Chapter Twelve
They didn’t talk about the nightmare or the sex, but the experience left Rachel shaken. Jamie had disappeared into the bathroom immediately after; there had been no cuddling or pillow talk. Rachel lay in bed, listening to the water run, reliving those urgent moments. She had never, ever been used so thoroughly, or enjoyed it so much. She only wished the catalyst for the desperate coupling had been different.
She recalled again the sound of Jamie’s moans as he’d been caught in the grip of his nightmare. She hoped never to hear those sounds again. They’d terrified her, made her want to weep for what he’d been through. When he emerged from the bathroom, showered and dressed, he’d once again donned the persona of the audacious, teasing lover and any chance to ask about what had happened was gone.
They ate a quick breakfast in the majestic lobby of the lodge, sitting at the foot of the waterfall, and then they headed back to the hospital. Now they stood outside Dylan’s room as the doctor finished his morning examination.
“How is he?” Rachel asked, when the doctor and a nurse emerged from the room.
“I’d say he’s much better,” Doctor Hartmann replied, jotting notes onto a clipboard. He looked at Rachel and grinned. “He’s asking how long before he can jump again.”
Rachel smiled. “That sounds about right. Is it okay if we go in?”
“Of course.”
Dylan had his eyes closed, but he opened them when he heard their approaching footsteps, and his expression immediately transformed into a smile of welcome.
“Hey! This is a surprise!”
To Rachel, his voice sounded weak, but he looked much better than he had the previous day. He’d removed the green surgical cap, and now his hair spilled around his face in the glorious honey-brown waves that had driven girls wild for as long as Rachel could remember.
“Don’t try to sit up,” she advised, as she bent over and kissed his cheek. “I came as soon as I heard.”
Dylan gave her a weak grin, and rubbed his fingers along the scruff on his jaw. “If I’d known you were coming, I’d have cleaned up. And where’d you pick up this loser?” He lifted a hand and fist-bumped Jamie, who had moved to the opposite side of the bed. “Jesus, man, you look like shit.”
Jamie laughed. “Yeah, well have you looked in a mirror? I know you’ve always been jealous of me, but did you really have to jump into a tree just to one-up me? Looks like you’re going to have a pretty impressive scar to show off to the ladies.”
Dylan gave a dramatic groan. “Man, that wind caught my chute and I was like dandelion fluff, going whichever way it blew me.”
Rachel took his hand. “You’re lucky to be alive.”
Dylan was silent for a moment, and Rachel knew he was thinking about his former boss, who had been killed in an accident eerily similar to his own a few years earlier. Then he seemed to give himself a mental shake, and shifted his gaze to Jamie.
“You doing okay, bro? I tried to come see you, right after they shipped you home, but the timing didn’t work out. I got called up for a wildfire in Alaska, instead.”
Jamie shrugged. “I can’t complain. I have a follow-up appointment with the surgeon early next week, and hopefully they’ll take this off and transition me to a boot.” He grinned and nodded his head toward Rachel. “And I have this one here taking excellent care of me.”
Dylan looked bemused. “Yeah, how the hell did you two hook up?”
Rachel’s gaze sharpened on her brother. Did he suspect she and Jamie were more than just neighbors?
“Mom and Dad are on their annual cruise with the Colters,” she reminded him, “so they asked me if I would mind helping him out while they’re gone.”
Dylan frowned. “So you’re home now? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“It was a last-minute decision.” She pulled her hand free from Dylan’s and focused on removing an invisible bit of lint from her jeans. “Deke and I are officially divorced, and I just needed to get out of New York.”
“About damned time,” Dylan said darkly. “I always hated that prick. You should have listened to me when I told you not to marry him.”
Rachel gave him a weak smile. “Well, you were right.”
“So what are you going to do now?” he asked. “Not a lot of potential clients in Glacier Creek, although we do have seasonal residents with a lot of dough. Maybe Lucas can hook you up with some of them.”
Rachel vaguely remembered Lucas Talbot, the third friend in her brother’s childhood trio. He lived on Long Island, but had spent his summers in Glacier Creek, since his billionaire stepfather had owned a luxury mountain home overlooking Flathead Lake. The three of them had been inseparable every summer when they were growing up. She recalled Lucas’s family had even paid for Dylan and Jamie to accompany them on several ski vacations to Europe.
Now her eyes flicked to Jamie. “Thanks, but I don’t know how long I’ll be in Glacier Creek. I was thinking maybe I’d start my own business in California.”
“Really.” Dylan’s voice held surprise and skepticism. “And that would be as a personal assistant?”
“A personal concierge,” she corrected him.
Dylan looked puzzled. “Is that even a real thing?”
Jamie laughed. “That’s exactly what I said!”
Rachel raised her hands in surrender. “I give up. Yes, it’s a real thing, but you wouldn’t know because you lack the kind of money it takes to afford one.”
Dylan snorted. “Don’t you mean I lack the kind of temperament to need one? I refuse to ask other people to do what I can do for myself.”
Rachel looked meaningfully at his leg, swollen and bruised and held together with staples. “Okay. Well, let me know how that works out for you.”
But Dylan only laughed, and then groaned as the movement caused pain to his abdomen. Rachel immediately regretted teasing him.
“Can I do something for you? Do you need pain meds?”
But Dylan only shook his head. “No, it’ll pass. I’m trying not to dope myself up.”
“Why would you allow yourself to be in pain?” Rachel asked. “Honestly, do you have to be macho all the time?”
Dylan actually looked embarrassed. “Captain Gaskill—my boss—called to say he’ll be stopping by later today, and I’d like to be coherent.”
“When are they going to let you out of here?” she asked, changing the subject.
“Maybe another week.” He indicated his knee. “They have to wait for the bones to knit, and make sure an infection doesn’t set in.”
“So then you can return to Glacier Creek?” she asked.
“That’s the plan.”
He closed his eyes, effectively dismissing her. Rachel exchanged a look with Jamie. Dylan might fool some people with his brash confidence and free-spirited lifestyle, but Rachel knew him a little better than that. He had his own place on the outskirts of Glacier Creek, and he’d rather be there than in Bozeman. He probably didn’t want to acknowledge he might be stuck here for a week or more.
“Hey,” she said, and touched his arm.
He cracked one eye open and looked at her.
“Is there anything you need? Jamie and I are going to let you get some rest, but we can come back in a few hours. What do you want us to bring you?”
“A fifth of Jack Daniel’s, a cheeseburger, and a curvy blonde,” he quipped.
“I might be able to do the burger,” Rachel said with a smile, “but you’re going to have to wait on the other two.”
He tried to shift to a more comfortable position and grimaced in pain as he did so. Rachel noted the lines of strain on either side of his mouth. She pushed herself to her feet.
“We’re going to go now, but we’ll come back later,” she said. “If you’re not going to take any pain meds, at least try to get some rest before your visitors arrive.”
Dylan looked over at Jamie. “Can you hang back for a minute?”
“Yeah, sure,” Jamie agreed.
Rachel paused at the foot of Dylan’s bed, but when both men gave her an expectant look, she rolled her eyes. “Fine, I get it. I’ll be in the main lobby.”
She waited for Jamie by the main entrance, trying not to think about what they could be discussing. Had Dylan wanted to drill Jamie on why they were together? Did he suspect they were sleeping together? Despite the fact Dylan was six years her junior, he’d become more protective of her as he’d grown older, and he’d never made any pretense of the fact he disliked her ex. So while Dylan might be happy about her recent divorce, that didn’t mean he’d be thrilled about her hooking up with his best friend.
Fifteen minutes later, she watched as Jamie rolled his chair toward her through the corridors. As he drew closer, he slid his sunglasses on, effectively hiding his eyes.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Is everything okay?”
Jamie nodded. “Yup. Fine.”
Without saying any more, he hit the handicap button beside the door and when they slid smoothly open, he rolled through without waiting to see if Rachel followed him. She stared after him, dumbfounded, then marched after him.
“You’re seriously not going to tell me what Dylan wanted to talk to you about?” she demanded, catching up with him.
“Just guy stuff,” he said. “No big deal.”
“So it wasn’t about us?”
Jamie did come to a stop then, turning his chair so he faced her. “No, he did not ask about us. And so what if he did?”
Rachel shifted her weight and crossed her arms. “Well, I just would rather he didn’t know you and I—” She broke off, not sure how to explain it to him without sounding insulting. “There’s no need for him to know about us, okay?”
“So now we’re a big secret?”
Rachel cringed at the scorn in his voice.
“No, of course not.” She frowned. “That’s not what I meant. I just don’t see any need to tell people we’re in a—a relationship, when both of us know it’s only temporary.”
Jamie snatched his sunglasses off. “I’m not going to lie if someone asks me about us,” he said, his voice hard with disbelief. “If you’re uncomfortable with that, then you’re always free to just walk away.” He inched closer, and Rachel found her breath catch at the intensity in his blue eyes. “Well?”
“Well, what?”
He slid his sunglasses back on and smiled. “You’re not walking away, so I guess that means you’re sticking around.”
Rachel arched an eyebrow as he adroitly spun his chair around and made his way toward the van, but she couldn’t quite suppress the smile that tugged at her mouth.
*
Jamie sat in the back of the van and watched Rachel in the rearview mirror, unwilling to admit how anxious he’d been when he’d all but given her an ultimatum. He’d half expected her to call his bluff and leave him there in the parking lot. Now he closed his eyes behind his sunglasses and tipped his head back against the seat, feeling relieved and guilty at the same time.
He’d lied to Rachel.
Dylan hadn’t just asked if he was sleeping with Rachel; he’d all but accused Jamie of taking advantage of his sister while she was emotionally vulnerable. Jamie wasn’t buying it, of course. Rachel’s marriage had been over for a long time. Those divorce papers were no more than a formality. There was no question in his mind she was better off without the Deke-wad. Dylan had at least agreed with him on that point, but had disagreed Jamie was what Rachel needed. He’d had some valid points, but when he’d insisted the difference in their ages was a contributing factor, Jamie had refused to listen, and had left.
He and Rachel were pretty great together. Better than great—they were amazing. He had plans to return to California, too, so they were on the same page if she really intended to open her own business on the West Coast. She was smart and funny, and they never ran out of things to talk about.
And the sex was off-the-charts phenomenal.
Their age difference was the one thing he couldn’t control, but he refused to let it be a deal-breaker. As far as he was concerned, Rachel was in the prime of her life. She was beautiful, in great shape, and she still had years in which to start a family, if that’s what she wanted. Lots of women were waiting until their mid to late thirties to have babies. He especially liked that she was mature. She didn’t play head games the way so many younger women did. He didn’t want a girl; he wanted a woman.
He wanted Rachel.
He thought again of his conversation with Dylan, and tried to suppress his frustration. He told himself it didn’t matter what other people thought. All he had to do was convince Rachel.