Wicked Healing

by Madden, J. M.

  It would be enough.

  * * *

  Erin arrived packed and ready to drive. Wicked seemed to understand that something was up because he strained at the lead. Or maybe he was just anxious to see Luca. She was as well, and she was disappointed she wouldn’t be seeing him for the next week. After that, though, she’d be with him a lot, or at least near by. More than her mother, even. He would be living on her property.

  She’d only had one renter in the time that she’d owned the ranch, and it had been an older woman boarding with her horse, Coco. Teresa had been working her way across the country, from ranch to ranch. They’d stayed for a few months before Teresa had taken a job in Montana. Since then the apartment had been empty.

  Mom had been excited about the prospect of having a man on the ranch to protect her. Erin had laughed because it was so typical. Yes, she’d been living on her own for years, had her own business, but of course everything would be better with a man nearby. Erin didn’t know how her mother had stayed single for so many years with that kind of attitude.

  “Is he cute,” Linda had demanded.

  “Yes, he’s cute, Mom, but the guy has a lot on his plate. He’s not going to be jumping into a relationship in the near future, so just cool your hopes.”

  Secretly, though, she was thrilled that he was coming to stay with her. Even recovering from injuries, Luca Carmichael was dangerously sexy.

  As soon as she exited the elevator, Luca was there to greet her, and his dog. He surprised her when he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek, sending her pulse racing before he stepped back and leaned down to rub on Wicked. Erin breathed through her nose, inhaling the scent of freshly showered man, and wondered how she was going to leave him behind.

  “Do you mind if we go upstairs for a minute?” he asked her, his dark eyes dancing with excitement. “I made a new friend yesterday and she would love to meet Wicked.”

  “That’s fine by me,” she said quickly, pushing the button to call the elevator. Were they going to meet some woman? Is that why he looked so excited?

  They stepped onto the elevator and he punched the sixth-floor button. “I met Hope yesterday and she’s a real sweetheart. I think Boss will love her.”

  The dog looked up at his nickname and wagged his tail. At the sixth floor, Luca stepped off the elevator with Wicked at heel. He crossed the hallway to the small waiting room off the elevator lobby, but there was no one inside. Frowning, he headed down the hallway, peering into offices as he went. This floor appeared to be administrative, but there were also open spaces, like they were still renovating and hadn’t decided what to allocate the space to yet.

  Luca rounded a corner and stopped. Erin tried to stop as well but still managed to bump into him. Luca caught her with a strong arm wrapped beneath hers. She grinned up at him. “Thank you. I didn’t expect you to stop so quick.”

  “My bad,” he grinned. “Didn’t want to run her over.”

  Erin looked down at one of the most beautiful little girls she’d ever seen. The child had long dark hair, almost black, drawn back into a sloppy braid and bright blue eyes with thick dark lashes. Her cheeks were pink with excitement as she looked at Wicked, but her hands were clasped in front of her like she’d been warned many times not to reach out to dogs. Erin could appreciate whoever had taught her that.

  Wicked reached out his long nose, nudging at her hands and a gentle smile spread the girl’s mouth.

  Luca must have sensed her reserve because he leaned down to her. “He loves kids. They were the least dangerous humans when we were deployed, and he remembers.”

  The little girl stroked the dog and Wicked sat so that he could look up at her. She knelt on the floor to look at the dog’s prosthetic, but the dog didn’t care.

  “It’s not as big as yours,” she whispered, looking up at Luca.

  “No,” he agreed. “Mine goes all the way up over my knee. Wicked’s is just for his foot.”

  “Wicked,” she repeated, leaning into him.

  Wicked seemed completely unperturbed, relaxed even, as the little girl rubbed down his body and head. She avoided his mouth, but touched everything else, and Wicked just rolled with it.

  “Wow,” Erin breathed, impressed all over again with the animal.

  “Wow, is right,” Paul said, joining them. The hospital director leaned against the doorjamb of an office. The hand of his prosthetic was hooked on the pocket of his khakis. The other held a stack of files. “Hope hasn’t responded to anyone like that for a long time,” he told them softly.

  There was sadness in the blue eyes so like his daughter’s and Erin wondered what their story was.

  “She told me we had to be here this morning because Luca’s dog was coming,” Paul said, grinning at them. “It’s all she’s talked about since you found her yesterday.”

  The child was fascinated with the animal, running her fingers through his coat and looking at the pads of his feet. A week ago Erin would never have imagined that the dog would be this amenable to being handled by a child, but again it just spoke to the confidence Wicked had in Luca’s support and encouragement. He’d turned into a completely different dog. They stood there for several minutes before Paul asked them into his office. Luca took a chair in front of the desk and Erin took the second, curious how the events had unfolded. “You found her yesterday?”

  Luca shrugged and he gave her a slight smile, watched as Wicked led the little girl into the office and over to a spot on the floor. “She was bored and down in the atrium lobby. She helped me up when I fell.” He gave her a quick wink, meaning the girl hadn’t really helped, but Luca had allowed her to think she had.

  Erin grinned and nodded. “Ah,” she said softly.

  Paul caught the exchange as well. “We’ve both had to adapt recently,” he said slowly. “Hope’s mother and I weren’t together and a month ago she was killed in a car crash.”

  Erin’s inhaled sharply. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she breathed.

  “Yes, I am too, Paul. I had no idea.”

  Paul looked a little lost, his expression turning serious. “We weren’t together anymore, but it was still… shocking, to say the least. She had custody. Now we have to learn to be together,” he said with a soft smile at his daughter. Hope was now laying against Wicked, stroking her hand down his back. Erin didn’t think she’d heard anything they’d said. And she realized as she looked at the little girl that Hope hadn’t grinned or offered to play with Wicked. She just wanted to pet him. Because she was looking for comfort?

  For some reason she thought of Sophie, the little brown foster dog she’d taken in recently. The two of them would get along marvelously. Sophie lived to give comfort.

  “It looks like you need a dog,” Erin told him.

  Paul snorted. “Yeah, because my life isn’t crazy enough right this second.”

  Erin looked pointedly at the dog and the little girl, but Paul seemed to not want to acknowledge it. He changed the subject, asking Luca about his prosthetic.

  It ended up being several hours before Erin felt like it was time to go. They’d visited with Paul and his daughter for an hour, then took Wicked down to lounge in the grassy courtyard. Erin could tell that Luca seemed to be stalling.

  “You know it’s only a few days, right? And then the two of you will be together again,” she laughed.

  He gave her a serious look. “I know. But even that long seems like forever.”

  He ruffled Wicked’s fur on his neck. The dog reached out a long tongue and licked him, as if he understood the anxiety Luca was feeling.

  “I’m sorry I can’t stay longer,” she told Luca. “My mother has stuff she has to do, too, including a doctor’s appointment in a couple of days.”

  He nodded, frowning. “I know. Don’t worry about it, Erin. I’ll be fine for a week. I have a lot to do.”

  She gave him a sad smile and reached out for a hug. It was supposed to be quick and light, an embrace between new friends, but he drew her tig
ht and held her for a long second before releasing her. He avoided her eyes as he stroked Wicked’s head, then pushed to his feet. “I’ll see you guys in a week.”

  “We’ll be here,” she promised.

  Luca gave her a last smile before he turned and headed toward the door into the hospital. She watched him go.

  “Let’s get on the road, Boss.”

  Wicked came to heel and they left the facility, but he kept glancing back, as if hoping for a final glance at Luca.

  Chapter 9

  Luca participated in as much physical therapy as he could. And even when he wasn’t in the therapy room he was doing it other places- in the hallways or waiting rooms. When he had downtime he went to the courtyard where they’d let Wicked run, and he just sat on the bench.

  Twice he happened across little Hope, and it made him wish even more that Wicked was there. She looked for the dog hopefully, and when he wasn’t at Luca’s side her demeanor seemed to sink lower. Luca used to think that he was mourning Wicked’s companionship, but Hope took it to new lows. If he could have driven out to get the dog he would have, just for her.

  Paul was there both times and Luca could tell that he had no idea what to do with his daughter. “I haven’t had this much hands-on time with her ever,” he said softly as they watched Hope play on a tablet. “Tara rarely allowed me to see her, and the courts gave her full custody when she argued that my medical history had caused significant attachment issues.”

  Luca stared at him. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes. And she was right at the time. Been through a lot of therapy since then,” the older man laughed and it sounded bitter.

  “Has she had therapy?” Luca asked, tilting his chin at the little girl.

  “Of course. As soon as the accident happened I got her into grief counseling. It’s helped a little. She goes three times a week, but…”

  Luca could tell that the worry over the little girl was taking its toll on Paul. “Maybe you should take a break with her. Why don’t you get out of the hospital for a few days and find something fun to do. You know this isn’t an ideal situation for a little girl like that.”

  Paul raked a hand through his hair. “I know it’s not but trying to find a decent caregiver willing to deal with my hours is next to impossible.”

  For some reason those words triggered something in Luca’s brain. “Maybe you should try the service Erin contracts for. My mother hired them. It’s only for military personnel. I’ll get you the contact info.”

  Because he had to talk to his mother this week about what he was doing. Maybe he should ask Erin, instead.

  “I’d appreciate that,” Paul said, holding his hand out to shake.

  Luca liked Paul. He seemed to be a decent dude dealing with a lot of stuff, though he’d only presented a calm, together attitude to his rehab residents. Hope was the chink in his armor, and Luca was glad that he’d met the little girl when he had.

  Luca liked to believe that everything happened for a reason, even the bad parts, and their struggles were meant to make them stronger. Connections were made for a reason. It was happenstance that his mother had hired the service that Erin worked for, but she had changed his life more than anyone else since he’d been injured. Maybe it was Luca’s job to help Paul and Hope out the same way, by creating a connection.

  He smiled a little at that, wondering when he’d become so fanciful. His life had been hard and full of trials. Losing his leg had been the biggest one yet, but for some reason he was more… zen than he’d been in a long time. He used to get this feeling when he surfed, but that had been a long time ago, before the responsibilities of adulthood. Before people shot at and tried to kill him.

  Now, he realized he had something to look forward to. Erin was right in that he could completely remake his world, yet still keep the best part of it. Wicked was his companion and they would be together until one of them passed on. He knew a dog’s lifespan couldn’t measure to a human’s, but he couldn’t think of losing him when he’d just found him again.

  And there was a draw that he felt to Erin that he thought she reciprocated, but they were in a bit of an odd position. He was grateful for what she’d done, taking care of Wicked when he couldn’t, and he needed to make sure that the attraction he felt for her wasn’t clouded by the indebtedness he felt to her.

  Part of his excitement in moving to Phoenix was in exploring what could be between them.

  Ugh… he had to tell his parents. To that end he called them later that night and invited them down the next day. Maybe they could go out to lunch, he suggested, and his parents were thrilled. He felt a little bad not telling them why he was inviting them down, but he knew they would have to see him in person to understand why he wasn’t moving back with them.

  His mother was beaming when she walked into his room the next day. She drew Luca down into a hug and kissed his freshly shaven, undamaged cheek. She never touched the damaged side, and she tried not to even look at it if she could avoid it. That aggravated him more than he’d realized.

  Dad slapped him on the back and dragged him into a hug that had Luca tapping out. “Careful on the ribs, pop.”

  His dad laughed apologetically. “Sorry, Luca. You look really good. I guess I forgot.”

  Yeah, he’d taken some care with his appearance today. Yesterday he’d gotten a haircut down in the salon on the ground level and he’d dug into the bag of clothes someone had grabbed for him, finding something more than sweats. As he was digging through the bag he realized he would need to run to his storage garage before he headed to Phoenix and decide what he needed to take with him.

  It had been a bitch pulling his khaki cargo pants on, but once vertical he was amazed how normal he felt. The hospital bed was for sleeping now, and he wouldn’t be hanging out there anymore unless it was time for bed. In his mind he was preparing himself for life outside.

  Luca realized he needed to think about driving. Was there time to run out to Spring Valley on the east side of San Diego to pick up his truck from Swamp Man’s place? Maybe he could coerce him to drive it in. He would have to think about it later.

  His parents seemed to sense a change in him as well, especially when he led them down to the courtyard to talk. He considered this place his own little spot. It was practically forgotten by everyone other than the occasional gardener, so he felt secure talking to them there. The bad energy and recriminations he had a feeling were coming could drift away on the breeze.

  “You’ve changed,” his mother remarked, taking a seat on the bench. “You look good. Everyone is going to be thrilled to see you again. I’ve planned a small dinner party for the day after you’re released.”

  Yep, there it was, the first salvo. Luca squared his body, crossing his arms as he looked at his mother. “How did you know when I was being released?”

  “Well, no matter how many angry words we exchange I’m still your mother. The nurses are more than happy to update me on your progress.”

  Luca breathed through his nose, tamping down his anger. “You are more than welcome to have your dinner party, but I won’t be there. I told you before that I’m not coming to Malibu.”

  His mother’s cast-iron smile stayed in place. “Of course you are, dear. It’s not like you have any other options, unless you go to one of those dreadful halfway houses. You’re a man of means and I won’t allow you to go there.”

  He scowled at her, then glanced at his father, looking for support. Tony stood to his right, hands in pockets as he allowed the two strongest personalities in the family to decide what was going on. For the most part Tony was okay with allowing Leona to make most of their decisions because it was easier than fighting her dominant personality. His father had told him more than once that Leona had the biggest balls he’d ever seen on any woman, and Luca tended to agree. But she wasn’t going to win this one and the sooner she got that through her head the quicker they could all get back to normal interactions.

  “Maybe he has som
ething else in mind,” Tony said carefully.

  Luca appreciated the unexpected support from his dad. “I do, actually. I’m going to Arizona for a while.”

  He knew there would be an explosion, but he didn’t expect his mother’s face to turn such an unhealthy shade of red.

  “I told you I wouldn’t be coming home with you the other day,” he reminded her, “and I meant it.”

  She scowled at him. “I thought you were just saying that because the woman was there.”

  Luca shook his head. “I would have said it whether she was there or not, Mom. I love you and I appreciate the support you’ve given me over the past couple of months, but I’m not coming home with you.”

  “Why Arizona?” she demanded. “There’s nothing there.”

  He tipped his head in agreement. “That’s part of the reason. I want something completely different from my regular life. I need to find a career and possibly go to school.”

  “You know we would take care of you,” she said, her words dying under his glare.

  His dad rested a hand on her shoulder. “That’s not what he wants, Leona.”

  She looked at her husband and Luca knew she was struggling with letting him go again. The last time she’d let him go he’d been hurt.

  “I’m not going to be doing anything dangerous. Seriously. I’m going to be going to rehab and school and reconnecting with my dog.”

  He knew he shouldn’t have mentioned that last part because her face immediately turned hard. “It all comes down to that dog, doesn’t it? I just don’t understand, Luca.”

  “I know, Mom,” he said tiredly. “I wish you did.”

  They didn’t have much to talk about after that and they left soon after. No one seemed in the mood for lunch. Luca’s dad gave him a big squeeze before he climbed in the car. “Give her time,” he whispered into Luca’s ear, before letting him go.

  Luca didn’t know that time healed everything.

  Paul knocked on his door later on that night.

  “I was thinking about what you said about getting out of here and taking a vacation. This is a little unconventional, but would you mind if Hope and I drove down to see you in Phoenix later? I have an aunt down there I’d like to visit and I’d like Hope to meet, and I thought it would give her a chance to see Wicked again.”