Chapter Eight
Lauren waited for Jason’s car to pull out of the driveway before calling for Trouble to come back inside. As much as she hated to admit it, she liked knowing the cat slept on her bed at night. He snored, which somehow made her feel more secure.
When the furry feline didn’t come running, she decided to try the back door off the kitchen and was shocked to find it already ajar. No way had she left the door open. Annoyed and frustrated, Lauren slammed it shut and tried to turn the lock, but it wouldn’t budge.
Broken.
“Fine. It’ll just have to wait until morning,” she muttered.
When Jason returned.
Which brought her to the real reason for her bad mood. She was upset with herself for letting his family bother her. For letting Jason’s kiss breach defenses she shouldn’t have to raise in the first place. She was a grown woman and she ought to be capable of having sex without commitment or entangled emotions. That was what she wanted and needed in order to leave her heart intact.
She tossed and turned for the better part of the night, wishing she’d made him stay.
She woke up later than usual, exhausted and cranky, which led her to the conclusion that the man who’d caused the tossing and turning was also the solution. She’d just resume their sexual relationship as if that awful dinner at his father’s house had never happened. Because clearly she’d feel worse and get less work done if she denied her desire for him.
She’d given Jason a key and could now hear hammering coming from the far end of the house. He and the three men in his crew, Nate, Connor and Ross, always began working farthest from the bedroom, giving her privacy until she joined them.
Since she couldn’t do anything about her sexual needs right now, she would settle for coffee to begin her day.
She had taken two steps toward the kitchen when her cell phone rang; she pulled it from her pocket. A glance showed a restricted number.
A shiver raced through her as she hit the send button to take the call. “Hello?”
“Ms. Perkins? This is Dr. Shaw at the penitentiary. I’m your sister’s doctor. I thought you should know there was an incident this morning.”
She gripped her cell phone tighter, nausea rising in her throat. “What kind of incident?”
“Your sister became unruly this morning. I don’t know how else to explain it. She started to scream and yell and we had to sedate her in order to calm her down.” The doctor’s tone was compassionate.
Lauren swallowed hard. “I don’t understand. She’s been completely nonresponsive. Staring ahead at nothing for almost a year. Do you know what caused the outburst?”
“No. I’m considering asking that she be sent to the hospital for tests, but that would take a court order, which would take some time.”
Lauren stared up at the ceiling and caught sight of a large, ugly crack. Another thing to add to the To Do list.
She refocused on her call. “I’ll be there in a little over an hour,” she said.
At least a half day of work would be lost, but what choice did she have?
“I wouldn’t suggest you come now. She’s sedated and sleeping. There’s nothing you can do for her at the moment.”
Lauren closed her eyes. “I see. Well, I’ll call later to see how she’s doing.”
“That’s fine. As soon as I think it’s helpful for you to visit, I’ll let you know.”
Lauren nodded. “Thank you, Doctor.” She disconnected the call, feeling more agitated than before.
As much as caffeine wouldn’t calm her nerves, she still needed to start her day with the comfort of routine, and that meant coffee.
Wearing an old button-down shirt and soft sweats, her feet bare, she walked into the kitchen and stopped short, frozen in place. Because sitting on the granite counter was a mouse. A light gray, beady-eyed mouse with a long tail.
She blinked.
It wriggled and moved its tail. An old memory of the rat-infested walls in her New York City apartment flashed through her mind. One of those rats had jumped from her nightstand onto her bed and raced over her legs.
Lauren let out a loud piercing scream and leaped onto the nearest chair, shaking. She continued to shriek, but the rodent didn’t run away.
Jason burst through the kitchen entryway at a run, Nate, Connor and Ross right behind him. Jason caught sight of Lauren standing on a chair and skidded to a halt. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
She glanced from him to the counter.
The now empty counter.
She pointed halfheartedly. “It’s a mouse.” She continued to gesture wildly toward the spot where the animal had been.
He walked over and looked at the counter, then scoured the floor, finding nothing. “It’s gone.” Walking back to her, he held out his hand. “Let me help you down.”
“You got this, boss?” Connor asked.
Lauren ignored him. In her mind, she still saw the moving tail and those beady eyes staring at her, and she shook from head to toe.
“You can all get back to work,” Jason said.
He lifted her from the chair and carried her into the den, shutting the door and locking it behind him. He headed over to the couch, settling into the cushion with her on his lap.
Unable to control the tremors racking her body, Lauren plastered herself to him, soaking up his strength and embracing his heat.
“What is it?” he asked, his voice gruff yet soothing. “Seeing a mouse has you this spooked?”
Now that the initial shock and fear had begun to subside, embarrassment flooded her.
As hard as it was for her to revisit the past, he deserved an explanation. “For a minute, it wasn’t the mouse I was seeing but a rat in New York. The first apartment I lived in was a hole in the wall above a restaurant. It was all I could afford and the rats used to run inside the walls. I could hear them at night.” She shuddered at the memory of the scurrying sounds behind the thin walls.
His palm settled on the center of her back, strong, warm and reassuring.
“Sounds awful.” Jason wished she hadn’t had to go through that experience alone.
“That’s not the worst part. One night I was in bed reading and I heard something. I looked up and there it was on the nightstand. Before I could blink, it ran near me and ended up in my bed.” The tremors began again and her entire body shook against him.
He slipped his hand beneath her shirt and ran it up and down her bare, braless back, gritting his teeth against the sensation of caressing her skin. “You’re safe now.” But soothing her couldn’t undo the past.
“The mouse was in the kitchen!” She burrowed her face into his neck. Her breath was hot and arousing, though her intent was anything but.
“I’ll set some traps, okay?” He didn’t know much about mouse traps, but they’d be easy enough to find.
Without lifting her head, she nodded, her fingers holding on to his shirt in a death grip. “I can’t see another one. It just does something to me.”
Her revulsion and fear hit him hard. “I can’t promise, but I’ll do the best I can.” He waited but she didn’t release him. Didn’t move her head from his neck.
He inhaled the fragrant scent of her hair, his body hardening.
He fought against the sensation and shifted, intending to get up and start working on the rodent problem. But she didn’t budge.
So he slowly lowered his hand from her back, hoping she’d take the hint and move. Before the comfort he wanted to offer lost out to the desire she so effortlessly ignited. Again, she remained in place, her body aligned with his.
So he waited while her tension gradually eased. Her muscles relaxed and she looked up at him, gratitude in her green eyes.
But when she inched back on his lap, her bottom came into direct contact with his rock-hard erection. Her eyes opened wide in understanding and in an instant her pupils darkened and her cheeks flushed.
“If you want those traps set now, you’d better let me get up,” he said, his warning clear.
“You locked the door, right? There are still workmen around?” she asked.
He nodded.
“Then what if I still need more comfort?” She ran her tongue over her bottom lip, dampening the full flesh, seducing him with that simple gesture. She shifted her hips until her thighs bracketed his. “Besides, don’t you want to know how I used to ignore the rats and finally fell asleep?”
She rotated her body seductively until she cupped him in his denim-covered sheath. Despite the thick barrier, he could swear he felt her heat.
“How?” he managed to ask.
A smile pulled at her lips, but there was no teasing. Just pure honesty as she said, “I’d think about you. It was the only time I’d let myself go back to the time we spent together.” She drew a deep breath. “During the day I was driven to succeed, but at night, when I was afraid, I dreamed about you.”
He ran his fingers through her hair, regret swamping him. “I wish I’d known.”
It shocked him how much he wished he could have taken care of her.
“You’re here now.” She reached up and began unbuttoning her shirt, releasing one tantalizing button at a time. She wanted him, yes. But she was clearly using sex to feel better.
And he wasn’t content to let her hide her feelings or run from what had happened between them before dinner last night.
Reaching out, he stilled her movements. “Why are you doing this?” he asked.
“Isn’t it obvious?” She wriggled her hips, but he clenched his teeth and held on to his self-control.
“Not when just last night you pushed me away.” He wanted nothing more than to rip open her shirt and bury his face between her breasts, suckle on one tight nipple before moving on to the next. But when he did, there would be no misunderstandings between them.
She met his gaze. “You went home.”
He shook his head. “Because you were playing hot and cold with me. You used that invitation to dinner and then my family’s abominable behavior as an excuse to back away.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it again.
Obviously she couldn’t argue.
“Your point?” she asked at last.
“No more running away. For as long as you’re in town, you’re mine.”
She released a lengthy breath. “I think I can live with that. As long as you promise me one thing?”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t leave me alone in this house with that mouse. I know from experience, where there’s one rodent there’s bound to be more.” Her entire body trembled again.
“Nights, too?”
Her eyes darkened. “Nights, too.”
He nodded, silently thanking the run-down, abandoned house for supplying her with an excuse to ask him to stay.
The next few weeks belonged to them.
And what then, a little voice in his head asked. Her cell phone interrupted his thoughts.
She grabbed for it quickly, glancing at the number.
“Hello?” she asked, her voice tremulous.
He waited, confused by her anxiety.
“I see. And now?” She listened once more. “Just like she’s been for the last year. I see. That’s too bad. I was hoping that after this morning, maybe she’d come out of it.”
Her sister, Jason realized.
“I’ll touch base tomorrow morning, Doctor. Thank you.” She disconnected the call, exhaled a long hard breath, then inhaled deeply.
For a brief second she appeared hurt and fragile. Then she turned to him and squared her shoulders. “Now where were we?” she asked seductively. But her tone was clearly forced.
He slid his hand from beneath her shirt and grasped her arms, pulling her away from him. “What’s going on? That was a serious call and you’re obviously upset. So why pretend you aren’t?”
“Because I don’t expect you to feel sorry that my sister’s having problems.”
“How about if I feel sorry that you’re having problems?”
She shook her head. “Doesn’t accomplish my goal.”
“Which is?” he asked warily, knowing he wouldn’t like what he heard.
She sighed. “I’d like to keep my sister and her issues separate from us.” She gestured between them.
And thereby keep him at arm’s length.
Jason suppressed the urge to throttle her. “Didn’t we just agree you wouldn’t do that anymore?”
She shrugged. “I just figured my sister was different.”
“You figured wrong.”
Tilting her head to one side, she studied him closely. “So you accept her and what she’s done?”
Despite his best intentions, he fidgeted, knowing any answer to that loaded question would land him in Uncle Edward’s boathouse.
“Well?” she pressed, a knowing—and disappointed—look on her face.
“I didn’t say that. But I care about you and the things that hurt you. So if something has happened with your sister, I want you to be able to share it with me.”
“Even if you can’t stand the thought of her?”
This time he knew better than to reply.
“Jason, my sister is a part of me.”
He didn’t appreciate the reminder. “I know. But how I feel about what she does isn’t the same as how I feel about you.”
She rose and paced the room, turning to face him. “Okay, fine. You want to know? Here it is. My sister has been nonresponsive for months now. But suddenly this morning, she had an incident, the doctor called it. An outburst where she became hysterical and upset. They had to sedate her.” She shoved her hands into the pockets of her sweats. “I was hoping when she woke up that maybe she’d be back to her old self.”
Her psychotic self? Jason knew better than to voice his feelings aloud. “And is she better?” he asked carefully.
Which would mean her sister might attempt to get out of prison on an I was insane and now I’m fine plea. The thought made his stomach churn. His entire family would rebel at the notion. Even though Lauren was trying to get her sister transferred, Jason held out hope that the other woman’s crimes would keep her behind bars where she belonged. None of which he would admit aloud.
“No. Beth is back to staring at walls.” Shoulders slumped, Lauren lowered herself into a chair, clearly defeated.
“And what’s the prognosis? Does the fact that she seemed to come out of it mean anything?”
“The doctor doesn’t know. And he won’t unless she can be moved to a hospital for testing, something that requires court approval. And time. For all I know, getting that approval might cost me money.” She ran a hand through her hair, tugging at it in frustration. “Argh!”
He rose and walked to her side, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Silence seemed best.
“Happy now that I’ve confided in you?” she asked, her voice catching.
Actually he felt like a complete shit. She’d had a horrible morning from her sister’s incident to the mouse. He hadn’t helped her at all.
As he glanced at her tortured expression, he wanted to say something, anything that would make her feel better about confiding in him.
He couldn’t.
All his pushing and prodding had done was show him that there wasn’t anything about Mary Beth Perkins he wanted to know or understand. Hard as he’d tried to convince Lauren otherwise, her sister would always be a point of contention between them. He’d just have to see how long he could pretend otherwise.
“Look, there’s nothing you can do for your sister right now, so what do you say we get to work? You’ll be in a better mood once you see we’re making progress on the house, right?”
“Right.” She shot him a grateful smile. “You do know me pretty well.”
The doorbell rang, ensuring he wouldn’t have to discuss the Perkins family any longer, and Lauren jumped to answer. Jason followed her to the door, where the plumber waited on the other side.
“Good morning,” Lauren said.
Jason nodded to the other man.
Brody Pittman met them with a wide smile. “Good morning, all! New water heater ready for install.” He sounded like a drill sergeant reporting for duty.
The man was just too pleased with himself and something about his demeanor rubbed Jason the wrong way. He couldn’t put his finger on what or why.
“That’s good news.” Lauren stepped to the side, waving the other man inside.
“I have to get the unit out of the truck, but first—” He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. “I have your estimate for the rest of the work.” He smiled as he shoved the paperwork into her hands.
“Thank you,” Lauren murmured. She didn’t glance at the numbers, merely folded the paper as she let out a prolonged sigh.
Jason didn’t blame her. They both knew the estimate would make her stomach churn, but stalling wouldn’t make things any better.
He didn’t think she’d appreciate him pointing out that fact.
“Just let me know when you’re ready to move forward,” Brody said. “I cleared my schedule and I can start immediately.” He shifted from foot to foot. “Like today,” he said when they didn’t immediately reply.
Jason frowned. Something about the man’s enthusiasm bugged him. “Just the water heater today. We’ll get back to you on the rest.” He wanted to check out the numbers, then work a better deal with the man’s boss.
“Sure thing.” Pittman turned and headed for his truck to retrieve the heater.
“Why don’t you let me look at the estimate first,” Jason said, once they’d stepped back inside. “I want to work the numbers myself and see if I can’t get J.R. to lower the price.”
She turned. “Maybe he was fair.”
“And maybe I can get him to be even fairer.” Jason knew J.R.’s wife had been bugging him to finish the basement as a playroom for the kids, but with the downturn in the economy, he wasn’t about to lay out big bucks for something that was a want, not a need. Jason figured he could work a deal.
Without warning, she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his in a too brief kiss. “Thank you. You’ve been beyond generous.”
Before he could pull her close, Trouble darted into the entryway, stopping short. His black paws starkly contrasted with the white marble as he slowly began to edge forward. The cat skulked around the perimeter, stealthily tracking what could only be the mouse Lauren had seen earlier.
A quick glance told him she was visibly holding back a reaction. “Trouble, get over here,” she ordered.
“He’s not about to listen,” Jason said. “Not when he’s after prey.”
She shuddered, unable to hide her revulsion. “Can’t you get rid of it?”
“I’ll need to take a ride to the hardware store and pick up the traps.”
“Let me get my shoes and I’ll come with you.” She spoke quickly, obviously not wanting to be left alone in the house with the rodent.
Or rodents.
“Eager to visit your good friend Burt?” He gave her a knowing grin. “Don’t worry. I won’t leave you here to fend for yourself.”
She shot him a look of gratitude. “What is it with this house that animals come with it?” she asked as she opened the hall closet and retrieved her warm, furry boots.
“Abandoned houses attract all kinds of visitors,” he told her. Stepping beside her, he pulled his jacket off a hanger.
“Speaking of visitors, I need to tell the plumber I’m going out.”
He nodded, watching her behind wiggle in her sweats as she headed for the door. A behind he now had permission to snuggle with all night long.
Having a tantrum was the most activity Beth had had all year. Too bad she hadn’t gotten the response she’d been looking for. Where was her sister? She needed her to visit and give her an update on the condition of the house.
So much for crying out for attention. All Beth had gotten was a shot of Ativan and a drug-induced sleep.
Well, she wasn’t drugged anymore. She hadn’t seen her sister or her so-called boyfriend in too long. He’d been working at the prison weekly, and although their plan called for him to take time off, his absence was making her antsy.
Her little plan had backfired and now she’d be monitored more closely, making it more difficult to get alone time with her boyfriend. If and when he showed up for work.
Maybe he’d found the jewels and bailed on her, a thought that caused her no small amount of worry.
The day nurse walked by, staring at Beth closely as she passed her bed.
Beth swallowed a ripe curse, reminding herself to stay calm. No more tantrums until she needed one.