by Lexi Blake
But she wasn’t a child any longer. She’d indulged that piece of herself for too long. She couldn’t leave him. She stood up and grasped his hands in hers. Maybe she could make it to the storage closet. It was reinforced. It might be their best bet. She took a deep breath and started to pull him.
Tried to pull him and didn’t get far.
“You had to be all muscular, didn’t you?” She tried again, but he wouldn’t move.
There was a terrible sound that filled her whole world. If she hadn’t known better, she would have thought a train was coming her way. It wasn’t a train. Tears filled her eyes and panic made her want to flee, but she dropped back down and did the only thing she could.
She covered his body with hers and prayed they survived.
CHAPTER THREE
“And they’re sure his hands are going to work? It’s just his brain that was bashed in? Wait, he needs his brain to cook, right? I know you don’t but what he does is so much more important.” A deep voice disturbed Macon’s sleep.
“Have I ever told you what an asshole you are?” Another voice. This one was very familiar, but Macon kind of wanted all of the voices to go away.
They seemed intent on tormenting him. “Maybe a couple of times, but this is serious, Sean. He’s an artist. If he dies, the world loses. Why couldn’t I have met him when I was in the Army instead of his brother? Adam is utterly useless unless you need someone to make sarcastic comments at inopportune times.”
“Yeah, and we all know that’s your job.”
His head ached. What the hell had happened? He didn’t remember dipping into the whiskey. He hadn’t done that for a while. He had work so he couldn’t drink all night and moan the loss of his leg. Not when there were pies to prep. Why had he started in again?
“Fuck you, Big Tag. And the next time you piss off some fifth grade hacker and your e-mail gets inundated with ads for erectile dysfunction and tractors, you’re on your own.” His brother was here? Why was his brother present at his hangover?
“That was Chelsea. She gets pissy from time to time.”
“Oh, and my sarcasm is so much smarter than your sarcasm,” his brother announced.
“Could your sarcasm be a little quieter?” He managed to get his eyes to open up. He closed them immediately. The world was way too bright. He started to stretch and found himself tethered to an IV. Shit. He was in the hospital. How many damn times was he going to wake up in a hospital?
He reached down and touched his good leg.
Adam leaned over. “It’s still there. You’re good. You’re at Parkland Hospital in Dallas.”
It was stupid but he was deeply grateful to his brother in that moment. Adam didn’t make fun of him for worrying. He simply explained.
“I’ll get Daley,” a deep voice said. He was fairly certain he was dealing with both Taggarts, plus Adam. And he’d gotten a glimpse of something pink. Had Ian Taggart been wearing a pink shirt?
“Hey, brother. Way to survive a tornado.” Adam’s hand clasped his forearm. “I’ve been here for years and never actually seen one of the fuckers. You’re here for a few months and get caught in one. You are one unlucky son of a bitch.”
Yep. That was him. He groaned as he tried to open his eyes again. The last year had been one gut punch after another. IED and then fighting off insurgents with one leg. Watching Ronnie…no. He wasn’t going there. It was so much easier to think about how his ex-wife had screwed him over and taken everything.
The only good thing to happen to him in that last year was…
He forced his eyes open. “Ally? Ally was with me.” He gripped his brother’s arm. “Ally was in the bathroom.”
Sean Taggart shook his head. “No, she wasn’t.”
“Oh, god, what happened?” Ally couldn’t be dead. He’d told her where to go, how to protect herself. Memories came flooding back. He’d grabbed the flashlight right before the lights went out. And then everything had gone dark and he tripped over something with his stupid non-leg and he’d fallen. He’d bashed his head and right before he’d gone out he’d been happy that Ally was safe.
Ally hadn’t been safe?
His boss looked across the bed to grin at his brother. “Told you.” He glanced down toward Macon. “Ally disobeyed and you’re lucky she’s a brat. They found her covering your body with hers. She protected your head with her back and it was a good thing. When the tornado hit all the pots we had hanging overhead fell and they would have come right down on your noggin.”
“Or your hands.” Ian Taggart strode back into the room. There was a pink blanket wrapped over his massive chest. It was a weird fashion statement for a former Green Beret to make. “They could have crushed your hands. She’s a goddamn hero.”
Big Tag was fond of his lemon pie.
Ally had done what? His brain wasn’t quite functioning. He had to process the information. “Who found us? Where is Ally?”
“The crew was at a bar in Deep Ellum,” Sean explained. “When they heard where the tornado hit, they came running. They found you in the kitchen with Ally protecting your nasty ass.”
“She’s alive?”
Sean moved to his left and gestured toward the window. “She’s fine. She’s asleep. I convinced the nurses to bring in a cot and let her spend the night.”
He sat up despite the knife that threatened to split his brain in two. She was lying across a small cot, her body curled up and her back to the wall. Her arms were crossed over her chest and there was something about the way she slept that made him think she was protecting herself.
“She covered my body with hers?” He let his voice go low, not wanting to disturb her.
“Yeah and she’s got the bruises to prove it,” Sean said. “Her back took a couple of nice whacks, but would you like to know what she said when we tried to get her into the ER?”
“She wouldn’t go because she can’t afford it.” He knew what Ally’s first fear would be. She wouldn’t want to run up a bunch of bills she couldn’t afford. “She hasn’t been around long enough. Her insurance hasn’t kicked in.”
“Yep. I brought in a friend of mine. He checked her out. She’s fine. And she can sleep through anything,” Ian said as his pink blanket moved. The big guy looked down. “Root around all you like, baby girl. Nothing’s coming out of that. I need to take her to her momma. Kenzie should be finished by now. The girl eats like a Hoover. She makes Daddy proud.”
“Charlotte’s here?”
“Of course. Dude, you’re important to us. You make the pies.”
“What Ian is trying to say is you’re family,” Adam said, rolling his eyes. “Everyone’s out in the waiting room. Charlotte and Avery are having a breast in. Some dude was dumb enough to tell them to find somewhere private to feed the babies, so now they’re letting it all hang out in protest.”
The door opened and a tall man in a white coat walked in. “Good morning, Adam’s brother. I’m Will Daley. I’ll be making sure your brain is functioning today.”
“Ask him if he remembers how to make the pies, doc,” Ian said before heading off to find his wife.
“Sorry about my brother. He’s an idiot,” Sean said as Will took a look at his chart.
“He’s also more sarcastic than usual when he’s freaked out. He thought Sean was closing,” Adam explained. “He showed up a few minutes after the crew. He was the one who forced everyone to wait for the ambulance. Ally was going to try to get you into her car to take you to the hospital.”
“Ian acts like an ass most of the time, but he really does have a heart of gold,” Sean said. “I think you’ll discover my brother believes he owes you for more than good pies. And so do I.”
“Is she really all right?” He couldn’t take his eyes off Ally.
“That one is stubborn as hell, but she seems fine,” the doctor said.
“You checked her out?” When Ian said he’d brought a friend in, Macon thought it was likely an old Army buddy with some medic training. He woul
d feel so much better if a practicing doctor had examined her.
Will pulled out a penlight. “Yes, I did. I had to promise there would be no paperwork. That girl is terrified of hospital bills. Not that I blame her. Yours is going to be a doozy. Let me take a look at your eyes.”
After a few moments of flashing too-bright lights in his eyes, Will proclaimed him ready to go home. He’d taken a whack to his head, but Will hadn’t seen any real damage in the incredibly expensive CT scan he’d been put through. “I can release you today, but I want you to rest for a few days. With your leg injury, you could be off balance. You’re not long post op, are you?”
He shook his head, uncomfortable even talking about it. He knew Ally knew, but he’d been careful around her. She hadn’t seen him trip or have to adjust the damn thing. She certainly hadn’t seen his stump. Knowing and seeing were two different things. “It’s been almost a year.”
“Well, it can take even longer for you to get truly confortable with the prosthetic. I noticed your organic leg is banged up.”
“What?” Adam asked.
His brother could be a mother hen at times. “I fell while I was jogging.”
Will held up a hand, stopping Adam’s next comment. “It’s good. You should attempt to do all the things you did before. Trying to get back to normal is an excellent sign, but you have to take better care of those scrapes and lay off the running for a week. You need someone to keep an eye on you for the next few days and I’ll need to see you again in about a week.”
“We’ll take care of it, Will,” Adam said.
“No. I will.”
Everyone turned to look at the woman who had said the words. Ally sat up, blinking and then covering her yawn. She looked like a sleepy kitten waking up. She stood up and stretched, her breasts moving against the thin fabric of her T-shirt.
“He’s not the only one who needs watching after,” Daley said with a frown, looking her way. “I have no idea how you slept on that thing. Aren’t you sore?”
She shook her head. “I’ve had worse. Look, Miles and I can watch out for each other. You’ve got a place, right?”
Despite the events of the night before, she looked pretty and young. He probably looked really rough. “Yeah, but it’s really my brother’s guesthouse.”
She shrugged. “Digs is digs, Miles. You’ve got a place to crash and I have a car. Yeah, the restaurant might not have survived but Bessie did. And to think all those stupid mechanics wanted to put her down when she hit two hundred K. So between the two of us, we are practically a fully functional human being.”
“With three and a quarter legs.” The sarcasm was catching.
“Yep. We got those, too. And stop complaining. You’ve got a three-quarters bionic leg. What do you say, Miles? Can I crash at your place for a while and we can get the docs off our backs?”
He nodded and then winced. Damn, they were a sad couple.
Couple. He’d kissed her. It had been going somewhere until Mother Nature decided to try to kill them.
She slapped her hands together. “Cool. Then lay it on me, Doc. What do I need to watch for with the big guy?”
She and Will stepped outside, talking about pain medications and side effects.
“Is the restaurant gone?” They might have less than Ally said. They might be down two jobs.
Sean shook his head. “She’s exaggerating. We’ve got blown windows and some minor damage. We’ll be open again in a week, which will give you plenty of time to recover. I’m going to find someone else to do the desserts for the parties. You need to rest.”
Sean was hosting a birthday party for his wife this weekend. Two actually. There was a family party on Saturday afternoon and an adults-only party at Adam, Jake, and Serena’s that night. Macon had already planned a spectacular cake. “Don’t. I’ll be fine in a couple of days. I want to do it.”
“If you’re sure, but if you change your mind give me a day or two,” Sean said. “I’ll go let the crew know they can come in and see you.”
“Are there really a bunch of people waiting to see me?” Macon asked after the door closed.
Adam nodded. “Yeah, it’s not like home, buddy. These people give a shit. There have been times that we’re all we have so we stick together. Are you really feeling all right?”
“I feel like hell.” He smiled. “And I feel great, too.”
“Because of Ally?”
He shrugged. “She’s cool.”
Adam leaned over, his hands on the metal railing of the bed. “She was adamant about not being admitted, Macon. I got here right as the ambulance did and she was a little off.”
“Well, she’d just survived a tornado.” He felt off, too. And they were going to have a long talk about who was in charge when Taggart wasn’t around. She hadn’t obeyed his very reasonable commands.
Of course if she had, he might be dead, so maybe he’d rethink the lecture and make her some pancakes instead.
She’d also joked about his leg, so maybe she wasn’t entirely adverse to it.
“It wasn’t that and it wasn’t only about the money. I tried to explain workman’s comp to her. It would cover everything and I know damn well Sean is paid up, but she wouldn’t listen,” Adam explained. “She got really upset when they asked for ID.”
“If they get her ID they can bill her.” He thought he was starting to understand her. She’d been closed off, with all kinds of walls up, but he liked the woman who wasn’t hiding from him. She was funny and maybe the tiniest bit insane. It was like she’d opened up to him after the day’s incident with that asshat, Timothy. Or yesterday’s. “How long was I out?”
“A night. It’s almost noon. And I would bet a lot she wasn’t as worried about the money as she was handing over that ID. She didn’t want them to see it. I think she might be hiding something.”
His brother could be paranoid. It came with the territory. He worked in high-level security, the kind that sometimes got co-opted by the CIA. Adam had gone from being a soldier to being what their father called a mercenary. Now that he’d seen Adam in action, he would simply call him a hero. But he was a paranoid hero.
“I don’t think she’s trying to hide anything except the fact that she’s broke, and I have no room to complain there. It’s not like I’m rolling in it.” He stopped, coming up with another reason his brother might have a problem with Ally. “If you don’t want her in the guesthouse, say so.”
His brother’s eyes narrowed. “And if I said so? What would you do?”
“Get an apartment,” he replied.
“Shit, you want her.”
“I like her.” And he wanted her. She was the first woman he’d wanted in forever and that scared him because he hadn’t exactly tried having sex since he’d lost his leg. He’d been afraid his dick didn’t work anymore, but she’d fixed that problem. “I like her a lot.”
“Yeah, you like her in a ‘give up my nice house and go live somewhere scary because at least we’re together’ way.” He sighed and shook his head. “Of course she’s welcome. Sean says she’s passed all his background checks, so we’re good. Also, she saved you so her goodwill bank is full with me. She’s hiding something and it’s going to come out in the end. Do you want me to run a check on her?”
Sean would have run a cursory check, the same most employers did. Adam would delve into her background, peeling her apart like an onion and going through every layer. He would be ruthless about it and Macon was sure that once Adam was on the case, he would know everything there was to know about Allyson Jones. Including the stuff she might not want him to know.
“No. If I need to know she’ll tell me.”
“And if she decides you don’t?”
“It’s not a grand love affair, Adam. She needs a place to stay. I need someone to make sure my brain’s not bleeding. I’m sure she’ll be out and on her own in a week or two.”
Adam huffed. “No way. That’s one stray who’s looking for a home. I’ve seen it. Sometime
s they really like to drift, but not that one. She took the first responsibility she could. She sacrificed for you the minute it came up. She might not think she’s looking for long term, but she’ll get comfortable. You better be sure you like her because getting rid of her might be hard on both of you.”
He wasn’t going to sic Adam on her. She’d saved him. She’d risked her life for his and if she had some secret…well, who didn’t? There were things he would never tell her. He would never give her the full story of what happened the day he lost his leg.
“Okay, I’ll back off,” Adam said. “Now, I’m going to let the hoard in. That is one mean-looking set of cooks, man. Do all restaurant employees look so rough?”
He grinned. “They do when they work at Top.”
For the first time in a long time, he felt like he belonged somewhere. He sat back as Adam called the first visitors in.
* * * *
“I’d really feel better if you let me run a few tests.” Will Daley was a handsome man. He was also stubborn.
“I’m fine.” Her back hurt like a mother, but she wasn’t about to run up thousands of dollars of debt when she could take some Advil and be good as new in a couple of days. Well, except she was fairly certain she’d developed a new fear of storms, but hey, what was one more phobia to add to the list?
“If you need me, call.” He handed her his card.
“I will.” She would for Macon.
The doctor shook his head and walked away.
“I think you frustrated the hot doc.” Deena walked up carrying two coffees.
“Tell me you got some sleep.” Deena was still wearing her cute top and blingy jeans from the night before.
She smiled, her lips curling up as she handed Ally the coffee. “I napped against Eric. He might look like all hard muscles, but he makes a nice pillow.” She frowned suddenly. “Oh, god. What if I snored? I’m pretty sure I snore, and not in a sweet snuffle way. Do you think the fact that I sound like a dying elephant will turn him off?”