Just know Sofia has her reasons for moving away and for hating the world.”

  “I can’t imagine what you’ve been through, first losing both your mum and dad, now this.”

  With a shrug of his shoulder, his brilliant smile makes an appearance. “Knowing you’re okay makes everything hurt a little less.”

  “Do you remember the night I told you I’m no good at relationships?” When he dips his chin with a nod, I say, “Apparently my skills still require improvement. I wasn’t exactly raised with the best role model. Promise you’ll stick by my side, even when I’m a buffoon and unable to remember that as long as I’m with you, it’s impossible to want for something more. I mean it, James. I’m the luckiest girl in the world to have caught you for whatever reason. Please don’t ever allow me to forget that fact.”

  “I promise to never let you go,” he whispers before returning to my lips.

  Chapter 23

  SHARLO

  In the weeks following my release from the hospital, I’m overwhelmed with daily sessions with the persistent physical therapist hired by Dad, a barrage of visits from well-meaning family and friends, and the transition from wheelchair to wheeled cart to cane. Though I’ve been offered enough painkillers to knock-out James and the whole lot of his new fighting friends, I’ve decided to work through the pain au natural based on Mum’s unhealthy history with painkillers, leading to sleepless nights and long days wrought with frustration. The fact that James has stuck by my side as promised should elevate him to sainthood in no time. It’s as if we’ve switched places where I’m suddenly the moody bloke and he’s doing everything in his power to make me happy.

  Considering James is essentially homeless and I have no desire to return to my flat where the nightmare began, we’re fortunate to ride out the remainder of the summer on Charlie and Evelyn’s good graces, only having to share the beach house on the weekends with Katie and her mildly disgusting boys. When it comes time to getting around, I’m especially grateful for the layout intended to accommodate their wheelchair-bound mother.

  While James seeks his own kind of therapy through the gym with Nolan as well as a highly recommended psychologist specializing in anger management, I’m left struggling with the loss of our baby in my own way. By the time Sofia comes to visit on holiday in the Hamptons over Labor Day, I’m well beyond due for a night with the girls.

  Sofia, Evelyn, and Katie arrive with bags upon bags of food loaded with GMOs and sugar. For a several hours, the beach home takes on the personality of a hen house the way our voices and cackles float up to the rafters as we finish off a bottle of Jameson. Nothing can take away the dire situation of one’s life better than drunken conversations with good mates about fit celebrities and their asinine behaviors, especially when Evelyn is able to dish some of the gossip first-hand.

  “I had an abortion in high school,” Sofia blurts out of nowhere.

  Katie, Evelyn, and I simultaneously turn to gape at where she sits on the couch with a glass of wine in hand. She looks so unaffected that I expect her to admit she was joking.

  “What?” Evelyn whispers.

  Sofia looks down at her glass with tears spilling down her cheeks. “It started out as an innocent date to the drive-inn. Bobby was a year older and really popular, so I was crazy excited that he agreed to go out with me because I was the quiet type. Later on, we got a case of beer and parked behind the Catholic church. I got uncomfortable when he tried to pull my underwear down and asked him to take me home, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. I cried the entire time. A couple months later I realized I was pregnant. I couldn’t keep the baby…it was too hard.”

  Evelyn appears white when she sets her drink down on the end table. “You mean Bobby Krager? Holy shit, Sof! Did Mom take you to the doctor?”

  “I couldn’t tell her,” Sofia answers, shaking her head over and over. “She was going through chemo at the time, and she would’ve been so disappointed in my decision. I had a fake ID saying I was twenty but the clinic in Minneapolis made me arrange for someone to drive me home after the procedure. I asked James because I knew he was the only one in the family who would help me without telling Mom and Dad. That’s just how he was—always quiet and minding his own business. I made him promise he wouldn’t tell Bobby that he knew what happened either. He was so pissed that he started random fights at school and almost got expelled. Dad’s friend Cupp decided to teach James how to box. He stopped getting into trouble at school, but he never let what happened go because it was his idea for me and Bobby to hook up. They played football together and James talked him into taking me out. Of course he wouldn’t have known what Bobby was going to do, but he never forgave himself for what happened. It’s my fault he’s the way he is. If I hadn’t told him—”

  “Nonsense,” I scold, crossing the room to pat her hand. “You were a victim. Your brother has a protective way about him that would’ve eventually come to light on its own even if you hadn’t gone through something so horrific.”

  But my heart squeezes all the same, and it’s quite difficult not to become a puddle of tears. It’s no wonder my poor love has always been so overly protective and ready to take on everyone else’s heartache as his own.

  “Sof,” Evelyn breaths among a choked cry. “I can’t believe you never told Angie…or me.”

  Sofia wipes at her wet face before meeting her sister’s helpless look. “I couldn't tell you, Ev. You were so young when it happened. I didn’t mean to blurt it out like this, I just…I couldn’t keep it a secret any longer. I figured you guys deserve to know.”

  Katie’s eyes burn with anger when she asks, “Did you at least tell the cops so that little shit wouldn’t do it again to some other poor girl?”

  “Back then I thought…” With a forced laugh, Sofia wipes at her face again and looks away. “I somehow thought that kind of thing naturally happened when someone agreed to go on a date. In my pubescent mind I figured he was someone I knew, so it was okay. Now I definitely know better and that’s why I want to become a prosecutor and put assholes like Bobby in jail.”

  Evelyn runs to her sister and flings her arms around her neck. “I’m so sorry that happened to you, Sof!”

  At first I think Sofia, the most uptight of the Kendall family, is going to tell her little sister to bugger off. Then her face softens, and she ducks her face into Evelyn’s neck. The two of them are shaking with tears as Katie joins in, rubbing the sisters’ backs and whispering something I’m unable to hear. Thoughts of my sweet James forced to keep his sister’s brutal secret all this time makes me want to join their lot and have a proper cry.

  Instead, I scurry around the corner to th
e wet bar, knowing it’s going to take something strong to get through this night. I retrieve four shot glasses before pulling Charlie’s prized hundred dollar bottle of tequila from the cupboard. Before I have time to pour the drinks, I hear the back door open and turn in time to see James step inside, hair and gym attire mussed from a workout.

  Flashing one of his splendid grins fit for a god, his hands rise in front of his chest. “I know I’m not supposed to be here on girls’ night. I’m just stopping to shower and change before meeting up with the guys.” When there’s a loud sob from the adjoining room, he bends to peer around the corner at his sisters and Katie. “What’s with them?”

  Between his knicker-wetting body, still somewhat slick with perspiration, and the stabbing pains of empathy raking my chest, I’m unable to hold back and make a mad dash for him, throwing myself into his burly arms. Despite my tears, I almost come on the spot with his post-workout musk that never fails to drive me completely nutters.

  “Whoa,” he says among a chuckle before kissing the top of my head. “What’s wrong?”

  “Sofia told us everything!” I cry into his hard, clammy chest. “Just when I thought it wasn’t possible to love you any more I hear of the hell you put yourself through in keeping her secret! I want nothing more than to transport back in time and tuck young James away in a bloody bubble!”

  “Don’t cry for me, little butterfly. I have you,” he whispers, stroking my back. “Sofia’s the one who needs someone to love her the way you love me.”

  “My god you’re too sweet to be real,” I profess, drawing away to nuzzle against his cheek. I drag my lips along his recently shaven jaw until I meet his warm, needy mouth. Then, breathless, I draw away to add, “I don’t suppose I can convince you to take me to the bedroom and have your way?”

  Digging his fingers into my ass, he makes one of his growling noises. “Not until the doctor says your body is ready.”

  “Off you go then. Once you’ve had your fun with Nolan and Charlie, you can bring them back to hang with us girls." Sliding my fingertips beneath the edge of his T-shirt, I grin. “Don’t tell anyone, but there’s an unwritten rule stating girls’ night can be interrupted for a proper dosage of eye candy.”

  Though his eyes narrow, his lips quirk with a playful smile. “I better be the only flavor of candy you enjoy.”

  “You have no idea,” I whisper.

  Several weeks later, as we’re rolling down the streets of Brooklyn Heights, my big, brave protector looks a bit out of sorts driving the economy sized rental car. Still, it’s hard not to feel a sense of pride the way he navigates through the neighborhood as if he’s lived here his whole life rather than months. If I have anything to say about it, we’ll live out the remainder of our lives here together, raising a whole lot of miniature Kendalls.

  The Hamptons are quite lovely, and I’ve enjoyed every minute we’ve had the luxurious beach house to ourselves, but it will never beat the familiar cobblestone streets and feeling of community I get from being home—home being a relatively loose term as I intend to give Richard notice that I’m permanently moving out of the flat just as soon as I’ve mustered the courage. The sinister side of me wishes to rile James and unleash him for the deed, knowing Richard would likely soil himself if a threat of any caliber were to be made.

  Since we left the beach house, James has been driving below the speed limit and nearly slowing to a complete stop with every turn or bump in the road. Though I don’t normally care to be treated like a crystal vase, I appreciate how hard he’s trying to avoid creating any added pain to my healing body.

  Little does he know, I’ve been cleared to shag to my heart’s content so long as I can tolerate any pain it may cause. While I’ve done what I can to elevate James’s sexual frustration, he refuses to go anywhere near my pelvic region, apparently worried he’ll undo the healing or whatever voodoo has settled in his stubborn head. I’m worried he’ll leave me no choice other than to tie him up and have my way.

  Though I don’t ask why we’re a dozen blocks from my flat, the moment we’re parked beside a row of early 19th-century Federal houses, a bolt of curiosity hits me square in the stomach.

  “I’ve always loved this neighborhood,” I comment in a high voice, undoing my seatbelt before joining him on the sidewalk. I’ve been in the area several times as a friend from the university recently purchased a home just down the block. There’s a decade-long queue of hopeful tenants wanting to get into the buildings that line the river. “Are you going to fill me in on whatever it is you're up to?”

  “Just wait until you see the view from the balcony,” he tells me with a wicked grin, taking my hand before throwing me a knicker-melting wink. My neglected vagina perks to life, begging me to take him here and now on this sidewalk. To hell with witnesses—perhaps we could do them the service of educating them on proper love making.

  “Have you found somewhere that rents by the hour?” I ask, eyeing him suspiciously.

  He’s unable to answer before a smart-dressed woman appears in one of the doorways. It takes a moment for my brain to register that it’s Carrie, the bubbly nurse who was always trying to brighten my day while I was in the hospital.

  “Sharlo!” she gushes with enough enthusiasm to gag a saleswoman at Saks. “You look amazing! It’s so awesome to see you again!”

  “Likewise!” I answer, trying to muster the same level of zest. Seems James was busy making friends while I was out. Pretty ones, I might add, even though I’m not normally the type to let jealousy rear its foolish head.

  Carrie holds the mission-style door wide and motions for us to hurry. “Come on in!”

  I eye the set of stairs separating us and sigh. I’ve come a long way in my recovery, but stairs still remain a bit of a bitch.

  “We’ll meet you inside,” James tells her in a slightly dismissive tone.

  Carrie nods knowingly before disappearing behind the door. All at once James sweeps me into his arms, carrying me up the stairs like a small child. I giggle rather than telling him to set me down, knowing he won’t take “no” for an answer even if his chivalry makes me feel like a fool. I’ve learned since devoting myself to James that most things are not worth a fight unless they’re rewarded with an earth-shattering orgasm.

  “Is there a reason we’re paying a house call to Nurse Carrie?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

  He merely smirks in return as we climb the last of the steps. Once we’re through the front door he sets me down, releasing me with a knicker-wetting kiss.

  I’m dizzy as I give the place a proper look. It’s empty and open, reminding me of Evelyn and Charlie’s beach house, and seems to have recently undergone a makeover. New bamboo flooring stretches into each visible room and the faint smell of paint rolls off the white walls. Tall windows on the far side of a cozy sitting room with a fireplace give an awe-inspiring view of the Manhattan skyline.

  Nurse Too-Bloody-Perky is nowhere to be seen as James leads me through the main floor into more empty rooms and a quaint galley kitchen equipped with new appliances and arts and craft style cupboards. It’s drool-worthy, really, and has me dreaming what it would be like to live in such a beautiful place with a prime location.

  I turn to James, pursing my lips in a pout. “It’s quite lovely, but you’re not going to give me any sort of hint what we’re doing here, are you?”

  “The best part is yet to come,” he whispers, again sweeping me off my feet and whisking me up an open stairway leading to the second floor. He doesn’t set me down until we’re through a set of French doors inside a large bedroom and standing on a wide balcony with a phenomenal front-row seat to the Brooklyn Bridge.

  The sight before me literally steals my breath away. It’s akin to the view I’ve come to adore while sitting in the cemetery beside the grave of the mystery woman. It reminds me of everything I love about living in the country’s best city. Not only that, but the balcony is cute as shit with well-tended potted plants and matching Adirondack c
hairs. It’s difficult not to fall hard and fast for the adorable little home as I picture what it would be like to wake at James’s side with the heart of the city just beyond our reach.

  “Say the word and it’s ours,” James whispers behind me. It’s hard as hell to focus on the view when I’m merely focused on freeing the hard cock pressed to my back.

  “Are you mad?” I whisper. “Something like this is nearly impossible to procure!”

  “It belonged to Carrie’s grandmother. She hasn’t put it on the market yet.” His arms enclose around me, and his lips graze along my neckline. “I was offered a contract by Nolan’s MMA organization. They saw my fight with Freddie, and they want to pay me big money, little butterfly. Your dad is loaning us the downpayment until I have the cash in hand.”

  “Sweetheart, that’s wonderful!” I spin to throw my arms around his neck and allow him to carefully lift me into the air, throwing myself a silent cheers when the motion doesn’t hurt enough to wince. Though it will be hell on my nerves to watch him fight over and over, I know it’s what he wants and he’s been working so hard to make happen. Since starting therapy, training has become a way for him to destress and he actually seems a bit lighter after his training with Nolan.

  “But I still have a contract with Richard,” I realize.

  “I already worked it out with that prick,” he rumbles, leaving me to believe their encounter led to an unpleasant row. “Nolan’s been helping me arrange everything while you were busy with therapy. Your things are packed and ready to go. ”

  Oh, this man! My man! How can I ever get enough? The answer is never, and my randy body is ready to seal the deal. It’s been far too long since we’ve been able to scratch the ever present itch I feel when in his presence.

  “What do you think?” Carrie asks, suddenly emerging from the bedroom.