“Yes?”
She smiled hesitantly before she asked, “Is that Cole Jackson in your son’s room?”
Wouldn’t you know? A young pretty nurse would never smile at him like that. He should’ve known. He almost said no. The word was formed and nearly out of his mouth, but for some reason he mumbled “yes” and continued walking toward the elevator doors. He hated feeling this way. God, he cringed. He was jealous of Jackson. Jealous of everything he stood for—his fame, his talent, his obvious way with people, but especially the way his son worshiped him.
It hurt him to see them together. It hurt to see Shannon and him together. He hated himself even more for those feelings. She had every right to date and even remarry if she wanted to. His whole body shuddered. What bothered him the most was he’d have to share Cameron with another man. There would be a stepfather in Cameron’s life.
He wondered if Shannon had felt any of these feelings when he’d married Cheryl. Maybe, but somehow he doubted it. She was much too much a caring, giving and loving person to be plagued by petty jealousy.
Right this minute he made a promise to himself. A promise to stop being jealous of Jackson. Be happy for Shannon. Happy she finally found someone to love, and more importantly, someone to love her back. No being jealous because his son and Jackson had the same musical talent. Could share things he never could with Cameron. And just stop being an overall prick.
Yeah right, sounded good, he just wondered if he could do it? He would start by buying three coffees. The old prick would have bought two, and let Jackson be dammed. It was a small peace offering, but it was a start. He paused at the doorway and watched the three of them talking and laughing and touching. Swallowing his jealousy, he walked in.
“Hey, I brought coffee.” He winked at his son, and when he handed Jackson one he said, “Truce.”
Jackson seemed surprised by the peace offering as he took the Styrofoam cup and replied, “Truce.”
“Hey Dad,” Cameron said from his bed, which had been raised to a more comfortable sitting position. He pointed to the table beside his bed. “Look what Cole brought me. It’s an autographed copy of an old Led Zeppelin album. Every member’s signature is on the cover, and there’s not a scratch on the vinyl. Isn’t it cool?”
The exuberance in Cameron’s voice killed John and made this jealousy thing really hard to kick. But he’d made a promise to himself. He rolled his eyes and mumbled, “Way cool.” Then to Jackson he shook his head. “You’re killing me. How the hell can I compete with things like that?” He pointed to the album.
***
Cole knew something had changed between the time John left the room and when he returned. He seemed visibly relaxed and less hateful toward him. Almost civil, he guessed one could say. His comment about competing was not made in anger, but in acceptance of him being a part of Cameron’s life.
“It’s no big deal. I’ve had it for years. I carry it with me everywhere. Kind of like a good luck charm.”
John snorted. “That’s what I mean. Shit. I don’t have stuff like that sitting around my house.”
“Dad,” Cameron broke in. “It’s no different from Mom having autographed books by Lee Child or Sandra Brown or Nora Roberts. She has bookcases full. Mom knows famous authors, Cole knows famous musicians, and you know…” He paused and smiled right at his dad. “Famous cops.”
John threw his head back and laughed. It was Cole’s first glimpse of what he thought and hoped was the real John McKenzie. Since the ice was now broken, they chatted about music, books and movies, and Cole realized that John and Cameron’s tastes ran along the same lines as his, with the exception of music. John was a country music fan all the way. Ouch man, that hurt.
Chapter Nineteen
When Cameron’s dinner came, well, if chicken broth and Jell-O constituted dinner, Shannon thought it was probably a good time to check into a hotel. She kissed her son and reassured herself he would be fine for a couple of hours without them, and she shuffled Cole and John out the door. At the hospital’s main entrance, John paused and Shannon could see he had something on his mind. His brows were creased and his mouth tight.
“There’s a Sheraton down the street. Maybe we should stay there?” John stated as he stared across the street to the parking garage.
“Okay,” Shannon agreed.
“Hey Jackson, Cameron’s guitar was destroyed in the accident. I’d like to buy him another one.” He raised his eyes and met Cole’s. “Maybe you could...um...go shopping with me tomorrow?”
Shannon could not believe her ears. Was John making nice with Cole? Had someone hit him in the head? She smiled and kissed John’s cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered happily.
He narrowed his eyes and grinned. “For what?”
“You know.” Even with Cameron in the hospital, Shannon suddenly felt like the luckiest person in the world.
Cole finally answered John’s query. “I’ll ask the concierge where there’s a good music store.” His eyes darted from John to Shannon and back to John. “I’d be glad to go with you.”
“Great,” John replied. “I’ll see you two later. I’m going to get me a room, a bite to eat, grab a quick nap and I’ll see you two back here later.”
Shannon and Cole stared at John’s back as he walked toward the parking garage. “I think I might like this John,” Cole said as he put his arm around her shoulders and they walked in the same direction as John.
“Yeah, I might like him again too.”
“Do you think aliens have taken over his body?”
“Maybe.” Shannon laughed. “Or maybe he finally realized what an asshole he’s been, and he wants to play nice.”
“Yeah.” Cole laughed. “That’s it. He finally realized the sandbox is big enough for all of us.”
Anyone remotely close to them could hear their laughter echoing off the concrete walls of the parking garage.
Once in their hotel room, Cole shut and locked the door, leaned against it with his arms crossed in front. A grin plastered on his face, and his midnight eyes smoked with lust. Shannon’s pulse soared and every erogenous zone in her body shot off the sensitivity chart. Her fingers worked the buttons on her leather jacket and it dropped to the floor. She peeled her sweater off and locked eyes with Cole, smiling again when she heard him groan.
Her fingers slid down to her jeans and after undoing them she tried to kick them off, and then laughed as she remembered her boots were still on. Smooth, Shannon, real smooth. Cole strolled casually toward her and dropped to one knee. “Here, let me help you,” he said with a quiver in his soft voice.
One boot hit the carpeted floor, then the other. Next he removed her jeans but didn’t get up. He skimmed his warm fingers up the inside of her calves and continued up her now quivering thighs. Shannon bit her lip to hold back a groan as he slipped his fingers inside her lace panties, gently opening her folds and inserting first one finger, then two. His thumb found and teased her sensitive nub.
The pressure built and Shannon began floating, drifting until she realized Cole was carrying her to the bed. He laid her down, stripped off her panties and knelt between her open thighs. One glance at him and she saw the look of a man who was going to get some, and it stole her breath away.
Nothing else existed but Cole’s hot mouth making love to her body and his tongue mating with her. She fisted his hair and pulled him in closer as her body began to tremble and crest. Her head moved from side to side and she cried out, “Cole...oh God...Oh my God.” She arched her back forcing her hips higher and higher as the orgasm hit her and kept coming and coming until she couldn’t take it and begged for mercy by pushing his head away and trying to close her legs.
Cole slid up her body and held her as she trembled in a release that would not quit.
“I love when you come for me,” he said in a raspy voice filled with desire. “You taste so good.”
“Cole,” she breathed out. “You need to take off your clothes. It’s my turn.”
Sha
nnon laughed as he shed his clothing in record time and his gorgeous, naked body, standing at full attention, joined her on the bed, giving her full access to him. Before she tasted his body, she tasted his mouth and lost herself in his kisses.
***
Cole’s tongue twisted and twirled with Shannon’s. Kissing her resembled an intoxicating elixir, one he could never get enough of. She was addicting, and it was an addiction he never wanted to quit. A deep guttural moan rising up from deep inside was lost between his throat and Shannon’s mouth. He heard her purr as she settled deeper into the kiss. He splayed his hands on her back, unhooking her bra and pulling her even closer to his scorching body. They’d gone way past separate entities and were entering the point where he couldn’t tell where his body ended and hers began.
This was what love was—love and soul mates. She was the other half of his heart, and this time he would never let her go. He ended the kiss and nuzzled her neck as he fought to control his breathing. “I love you,” he whispered breathlessly as he lightly bit her soft creamy neck. “I love you so much.”
Shannon leaned up and looked at him, her lips curved into a sensual smile, her blue eyes smoky with lust. “I love you.”
Cole sucked in his breath and held it as she proceeded to torture him with her mouth and talented hands. When he thought he would lose it, he flipped her onto her back and entered her with one deep thrust of his hips. Then he froze as he tried to control his body. He didn’t want to come yet, he wanted this to last, and he wanted to watch her when she unraveled.
***
Shannon lay still, her eyes closed as she waited for Cole, knowing he fought control of his body. She’d been bad, really bad. Then his hips moved and his warm palms cupped her breasts. His fingers rolled her nipples and she thrust her hips up to his. He shifted and pulled her legs up and over his shoulders and thrust deeper still. The sensation tinged on painful, but not quite, as a burst of intense pleasure traveled through her body. Her insides contracted around him as she crested over and over. He tensed and moaned and collapsed on her as she felt the hot moisture from his seed enter her body.
“I don’t think I can move,” he groaned into her ear.
“Hmm, me neither,” she purred. “I missed you.”
“Me too, more than you’ll ever know.”
“Hmm, try me.” She wiggled beneath him.
“I would if I could move.”
She smacked his back lightly. “You have a dirty mind, Cole Jackson.”
He laughed and nipped her ear with his teeth, causing her to gasp. “Don’t all men?”
Shannon pushed him off and out of her. “I’m going to shower. You can join me if you’d like.” She cast a siren’s smile over her shoulder as she disappeared into the bathroom, knowing he’d be right on her heels.
***
One hour later Shannon and Cole stood together at Cameron’s bedside. They arrived just as Doctor Splaine entered the room, making his nightly rounds. They waited patiently through Cameron’s exam and the doctor’s questions, then he turned to them and Shannon saw a tiny flicker of recognition in his eyes when he looked at Cole, then it was gone behind his doctor’s facade.
“Doctor Splaine, I’d like you to meet Cole Jackson.” She placed her hand on Cole’s arm. “Cole, this is Doctor Splaine, he’s taking care of Cameron.”
Cole reached out and shook the doctor’s hand. “Nice to meet you, and thanks for taking such good care of Cameron for us.”
Shannon couldn’t believe stone-faced Doctor Splaine smiled, well, more like almost smiled. Maybe he was human after all.
“Cameron is a great kid and a lucky one at that. He should be sleeping now as we just gave him something to help him rest.” He went to leave and then paused in the doorway. “Amber Sullivan’s father arrived a short time ago. She’s in room 327. He might like some company. From what I understand his wife passed away last year, and Amber’s all he’s got left.”
Just as Doctor Splaine left, John came in, his face beet red, and his breathing labored. “The media knows you’re here Jackson. It’s a zoo downstairs. One little asshole actually stuck a microphone in my face and asked how I felt about my ex-wife having a rendezvous at the Sheraton with Cole Jackson while my son’s barely hanging onto his life.” He held up his hand and put his thumb and index finger together with barely an inch of space between them. “I came this close to clocking the guy in the face. Instead I told him you two went to the hotel to rest and Cameron is recovering just fine. Somehow, I don’t think he believed the resting at the hotel part.”
Shannon felt the heat sting her cheeks. “No, I don’t suppose he did.”
“Anyway, I insisted security be posted at the main entrance and at all accesses to Cameron’s floor. I’m not having our lives turned into a media circus.” He looked at Cole sympathetically. “How can you stand it?”
“I can’t. But if you like, I’d be willing to go down and give a statement so maybe they’ll leave us alone.”
Shannon placed her hand on Cole’s arm and shook her head. “No. I’ll call Sharon White, my publicist, and have her do a press release. It may give us some time.”
“Mom,” Cameron moaned, looking sleepy. “You never told me about Amber. How is she? Can I see her?”
Oh dear. With Cole’s arrival and Cameron not having asked again, she had purposely put off telling him. Shannon sat on the edge of his bed and decided the only way to tell him would be to come right out with the truth, no matter how much pain it caused her son. “She hit her head badly, honey, and she’s in a coma.”
“No.” Cameron rolled his head from side to side and yelled out in anguish, “No.”
Shannon watched as her son struggled with his emotions. She hurt for him. He was too young to know this type of pain and loss. She said a quick silent prayer, “please spare Amber’s life, she’s way too young to die.”
“Will she wake up?”
Shannon blinked back her own tears and looked at Cole, then John who both appeared to struggle with their own emotions. “The doctor doesn’t know sweetheart, but you could pray and maybe that’ll help.”
***
Cameron closed his eyes and silent tears slithered down his cheeks. His chest hurt, and he could barely breathe for the lump clogging his throat. Amber. He wanted Amber. If he hadn’t insisted they turn back, they would’ve been on a different bus and she would be okay. He had only wanted to help. God, his head felt like a top, spinning fast and furious, barely managing to stay on his shoulders. They must be giving him some potent drugs. He was tired and his body felt like an elephant stomped on it. There was a constant drum roll going on inside his head and the only time he got relief from the pounding pain was when he slept.
Right now, he wanted to sleep to end his pain. And when he awoke he hoped this whole mess would be a dream, and he and Amber would be back at the motel making love. His last thoughts as blackness descended all around him was of Amber dying.
***
John watched as Jackson massaged Shannon’s shoulders.
“You’re tense and stressed out. Try to relax.” Her head dropped forward slightly as his fingers continued to gently rub and massage her neck and shoulders and back.
“Hmm, that feels good,” she said. “However good it feels right now, I don’t think anything could help how awful I feel inside.”
Jackson looked at him. “Would you mind taking over here while I go and get Shannon some tea?”
“Stay. I’ll get it,” John said as he left the room. Visiting hours would end soon, and he knew only one parent could spend the night with Cameron. He supposed he and Jackson would head back to the hotel soon. Strange, how in the course of twelve-hours, John had a new found respect and admiration for the man. And damn it, he didn’t want to like the guy, but seeing firsthand how he acted with Shannon and Cameron and how much he loved them both, how could he not begin to like him?
He supposed it was time to be happy for Shannon and to let her go into the ar
ms of another man. Even though he had his own wife he loved, there would always be something special about Shannon. She would always possess a piece of his heart.
Before he left the hallway, he glanced into Amber Sullivan’s room. He presumed the man sitting with his eyes closed in a chair next to her bed and holding her hand was her father. John swallowed the lump in his throat. That could be him and Cameron. It made John realize just how lucky they were.
***
Within the hour, Cole and John left Shannon to sleep on a reclining chair bed in Cameron’s room.
“Do you want to leave your car here and drive with me to the hotel?” Cole asked John, not knowing how he’d react to the invite.
“Sure. Want to grab a drink at the bar? I’m in desperate need of a beer.”
“Sure, but I’ll have a club soda.”
John suddenly looked embarrassed. “Sorry. I forgot. My brain’s kind of mushy right now. Never mind, I think I’ll just crash for the night.”
Cole shrugged one shoulder. “Whatever.”
“Care to meet me in the lobby at nine so we can shop for Cameron’s guitar?”
“Sure.”
They road in silence to the hotel, valet parked and just as they were about to step into the hotel entrance, one lone reporter came out of the shadows ready to pounce. “Excuse me, Mr. Jackson, would you like to comment on AJ Macleod’s suicide?”
“No, I wouldn’t,” he said with strong conviction and kept walking.
“Mr. McKenzie, is it true your son, the son you had with the writer, Shannon Gallagher, ran away and that’s why he was on the bus that crashed?”
“I have nothing to say.”
“Mr. McKenzie?”
Cole turned and stared at the reporter, stone-faced, rage barely under control and shoved the large burley man back, nearly knocking him down in the process and sorry he hadn’t done just that. “Leave him alone,” Cole said in a frozen, icy tone. “His son was seriously injured in an accident, and he’d like his privacy.” The reporter tried to interrupt and Cole stared him down. “Shannon Gallagher’s publicist will be issuing a statement tomorrow. Goodnight.”
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