Authors: Arlene James
“Just grab her and let's go,” Kyle whined, still standing outside the door. Merrily's mirth disappeared. Jody rolled his eyes, and Lane reached out to seize Kyle by the shirtfront and haul him inside.
“Get in here, you weasel. We gotta stick together in this.”
“Just get her before the brute shows up,” Kyle grumbled.
“The
brute?
” Merrily echoed, her sense of absurdity giving way to suspicious anger.
At the same time Jody snapped, “What are you afraid of? He's still crippled up, you ninny.”
“That's the whole point,” Lane said, shaking his hands for emphasis. “We get her out of here while Lawler's still out of fighting form.”
Merrily's eyes went wide with disbelief. Her ire growing, she shook her head. “I don't know for sure what's going on, but I do know that you three are idiots if you're referring to Royce Lawler as a brute.”
“You don't know what he's done,” Kyle told her in a fainthearted, conspiratorial tone.
“Yeah,” Lane said, “lucky for you that hot, red-haired chick clued us in.”
Hot chick? Clued them in? Red-haired. “Oh, no. It couldn't beâ¦
Pamela?
”
Lane shook his hand as if he'd scorched his fingers. “Ow! Hot to trot and with the legs to get it done. And, man, was she giving me the eye.”
Kyle snorted. “You wish.”
“Hey, bookworm, for your info, the dolls dig me.”
“Ha! Just because you unbutton your shirt and strut around with a beer in your hand, you think you're God's gift to women, but where are they, huh? I haven't ever seen these swarms of women you're always bragging about.”
“Will you two shut up!” Jody barked.
Used to taking his orders, both Kyle and Lane immediately clamped their jaws, though Lane made a show of tamping down his resentment by squaring his shoulders, lifting his chin and shaking out his arms. He reminded
Merrily of a scrawny, preening rooster. Jody ignored the display, focusing on Merrily instead.
“I knew I shouldn't have let you come here,” he said. “The guy you're working for is a wife beater and child abuser with a short temper and the money to get himself out of a jam.”
“That's absurd.”
“I'm telling you, sis, it's the truth.”
Merrily folded her arms. “And you know this because Pamela told you?”
Jody looked her straight in the eye and said sincerely, “His ex-wife came to us out of concern.”
Merrily threw up her arms in pure outrage. “I do not believe this! You three blockheads have been taken in by a very clever liar. That woman is a lunatic.”
“She said you'd say that,” Kyle pointed out.
“Because it's true!”
“Merrily, he's dangerous,” Jody insisted.
“He is not!”
“He's just using you,” Lane said.
“And you just want me home to cook and clean and iron your shirts!”
“It's what you're supposed to do!” Lane exclaimed.
“It is not! I am a nurse. What I'm supposed to do is take care of the sick and the helpless.”
“We're helpless,” Kyle volunteered weakly.
“Clueless is more like it.”
“It's our duty to protect you,” Jody pronounced, glaring sternly at the other two, “and that's the only reason we're here.”
“Give me a break.” Merrily parked her hands on her hips. She'd had enough of this nonsense. “Pamela just gave you the excuse you needed to come here and demand I go home with you. Anyone with half a brain would first
ask himself what she might have to gain by going to you with this tale, but you don't care whether or not her accusations are true. You just want me back home taking care of the three of you. Well, it's not going to happen. I'm an adult. I can do as I please. I can live where I please. And I'm telling you now that when I leave here I
won't
be coming home with you three!”
Jody's face contorted with impatience. “Don't be stupid. 'Course you're coming home. Where else would you go?”
“I'll get an apartment of my own.”
“How crazy is that?” Lane snorted.
Kyle traded incredulous looks with his brother and pointed out, “You can live at home for
free.
”
“Not from where I'm standing,” Merrily said.
“You aren't getting any apartment,” Jody announced in his best bossy-big-brother tone. “You're coming home where you belong, and that's that.”
“I am not, and you can't make me.”
“Oh, yes, I can.” To her shock, Jody reached out and clamped his hand around her upper arm. “You're still my baby sister, and you're coming with us.”
“Take your hands off her!”
The sharp intractability of Royce's voice momentarily froze everyone. Merrily recovered first. Jerking out of Jody's grip, she zipped around him and to Royce's side as he hopped down into the entry hall on his crutches. Blazingly angry, he looked fierce enough to spit nails despite his infirmities.
“What the hell is going on here?”
Merrily answered him. “These three cretins are my brothers.” She pointed at each in turn. “That's Jody, Kyle and Lane, and they think they're taking me home with them.”
“Too bad,” Royce retorted scornfully. “If they weren't your brothers I could shoot them.”
“Sh-shoot!” Kyle squeaked, scurrying for the door. Lane jerked but stood his ground.
Only Jody displayed bravado by insisting disdainfully, “You can't just shoot us.”
“Why not?” Royce asked mildly. “You're in my house uninvited trying to abduct my employee. I'd say that gives me ample justification.”
“She's our sister!”
“That doesn't give you the right to take her out of here against her will.”
“We're trying to protect her!”
“From what? You're the ones trying to force her to do something she doesn't want to.”
“For her own good!” Jody argued.
“You don't get to decide what's in her best interest and what isn't,” Royce avowed coldly. “She can make those decisions for herself. Furthermore, if you really cared about her, you'd try supporting her endeavors instead of taking advantage of her. You'd be proud of the person she is and realize that her judgment is trustworthy. You wouldn't treat her like a child who doesn't have enough sense to come in out of the rain, and you wouldn't bully her. That should have stopped long ago, and I warn you, if it continues, you will answer to me.” He lifted his right crutch and poked Jody in the chest hard enough to send the other man staggering backward. “I won't be laid up like this forever.”
“See there!” Lane erupted, addressing Merrily. “The guy's violent!”
“You'll find out how violent if you try bullying your sister again,” Royce warned. “Shame on you, three grown men ganging up on one helpless woman.”
Jody's face turned red, but he wasn't ready to give up yet. “Sis, can't you see that Lane's right about one thing, that this guy is just using you?”
“At least I pay her to take care of me,” Royce said. “That's more than you've ever done.”
“Merrily likes taking care of us,” Lane retorted defensively, but then he looked at his sister and asked plaintively, “don't you?”
Merrily sighed, deciding to duck the question by going to the heart of the matter. “I don't think it's good for me to live at home and take care of you all anymore, Lane. It's not good for you, and it's not good for me. It's time you learned to take care of yourselves, and it's past time I started living my own life.”
Lane actually seemed to be absorbing and considering this information. From the doorway Kyle said, “I think we ought to call Mom and Dad.”
Merrily snorted with disgust. “You do that, Kyle, but when you speak to them, remember that I'm twenty-six and not sixteen.”
“Aw, come on, Merrily,” Jody wheedled. “It's just that you'll always be our little monkey, you know?”
“Little Monkey!” Royce fairly shouted. “What kind of a nickname is that? Does this beautiful woman in any way resemble a primate to you? If that's how you really see her, then there's something wrong with the lot of you. Little monkey! I'd guess it's designed to convince her that she's undesirable to men so she might as well stay home and coddle you three lost causes. That's an insult, and I, for one, won't put up with it. Now get the hell out of my house!”
He actually advanced, waving his crutch at them. Lane turned and ran. Kyle was already a memory, and without the two of them to back his play, Jody didn't have a leg
left to stand on. Clearly, it pained him to abandon the field, but he did so, calling out his parting salvo over his shoulder.
“I hope you don't regret this, little sister!”
“Not as much as you will!” Merrily called after him, hurrying to close the door. Halfway to laughter again, she added in a lower tone, “When you realize what dopes you've been.”
“They'd have to actually think to do that,” Royce grumbled behind her.
She shot the locks and turned, chuckles bubbling up. Royce had called her a beautiful woman. He'd implied she was desirable, had demanded respect for her, defended her, protected her. As embarrassed as she was by her brothers' idiotic behavior, she couldn't suppress a stab of intense satisfaction. Then she caught sight of the look of pain on Royce's face and every other thought fled.
“Royce!”
He wobbled, then slumped against the wall.
“You walked on that leg!” she accused, rushing to his side.
He let the right crutch fall and wrapped his arm around her shoulders gratefully. The cast added a surprising amount of weight; either that or he was in too much pain to adequately support himself. His next words removed any doubt as to which was the case.
“I think I'd better get off these crutches.”
“You've hurt yourself,” she scolded, turning him back toward the bedroom.
“I just got a little carried away. It didn't even hurt at the time, and it was worth it to see those three knotheads run.”
She clasped both arms around his waist and supported him as he hopped up into the hallway. “It's not all self
ishness on their part,” she told him. “Oh, I know they don't really believe all that nonsense Pamela was spouting, but Jody at least does think it's his purpose in life to shelter me.”
Royce jerked to a dead halt. “Pamela's behind this?”
Merrily nodded grimly. “She paid my brothers a visit earlier this evening, told them you abused her and the children and that they should get me away from youâor something like that.”
Royce wilted. “That bitch.” He straightened suddenly and began hobbling toward his room, practically dragging her with him. “Probably she just wants me alone and without aid. Then again I might have given away something.”
“What do you mean âgiven away'?” Merrily asked.
He hesitated, then forged ahead. “The woman's got radar. She can sense any weakness in me. She has to know how much I depend on you.”
Merrily suspected it was more than that, and it warmed her straight to her toes, infused her with new strength and determination. “Well, she underestimates me if she thinks sending my brothers here will get rid of me.”
“I hate to think what she'll do next.”
“What can she do?”
“You don't even want to know.”
They reached the end of the hallway and his bedroom. He turned sideways since they couldn't both get through the door at the same time. A few moments later they halted in front of the bed, and she eased him out of the robe he'd donned over those ubiquitous gym shorts. He sank down onto the side of the bed, then lay back with a groan, finding his pillow with his head. His bare chest heaved with a deep sigh.
“Would you like something for pain?”
“No pills.”
“Then I'm going to make you some more tea.”
He smiled. “I'd like that.” Then, just as she was about to turn away, he reached out and snagged her hand. “Merrily, maybe you should go back to your brothers. I'll get someone else in.”
“No.”
“Honey, listen to me. You know what she's capable of. If anything happened to you, Merrilyâ” he swallowed “âI couldn't bear that.”
She sat down on the edge of the bed. “Now, you listen to me, Royce Lawler, even if I wasn't crazy about you, I'm through letting anyone dictate to me. I'm not leaving. And you can't make me.”
His eyes remained troubled, but one corner of his mouth quirked up. “That's what you said to your brother.”
“And it's still true.”
He lifted his hand to her hair. “Are you really crazy about me?”
“You know I am.”
His gaze dropped to her mouth, and an instant later his hand slid around the nape of her neck, pulling her to him. She leaned down and, tilting her head, settled her mouth over his. Moaning, he cupped the back of her head, increasing the pressure. Then she opened her mouth for him, and he folded his arm around her neck as he thrust his tongue inside, pulling her down across his chest. Her breasts swelled, sensitized. Heat pooled in the pit of her belly. She laid her hand on his chest and felt the rapid, pronounced
thump-thump-thump
of his heart. Her own sped up to match it.
Merrily couldn't help thinking how right this was. All these years she'd waited for this man without even real
izing it, and nothing and no one was going to drive her away, most especially not Pamela Lawler. She just had to convince Royce of that factâand she knew exactly how to do it.
Groaning, he turned his head away, breaking the kiss. His chest heaved for several moments, and she realized that the first order of business was to ease any lingering pain for him. She didn't think he'd done himself a serious injury. The bone might not yet be strong enough to support his weight for long, but it had mended to a great extent during the past weeks. The long-unused muscles and ligaments would be the biggest problem just now.