Crossroads (Chance City Series Book Three)

by Robin Deeter

  “I didn’t know you were such a talented chef.”

  He lifted out a roasting pan from the oven and sat it on top of the stove.

  “After I had healed well from my accident and I started learning how to do things for myself, I insisted that Mama teach me how to cook. It was hard because of the height of counters and the stove, but I got around that by putting a couple of pillows on my chair to raise me up higher. It worked well enough that I could start learning harder dishes that took longer.”

  She put Ollie down on a chair. “That’s why I got so angry with you.”

  “Because I can cook?”

  She laughed at his teasing. “No. You’re so smart and determined to overcome obstacles. A lot of people who can walk don’t put half the effort into achieving their goals as you do. They told you that you wouldn’t be able to get around by yourself, but you can race along, spin, get up and down one step in your chair, and pull yourself with your arms any place you can’t go with your chair.

  “And now you and Vern built a new suit of armor that lets you stand and walk a little.” She crossed her arms over her chest and arched an eyebrow at him. “I’ve heard about you doing it, but I haven’t gotten to see it.”

  He blushed a little. “I haven’t shown many people yet. I did a lot of falling at first, so I wanted to wait until I was better at it before showing off.”

  She gave him a beguiling smile. “I’ll bring you more cookies if you show me.”

  “You don’t play fair. I’ll show you tomorrow if you come around ten.”

  Nora pretended to consider it. “Well, I guess I can do that.”

  He flashed her a smile as he worked around. The rule concerning Wheels was that if he needed help, he would say so. If he didn’t, it meant that he was fine on his own. Therefore, Nora didn’t interfere with what he was doing.

  He’d put a white cloth on the table and a vase with silk, spring flowers stood in the center of it. She liked the blue and white china and good silverware. It made her feel special that he’d created such a nice atmosphere for their first dinner. They’d eaten lunch together before and she’d eaten as his family’s house, but she’d never had dinner alone with him like this before.

  “Nora, will you please pour the wine?”

  “Of course.”

  She didn’t know much about wine, but the bottle of white chardonnay looked expensive. Once they were ready and had sat down, Wheels sighed and gazed at her for a moment.

  “Are you as nervous as I am?” he asked.

  Nora laughed and nodded. “Yes. I don’t know why. It’s not as if we’re strangers.”

  “But this feels different, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes, but it also feels nice.”

  He raised his glass. “A toast to different yet nice.”

  She touched her glass to his and took a sip of the wine, which tasted pleasant.

  “I saw Brock today,” she said. “He was in a foul mood.”

  Wheels grinned. “Let me guess: Cy.”

  “Yes. Cy’s house can’t get built soon enough. They’re together too much.”

  She took a bite of the succulent chicken. The potatoes and beans were flavorful, too.

  “I know. Him and Daphne come over here sometimes and sometimes Cy and Leigh do. Working and living together is taking a toll on them, but they’ll get through it. They don’t have a choice,” Wheels remarked.

  “I’m so happy for Leigh and Cy. They’re so excited about the baby and Brock and Daphne are excited about it, too. Hopefully they’ll be having their own little one soon.”

  While they talked and ate, Ollie added to the conversation with little grunts and squeals while he ate the various pieces of fruit that Wheels had given him. He was so tired and full by the time he was done, he got down and went into Wheels’ office, where he slept in the little bed that Wheels had made for him.

  “He really is exhausted,” Nora said.

  “I’m not surprised. They chased him all over the place and he chased them. Then he went over home with them for a while and God only knows what all they were doing,” Wheels said. “He’s one tired monkey.”

  “How old is Ollie? I don’t know why I never thought to ask you before.”

  “He’s eight now. Capuchins can live to be over thirty, sometimes forty years old. My Uncle Darius gave him to me a little while after I was injured. He’d rescued him from a circus when he saw how badly they treated him. We rescued each other after that. He helped me with all kinds of things I couldn’t do for myself at the time.

  “I spoiled him and so did my folks, but it was because we wanted him to feel safe and loved. That’s why I got so furious with Luther the other night and, honestly, I can’t say I wouldn’t do it again if someone else tried to hurt Ollie. I’ve been watching him really close for signs that he’s afraid of anyone because of it,” Wheels said.

  Nora’s brows drew together. “That’s why I think Luther got what he deserved. Punching a poor little monkey like that. It serves him right to have something broken!”

  Wheels couldn’t control the snort of laughter that escaped him. “I’m sorry, it’s just that I’ve never heard you get so riled up until the other day. I kinda like it—as long as it’s not me you’re mad at.”

  Nora said, “I’m like Ma that way. It takes a lot to get me mad, but once I am, everyone knows it.”

  Grinning, he said, “Well, I knew it the other day.”

  “Stop it.”

  He snapped off a salute to her. “Yes, ma’am!”

  They finished dinner with the cinnamon cake that Susan had made for them and some coffee. Wheels informed Nora that while he could cook, he’d never mastered baking, so he’d had his mother make the treat for them. Nora insisted on helping clean up from supper and Wheels gave in, enjoying working together.

  Once everything was tidy, he said, “I’ll be right back. Why don’t you have a seat on the sofa?”

  “All right.”

  She made herself comfortable and looked around his parlor. It was a hodgepodge of different types of furniture and assorted pictures lined the tops of a couple of barrister bookcases. She knew that Brock had taken a lot of them. Wheels came back, minus his suit jacket and tie.

  “Miss me?” he quipped.

  “Yes, because you were gone for years, you know. I pined and pined for you.”

  He laughed as he situated his chair close to the sofa. “I like a woman with a smart mouth.”

  The cushions bounced as he shifted onto the sofa. Bending forward, he pulled a hassock close and, with his arms, lifted his legs up onto it using his pant legs, crossing the left over the right. Nora had seen him do it a hundred times, but it still amazed her.

  “Wheels, can I ask you something?”

  “Anything.”

  She turned to face him, taking off her slippers and tucking her feet up under her. “Why did you invite me to a romantic dinner?”

  “Well, I was confused about why you were mad the other day and I told a friend of mine about it. They said that you were upset because I was sort of putting myself down and that it was most likely because you cared about me. I thought they were crazy, but they said that you were interested in me,” he replied.

  “Why is it so crazy that I would be interested in you?”

  “Don’t get angry again, but there hasn’t been one single woman who’s been seriously attracted to me since my accident,” Wheels said. “They like to dance with me because it’s fun and I have fun, too, but they don’t see me as a potential beau. And before we go any further down this path, there are a lot of things I need to explain to you.”

  Nora asked, “Why do you need to explain?”

  “Because being with someone like me isn’t the same as being with a normal man, Nora. I’m not being critical of myself. These things aren’t easy for me to talk about, but it’s only fair that you understand before things go too far. I’ve never had to do this before because there wasn’t anyone I needed to explain them to,
” he said.

  Nora wasn’t used to him being so serious, but she wanted to hear what he had to say. “All right. Go on.”

  “These are very personal things. Very personal. Not things that are usually discussed between courting people or in mixed company. Are you sure you want to have this discussion?”

  “Yes. I’m positive.”

  He ran a hand through his hair as he tried to figure out how to start. It had seemed so much easier in his head, but now that the time had actually come, the right words were harder to find. “Even though I’m partially paralyzed, I’m a fortunate man. Some people are paralyzed from the neck down. It all just depends on where and how severely your spinal cord is injured. My doctors said that the lower the injury on the spine, the more function you have.

  “Uncle Vin said there’s so much that they don’t know about it all, but that spinal cord injuries affect everyone differently. There are some similarities, but a lot of differences, too. Turn around a second.”

  Nora did and waited.

  “I’m not trying to be too familiar with you. I just want to show you something.”

  “Ok.”

  She felt his fingers slide down her spine, gently probing until they rested just above her rear end.

  “That’s where my injury occurred. Two of my vertebrae were practically crushed and the spinal cord damaged. I’m lucky that it wasn’t completely severed or else I wouldn’t be able to do nearly as much as I can.”

  He took away his hand and she turned to face him again.

  “That said, there are still a lot of things besides walking that I can’t do the way normal people can. Here’s where things get really personal,” he said.

  “Wheels, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

  “Yes, I do have to. I won’t get involved with you unless you understand, Nora. I can’t do that to either one of us. So as embarrassing as this is, it’s necessary.”

  “All right.”

  “It might not seem like it to other people, but my life revolves around a schedule. I have to get up at a certain time, eat at a certain time, so forth and so on. That’s because my bodily functions aren’t always reliable so I’ve had to train them, put them on a schedule. Do you understand?”

  Nora blushed, but said, “You’re talking about your bowels?”

  “Yeah, and the other. It’s a part of being paralyzed. Here and there I can’t tell if I have to go or not, so I stick to a schedule. I watch how much I drink when I’m out somewhere and I try to come home by a certain time. If I’m at the Chowhound, I can use Jim and Sandy’s bathroom in their apartment, so I don’t have to be as careful. But when we go to Benny’s, it’s a different story,” he explained.

  Nora said, “I didn’t realize that those things were affected.”

  “Yeah. Like I said, I’m lucky. A lot of people have no idea that they have to go and end up having accidents. They can’t help it.”

  Nora tried to imagine what not being able to feel such basic urges would be like, but couldn’t, of course. “Of course, they can’t. But you can tell?”

  “Most of the time, but I don’t like taking chances, so I try to stick to my schedule as much as possible.”

  “I think that’s very sensible. I appreciate you being so forthright with me, but none of that changes things in my mind,” she said.

  “That’s good, but this next part might.”

  Nora smiled. “I doubt it.”

  “Nora, the next thing we need to discuss involves the birds and the bees. I don’t know how much you know about that.”

  Nora smiled and then laughed. “I’m sorry, but it was so cute hearing you say the birds and the bees as though I’m twelve.”

  He laughed. “Well, this isn’t normally something that you talk about in mixed company, so I wasn’t sure how to put it. If this wasn’t so important, we wouldn’t be talking about it at all.”

  Nora nodded. “I understand. I’ve never been with a man, but Ma was very clear in explaining how things work. She said that Grandma never told her anything and she was terrified on her wedding night. She said that she didn’t want me scared out of my mind about what would happen.”

  “God bless your mama,” Wheels said. “Ok. That makes this a little easier. The simple fact is that it’s doubtful that I can father children. Sometimes things work and sometimes they don’t. Or sometimes when they do, they don’t last for very long.”

  Nora exerted great control in not glancing away from his eyes. “Oh. I see.”

  Wheels covered his eyes with his hand. “Oh, Lord. I’ve never told anyone that before. Not even my daddy or Uncle Vin. They know, but I never said it out loud to anyone except Johnny. But you needed to know. Now do you understand why I wouldn’t pursue anything until I talked to you about this.”

  Her heart went out to him because she knew how important it was to most men that they be able to father a child. How devastating it must be to know that he might never be able to do that. Moving a little closer, she took his hand.

  “Wheels, I understand what you’re telling me. I do. But it still doesn’t change my mind about you,” she said. “Do they know why it happens?”

  He glanced sheepishly at her. “No. They don’t know the exact cause yet, but they’re doing a lot of research about it all. Nora, let’s say that things work out with us, can you really say that you’d be satisfied being married to a man who couldn’t give you children or maybe a lot of what happens in order to make children. I’m not always reliable.”

  The uncertainty and embarrassment in his expression when he looked at her intensified the sympathy she felt. She didn’t pity him, but she did feel badly for him. His bravery in talking to her about something so deeply personal so that she could make an informed decision proved even further to her that Wheels was a man of integrity and that he had a huge heart.

  He tightened his hand around hers. “Now do you understand why it’s hard for a man like me to believe that a woman would want me?”

  Just holding hands with Wheels filled Nora with happiness. She took his hand in both of hers. “I appreciate you talking to me like this because it shows that you have great respect for me and that you care more about my feelings than your own.

  “My mother is a very forward thinking woman. She’s been involved in women’s suffrage and other feminine causes. Many women would be offended if a man brought up such personal subjects, but I’m not one of them. Ma explained to me that while the physical part of a marriage is important, the emotional side means even more. She told me that love and relations should go hand-in-hand. So that’ll be the most important thing to me, Wheels, no matter who I marry.”

  Wheels couldn’t believe what he was hearing or that she was still there. He’d fully expected her to be offended and leave, but there she sat, calmly discussing the topic and holding his hand to boot.

  “What about children?” he asked. “Could you live with it if we couldn’t conceive?”

  Her smile made his heart rate pick up. “Wheels, Leigh didn’t think she could conceive, but she did. Maybe we would have our own little miracle, but if not, would you be willing to adopt?”

  She’d surprised him again. He should propose to her right now before she changed her mind.

  “I’ve had a lot of time to think about all of this, and I came to accept the fact that I might not be able to make a baby. I want kids, and if that means adopting, then so be it.”

  Her smile widened. “See? You’ve been worrying for nothing.”

  He scrubbed a hand over his face and laughed with relief. “I guess so.”

  She squeezed his hand. “I do have a question, though.”

  “I’ll answer anything you ask me. It’s only right.”

  “You said that sometimes things work and sometimes they don’t. That means that you’ve been seeing someone. Do you have feelings for her? I won’t share you. I’ll only start a relationship with you if I’m the only woman in your life,” Nora said.

>   He sighed. “I’m not exactly proud of this, but you have to understand that I never thought I’d find anyone. I settled for what I could get regarding female company. Since my accident, I’ve only been seeing one woman. One of Sandy’s girls.”

  Jealousy flared inside Nora, but she fought it down. “I can understand that and I’m not completely naïve about those women. I’ve heard my brothers discuss them when they thought I wasn’t around. But I won’t tolerate you seeing her anymore. What’s her name? I don’t want to be caught off guard if I run into her.”

  The glint in her eyes and her possessive statement captivated Wheels.

  “Her name is Wendy and she’s been wonderful to me. I won’t lie about that. She’s patient and kind and she’s never made fun of me if I can’t do anything.”

  Nora smiled tightly. “I’m glad that she’s been good to you, but you’ll have to tell her that you can’t see her anymore because you’re mine now. I’m claiming you. That is if you want me to.”

  Tears stung his eyes, but he held them back. “Yes, Nora, I want you to claim me very much.”

  He laid his free hand alongside her cheek. The softness of her skin against his palm felt so good. Leaning towards her, he gently pulled her to him.

  Nora’s pulse throbbed faster as she realized that he was going to kiss her. His lips brushed hers and her eyes automatically closed. Gradually, he increased the pressure of his mouth against hers and he let go of her hand. Putting an arm around her waist, he held her tightly as he coaxed her lips apart. Nora had never kissed anyone like that, but she followed his lead, sighing as he deepened the kiss.

  Kissing Nora was so different than kissing Wendy. Nora’s inexperience excited him and he liked knowing that he was the first man to kiss her this way. She began responding by instinct, hesitantly touching his tongue with hers and putting her hands on his shoulders. Splaying his hands over her back, he pressed her harder against his chest, growling his pleasure.

  Nora ran her hands over his shoulders, fascinated by the hard muscles under his shirt. She remembered how he looked without it and she wound her arms around his neck, letting her inhibitions go.

  As their embrace grew more heated, Wheels was amazed when his ardor stirred to life. Nora’s lips were so soft and the eager way she responded to him sent desire singing through his body. It was a bittersweet realization because he couldn’t let things continue. It was a shame to waste the opportunity, but he wasn’t going to seduce Nora.