After they finished eating, she collected the dishes and washed them. When she returned to the living room, she found Mitch fast asleep on the couch with Major at his feet. She should wake him; he would probably sleep better in his own bed. But she hesitated. He looked so peaceful. She studied the hard, masculine angles of his cheekbones and jaw. What was it about him?
She’d decided to leave him where he slept and was adjusting the quilt when a hand shot out and grasped her wrist. She sucked her breath in hard and looked down into a pair of sleepy blue eyes.
“Come with me.”
Her breath released in a huff as she laid a hand against his forehead. It felt warm, maybe a little too warm. “You’re not going anywhere except to bed.”
“Exactly.” He threw off the quilt and struggled to his feet.
Candy grabbed his good elbow. “Hang on. I’ll help you. I imagine the shock from this afternoon has kicked in.”
She steered him to the bedroom and helped him lie down.
“Stay with me,” he said, holding her wrist to prevent her escape.
“That isn’t such a good idea.” Their lovemaking had been amazing. There was no denying it. But the storm would end soon, and their time together with it. She needed to start putting distance between them.
“Stay with me,” he repeated softly.
“You’re hurt.”
“It’s not so bad. I want you with me while I sleep.”
“You’re delirious.”
“Maybe.” He tugged on her arm lightly. “Stay. Please.”
Good sense warred with desire. A smart woman would tuck him in and say goodnight, but she wasn’t feeling exceptionally bright at the moment.
“Okay. But just until you fall asleep.”
Chapter Fifteen – Who the Heck is Marie?
by Vonnie Davis
Candy couldn’t move.
She couldn’t breathe.
A band of searing heat crossed her stomach. Something heavy weighed on her chest, the pressure making it difficult to draw air into her lungs. Was she having a heart attack? What a pair she and Mitch made; a man with a wounded arm, and a woman in coronary arrest. Her eyes opened, and two brown orbs stared back at her. She blinked to bring things into focus.
“Major?”
A canine tongue swept across her lips.
“Pppttthhh.” She spat away his slobber. “Get off my chest, you mangy bag of bones.” The room was cold. No doubt the fire was out. What time was it? She tried to roll over to reach the flashlight on the nightstand.
Mitch moaned at her movement. His arm banded around her waist, his very warm arm. No, warm wasn’t a strong enough word. Burning would be more like it. She turned and placed her palm against his face and neck. The man was running a fever.
She rolled out of bed, trying to organize her thoughts. Holding the flashlight so its beam illuminated her watch, she saw it was nearly five in the morning. She hadn’t planned to sleep all night with Mitch, but snuggling up to him felt so good that sleep quickly followed.
She let the dog out, noting the snow had finally stopped falling. After stirring embers to life in the fireplace, she built the fire up and loaded it with wood. When Major scratched, she let him in. Next, she went looking for a thermometer. Major padded along behind her.
“Okay, show me where your master keeps the thermometer. Is he organized enough to put it in the bathroom?”
The dog whined.
“Most men aren’t big on organization, but Mitch has surprised me on more than one occasion.” In the bathroom, she opened the medicine cabinet above the vanity and aimed the flashlight beam over its contents. “Aspirin, Tylenol, Pepto-Bismol…” She moved items around to see behind them. Her hand stilled. “Sultamicillin.” She glanced down at Major. “Hmm…take one tablet every eight hours. Wonder what this was for?” She opened the bottle and glanced in. Six tablets left. “Evidently your owner doesn’t believe in taking his medicine until it’s gone like the doctor tells you to do.” Men and their Superman Syndromes. “Ah. Thermometer.” She snatched it from the shelf, grabbed a clean washcloth, and headed to the kitchen for a bowl of water. Hands full, she walked into Mitch’s bedroom.
He was thrashing around in the bed as if battling some unseen foe. “Marie…Marie…”
Candy stopped and watched him. Marie? They’d talked about her mother, but why would he call her name? Unless he wasn’t…unless he has a girlfriend named Marie. He moaned, a long drawn out sound that set her teeth on edge. Her eyes narrowed. Exactly what was he dreaming about?
Pain and disappointment swept through her, and she pressed a hand to her chest. They hadn’t talked about significant others. Why should they? Neither wanted a relationship. What they had was strictly temporary. Snowstorm sex? Blizzard passion? She cringed.
Just my luck to tumble into bed with a guy who’s involved with someone else and doesn’t have the decency to tell me.
Thank goodness the storm had stopped. As soon as the roads were opened, she was out of there.
“Marie…Candy…”
Her brows pinched together, and she sat on the edge of the bed. “Mitch. Mitch, wake up.” She jostled him as he moaned her name.
“It’s me. Stop dreaming about another woman and wake up.” When she got no response, she dipped the washcloth into the cool water, squeezed it slightly, and laid the dripping rag on his face.
Mitch gasped. His eyes popped open. “What the hell?” His hand grabbed hers, his gaze searching. “What…what’s going on?”
“You’re running a fever.” She depressed the button on the thermometer. “Here, put this under your tongue.” He dutifully opened his mouth, his eyebrows furrowed. “And if you don’t keep it there, I’ll gladly shove it elsewhere.”
His eyes widened for a second. “My-mar-mu-missed?”
“What?”
He yanked the thermometer out. “Why are you pissed? I’m sick here.”
The man had a girlfriend. For all she knew he was engaged. Marie, indeed. Murder came to mind. Dismemberment at the very least. “Put that back in your mouth so I can see how high your temperature is.” No doubt if she stuck the thermometer under his pants, the tip would blow right off.
She wanted to be the only woman he dreamed about.
Crazy. Pathetic, falling for a man I don’t know at all.
She opened the bottle of aspirin and tapped out a couple. “What were the antibiotics for? The bottle in your medicine cabinet?”
“Ne-Mo-Na.”
“Huh?”
He rolled his eyes and removed the thermometer. “Pneumonia.” He stuck the thermometer back under his tongue.
The thermometer beeped, and she checked it. “One-hundred and one point two. Not life threatening, but I’d guess you have an infection. Here, take these.” Candy laid the pills in his hand and handed him a glass of water.
“What are they?”
“Aspirin for your fever. Maybe the old antibiotics would help…” She bit her lip. “But without checking with a doctor first…”
“Better not risk it.” Mitch dropped the pills in his mouth and drank the water. “Thanks. Feel like crap. Arm hurts like a son of a bitch.”
She removed the bandage and shined the light beam from the flashlight over the stitches. The cut was red and looked sore. “I’m going for rubbing alcohol. Be right back.”
Pouring the alcohol over his wound a few minutes later, she took perverse delight in his reaction.
“Hells bells, that hurts.”
“I bet.” She leaned over him, resisting the urge to coil her fingers around his throat.
“Jesus, Candy, what’s gotten into you?”
Chapter Sixteen – Past Remembered
by Jerri Hines
Candy stared at Mitch. What could she say? He hadn’t done anything. She had no rational explanation for becoming so very, very angry. Except he’d crept into her heart when she wasn’t looking and broken it a little. She’d learned long ago never to become emotiona
lly involved. To bad she’d forgotten the lesson.
“Sorry. I’m just tired. Poor thing, having no one but a city girl to look after you.”
“I wouldn’t want anyone else,” he said in a slow drawl. “No one else but you.”
He sounded sincere… “Let’s see if you feel the same way after I bandage your arm again.”
He snorted. “Give it your best shot.”
Not immune to his sense of humor, Candy laughed. After cleaning up the mess she’d made, she looked down at him. His eyes were closed. Hopefully his temperature had dropped. She hadn’t a clue what she would do if it got worse.
An ache started in her chest. She missed her mom. Her mother would have known exactly what to do. Candy pressed her fingers to her temples. She could hear her mother now.
“Sometimes, Candy, you need to let go. You can’t be in control all the time. Take a risk. Don’t hold love in contempt because it didn’t work for me. It doesn’t always end badly, the way your father and I did.”
Candy hadn’t argued, hadn’t wanted to disappoint her mother, but she couldn’t open herself up to the pain she’d felt when her father left and never came back. She’d been so young. Still, she remembered that lost feeling.
She hadn’t let a man get close enough to hurt her, was determined never to be dependent upon another living soul. This situation with Mitch was nothing more than a timely reminder.
Her glance strayed to the window. The sun was a glimmer on the horizon. It had been a long night. She turned back to Mitch. Sound asleep. Reaching over, she gently felt his forehead. Cooler, she hoped. Relief surged through her along with an unfamiliar feeling.
Major nudged closer. Turning she patted the top of the dog’s head, “Yeah, boy. He’ll be okay. I’ll make sure of it.”
****
Dreams disturbed Mitch’s sleep. Dreams he thought he’d left behind. Voices called to him. Voices from the past. The past he wanted nothing more than to forget…
He was in his apartment in New York. The phone was ringing. Someone pick up the damn phone.
Lifting his pounding head off the pillow, he glanced over at his alarm clock. Oh, shit! He was late…again. Moaning loudly, he made a mental note never to go out for an all-nighter on a Monday again, especially when he had an early morning meeting. His father would kill him when he got back from Tokyo.
He held his head with both hands, trying to make the ringing stop. It didn’t. The phone. Grimacing, he answered it.
“Michael, is that you?”
“Evan. Oh, thank God,” he said. Reprieve waited on the other end of the line. Evan would cover for him.
“Michael, do you know what the hell is happening?”
Something in Evan’s voice sobered him. A fire at work. At the Towers. Impossible. Television. Had to be on television. In a daze, he dragged himself to the living room and flipped on the big screen TV. He froze as images flashed before his eyes.
Smoke flowed out of the North Tower. In front of him the South Tower exploded in flames. He raced to the window of his high-rise apartment, looking out over the skyline of New York. Clear skies, not a cloud to be seen for miles except…smoke. Billowing smoke. Turning back to the TV, he watched in horror. Gray fog choked the streets. People running for their lives. Firemen, policemen running inside. The top of the North Tower engulfed in smoke. Oh God, no! No. No. No. Crawford Industries sat at the top of the North Tower.
Holding the phone to his ear…he never let go.
“Don’t leave me, Bro.”
“I won’t. I’m here.”
Words merged together. Never could he repeat those words, but he couldn’t stop them resonating in every fiber of his being.
I can hardly breathe. The smoke. It’s black. Then a calm silence before Evan spoke again. I left a message for Mom. Told her I was okay. Tell her…tell her…
“I will…Evan…Evan…”
Mitch bolted upright, soaked in sweat. He caught his breath. For a moment he was back in New York. No, this was Georgia. He glanced around to find Candy looking at him. God, she had the most beautiful eyes. He reached for her.
“You didn’t leave.”
“Did you think I would? Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” He nodded, taking a deep breath, and hesitated before asking, “Do you mind if I just hold you right now? Just for a little while.”
She didn’t say a word, just climbed in beside him. He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close. For the first time in his life, Mitch wanted more than a brief encounter. He wanted Candy.
Chapter Seventeen – Knight in Denim Overalls
by Jannine Gallant
Snuggling against Mitch, Candy rested her cheek on the flannel covering his chest and listened to his heartbeat. Faster than normal. A result of the fever or something else?
“What were you dreaming about?”
His body stiffened, and his breath rushed out, stirring the hair at her temple. “Something that happened a long time ago.”
She turned in his arms to look up at his face. His eyes squeezed closed, lines of pain etched deep.
“I’m listening if you want to talk about it.”
When he met her gaze, she stared into the soul of a deeply wounded man.
“I can’t, Candy. It’s not that I don’t trust you…” His throat worked convulsively as he swallowed. “I just can’t.”
She pulled away a fraction of an inch. His words stung. “All right.” Staring at the ceiling, she bit her lip, then blurted, “Do you have a girlfriend, fiancée, significant other, someone I should know about?”
“No.” His voice rose. “Of course not. I wouldn’t have slept with you if I was involved with anyone.”
Relief surged through her like a torrent, little bubbles of happiness bursting in her chest. “You said…I thought…never mind. It doesn’t matter.”
“Not a very flattering picture you have of me. What kind of jerk do you take me for?” He picked at the covers.
She covered his hand with hers. His skin was hot to the touch. Jerking upright, she touched his brow. Definitely warmer than she liked.
“Mitch, you’re scaring me a little. I think you need to see a doctor. Now.”
His eyes widened. “Seriously?”
She nodded.
“Jeb, my neighbor, was an army medic. If you really think—”
“I do.” She slipped out from under his arm and stood beside the bed. “If anything bad happens to you because—” She broke off and worried her lip between her teeth. “Let’s just say I’m not going to risk losing someone else I…care about.”
Reaching out, he snagged her arm. His fingers burned around her wrist. A smile curved his lips, and the ghost of devilish amusement danced in his fever bright eyes.
“I like the sound of that.”
“Save it for later.” She backed up a step, then rushed forward and dropped a kiss on his lips. Her heart contracted when he slid his fingers through her hair. “Mitch…”
“I’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.”
“Definitely, but let’s make sure of it.”
****
The damned ATV wouldn’t start. So maybe she was doing something wrong. Who knew how to run one of these things? Not an ex-country girl turned confirmed concrete junkie. Giving the machine a kick with her borrowed boot, pain shot up her leg. Candy gritted her teeth and forced back tears.
By the time she reached the little cabin tucked into the woods, she couldn’t feel her feet. Rapping frozen knuckles against the solid wood portal, she stomped hard on the porch until a burning sensation assured her they were still attached.
The door flew open. A tall, lanky man with a gray buzz cut glared down at her. “What’s all the ruckus out here?”
“S-s-s-s-sorry. I got snow in my boots on the way over and—”
“Good Lord, come inside.” Reaching out a long arm, he pulled her over the threshold. “Aren’t you the girl Mitch was with yesterday?”
Candy nodded. Her cheeks burned in the sudden blast of heat. Flames leapt behind the glass window of a woodstove. “I’m Candy Wright.” She pulled off a knitted mitten and stuck out red fingers.
“Jeb Nobell.” He released her hand. “You’re half frozen.”
“More like three-quarters.” She sniffed and wiped her running nose on the sleeve of Mitch’s jacket. “But right now, I’m more concerned with your neighbor. He cut himself on a chainsaw yesterday, and he’s running a fever.”
Frown lines bisected his weathered face. “Did you take him to the clinic?”
“I couldn’t.” She tucked her numb fingers into the jacket sleeves. “A tree flattened his truck the first night of the storm, and my rental car is stranded beside the road with a bent axel. I did the best I could…” The sympathy in his deep brown eyes was her undoing. Sniffing again, she dashed tears from her cheeks.
“I’m sure your best is mighty fine.” He gave her arm a squeeze. “Let me get my first aid kit, and we’ll go check him out.”
Feeling as if a two-ton elephant had been lifted from her shoulders, Candy watched her knight in denim overalls lope up the stairs.
****
Standing in Mitch's driveway next to Jeb's powerful four-wheel-drive truck, Candy stretched onto her toes and pecked his leathery cheek. “How can I ever thank you?”
“No reason to. Mitch is a friend, and I look out for my friends.” He smiled at her, his chocolate brown eyes twinkling. “I like you, Candy. You made the best of a bad situation and didn’t panic. If you ever need anything, all you have to do is ask.”
Warmth filled her, thawing the last of the chill she’d been feeling since setting out that morning. “I appreciate it. Appreciate everything. Even if I’d had a working vehicle, I’d never have been able to negotiate the road to the clinic. Thank God they got the downed tree cleared away.”