Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
But the too-rapid pounding of his heart, the sweats and shakes he’d have if he didn’t have to concentrate on keeping her safe, and the fear of being hurt again told him he couldn’t handle it.
Thanks to her, he didn’t have to. “Be right back.” He slid out of bed and went to get the supplies to take care of her. That was something he could handle.
A while later, the painkillers had kicked in, so she was able to move around, although he saw the pain in her tight expression. While she went to shower, he called his folks to check in, then headed for the kitchen.
He opened the fridge and studied the contents, trying to decide what more he could put together for lunch.
“The shower helped a lot,” Nicole said, walking into the room. He turned to see that she wore a light summer dress that was easy for her to put on. One that was hell on his libido. The white ribbed tank top showed her breasts, perky and bouncy beneath the flimsy and relatively thin material. The light-blue skirt flowed around her hips and ass, coming to rest at her shapely calves. She’d wrung out her hair, leaving it damp as it air-dried around her face. Even makeup-free, she affected him on a soul-deep level.
He watched her gingerly move around the kitchen and wanted to help, to take her pain as his own. Shit. He knew he was in trouble, and the best thing to do was not to think.
He pulled out his phone and called his brother, walking out of the room as Mike answered on the first ring. “Hey, bro. Any news on the drunk who rear-ended Nicole?”
He listened to his brother and was relieved by the answer. “Got it. Thanks.” Mike asked about Nicole. “Yeah, she’s okay. Hurting but okay. How’s Cara?”
Mike told him she seemed better and thanked him for talking to her, then said goodbye. Sam noted his brother still hadn’t mentioned anything about Cara being pregnant.
He wondered if she’d taken the test. Spilled the news. Maybe they’d decided to wait to tell everyone, Sam thought. But he already knew. Well, he assumed he knew. Not that he’d ask.
He disconnected the call and turned, finding Nicole watching him from the doorway of the family room.
“Well?” She stepped into the family room. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard you ask about the drunk who rear-ended me. Was he connected to the Russians?”
“No. It was just an accident.” Sam shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m calling that wreck just anything.”
She walked over and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m fine.”
Reflexively, he squeezed back, wanting to be as close to her as possible.
“What else is wrong?” she asked.
“Why do you ask?”
“Just a feeling.” She shrugged and pulled out of the embrace.
He felt the loss immediately. She read him well. “It’s a secret,” he said.
She raised her eyebrows. “Well, I’m a good listener and don’t blab. But I understand if you want to keep things to yourself.”
Oddly, he didn’t. Even more shocking, he trusted her not to spread the news. “Let’s sit,” he said, wanting her off her feet.
He lowered himself onto her couch, which he found more comfortable than the one in his house. “Cara thinks she’s pregnant,” he said when they were settled in. “I spoke to her when we came back from Sara’s, and she was going to take the test and talk to Mike. But he hasn’t said anything, so I was wondering if she worked up the courage.”
Confusion crossed Nicole’s face. “Does Mike not want kids?”
Sam shrugged. “I’m pretty sure he wants the whole nine yards with Cara, but apparently, any conversation they had about it involved it happening sometime in the future. And they had a rough road getting together, so she was worried about how he’d take it.”
“Umm, I didn’t live here, so I don’t know what happened.”
“Right.” For some reason, he felt so connected to her, it was as if he’d had her in his life much longer. “Mike’s father isn’t Simon.” He’d already told her the bare-bones story but wanted to tell her more now. “Ultimately, he left town. It was more complicated than that, but I’ll save those details for another day. Suffice it to say, Simon had always been in love with Mom and offered to marry her. We always knew Mike was Simon’s adopted son, but he never treated him any differently. Still, Mike had . . . I guess a shrink would call it abandonment issues. He always felt different from us, like he didn’t live up. Until Dad got cancer last year, Mike was rarely home. Even when he came back as temporary chief, he didn’t plan to stay.”
A soft smile played around Nicole’s lips. “Until Cara.”
Sam inclined his head. “Until Serendipity got ahold of him, and Cara too. But he fought it the whole way. So she’s worried the baby will scare him off. Which will not happen.”