Brainy and the Beast (15 page)

When I turned back to face him, he stepped toward me. Before I could say another word, he was kissing me again, and I was liking it. A lot. I pushed my tongue past his and reached up to grip his head, then let my fingers stretch out, cupping his skull, and our hips bumped as he yanked me close with hands flat on my back.

Grant’s obnoxious whistle broke us apart, and we stared at each other, noses just inches apart. I struggled to think of something to say, but it was tough with those blue eyes burning at me.

“What… Um, thanks again, Doc. You…you didn’t have to stay.”

“I wanted to.” His voice was husky.

“You… I…” My chest expanded as I breathed deeply. “I’m glad you did.” I glanced to the side before bringing my gaze back to him. He was watching me with the tiniest quirk to his lips. What was his expression telling me?

Really pushing it, Grant sounded the car horn. “Hey! Smart dude! Let’s go!”

Christ! The kid wouldn’t give me two goddamned seconds to say good night. I huffed out a humorless laugh. “There’s a really good argument for birth control, right over there.”

Henry snorted softly. “He’s not that bad.”

“Oh, yeah? What were you two arguing about a few minutes ago? He seemed to be getting on your nerves a bit back there.”

“Oh. That.” Grunting, Henry conceded with a nod. “Yes. He was. I can’t believe he had that information and I was absolutely in the dark.”

“What? What could he possibly know that you don’t?”

“Pluto.”

“Pluto what?” Sometimes I just didn’t get the doc.

“It’s no longer considered a planet.” He sounded a little lost for a second.

“Oh.” I had to bite my lip to keep from smiling and tried for a look of understanding instead. I don’t think he even noticed.

“How did I miss Pluto getting demoted?”

I called Lee at five a.m. and asked him to pick me up on his way to the shop. The guys all rotated their Saturdays, and Lee and Wilmer were on duty today. Since Lee came from Waukegan, I figured he was the better choice to ask.

“You don’t have to pull in. I could use the fresh air.” I pointed toward the entrance to my drive.

“Sure. We’ll handle everything today, boss. Just take care of the old man, ’kay?” Lee’s voice was concerned as he pulled to a stop on the gravel edge of the road.

Bone tired, I nodded slowly. “I will, Lee. Thanks. Call me if you need anything.”

Like all of us, Lee was a car hound, and he especially loved the tanks Detroit had built in the ’70s. I knew I was really tired when the door to his 1972 Electra 225 seemed to weigh a ton as I pushed it closed. I waved at him as I trudged up the long drive to the house.

God. It was after six thirty, and I felt like I’d been awake for forty-eight hours.

Rum and Coke met me at the mudroom door, all aflutter. I shushed them, getting down on my knees to pet and hug them. Their simple devotion felt so good after the scare with my dad. “Easy. Easy, boys. I know. Daddy’s home.”

After they went out to pee, my little guys followed me into the living room, keeping close. There I found Sarita had slept through both my arrival and the dogs’ welcome. She was snuggled on the couch with a blanket tugged over her. “Sari.” I called her name, trying not to scare her, then nudged her shoulder.

She groaned, her hands coming up to rub her eyes. The dogs immediately went to sniff and greet her. “God. What time is it?” Absently patting the mutts, she eased upward, the woven cloth falling to her waist. Her long black hair was tousled. She had on an old Bears sweatshirt my dad had given her, along with a pair of plaid sleep pants.

I dropped into my dad’s big leather chair. “It’s close to seven.” Exhausted, I dropped my head back and closed my eyes.

“What’s going on? How’s Mike?”

“He’s fine.” It seemed real now that I could actually say it. “He’s fine.” I lifted a hand, then let it drop to the arm of the chair again. “I’m going to pick him up later. They’re watching him for a while. But he’s okay.” I forced my eyes open. “It’s not an embolism, thank God.”

“
Gracias a díos
.” Sarita made the sign of the cross, then mumbled another prayer. Gusting out a sigh, she pushed to her feet. “I’m going to go home, then.” She headed toward the downstairs bathroom. “Give me a minute.”

I was resting my eyes when she came back.

“Grant went to bed as soon as your friend brought him home. I haven’t heard a peep out of him.” Sarita trailed her fingers over my arm as she went by. “Oh, and, your friend? He’s cute.” She flicked my ear with one fingertip. “Is it serious?”

“Guh. Why do women always want to talk about serious?” I scowled. “And Henry is not cute. Cute sounds so…so—”

“So Ricky Martin?”

“Exactly.” Now I was awake again.

“I know. He’s more like, mmm… How about Captain Jack Harkness?”

“No way. He’s more Ianto than Jack, that’s for sure.” Sarita and I were big fans of the BBC show
Torchwood
. The Brits had no trouble showing a gay couple on an action/sci-fi show, and Ianto and Jack together were
hot.

Laughing, she walked to the closet. “Maybe. But anyway, I’m glad to hear Mike is okay. What time are you bringing him home? Do you need me to do anything? Maybe I’ll make some dinner for you and bring it over later.”

I pushed myself to my feet. “Nah. Don’t worry about us. You’ve done a lot already. I can’t thank you enough for coming over here in the middle of the night.” I stretched, reaching my arms up to the ceiling, trying to relax the kinks in my back. “They’re going to call me in a couple of hours to let me know, but I think it’ll be sometime around noon.” I helped her slide into her down jacket. “Go home and rest. And tell Victor thanks from me for letting you out so late.”

That got me a mild snort. “He just thinks he calls the shots at home.” Smiling, she kissed me on the cheek. “Call me if you need anything, huh?”

“I will. Thanks, Sari.”

It was quiet again once she was gone. The dogs were nosing at their bowls, and I heard a few crunches of their dry food, but other than an occasional click from the radiators and the background hum of the fridge, the house was silent. Grant must have been dead to the world upstairs.

I poked my head into his room to make sure and found him buried under the pile of blankets that every morning he refused to straighten. His computer was shut off, but the light was still turned on for his fish tank. I stepped over assorted shoes and books to get to the dresser, and it didn’t occur to me until I clicked the switch that Henry and Grant shared a love of fish.

The fish tank was just about the only thing other than clothes that Grant had brought with him when he came to live with us. He took care of it—and his fish—zealously, and as far as I could tell, he did a good job of it.

Huh.
Maybe I should ask Henry
. Wouldn’t that be a kick?

I pulled his door shut again, then stood in the hallway, trying to focus. I was pretty sure there were things I should be doing, but right then, I couldn’t think of any. My cell rang, startling me, and my heart started to pound. God.
Dad
. I flipped it open. “Shelton.”

“Nicholas.”

I eased out a slow sigh. “Doc. God. You scared me. I thought it was the hospital.”

Henry chuckled softly. “I’m sorry. I wanted to see how your father’s doing.” His voice was deep, soothing in my ear.

I propped a shoulder against the wall. “He’s fine.” I yawned again. “Thank God. They confirmed it wasn’t an embolism.”

“Were you able to bring him home?”

“Nah. They’re watching him, but I can pick him up later today. I came back home so Sarita could get back to her house. She’s got three little kids and a very jealous husband.”

“Does he know he doesn’t have anything to worry about?” I could hear the smile in his voice.

Grunting, I pushed upright and started for my bedroom. “He’s all big and macho, so I’m pretty sure he doesn’t like to think about it. It’s easier for him if he just lumps me in with all the other guys.” I let out a groan as I dropped onto the bed on my back.

“You must be really tired.”

“Mmm.”

“Well, I’ve got some hot coffee and a peace offering for your nephew.”

“Huh?” I frowned, staring at the ceiling.

“You do like coffee, don’t you? I was fairly confident you would.”

“Doc. It’s too early, and I’m too tired, for you to confuse me.”

Henry breathed a sigh in my ear. “I’m standing outside your side door, and this coffee is getting cold.”

“What? You’re here? Now?”

“Yes. I thought I’d take a chance that you’d be home by now. I knew you’d want your car, and I was worried about you. About your dad, I mean.”

“Um. Okay.” I was too tired to think about that, so I focused on the easy stuff. Did I leave the house unlocked? “Try the door. I think it might be open.” Right on cue, the dogs started barking, so Henry must have turned the knob.

“No. It’s locked. And interesting guard dogs you have. They didn’t even hear me until I tried the door.”

Now the two mutts were making a huge racket. Groaning again, I got to my feet. “I’ll be right there.”

Downstairs, the boys were doing their best Cujo imitations, leaping and lunging at the mudroom entry. I could see Henry through the three horizontal panels of glass in the top half of the wood door. His arms were full, and I spotted the familiar Dunkin’ Donuts logo on at least one bag. “Boys! Take it easy.” I pushed past them. “Come on in.” I waved Henry inside, sniffing appreciatively at the smell of strong coffee. “I’ve got to say, you’ve surprised me, Doc. I thought you would have run far and fast after last night.” I followed him into the kitchen.

“I can’t say it didn’t cross my mind.” His voice was a little sardonic. “But then I remembered our unfinished business and how exhausted you looked when I left last night.” He shrugged, appearing a little uncomfortable for a moment.

My gaze was anywhere but on him. It was kind of awkward. Did that mean he cared about me? “Oh. Um.”

“Anyway.” Henry busied himself opening one of the bags. “I thought you and Grant might appreciate something a little sweet this morning.” He pulled out a bismark, the powdered sugar coating his fingers. “I wasn’t sure about this one, though.” He held it out to me.

I narrowed my eyes as I took it, turning it in my hand to see what was wrong with it. “Why?”

“It’s got cream in it.”

I was just about to bite into the puffy pastry when the meaning of that hit me. “Funny, Doc. Real funny.” I took a big mouthful, then smirked at him around it. “I will definitely swallow this cream.”

He mumbled something as he turned back to the table.

“What was that?” I licked my lips, trying to get the sugar off them.

Pinning me with that hot blue gaze, he stared for a second. “I said, you’ll be swallowing something else sooner or later.”

God. I felt that in my belly, the sharp surge of lust. It powered past my exhaustion, waking up my dick. I picked up one of the coffees so that I wouldn’t have to answer.

“Would you like some cream with that?”

Despite myself, I burst out laughing. “Henry. You are one crazy dude.” I dropped onto one of the kitchen chairs, shaking my head as I pried the lid off my cup. “Anyway, I take it black. Smart guy.”

“Yes. I am.” Henry aimed a confident expression my way before he turned and began searching my cabinets.

“What do you need?” I leaned an arm on the table and rested my head in one hand. I picked at the bismark with my other.

“A frying pan. I’m going to make breakfast. Ah. Here it is.” Removing a big pan from the cabinet next to the range, Henry set it on a burner. “I hope you like eggs Benedict. I’ve got a little different twist on it.”

“I’m pretty sure I do, but I’m also pretty sure I don’t have the ingredients.” I yawned, my jaw popping at the stretch.

“I was concerned you wouldn’t, so I went shopping before I came over.” He began removing grocery items from the bags he’d brought. As it turned out, not only had he brought doughnuts, he’d gotten bacon, eggs, English muffins, and some weird-looking vegetables, along with milk and cheese.

“The trick to the eggs is the hollandaise sauce. I’ll get everything else ready; then I’m going to whip that up. It has to be prepared just before serving so that it doesn’t separate.” Henry grabbed one of the dish towels at the sink and tucked it into his waistband. “Why don’t you grab a nap? This will take about an hour.” He stepped in front of me, sliding one foot between mine. “Rest up.” He reached for my hand, the one that had the powdered sugar on it. Tugging me to my feet, he brought my fingers to his mouth and slowly licked my hand clean.

“Doc.” My voice was hoarse.

“Shh.” He brushed his lips over mine. “Come on. The coffee will keep.” He pulled me along to the living room. “Your couch looks fairly comfortable. Lie down and relax.”

The house was a little chilly, and I snagged the woven blanket off the back of the couch. “Hey. Do me a favor. Will you turn the heat up a little bit? It’s cold in here.” I pointed to a spot on the wall near the stairs.

My eyes were a little bleary as I watched Henry move around the room. His pace was measured as he walked, and the khakis he wore cupped his behind nicely. Man, the guy had a fabulous ass. “Don’t you ever wear jeans?”

Nose close to the thermostat as he pressed buttons, Henry snorted softly. “Not if I can avoid it.”

My mind was wandering in my tiredness, and as I snuggled down into a plush velour cushion, I latched on to a stray thought. “Know what? You should check out Grant’s room. He’s a fish geek like you are.” I pulled the soft wool up around my shoulders, sighing as my eyes drifted shut.

The last thing I heard was, “Maybe I’ll do that.”

* * * *

I don’t think it took me more than thirty seconds to fall asleep. I was unconscious until Grant woke me by jabbing me with something plastic.

“Uncle Nick.”
Poke, poke
. “Uncle Nick.”

I swatted at him, not opening my eyes. “Go away.”

“Uncle Nick. He’s here again.” Grant was whispering.

Frowning, I thought about that, trying to figure out what he was saying.