Chapter Nine

Jack should have known when her phone rang that meant the end of their evening. At least from the perspective of ending up just the two of them back at her place, ideally naked and in her bed. Yet his stupid, lust-fueled brain didn’t process the ringing as the alarm it should’ve been. The expression on Bridget’s face, on the other hand, hit him like a freight train. A hard rock settled in his stomach as he held his breath.

“Is she all right?” Bridget said. Her voice was so small it hardly filled the truck cabin. She blinked rapidly and her eyes sparkled in the dim light of the streetlamp.

He reached out and slipped his fingers over hers. They trembled beneath him.

“Okay… Okay… I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She hung up and sniffled. Swiping at her cheeks, she said, “I have to get home. I need to get over to the hospital. Gran had a heart attack.”

“I’ll take you there now.” He started the engine and threw it into drive.

“You don’t have to do that.” She sucked in a breath and rubbed her palms over her eyes again.

“I want to. You and Gran are important to me. Let me be here for you.”

“Yeah. That…that would be good.” She sniffled as he rolled through town and toward the highway. “She has to have surgery. They think she might have a blockage. Oh! I need to call my sister.”

He held her hand while navigating them to the local hospital and Bridget talked with her sister. When they arrived, she raced out of the truck and he trailed behind as they entered the emergency waiting room.

“I’m Esmerelda Wildes’ granddaughter. How is she? Is she in surgery yet?” Bridget wrung her hands as she peppered the front desk with questions.

“Slow down, honeybee.” He ran his hands over her shoulders and down her arms. “Give them a chance to answer.”

“Bridge! Over here.”

They both spun around to find her cousin Becca across the room. Bridget ran over and threw her arms around Becca. “Oh my God, I can’t believe I wasn’t there for her. I’m a terrible granddaughter.”

“She was at her apartment and called nine-one-one. You wouldn’t have been able to help anyway, B. Don’t beat yourself up for something out of your control.”

“Gran should never have moved out. She shouldn’t live alone.”

Becca leaned back. “You think any of us could have stopped her? This is Gran we’re talking about.” She looked behind Bridget and saw him standing there and her eyes widened. “Hey, Jack. What’re you doing…here?”

He cleared his throat and shuffled closer. “We were having dinner when you called. With my sister and her twins.”

Becca lifted her brows halfway up her forehead and Jack almost laughed at her expression. “You”—she turned back to Bridget—“and Bridge were having dinner.” She paused for a breath and looked back at him. “With your family?”

Bridget stepped back and slid her hand into his. “Yeah, we were. Jack drove us straight here. Sarah’s on her way.”

The two women launched into a conversation about their family, who still needed to be contacted and who could wait until the morning. All the while, Jack stood there hand-in-hand with Bridget as if he’d done this a thousand times before. As if he was more than her brand-new boyfriend who was fighting off the thin trail of panic in his veins. What was he doing here? He didn’t belong with them and it was awkward and uncomfortable for him to even be a bystander to this conversation. Yet at the same time, her small hand in his felt completely right. And when she shifted into his side, he curved an arm around her while she didn’t miss a beat in the conversation. It was unsettling to be at odds with himself when he normally wasn’t.

Footsteps pounded from behind and they turned. Cornelius skidded to a stop. “Hey, how’s Gran? What’s the update?”

Becca answered, “We don’t know much yet. They did all this imaging stuff and she needs surgery to fix her heart. The doctor hasn’t come out again yet.” She nodded to the chairs scattered around. “We should sit. I think it’s going to be a long night.”

They all settled in, Jack and Bridget taking up residence on a small two-seater couch. He wrapped an arm around her, and she nestled her head on his shoulder. They sat that way for hours, alternating between conversing and scrolling on their phones with a small catnap that Bridget took around midnight.

She’d told him to head home at some point during the evening, but while this wasn’t exactly how he’d envisioned the night going, Jack was not leaving. Not when he had Bridget cuddled up next to him. Who cared if the couch was uncomfortable? It was totally worth the lack of sleep to have her in his arms and be there when she needed him most. He pressed a kiss to the top of her dark curls and she nuzzled closer in her sleep. Yep, totally worth it.

“Bridget! Becca!” A woman with long blonde hair streaked through the doors and skidded to a stop in front of them.

Bridget jerked awake and jumped up. “Sarah!” She threw her arms around the woman Jack presumed to be her sister. He rose and waited for the two to reunite.

“What’s going on with Gran? Why hasn’t anyone called me yet?”

“We still haven’t gotten any updates or we would’ve let you know.”

Becca grabbed Sarah and hugged her tight. “Glad you’re here, cousin.”

“Thanks, Becca. Now let’s find out what’s…” Sarah turned and finally processed his large form standing behind Bridget. “Who are you?” Green eyes a couple of shades darker than Bridget’s narrowed at him.

Bridget reached behind her and grasped his hand, tugging him next to her. “This is Jack. I told you about him, remember? The new logger in town?”

“Ohhhh, right.” Sarah cut her sister a quick look that was unmistakably “we’ll talk later,” then glanced back at him. “Hi, Jack. I’m Sarah. Bridge’s older sister.” She held her hand out and Jack shook it.

“Nice to meet you, Sarah. Wish it was under better circumstances.”

She nodded and her blonde hair rippled in soft waves around her shoulders. “Same.” She turned to the nurse’s desk. “Let’s see about an update.” Two steps in, she froze and looked to her left. “Corey?” Her voice wasn’t the same strong, confident one. This was quieter. More youthful.

“Hey, Sarah.” Cornelius waved awkwardly and adjusted his glasses. Jack grimaced for him.

Even without any background, he could feel the tension between them. Clearly they had history together, but what kind was yet to be explained.

“Corey!” She burst into tears and ran to him. He caught her and for a few moments they clung to each other. A few murmured words were exchanged, but too low to be made out.

Jack leaned over to Bridget and whispered, “What’s up there?”

She eyed the couple with caution. “They used to date.”

Becca snorted. “They were practically engaged.”

“No, they weren’t,” Bridget defended. “It was years ago. High-school sweethearts, that’s all.”

“Whatever you say…” Becca shot him a look over her shoulder and shook her head. “Engaged,” she mouthed.

Okay, then. All he needed to know was they had dated and this was still a touchy subject. Maybe he’d bring it up with Cornelius. Later. When no one else was around.

Sarah stepped back from Cornelius and patted her cheeks dry. After a deep breath, she turned around and aimed for the nurse’s desk. They conversed for a minute then Sarah headed back to their little group.

“Gran’s still in surgery and they don’t know how much longer. They had to wait for the on-call cardiologist to arrive. I guess we just keep hanging out.”

Jack sat back on the couch and Bridget joined him.

“You don’t have to stay. My sister can drive me home. I’m sure you want to get some sleep and this couch is not exactly comfortable.”

He shifted to tuck her into his side. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m fine. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

“Really?” She wrinkled her forehead.

“Yeah.” He brushed his lips across hers and was rewarded with her arm going around his waist as she nestled closer. Leaning his head against the back of the couch, he closed his eyes. Despite this not being the night he’d hoped for, he hadn’t lied. His heart was barreling down this relationship path and dragging his head and body along for the ride. Wherever Bridget was, that was where he wanted to be.

 

* * * *

Bridget woke groggy, disoriented and with a sharp pain in her neck. She blinked, glancing around the room, then sat up with a jerk. Hospital. Gran. Heart attack. The night’s events flooded into her mind.

“Hey, you okay?” Jack asked as he sat up.

Her sister, cousin and Cornelius were still sleeping in their requisite chairs. “What time is it?” Bridget’s voice was gruff from lack of sleep and her abrupt wake-up call. She glanced at her phone—it was 4:37 a.m. “God, it’s so early. Or late. I’m not sure which.”

Jack flashed a lopsided smile at her. “Do you need anything? Want me to find some coffee or water or snacks?”

Her heart stuttered in her chest. How had she landed such an amazing boyfriend? A thrill went down her spine as even the thought of him as her boyfriend made her happy. But should she feel this way? Gran was having heart surgery, for crying out loud, and here she was mooning over a guy. An insanely hot guy who did sweet things like make her signs and cat trees and stay all night at the hospital with her and…where had she been going with this train of thought again? Oh, yes. Terrible granddaughter for not focusing completely on her grandmother in the hospital for a heart attack.

“Bridget?” Jack patted her hand. “I think coffee would be good.”

She laughed at herself. “Sorry, my brain is a mess right now. Yes, thanks. And some water, too?”

“You got it.” He kissed her cheek and headed out in search of the cafeteria.

She stretched and stood, trying not to disturb the others. She paced the length of the room then went to the nurse station. “Hi, I hate to bother you again, but do you have any updates on Esmerelda Wildes?”

“It’s no problem, let me check.” She typed a few things then smiled. “Looks like she’s out of surgery and the doctor should be with you soon.”

Relief so strong her legs wobbled flowed through her. “Thank you.” She turned and almost ran back to the others. “Becca, Sarah. Gran’s out of surgery.”

They stirred along with Cornelius.

“That’s great news,” Sarah said as she stood. Then she plunked her hands on her hips. “Where’s Jack? Did he go home?”

Bridget shook her head, annoyed at her sister’s assumption. “He’s getting coffee and water for us.”

The doors behind her opened and a doctor in scrubs and a surgical cap walked through. She pulled the cap off, showing a messy bun of red hair. “I’m Dr. Mayes. Are you the family of Esmerelda Wildes?”

Sarah stepped forward. “Yes, we’re her granddaughters. How is she?”

“She’s doing very well. The angioplasty and stent surgery went as smooth as it could go. She had two valves that were clogged, but things look otherwise good. She’s quite lucky. Ms. Wildes is awake now and in about an hour you can go see her.”

“An hour?” Sarah asked. “Why can’t we see her now? Why didn’t anyone tell us when her surgery was finished?”

Bridget cringed inside. Leave it to Sarah to charge full speed ahead.

Dr. Mayes smiled. “She needs time to not be so disoriented after the anesthesia. Many patients have this done while awake with local anesthetic, but we couldn’t this time. That can be hard for someone her age and we want to keep her as calm as possible. We waited until she was awake and not right after surgery finished up because again, we never know how someone will react to the anesthetic. Going under and coming out are two very tense times during surgery. She’ll be here for at least a few days while we monitor her recovery and then she’ll have discharge instructions and follow-up appointments, but we’ll get to all that later. Right now, the good news is she’s doing very well and you can see her soon.”

“Thank you so much,” Bridget said before Sarah could grill her further. The doctor smiled at them all and went back through the doors. Bridget grabbed Sarah for a hug and reached out to pull Bex in, too. The three of them hugged and Bridget cried a little with alleviation that Gran was okay.

Movement caught her focus and she saw Jack return with a tray full of coffees and a bag of bottled waters. She raced over to him and grabbed the drinks before setting them on a table. “She’s okay! Gran is awake and we can see her soon.” She threw her arms around Jack and he lifted her up.

“That’s fantastic news, honeybee. I’m so happy to hear that.”

Her stomach flipped at the pet name. A fuzzy warmth spread in her chest and she grinned against his neck. She’d never had any guy she dated call her anything besides Bridget. Her heart thumped in her chest. She liked it. She liked him. Way more than she should so early on, but there was no stopping the emotional coaster she was on. All she could do was hold on tight and enjoy the ride. “Thanks for being here with me, Jack.” She looked up at his brown eyes and her insides went all mushy again. “It means a lot.”

She kissed him then because she couldn’t not kiss him. Not with all the pleasant, buzzy warmth he created inside her. She stroked her tongue along his once, twice, and forced herself to retreat. This wasn’t the time or place for the kind of kisses that heated her blood the way this one was doing.

“You’re welcome. Any time you need me, I’m here.” He ran a hand over her hair and smiled. “Especially if you kiss me like that each time.”

She chuckled and sighed as he lowered her back to the floor. She grabbed a coffee with one hand and laced the fingers on the other one with Jack’s. As that first sip danced across her taste buds, she hummed and closed her eyes. Yep, this was exactly what she needed.

A little later a nurse escorted the girls to Gran’s room. Bridget’s stomach dropped as she took in the sight of Gran, pale and fragile-looking in the hospital bed with tubes and wires hooked up to her.

“Gran,” she gasped and rushed over to her side. Tears stung her eyes and she blinked them away. There wasn’t time for crying right now. She needed to be strong for Gran. Give her faith that everything would be okay.

Sarah and Becca joined on the other side of the bed.

“How are you feeling? Do you need anything?” Sarah asked.

Gran smiled and gave the finest of head shakes. “I’m just fine, especially with all three of my girls with me now.”

Bridget smiled and said, “The doctor said your heart looks good now and you can go home in a few days. You can move back in with me.”

“I’ll do nothing of the sort.” Her grandmother pierced her with a stare. “I do not need you spending all your time either at the shop or taking care of me. I’m perfectly capable of living on my own.”

“But, Gran,” Sarah protested.

“But nothing,” she said and pinned Sarah and Becca with Looks. “Listen to me, girls. I’m a grown woman. The doctor will tell me what I need to do and I’m certain that won’t include having to move in with my granddaughters.” She crossed her arms and leveled her stare at Bridget. “I will not have you three throwing away opportunities right in front of you just because my health had a little bump.”

“A little bump!” Bridget exclaimed.

Gran raised a hand. “I like my independence and I’m not giving it up. That’s final.”

Bridget held her tongue. She’d well learned the lesson that Gran’s word was final when she was growing up. Unless the doctor said otherwise, there was no point in arguing.

 

* * * *

Jack yawned as he drove them back in the dark, barely morning hours. As bone tired as he was, Jack still enjoyed having Bridget next to him, her hand resting on his thigh as she dozed against his shoulder. Her sister was somewhere behind them in her car and would be crashing at Bridget’s place for at least a week or two. He couldn’t tell if she liked him or not and he wasn’t quite sure how this might affect his relationship with Bridget. He didn’t know how close the sisters were.

He turned off onto their street and parked at her house. With gentle movements, Jack shifted Bridget to the seat so he could climb out and lift her out of the car. Her slight weight filled his arms and he marveled at how much the logging job had enhanced his strength. She mumbled, but her eyes stayed closed. Juggling his way into the house, he managed to get them both inside without letting Candle out, then back to her bedroom. He placed her on the bed and Bridget protested but she rolled to her side as she settled in. He tugged off her ankle boots and pulled her purple and white duvet over her.

The cat meowed behind him. Jack turned and shooed her out of the room. “Whatcha need, fluff ball?” She let out another pitiful yowl and walked toward the kitchen. He followed and found her food bowl empty. “I guess you’re hungry, huh?” He squatted down and scratched behind her ears. “I’ll get you food.”

As he was dishing up cat food, Sarah came in, pulling a suitcase behind her. She jumped a foot when she saw him in the house. “Shit,” she said and put a hand over her heart. “You scared me.”

“Sorry.” He chuckled. “I was feeding the cat.”

“I forgot Bridge got a cat. She’s precious.” She knelt and stretched a hand out to let Candle sniff before running her hand down the cat’s back. Sarah stood and sighed. “I’m a zombie. I’m going to grab a few hours of sleep. It was nice meeting you.”

“Same here. I’ll just go check on Bridget and see myself out.”

They parted ways in the hall and he peeked in. Bridget was adorable with her curls splayed out on the pillows. He bent and brushed the hair away from her face, kissing her temple. “Sweet dreams.”

Her lashes fluttered and opened. “Stay.” She reached out and wrapped a hand around his neck. “Sleep next to me.”

How the hell was supposed to say no to that invitation? Not one iota of his body even wanted to say no, so why pretend? “Okay.”

She smiled as he kicked off his shoes and joined her under the covers. He opened his arms and she immediately snuggled into him. With her head on his chest, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

 

* * * *

 

When Jack woke, the light was slanting in at a late afternoon angle and he stretched as much as he could without jostling Bridget. At some point they’d turned so she was spooned against his chest and he couldn’t help but notice how good her bottom felt pressed against his groin. His very awake and alert groin. Breathing deeply, he nuzzled her neck and focused on tamping down on his arousal. He would not paw at her like a high-school boy alone with a girl for the first time.

A soft sigh escaped her and she turned in his arms. She blinked her eyes at him. “Hi.”

“Hi, yourself. Feeling refreshed?”

“Mmm.” She smiled and ran a hand through his hair down to his cheek. She stroked the hairs of his beard. “I like waking up to you. Here. In my bed.” Her teeth sank into her bottom lip as pink tinged her cheeks.

His restraint snapped. Leaning up on one elbow, he rolled her onto her back and delved into her mouth. She was so soft and lush and he wanted to sink into her and never surface again.

She twined her arms around his neck and hooked a leg over his hip. When he rocked against her, she shivered and whimpered. She crept her fingers beneath his long-sleeved shirt and splayed them across his back.

He loved the sensation of her hands on his skin, wanted her hands on every part of him. Her dress was bunched around her waist and it took all of his self-control not to pull her dress over her head and her panties down her legs. He wanted her naked in the worst way, but also knew he shouldn’t rush things.

“Jack.” She sighed and writhed beneath him. “Please.”

“I don’t have condoms on me. Do you have them here?”

She groaned with frustration and shook her head. “No. I didn’t… I haven’t needed any in a while and I didn’t think ahead.”

He kissed her again. “Your sister is just down the hall anyway.”

The most adorable little growl vibrated in her throat. “Jack,” she pleaded and rubbed against him.

“I know, baby.” He brushed his lips over hers. “Just don’t get too loud, okay?” Then he kissed his way down…down…down to where he most wanted to taste her.

Later, after he’d given her two orgasms and his body begged to sink into her wet heat, he ignored those base instincts and lay down next to her again. Her whole face and body were soft and relaxed and his grin couldn’t be helped. He loved that he’d put that dreamy smile on her lips and the flush on her skin. He traced patterns along the skin of her stomach and licked his lips. “You do taste like the sweetest honey,” he murmured in her ear, watching that flush deepen.

She covered her face with her hands and peeked out between her fingers. “Jack! I can’t believe you just said that.”

“It’s true, though. You’re my honeybee.”

A little yelp escaped her and she clamped a hand over her mouth. The sight threw him back to a few minutes ago when she’d had to do the same to keep her cries of pleasure muffled. He laughed and pulled her closer. “You’re making it way too easy to fall for you.”

She lowered her hands and stilled, staring at him.

He swallowed and hoped he hadn’t just made a fatal mistake with Bridget.

“You’re falling for me?”

He nodded, not trusting himself to say the right thing.

Then the corners of her mouth lifted up. “That’s good,” she said softly. “Me too.”

He grinned wide then kissed her again.