The Strand Brothers Series: Complete Set

by Lora Ann

  Once she was safely ensconced in my embrace, I tried to form the words but nothing would come out.

  E gently rubbed her back as he spoke in low, soothing tones. “Mrs. Kincaid.”

  Her eyes opened wide and I could see the despair in their depths. I held her tighter. Before E could explain, a doctor approached and inquired, “Are you the family of Mr. Kincaid?”

  Mom responded, “Yes, I’m his wife. How do you know our name?”

  “Mrs. Kincaid, your husband was found in the lobby.”

  “Okay, where is he now?”

  “Ma’am, I’m sorry.” The doctor looked down at his shoes before he continued, “We’re fairly certain that your husband had a massive heart attack.”

  “Well don’t just stand there, take me to him,” she demanded, as she left my arms and began to walk down the hall.

  The doctor continued, “He didn’t make it, Mrs. Kincaid.”

  “W-what?” Mom stood there in shocked bewilderment.

  Immediately I returned to her side. “Mom,” I squeaked out, fearing that I was about to lose her as well.

  “Take me to him,” she ordered.

  The doctor nodded. “Right this way.”

  I watched my mother walk away to see the body of the man she had spent the last twenty-five years with. Did you ever unsee that? While a part of me wanted to be supportive and hold her, another acknowledged she needed to do this on her own. Nevertheless, I would be outside waiting for her when she was finished.

  As I began the dreadful trudge behind her, E grabbed my hand. “Give me a sec and I’ll go with you.”

  For a moment my brain misfired, and then it became clear what he was talking about. He was standing in the hallway in a hospital johnnie. Full realization that if I peeked over his shoulder I would get a gander at his mighty fine butt brought forth a giggle, which quickly turned into hysterical laugher. Instead of looking at me like I had just lost my mind—I had momentarily—he tucked me under his chin and held me. It was such a simple gesture, tender in its utter compassion. He gets me. The weight that lifted from my shoulders at the epiphany was incredible. Though my world had just tipped on its axis, the one thing I knew for sure: He would always have my back. I could trust him with my entire being. I was his focus. I mattered. I was not only loved, but honored and cherished. The feeling was like no other I had ever experienced. There was just one thing I had to know, beyond a shadow of doubt, before I answered his very special question.

  While all the pieces connected to the puzzle that was us, I gazed into his mesmerizing silver eyes. “I’ll meet you there.”

  “You sure?” He tilted his head studying me.

  “Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

  “Alright. I’m right behind you.”

  I leaned forward and brushed my lips against his. “Thank you.”

  “No need to thank me, sweetness.”

  With one more quick peck, he went back to his room to find something to cover his backside while I solemnly walked to where my mom was. I wished with all my heart she didn’t have to go through this, but life didn’t work like that. I hoped my dad had found peace. I prayed he was forgiven for the years he berated my mother, also for his harsh words and awful actions the last few moments I spent with him. I would be a liar if I told you his words “you’re dead to me” wouldn’t haunt me forever. I began to hum the song “Perfect” by Pink to remind myself not to let it consume me. Made me more aware of how we should always guard our tongues and never walk away from those we love in anger. Life lesson learned.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  E

  Damn it all to hell! I needed to find a pair of pants—stat! As I was tearing the room apart in search of anything to cover my ass, a nurse walked in. Oh peachy, this was the one from earlier. I glowered over at her and cautioned, “Don’t.”

  “Mr. Strand, you attempted leaving this room once before.” She motioned towards me. “I can see you’re able to stand without assistance.”

  “Mind over matter,” I smirked.

  “Yes, well…what are you looking for, exactly?”

  “Pants,” I grumbled. “And don’t even think about that fucking robe again.”

  Her brows rose, most likely from my sharp tongue and demeanor. “I see. Would you be able to wait a few minutes?”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “Make it snappy.”

  She huffed, “Be right back.”

  I should probably feel bad for being so short with her, but honestly, I didn’t give a rat’s ass. Lacey needed me, now. Time for small talk and pleasantries wouldn’t fly at the moment. Pacing like a caged lion, it took all I had not to destroy everything in my path. My anger focused on a dead man. Lacey’s father had no right to spit that vile at her, and now, there wasn’t any way for me to deal out retribution. I ran a hand through my hair with an attempt to calm down. Lacey didn’t need me to be half-cocked. There wasn’t anything I could do anyway, so this pent-up rage served no damn purpose. While I stared out the window into the dark night, the last hour or so replayed.

  After everyone had left my room, the doctor had rechecked my arm. Lucky for me, I didn’t need surgery. The broken bone had just slipped on impact—easy enough to fix. Hurt like a motherfucker, but he was able to reset it with speed and accuracy. I would have to use a fiberglass cast for the first few weeks, which wouldn’t have been so bad. I would’ve still been able to ravish Lacey, except, the gash in my leg made that difficult. Doctor’s orders were, “Keep it clean and dry with no physical exertion.” Seemed I would be abstaining for a while. Fuckin’ A. When he had finished with everything and handed me my marching orders, the door had swung open with an ashen faced nurse staring wildly at me. At first, I thought something had happened to Lacey and barked out, “What the hell?”

  She came back online and replied, “Is Mrs. Kincaid close by?”

  “I don’t know. Why?” At that point I was terrified of her answer, until she put me out of my misery.

  “How about Lacey?”

  Leave it to Lacey to have made friends with the staff. She really was too sweet and innocent for an asshole like me. “She’s with her mother.”

  I studied her closer and then had an awful thought. Shit. “Is everything okay with Keeley Kincaid?”

  “Oh…yes, sir,” she answered distractedly, “Just fine.”

  I blew out the breath I had been holding as my brain tried to make sense of who else was here that Mrs. Kincaid and Lacey would be concerned about. And then it hit me. “What about Mr. Kincaid?”

  “Um…well, you see—”

  The doc chimed in at that point, “Go ahead, Fran. You may answer Mr. Strand’s question. Frankly, I’m a bit curious myself.”

  “Yes, Dr. Jones.” She took a fortifying breath before she spoke, “He didn’t make it.”

  “I’m sorry,” I piped up, “Who?”

  “Mr. Kincaid had what appears to have been a massive heart attack in the lobby, sir. He was dead by the time he hit the floor.”

  Doctor Jones approached his colleague and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright, Fran?”

  From across the room, I saw her tears. Damn, it must be hard working here. All of a sudden my brain fired to life. Holy shit, Lacey’s dad had just died. That was beyond horrible, especially after the way he had spoken to her last time they were together. What about Mrs. Kincaid? I didn’t care what kind of prick you were married to; when they passed away you felt that shit all the way to your bones. Hell, I needed to go find them.

  Just as I was about to say fuck it and go find Lacey and her mom without pants on, the nurse returned. “These should work,” she said as she handed me a pair of scrub bottoms.

  Thank, God. I grabbed them out of her hand and pulled them on as quickly as possible with all the hindrances I had to deal with. Once I was presentable, I made my way to the door. Over my shoulder I called back, “Where would Mrs. Kincaid go to view her husband’s body?”

  “Ordinarily he wou
ld be in the morgue, but I believe they have him in a room down the hall.” She added, “If memory serves me correctly, he’s in room 312.”

  “Thanks,” I muttered as I walked away.

  Though I hated dealing with death more than anything in the world, I needed to support the love of my life. The memories of my own parents’ death would have to stay buried for now. Lacey and her mother needed a man, not a blubbering idiot. Wiping away the tears that managed to leak out of my eyes as I approached the room, I pulled myself together and entered.

  The sight before me nearly brought me to my knees. Ah, my poor girl was a sobbing mess. Mrs. Kincaid was lying over her husband’s body speaking, soft and low, the words only a spouse could or should say. Talk about surreal. In three long strides I was behind Lacey, coiling my arm around her waist and pulling her as close to my body as possible. She pivoted, burying her head in the crook of my neck and continuing to wail. I attempted to soothe her with, “Shh…søta, I’ve got you. I’ll always have you.”

  After a few moments, she began to sniffle. “I should be angry at him, but all I feel is sad.”

  At those words her mother’s head popped up. “Lacey, I know he was a difficult, cold man to be around.” She sighed heavily. “He was horrible to you earlier today. For that, I’m sorry. He let his temper have the best of him.” She walked over and laid her hand on Lacey’s shoulder.

  I took a step backwards so mother and daughter could have their privacy.

  Lacey turned and embraced her mom. “I know that, Momma. I do.”

  “He loved you girls in his own way.” Mrs. Kincaid took a deep breath. “You have to know that.”

  “Yes,” Lacey confirmed before her voice broke on another sob.

  The two women held on to each other tightly a few more seconds. Then, Mrs. Kincaid lifted her arm out to me. I stepped into the fold and held them both for a quite a while. Once all tears were shed and both were calmer, Mrs. Kincaid addressed, “Even. Thank you for taking care of my beautiful Lacey. She’s blessed to have you in her life.”

  I inhaled the scent of Lacey’s shampoo before I responded, “I’m the lucky one. She’s too good for me. I promise you, here and now, that I will love, honor, and cherish her until my last breath.”

  Lacey lifted her head and held my gaze. The warning I saw there was clear as a bright summer day. It spoke volumes: do not tell her you’ve proposed to me. Yeah, well sweetness, I didn’t ever say I played fair, or, took kindly to someone telling me what to do.

  Mrs. Kincaid smiled. “That is the way it is supposed to be,” she stated fondly.

  “Indeed. Now if your daughter here would just say yes, we could plan a wedding.”

  Lacey inhaled sharply as Mrs. Kincaid took her hand. “What are you waiting for? Life is full of the unexpected, honey. You have to grasp the joyous moments as soon as they come along. You just don’t know when they’ll be gone.”

  “Exactly,” I chimed in, which earned me a nasty glower from Lacey. Oh, how I would love to spank her ass for that. In due time, I reminded myself.

  Lacey replied, “You’re right, Mom. But when someone has asked for time, it should be honored,” she ground out between clenched teeth.

  Ouch! That hurt, as if she had slapped me across the face. I leveled a look at her. “True. However, when you find your other half, you don’t pause to ask if the timing’s right. You take a leap of faith, and together face the world.”

  Mrs. Kincaid added, “Hear, hear. There’s strength in numbers, plus, love should never be taken for granted. Life is hard enough.” Tears began to stream down her face. “You can’t expect it to be easy, kids. Marriage is never easy. But…if you remember you’re in it together and always communicate, you’ve already won.”

  I shot Lacey a cocky smirk with a told-you-so look for good measure.

  “Still…” she snorted, “I expect to be respected.”

  Ah God, I loved that smart mouth of hers. “Absolutely. We’re on the same page, sweetness. I, too, want respect,” I answered firmly.

  Her eyes lowered as she whispered, “I’m sorry. Please just give me the time I’ve requested.”

  Mrs. Kincaid ran her fingers through Lacey’s hair. “Don’t wait too long, my dear,” she cautioned as she walked away and left the room.

  “That was uncalled for,” Lacey hissed. “You knew I didn’t want you to say anything to her.”

  “Why?” I asked hotly, “Because she agrees with me? Or because you’re going to say no and don’t want to look like the bad guy?”

  We were standing toe to toe. Her long, elegant finger started poking me in the chest. “Neither, jackass.” With that she spun on her heels and made a quick exit.

  I stood there fuming for a beat. And then I realized I had overstepped my boundary. She was distraught and in mourning. The last thing she needed was me pressuring her for an answer. She did not deserve me pushing a subject she desperately needed time to wrestle with. Fuck. She was right; I was a dick. I left the room in search of her to do something I rarely ever did: apologize.

  I found Lacey pacing the waiting room while mumbling under her breath. As I approached, I held my palms up in a surrendering fashion. “I’m an asshat. You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  Her gaze rose to meet mine with a silent ‘O’ frozen on her lips. Damn, she was adorable. I took a step closer and cupped her jaw in my good hand. “I love you. Take all the time you need, smukka. I’m not going anywhere,” I vowed.

  She exhaled, blowing her hot breath across my lips. If the day hadn’t gone completely FUBAR, I would’ve dragged her some place private and shown her how much she meant to me. Instead, I leaned in and gently kissed her. “We good?” I murmured across her mouth.

  “Yeah,” she replied as she wrapped her arms around me.

  Not that I really wanted to broach this topic, but I had to ask, “Have you told Keely yet?”

  “Mom wants to do it.”

  “Alright. Would you like to join them?”

  She nodded her head, “Please.”

  I took a step backwards and laced my fingers with hers. “Let’s go.”

  *****

  When we reached the door to Keeley’s room, we could hear her screaming. I winced before glancing sideways at Lacey. She looked so worn-out standing there shaking her head and muttering, “Oh, Keeley. You just can’t help yourself, can you?”

  I squeezed her hand, which brought her eyes to mine. “I’m right here with you.”

  “Might as well get this over with,” she said with resignation.

  “Hey.” I turned into her and held her. “You’re not alone. Never again will you be alone,” I declared.

  “I know. Thank you.” She gave me a quick kiss at the corner of my mouth and then turned to enter the room with my hand in hers. “Let’s get this over with,” she said with steel in her voice.

  At that moment, I fell in love with her a little more. She never ceased to amaze me. “Please, Lacey, please say yes. I won’t survive without you by my side,” I silently pleaded those words in my head as we approached the mayhem happening inside the hospital room. Lord, if you’re listening up there, help us all.

  Chapter Forty

  Lacey

  Keeley was in rare form as she ranted at our mother. Wish I could say this was unusual behavior brought on by extreme circumstances, but I would be lying. My twin was opposite of me in every sense of the word. From our looks to our personalities, one had to wonder how we were born with the same DNA. In all honesty she was being a bitch, and I, for one, was done hearing her rake Mom over the coals.

  “Enough, Keeley,” I scolded while approaching them. E still had a hold of my hand and squeezed to let me know he had my back. I really did love him more than he realized.

  “Shut the fuck up, Lace,” Keeley spat out.

  Before I could reply, both Mom and E responded in tandem.

  “Keeley Anne Kincaid,” Mom reprimanded.

  “Knock it off,” E ordered, “Now.” His
voice was commanding and threatening, not one you argued with. Which achieved the goal, she instantly bowed to his authority.

  Wow, his dominate nature always turned me on. For all intents and purposes, Keeley recognized it as well. Hmm…I wasn’t quite sure what to make of that.

  E continued, “I know you’re upset, and you have every right to be. However, your mom doesn’t need to hear it right now. In case you forgot, she just lost her husband.” He leveled a look at her that made her squirm uncomfortably.

  Mom gasped, and I turned towards her in time to see the tears falling freely. I wrapped my other arm around her while she leaned into me for strength. Just as I was about to say something not all together nice to Keeley, I witnessed a sight I had never seen before.

  Her chin dropped to her chest. “I-I’m sorry, sir,” she responded to E contritely.

  What the hell was that all about? Unbidden, jealously coiled tight in my gut. He was not hers. Dammit all, now I was pissed off for other reasons. E sensed the change in me since he hadn’t released my hand. With a sidelong glance, he asked, “You alright, sweetness?”

  No way did I want to lie to him, so instead I directed my ire towards the one who had sparked it. “Stop it, Keeley.”

  Her head snapped up, and I could see the remorse in her eyes. “I didn’t mean to offend you, Lace.”

  “Well…it’s a little late for that, don’t ya think?”

  “Yes,” she sighed. “I s’pose it is. For what it’s worth, I really am sorry”—her eyes darted over to E’s—“to both of you.” Then her attention went to our mother. “I apologize for taking out my frustration on you, Mom. You didn’t deserve it.”

  Mom left my embrace and went over to hug Keeley. I watched Keeley wince from the pain, both physical and emotional. I needed to remember that my sister had been estranged from my parents for a while now, and that kind of thing didn’t just go away because someone died. Of course, that thought brought on a sob. E tugged me into his body and whispered, “Say the word, Lacey, and we can go.”