Broken (15 page)

“You’d have tried,” Max said mildly.

Nicco barked out a laugh, and hissed in pain. “Yeah, well…”

Max studied Nicco. His nose was taped, signifying it had been broken. His right eye was completely swollen shut and colorful with bruising. He held his arm bent at the elbow, close to his chest, and now that Max was paying attention, he realized Nicco was holding himself very stiff and breathing carefully. “What’s the damage,” he asked curiously.

Nicco narrowed his good eye. “Want to gloat?”

“No.”

Nicco huffed. “Broke nose, black eye, dislocated shoulder, bruised ribs, and assorted aches and pains.”

Painful, but his brother would heal. Max nodded, turned to the bed and hefted the box.

“That’s it?” Nicco asked belligerently.

 “Yeah, that’s it,” Max agreed. He headed for the door.

Nicco moved until he stood in the center of the doorway, blocking the exit. “I’m extending the olive leaf and you got nothing to say?”

“Nope. Actually, I do have something to say. Move!”

Nicco shook his head disbelievingly. “You’re gonna let a woman come between us, between you and your family?”

“This woman, yes. Now get the fuck out of my way,” Max barked. The “or else” was implied.

Nicco stood staring at him for another moment before slowly stepping to the side with a muttered, “I don’t believe it.”

Max stalked to the front door. With his hand on the knob, he paused to glance over his shoulder. “I’ll be back for the rest in a minute. Then I’ll give you the key. And Nicco, family or no, we’re done. Stay the hell out of Cassidy and my lives. You’ve done enough.”

Once his things had been safely stored in his car, Max easily dismissed all thoughts of Nicco. He pulled out of the parking garage, his mind already winging ahead to the coming night with Cassidy. He loved Cassidy and believed she still loved him, but until she was ready to admit it, he needed to tread carefully. She’d agreed to allow him to stay with her. Not as a lover or even a roommate, but as a tenant. That meant he needed to govern his actions accordingly. He’d wait till after they had a signed, ironclad landlord-tenant agreement between them to work on breaking down her barriers.

With that thought in mind, he stopped by the bank and withdrew several hundred in cash. Next, he went grocery shopping. He’d asked Cassidy if she wanted him to pick up dinner, falling easily into the pattern they’d established when they were lovers. That was a mistake. Cassidy claimed she only wanted a non-sexual, co-parenting relationship with him. Max was going to put that claim to the test.

Tomorrow he had an appointment with his lawyers. While he was out, he’d meet with his general contractor and set up a date and time for him to come out to the house. He’d also stop by a furniture rental place and rent what he needed for the rest of the month to make the basement semi-comfortable until all the work was finished. Or maybe he should wait. As long as he didn’t have furniture, he had a reason to remain upstairs with Cassidy and Zoe.

Max muttered a vicious curse. All this plotting and scheming wasn’t him. He was a straightforward, mean-what-I-say-and-say-what-I-mean type of man. However, being that way with Cassidy at this point and time would scare the hell out of her and lose him any chance he had of being with her. His only consolation was he’d told her up front what he wanted. If she chose to ignore or forget it, well, she’d been warned.

Still, being prudent wasn’t the same as being manipulative. A wise man would take his time; consider his actions before taking them. Only fools rushed in without considering the cost. God gave him a logical, analytical mind for a purpose. Not using it to his advantage would be just plain stupid.

Besides, he’d played by Cassidy’s rules once, and look what had happened. No, this time he was making the rules. Max rubbed his face wearily. Hell, he was plotting again. The damned woman was making him daft—
again
.

He pulled into the driveway. Lights burning inside cast a golden glow. Max sat in his car for a minute enjoying the novelty of knowing he was coming home to his family—his woman and his child. His. He savored the thought.

Having wasted enough time, Max got out of the car and snagged the grocery bags. As he neared the door, he smelt something delicious cooking. He sniffed appreciatively and thought ruefully of the frozen dinners he’d purchased to eat. He’d much rather eat what Cassidy was cooking. She was a great cook.

He rang the bell. The door opened and Cassidy stood in the opening, Zoe by her side with her arms wrapped around her mother’s leg. Cassidy’s gaze dropped to the bags in his hand. “What’s that?”

“Groceries. I hope there’s room in the fridge. I’ll have to use yours until I can have one installed in the basement,” he said as he entered.

“You didn’t have to do that. I have plenty of food.”

He glanced over his shoulder to see Cassidy frowning. “
You
have plenty of food. This is
my
food. I’m a tenant. Speaking of which…” Max put down the bags and pulled out his wallet, withdrawing five crisp one hundred dollar bills. He laid them on top of the counter. “This should cover rent and utilities for the remainder of the month.”

Cassidy gazed at the money the way he imagined she’d stare at a snake she’d discovered in her house, with revulsion and displeasure. “That isn’t necessary,” she said, making no effort to pick the money up.

“Yes, it is,” he contradicted. “We made a bargain and I’m a man of my word.”

Something in her expression flickered before she smoothed it out. Max wondered what he’d said that prompted her reaction. Before he could ask, she said, “I’ll put those away if you want to get the rest of the things from your car.”

Knowing from experience Cassidy was particular about the way things were stored in the fridge, he surrendered the bags to her with a quiet, “Thank you.”

When he returned, the groceries were put up, and Cassidy was setting the table. She didn’t look at him as she said, “Since the purpose of your being here is for Zoe to become familiar with you, I think whenever possible, you should eat your meals with us. You can contribute to the grocery fund, and we can rotate cooking and kitchen duties.”

Surprised, it took him a moment to respond. “Sounds fair,” he agreed cautiously. It was better than fair. It was more than he’d dared to hope—them coming together as a family at mealtimes.

“All right.” She glanced at him briefly before returning to the stove.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” he offered.

“No, I have it. Just have a seat at the table.”

He sat and watched her. She seemed uncomfortable, almost twitchy. After a few minutes he said, “Cassidy, if my being here is a problem I can—”

“No,” she interrupted firmly. “It’s not you. I just have things on my mind.” She brought their plates to the table and returned to get Zoe’s meal of baby food.

“Anything you want to talk about?”

She shook her head. “No, I’ll handle it. I just need to think a couple of things through.”

Max paused to bless his food. “It looks delicious. Thank you for inviting me.” She’d fried and smothered pork chops, cooked mash potatoes, and bacon-seasoned green beans for the vegetable. Cassidy had even made cornbread muffins. Southern cuisine at it’s finest.

They ate for a while in silence before Max ventured to say, “Zoe looks much better. The medicine must be working.” The toddler’s eyes were brighter, having lost that sunken, sick look they’d contained earlier.

“I put some oil in her ears to help fight the infection and ease the pain, and then Zoe and I took a long nap.”

Zoe babbled something unintelligible.

Cassidy suddenly speared him with her concerned gaze. “Did you have any problem getting the rest of your stuff from Nicco’s?”

“No.”

She sighed in relief. “So he wasn’t home.”

“He was there,” Max corrected.

“Then…” She was looking worried again, studying him as though searching for additional bruising or proof their confrontation had turned violent.

“It’s all good, Cassidy. Nicco and I understand each other perfectly.” He didn’t tell her Nicco was in no shape to give anyone a fight. More’s the pity.

“I’m glad you two were able to work things out,” she said.

The hell of it was, Max knew in spite of all the trouble Nicco had caused, Cassidy meant it. He kept silent. If she wanted to believe he and Nicco had worked out their differences, he wasn’t going to be the one to disabuse her of her notions.

Cassidy’s soft heart was one of the things he loved about her.

“I have a contractor coming out here tomorrow, to take a look at the place and give me estimates. Was there anything in particular you wanted done to the basement?”

“No, I haven’t really been down there other than when I first viewed the property. Until my leg fully heals, I don’t see myself walking up and down the stairs. Do whatever you like to it.”

“We can install an elevator,” he offered.

“Too expensive. Max, don’t worry about me. Everything I need is on this floor.”

No elevator, but maybe he’d have the stairs changed so they weren’t at such a steep angle. Not only would it help Cassidy, but he’d feel better about Zoe traversing them if the stair case came down in two levels rather than one vertical one.

“Can I assist with Zoe’s bath and bedtime tonight?” he asked, knowing it was getting close to that time.

“Sure.”

Having temporarily exhausted all conversational gambits, Max lapsed into silence, immersed in his thoughts.

The scream ripped through the still night air, jerking him out of a sound sleep. Max shot out of bed. He stood, feet planted, body battle ready, and mind disoriented by unfamiliar surroundings.
What the hell
?

“
PHILLIP!
”

The agonized cry galvanized him faster than a poke with an electric cattle prod. Max stumbled his way out of the bedroom, bruising one hip and stubbing his toe in the process. Still, he made it down the short hallway and into Cassidy’s room in record time.

“
Don’t die. You can’t die. You fight, you hear me
!”

“Shit!” She was dreaming. Max reached for the bedside lamp and flicked it on, hoping the sudden light would jar her out of the nightmare. No such luck.