Indelible You (Imagine Ink)

by Verlene Landon

  Obsidian collided with hazel.

  Erika’s eyes were open and watching what transpired.

  Shit, she looked pissed. He’d screwed up again. Rushing to take her hand, Walker started to apologize when Erika’s voice broke through.

  “Did that expletive, bleeping, expletive just call my baby ‘disordered?’ What the bleep does that even mean?”

  That’s exactly what he’d asked himself just moments ago. The stitches up the side of her face made it difficult to understand her as they pulled on her lips, but he was having no trouble deciphering what she was saying, except what sounded like “expletive” and “bleep.”

  “Yes love, but I fired him. I know we will face challenges as a family, but not because our daughter is any of those things he said, she is a child period. A very treasured one at that. Please don’t be upset with me for losing my temper with him.” He dropped a kiss on her hand.

  “Mad at you? If I’m mad at you for anything, it’s for not punching his smug face.” She tried to laugh, but it didn’t work out. “I know what happened, I heard everything he said. I promise, I will never let anyone treat our daughter like she’s damaged goods. Walker, I…” Her eyes clouded with pain and her energy was draining fast, but she turned toward the door as Nurse Hinton entered pushing a bassinet. Erika swallowed her words.

  When Willow was close enough, she extended her hand out. Her fingertips just barely grazed a soft baby check when the pain rendered her unconscious. That was when Nurse Hinton placed Willow in Walker’s arms for the first time.

  ***

  Andy and Marco showed up later that night and were over the moon for Willow, but their concern for Erika was etched so clearly on both their faces.

  “My PI found a pilot name John who flew Tori to Black Hills and drove her out to the cabin. He knows exactly where to find her. We’ll have her here first thing in the morning, Mrs. Reid.” Andy announced to the room at large.

  “I appreciate the time and expense you’ve laid out Andy, and we’ll pay you back, every cent, but we’ve decided it’s for the best if Tori stays right where she is for now. The information you have will be invaluable if we decide we need her here, but for now, I think she should stay. It won’t help anything to drag her home, it’ll just make the girl feel guilty and miss what I feel in bones is a pivotal moment in her life. I can’t explain it, and I flat out do not want her with that man she’s with, but my mother sense is telling me she needs to be there. Frank and Walker agree too, but for different reasons, they don’t believe in the mom juju, but it’s saved both their asses more than once. Melanie would have wanted her to stay too, so I say we leave her to her ignorant bliss a bit longer. If she’s pissed about this decision, it will be on my and Frank’s shoulders, no one else will be blamed.”

  “As you wish Mrs. Reid, but here is the information if you change your mind. And you don’t owe me a single thing, we’re family now, and family takes care of family.” Francis made her way to Andy and Marco and somehow manage to envelope both of them in a hug that resembled a T-rex hugging two mountains. It was almost comical. “Then both of y’all better start calling me Francis or Mama Fran, whatever works for you.”

  ***

  After another week, Andy finally convinced Walker to leave Erika’s bedside for the first time since he rushed into the hospital that Thursday. It had actually taken not just Andy, but Francis as well, to extort his compliance.

  Those pleas would’ve fallen on deaf ears if Erika hadn’t woken up and begged him to take care of himself. So Walker and Andy headed to his place, leaving Marco and Francis to sit sentry over Erika’s bedside. Walker slid into the back seat of the Lincoln with a sigh. Grateful to have Andy’s car service instead of trying to balance his weary body on his bike or waiting on a cab.

  “How are you really doing, Walker?”

  Knowing the question didn’t just apply to his lack of sleep and personal hygiene. “How am I supposed to be doing?” he asked with a saddened hollow voice.

  “Pretty much tore up to hell and back, like you are. Has Erika been awake enough to know what’s going on? You work everything out?”

  Walker’s gaze remained fixed on the scenery and he was sure Andy wondered if he had plans to answer him, when he finally broke the silence of the car.

  “Erika’s periods of wakefulness are increasing as they reduce her meds. So, we’ve talked about everything in five minute bites. We plan on getting married as soon as the hospital priest will do the job. He wants to wait for a bit more medicine to be pulled back before he does, so we’re thinking Saturday. Of course, Erika told my mom she could plan a big wedding once everyone is well and back together, so be prepared for an over the top southern affair this spring or summer.” That changed him from sullen to excited in no time flat. Surely, just as Andy intended, to pull him out of his funk with talk of Erika.

  Andy was grinning to himself. “I got to know man, how is it you didn’t know about Willow when Erika left a picture in the folder and how did you finally find out?”

  “Long story short? It somehow ended up under the coffee table and the crew moved it for repairs and there it was.”

  “Seriously? So you hadn’t cleaned under there or anything for like three months? Impossible.”

  Walker barked a laugh. “You’ll see as soon as we get inside.” Walker turned his eyes toward the house as the driver pulled to the curb.

  Both men warily exited the car and made their way up the walk and through the door. Hanging his keys on the rack, Walker motioned Andy’s attention to the coffee table they’d been discussing.

  “See? It was covered last time you were here, so you missed the enormity of it.” Walker indicated the monstrous oaken table that dominated the living room.

  “Good God, it’s a fucking tree trunk.” Andy circled it in wonder like everyone tended to do when they first saw it. Drawing his long fingers along the scroll work, Andy spoke again, “An amazingly intricate fucking tree trunk.” That’s two F-bombs from the man in under thirty seconds, when he’d never heard or seen even one from Lawyer Andy.

  “Who did this?”

  “Big Dax, my boss. He claims it’s a hobby, but it more of an obsession.” Walker had a sense of deja vu, but then again, it went this way every time someone observed a piece of Dax’s work for the first time.

  Andy drew up from the table with interest. “Can I have his number? Marco would love one. It can be my wedding present.” He was positively beaming, which is the way Dax liked it. Said the tables should speak to people, but he gets to decide what they say. He refused to make them for anyone who couldn’t “hear” them.

  “Sure, but he will want to meet you and Marco first, feel you out. He decides the design that way. The buyer doesn’t pick, he does.”

  ***

  ANDY

  They chatted more about the table before Andy shooed Walker to the bath and turned to see what he could whip up because Walker needed a good hearty meal, one he could eat at a table instead of off of a hospital tray.

  The meal was ready and not a single solitary sound came from the bathroom. Andy called out to Walker before barging into his room, but no answer came and he didn’t want him to drown. Knocking as he opened the bedroom door produced the same results, so he entered. The layout of the room afforded a view of everything but the toilet and the wall behind him on entry.

  There, in the tub, was Walker, sound asleep. Calling his name again, Andy made his way to the bathroom archway and leaned against it. Walker still didn’t budge. Andy’s eyes involuntarily tracked down the length of Walker’s body and back up again, taking inventory of every color and piercing as well as each peak and valley his muscles created. He really was a stunning man. Andy was married in his heart, but not dead. He could appreciate a beautiful male body when one was laid out in front of him. Especially one with such extensive art work, hell it was a work of art underneath all the ink too.

  As Andy was turning to go, he figured he would sit on the be
d and keep an eye on Walker to make sure his head stayed on the bath pillow above the water line. He needed the rest, even if it did come to him in a tub. He would wake him in a few, once the water got too cold.

  “Like what you see old man?”

  Andy cast his eyes back over his shoulder. Walker had one sleepy eye open and a shit eating grin on his face.

  “Who are you calling old? I may have a decade on you, but, my husband will keep me young. And yes, I like what I see. I understand Erika’s attraction to you on a whole new level now,” Andy said with an exaggerated perusal of Walker’s body.

  “So, you’re not only old, you like to rob cradles too.” Walker laughed, but it sounded rusty, like he hadn’t really laughed since the day he found Erika broken and bruised in a hospital bed.

  “Hardy har har, very funny. This coming from a cub?” Andy amused himself with that remark, but Walker was just puzzled.

  “A cub? I don’t get it.”

  Andy was shocked. “You know, a cub? That’s what cougars call their boy toys, cubs. If I’m an ‘old man’ then Erika’s an old woman, we’re about the same age. That makes her a cougar, and you her cub.”

  Walker wanted to wipe the smug look off Andy’s face, if he was reading his expression correctly. “Aw hell. You just get back in the kitchen where you belong ‘Nancy’ and I’ll be out in a minute.”

  It amazed Andy how at ease Walker was with him. Especially since Walker confessed that just eight months ago, his very existence crippled him.

  They had only communicated through texts and calls, with very little face time over the last three months, but they became like brothers to each other and Andy knew Walker would defend him, and by extension Marco, with the same tenacity he would his girls. They were family, period. Of course that meant he could tease the shit out of him, within reason, and he would obviously return it, but there was much love growing between them already.

  With everything that Erika had shared with him via the folder, Walker had discovered and obviously accepted, the fact Erika and Andy needed each other more than most people could fathom. They literally and figuratively saved each other growing up. In different ways of course, but the same end result, they both survived, and with minimal injuries. Walker also knew Erika would be the one to make Andy and Marco parents. He’d told Andy that had bothered him at first, no particular reason why, it just did, but the minute he saw Willow, it all changed.

  Erika had promised that unimaginable joy to Andy years before, and Walker said he couldn’t imagine stealing that from a man who would so obviously be an amazing father. Nope, his wife would bear another man’s child, and he was totally okay with that. That late night hospital confession over a crappy cup of coffee humbled Andy and brought him to tears.

  “Amazing,” Andy’s whispered word was the only sound in the room other than the splash of water as Walker exited the tub and came to stand behind him wrapped in a towel.

  Glancing behind him, Andy saw Walker was eyeing the source of his own astonishment—the painting.

  “Yeah man, I have that reaction too. Every single time I see it.”

  Pointing at it, Andy turned back toward him. “Did you…?”

  Walker didn’t vocalize his affirmation, a slight dip of his head and a blush was all the answer Andy needed.

  Returning his attention to the painting, Andy continued, “Wow, you two are hot together. With that kind of chemistry, the sex must be out of this world.” He grinned when Walker’s blush deepened. Goal. Andy loved making the big guy blush, there was something deeply amusing at watching him color with embarrassment. “No need to confirm, I have my answer.” Andy raised an eyebrow indicating the part of Walker that was starting to tilt his towel. “This Nancy is heading back to the kitchen to check on dinner. You finish up and join me. The sooner you eat, the sooner you can nap and get back to Erika. We’ll head to the hospital after you’re rested.”

  Andy left whistling innocently the whole way out. He was hoping he could distract Walker from all the guilt and pain etched on his face, and he had. Even if Walker thought he was hitting on him, he didn’t care. The end result is what mattered and he achieved it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  THREE WEEKS LATER

  ERIKA

  The priest deemed Erika cognizant enough to consent to marriage. It took longer than expected, a bit of maneuvering to plan and execute a wedding in a hospital, but everyone played their parts and the day was finally here.

  Erika’s sadness over Melanie missing the wedding was soothed a bit by holding a memorial service in the hospital chapel. Melanie had no family, and Erika agreed to be her next of kin back when they met. The service being held here was perfect. Big enough for those that loved her, but small enough that it felt like a family. It’s what Mel would’ve wanted.

  Guilt was still weighing heavily on her about Melanie and her will. She and Tori would be profiting from her death and somehow that felt wrong, so wrong, but she was trying to let it go. Mel, their flaky friend, was apparently anything but.

  She’d changed her will and had all kinds of business documents already drawn up in the event of “unforeseen circumstances.” Erika didn’t understand all the legal wrangling and paperwork, but Andy did.

  He’d explained it to Erika in what he call “E Speak.” Melanie’s estate would be funding their business venture, the fit girl’s retail store, the one she wasn’t even supposed to know about yet, minus burial expenses and outstanding debts. Tori would be devastated by losing Mel, and if Erika knew her like she believed she did, she wouldn’t be able to accept the money.

  Erika felt that way at first, but Andy and Walker helped her see that it was a way of fulfilling Melanie’s dream for her. By accepting her money as the capital needed to build the business, they not only didn’t need outside investors, but Melanie would still be a part of it, just the three amigos like she wanted. Erika settled into acceptance and come up with a name to honor her friend that she was sure Tori would adore.

  There was no help for Tori being MIA for the wedding, it’s what everyone agreed on, but Erika was happy for her friend. Even though she knew “The Dick” would break her heart, she was happy for now, and that’s what mattered. If this accident taught her anything, it was to live in the moment. She had been so bleeping busy worrying about the future, planning for it, analyzing all possibilities and making lists, that she was missing out on all the here and now.

  Not anymore, Erika Juliet Pressman, soon to be Reid, would live each day to the fullest. Every single moment. She would fill her mental scrapbook with snapshots of her incredibly sexy husband and beyond-amazing daughter. And all the other incredible people who were gathering around at this very moment for her wedding.

  Her wedding? She never thought she’d be wearing a backless number from the hospital chic collection, but hey, living in the moment didn’t always lend to the best wardrobe choices. Looking around from her seated position in her wheelchair, she was greeted with faces and smiles that meant the world to her. “Let’s get this show on the road before my cub changes his mind.”

  Walker choked on surprise and turned his false murderous gaze toward Andy at Erika’s side. He gave him a “what the hell man” look.

  Throwing his hands up and adopting a look of feigned innocence, Andy asked, “What? She’s my best friend, and you are soon to be her husband. Full disclosure among family and all that. I may, or may not, have mentioned that I saw her cub naked and he may or may not have had an…”

  “All right, all right, enough already. Not in front of my daughter.” Walker turned his attention to the cooing bundle in Marco’s arms and scooped her up. He addressed his additional comments to her. “Isn’t that right precious? Uncle Andy has a big mouth, doesn’t he? Yes, he does, and you know what else, he has a crush on your daddy. Yes, he does, but that’s because your daddy is so handsome. Yes. Uncle Andy is just jealous, because what he saw wasn’t for him at all. No, it wasn’t.”

  “Oh geez
, I can’t handle two of you. You should give me Willow and we should leave. There won’t be any room left for us with your two big heads swelling at an alarming rate.” Erika shook her head at the both of them.

  Everyone else laughed. Francis popped Walker in the back of the head and the laughter turned riotous. When it finally hit a lull, they said their “I Do’s” and returned to Erika’s room alone, everyone else dispersing and Willow returning to the nursery.

  Walker gently curled up next to his wife in the tiny hospital bed. “Not what you pictured for your honeymoon, huh?” There was a sadness to his words. Past guilt and present impotence invaded her husband. She caressed his cheeks as best she could.

  “It’s perfect. Just like my life and my family. A honeymoon isn’t about location or even sex, it’s about the person you spend it with.” Erika brought her lips up to his.

  At first he kept the kiss light and almost chaste, like he did every other one they had shared here, but she was done. Done being fragile, and done missing out on him because of, well, him. She forced him to open to her. At first, he was resistant, but when she finally breeched that invisible barrier, the one that held him back, he took over with a vengeance.

  There was a change that came over Walker, and not just a physical one with their intimacy, such as it was, but a mental one. One that was a long time coming. It was like he let go of all the guilt and pain and fear he was clinging to. Walker finally let go of the baggage he was lugging around, dropped his past, and embraced his future. Erika only recognized it in him because she’d done the same thing a few days ago when she agreed to marry the man of her dreams.

  They would have their happily ever after, after all, and expletive it, they both more than bleeping deserved it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  5 MONTHS LATER

  ERIKA

  Erika was sexually frustrated, extremely so. Physically and mentally, she was ready to consummate her marriage bleep it, but Walker wouldn’t cooperate. Sure, he touched her, ever brought her off with his hands and mouth as soon as the doctors gave them the go ahead, but he wouldn’t make love to her.