Georgia On My Mind (27 page)

“He did very well,” the doctor said. “We took care of the bleed, and he’s stable.”

“What happens now?” Dawn asked.

“We wait and we hope. He’ll be in recovery for the next few hours, but I’m optimistic that he’ll regain consciousness.”

“And if he doesn’t?” Gus asked.

“Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.” To Dawn, the doctor added, “I’ll check in with you when we get him back to his room.”

“Thank you,” Dawn said.

“Well,” Walter said when the doctor was gone, “I guess that’s the best we could’ve hoped for.”

“Damned doctors,” Gus grumbled. “Never want to give guarantees. So busy covering their asses so they won’t get sued. Quacks. Every one of ’em.”

Sensing he was upsetting the others, Georgie looped her arm through Gus’s. “Let’s take a walk.”

Donna sent her a grateful smile.

“You need to settle down,” Georgie said to Gus as they strolled arm in arm down the long hallway. “It’s not good for you to be so wound up. Think of your heart.”

“My ticker’s in great shape since I had the bypass,” he protested. “It’s just this whole thing infuriates me. That someone like Gus could be attacked in his own home. He’s never harmed a flea, for God’s sake.”

“I know,” Georgie agreed. “It’s terrible.”

“And that his son might’ve had something to do with it. If the head injury doesn’t kill Gus, hearing that might. Makes me mad, Georgie. Really mad.”

His face was red, his breathing choppy.

“Gus is lucky to have a friend like you.”

“We go way back,” he said, softening a bit. “I’ve always thought of him as my better half—and
not
in the queer sense.”

Georgie winced at the politically incorrect statement. “I know what you mean, don’t worry.”

“Let’s face it,” he said sadly. “There’s no Bad Gus without the Good Gus.”

He was breaking her heart, but she refused to give in to the urge to weep. “He’s going to be okay.”

“And how do you know this?”

“I have a good feeling about it. He’s made it this far, right?”

“That’s true.” He stopped walking and turned to her. “Thanks, Georgie.” He ran a hand through his thick shock of white hair. “I appreciate you calming me down. I get so mad sometimes, even though I know it won’t help anything.”

“You’re entitled.” They started back toward the waiting room. “So what do you think of the Sox’s chances to clinch the division?”

He brightened. “Damn good. With a seven-game lead going into August? There’s no way the Yanks can catch us.”

She didn’t think he needed to be reminded of how many times the Yankees had caught the Red Sox before. They walked along arguing baseball, and Gus scoffed at her assertion that the Braves had a real shot at going all the way this year.

“There’s your young feller,” Gus said. “Cleans up real nice, don’t he?”

Georgie looked up to find Nathan standing at the end of the hall wearing a dark suit. Since his hands were tucked into his pockets, she saw the badge clipped to his belt before she noticed his eyes were locked on her.

Georgie could only return his stare.

“Oh boy,” Gus chuckled. “You’ve got it bad, don’t you?” He kissed her cheek. “Go see him. I promise to behave.” Gus shook hands with Nathan on his way by.

As Georgie approached Nathan, she had to remind herself to keep breathing. “You look good.” She resisted the immediate urge to run her hands all over his crisp white shirt. “Really good.”

He smiled, but in his eyes, she saw exhaustion.

“How was court?”

“Grueling.”

Without hesitation, she slid her arms into his suit coat and around his waist, resting her face against his red silk tie.

He propped his chin on the top of her head and held her close to him. “Have you noticed,” he asked, “how you fit perfectly right here?”

Georgie closed her eyes against the rush of emotion and tightened her hold on him. She felt his lips on her forehead.

“How’s Gus?”

“The surgery went well. We just have to hope he comes out of it.”

“That’s good news. I heard this morning they’ve made some arrests in his case.”

Georgie drew back to look up at him.

“A couple of dealers Roger was in deep with. He picked the wrong people to screw over.”

“What about him? Will he be charged?”

“It’s not looking that way. We know he’s been dealing but can’t prove it. He may get lucky and get a second chance. Apparently, he’s been bawling his head off over what happened to his father since the minute they brought him in.”

“Maybe it’ll scare him straight.”

“We can only hope so. If it doesn’t, he’ll either be dead or in jail before much longer. After this incident, you can bet he’s on our radar.”

“How does someone like Gus end up with a kid like that?”

“Who knows? My brother Hugh was big-time into drugs for years. It was a total nightmare for my parents, for all of us.”

“I never would’ve guessed that about him. He seems so together now.”

“His wife Dani saved his life by giving him a reason to get it together. She got him into rehab, and he’s been clean more than eight years now.”

Georgie shuddered. “Just the thought of that makes me want to stay childless.”

“Do you
want
kids?”

“You are
not
getting me to have that conversation. No way.”

Flashing that irresistible
Caldwell
grin, he said, “I guess it wouldn’t be good for my cause to tell you I want six.”

Her mouth fell open. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I figure it might take two or three wives to get the job done, but hey, you gotta have a goal.”

She would have laughed at how ludicrous he was being if she hadn’t been trying so hard to decide if he was serious. “Well, um, on that note, I’d better get back in with them.” She gestured toward the waiting room. “Will you come tell them what you told me about the case?”

“Sure.”

She started toward the door.

“Georgie.” His hand on her shoulder stopped her. When she looked up at him, he said, “We’ll have as many or as few as you want.”

Staring at him, she opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

“I know,” he said with a smile. “I have to stop saying that stuff.”

“Yes,” she said hoarsely. “Please.”

“I’m trying. Really I am.”

“Try harder.” She took his hand to lead him into the waiting room, where they spent a half hour with the seniors before Nathan walked Georgie to her car.

“You’ve got probate court in the morning, right?”

Touched that he had remembered, she said, “Yes.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

“No, you have work—”

“Georgie, if you need me, I’ll be there.”

“I appreciate that, but I’ll have the attorney with me. He says it should be perfectly routine.”

“Call me when you’re done.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll miss you tonight. I wish I didn’t have so much work to get done this week before the kitchen guy starts next Monday.”

“You’ll have to sleep at some point, won’t you?” she asked with a coy smile.

His expression was puzzled. “Yes.”

Sliding her hands over his chest, she looked up at him. “Maybe you could come sleep with me? When you’re done working?” She loved the flash of surprise that crossed his face but was saddened to realize he had no expectations where she was concerned. Knowing that, she decided to take him from surprised straight to floored. “We never got around to using those other two condoms last night.”

If eyes could sizzle, his did as they bored into hers. “And I’m supposed to function for the rest of the day after hearing that?”

Giggling at the expression on his face, she backed him up to her car, took a quick look around the deserted parking lot, and brought him down for a kiss intended to make his head spin. As he gave as good as he got, she wormed her way closer to him so she was almost inside his suit coat and slipped a hand between them to stroke him.

He gasped and broke the kiss. “Georgie! What’re you
doing
?”

“The suit is hot, Nathan.” She squeezed him and was rewarded with a throb in response. “Really, really hot.”

He let his head drop back, his eyes fluttered shut and his fingers gripped her shoulders. “You’re killing me,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry,” she said without an ounce of contrition. “I’ll stop.” But rather than stop, she squeezed him again.

He cupped the back of her head and brought his lips down hard on hers, his possession so thorough that Georgie wondered how she had managed to lose control of the situation so quickly.

“Got time for a nooner?” he asked as his lips cruised up her neck to her ear.

She laughed. “No and neither do you.”

“I could make time. I’ll tell them my arm’s hurting again.”

“You wouldn’t do that, because that would be lying, and you don’t lie. Hurry up and get your work done. I’ll be waiting.”

He kissed her again, more softly this time. “I’ll be there.”

As Georgie stood with her attorney in front of the judge the next morning—the day after her sister’s successful surgery—listening to the two men discuss her mother’s assets and possessions, she finally understood what people meant by an “out of body experience.” She felt like she was floating above the room, looking down at the proceedings, because surely these strangers couldn’t be talking about her mother like she was just another commodity. They didn’t know her. They didn’t have the right to talk about her things like she was any old dead person.

Georgie was on the verge of saying so when the judge addressed her directly.

“To the best of your ability, Ms. Quinn, have you identified all your mother’s possessions?”

She cleared her throat. “Yes, your honor.”

To the attorney he said, “You’ve advertised for creditors?”

“We have, your honor.”

“Very well, in that case, we’ll reconvene forty-five days from today to finalize the estate.”

“Excuse me,” Georgie said. “Will I need to be here for that?”

“Yes, is that a problem?”

Georgie exchanged glances with her attorney. “I’ll be back in
Atlanta
by then.”

“You can grant power of attorney to someone to appear for you, but it’s less complicated if you’re here yourself,” the judge replied.

“We’ll work something out,” the attorney assured the judge as he led Georgie away. He consulted with her briefly and then dashed off to meet with another client.

Georgie emerged into the bright sunshine to find Nathan leaning against her car. Shaking her head with amusement and amazement, she walked toward him. “What’re you doing here?”

He shrugged. “You seemed quiet this morning, and I was worried it wouldn’t be as routine as you hoped.”

“I thought you were going to try harder to stop saying and doing exactly the right thing all the time.” She stepped into his outstretched arms and absorbed the sweet comfort of his embrace. “How’s a girl supposed to remember she’s trying to resist you when you keep doing these things?”

“Maybe if I do them often enough, she’ll stop resisting?”

“She doesn’t seem to be fighting too hard at the moment.”

“She didn’t put up much of a fight last night, either,” he reminded her.

Georgie’s cheeks heated when memories of the passionate night they had spent together came flooding back to her.

“How was court?”

“As you would say, grueling. It’s all so impersonal, to be talking about her money and her things like who she was doesn’t matter at all.”

“Unfortunately, in this arena, it doesn’t. I’m sorry it upset you.”

“It’s over. For now.”

“How’s your sister today?”

“About the same. Sore and tired. Joe said she had a good night, though.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” He caressed her face and trailed a finger over her bottom lip. “So, I’ve been thinking…”

“About?”

“The blood test.”

“Nathan, I told you—”

Resting his finger over her lips, he said, “Wait. Just hear me out. Please?”

Looking up at his amazing blue eyes, she found the courage to put aside her fear—but only because he was asking her to. With the slightest of nods, she gave him permission to continue.

He let his hands fall to her shoulders. “What if it’s negative?”

She shook her head. “It won’t be.”

“You don’t know that, honey,” he said, his tone urgent.

“My mother and sister tested positive. How do you figure I’ve managed to dodge the bullet?”

“What if you
have
dodged it? What if you’re the lucky one? Maybe you’re stressing for no reason.”

Georgie had to admit that the possibility hadn’t occurred to her. She’d been so sure.

“It’s a fifty-fifty shot, sweetheart, and I’m betting on you.”

She looked up at him, so handsome and so sincere. His strong, steady presence made her believe anything was possible—even the impossible. Ali was right and so was Nathan. The fear was debilitating, and in Georgie’s case, paralyzing. Since wishing it away hadn’t worked, it was time to take action. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Okay.”

His face lit up with surprise. “Yeah? Really?”

She nodded.

He swept her right off her feet and into his arms. “No matter what, Georgie,
no matter what
, I’ll be right there with you. I promise.”

Closing her eyes tight against the rush of emotion, she held him for a long time until he finally put her back down.

“How do you feel?” he asked as he caressed her face.

“Relieved to have made a decision. Don’t let me back out, okay?”

“No way.” He leaned in to kiss her.

Georgie held on to him for a long time, absorbing the comfort he offered so willingly.

“Hey, did you happen to talk to Tess this morning?” he asked.

“No, I didn’t see her. Why?”

“I guess she and Ben are going to Pittsburgh on Thursday so he can visit the family of the guy he was with when he got hurt. Greg died, and Ben’s had a lot of trouble accepting that. Apparently, Tess encouraged him to see Greg’s family, thinking it might help him.”

“She’s such a good person,” Georgie said. “After everything she went through—” She stopped herself, horrified by what she had almost said.

“What did she go through, Georgie? It drives me crazy that you won’t tell me, especially now that my fragile brother is all wrapped up in her.”

“I can’t. I promised her.”

“All this secrecy makes me want to go into detective mode in the worst way.”

“Don’t,” Georgie said. “Please just leave it alone. Please.”

“I’m getting a bad vibe on this, and my vibes are almost never wrong. But I’ll let it go—for now.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “How about a cup of coffee?”

“Do you have time for that?”

“I took a couple of hours off so I could come check on you.”

She reached up to caress his face. “I’m glad you did.”

After an emotional two-hour visit with Greg’s family and his longtime girlfriend, Tess backed the rental car out of their driveway. She had so much she wanted to say to Ben, so many feelings ricocheting through her. She could only imagine what he must be going through after reliving the worst day of his life.

Glancing over at him, she saw that he was gripping his cane and staring out the window. “Are you okay, Ben?”

“You were right to encourage me to do that. They were so grateful to know he’d been talking about them just before it happened.”

“I know it wasn’t easy for you, but you did a wonderful thing for them.”

“As sorry as I am for his parents and his sisters, I feel worse for Kristy. I mean, we’ve been together a week, and I already know I couldn’t live without you. They were together for years, planning a wedding. How do you go forward without that person?”

“I can’t imagine.” Tess reached for his hand. As his fingers curled around hers, she was flooded with gratitude that he hadn’t been killed that day in Iraq. Just the thought of how close he had come was enough to reduce her to tears.

“What’s wrong?”

She shook her head.

He reached out to brush the tears off her cheek. “Pull over, hon.”

“I’m okay.”

“Pull over,” he insisted.

Bringing the car to a stop on the residential road, she wiped her face. “I’m sorry.”

“What is it?”

“I was just thinking how close I came to never having the chance to know you at all. You could’ve died that day, too, Ben. And if that had happened, I would’ve had to live my whole life without ever knowing you were out there somewhere, without knowing it was possible to love someone this much.”

He leaned over to embrace her. “I was so pissed at Nate for dragging me to a dance at a senior center. Who knew I was going to meet the girl of my dreams there?”

She laughed through her tears. “Just when you least expect it.”

“There you were, surrounded by old men drooling over you, and nothing will ever be the same again.” He held her as tight as he could in the cramped car.

“I was proud of you today,” she said. “You were so good with them.”

“That’s nice to know. I was really nervous.”

“I couldn’t tell.” She kissed his cheek and brushed the dark hair off his forehead. He looked tired and drawn, signs his leg was bothering him. “Are you still mad at me about the wheelchairs?”

“Yes.”

She laughed at his quick answer. “It was like a mile to the gate. You would’ve used up a whole day’s worth of energy just getting through the airports.”

“It’s humiliating to be pushed through airports in wheelchairs. I spent months working my ass off to get free of those damned things.”

“Well, I’m not going to apologize for doing what was best for you, so you have to get over it.”

“There you go being bossy with me again,” he teased. “You’re going to have to work on that when we’re married. I can’t be nagged nonstop this way.”

His use of the word “married” stopped her heart. The shock must have shown on her face.

“Too much too soon?” he asked.

“No.”

“Then what?”

“Nothing. Do you have the directions to the hotel?”

Their hotel room overlooked the
Monongahela
River.

“This is beautiful, Ben.”

He hobbled over to the window to check out a barge sliding through the glassy water. “Greg’s mother told me this was one of the nicest hotels in Pittsburgh.”

“I hope you didn’t go to all this expense for me.”

“Who else would I do it for?” he asked, amused.

“I don’t need fancy hotels. That’s not me.”

“Which is why it was fun to do it.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and went up on tiptoes to kiss him. “You should rest for a bit. I can tell you’re in pain.”

“How do you know?”

“You wear it on your face.”

“Should I be worried that you can read me so easily?”

“Very.”

“Will you come with me?”

“Twist my arm.” She reached for the hem of his navy blue polo shirt and lifted it over his head. When she started on the button to his khakis, he stopped her.

She looked up to find his face tight with tension. “What?”

“I’m okay with them on.”

“All right.” She pulled down the comforter and blanket. “Which side do you want?”

“I don’t care.”

As they stretched out on the bed together, Tess wondered how to eventually broach the subject of making love with him. Just being around him made her burn with a kind of desire she had never felt before. But if he didn’t feel the same way, that was going to be a problem, not to mention a terrible disappointment. After what she had been through with her ex-husband, she wasn’t going to settle for anything less than everything ever again.

Ben laced his fingers through hers, brought their joined hands to his chest, and was asleep within minutes.

Over the next hour, Tess wondered how he could possibly sleep when they were alone together in an elegant hotel room. Somehow she had to move this whole thing forward. But how? What if there was a medical reason he couldn’t have sex, and he was afraid to share that with her? He knew she was a nurse, so why would he think she wouldn’t understand? She hated the idea of embarrassing him, but she wanted him, and after her disastrous marriage, she was desperate to know what it was like to really make love.

Her heart ached when she remembered the last time she’d had sex. Kurt had forced himself on her, and when she resisted, he punched her in the ribs, breaking two of them. She shuddered at the horrible memory. But this wasn’t the time for such thoughts, not when the man she loved was right here next to her. This was the time for action.

Raising herself up on one elbow, she watched him sleep for several more minutes before she leaned over to press soft kisses to his belly.

He tensed, squeezed her hand, and then settled back into sleep.

No way, mister!
She added her tongue to the mix, dragging it in lazy circles through the thatch of hair that trailed off into his pants. Even though his breathing stayed steady, she was fascinated to watch him become aroused.
Do I dare?
She bit her lip as she studied his adorable face.
Yes, I do
. Moving very carefully, she unbuttoned his pants, slid the zipper down, and reached in to wrap her hand around him.

While Tess held her breath and hoped her heart wouldn’t leap right out of her throat, he only sighed in his sleep.
Was he for real?
This was clearly going to require radical action. She moved closer and took him into her mouth.

He awoke with a start. “Tess. Jesus Christ, what’re you doing?”

That he sounded mad didn’t deter her. She moved her tongue over the sensitive head, and he sucked in a sharp deep breath. It was all she could do not to smile when she realized she had him. Pushing at his clothes to gain better access, she moved her hand in time with her mouth, drawing him in and then backing off slowly.