Worth It All (The McKinney Brothers #3) (13 page)

Trees on both sides. Nowhere to go. The screeching of metal losing the battle against wood. When he’d come to, he was in the woods, the front end of his Mazda molded around a tree. His legs alternated between a burning fire and no feeling at all. Rachel moaned beside him, her head lolled to the side. A thin line of blood trickled from her forehead down to the tip of her nose.

And then there was nothing.

Over the next days, he’d drifted through a morphine haze, waking to voices of family members and hands of nurses.

The seatbelts and airbags had saved them, reducing certain death to only minor injuries. Except for his leg. It seemed unreal. It felt like he was moving both feet, both legs. But he wasn’t. Because from five inches below his right knee, one leg was gone. The shock of it overrode everything else until the door opened and Rachel walked in. He knew she was okay—his mother had told him that days ago—but he didn’t want to see anyone. Didn’t want her pity.

Good thing, because he didn’t get it.

Her gaze fell to the sheet covering the lower half of his body and remained there a long while before finally raising to meet his eyes. And it all came rushing back. Those last seconds. The road. The news. Rachel didn’t move closer, but he felt her energy like a bomb seconds from detonation.

“I’m not pregnant anymore,” she’d blurted, her eyes angry. “Did you know that?”

No. He hadn’t known.

“So, you got what you wanted. I hope you’re happy now.”

Happy? No. Just sick at all that had happened in an instant. All that had been lost. And even sicker looking into Rachel’s accusing eyes.

She turned to go, then stopped at the door and seared him with one last look. She shook her head slowly. “You don’t deserve a family.” Her tone was harsh, unforgiving. Not that he was asking for any.

He was alive and the baby, the child he hadn’t wanted, was dead.

JT held Casey up for a clear view of the 3-D printing machine. She literally vibrated with excitement as she watched what looked like a robotic arm make the mold for her new prosthesis right before her eyes. She’d had a laser-guided scan for the most precise fitting a couple of hours ago. With that information, the computer was building the mold. Next, a clear sheet of thermoplastic would be heated and vacuum-formed around that mold to make a test socket.

“And after this it’s ready?”

“Not quite. After we make sure it fits, we’ll make the real one.”

“The purple part?”

“Yes.” For the socket, she’d chosen black polypropylene with specs of purple that glittered in the light.

Casey had miraculously run out of questions five minutes ago and was now content to watch. He was content, too, as he adjusted her in his arms. He’d done better with her today than he would have thought. She’d eaten and laughed and hadn’t cried for Paige even once.

Month after month, as Lynn’s unborn child grew, so had his guilt and regret over the child he’d lost and the man he hadn’t been. He’d assumed it’d be the same with Casey, but it wasn’t. Instead, he was filled with an overwhelming sense of protectiveness, even pride.

A door opened and closed behind him, and he turned to see Lynn ambling toward him.

“Hey. You okay?”

“No. I’m going into labor and came to find you.” She rolled her eyes at his panicked expression and reached down to pet Boulder on the head. “I’m kidding. I was looking for you, though, but I see you’re busy. Who’s this?”

“This is Casey. Casey, this is Lynn.” He’d told her about Casey and that he was reworking her prosthetic leg, but that didn’t explain why he had her here in the lab with him.

Casey finally tore her gaze from the machine and found something else interesting. “Hi. You’re going to have a baby!”

“Yes, I am.” Lynn patted Casey’s little back, smiling even as her eyes filled. “Hush,” she told him before he could comment. “It’s hormones.”

“I love babies,” Casey went on. “I never held one, but I love them. They’re like kittens. Maybe I can hold yours.” She cupped her hands together like she was holding water.

Lynn gathered herself and rubbed Casey’s back again. “You are just the sweetest thing.”

“Thank you. We’re making my new leg, and it’s gonna be like Jake’s except more sparkly because he’s a boy. I’m going to name it.”

“Really?” Lynn asked. “Do you have any ideas?”

“Maybe Leggy.”

“I like that,” Lynn said, nodding, then sent him a questioning look.

“Paige had to go back—Casey’s mom,” he corrected when Lynn’s eyebrows shot up, “had to get back to work.” Back for an extra half shift she shouldn’t have worked today. He hadn’t seen her since Sunday, and damn, she’d looked tired. “I suggested Casey stay after we got the scans we needed so she could see how a prosthesis is made.”

“Interesting.”

Yes. It was interesting, but Paige’s stress and the shadows under her eyes combined with Casey’s enthusiasm to spend time at Evolution had prompted him to insist. He’d even stretched the truth a bit, telling Paige that Casey had to stay in order to finish the scans. He just opened his mouth and the words were out before he could talk himself out of it. A perpetual problem around Paige that he was beginning to expect.

“Are you having fun?” she asked Casey.

“Yes. I’m going swimming with Marcy and now we’re doing this, but it won’t be done today, and we’re going to ride horses.”

“Horses?” Lynn’s surprised gaze swung to his.

JT looked at Casey. “Um…”

“He said we maybe would at his brother’s,” Casey added.

“Ah. I see.” Lynn sent him a teasing glance, knowing full well he was in over his head.

Shit. He’d already talked to Stephen and Hannah and had everything worked out except the timing. He hated not telling Casey, but he couldn’t say anything before he talked to Paige. He just had to find the right time to present it. “Right. I’ll get on that.”

“That’s a good idea,” Casey said, nodding. “Sometimes you just gotta make it happen.”

Now Lynn did laugh and so did he. She really was the sweetest thing, JT thought, holding her a little tighter, feeling special that even with the glorious Lynn standing here—easily one of the top five human beings on the planet—Casey chose to stay in his arms.

He held her a little closer, his chest feeling a lot tighter, as they went back to their task of creating something he prayed would make her happy.

It was almost seven thirty when Paige appeared in his office doorway, looking decidedly more strung out than she had just four hours earlier.

“I’m sorry. The girl on the next shift was late, and then I hit a crazy amount of traffic.”

He stood and crossed the room, stopping a foot in front of her. The shadows under her eyes cut right through him, and he ached to pull her into his arms.

“How was Casey?”

“Good. She just went for round two in the pool with Marcy about an hour ago. Lucky you had her suit in the car. She’s had a big day.”

Paige closed her eyes in a long, exhausted blink. “I’m so sorry. It’s late. I know everyone doesn’t work this late.”

“I told you, we’re always here late. A lot of people come for PT after work. Stop worrying.” God knew she had enough to worry about.

“Okay.” She breathed out a long sigh.

“Bad day?”

“No. You know.” She shrugged. “Just the usual.”

“Like?”

“Like I have a test in two days and I’m not ready, for one thing.”

He brushed back a few strands of hair that had slipped from her ponytail. Who worried about Paige? Who made sure she ate and rested and smiled? For someone who didn’t want to take care of anybody but himself, he had this urgent need to take care of her.

“Let me take you home. I’ll feed you, you can study.”

She gave him a suspicious look, and after his thoughts in the shower he didn’t blame her, but he could do what was best for her. “I’m serious. Best behavior.” He held his hand up like a Boy Scout. “I promise. You’ll eat, Boulder and I will entertain Casey.”

“She does love Boulder,” Paige said with a small smile. “I mean you’re right up there, but…”

“Are you saying I’m second to my dog?”

She smiled and the muscle between her eyes relaxed a little.

“That’s okay. I can take it. Boulder does have a certain charm.” He studied her a moment. “Paige. You’re tired. You’re going to burn yourself out if you keep going like this, and then what good will you be?”

She bit her bottom lip and he could see her wavering.

“Come here.” He reached for her hand and tugged until she leaned against his chest. He closed his arms around her and rested his chin on top of her head.

The tension went up a notch as she battled with herself, then it seeped out of her slowly like a pin-pricked balloon. Her shoulders sagged and she leaned into him.

She remained there against him for a full minute, proof of just how exhausted she really was.

“Okay,” she finally agreed. “Thank you.”

Jake lived in a gated community, beautiful from what she could tell driving in. The yards were dark but filled with landscapes backlit with tiny garden lights. The backseat was quiet. Casey, her chaperone, her buffer, the one who allowed her to spend more time with Jake without losing her head, had fallen asleep halfway here.

They entered quietly and Jake directed her to a guest room to lay Casey down. She told herself it wasn’t like she’d planned for this to happen. It was only eight thirty and who would have thought Casey would fall asleep? But two rounds of swimming and no nap? She shouldn’t be surprised. Boulder joined them and jumped up, making himself comfortable at the foot of the bed.

Paige returned to the main room of Jake’s sprawling ranch-style house and found him standing at the stove. She stopped at the entrance to the kitchen, partly unsure what to do next, partly dead on her feet. “Hey.”

“Hey. Is she asleep?”

“Yes. With Boulder at the foot of the bed. Hope that’s okay.”

“Sure. He usually sleeps with me. If she doesn’t mind, I don’t mind. Spaghetti okay? I already made the sauce. Shouldn’t take too long.”

She smiled at the man who was becoming all too familiar. “Yes. Thank you.” And he cooked too. “I figured you for a man who ate out a lot.”

“No. Not really. Just the diner,” he said, looking back at her over his shoulder with a sexy grin. “Though that wasn’t just about the food.”

Good Lord. His brown eyes melted her from across the room and his voice finished her off. The man should be illegal. Just his presence brought life to places inside her body she didn’t even know could feel lively.

He stalked across the room, not stopping until he was close enough she could smell him. He touched her cheek softly then laid his hands on her shoulders and gave them a squeeze. “You’re exhausted.” He kissed her temple.

She was. She’d stayed up until almost one in the morning studying and had been on her feet almost ten hours straight.

“Have a seat and I’ll pour you some wine.”

He went back to the oven and she walked around the granite peninsula that divided the large, open room. Oversized brown leather furniture dominated the space and a giant flat-screen hung over the mantel. The walls were mostly bare except for a long built-in bookcase packed with books, no knickknacks.

“Casey had chicken fingers in the dining hall. Did I tell you that?”

“No, but thank you.”

He returned and handed her a glass, but instead of pouring one for himself, he set the bottle of wine on the counter. “I even got her to eat some salad, which wasn’t easy. Turn around.”

“Casey ate salad? Now I am impressed.” When she didn’t immediately obey, he turned her and she sighed as he went to work on her shoulders. His hands were so much better than wine, and she stared at her glass through tired eyes. In seconds, her eyelids fell closed and her chin dipped to her chest. “If I drink this, I won’t be able to drive home.”

“So don’t drive home.”

Tempting, so tempting. “How did you really make out today? Casey’s rarely quiet.”

“It was fine. Better than fine and she had fun. We did the scans and she watched the machine make the 3-D mold. She thinks I’m magic now.”

“Mmm.” His hands certainly felt like magic. “I think I may be too tired to eat.”

“You work too hard.”

She didn’t have the energy to argue and nearly whimpered when he pressed his thumbs deeper, slid them up the column of her neck. She couldn’t get used to this either, being taken care of. “Mmm.” A sound of ecstasy hummed through her.

“I’ll be off in a couple of weekends.”

He continued to rub and her head lolled. “I should get Casey home. I’m too tired to be productive.”

“She’s asleep. It’s late.” He kissed the back of her head. “Stay. Let me feed you.”

It would be nice to stay, too nice, but how many meals had he already provided? She had her budget worked down to the penny. She wouldn’t use him, depend on him. But she wanted to be here. “I feel icky. I’m sure I smell like the diner.”

“You don’t look icky.” His hands moved down her arms, then back to her shoulders before he nuzzled her neck, then up her throat. “You don’t smell icky.” He kissed her behind her ear, nibbled on her earlobe, and her body zinged to life. “But why don’t you take a shower before you eat if it’ll make you feel better? Use my bathroom so you don’t wake Casey.”

Just because she stayed didn’t mean anything was going to happen. She’d be smart not to let it. Smarter if she left now and made sure of it.

He pressed a soft kiss to her head again. “Stay.”

“Okay.” It was impossible to say no. She didn’t want to say no.

Jake’s bathroom smelled like him, fresh and male and woodsy with a lingering scent of his aftershave. That scent reminded her of those minutes in her kitchen and just the memory made the blood pulse hard between her legs.

The hot spray reminded her of his massaging fingers, and when she closed her eyes, breathed in the scent of his shampoo, she could almost imagine him there with her. Both of them naked, both of them wet.

Like she was naked now, in his shower, with Jake just a room away.

After ten minutes under the pounding, high-pressure showerhead, she stepped out, warm and loose, a little tingly and a lot nervous. She towel-dried her hair, ran her fingers through it. Thinking to slip out to her car for a T-shirt and shorts, she wrapped the towel around her body and opened the door into Jake’s bedroom. And came face-to-face with the object of her fantasies.