He whispered, “Come for me,” and she bucked her hips haphazardly, coming soon after.
She bit down on his shoulder, and her body convulsed on top of him, letting out her screams like thunder through his chest. It sent him to his own erotic peak, and with a few wild, stormy jerks, he followed her to heaven. He let go of her hips and held her, not wanting the moment to end, but aware he wouldn’t be able to feel her again like this for some time. However long it would be was already too long.
“We should get up, Abby. They’ll be here any minute.”
“Okay,” she answered, pressing her hands into the bed to lift herself.
He helped her off him, keeping his eyes trained on her to capture every detail for vivid recall later on. She kissed his cheek and briefly smiled with loving eyes. She crawled over him to get up, and gathered her things to get cleaned up in his bathroom.
“You should wait with your friends,” he said when she was finished.
“You’re probably right.”
He gave her what he felt was their last kiss before she would leave. As briefly as it lasted, he hoped it conveyed all the warmth and growing affection he had for her.
“I’ll get dressed and be right out.”
She nodded. After she left, he picked up his clothes and got ready.
Chapter Eleven
ABBY, Ruth and Barb looked on from the porch steps as Andrew and Rob loaded up the Jeep with their things from the house, and from Abby’s SUV beside it. Rob set aside John and Trina’s things from the SUV and took them inside. Andrew was able to get in touch with Trina while they waited for Abby’s SUV. His new plan was that after he dropped the four of them to the car rental in Reno, he would return here to drop their belongings off for Trina at the hospital.
Andrew had double-checked the weather. It would be clear skies and mild temperatures for the rest of the day. It meant they were left with enough time to leave Reno before two in the afternoon. With that departure time, they would get into San Francisco by seven at night, if they made one or two short stops on the way.
Neither Andrew nor Rob would let Abby or the other ladies help. Both Andrew and Rob coddled Abby like her injury had still left her incapacitated. When they were finished, Andrew locked up the house. Rob, Ruth and Barb piled into his vehicle. Abby wasn’t sure why she took so long to get into the car. She hung back on the porch and looked at the house, trying to etch it into her brain.
Andrew may have read her mind—again. “Does your phone still have enough charge?” he asked, coming to stand beside her.
“Yes. I had it turned off since that night. I haven’t used it. Why?”
“I can take a photo of you right here, with the house behind you, if you want.”
“How did you know?”
“Wild guess. Give it to me. Can I take some of you with my phone as well?”
“Of course.”
She smiled and pulled the phone from her purse. She turned it on and opened the camera app before passing it to him.
“Wait,” she told him, turning to her right and pulling her hair to one side. “Get me on my good side.”
“Why is that your good side?”
“I don’t know. I like photos taken from this angle.”
He took a few shots with her phone, and then a few with his own.
“I’d like one of you,” she said as he passed her phone back to her.
“Okay.” He stood on the same step, his broad shoulders pushed back, chin up, and he smiled with his eyes when she took a shot of him.
“Thanks Andrew,” she said softly, putting her phone away. “Now I have more than a mental picture to remember you by. Plus I have a photo of the house and the man who saved us from the storm.”
“Same here. I’d get one of us together, but your friends are waiting. Let’s get going.”
Rob had already sat in back, with Ruth in the middle, and Barb behind the front passenger seat. There was no discussion that Abby would ride shotgun. She guessed they knew more about what was growing between her and Andrew—not that she cared to hide it anymore.
The drive to Reno was quiet. Probably too quiet. Everyone seemed trapped in their respective thoughts. Through the rear view mirror and infrequent gazes in the back, Abby noticed Barb wore her earbuds, and kept her eyes fixed out the window, or down into her lap for the entire ride. Every so often, Rob would look over at Ruth and smile, but they never spoke either. She could almost swear she saw Rob gently squeeze Ruth’s hand, but it happened so fast, she wasn’t certain.
Andrew was also silent. Whenever she glanced over at him, he looked calm. The expression on his face was—serene. There were so many times she wanted to stretch her arm over and touch him, to gently tuck his dark wavy hair behind his ear, to slide her hand over his cheekbone, or just hold his free hand as he drove. She resisted the temptation using all her willpower. She contented herself to tilt her head back on the headrest, close her eyes, and remember.
They arrived in Reno in under an hour. There was practically no traffic on the way there, until they hit Highway eighty—which made sense considering it was early afternoon on a weekday. It was ironic and somewhat surreal. The car rental branch was directly opposite the 7-Eleven gas station where they had met up just three days before. They were back to square one, and it was a second chance to start over. The only difference was that John and Trina were not going to be with them this time when they headed out.
Andrew went inside with her to sign for the rental. He held her hand while they waited to be served. He said nothing. Everything that needed to be said had already been spoken back in his room. The customer agent called her up shortly after they arrived. She gave Abby the keys to the rental, and some documents to sign.
“I can take care of this for you, you know,” Andrew offered, pulling out his wallet.
Abby noticed the black credit card he slid out, made of stainless steel. So did the employee behind the counter. She was a short, blonde woman, probably in her forties, bubbly and ever so talkative. Abby had forgotten to expect this kind of reaction, but she was not going to allow Andrew to pay for any expenses, not after he had already done so much for them.
She pushed the card back to him and shook her head. “No thanks. I can take care of it. Really, Andrew, you’ve already helped us plenty.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“All right. Rob and I will start loading up while you finalize the paperwork.”
Once he left, she gave the customer agent her card. The woman went on and on about Andrew’s black card, and that Abby was a little crazy for refusing help from her man, especially since he pulled out a credit card with no limit. It was a typical small-town, meddlesome reaction. Abby nodded politely with the woman and smiled—she was entertained, but was not going to engage. She signed the documents, thanked the woman for her help, and went outside to the vehicles, which were now side by side.
When the last bag was piled into the SUV rental, Rob shook Andrew’s hand.
“Thanks for everything, Andrew,” Rob said, giving him a man hug. “We owe you big time.”
“No problem. Have a safe trip back.”
“Will do.” He took out a piece of paper from his wallet and handed it to Andrew. “If you ever need anything, and I mean anything at all, let me know, okay? My number and email address are on the back. I’m ready to return the favor anytime at all.”
Andrew nodded. “Thanks Rob. Take care.”
He waved and said goodbye to Ruth and Barb, before turning back to Abby.
“Well,” he said, “I think I should keep this short. I’ll see you soon, right?”
“Agreed. And yes. Just text or phone anytime.”
“Oh shit!” he laughed nervously. “This is kind of an awkward question, considering.”
“What is it?”
“Can I have your phone number? I don’t think I got it from you.”
“That’s true!” She laughed and pulled her phone out.
“Here. Just put your number in my phone. I’ll text you now so you’ll have my number too.”
They exchanged contact numbers, and now it was time to go. They stood facing each other, neither of them ready to move off. Abby had to find some self-control before too much time had passed.
“Well, I’ll see you okay?” She said, giving him a friendly hug and pulling away too quickly to open her driver-side door.
“Yes. See you, Abby.”
He stood and held the door open for her, and closed it after she sat inside. Without waiting, he walked around to his car and jumped in. He looked over to her and nodded, signaling for her to leave first.
“Come on, let’s go already,” Barb called out from the back seat.
Abby started the car, gave him a final brief wave, and left.
***
Abby was not ready to go back to campus. She also had not expected it would turn into a bumpy ride after they left Andrew. The first two hours were the calm before the storm. Then it started, right after they headed out from the one rest stop they made about twenty minute outside of Sacramento.
She should have anticipated it, in hindsight. There had to have been something she was missing while in the house. It was all about to be revealed—triggered by a snide remark from Barb. Rob and Ruth had taken the back seats when they stopped, and Barb was riding shotgun. For a few minutes, Barb looked like there was something on her mind.
And then. Pow! Right from left field she came a-swinging.
“You should have kissed him back there, you know?” Barb kicked off the fireworks in a nice, easy tone.
“Pardon?”
“You should have kissed him. No need to hide anything from us.”
“I wasn’t hiding anything, Barb.”
“Damn straight! We all know you were fucking him from the get-go.”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“Well you made it my concern, when we had to listen to you and Andrew, jumping each other’s bones like rabbits the whole time.”
“Barb, whatever you heard or saw was none of your business. I’m not going to apologize to anyone for it. I think you need to keep your opinions to yourself.”
Rob was the next one to chime in, in Abby’s defense. “Barb, you lay off her, all right? Don’t you dare swear at her.”
“I can swear at anyone I—”
He cut her off mid-sentence. “Hey. Watch your mouth, okay. It’s none of your business.”
“Who the fuck asked you?”
“You’re a guest in her car, remember?”
“Yeah, and it’s all your faults I ended up stranded in the middle of nowhere with you people.”
“Ding dong! The bitch is back!” Ruth exclaimed during the commotion.
Rob placed a finger over his mouth as he looked at Ruth, and took a breath. He set the record straight with everyone in the car.
“Abby’s my friend, Barb. More than that, she’s like family. I won’t let you disrespect her. So what? She met Andrew. They really like each other after a really, really short time. They’re both single. What’s wrong with that? Trust you to bite the hands that feed you. That man you’re trash talking right now? Not only did he save our lives, he took us in and fed us all, you included. He trusted us around his house full of valuable stuff. He saved John too, remember? He’s probably the most decent person we could have met during that blizzard. Things could have been much worse. You should not take that for granted.”
“Sounds like a budding bromance to me,” she said sarcastically.
“Shut up, Barb,” he shouted.
“Hey, calm down everyone,” Abby said, in her firm, but calm tone. Tempers had flared—she had never heard Rob this angry, and had never heard him swear or raise his voice, ever—it was now getting out of control.
“No, Abby. I’m sick of her shit. We all pussyfoot around you, Barb. For three days we did that, like you’re some god. You know what? I hate to disrespect women, but you enter a room and suck out all the good energy. I can’t believe I was ever interested in you. I must have had blinders on, but now I don’t. Maybe you should be working on yourself, instead of searching for things to complain about and people to criticize.”
“Okay Rob,” Abby said with a raised voice.
She needed to take back control of her passengers. By now, Barb had shrunk away from Rob, and listed toward the front passenger door. She was in shock, and looked appalled. Like most bullies, she couldn’t take the heat she dished out.
“You’ve said enough, Rob,” Abby continued. “Just let it be now. None of us can leave this car for the next two hours. Let’s try to coexist peacefully, and not let things escalate for the rest of this trip.”
“Fine, but I’ll finish it with this. Barb, if you’re so concerned with who’s been sleeping with each other around you, you can add Ruth and me to the pack. There. Now I said enough.”
That’s what it was really about. It all made sense then. Ruth turned a bright shade of pink, but held his hand openly after he announced their new-fangled involvement. It shut Barb right up. And no further words were spoken for the rest of the trip.
Chapter Twelve
ANDREW made it back home, loaded up John and Trina’s gear, and drove to Norton Memorial. From Crystal Bay where he lived, it was only a half-hour scenic drive down the east side of Lake Tahoe. After Abby and her friends drove away, he tried to put her out of his mind for the afternoon. He was going to see her soon, and liked where they had left things off. For the first time in a long time, his mind was not in turmoil.
He got to the hospital and parked at the main building. It was a vast medical complex in a low population density area. He left their things in the trunk. Trina would likely want her bags at the hotel. John was undoubtedly going to be wearing hospital gowns for some time, and had no need for much, other than his laptop and possibly his cell phone charger.
As he left the car, he was reminded of the hospital’s contemporary architecture, which extended three blocks north and south of where he stood, and west to the lake. The series of buildings were connected by convenient and futuristic overpasses, all of which had unobstructed views of the water. It was the feature that most staff, patients and their visitors loved. At any given time, day or night, there were twenty to fifty people looking out at the water from its raised vantage point.
Before Andrew went to John’s floor, he stopped at the flower shop. The storm was over, and their parents had probably already made it in. He imagined with college in session, John would not have many visitors. He had the florist package up five different colorful bunches. He asked her to make five cards out to John, one from each of his friends, and one from him. The woman wrapped each set, placing them all to stand in a deep, floral travel box for Andrew to carry. She seemed pleased when Andrew handed her a hundred dollar bill and told her to keep the change.
He found the recovery floor easily. The familiar nurse hunched over at reception was overly friendly when he asked for John’s room number. She smiled and straightened up when she saw him, and called him by his last name. She may have remembered him from his summer stints as an orderly during college, long before he had started medical school.
His mother had suggested that if he wanted to understand the importance of practicing medicine, he needed to start on the hospital floor, in a high-touch, low risk position. Unfortunately, like all gossip, the ones about wealth and power traveled the fastest. By his third summer, almost all the staff knew he was a Carrington, of the Carrington’s, without him ever mentioning a word to a soul. After everyone found out, he could barely perform his duties without someone offering to take over, or hinting that the work was beneath him.
She gave him John’s room number and pointed him in the right direction before she resumed her pose. John was awake, and Trina was sitting in the chair at his bedside when he walked in. He was connected to heart and blood pressure monitors, and was being given fluids intravenously. He looked to be in good spirits. He had to
be in a great deal of pain, with one forearm literally held together from the inside with screws and metal.
“Hi Andrew!” Trina stood up to greet him.
Andrew motioned for her to remain seated, but she had a mind of her own. She accepted the box of flowers from him and gave him a warm hug. “Thanks for bringing these gorgeous flowers.”
“You’re welcome.” He straightened up to break from the embrace, turning to John. “They’re from your friends too.”
“Thanks,” John said. “That’s nice of them. Are they still at your place?”
“No, they left a few hours ago. Abby got a rental car to get back to school with your friends. How are you feeling?”
“A little stiff in the arm, but I’m doing great.”
He smiled and looked around the room. “Are they treating you well here?”
“Very. The food is pretty good too.”
“Great to hear, John. I’m happy to see you’ll be on the mend soon.” He turned back to Trina. “I can’t stay long. I’ve got to get back to the cottage. Are you staying at the hotel next door?”
“Yes, they put me up in a nice suite.”
“It’s best if I take your things there.”
“Yeah.” She looked down at her clothes and ran a hand over her hair to smooth it down. “I’ve been in these clothes since last night.”
“I can give you a ride over if you want, or I can leave it with the bell desk.”
She looked over at John, who nodded. “Go ahead Trina. You haven’t slept all night. Get some sleep. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay,” she answered. “Sure, I’ll come with you. I didn’t want to leave John alone before, but his parents are here now. They went down to the cafeteria a few minutes ago.”
“Great. Let’s go.” He nodded in John’s direction. “John, you take care of yourself, buddy.”
“Thanks for everything, Andrew.”
“It’s no problem,” he said before John had a chance to say more.
Cabin Bear Heat Box Set: A Paranormal Fantasy Bear Shifter Romance (A Bear Shifter Romance Retelling of the Billionaire Redemption Series Book 2) Page 21