Wicked Flower (10 page)

But she did live here.
Full time.
This was her home now.

If she left, the back roads would
be dark and hard to navigate. How close was the next round of storms? The
thought of driving in lightning and hail stiffened her neck; her timing coming
back just now had been pure luck. But how could she make herself stay, knowing
what she’d almost done with Gina’s son? Clearly, he didn’t want her around now.
Not scowling the way he was.

Her back ached, her stomach hated
her, and she really needed to get inside to her stash of Tums and the bathroom.
Apparently she’d have to get through Stefan Calderon to do it.

Could she?

Dani would have to forget,
pretend like the truck stop had never happened.

She took a step forward, ignoring
her body’s idiotic thrill at being near him again. He waited, but eventually stepped
back and then aside, giving her plenty of room to pass through, just as he had
earlier at the truck stop.

When she was past that first
hurdle, she only made it a few feet into the house and heard the door close
behind her when she saw another man getting up from the couch. He was the man
who’d been playing the Mercedes’ dashboard like the drums.

“Hey, nice to
meet you.
I’m Will, um Stefan’s friend.” He offered her a hand and she saw his arms that
rivaled Stefan’s for tattoos, but
Will’s
ended neatly
at his wrists with what looked like lettered cuffs. “You’re the nurse.” His
chin dipped and she could see a section of his head where his skin looked like
it had been burned.

“Dani,” she said back to the man
who had an incredibly firm handshake and those same calloused hands. But his
eyes, behind his glasses, they were a crisp blue and there was something
unbelievably kind about them. A second into their handshake, humiliation
swaddled her skin with its heat.
Were
Will and Stefan
the kind of friends who told each other everything? Weren’t all guys?

Before she could think about it
any further, Will
excused
himself. “So I’m beat.
Gonna
go hit the sack. See you two in the morning.”

Oh, he definitely knew something
with that abrupt and presumptuous departure. The man practically flew up the
stairs.

Why couldn’t this day just end
already?

“Looks like it’s just you and
me,” said Stefan.

Oh God, the deep vibrations in
his voice made it impossible to forget. She almost slipped back into the stall.

“Yep, looks that way,” she said
shortly, making her way past him to the kitchen for a glass of milk and
antacids. “Is Mrs. C asleep?”

“Yes.” He just stood there.

Who would break first?

He followed behind her when she
took her first few steps, which she felt the whole way.

“So, about the truck stop,” she
couldn’t help but say because apparently she was now a masochist.

In the open space of the kitchen,
Dani realized just how massive he was. Mrs. C always made the refrigerator look
huge when she stood near it, but her son was taller than the old thing and his
shoulders just as solid.

“Yeah, about that,” he said back
and rubbed behind his neck.

Famous last
words from the dumper to the
dumpee
.
She’d heard it
before.

It all sounded like one big, bad
ass joke to Dani who had no idea how she’d gotten through the day but was ready
for it to be over. She’d deal with Gina’s famous rocker son tomorrow.
Because right now, in all honesty, she couldn’t take being one more
person’s regret.
Her tears wouldn’t do either one of them any good. Besides,
he still hadn’t changed back into her brown-eyed, albeit bad-ass Superman, able
to lift spirits with a single kiss.

She sighed.

If she had anything left in the
tank right now, she’d guess he had a bone to pick with her. So did the baby
because Dani felt like throwing up. She rubbed her stomach. Stefan’s eyes
followed.
Of course, because this day
just won’t end…

****

“I have a bone to pick with you.”

She rolled her eyes and walked
right past him, faster than he’d expected. He knew better when a woman did that
than to follow after her. Stefan was so mind-fucked right now that he wouldn’t
have followed that woman into paradise if she’d been naked and leading him with
a collar. He let her pass as had become their apparent custom. But a second
later he heard the distinct sound of retching.

Unsure about most things
happening in his mom’s house right now, he gave up and walked into the kitchen.
He remembered Dani’s day had started with being dumped. Contrary to what many
might think, he did have a heart. He’d never been more sincere than when he’d
invited her for dinner earlier.

From out of nowhere a very
confusing image popped into his head.
A paper heart.
And
a little girl with long black curly hair who handed the pink construction paper
cutout card to him. No, come on, really? He rubbed his eyelids.

Another heave into the kitchen
sink pulled his attention back.

“You okay in there?”

“No,” she croaked out. “Don’t.”
More heaving.

Stefan swallowed. Once he was at
her side, he pulled her hair back, twirled it into a knot around his fingers and
held it in a loose fist. “You’re sick.”

“I’m not sick. I’m pregnant. And I’ll
be fine.”

Chapter Seven

Mind, blank.

Thoughts, gone.

Seconds, wasted.

Fuck, the number of times he’d
heard the pregnancy line. But this was different. It hadn’t been months since
they’d hooked up. Shit, they hadn’t even hooked up. Then, he realized.

“Oh sweetheart,” he started but
she held up her hand to stop him and shook her head.
“Your
ex?”

“Oh my God, I don’t want to talk
about it. Can’t,” she said coolly.

Her face said she was feeling
beat down, to the bone. What the hell could he say to help?

“You know I was supposed to be pissed
at my mom’s live-in helper.” He thought about the long, silky black curls in
his hand and how amazing they would feel spilled over his chest. “You’re not
fighting fair,” he said, leaning closer so only she could know this truth. “I
don’t think there’s any way I could possibly yell at you now.” Just like
earlier, he found it impossible not to seal up the rest of the space between
them. He laid his hand over hers where it was cemented to the kitchen sink
ledge. Her shoulders kept hiking up with each breath. He wouldn’t have yelled
but she didn’t know that.
Come on, just a
tiny hint of a smile? Please?

She twisted her head and glared
with her eyebrows drawing in together.
Didn’t say anything
though.
A second later she twisted away again and turned on the faucet,
cupped some water in her hands and rinsed her mouth. He let the
fist
of her hair loosen so that he was only holding the
ends back for her. The lightly tanned skin of her neck moving as she swallowed
a fresh handful of water got to him. If he let it, his body would harden and
mock him while he spent the rest of the night fighting this insane need to be
her proof again. No, it didn’t help picturing her sleeping in his old bed.
Maybe it would be better to be pissed at her over the stupid curry. Because
what the hell was his other choice? He shouldn’t bed his mother’s caregiver.
Pregnant caregiver.
Fuck, it dawned on him that he paid
this girl her salary. He didn’t need anyone’s genius brains to figure the rest
out.

No wonder she’d run out on him
earlier and hadn’t been too keen on coming back just now.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she said
in a monotonous voice. “Your mom’s been looking forward to this. I hope you
have a really good visit with her.” With that, she pulled and reclaimed the
last strands of her hair he’d been holding onto. A few strands stayed tied
between his fingers. She then shuffled past him and disappeared from the
kitchen.

He stood there leaning against
the kitchen counter, at a loss, but aware she needed space.

Fifteen minutes later, she came
down the stairs with a large duffel bag slung over her shoulder. Clearly she
wasn’t letting him get a word in edgewise. “Your mom has my cell number. If she
needs anything, just call—”

“Really?
That’s it,
you’re leaving?”

They couldn’t figure something
better out? He also didn’t like her carrying heavy shopping and duffel bags.
“Give me your bag,” he said. She did not like that.
At.
All.

She stalled and worked her lips
with her teeth from the inside. “Your mom knows when she needs her meds but it’s
written on the refrigerator too. Don’t let her miss the blood pressure pills. There
are dishes in the freezer for the next few days. The plain, heart healthy stuff
I’ve been making her is getting old so I’ve got a few tastier things I’m trying
out. Anyway, the laundry is done.” She was looking in his direction but
speaking right through him, as if he didn’t exist as a flesh and blood man, hanging
on her every word. He felt like a total piece of shit, not to mention a fool. “Let
me know a day or so before you leave town and I’ll come back. Like I said,
enjoy your time.” She set her bag down on the small kitchen table and pulled
out an unsealed envelope, pushing it toward him.
“And here.”

“What‘s this?” Obviously it was a
wad of cash but…

“It’s two weeks’ worth of wages
for home care for your mom.”

“Come on, Dani. You’re killing
me. Is this necessary?” And then the five hundredth ball of their short time
together dropped. She had no idea he wanted to take his mom back to Nashville.
No idea she’d be out of a job if he did that.
Fuck the living shit out of me
, he silently cursed and closed his
eyes hard.
She has a baby on the way.

“What do you think?” she asked
and then turned to leave.

This time how could he not put
his hands on her? “You think I’m really letting you walk out that door?” he
asked and grabbed the bend of her elbow.

“Yeah, I do. Don’t touch me
again.” She looked down.

The steam in her voice acted like
a bolt cutter and he let her go in an instant. He’d never held a woman against
her will and wasn’t starting now. Funny that was exactly what every fiber of
his being demanded he do. “All right, no touching.” He held his hands up.

She left the room.

After a few heartbeats, he
followed, still unable to just let her be. He wouldn’t lie either, she had the
uncanny ability to walk away from him and it drove him crazy.

“Wherever you’re going, is it
far?” He hated using the mom card but Dani was leaving him no choice. “In case
my mom needs something and I can’t take care of it for her.” It became
abundantly clear that he had no idea what this might be. Mom had looked pretty
stable but she needed a live-in nurse for a reason and Stefan hadn’t as much as
babysat for Jaxon. His repertoire of caring for someone included rubbing oil
over a lover’s skin fresh from a bath not being a steadying hand as his mom got
in and out of the shower. He’d do it if needed but could guarantee he’d fail
miserably. Not to mention how Mom would feel about it.

He watched Dani’s head dip
forward and from behind all he could see was that her hands went up to rub at
her temples. “She does get dizzy some days. But that’s usually when they adjust
her blood pressure dosage. Just keep an eye on her near the stairs and when
she’s showering.
And no lifting things or reaching over her
bed.
The stress is too much on her bones.”

“Please stay, Dani. My mom
obviously needs you here.
A lot more than she needs me.”

She shook her head. “I’ll be at
my sister’s. Mrs. C knows Daisy’s address in case of an emergency.”

If her intention was to make him
feel distant, she’d done it.

She opened the front door to the
house and closed it behind her without making a sound. He hated that shit worst
of all.

The hell she was heading out into
the dark out here in the hills and woods, pregnant. He’d chase her down and yell
at her for being so damn stubborn if he had to.

“Will,” he called.

Will ducked his head out at the
top of the stairs. “Yeah man?”

“You okay with my mom for a bit?
I fucked up and Dani’s taking off.”

“I thought you were
gonna
be nice. But yeah, I’m good with Mom. Go get your
nurse.”

“That’s the plan,” Stefan said
then grabbed his keys out of his jeans pocket and went out quickly. Luckily
she’d had to let her old car warm up before taking off. His brilliant plan was
to follow her taillights to wherever she went and convince her to come back. However
loudly he had to do it. She’d hear him out and get her ass back here. He sucked
in some air and then forced it back out, unaccustomed to this kind of chase.