CHAPTER FIVE
It took her less than twenty minutes to get dressed. She left her hair a little damp and pulled it back into a high ponytail. Since it was her day off, kind of, she’d donned a pair of jeans and one of her favorite tops. It was the beginning of fall so the weather was a little unpredictable. Hot one day, cool and rainy the next. A light coat of makeup and she was done. Looking at herself in the still slightly fogged up mirror she pursed her lips, applying another coat of clear gloss to her lips. She knew she wasn’t beautiful, but she was vain enough to admit that she was pretty—even with her rounded face.
When she reentered the living room, Ethan was on his phone, his back turned to her. She eavesdropped shamelessly, then wished she hadn’t when she overheard the next words he said. “Don’t worry, love. I’m fine. I promise.” A second’s hesitation as the person spoke briefly, then, “I love you, too, Simone.”
Even with his injury, he turned before she could dart back into the hallway. Her face flamed as he caught her lurking there. She shrugged. “I’m sorry. I should have given you some privacy.”
“No problem,” he smiled briefly, tucking the phone into the holder on his belt. “It was just my sister checking up on me.”
His sister. With a name like Simone, it had sounded as if he were talking to one of his model-slash-actress girlfriends. Even though she’d known Ethan for a year, she knew very little about his personal life. She did know, however, that he came from a wealthy background and really had very little need to work. She also knew that he was super-intelligent and made an excellent FBI agent. The wealthy background explained the Armani suits and his tendency to date beautiful women. His prom dates had probably become runway models.
Chloe was troubled by the relief that surged through her at his explanation. She cautioned herself once more about letting her feelings for this man get out of hand. Because she was, she thought flippantly, super-intelligent as well.
While she’d been in the shower, he’d changed into a pair of khaki pants and a mint green pullover shirt that did wonders for his dark complexion.
“I didn’t know you had a sister.” Chloe grabbed her purse and keys from the table beside the door, then held it open as she waited for him to walk through. His scent assailed her nostrils. Soap, shampoo and a hint of an understated aftershave combined with the earthy smell that was uniquely Ethan. Manly. The word whispered through her mind, a perfect description of the man. She locked the door and he turned as she did so that they walked down the hallway side by side.
“Simone’s a couple of years older than me so she acts like a mother hen.” Ethan chuckled, glancing sideways at the woman beside him. She was dressed similarly as he in a pair of jeans and a pink shirt, her heavy mass of hair pulled into a ponytail. She looked fresh and very pretty. The arch of her neck drew his eye and he found himself wanting to nuzzle into the warmth he knew he’d find there.
“Does she live by?” Chloe instantly knew the answer to that question. If he had a sister close to him, he’d be at her house. Duh.
“No,” he shook his head. “She lives in California with her husband and kids. Daniel is a surgeon at Loma Linda University Medical Center.”
They reached her car and Chloe opened the passenger door, taking the crutches from him as he settled himself into the seat.
“Shit, I should have had you pick up my car when you got the clothes. I forgot how damn small this thing is.”
Chloe snorted. “Like you could have bent yourself into the passenger seat of that thing you drive.” That thing he drove was a midnight black BMW i8.
“Yeah, that would have been tough, but you could have brought the truck.”
Chloe just shook her head. Oh, to be able to afford not one, but two, fully functioning automobiles. It was just another issue that separated the likes of her from the likes of him.
She closed him in and took a second to put the crutches in the back seat before jumping in and starting the motor. The old car shuddered to life and she tensed, expecting another snarky remark from Ethan. When none was forthcoming, she glanced over at him. He was staring out the window, his gaze focused on a dark SUV parked on the opposite side of the road and down about five spaces. A man sat behind the wheel, the sunglasses he wore making it impossible to tell if he was staring at them or simply taking in the scenery while waiting for someone. Either way, a chill crawled up Chloe’s spine and she shuddered in the warmth of the car.
Ethan must have had the same feeling because he asked tersely. “Do you recognize that vehicle?”
“No.” Chloe followed Ethan’s lead and reached for her seatbelt, pretending not to look at the vehicle and its unknown occupant. When Brad came out of his apartment and climbed into the strange SUV, she swallowed a sigh of relief. “Looks like one of Brad’s friends, though.”
“Ah, the friend that wants your body.”
Chloe checked the mirrors and pulled slowly into the street, keeping her eyes averted from Ethan’s long frame sprawled beside her. Having an almost unconscious Ethan in the vehicle with her was one thing but dealing with an alert and oriented Ethan was a difficult feat on a good day. “He isn’t my friend.”
“But he does want your delectable body.”
“He does not.”
“Oh, yes, he does.” Ethan pulled a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and stuck them on his nose. “He’d have to be a damned monk not to.”
Chloe’s head snapped toward him, unsure that she’d heard what she’d thought he’d said. He was looking out the window again, the dark glasses shielding his expression. Must have been a figment of her imagination, she thought, braking just in time as the light in front of her changed to red.
For the rest of the short trip, neither spoke, each one lost in their own thoughts. After a hearty breakfast of pancakes, bacon and black coffee at a local diner, she took them to the doctor’s office where he allowed her to come in only after the doctor’s evaluation to hear the prognosis. The hospital ran a small clinic in conjunction with the emergency room, so the doctor who had stitched Ethan up was also able to monitor his progress. Which was a good thing because Chloe doubted Ethan had a regular physician. She smiled, thinking she could have taken him to the elderly pediatrician that still saw her.
The white-coated physician smiled as she entered the small exam room. “Hello, my dear, it’s good to see you again.”
Chloe smiled, shaking the hand he held out. Why were doctor’s hands always so cold, she wondered? “It’s nice to see you too, Dr. Stanton. And under better conditions this time.” She glanced at Ethan’s set face. He really didn’t like doctors.
“Much better, I’d say,” the doctor’s smile widened. “I was just telling Mr. Hollister that the wound is closing nicely. He should be up and about in a couple of weeks.”
“A couple of weeks?” Ethan frowned so hard that his dark brows almost formed a perfect line. “But I can go back to my apartment, right?”
“That depends.” The elderly doctor signed a chart and handed it to a waiting nurse who stared with unabashed longing at Ethan. “Did an elevator get installed in your apartment?”
Ethan looked at the man like he’d grown a second head. “What?”
The doctor chuckled. “Just trying to lighten the mood. But the answer is no, Agent Hollister, you may not go back to your apartment. You cannot climb, stoop, bend or carry anything over ten pounds for the next two weeks. You may, however, put a little more pressure on the leg each day, but don’t overdo it. And still use your crutches. You may also take a shower, but no baths. And you’ll need to keep the bandage dry. Now,” he picked up his prescription pad, “do you need a refill on your pain meds?”
“No.”
“Yes,” Chloe ignored his dark look. “Just a couple of days more I think will do.”
The doctor scratched his pen along the paper quickly, then tore off the small square and handed it to Chloe. He directed his words to Ethan. “Be sure you take those. You may think you’re Superman, son, but take it from someone who’s been there, you’re not.”
“Thanks, doc,” Chloe nodded as the older man stepped into the hall, his hand already reaching for the patient chart in the room across from them. She turned back to Ethan, the scowl still etched across his forehead. “What?”
“I took the first prescription. I’m not taking those.”
“Yes, you are.”
“You can’t make me.”
“Can too.”
She smiled at his mutinous expression. Would his little boy have the same look when he wasn’t getting his way?
Whoa, she thought, caught off-guard by the sudden thought. Where had that come from?
From being cooped up with the dratted man for the last four days, a little voice whispered. She stuffed the prescription into her purse, pushing such personal thoughts aside. It did no good to dwell on daydreams. “Come on, let’s get you home.”
“I’ve imposed on you long enough.” Ethan climbed gingerly from the exam table, reaching for the crutches she held out to him. “If you’ll take me by a hotel, I can—”
Her phone rang, cutting off his words. He’d been about to tell her he’d do just fine in a hotel. Which he would, but a strange wave of loneliness washed over him thinking of leaving Chloe’s small apartment. He watched her fish in the cavernous bag she called a purse before pulling the phone out and flipping it open. A damn flip phone! His brows rose as he stared at the archaic device. No wonder she was having problems receiving his calls. Did they even make those anymore?
“Hi, Mom, what’s up?”
As Ethan watched, she rolled her eyes, a look of patient exasperation on her lovely face.
“No, Mom, I don’t think the Russians have hacked you. Just tell me what it’s doing.” She held the phone to her chest and whispered, “It’s my Mom. Sorry.”
Ethan nodded, more interested in the byplay between mother and daughter than he would have guessed. While he could see the frustration caused by whatever the older woman was saying, he couldn’t mistake the look of love on her daughter’s face as she listened.
“You were trying to get on what site?”
He couldn’t stop his grin as her look suddenly shifted from tolerant annoyance to apparent disbelief at the woman on the other end, whose voice he could hear speaking furiously fast. He suddenly wondered what the woman who had given birth to Chloe was like. Did she get those fabulous legs and breasts from her mother? Were her eyes the same or had those come from her father? And what had been said that caused the sudden blush heating her round cheeks?
“Mom, listen, it’s probably just frozen.” She listened once more as her mother spoke again. “No, no, don’t do that. Having Dad take it apart won’t fix it.”
She sighed again and shot him a look he couldn’t interpret.
“No, Mom, I’ll come over and fix it for you. Yes.” She nodded as her mother spoke again, this time in a lower, more cajoling drawl. She sighed. “It’s okay. I don’t mind stopping. I’ll pick up cat food for Maizy and be right over. No, I’m not working today. No, nothing is wrong. ” Her fingers clenched around the phone. “And no, I won’t help you get on that site. No, Mother. Not. Going. To. Happen.”
Ethan knew he shouldn’t be enjoying himself so much, but he couldn’t help it. It was interesting to see the usually unflappable woman looking like she was completely out of her element. Whatever it was that her mother wanted to view, it was making her daughter extremely uncomfortable. Surely it couldn’t be… Porn? Nah, he mentally shook his head. Her parents had to be in their fifties. Not that that was old by any means. Or that her parents didn’t have an active sex life, but… He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. Where the hell was his brain taking him? He put the thought to the back of his mind as she spoke again.
“Okay. Bye, mom. Love you too.” She started to close the phone, then hesitated as her mother spoke once more. “Yes, mom, I promise to wear my seatbelt and drive carefully.”
*****
“Your mom is…protective, I take it?”
To give him credit, Ethan had waited until they were once more on their way—and after she’d run into the store to buy the cat food—before commenting on her conversation with her mother. She gave a quick snort as she started the aging vehicle once more and pulled deftly from the parking lot. “That’s putting it mildly.”
“Hmm,” Ethan settled into the seat. He’d never seen Chloe so disconcerted before and it had him seeing her in a whole new light. In the office, she always seemed so self-assured, so put together. It was nice to know that she wasn’t always so in control.
What would have happened to that control if he’d kissed her in the kitchen? The question haunted him, kept him awake at night. “I’m sure she just has your best interest at heart.”
Chloe snorted again. “My mom has one goal and one goal only.”
“What’s that?” Ethan looked over at the woman who had taken him in when he had no place else to go. When she drove, she kept her eyes on the road and didn’t look off. It was, he knew because she wasn’t a comfortable driver. He wondered briefly what other things made her uncomfortable? Him?
“To become a grandmother.”
“Ah, I see.” Ethan grinned, once again amused by Chloe’s apparent discomfort. “She wants you married.”
“So much so that she’s been trying to set up a profile for me on every dating site that she can find. Fortunately for me, she’s fairly computer illiterate.”
“I don’t think she’ll let a little thing like that stop her,” Ethan smirked.
Chloe finally glanced his way with a smile that reminded him of a Disney villain. “I’m glad my mother’s obsession to have grandchildren amuses you. That means you’re ready.”
His grin vanished completely. “Ready for what?”
“You’re about to play twenty questions with my parents.”
Ethan blinked as she pulled the car to a stop in front of a small brick house nestled behind a chain-link fence. The gate was open, and Chloe pulled up to the garage. The yard boasted a large maple tree, its leaves bright and vibrant. As he watched, the door to the small home opened and an older man and woman walked out onto the porch, waving in welcome. “Maybe I should wait in the car.”
“Uh-uh, buster,” Chloe muttered through a smile as she waved back at her parents, “I offered to take you back to the apartment before I came over here and you said no. Now you’re stuck, just like me.”
“But I didn’t want you to go out of your way.” Ethan cursed. He was talking to thin air. She’d exited the car and slammed the door. He turned his head as she opened the back door and reached for the cat food. “At least let me get that.”
“You’re on crutches, remember?” Chloe lifted the small bag of Kit-N-Kaboodle and grinned at him over the bucket seat. She pulled the supports from the back seat with her free hand and slammed the door with a foot.
Ethan groaned and opened his door, reaching for the crutches as she came around to him. “Maybe they’re too busy for company,” he suggested hopefully.
“Nope,” Chloe grinned. “My parents have morning coffee with the mailman. My mom chose to stay home to raise me and my dad retired from the police force two years ago. They’re pretty much ready for company all the time.” She walked ahead of Ethan the short distance to the house.
“Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad.”
“Hello, honey. Who’s your handsome friend?”
Chloe threw an ‘I told you so’ look over her shoulder, her smile widening at Ethan’s obvious discomfort. He’d probably never met a woman’s parents in his life. The thought sobered her instantly. “Ethan, this is my father, Frank, and my mother, Edna. Mom, Dad, this is Ethan. He’s that friend of Clay’s I’ve mentioned on occasion.”
“Ethan Hollister? We’ve heard so much about you.”
Ethan looked at Chloe, one dark brow arched and somewhat of a smirk on his face that questioned her on occasion comment. “Have you?”
“Yes, they have, Ethan,” Chloe remarked defensively. “You’re Clay’s friend and involved in a lot of his cases, which makes you involved in my job.”
“Well, we’d love to hear more about your job, Ethan.” Chloe’s mother gave him a warm, welcoming smile.
“Edna, the young man is injured. Let’s at least get him inside and comfortable before the inquisition starts.”
“Oh, Frank.”
“Tried to warn you,” Chloe muttered as they followed her parents inside.
Ethan had only a moment to view his surroundings but, as a trained FBI agent, it was all he needed to see that although the furnishings were older, they were in good shape and the home appeared neat and clean. The house looked as if it had been suspended in a 1980s time warp. The smell of coffee and cinnamon rolls lingered in the air. He glanced at the watch on his wrist. Eleven-oh-three. Breakfast could be any time you want when you’re retired, he thought, throwing Chloe’s father a tight smile as the other man motioned for him to take a seat on the sofa.
“So, Ethan, is it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Exactly what are you doing with my little girl?”
Blinking, Ethan looked for help from Chloe, but she had followed her mother into the dining room where both women were bent over an open laptop. Ethan was left alone with a man who, though retired, still radiated the aurora of a seasoned cop. He eased himself down onto the sofa, propping his crutches by his side. He suddenly felt like a teenaged boy about to be called out by his prom date’s father.
“Beg pardon?” He learned long ago, it was better to act oblivious when confronted by a worthy opponent.
“Don’t give me that dumb-as-a-doorknob act. You’re a trained FBI agent that my daughter speaks very highly of.” He shrugged. “When she talks about you that is.” He leaned forward, and Ethan instinctively knew the man sitting in front of him had been a damn good cop. “I find that strange to begin with, seeing what good friends you are with her boss. But what troubles me more is the fact that it’s early morning on a day when my baby girl should be at work. Not out gallivanting around with you.”
Ethan waited for a moment before he spoke, his brain finally getting the commercial where the man stuffed a candy bar in his mouth before speaking and saving himself from the foot-in-mouth disease. He wondered briefly what Chloe had told her parents—if indeed she had shared any of the events of the last few days with them. Somehow, he had a feeling she hadn’t, including the most important fact—that he was staying in her apartment.
Deciding a scaled-down version of the truth was the best option, he quickly explained that he had been shot while on a bust and that Chloe had offered to help him out.
Her father stared at him for just a second before leaning back in his chair and crossing his ankle over his thigh. “So, she’s helping you out?”
“Yes, sir.” Ethan didn’t say anything about staying in her apartment and her father didn’t outright ask. He figured it was a win for both of them.
“She’s always had a weakness for an injured animal.” The look on his face left Ethan in no doubt that the other man considered him an animal—a predator, in fact. Again, Ethan felt that uncomfortable sensation of doing something wrong, when, honestly, he hadn’t. He’d resisted kissing her, damn it. Now, he wished he hadn’t resisted, at least then this conversation might have been warranted.
The older man rose to his feet, looking down from his tall height at Ethan. “So, how about a beer?”
As he started out of the room, Chloe walked back in. “He can’t have alcohol, Daddy. He’s taking pain medication.”
Ethan gave Chloe a dark look. “No, I’m not.”
Chloe gave a heavy sigh. “We are not having this argument again, Ethan Hollister. You are taking that medication.”
“No, I’m not.”
They glared at each other until they became aware of her parents, both of whom were staring at them with silly grins on their faces. Chloe threw up her hands. “Now look what you’ve done,” she accused Ethan before turning on her heel and leaving the room.
“What did I do?” Ethan asked no one in particular.
“Nothing, son. Nothing at all,” Frank answered with a goofy grin at his wife. “I’ll get you that beer. I think you’re going to need it.”
Chloe and her parents left Ethan alone for about fifteen minutes. During that time, he debated silently about calling for a lift and taking his chances getting around in his townhouse. The fact that his leg was beginning to hurt and the memory of Chloe’s smiling face prevented him from making such an impulsive decision.
Everyone returned, each carrying something in their hands. Frank had two beers, Edna carried a tray of sandwiches with two glasses of what looked like iced tea and Chloe was holding a plate of cinnamon rolls—and his pain medication. She placed the rolls on the coffee table and sat down beside him. Her parents took their seats in the matching recliners facing the couch.
She placed two pills in her hand and it extended it toward Ethan. He hesitated for a moment before taking them, deciding it really wasn’t worth all the arguing. He needed to get better and being pain free was probably the fastest, most efficient way to do that.
“Dad said you could have the beer with the medication.” Ethan turned to look at the older man.
“You’re welcome, son.” He motioned for Ethan to pick up the beer he’d placed next to the rolls, then leaned back and took a sip of his own. Edna leaned forward and placed two sandwiches and a cinnamon roll on a plate she’d also brought from the kitchen. She handed it to Ethan before filling a second plate and giving it to her husband. She gave Chloe a sandwich and cinnamon roll and took just a sandwich for herself.
Ethan popped the medication in his mouth and washed it down with a long drink of the ice-cold beer. “That hit the spot.”
“I’ll admit it’s expensive, but Clay introduced me to this brand and I don’t think I’ll ever drink anything else.” Frank took a bite of his sandwich and Ethan couldn’t resist the food either. Chloe or her mother, he wasn’t sure which, had somehow managed to make roast beef sandwiches complete with mustard, cheese, tomato and lettuce in the small amount of time they’d been in the kitchen. He quickly wolfed down both sandwiches, so he could get to the cinnamon roll that was still warm enough to melt the icing. Once finished, he picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth. “Damn, that was good.”
“Is Chloe not feeding you?” Edna sat her empty plate next to his and gave her daughter a puzzled look. “She’s a very good cook.”
“I know, ma’am,” Ethan nodded. “And she’s feeding me quite well. It’s just been a while since breakfast.”
“Not that long,” Chloe muttered as she finished the last of her roll under his watchful—and hungry gaze. He realized his continued hunger just wasn’t for the last morsel she popped in her mouth. It was for the woman herself. Despite two sets of parental eyes on him, he leaned forward.
“You’ve got a little icing right here.” He swiped his thumb across her lower lip and resisted the urge to lick the sugar substance off with his tongue. He grinned wickedly as Chloe’s eyes widened helplessly. The look reminded him of the part of the story where Little Red Riding Hood first caught sight of the big-bad-wolf. He realized suddenly that if he wasn’t sitting in her parent’s living room, he would definitely kiss her now—and maybe do a hell of a lot more.
The thought lingered in his mind all day and well into the night.