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Lindsey understood why Chad hated her. She knew how her situation must look to him, but his disdain tore at her chest like a clawing vulture as she walked beside Owen to the elevator. She didn’t want to cause Chad upset; the man had been through enough already. Maybe she could find a women’s shelter that would take her in, or become a nun and join a convent. Did the church still take unwed mothers in this day and age? She wasn’t even Catholic, but she couldn’t take advantage of Owen’s generosity if it made Chad uneasy. Chad needed to concentrate on healing, and he couldn’t do that if he thought his family needed his protection.
Lindsey snorted at the direction of her thoughts. Did she really think a big, tough war hero like Sergeant Chad Mitchell considered her a threat? Yep. So, either she had to assuage his fears about her intentions, or she had to find somewhere else to live.
“Do you want to eat in the cafeteria or pick up something on the way to the hotel?” Owen asked.
“What’s the cheapest?” Her running tally for the amount of money she owed him grew more overwhelming each day.
“Stop calculating what you owe me in your head,” he said.
How had he known she was doing exactly that?
“I want you to tell me what sounds good,” Owen said, “not worry about how much it costs. It’s my treat, okay?”
Lindsey nodded, but she couldn’t help feeling indebted to the man. She was indebted to him. “I have to pee again, so I’m most interested in finding the nearest bathroom. I can’t think about food until my eyeballs stop floating.”
Owen chuckled. “I’ll wait.”
“You think of where you want to eat while I’m gone. I’m not picky.”
“Fine. I’ll search what’s nearby on my phone.”
“And maybe you should call Caitlyn and tell her the news about the baby,” Lindsey suggested. “I’m sure she’ll be happy.” Even though part of her still hoped that Owen and Caitlyn’s relationship didn’t work out, Lindsey didn’t want to be the cause of their split. She carried enough guilt.
“I’ll tell her.”
Lindsey turned, looking for signs to point her to a bathroom, and spotted one halfway back up the hall they’d just walked. She must have been too distracted to notice it when they’d passed. In the bathroom she hurried into an open stall, not hearing the sounds of sniffling coming from the next stall until after she’d flushed the toilet. Her heart went out to the hidden woman. Lindsey knew what it was like to cry in a bathroom alone. And in a place like this? Bad news tended to be devastating news.
“Are you okay?” she asked the stranger.
The sniffling stopped, but the woman didn’t answer.
Lindsey dug through her purse and found the small packet of tissues she carried with her. She slid them under the side wall of the stall. “Here. Try these. That commercial toilet paper will chafe your nose.”
“Th-thank you.” A hand took the packet of tissues and a moment later a nose was blown daintily.
“No problem.” Lindsey suspected a lot of crying happened in hospital bathrooms. Especially when that hospital was one of the largest military hospitals in the United States. She unlocked her stall and went to the sink to wash her hands. The crying lady emerged from the stall next to Lindsey’s and Lindsey tried to give her the courtesy of privacy, but when she turned to grab a paper towel from the dispenser, there was no mistaking who the woman was.
“Oh,” Lindsey said to Josie, “hello again.”
Josie held out the packet of tissues—minus the couple she’d used. “Thanks for the Kleenex. I’m okay now.”
“No problem. I think Chad has tissues in his room if you need more.” Lindsey couldn’t help but wonder why she was in here crying. Maybe she didn’t want Chad to know she was upset, but of course she was upset. The man she loved and was going to marry had almost died. “I can’t imagine how relieved you must be.”
“Relieved?”
“That he’s alive. He’s here. That you can take him home and care for him and give him all the love and attention he needs while he heals.”
Josie lowered her gaze. “Yeah. Relieved. There’s a word. Excuse me.” She left the bathroom—without washing her hands, Lindsey couldn’t help but notice. Didn’t she realize that Chad was at risk for infection? She shouldn’t be touching him with dirty hands. Even if she hadn’t used the bathroom, she had touched the stall lock and the exit door. Maybe it wasn’t her place to tell Josie to wash her hands or at the very least use some hand sanitizer, but she was going to do it anyway. Josie was probably too upset to recognize the potential danger she posed to her wounded fiancé.
After using her elbow to push open the door so she didn’t dirty her own recently scrubbed hands—she might be a lot of things, but hypocrite wasn’t one of them—Lindsey looked down the hall toward Chad’s room. There was no sign of Josie. Had she sprinted? She glanced the other way and saw her walking in the wrong direction as fast as she could.
“Hey, Josie,” Lindsey called. “Chad’s room is that way!”
She must have not heard Lindsey because she only walked faster toward the elevator. Josie stopped short when she saw Owen standing near the elevator doors still waiting for Lindsey. He was oblivious to her presence as he was completely occupied by something on his phone screen. Josie clutched her dark, curly hair with both hands and after a quick look for an escape route, she rushed toward the stairwell, pushing through the door and disappearing. That had been weird. Where had Josie been going in such a hurry, and why had she freaked out when she’d seen Owen?
“I’m going to go check on Chad,” Lindsey called to Owen. “Be right back.”
She hurried to Chad’s room, knocking on the door even though it was wide open. “Sorry to bother you, but I just saw—” The look on his face stalled the words in her suddenly constricted throat.
He was staring down at something in the palm of his hand and his unbandaged cheek was wet. Was he crying?
“Chad?”
He lifted his head but didn’t acknowledge her. He swallowed hard and looked back down into his hand.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, taking a step closer and trying to see what in his hand had him looking so stunned. “Chad?”
“She . . .” He licked his lips and closed his hand into a fist before Lindsey could see what he was holding. “Left.”
“I’m sure she’ll be right back.” Lindsey stopped next to the bed and touched his shoulder.
He shook his head. “She left . . .” He squeezed his fist until his knuckles went white. “Me.”
“She must have had an important reason to—”
“Oh, she had a great reason.” Chad punched himself in what remained of his right leg so hard that Lindsey’s eyes watered. “This is her reason.”
That couldn’t possibly be right. What kind of horrible person would dump a war veteran for losing a leg? He hadn’t even been discharged from the hospital yet.
“This useless . . .” He punched his thigh again. “Worthless . . .” He lifted his fist to punch himself again, but Lindsey caught his wrist.
“Please don’t. You’ll hurt yourself.”
“I’ll hurt myself?” He laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. He turned his gaze to the ceiling and said to the fluorescent light overhead, “She’s worried that I’ll hurt myself.”
She reached out to touch his shoulder. “I am worried.” And not just about his physical pain, but his emotional pain as well.
She expected him to push her hand away, but instead he leaned into her touch. She moved closer, her belly pressed against the side of the bed, and slid her hand along the top of his back. He curled into her, a great ragged breath sucking into his lungs and tugging at her heart. She stroked his shorn hair, the short strands like soft down beneath her fingertips. His arms slid around her back, and he hugged her so tight she could scarcely breathe, but she didn’t complain. She squeezed him tighter too. When his palm flattened against her lower spine, something slipped from his grasp and bounced off the floor with a quiet ping.
“I need to pull myself together,” he said, his breathing irregular and hot against her chest.
“When you’re ready,” she said, still smoothing his hair. She knew he didn’t like her and thought she was taking advantage of his family, so was surprised that he was clinging to her so tightly. She was happy to be there for him, though, even if she didn’t have much to offer. The baby, however, protested being squished between them by kicking a foot outward repeatedly.
Chad laughed—this time there was joy in the sound—and slid his hand from her back to her belly directly over the foot that was trying to kick him aside. “Someone else doesn’t like me much.”
At the sound of his deep voice, the kicking stopped. Chad looked up, his hand still on Lindsey’s stomach. Her heart thudded rapidly as she lifted a hand to his cheek. She knew she shouldn’t take advantage of the situation to touch him, but she couldn’t help herself. The tenderness she felt as her fingers glided over his stubble-roughened skin caught her off guard. Maybe because he looked a lot like Owen and his wonderful mother, it was easy to care about him. Or maybe it was because she could only marvel at how quickly he shoved devastation aside and found a way to smile again. But whatever it was about him that drew her, she couldn’t deny she felt something powerful for this man she’d just met. It wasn’t pity. Admiration? Was that what she was feeling as he held her gaze?
“The baby definitely likes you,” she said, her fingers tracing Chad’s strong jaw. “He responds to your voice.”
Chad’s smile wobbled, and then he closed his eyes and swallowed.
“And I like you,” she added hastily.
“I like you too, even if I don’t get to be an uncle.”
He liked her? But she’d been certain he hated her.
“I want to assure you that I don’t want to trap your brother or use your family. It eats me alive that I owe them all so much, but I’m . . .” Terrified. “. . . going to pay them back. For everything. I promise.”
“I’m sorry I questioned your motives earlier.” He huffed a breath out of his nose. “I’ve become a touch cynical, it seems.”
She shook her head. She understood where he was coming from. She really did. “You have nothing to apologize for. And you can still be an uncle if you want. I’d love for you to be a role model for my son. No one said sharing DNA was a requirement for the job.”
His hands slid up her back, showing no signs of releasing his hold on her anytime soon.
“Sorry you had to see that. I don’t usually let myself fall apart.”
Chad thought that was falling apart? She could teach him a thing or two about falling apart.
“Lindsey?” Owen asked from the doorway. “Did you get lost?”
Chad leaned away and looked up into her eyes. Her heart stumbled over a beat. Even with all the bandages and bruises and scratches—or maybe because of them—he was the most handsome man she’d ever known. And even though he was currently bedridden, he was also the strongest.
Chad squeezed her hand and whispered, “I’m not ready to tell him about Josie yet. This is our secret.”
She nodded. It was only fair that she’d keep his secret since he was keeping hers.
He called out to his brother, “She came back for another visit. Can’t get enough of my good looks.”
That was closer to the truth than he realized.
“Must be nice to have two gorgeous women fighting over your attention,” Owen said as he crossed the room. He glanced around and quirked an eyebrow at Chad. “Where’s Josie? I figured you two would be smooching each other’s faces off by now.”
Chad rolled his eyes. “What kind of grown man uses the word smooching?”
Lindsey chuckled, at the same time spotting the object Chad had dropped. Resting between her feet was a diamond ring. Josie’s engagement ring? She stepped on it to keep it out of Owen’s sight.
“Sucking each other’s faces off then,” Owen said. “Did she leave?” He searched the room, as if he’d somehow missed seeing her.
“She went to the bathroom, but she’ll be back later,” Chad said.
“I can’t believe she’d leave you alone at a time like this,” Owen said. “We’ll wait until she gets back before we grab dinner.”
“I appreciate the gesture,” Chad said, “but I’m okay. Go get this starving woman some food. I can hear the baby’s belly growling as well as hers.”
Lindsey covered her rumbling belly with one hand.
“You can hear the baby’s stomach growling?” Owen promptly put his ear against Lindsey’s stomach. “That is so cool!”
Chad and Lindsey exchanged smirks over Owen’s head.
After a moment of listening, Owen said, “I can’t hear it over Lindsey’s grumbling.”
Chad smacked him on the head. “That’s a sign that you should feed her. Get out of here.”
Owen lifted his head but didn’t move toward the door. “I can’t stand the thought of you being here by yourself. I thought Josie—”
“Don’t worry about where she went,” Chad said, his voice rising. “She’ll be back when she gets back! Now get the fuck out of here.”
Owen blinked, obviously too stunned to respond.
Lindsey didn’t want to leave Chad alone either, even though he probably needed a moment to himself. “You can get takeout for us all,” Lindsey said, patting Owen’s arm. “I’m sure your brother has a craving for some food or another that he couldn’t get overseas.”
“I have been craving a meatball sub,” Chad said.
Lindsey’s stomach rumbled so loud, it made her blush. Her mouth watered, and she had to swallow before saying, “That does sound good.”
“I’m on it,” Owen said. “What kind of sandwich would Josie want?”
Lindsey had a knuckle sandwich she’d like to deliver to Josie’s face freaky fast.
“Same,” Chad said.
“I’ll be back,” Owen said in an Arnold Schwarzenegger accent. Apparently both brothers were fans. To Lindsey, Owen spewed a second impersonation, “Come with me if you want to live.”
“I’ll stay with Chad,” she said. “If that’s okay.”
“Is that okay with you?” Owen asked Chad.
Chad nodded but didn’t meet his eyes.
Owen patted his shoulder. “Hasta la vista, baby.”
“The Arnold routine is mine, little brother. Get your own bit.”
“No problemo.”
Lindsey snorted. “Well, one of you has to get a new routine. How many more Schwarzenegger one-liners can there possibly be?”
“Consider that a divorce,” Chad-Arnie said, the sadness gone from him now.
Owen-Arnie left the room to get their subs. When Lindsey was sure Owen was gone, she bent to retrieve the ring from beneath her foot, holding on to the bed rail to keep her balance. These days she felt more Humpty Dumpty than human.
“I’m going to have to get after that brother of mine for not keeping you fed,” Chad said.
“Owen treats me better than anyone,” she said. She lifted the ring—pinched between her thumb and forefinger. “What do you want me to do with this?”
“Flush it down the toilet,” he said.
“Are you sure? She might change her mind.”
“And I’m desperate enough to take her back, is that what you think?” His tone was a bit snippy. Lindsey tried not to take it personally.
“I hope not, but if you love someone, you can forgive them pretty much anything.” Unless she was referring to her parents forgiving her unplanned pregnancy. In their eyes she was no longer their daughter.
Chad sighed, plucking at the sheet covering his lap. “This has been coming for a while,” he said. “We’ve been drifting apart for years. I thought when we saw each other face-to-face, none of that would matter. That when the miles that had separated us for so long were no longer between us, that everything would go back to how it was before I left.” He snorted on a laugh. “I was stupid to believe that.”
“They do say absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
“Whoever says that has never been in a long-distance relationship.”
Maybe. Or maybe he’d just picked the wrong woman to be his wife. The fact that their relationship had been strained before Chad’s injuries made what Josie had done a little more forgivable.
On second thought, no, it didn’t. What that heartless hag had done had been completely unforgivable. Selfish. Josie’s method might have gotten the breakup over with quickly, but Lindsey thought it had been unnecessarily cruel. Then again, Lindsey had never been the type to yank off a Band-Aid. She’d always peeled them back real slow, trying to keep the pain to a minimum even if it drew it out to intolerable lengths.
“I’m going to flush this, then,” she said, giving the ring a shake for emphasis.
She started toward the small bathroom connected to his room.
“Wait!” he called after her. Her heart sank. “That’s a complete waste of money. Go hock it or sell it for its gold. I’ll split the money with you for your trouble.”
She wouldn’t take the money, but she did drop the ring into her purse. She’d get rid of this reminder of Josie for him even if she couldn’t do much about his thoughts of the woman.
Just as Lindsey got comfortable in the chair at Chad’s side, a nurse came into the room to check Chad’s vitals and pepper him with questions. Lindsey moved to the window to give them a little privacy, though she heard every word they spoke. The nurse performed her duty with the haste of a frozen snail—all looked good—and offered him a dose of morphine.
“How can I entertain my beautiful guest if I’m drugged out of my mind?” he asked.
“Don’t suffer on account of me,” Lindsey said, whirling around. “I can entertain myself.” She was sure just watching him sleep would be plenty entertaining.
“I’ll call you if I change my mind,” he told the nurse.
She left them after adjusting his pillows, and Chad patted the bed beside him. “I like when you sit here,” he said to Lindsey.
And she liked sitting there beside him, but she really wished he would rest more. Maybe he’d drift off to sleep while they watched TV together. The action movie they’d been watching was now over, and a sitcom had just started.
“I wish you’d rest,” she said.
“It’s not like I’m doing the Macarena over here.” He did demonstrate a few of the arm motions of the dance to make her laugh, but was soon wincing and massaging his shoulder.
He scooted across the mattress to give her space. The shift in position made him grit his teeth.
She wrung her hands. He was obviously in pain, and she couldn’t stand to see him hurting. “Maybe morphine is a good idea, Chad.”
He shook his head. “It makes me dream.”
“Nightmares?”
He nodded slightly and patted the now larger space beside him. “Sit, angel. Help me forget.”
Forget what? That he’d lost a leg? That his ex-fiancée was a horrible bit of slime who had left him alone? That his plans to be a career soldier had been cut ruthlessly short? She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to help him deal with any of those things, but she sat beside him, squished close against his side, and, after a moment of not really watching the episode of Friends she’d seen at least a dozen times, she took his hand. His palm and fingertips were bandaged, but she found a patch of bare, unmarred skin between his first and second knuckle and stroked him there with her thumb. She couldn’t concentrate on the television program or the commercials or even breathing. Her thoughts were racing, and Chad’s hard body against hers was more than a little distracting. His thumb stroked the back of her hand in what he probably thought was a soothing gesture, but it made her thighs tremble and her breath quicken. She tried blaming her undeniable attraction to him on her pregnancy hormones or Nightingale syndrome or the hot weather, but she didn’t think it was any of those things. She liked him as a person, and he was gorgeous. Why wouldn’t she think he was worth getting to know, including in the biblical sense?
Because he’s hurt, dummy. The last thing on his mind had to be having sex with some knocked-up woman his brother didn’t know what to do with.
“You smell nice,” Chad said quietly.
She tilted her head and stared dumbly since she couldn’t seem to work her tongue or vocal cords. His closeness had knocked the wind out of her.
He flushed, licking his lips before saying, “Sorry. It’s been a while since I’ve been with a woman.”
“Oh,” she said flatly. “It’s been a while since I’ve been with a woman too. A little over six months to be precise.”
His eyes widened, and his gaze snapped to her face. She couldn’t help but laugh at his dumbfounded expression.
“A onetime experiment. I prefer men.”
“My somewhat inappropriate thoughts about you have shifted into dangerous territory, angel.”
“You’re having inappropriate thoughts about me?” Lindsey asked, hoping he didn’t notice how damp her palm had become.
“Of course, I am. You’re kind and beautiful and sexy, so why wouldn’t I?”
He thought she was sexy? Even though she looked like a hippo in a blond wig? He was just being nice. Or he was desperate. Maybe he subconsciously wanted to get back at Josie for dumping him, and any woman would do for his revenge fuck. Not that he was up for sex. Or was he?
“I’m having inappropriate thoughts about you too,” she admitted quietly, and then she nudged him gently with her elbow. “Watch the show.” She tugged her hand free of his and rested it on his lap, hoping she could concentrate better without skin-on-skin contact.
“Well, that part still works,” Chad said with a miserable laugh.
“What works?” Her gaze drifted down to the rather impressive tent Chad was making in the covers over his lap. “Chad!”
“Sorry. I’m a disgusting pig. This is not the time or the place. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
Nothing was wrong with him, apparently. She licked her lips nervously, and said, “I wish—”
“I hope you’re hungry!” Owen called as he barged into the room.
Lindsey instinctively reached out to cover Chad’s visually obvious predicament. At her touch, Chad groaned, his entire body shuddering.
“Sorry,” she said, half-falling out of the bed as she scrambled to get her hand off his dick and her feet under her. “It was an accident.” Which wasn’t exactly true. She’d done it on purpose, she just hadn’t thought through her actions. She pulled the wheeled bed tray over Chad’s lap while he stared at the ceiling and breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth.
Owen was immediately hovering over his brother, his brow twisted with worry. “What did you do to him, bump his leg?”
“My third leg,” Chad said breathlessly before he laughed. “She didn’t mean to.”
Maybe she had meant to touch him. She vividly remembered the feel of the hard length of his cock against her palm, and she was so hot and achy between her legs she had to sit down, cross her legs, and squeeze her thighs together to alleviate her arousal. What the fuck was wrong with her? Chad was injured. Chad was hurt. Chad was as turned on as she was.
Owen grinned at his brother. “Better get that hard-on under control before Josie gets back.”
“Josie’s not coming back,” Chad said, as if that fact meant nothing.
How could he recover from Josie’s rejection so quickly? Had Josie meant so little to him?
Owen’s eyebrows drew together. “An emergency or—”
“She dumped me, okay? Broke off our engagement and left.” Chad reached for the sack and pulled it from Owen’s grip. “Did you remember I like provolone on my sub?”
“Wh-what?” Owen sputtered.
“Cheese,” Chad clarified, peering into the bag.
Lindsey wasn’t sure if Chad was in denial over Josie or if he’d come to terms with their split already. He’d looked so devastated when she’d found him staring at the engagement ring in his palm. Surely, he hadn’t faked that. He couldn’t possibly be over the woman that quickly. Either he was completely heartless or an expert at burying his feelings. As she couldn’t bring herself to believe that he was incapable of emotion, she decided he was hiding what he truly felt. Did they teach him that in the Marines? She wasn’t sure if shutting off the ability to feel would be a gift or a curse. Most likely it was how he’d learned to cope.
“Yes,” Owen said, “they all have cheese. Did you say Josie dumped you?” Owen stuck a finger in his ear and wiggled it around. “I must be hearing things. You’ve been dating her since right after high school.”
“It’s probably time for a change, then.” Chad pulled a sub out of the bag and held it toward Lindsey. “Here, angel. This one’s for you.”
“Th-thanks,” she said, forcing herself from her chair and taking the few steps necessary to get her sandwich. She was careful not to touch him again, but he didn’t relinquish his hold on her food until she met his gaze. He winked at her, and she flushed, deciding it didn’t matter what had caused the shift in his mood. She was just glad he no longer looked like his world had ended.
She retreated to her chair and unwrapped her sandwich, using her belly as a very convenient, though sloped, table.
“Here’s yours, Owen,” Chad said. “And four for me. Nice.”
“Two for each of us,” Owen said. “Because Lindsey can have Jo . . .” He swallowed and gave Chad a hard stare, as if expecting him to burst into tears. “Two for each of us,” he said again.
“We’ll see who gets through theirs first.”
Lindsey was already far ahead of both men and was looking forward to gorging herself on Josie’s sandwich out of spite.
Owen didn’t take his eyes off his brother as he sank into the second visitor chair. “Are you really okay with Josie splitting?” He glanced at Lindsey. “If you want Lindsey to go so we can talk in private . . .”
Lindsey immediately froze, the remaining half of her sub close to her mouth. She set the sub down and began to fold the wrapper around it.
“I don’t want Lindsey to leave. She settles me and completely unsettles me at the same time.”
Owen gave Lindsey an odd look before turning his attention back to Chad. “I’m not sure what to say.”
“Don’t say anything.”
“I’m sorry this happened. I never understood what you saw in Josie in the first place.”
“You liked her,” Chad said before biting into his sandwich.
“Well, I don’t like her now. Now I want to punch her in the eye.”
“If it makes you feel better, she was crying in the bathroom,” Lindsey said.
“Dying?” Chad asked with a hopeful expression.
“Crying,” Lindsey said.
“Then, no, I don’t feel better,” Chad said. “But, seriously, fuck her.”
So Chad was feeling something about being dumped. Lindsey just couldn’t read what those feelings were. Hurt? Anger? Betrayal? That was what she’d be feeling. Not acceptance. Never acceptance. But Chad seemed so calm. So unaffected. It had to be the Marine in him that allowed him to retain his cool. Lindsey knew that she’d have been a complete wreck for weeks or months—maybe even a lifetime—under the same circumstances. She’d always had a hard time letting go of emotional trauma. Of betrayal. That was why she hadn’t spoken to her once best friend Vanessa since she’d joined the National Guard and left Lindsey to fend for herself in Idaho.
“Yeah,” Owen said. “Fuck her.” He took a bite of his sandwich, chewed thoughtfully. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked Chad when his mouth was free.
“A touch of blue balls, but other than that, I’m feeling fine.”
“Must be the morphine,” Owen said, shaking his head.
But Lindsey knew Chad hadn’t had any morphine. Not since she’d met him.
When Joan and James returned about an hour later, the three trapped together in the hospital room had long since finished their sandwiches—Lindsey had forced herself to eat Josie’s sub, even though she was now uncomfortably full—and were avoiding talking about Josie, Chad’s injuries, Lindsey’s still undetermined baby daddy, and the state of Owen’s now defunct band by making inane small talk.
“I think I can sleep now,” Chad said.
“It’s good for you,” his mom said, fluffing his pillow and rubbing his shoulder, then his face, his forehead. “I had a nice little nap back at the hotel and feel almost human again.”
“By little she means ten minutes,” James said. “I had to pretend to be sleeping to keep her from coming back up here to bother you.”
“She is quite a bother,” Chad said, but he grinned lovingly at his mother.
“Where’s Josie?” Mom asked. “I thought for sure she’d be here by now.”
Chad licked his lips and shot his brother a look of warning. “She had to leave early. Something important came up.”
“What could possibly be more important than you?” Mom asked.
Exactly, Lindsey thought.
“The world does not revolve around me, Mom.”
“Of course, it does,” she said without missing a beat.
“You’re going to drive him insane,” James predicted.
“I’d do anything for either of my boys. Anything,” Joan said.
“Can you get me out of this dump?” Chad asked.
Lindsey doubted it was a good idea for him to leave the hospital early, but if that was what he wanted, she was sure Joan could figure out a way to make it happen.
“You know,” Joan said, focusing her attention on Lindsey. “I think maybe you came around at exactly the right time. I’m going to need some help taking care of Chad until he gets back on his feet.”
“Foot,” Chad said.
Joan rolled her eyes. “He’s always been a handful.”
“Owen is worse.” Chad pointed at his brother.
Owen nodded. “He’s right. I am.”
“I’ll help in any way I can,” Lindsey said.
“I don’t want anyone taking care of me,” Chad said. “Ever.”
“Just until you’re back on your feet,” Joan said, patting his shoulder.
“Foot,” he corrected again, this time a bit more tersely. “I don’t need your help.”
“If you can’t accept our help, then you’re staying in the hospital,” Joan said with finality.
Chad sighed. “Fine. Lindsey can give me baths, but that’s the only help I’ll accept.”
Lindsey licked her lips, flushing at the thought of seeing Chad naked. She was going to make a terrible nurse. But she did want to help. And not only with his baths.
“She’s good at taking care of people,” Owen said. “I’ve been so spoiled since she moved in with me, I won’t know what to do with myself when she finds a place of her own.”
So, he’d noticed that she tried to make his life easier? She smiled. Maybe she had a chance with Owen after all.
“Good thing I’ll be there to keep you company,” Chad said.
“You’re moving in with me?” Owen asked. “But I thought—”
“Hey, I’m not the kind of loser who lives with his parents until he’s forty,” Chad said. “I’m the kind who lives with his brother for life.”
“For life?” Owen squeaked.
Joan squeezed Chad’s shoulder. “Chad, I’m not sure that’s the best place for you. There are all those stairs.”
“We can make a place for him in the downstairs den,” Lindsey said, and then realizing she’d overstepped her bounds, she backpedaled. “I mean, if that’s okay with Owen.”
“The den is tiny,” Owen said. “I’m not sure a bed will fit in there.”
“A twin bed will.” She’d already measured it, thinking the den might be their son’s future bedroom before she’d known that Owen wasn’t his father.
“But we have so much more space, Chad,” Joan said. “It makes more sense—”
“Nothing in my life makes sense right now,” Chad said. “I only know I’d feel more at home at Owen’s place. I did do most of the work fixing it up while he was off playing rock star with his friends.”
“Not most of the work,” Owen protested, but then he chuckled. “Okay, you did do most of the work, but not all of it.”
“You did install that toilet paper holder in the powder room,” Chad said.
“The crooked one?” Lindsey asked. It wasn’t crooked, but teasing Owen was always fun.
“It’s not crooked.” But his grin was.
Lindsey decided that living with both Mitchell brothers—the sweet one and the savory one—would be an adventure worth experiencing.
“We’d better get home,” she said to Owen. “We have a lot to prepare for Chad’s arrival.”
“Aren’t you still active duty?” Dad asked.
“I never turned in my reenlistment papers, so as of the fifteenth, I’ll be a civilian.”
“A veteran,” Owen said, slapping Chad’s shoulder and beaming with pride.
“Could you reenlist?” Mom asked. “I mean, if you wanted to?”
“Sure. But they’d probably stick me behind a desk.” Chad shook his head. “No thanks.”
“I wish someone would stick me behind a desk,” Lindsey said. “I could use a job.” Any job.
“You have a job,” Chad said. “Taking care of me.”
She’d happily do that for free. “That’s not a job, it’s a privilege.”
Chad rolled his eyes. “You won’t be saying that for long.”
Just for as long as he needed her. Which she hoped was a long time.
