The Harder He Falls: 2 (So Inked) (29 page)

“You okay?” he asked, keeping his voice low as they fell in behind the nurse.

“No, but thanks for being here with me. It’s not exactly what you signed up for.”

He knew a thing or two about obligation. He’d spent eight years in the Marines doing exactly as he’d been told, or near enough at least. He tugged on her arm until she stopped. “Hey, I’m here because I care about you, remember?”

Her gaze slowly slid to his face and she nodded.

“Come on.” He looped his arm around her waist and took a long drink of his lukewarm coffee.

Kellie hooked her thumb through his belt loop and allowed him to steer her after their nurse, down one uniformly beige hall then another. The nurse stopped at a thin curtain drawn around a hospital bed. He could glimpse the still figure of her grandmother lying in bed. There were machines
beeping
and
whirring
around her. Kellie stopped in the middle of the hall, her eyes opening wide. He couldn’t imagine how difficult this must be for her.

“Where’s the bathroom?” she asked, a tremor racking her body.

“It’s across the hall,” the nurse replied, gesturing to the clearly marked door behind them.

“Be right back.” Kellie rushed into the bathroom, leaving him to stare at the nurse.

The nurse stared after her, lines of concern bracketing her mouth. “Is she all right?”

He glanced over his shoulder. Was she? Did he even know? He was so beyond in over his head he might as well have already drowned.

Dr. Charlie appeared at his side, looking over his papers. “Sorry, I forgot to leave this with you.” He offered the nurse an apologetic smile and a clipboard.

“Don’t make me chase you down again, Dr. Charlie,” the nurse scolded.

“Everything okay?” the doctor asked him.

He shrugged. How did he answer this? “I think she just needs time. It’s hard for her to handle this.”

“I understand. Patients like these are hard on their families.”

He shook his head. “And she does it on her own. It’s too much for one person to handle, if you ask me.”

The doctor and nurse shared a look.

“What do you mean, too much to handle?” The doctor clasped his hands in front of him and rocked up on his toes.

“Just that Kellie’s a young woman on her own and taking care of her grandmother is rough. Sometimes I wonder if it’s too much for her to handle on her own. But it’s not my place to tell her what to do, you know?”

The doctor’s expression grew serious. “Expressing concern for the well-being of another human being isn’t wrong.”

“Well no, but Kellie has a lot on her plate and her grandmother adds a lot of stress to what’s going on.” Quin did not like the guarded way the doctor was examining him now.

The bathroom door opened and Kellie stepped through. Droplets clung to her hair and her face looked damp, as if she’d splashed water on herself. She glanced between the three of them and rubbed her hands on her thighs.

“Okay, can I see her now?”

The nurse glanced at the doctor who merely nodded. “Right this way.” She drew back the curtain a bit and Kellie’s face crumpled.

Foo Dogs—These are more closely related to lions, and have been called the “Lion of Buddha” or “Lion Dogs”. They symbolize strength, protection and courage. Typically they are depicted crawling up an arm or a leg with a menacing expression on their face.

Kellie was numb. Her hands were frozen, her ass had long since gone to sleep and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt her toes, but her heart, it ached. She watched the still form of her grandmother and inside she wept. Her eyes were grainy and swollen from tears already spent.

Grandma hadn’t moved since they’d made the trek from the ER to her room in ICU. Her head and neck were braced because the doctors weren’t ruling out some sort of head trauma, and a tube was stuck down her throat to help her breathe.

“Here, eat something.” Quin put a package of toaster pastries in her hand.

She glanced from the food to him. “I’m not hungry.”

“Yeah, you told me that already. Humor me, please?” He rubbed the side of his face, which was still red and imprinted with the textured wall he’d leaned against. He’d slept for maybe half an hour, which was more than she’d managed.

Eating was the last thing on her mind, but she needed to pull it together. Grandma depended on her to make sure things were taken care of, but for once it was nice to lean on someone else for a change.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, pulling out one of the frosted squares. Quin had opened the packaging for her, as if he knew even that was beyond her.

“Think they’ll make us leave?”

She glanced at the clock. Visiting hours were every other odd hour between seven and seven. It was nearing eight o’ clock.

“Maybe. I need to call Mary and let her know I won’t be in today. Shit.” She rubbed her face and leaned forward, putting her elbows on her knees. “I have three appointments today.”

“Move them.” He rubbed her back.

“Yeah, I guess.” The dollar signs hurt though. How much was this hospital visit going to cost? What about long-term care? What if Grandma died? How was she going to pay for all of this?

She dug her phone out of her pocket. Mary would be getting home from taking Sam to summer school. Usually it was Mary she would call to hold her hand through the rough times, but she had enough going on without Kellie’s problems. It didn’t change the fact that she wanted her best friend there with her. She put the call on speaker and propped her chin on her fist.

“
Aye, chica
, what are you doing up so early?”

Kellie sucked in a deep breath. She wouldn’t cry. “I haven’t been to bed yet.”

“Hm?”

It would be harder if she dragged it out. She needed to just tell her and get it over with. “Hey, I’m not going to come in today. Grandma’s in the hospital.”

Mary sucked in a breath. “What happened?”

Kellie squeezed her eyes shut, the images of Grandma out cold in the bathroom, being put on a stretcher, in the ambulance and at the hospital playing on a reel in her head. “We don’t know yet, but it doesn’t look good.”

“Do you need me to come up there? I’ll be wherever you are in half an hour.”

It warmed her heart that Mary would drop everything for her, but she already had support in place. She reached for Quin’s hand and twined their fingers. “No, Quin’s here with me. I’m fine. Take care of the shop. Can you call my appointments for me?”

“Consider it done.”

They chatted for a few more minutes and she filled Mary in on where they were, but held off relating the exact order of events. She wasn’t ready to talk about that again. She hung up and leaned against Quin. The narrow bench set against the window was only mildly comfortable. She curled her legs under her and let Quin pull her against his chest to cradle her.

“It’s Monday, isn’t it?” Quin sighed.

“Yeah. Forget something?”

“Shit. I was supposed to be at Penny’s in half an hour.” He held his phone up and tapped in the pass code.

“1, 2, 3, 4? Really?”

He chuckled. “It’s so Josie doesn’t accidentally call China on me.”

The background of his phone was his face mostly obscured by blonde curls and the chubby face of a little girl she recognized now. He dialed a number and put the call on speaker, as she had.

It rang three times before it was answered.

“You’re calling to cancel, aren’t you?” Penny’s voice was flat, pissed-off female.

“Yes, but not for the reason you think.”

“Oh? So you didn’t go out last night and get trashed?”

Quin stroked Kellie’s side. There had been drinking, but neither of them had been drunk. “Penny, I’m at the hospital with Kellie.”

Penny gasped.

“We’ve been here all night and I don’t think we’re leaving for a while.”

“What happened? Is she okay? I’m guessing it’s not one of the guys?”

Kellie pressed her face against Quin’s shoulder and inhaled the lingering fragrance of his cologne.

“The guys are fine and so is she. It’s a family thing on her side.”

“That’s terrible.” From the sound of it, Penny was genuinely concerned. “Do you guys need anything? Breakfast? Toothbrush? Cards?”

Quin nudged her but she shook her head. She wasn’t up for an official baby mama introduction.

“No thanks. We’re fine for now.”

“Well, give her a hug for me, okay?”

“Will do. Let Josie know I’ll see her later?” When Penny hesitated to reply, he added, “I mean it, Pen. I’ll come see her. I’m serious.”

She sighed. “How about you surprise her?”

“Fine, but I’m coming over.”

“I’m not saying you can’t, I just don’t want to get her hopes up.”

“I’m going to do better.”

“I want to believe you, but you have to show me. You’re a good guy, Quin, but you’ve never had to be a dad before. When you can, come by and we’ll work it out. Be with Kellie.”

“That’s where I am. Tell Josie I love her?”

“I will. Keep me updated on what’s going on, okay?”

“I will. Bye, Pen.”

He hung up and wrapped Kellie tighter. Things were terrible, and it was an odd turn of events that the one person who she wouldn’t have expected to be a strong support was the one person she wanted with her the most.

* * * * *

“Hey, doll, wake up.”

Kellie blinked up at Quin, disoriented and aching.

“The doctor is here and wants to talk to you.”

Grandma.

The hospital.

Things sucked.

She pushed up, not completely sure how she’d wound up mostly on Quin’s lap. She rubbed at her eyes, feeling more befuddled than refreshed after her nap. A doctor she hadn’t met yet and the nurse on duty stood in the door to the room.

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

“It’s fine. You’ve had a rough night. I was just telling your boyfriend here that we want to run some tests, so we’ll be taking her to prep for that. She’s not going to be back here for a few hours. You might want to take the chance to go home and get some rest. I understand you’ve been here all night.”

“But what if something happens?” And what if she wasn’t there if it did?

“Nothing will happen. It’s perfectly normal, but if you’re needed we will call you.”

Quin stood and offered her his hand. “Come on. Let’s go home and grab a shower. We can come back up here in a few hours.”

The correct decision was beyond her. What did one do in a situation like this? She was torn between staying with her grandmother and recognizing that at some point she needed to take care of herself.

“Okay.” She took Quin’s hand and let him pull her to her feet.

After squeezing her grandmother’s hand, Kellie followed Quin through the halls, down the elevator and out to his truck. She didn’t even remember pulling into the parking lot. Hell, it wasn’t that long ago she’d been here for Carly and the people hurt in the fire.

The drive back to the house was a blur. A few hours had passed, not enough for things to change, but the house was different. Foreign. The energy was gone, leaving behind a husk, a shell that had once contained the vitality that made her want to push forward.

Quin opened her door. Somehow she’d missed him cutting the engine and circling to her side of the truck.

“Come on, doll.”

She stepped out onto her driveway and squinted at the old house. It looked sad with its peeling paint and emptiness. Digging the keys out of her purse, she crossed the paving stones and went to the front door.

Things were going wrong, but she needed to get her feet back under her and get it together. Quin was a saint for putting up with her through the night, but she had to be able to handle it on her own, even if she didn’t need to.

“Are you hungry? Do you want me to leave you alone? Should I stay?” Quin shut the front door behind him, plunging them into near darkness, at least until their eyes adjusted. The house was oddly silent.

She didn’t want to be alone. Pivoting to face him, she flattened her hand against his chest, his heart beating against her palm. “I want you to stay. Can you?”

“I’m all yours, doll.”

The light filtering through the half circle of glass made a halo around his head. He was no angel but he’d proven himself to her. She couldn’t love him now, but given time she would. She’d been attracted to his strength and confidence, it hadn’t hurt that he was easy on the eyes, but it was the way he cared about her that kept her there, wanting him.

Though he’d hugged and held her time and time again while at the hospital, she wanted to feel him surrounding her again. She needed to remember that she was alive.

“Is it weird I want to have sex? Right now.”

She couldn’t make out his features, but his body language didn’t change. He lifted a hand and pushed her hair behind her ear. “No. Sex makes you feel alive.”

His words echoed her thoughts.

He stepped closer and cupped her face in his hands gently, as if she might break. She turned her face away and fisted his shirt in her hands.

“I don’t want easy.”

One hand slipped up into her hair, fisting it until she felt a prick of pain. He kissed her cheek. “You like the hard way, don’t you?”

“You wouldn’t like me if I didn’t.”

He grabbed her ass with one hand and jerked her forward. The hold on her hair allowed him to force her face to his for a deep kiss. She dug her fingers into his shoulders, the hard muscle yielding very little to her tight grasp.

She wanted him naked, she wanted to fuck, to feel. She shoved at his chest and snorted when he so easily gave up. Silly man. She backed up into the living room, pulled her shirt over her head and let it fall to the ground. Quin followed her, the gleam in his eyes predatory, but she was not prey. She allowed him to come to her, and at the last moment she grabbed the hem of his shirt and jerked it up and over his head, revealing the rippling muscles honed by hard use. She slid her hands down the planes of his chest, scraping her fingernails over the dark discs of his nipples.

Quin groped for the catch on her bra. “Stupid fucking things are guyproof.”

“You need more practice.” She pushed his hands away and looped an arm around his neck, pulling him in for a toe-curling kiss. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and pulled the elastic band holding her hair up so he could get a better hold.

Lust, better than any coffee, coursed through her veins. She was going to fuck him. They should have been making sweet love after their emotional non-admitting how they felt about each other, and instead they were about to have hot monkey sex in her living room.

She cupped his dick through his jeans and rubbed the length. Her pussy clenched, wanting him to thrust hard and deep. Maybe it was the wrong time, maybe she should act with more decorum in the wake of everything that had happened, but for now she was shutting off her brain and just feeling. And he felt good.

Twisting her arm behind her, she flicked the closure on her bra open and shrugged it off. Almost immediately Quin covered a breast with his hand and rolled the tight peak between his fingers. She moaned into his mouth and squeezed him.

“I want you,” she said, shoving him back.

Caught off guard, he fell onto the couch, his breath whooshing out. She tabbed his jeans open and knelt between his legs.

“Damn, I’m not arguing.” He lifted his ass and pulled out his wallet as she hooked her fingers into the band of his jeans and underwear and pulled them off. She had to pause to get his shoes and socks off as well, but she had him naked and on her couch by the end of it.

“You want to screw, don’t you?” Quin pulled her up and stared into her eyes. They had the same bug, the same itch to scratch.

“Yup.” She pushed out of his hold and stood. He was hard and she was ready. Quin grasped the button on her jeans and jerked it open. She kicked out of her shoes and helped him shove her clothes off.

This time she wanted to be on top. She straddled his lap, his cock standing at attention between them. He flipped his wallet open and pulled out a condom. She took it from him and opened it using her teeth.