Vacation (51 page)

Clark stood and gave me a sad smile.
"Chloe. I'm glad you're here. I didn't have your number or..."

I lifted my hand to stop him. "It's
okay. Really."

"He's doing better. Thank God."
Clark moved to one side of the bed, and I move to the other, my breath catching
in my chest.

"What was he thinking?" I bent
down and brushed my lips by his ear. His beautiful face was covered in black
and blue bruises. There were tubes and wires everywhere. I held in the scream
that pressed against my lugs as I wept as quietly as I could.

"They think he can hear us,"
Clark whispered through his own tears.

I nodded and kissed the side of Finn's
face several times before whispering in his ear. "You better come back to
me. You're not a boy anymore, Finn Warner. You're a grown-ass man. My grown-ass
man. Please don't leave me here without you."

Clark turned and walked to the window as a
deep sound of grief left him.

I kissed Finn's face once more and pressed
my cheek to his forehead. "Please, wake up. Please."

Chapter 26

Finn

A strong hand held mine as I came to from
the long sleep I'd been in. It took me a minute to get my eyes to open, but I
wasn't in a hurry. The last thing I remembered was not being able to see
anything, so the blurry colors that danced before my eyes were a blessed
relief.

"Finn?" My father's voice caught
my attention, and I languidly turned to find him as my vision cleared a little
more. I was almost too scared to try and speak, but I knew it was foolish. Fear
had never been something to bind me before. It wasn't happening now, either.

"Dad?" I groaned, my head
hurting far worse than it had in the past.

"Thank God." He leaned over me
and pressed his cheek to my forehead, which was beyond awkward, and yet not. He
was my dad, and I'd most likely given him the scare of his life.

"What happened?" I licked at my
lips and tried to move around, finding out what worked and what didn't.

"You were in an accident over at the
new hill that opened up. You took a pretty bad fall."

"Anything broken or missing?" I
couldn't help but look around the room slowly, half hoping to find Chloe. Maybe
no one had told her that I was hurt, or worse, maybe they did and she wasn't
interested in coming to see me. I deserved that shit completely. Ignoring her
because of her father's actions? Stupid.

"Broken foot, but it will set, thanks
to your cast." He moved back and rubbed my chest rhythmically like he did
when I was a kid and had a bad dream. "You had a concussion that they
figured would fix itself if they put you in a medically induced coma. You’ve
been out for three days."

"Damn," I mumbled and closed my
eyes, arching my back just to make sure nothing hurt.

"Seems to have worked. You're
talking. You can see me, right?" He leaned over, and I reached up pushing
at his chest.

"Yes, and I can smell the ten cups of
coffee you had this morning." A smile lifted my lips, and I looked around
again. "I need some water."

He moved from the bed and poured me a
glass before pressing the button that lifted me to a reclined seating position.
"Let me go tell the nurse you're awake. They'll want to bring the doctor
in."

"Yeah. Where's my phone?"

"It's in my truck. You want me to go
get it?" He stopped by the door.

"No. Just wanted to check in with
Brian. I'm sure he was worried."

"He's been by every day." Dad
winked and walked out, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

"What about Chloe? Has she even
called? Does she know? Does she care?" I mumbled and reached up to rub my
hand down my stomach as it growled loudly.

The door opened, and my father came back
in. "Alright. He's on his way."

"Dad. What happened with you and Mr.
Burke?"

Dad gave me a sad smile, but moved up next
to me and sat down on the bed. "We were best friends as kids. We grew up
together, spent every holiday together, hell,
shared
the horror story of losing our virginity the next morning with each other when
it happened."

My heart ached in my chest just hearing
how this nightmare started.

"In college we fell in love with the
same girl. Your mom."

I lifted my hand to my face and closed my
eye. "I knew it was something fucked up like that."

"Yeah. We started dating and Jon was
so pissed because he'd told me that he had feelings for her. It was my fault. I
wanted her over him, and it ruined everything."

"I knew he was bitter the other day
when he got in my face, but I honestly thought it was him that was the bastard
in the story."

"Oh, he got me back. He got her drunk
one night and I came to her dorm room to find them making love." My father
closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. "I deserved it, but I beat his
ass that night until he couldn't walk. We haven't spoken since. It's been
thirty-two years and not a word."

"Damn," I mumbled and dropped my
hands back on the bed. "Do you miss him?"

"Every day." He stood up and
stretched. "Jon and I should have fixed this thing between us a long time
ago. He's lost his wife, and I've lost mine. Whatever hate that built up
between us is so past over that we're just spiteful to have someone to hate, I
guess. I'll go talk to him."

"I think that would be smart." I
turned and let out a slow breath. "I'm in love with Chloe. I don't know if
she feels anything I do, but I need you to know that I have to work this stuff
out with her dad. I can't not try to fix it."

"I know you do, son. She's been here
every minute of every day and night since you got hurt." He smiled, and
reached for my hand, squeezing it hard.

I closed my eyes and took a shaky breath,
trying to hold back tears that I wasn't supposed to have. "I was scared
she didn't come."

"Are you kidding? I forced her to go
home and take a shower about an hour ago."

"You forced her?" I opened my
eyes, and smirked at him.

"Yeah, you need to learn how to make
a woman do what you want them to do."

"Teach me, oh wise one." I
chuckled, and groaned as pain shot down the back of my head.

"Take it easy, okay?" He moved
to sit in the chair beside the bed. "I told her she stunk. Like really
bad."

"Dad. Shit."

"Right?" He laughed and slapped
his knee. "She didn't, of course, but she high-tailed it out of here
fast."

A knock at the door had my attention
shifting. I expected the doctor, but it was my beautiful California girl,
instead.

"Do I hear two voices in here?"
She stuck her head in the door and let out a soft cry before moving up beside
me quickly.

I reached for her, and pulled her down with
my free arm, kissing her hard and holding her as close to me as I could manage.

"Don't you ever do that shit
again!
Do you hear me?" She pressed her forehead to
mine as tears filled her beautiful eyes.

"Never, baby. I promise."

My father huffed, and Chloe moved back,
sitting down beside me and taking my hand into hers.

"All you
gotta
do is bring a beautiful woman around, and this boy will do anything." He
stood, and picked up his jacket. "I'll be back after a while. I know you
guys need some time together."

"Thanks, Dad." I scooted over in
the bed and patted the empty space beside me. "Get up here."

"You sure?" She glanced around,
but started to work on getting her boots off. "Fuck, you scared me to
death, Finn."

"Did I?" I wrapped my arms
around her as she snuggled against my chest.

"Yes. I thought I was going to die if
something happened to you." She glanced up at me before lifting up and
kissing me softly a few more times.

"Don't do that. I've got long-term
plans for you." I brushed her hair off her shoulders and glanced down at
the covers below my waist. "Put a pillow over that. I don't want the
doctor thinking a bone's protruding from my stomach."

She chuckled, and slid her hand down my
erection before leaning in and kissing me again. I groaned against her warm
mouth, my headache dissipating fast.

Someone clearing their throat behind her
caused us both to jump. She got off the bed, and ran her hands down the front
of her shirt as the doctor laughed and moved up to the other side of me.

"Well, good to see certain parts of
your anatomy are working." He pulled out my chart as heat rose up my chest
and coated my cheeks.

"The important parts, or so my girl
thinks." I glanced over at Chloe as her mouth dropped open.

"I do not."

"You don't?" I tilted my head to
the side, somewhat saddened by her not sticking up for the important parts of
me working.

"I mean I do, but..."

The doctor turned and smiled at her.
"He's just messing with you. It's the concussion."

"Yeah. What he said." I laughed
and turned my attention back to the doctor. "When can I get out of
here?"

"Friday morning." He put the
chart down and moved closer to me.

"What day is it now?"

"It's Wednesday." His fingers
moved along my neck and around to the base of my skull. "This hurt?"

"No. It tickles." I turned my
head a little so that I could see Chloe better. Her white wool dress fit her
nicely, the belt in the middle accentuating her small waist and drawing my eyes
to her breasts. I wanted to kick the doctor out and bring her back into the bed
with me. My body might not be ready for another wild night, but my mind was –
as were the important parts.

"You want me to come back
later?" she asked and moved to the door.

"No. Fuck, no. Stay right there. He's
almost done." I glanced over at the doctor and gave him a look.

"Yeah, I'm done. You look
great." He patted my chest. "You're a lucky man. No snowboarding for
six to eight weeks and promise that you'll never go up there after a fresh snow
again. It's dangerous. You're proof of that for all of us."

I nodded. "Lesson learned. I
promise."

He left, and I motioned for Chloe to come
back.

"You need to rest," she
whispered and crawled back up into my arms.

I slid my hand down her back and cupped
her butt as I pressed my lips just under her ear. "I don't
wanna
rest."

"Well, you're going to." She
kissed me softly all around my face, and moved to tuck her head under my chin
as she relaxed against me. "Don't ever scare me like this again."

"You said that already, baby." I
kissed the top of her head. "I promised you that I wouldn't, and I
won't."

She looked up with seriousness on her
pretty face. "And, no more listening to what my father thinks. It's me
you’re dating. Not him."

"Are we dating?" I chuckled as
she narrowed her eyes on me. "Right. Dating."

"Unless you don't want to."

I slid my hand into her hair and pulled at
the back of her head, needing to taste her again. I kissed her long and hard,
probing deep into her mouth and echoing her groans with a few of my own.

"I'm here to stay, girl. If you want
to get rid of me, you're going to have to try hard."

"Or just piss you off and you'll
throw yourself off a snowy mountain." She nipped at my lips and laughed.
"Too soon? Too much?"

"Yes, you wicked bitch."

She laughed and sat up. "So, I figure
you spend Christmas with your father, but I want a night with you right before
or right after. I got you a few things and I want to watch you open them."

"Chloe. I told you that I didn't want
anything."

She turned and pressed her fingers to my
lips. "I know that, but I'm a woman. We do what we want to, when we
wanna
do it."

"Why is that hot all of a
sudden?"

"Because you're turned on." She
brushed the back of her fingers over my arousal and pulled her bottom lip into
her mouth. "I wonder if they would bother us if I got under the
covers."

I growled and shook my head. "No. I'd
never hear the end of it. This town is too damn small."

She chuckled and stood up. "I'm glad
you're awake. I knew you were going to be okay, but there's always that part inside
that feeds the doubt and fear, you know?"

"I do." I reached out and took
her hand into mine. "Hey, there's an incredible festival of lights in
downtown during the week of Christmas. Do you remember it from when you were a
kid?"

"I do." Her eyes lit up.
"Man, it's been so long since I've seen it, though."

"Let me take you?"

She glanced down at my cast before giving
me a cocky smile. "How about
I
take
you?"

"Either way. As long as I'm with you,
I don't care."

"I feel the same way." She
leaned over and tucked herself against me, right where she belonged.