CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Addy had asked Trisha earlier to help her unwrap her hands. She needed to stretch them, and the bandages were suffocating her. Well, okay, not actually suffocating her, but it was driving her nuts that she couldn’t move her fingers individually. She’d expected that she would be able to rewrap any fingers separately that still needed it.
However, when she looked down at her swollen digits, she realized the task was too great for her alone. Gail and Trisha helped her clean and rebandage several fingers.
At least now she could hold a fork and a glass all by herself.
Several of her fingers were . . . gross. Not only were her hands and fingers crisscrossed with large red gashes, but they were swollen. Dark bruises covered most of the skin.
She had seen the stitches on three cuts: one just below her thumb joint, the second near her elbow on the same side, and the third spot, the largest gash, on her right knee, which was the reason she was walking so stiffly.
On the rest of her, the cuts ranged from scratches to glued-up lines that she knew would hardly leave scars.
It was the bruising that turned her skin a nasty dark color and hurt more than most of the cuts. She’d taken a Tylenol after breakfast instead of a codeine, which had allowed her to stay clearheaded.
Shortly after Trent had left that morning, she’d called Beau and filled him in on what had happened. Beau was worried about her, and it took half of the conversation to convince him that she was okay. Then she’d called her insurance and given them the information they needed along with the phone number for the police station so they could work directly with them.
She’d been so tired after all those calls that she’d rested and slept deeply until her phone chimed a message from her parents’ number.
She sat up and debated listening to the voice mail for almost five full minutes before swiping her screen and deleting it without listening.
They were done with her. She was done with them. Period.
She knew that a lot of her trust issues with Trent were thanks to her own parents’ rough marriage. She couldn’t imagine ever wanting anything close to what they had and, since she’d been a child, she’d believed that all marriages fell into that same pattern.
Addy didn’t have any more room in her broken heart to ache for them. She knew that whatever her mother had to say would have just upset her, and she’d had enough of that in the past day.
She actually felt better for it.
After stuffing herself with Hawaiian pizza at lunch, she sat in the living room and listened as Trent filled them in on what was going on at the police station. The family then talked about whether they should move their uncle to the specialty facility or not. He didn’t have insurance, which meant it would fall to the McGowans to pay for his long-term care.
Gail was looking into further possibilities closer to home.
Then Trent broke in.
“Why was I the last to find out that Dennis is running around a free man?” Trent had Addy tucked next to him, and she jerked when she heard this.
“But I thought . . .” Addy sat up.
“He’s out on bond until his trial in a few weeks,” Gail said. “We didn’t think it would do to have you upset.”
Trent huffed. “Yeah, you’re right, it was much better seeing him smirking at me across the room in the police station this morning,” he said sarcastically.
“Do they think the two fires are related?” Kristen asked.
Addy hadn’t thought of that angle but looking around the room, she could tell she was the only one who hadn’t made the connection yet.
“I wouldn’t cross it off the list of possibilities yet,” Tyler said.
“When did Dennis get free?” Trent asked. “Before or after the NewField fire?”
“After,” three voices answered together.
“Well, that marks him off that list at least.”
“Yeah, but he’s got friends—a handful of his workers loyal to him,” Trey added.
“Any smoke cigarettes?” Trent asked.
“I can look into it.” Trey stood up. “I’ve got to get back to the grind.”
“Me too.” Tyler followed him. “Some of us can’t afford to take an entire day off.” He smacked Trent on the shoulder as he walked by.
“Right,” Trent called back. “You just take weeks off instead.” He pulled Addy closer to his side.
She’d seen the dark circles under his eyes during breakfast and lunch. She knew that if she could convince him to lie down with her, he’d sleep too.
“I’m feeling tired.” She stretched her sore legs and winced when she felt pain.
“Want me to get you another pill?” he asked, eager to get up.
“No, but I could use someone to help replace this bandage.” She wiggled her left hand. “I think it’s too tight.” It wasn’t, but she needed an excuse to get him to the bedroom with her.
“Sure.” He stood up and helped her to her feet.
“We were going to head into the store, but . . .” His mother sighed.
“The store will open back up tomorrow,” he said.
“So soon, I suppose . . .” Gail started to say, then coughed when Trisha looked over at her.
“I guess we’ll head over to Avon to the general market there,” Trisha said, looking down at her watch. “We should be back just in time for dinner.”
“Um, yeah, in time for dinner,” Gail repeated.
“Okay,” Trent said, then followed Addy back to his room.
Addy held in a chuckle as the two ladies exchanged glances behind them.
Instead of letting him replace her bandage, she tugged him to the bed. “To be honest, I was just looking for a way to get you to lie down with me.” They settled on the comforter together. “I wanted to be next to you for a while,” she said against his chest, humming. “Mmm, this is what I needed.”
She felt him relax as his arms came around her. “Sneaky.” He grinned. “I guess I could lie down for a while. I haven’t taken a nap in . . . years,” he said, his hand going into her hair.
She listened as his breathing shallowed. His heart slowed and she could tell he was fast asleep.
At first her mind refused to settle down. She’d slept plenty, but her body was still too weak to remain awake as her mind raced through things she had to do.
Purchasing a new Jeep or truck was at the top of her list. She had loved her Jeep and only had a few more payments until it was hers. Now she wondered if her insurance would cover enough to get something as nice as that one had been.
The Jeep had been just the right size to pull her small trailer. The thought of getting a truck or van was disappointing.
She’d have to go into Helena to the nearest Jeep dealer and see what she could afford on her salary. Which wasn’t much, considering who she worked for.
Suddenly thoughts of getting a different job, a stationary job, popped into her head. Did she even like what she was being forced to do? She wasn’t a spy. Especially when there were people she liked and trusted at the other end of the game.
She was no closer to figuring out what they wanted with the land than when she’d started. Which made her think about why she’d started doing what she was doing.
She’d been on the road for almost two years. Would she like staying in one place again? Where? Here? Hell no, she thought. But then Trent shifted and pulled her closer, and the thought suddenly didn’t scare her as much as it would have weeks, or even days, ago. Despite how her job put a wedge in their relationship, she still felt oddly relaxed about being with him now.
Even the prospect of living in the same town as her parents didn’t bother her as much as it had before. She took a deep breath and enjoyed the way Trent’s scent drifted into her head, causing her body to react.
She’d dreamed of being with him again earlier; now was no different. She knew her hands were too messed up to enjoy feeling him but still ran her hands over his chest slightly until he stirred.
Reaching up, she laid a soft kiss on his neck. He turned toward her and wrapped his leg over her hip and buried his face into her hair.
“You smell so good,” he said softly.
“So do you.” She leaned up and kissed him as he looked down at her.
“God, I want you so bad,” he said, his voice going husky. His hips started moving against hers and she felt her body react.
“What about your mother?” she asked, enjoying the feeling of him against her.
“She and Trisha have gone to Avon to the store,” he said between kisses on her neck. “Remember?”
“Yes, but isn’t . . .” She didn’t get anything else out because his mouth had covered hers.
She lay there and waited as he gently undressed her, pulling off his sweatshirt that she’d put on earlier that morning. His T-shirt she was wearing was next. Then his eyes roamed over her as he nudged the sweats down her legs, making sure to go slowly over the bandages on her knees.
“You’ll let me know if I hurt you.”
“You won’t.” She sighed as his hands roamed over her skin. “I just wish I could . . .” She held up her hands and frowned at them.
“Just lie there and let me take care of you,” he said.
His hands drifted over her as his lips raised little bumps all over her skin. He took his time and kissed every bruise as his hands gently massaged her sore muscles.
“Mmm,” she moaned. “You could make a living doing this.”
He laughed outright. “I think that’s still illegal in the States.” He’d removed his shirt and was in the process of pulling off his jeans.
“Not that.” She smiled up at him, then gasped when he came back down to her, skin to skin.
His lips covered hers again as his fingers found her and sent her hips jerking toward him.
“My god,” she said between kisses. She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and held on to him as he used all his skills to send her over the edge quickly.
There was nothing sexier than watching Addy lose control.
Her long hair was spread out on his pillows and even that small detail was sexy as hell.
She tended to bite her bottom lip when she was just about to come, so Trent dipped his head down and tasted her lips as she came. Her hips spasmed toward his hand and he felt her slick heat against him.
He reached quickly over to his nightstand and pulled on a condom, then before her eyes could blink open, slid slowly into her heat.
This time, it was him saying, “My god.”
She was so tight, so wonderfully ready for him. She felt like home and ecstasy all at once.
Her bandaged hands reached for his shoulders, but he moved until they fell back beside her head on the mattress.
His lips covered hers as his hips moved with her, against her. He tried to be gentle, knowing what she’d been through, how she was hurt, but she was moving, demanding, and he felt his self-control slipping.
When she cried out, he was less than a second behind her.
He woke when he heard the garage door open. Then, just like a thief in the night, he hurried around his room, making sure they were fully dressed. Even though he knew his mother would never barge into his room, he still felt guilty.
Addy chuckled but dressed quickly. “If you keep blushing like that, there’s no hiding what we did in here.”
He closed his eyes as he took several deep breaths.
“Funny, I never struggled with this before.” He moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her.
“It’s because you’ve never done that”—she nodded toward the bed—“here.”
“I’ve never had you before.” He placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “We’d better go out before they make up some excuse to come looking for us.”
She nodded.
When they walked out, his mother and Trisha smiled over at them. “You both look like you got some rest,” Trisha said, unloading a bag of groceries.
“Yes, I guess I needed that.” Trent took over the job for her. “I can’t remember the last time I took a nap,” he said.
“You were eleven,” his mother piped in as she put a carton of milk away in the fridge. “I could probably come up with the exact date and time if I thought about it.” She winked at Addy. “He was a very strong-willed child.”
“Was?” Addy raised her eyebrows and snorted.
“I like this one,” Trisha said. “She’s a keeper.”