Authors: Liz Talley
There was a pause on the line. He heard rustling, her voice murmuring something unintelligible in the background. And then she was talking to him again. “He's shaking his head.”
Grant pushed faster, swerving as the unwieldy cart almost tipped over. He knew better than to wheel a barrow with one hand.
He also knew better than to run out of gas or fantasize about any one woman.
“You still there?” Lynn's tone had softened.
“Yeah. My brother doesn't want to talk to me?”
“He knows you aren't going to be pleased.”
“Because he had an accident? That's ridiculous. Darin knows me better than that.”
What, he was some kind of ogre caregiver now?
He thought about what she'd told him about the incident. “How did a three-pound weight cause that much damage?” he asked now, getting away from his own issues and back with the program.
“It was a twenty-pound weight.”
“What? Are you kidding me? He's progressed from three to twenty pounds in a few days?” That inch of arm movement must have been the beginning...
Relief flooded him.
“No. Angelica handed him the three-pound weight, which he was supposed to be holding while she got a warm compress. He put it down and picked up a twenty-pound weight.”
“Attempted to pick it up.” He heard Darin's voice in the background.
“He managed to get it off the rack, but immediately dropped it.”
“On his shin.”
“Yes.”
“And no bones were broken?”
“Nope. His bone health is just fine. Though he's going to have some pretty painful bruising by morning.”
“Where are you now?”
“In front of my house, getting ready to go inside.”
“Which bungalow is it?”
She told him. And he knew it immediately. Set back in the corner of the commons farthest from the main house, the bungalow was one of the nicest, in terms of size and setting. But he wouldn't have figured she'd be located so far back on the property. Not only did it mean a bit of a hike anytime she got a call, but she'd have to make that walk from any of the parking lots across the grounds with groceries and anything else she brought home, too. Not convenient for when she was off work, to be sure.
“I'm on my way.” As soon as he emptied the wheelbarrow and stashed it in the back of the trailer.
“Wait.”
He heard voices, but couldn't make out what they were saying.
“Darin wants to know how angry you are.”
“I'm not angry at all.” He wasn't. “I trust my brother to push himself as far as he thinks he should. And if he pushes too far, he'll learn. Hell, I'm thrilled he's pushing at all. It's been a while.”
Truth be told, he was relieved. A few stitches were a small price to pay to have what was left of his brother back.
CHAPTER TEN
L
YNN
HAD
DEBATED
the advisability of bringing Darin back to her bungalow, knowing that Maddie was there. Sara had warned that she shouldn't try to stop Maddie's budding interest in Grant's older brother. Maddie was slow, not incapacitated. Although she'd probably never be able to live completely alone, she still needed relationships in her life and had to learn how to have healthy ones.
Sara was concerned, but said she'd talk to Maddie.
And in the meantime, the more Lynn and the rest of them could watch over Maddie's time with Darin, the more they could help the other woman through this stage of her recovery.
It wasn't like Maddie and Darin would ever have a chance to be on their own, other than for perhaps a stroll through the grounds.
And, Sara had added, the friendship, as long as they helped Maddie see it for what it was, could benefit both of them.
Quickly reminding herself of her friend and coworker's words as she unlocked the front door of the bungalow, Lynn called out.
“Maddie? Kara? I'm home, and look who I brought with me!”
“Mama!” The three-year-old's happy squeal came from the back of the three-bedroom cottage. “I'm on the potty!” Her daughter's sweet little babyish voice melted her heart.
“Okay, we'll wait,” she called back. “Come on in,” she said to Darin, who was standing on the threshold of her house.
“I'm sorry,” he said. “I... It's been a long time since I have been in a woman's home.”
“I'm not a woman.” Lynn laughed. “I'm the nurse who just stitched you up.”
“Yes, but I haven't been in your home before, either. Maybe I should wait for Grant.”
“My house is no different than any other house.” She wouldn't force him, but she hoped he'd come in.
“I just... I think I should wait for Grant.”
She supposed they could stand in the doorway for the next five minutes but wished she could help somehow.
“Darin? That is who came home with you?” Maddie's eyes widened as she came walking into the living room just ahead of the little dynamo who pushed past her and flung herself at her mother.
Kara hugged her mother's legs, kissed her leg through her scrubs and then hurled herself toward Darin, as though she was going to repeat the greeting.
“Hold on there, tiger.” Lynn grabbed her toddler by the arm and scooped her up onto her hip. It wouldn't be long before Kara was going to be too big for her to carry around.
“Mr. Bishop has an owie on his leg.”
“That's not Mister, it's Dawin.” Kara giggled with both hands up to her mouth as Maddie's gaze traveled down the basketball shorts Darin wore for his therapy sessions.
“Your leg is bandaged,” Maddie said, her look of wonder turning to one of horror. “What happened?”
“I dropped a weight. Lynn stitched me,” he said, his gaze locked on Maddie. “It's okay. I'm fine. Just afraid Grant's going to be mad. Now I have to be careful to not get it wet in the shower.”
Standing in her open doorway with Maddie behind her and Kara on her hip, Lynn said, “I told you, he's not mad.”
“You should come in and sit down,” Maddie said, stepping forward, her focus still on the bandage wrapped around Darin's muscled calf. She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside.
With only a moment's hesitation, Darin stepped over the threshold and walked behind Maddie to the great room with Lynn carrying Kara behind them. As though she were a hostess in her own home, Maddie settled Darin on the sectional couch Lynn and Brandon had picked together to furnish the family room in their two-thousand-square-foot home. Before she'd gotten pregnant and Brandon had met Douglas and finally admitted to himself that he wasn't a happily married man.
As Darin sat down, Maddie moved the ottoman under his injured leg. “Do you want water?” she asked.
“Yes, please.”
“Do you want a bottle or a glass?”
“A bottle would be fine.”
“Okay, wait a minute and I'll be right back.”
Lynn could have gone for the water. Or offered him some juice, which would help raise blood sugar levels after his loss of blood. But Darin hadn't lost enough blood to be a concern. And he hadn't been showing any signs of dizziness.
Maddie's attention to her injured friend choked her up and made her smile at the same time.
“I want wataw,” Kara said, playing with the gold ball post in Lynn's earlobe.
“How about apples?” Lynn asked, putting the little girl down. “Darin, would you like some apple slices?”
“No, thank you,” the tall man said, sitting completely still and upright on the section of the sofa where Maddie had left him. Kara, who'd run back toward her room, came out again, hurtling toward them as fast as her little legs could go with Sammy in her hand.
“This will help you,” she told Darin as, with the stuffed toy still in her hand, she used both hands to help herself climb up on the couch.
“Be careful of Darin's leg,” Lynn instructed. She'd have liked to have insisted on her toddler calling the older man by his respectful title, but figured she'd be fighting a losing battle on that one.
And for no real gain.
With Sammy bunched in one hand, Kara started to slip and Darin reached out, pulling the little girl up beside him.
“This is Sammy,” Kara said. “You can kiss him.” She pushed the stuffed toy up to Darin's face.
On her way to the kitchen, Lynn heard the smacking sound the man's lips made as he acquiesced.
* * *
G
RANT
KNEW
L
YNN
'
S
yard. Intimately. He really, really wanted to know the woman intimately, too.
She was independent. As much in charge of her life as Grant was. With seemingly as little time to spare. Maybe they could hook up. Just for a little adult pleasure.
He walked up the couple of steps to her front door and knocked.
She was still in her scrubsâblack bottoms and a peachy-colored top today. A medical professional who was helping his brother.
Maybe he'd stick to fantasizing about those adult pleasures he'd imagined.
She was smiling, and her gaze collided with his.
Maybe it wouldn't be all fantasy....
“Come on in,” she said.
He did. And stood there in her hallway, not noticing at all the house he'd been so curious about.
“I was just going for some apples and tea. Can I get you some?”
Voices came from the distance. The words weren't distinguishable, but the laughter that followed them was.
“He doesn't seem to be any worse for wear.”
“All he's talked about since I first saw him was you being angry with him. The stitches in his leg, on the other hand, don't seem to be fazing him a bit. I asked if he wanted a cane, tried to take his arm while he was walking, but he was having none of it.”
Grant laughed. He couldn't help himself. “I told you, my brother's a determined man. He's also had his share of stitches. Starting long before the diving accident.”
“Something tells me you both have.”
Her grin immediately reminded him of last night's fantasy....
Voices floated in to them again. He recognized Darin's. The other one was quite distinguishable, too.
“Maddie's here?”
“Yeah.”
“Does she live with you?” It made sense, the two of them sharing a place. Since they both were employees. Other than Lila, whose apartment, he'd been told, was in the main building, Lynn and Maddie were the only two who lived at The Lemonade Stand full-time.
“No. She has her own bungalow in the first commons. But she tends to panic if she's left along in the dark for too long, so there's another woman, Gwen, who stays with her at night. Gwen has her own home, and is never here during the day. Her husband works nights. He drops her here on his way to work and picks her up on his way home every day.”
So Maddie was never completely unsupervised with her daughter. Other than maybe for lunch sometimes, he amended, remembering that afternoon and the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches Maddie had promised the little girl.
But they hadn't been heading toward the first commons....
Curious, he figured he shouldn't ask questions, but he couldn't help a raised brow. These women, their lives...they were unconventional, and yet they seemed to blend together perfectly.
“Gwen was a resident,” Lynn said, more forthcoming than usual as they stood in the hallway. He wasn't sure why they weren't going to collect Darin, but as long as his brother was engaged in a conversation that he seemed to be enjoying, Grant had no problem spending a few minutes alone with Darin's beautiful nurse.
“Her first husband, her abuser, came after her a couple of times once she'd recovered, made a new life for herself and remarried. He's been in jail, but is out again. Gwen was terrified to stay alone. Her husband, someone we all know here, didn't want her to stay alone, and Maddie needed a life helper. It worked out for all of us.”
“So Gwen gets paid for her time here? This is her job?”
“The state pays a stipend for Maddie to have a companion. Gwen donates it to the shelter.”
“She works seven days a week?”
Lynn shook her head. “Five. Sunday through Thursday. On Fridays and Saturdays Maddie either stays here or at one of the other bungalows. She likes to have slumber parties with the younger girls and they seem to enjoy having her.”
Maddie laughed. Too loudly. As she did on occasion. Darin laughed, too, and he could hear Kara's squeal. Maybe the slightly odd woman and her curly-haired imp had been invited for dinner.
Lynn still didn't move toward them. And Grant leaned one hand on the wall behind her, not close enough to touch her, but closing them into a more intimate stance.
What he wanted to do was kiss her.
She hadn't moved out the half circle he'd created around them. He'd left room for her to step back. Plenty of room.
He hadn't forgotten the way she'd shied away the second he'd gotten too personal before, and he wasn't about to blow any chance he had to be close to her before he even found out if he had a chance.
“I need to talk to you,” she said with a glance toward the other room.
He stepped back. What guy didn't know those words were the kiss of death?
“Okay.” He'd come on too strong.
In his world, his behavior had been circumspect, but he had to remember that he wasn't in his world here. The Lemonade Stand was a special place, almost a sacred place.
“Not now,” she said, looking again to the other room. “Can you come to my office on Monday before you start out in the yard?”
“We're going to be here all day. Monday is the day my guys are coming to help lay the fountain.”
“I know. But you said it was okay to leave Darin alone with them. I'll be in the office by seven.”
He didn't want to wait that long.
But whatever she had to talk to him about, she clearly didn't want his brother present. And Darin would be with him all day Sunday. Every Sunday. And every Saturday night. And Friday night. And any other time a man might ask a woman out on a date.
He could ask Maura to stay with his brother....
The thought occurred to him and was quickly dismissed. Maura checked on Darin during the day the first few days his brother was out of the hospital. He'd scheduled her for two weeks. Darin had been up, dressed and insistent on going with him and spending the day in a chair on the job site after the third day.
Darin wasn't going to be okay with a babysitter.
And Grant couldn't do that to his brother, anyway. Darin was injured. He wasn't a baby.
“I can be there at seven,” Grant said.
Lynn smiled and gave him another glance. A warm, personal glance that included his mouth.
He grinned. She was interested.
“Can I get you some tea?” she asked, as though nothing momentous had just passed between them.
Her nipples were protruding against her scrubs. Clearly she didn't wear a padded bra.
And unless she was suddenly cold in a very warm house, she was every bit as affected as he was by their proximity.
Grant's first instinct was to refuse her invitation to tea. Darin did better when they ate on schedule. His medication had to be taken with meals.
His brother laughed again.
“Tea would be great,” he said, and would have followed her to the kitchen, but she deterred him.
“Darin's in there,” she said as they passed an archway. He could see the sectional. See the back of his brother's head and Maddie perched on some kind of stool in front of him. The toddler, Maddie's daughter, wasn't visible at all.
And Grant remembered his first and foremost priority. “Hey, big bro, I hear you've been showing them that you're tired of playing Little League,” he said, grinning as he joined the threesome. And hoped Lynn would be quick with the tea. He was going to have to leave soon and wanted to spend as much time as he could with her.
Darin's laughter was cut short and the look in his eyes was all worried-little-boy as Grant rounded the corner of the sectional.
“I'm sorry, Grant. I didn't follow the instructions.”
“I'm not sorry, bro,” Grant said, punching his brother on the shoulder and trying not to make too big a deal of his perusal of Darin's newest injury. “You didn't become a star baseball player by only practicing when you were told.”
“I didn't know you played baseball,” Maddie said in her slow drawl.
“I did.” Darin sat up, and Kara climbed down from the couch, snatching a stuffed toy away from Darin's lap.
“Hi, Mister, this is Sammy. You wanna hold him?” The words were legible, if he listened carefully.