Free Pass (Free Will Book 1) (6 page)

Chapter Fifteen
 

I drove us into the city. She stared out the window and watched the buildings go by as we passed. When I reached across the console and clasped her hand in mine, she jumped. She smiled though and tightened her fingers against mine.
A brush of my thumb across her palm made her quiver. Every nerve in my body seemed connected to my hand. Damn, I wanted this woman.

When I pulled into valet parking at an expensive steakhouse, she voiced a protest. "This is too much! I don't need anything this fancy!"

I handed my keys to the valet then helped her out of the Jeep. Cradling her face in my hands, I whispered, "I know you don't need it. But you deserve it. You are absolutely beautiful tonight."

I kissed her softly before stepping back and taking her hand. "You do realize I'm not a poor college student? I can't afford this place all the time, but I can afford it tonight. Don't worry."

She let me lead her inside. A sharp-dressed waiter led us up to a balcony. Flickering candles sat on crisp white tablecloths. The dim lights up here didn't reflect off the wall of glass next to our table. No, they allowed the city lights to twinkle from our magnificent view.

I helped her with her chair before taking my own seat.

"I just now realized that you were in a full suit."

When she commented, I laughed out loud. "Well, I couldn't have you in a pretty dress while I wore jeans." I winked. "Besides, they have a dress code here."

She bit her lip as she stared down at the menu and tried to decide what to get.

"Stop overthinking it. Pick what you want, Laney."

"How'd you know I wasn't a vegetarian?"

"At every family dinner, you usually have the biggest cut of steak or meat you can get your hands on piled on your plate."

Moisture welled up in her eyes at my words.
Shit.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I reached out toward her. She struggled to blink back the tears in her eyes. "Is it what I said? I didn't mean..." I took a deep breath before continuing, "Laney, I like that you eat. I don't want my woman to have the curves of prepubescent boy. You are pretty damn perfect. And I hope I get to see more of those curves of yours later."

When she glanced up, the hope in her eyes stole my breath. The stupid waiter in his stupid bow-tie walked up and ruined the moment. We ordered to get him to leave. I never released her hand. My fingers trailed over hers, across her palm, up her wrist. We didn't speak.

Our food arrived and I quit eye-fucking her for a moment to turn my attention to my rib-eye. I cut into my steak and it looked perfect. Popping a bite into my mouth, I almost moaned. The succulent meaty flavor nearly gave my taste buds an orgasm. Hell, who was I kidding? I was so turned on already, it about gave me an orgasm, period. I was planning to go light on the food tonight, but I savored every mouth-watering bite.

When the waiter cleared our almost clean plates away, he asked about dessert.

"Who could save room for dessert when the steaks are that good?" Laney questioned.

I laughed because that was my exact line of thought. I paid and we walked back to the Jeep.

"I have a meeting at eight am on the south side of town. I'd have to leave your place at like five thirty to get there in time with traffic. Would you mind staying at my place tonight?"

She murmured an agreement and I tucked her into my Jeep with a tender kiss.

When we walked in to my house, she looked around. I wondered what she thought... Nothing fancy, it was a simple brick-front house on a cul de sac. It wasn't too messy. There were a few dirty dishes in the sink, and a pile of towels sat next to the open laundry closet. The floors could use a good mopping, but things were picked up at least. Austin and his roommate were the world's biggest slobs, so this was damn near spotless compared to their apartment.

Leaning one hip against the counter, I took my suit coat off and loosened my tie. "So, you like the beard?" She grinned at me and I think my heart stopped. I know it skipped a beat.

She threw herself at me without any shame.

I caught her mid-flight and tossed her up onto the kitchen counter. When her legs spread, I situated myself between them. I sought her soft lips with my own. When her tongue teased mine, I groaned into her mouth and deepened the kiss.

My hands found the zip to her dress and tugged it down. I slid my hands inside and caressed her warm skin. She sighed when I rose up and pushed the dress from her shoulders. The fabric pooled around her waist and I couldn't stay away.

Bending back down, I trailed my lips down her throat, nibbling and kissing my way down. She pleaded for more when I slid my tongue beneath the top edge of her strapless bra. I made quick work of that thing.

Damn.
Laney was even more beautiful than I'd imagined.

My hands were shaking as I caressed her. I prayed she wouldn't notice. I took her nipple in my mouth and twirled my tongue around it. She threw her head back and arched her chest into me, my name escaping her lips as a harsh whisper.

Her cell phone rang.

I ignored it. They could call back. I was not capable of coherent sentences at the moment and I didn't think Laney was either.

I worshiped her breasts with my hands and mouth. Her hands tangled in my hair as if to keep me close. When I drug my teeth lightly across her nipple, she gasped out a prayer for more.

If she wanted more, she was damn well getting more.

Sweeping her into my arms, I carried her into the bedroom. I stood her next to my bed and her dress hit the floor.

Fuck.

A garter belt and stockings?

I tried to swallow but my mouth was too dry. She moved to unclip one and I swatted her hand away. "Leave them. Please" My voice was hoarse.

The phone on the night stand rang. I glanced at it. Damn it.

"No one ever calls me at the house unless it's important. Just...hold that thought."

I grabbed the phone and answered it. When I heard Susie's voice on the other end of the line, I knew tonight was over. And cursed myself for answering.

I held the phone out to Laney. "It's your mom."

By the time they ended the call, great gasping sobs jerked her body. Tears poured down her face.

Yup. Tonight was definitely over.

I sighed as I took the phone from her and put it back on the charger. She sat on the edge of my bed sobbing too hard to explain what was wrong. If I'd known her mom's number I'd have called her back to ask. I cursed myself for not replacing that phone when the caller ID died.

I wrapped a blanket around her and started gathering up her clothes. Getting her back into the dress wasn't nearly as much fun as taking her out of it.

It took a few minutes, but she was finally able to tell me that her grandmother was in the hospital.

Well, that explained a lot. She and her Granny are close. I remember Austin saying how much he hated the meddling old woman though.

"They think she's had a heart attack. I need to go home. I need to go to Free Will," Laney was mumbling as she fiddled with her necklace.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "Let me make a call. See if I can get that meeting covered. If I can, I'll come with you. You don't need to be driving this upset. I'll be right back."

She curled up on my bed and hugged my pillow as I left the room. After making a useless phone call, I came back and climbed in beside her. Her tears and mascara left watery black tracks all over my white dress shirt. I'd have to replace it, but I didn't say a word. Just rubbed her back softly.

"Mike can't cover the meeting. He's got an appointment of his own. I could take you up after work tomorrow. But I figure you don't want to wait. Right?"

She shook her head in the negative.

"Didn't think so. You're too upset to be driving. I'm gonna see if Austin can take you up tonight." I rolled away enough to grab the phone from the nightstand. I hated to make this call. Hated to let Austin near her again. But what choice did I have?

She snuggled into my side, sniffling, while I filled Austin in on the situation. Austin agreed to drive her back to Free Will and I told him we'd meet him in half an hour at Laney's apartment.

Chapter Sixteen
 

Austin waited in front of my building when we pulled up. He pulled a double-take when he got a glimpse of our outfits. I waved a weak greeting in his direction and brushed past him to go change.

Kelsey's gasp told me all I needed to know about my appearance. But I ignored her questions, walked into my room, and shut the door. I peeled my dress and get-laid undergarments off and grabbed some comfy sweats. Mascara crusted my eyelashes, so I took a moment to wash my face. Glancing in the mirror, I saw why Kelsey appeared so concerned. My mascara streaked across my face and mixed with my eye shadow. My left eye looked black. Both eyes were puffy from all the crying. I looked like someone used me for a punching bag. My hair, which had been so gorgeous a few short hours ago, now looked like someone grabbed a hold of it and used it for a handle to sling me around.

Crap.

I scrubbed my face 'til it was pink and not a speck of makeup remained. Splashing cold water on my eyes, I hoped some of the puffiness would go away. When I turned the water off, the raised voices from the living room made me sigh. I did not need any more drama tonight.

Kelsey must have decided Jake was responsible for my bedraggled appearance. Bless her heart, she was in his face trying to protect me. All five foot nothing, one hundred pounds of her stood blocking the door. Austin was behind Jake laughing. He's a damn idiot.

"Kelsey, you can let him in. He didn't hurt me."

Hearing my voice, she spun around. "What happened, Laney? Are you okay? Last time I saw you, you was happy, smiling, ready for your date with this guy. Then you come home early, looking like someone slugged you in the eye."

"Granny is in the ICU and they don't know how bad it is yet," I mumbled as she dang near squeezed the breath out of me.

"Oh gosh, Laney, I'm sorry. I saw you come in alone, upset, and then he knocked and I just assumed..." She trailed off.

Yeah, we're pretty clear on her assumptions.

Jake extracted me from Kelsey's clutches and held me close. He kissed me, soft and slow. "I will head up there as soon as my meeting is over tomorrow," he whispered.

I wanted to tell him he didn't need to worry with coming back to Free Will just for me. That I didn't need him there. I wanted to say I was strong enough to deal with this on my own. But I couldn't. Because I needed him there if something happened. I needed his support. So, I nodded and leaned into his warmth for a moment.

"Uh, I don't want to interrupt, but if we don't leave soon it will be long after midnight when we get home," Austin called, still by the door.

He was right. We needed to get on the road. I grabbed what few things I needed, and kissed Jake one last time, before I hopped in to the matchbox Austin called a car.

"I'm sorry about Granny. I know how close y'all are."

I squeezed his hand in acknowledgment, but didn't respond. My voice was untrustworthy at the moment. Words might come out, or it could be another series of great big ol' sobs. Granny was an integral part of my being. Life without her was just not fathomable.

My Granny had married my Papaw one month to the day after they met. She was seventeen, and he was twenty-one. Granny always joked that she didn't have no choice but to marry him because he was going to pester her to death otherwise. But you could see the love between them. Fifty years they spent together, never apart for more than a day's work. When he passed away two years ago, she was heartbroken. We worried she was sinking into a depression, but she picked herself up by her boot straps and carried on (as she would say).

I hoped to find a love like theirs. Strong enough to last a lifetime. I didn't have it with Austin, but they say sometimes love grows. So, I had waited it out. It never did grow with him though.

Chapter Seventeen
 

"Laney. Laney, wake up." A hand on my shoulder shook me. "Come on, honey. Wake up." I opened a swollen eye. Thumbs stuck in the belt of his robe, my dad stared down at me. "Go shower, so we can be at the hospital when the doctors come in this morning."

Austin hadn't dropped me off until after one. So, I'd slept downstairs to make sure my parents knew I was home and didn't go to the hospital without me. A decision I regretted this morning. Waking them would have been less painful.

Stiff muscles protested my stretch and the tightness drug a moan from my chest. This couch should be used for torture. If bad guys had to sleep on couches like this, there wouldn't be repeat offenders.

A hot shower loosened some of the stiffness from my shoulders. There was still a lingering ache when I turned to the left though. I grabbed some ibuprofen and a bowl of cereal while my parents got ready.

I hated hospitals. The cloying chemical smell that never quite covered the stench of death and urine overtook me when I walked in. Beeping monitors, sobbing family members, even a couple kids laughing despite their location assaulted my ears. I hated it. All of it.

Two of my aunts huddled together under a flickering fluorescent light. Aunt Mary looked up as we walked over. In the ICU, only two visitors could be back at a time, so I joined my aunts to wait. They'd already seen Granny, but didn't want to go far in case there was news. Mom and Dad went first to see her. The chair sank as I sat. So well-used was the chair, the cushion remained ass-shaped.

Heavy drops of rain plopped against the window. The sun dared not peek through the heavy clouds which added to the depression in the air. I clasped and unclasped my hands, anxious. The doctor hadn't been in yet, so there wasn't any news. We made a little small talk, but Aunt Mary and Aunt Lizzie never were my favorites. My favorite aunt and uncle were flying in the next morning, according to Aunt Lizzie. Aunt Mary commented that someone would have to go to the boutique before long to take over from the part time helper, Megan. That said, we ran out of topics of conversation and fell quiet. And still we waited. For news, for hope.

I glanced over at the coffee station in the corner. Half drank paper cups, torn sugar packets, and empty creamers littered the table top. The coffee looked dark. I debated trying a cup when Dad came back to the waiting room, smiling. I let out a sigh of relief. He knew how much she meant to me, so he wouldn't smile if Granny was really bad.

He led me back to the ICU. "She's awake. Doing okay this morning. But she's a little weak. She has a blockage, but it wasn’t actually a heart attack. They are probably going to move her to a regular room here soon." He squeezed my shoulder and turned back toward the waiting room. The nurse buzzed me in and I stepped behind curtain three.

Granny looked so frail lying there in that hospital bed. Wires and IVs and monitors attached to her everywhere. Her half-eaten breakfast sat on a wheeled table over the foot of her bed. But when I walked in, she glanced up and her weak smile brought tears to my eyes.

"Honey child, don't you cry over me. I'm gonna be just fine. No little heart issue is gonna get me down."

Even her voice sounded frail.

When my mom argued it wasn't a little issue, Granny glared at her. A bit weak, but a glare, nonetheless. There's my granny. Seeing that she hadn't lost her spunk made me smile.

I took her hand in mine and sat down on the edge of her bed. I wanted to curl up beside her and never leave. No, I wanted her to be at home. To sit at her worn kitchen table, have a big cup of her famous hot chocolate, and have her tell me what to do about Jake and Austin.

But I couldn't burden her with my guy problems while she lay in a hospital bed. I wasn't that selfish. Even if I wanted to be.

"Susie, why don't you go make sure your sisters have eaten something this morning. I wanna have a little talk with Laney."

Mom tried to argue, but Granny's still the commander in chief of this family. Her word was law, and Mom soon scurried out of the ICU to do as ordered. Funny how the whole family was afraid of a sixty-nine year old woman, not even five feet tall.

"Now, as for you, young lady. What's this your mama's been telling me? About you running around with that sorry ass Austin's brother?"

Sorry ass?

"Granny, now's not the time for me. We will talk about that later. How are you doing?"

"Aww hell, I'll be okay. Just gotta get my feet back under me. That's all. You didn't have to miss your classes to come up here and sit with me."

I shook my head at her. Of course I did. She looked tired. Promising to come back in and have a chat about Jake and Austin later, I moved to go.

"Stay with me, will ya, Laney? Don't rest well when I'm alone in these places. Just sit there and keep me company, if you don't mind."

I nodded. Sitting down in the stiff backed chair, I picked up her hand and held it in my own. Granny soon settled into slumber. It didn't look particularly peaceful, but hopefully it was at least restoring. I didn't know what I would do if I lost her.

I must have dozed off. The next thing I knew, my mom stood there shaking me and telling me to go back to the waiting room. My aunts wanted a turn to see Granny.

I went back to the rundown waiting room with my mom. Dad read a Sports Illustrated that was missing half the cover and probably more than a few pages. None of the magazines looked current. I should have brought my bag. It was shaping up to be a long day. A sudden rush of emotion overwhelmed me and I needed to get away.

I mumbled an excuse to my parents and rushed out of the waiting room. The automatic doors took their slow, sweet time and I crowded through the center before they completely opened. I spied a little garden to the side with a bench. I sat, put my head between my knees, and tried not to be sick. You'd think with how much I had cried, I'd have purged all the tears. But no. I sucked in a deep breath and struggled to stop this emotional outpour. I would not cry again. Not here. This week was just too much.

It took a few minutes, but I composed myself enough to go back in the hospital. A detour to the gift shop got me some reading material for the day, and the change to grab a drink along the way. My mom smiled when I came back in. I thought I'd pulled off hiding my mini-breakdown until I met my dad's eyes. He didn't call me on it, but patted the seat next to him and pulled me in for a hug.

I settled in for a long wait with my newly acquired novel. I tried to tune everything out. But squeaky shoes on the tiles, hushed whispers, and the discomfort of the chairs made it hard. Several times I found myself reading the same page twice, unable to focus.

We took turns going back to visit Granny. The doctor said she's lucky. It could have been so much worse. She'd need a minor procedure in a few days, but that should take care of it. We didn't want her spirit to break at the monotony and despair within these walls so we sat with her. Even while she slept, so that she didn't have to be alone in the bleak hospital atmosphere.

When Mom made motions of leaving to go to the boutique, I offered to go in her place. It would be better than sitting at the hospital for the rest of the day.

Jake called while I was taking my mom's shift. Selling wedding gowns wasn't high on my priority list for the day, but someone had to be there. I'd had my phone on silent and missed his call. He left a message saying he'd head toward Free Will about seven thirty. Which meant it would be close to eleven before he got into town. I sent him a text and asked him to come stay with me. Regardless of what my parents thought, I needed Jake tonight.

I visited Granny once more before heading home for the evening. And she felt better after sleeping most of the day. I walked in and the first thing she asked was about Jake. This time she wasn't taking no for an answer and turned that unrelenting glare on me. Sick or not, what else could I do? I spilled my guts, of course.

All my insecurities poured out. Granny listened, her age-spotted hand patting my thigh as I told her my fears of not being enough to hold a man's interest. I couldn't hold Austin's, what's to say I was not just defective. The girl Austin cheated with was nothing like me either. I barely had boobs, and hers were so big. Why wouldn't he want someone like that?

"And what about this brother of his? Tell me about him. If you are defective, then why's he interested?"

Tears filled my eyes and I shrugged. I didn't know why he was interested in me. I couldn't answer. I should have known Granny would get the whole story. If not from me, from someone. No one was ever able to keep a secret from her. Ever.

"If he doesn't think you are wonderful, then you don't need him. And as for that damn Austin, well, he and I will have words when I lay eyes on him again." She shifted and winced uncomfortably.

I lay my head against her hand and thought about what she said. She's right about Austin—I don't need him. Jake though, I really didn't know why he liked me. But he sure seemed to.

Granny looked tired. Guilt poured over me. I shouldn't have burdened her with my troubles. I kissed her cheek and promised to come back first thing in the morning. She smiled softly and just closed her eyes.