Carla Krae - [My Once and Future Love Revisited 02] Page 4

  “Okay. I get it.” He crossed his arms over his chest and looked away, watching the staff grab plates from the kitchen.

  “Hey…” She reached across the table. “I miss you a lot when you’re in London, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not going to ask you to be here. You have a degree half done and an audience that likes you over there, and I don’t need my hand held so bad for you to abandon that. I’d hate myself for being that selfish.”

  “So you want me to leave.”

  Ugh, he could be so stubbornly dense sometimes! “I want you to do what’s best for you. For your career.”

  A waitress set a glass on the table, Coke with light ice and a cherry floating on top. “Imagine my surprise to see Jake Lindsey back in town. On vacation?” She leaned her hip on the table, her back to Beth.

  “Hey…” Jacob said.

  “Tammy,” she filled in. “We went out junior year. Well, summer after. Doing much while you’re in L.A.?”

  Hello, was I friggin’ invisible? “Excuse me. We were having a conversation.”

  “Just bein’ friendly, honey,” she said over her shoulder. “Didn’t know you had a kid sis,” she said to Jacob.

  Sister? Oh, not again… Beth stood and got in the bitch’s face. “He doesn’t fuck his sister.”

  Tammy looked Beth up and down. “You? Honey, men don’t go for girls built like pipe cleaners. Run along back to high school.”

  She lurched forward to rip her stupid bottle-blonde hair out.

  He caught her round the waist and pulled her onto his lap. “Easy, love. She’s not worth an assault charge.”

  She glared at Tammy, daggers in her eyes. She shrunk back. “Be somewhere else.”

  The waitress huffed and pranced away. Beth’s shoulders sagged, the fight leaving her as fast as it rose up.

  He turned her face to him. “That was bloody hot.”

  Her face flamed. “That was embarrassing. I don’t know what got into me.”

  “Defending your territory, love. Chit was out of line.” He stroked her tummy under the hem of her shirt, creating goosebumps. “Such a mouth on you…”

  “I can’t believe I said that in public. Do you think they’ll kick us out?”

  He glanced past her, then back at her face. “Only if we do what I have in mind,” he purred.

  Her cheeks turned a deeper red. “You’re so naughty.”

  “Yep,” he said with glee. “Wanna get out of here?”

  She eased out of his arms. “Think I should finish my milkshake.”

  “Okay.” He grinned as she sat down, spreading his arms over the back of the booth. “I can wait.”

  Beth finished the glass and moved on to the extra in the metal cup.

  “She’s wrong, you know.”

  “Huh?”

  “’Bout you havin’ the figure of a pipe cleaner. Not true.”

  Oh. “Thanks.”

  “’Sides, her tits are fake, anyway.”

  “Jacob.”

  He shrugged. “It’s true.”

  She frowned. “And you know this how?”

  “Locker room talk.”

  “You didn’t…”

  He made a face. “We made out after a few pilfered beers at a beach party. Kisses like a fish.” He chuckled. “I wasn’t very discriminating at sixteen.”

  “No kidding.”

  “Hey.”

  “Saw and heard about them all, bucko. You were hormones looking for a place to happen—except with me.”

  “You were special. Couldn’t bollocks up my one true friendship. Had to play to their expectations, you know? But I could—can—relax with you.” He grasped her free hand. “It’s more than want with you.”

  Swoon. Holy romance, Batman. “Charmer…”

  “I mean it. You think I’d fly eleven hours for anybody?”

  She shook her head. For the most part, he didn’t make attachments, and his mother was the only person he’d bend over backward for. Or, had been. She ate her last spoonful and left money on the table.

  He took her hand on the way out.

  Mom had Vivian and Jacob over for dinner. He sat across from Beth and kept rubbing her foot with his. Dad ate quietly like usual when company was over, and their mothers gabbed. She’d forgotten they were good friends, too.

  When the moms retreated to the kitchen to wash dishes and gossip and Dad was in his office again, Beth and Jacob took dessert out to the backyard. They picked a spot out-of-sight of any windows.

  “How are you doing?”

  She exhaled. “Anxious.” And sat down. “The what-ifs have been playing through my mind all day.”

  He sat next to her on the planter. “Well, I’m good at distraction.”

  A smiled teased at her lips. That was very true. She only had to ask. “I’ll stick to Fudge Brownie ice cream in the backyard.”

  He smiled, bumping shoulders. “As you wish.”

  She leaned her head on that shoulder. “I’m glad you’ll still be here tomorrow.”

  “Until the term starts. Maybe do some auditions.”

  “Oh?”

  “Don’t sound so surprised,” he teased.

  Had she managed surprise? Because she wasn’t, really. When he got an idea in his head, he stuck to it to the bitter end. “What does your mom think of that?” she asked, straightening up to see his face.

  “Haven’t told her, yet.”

  “Ah.”

  He looked skyward. “I know…I know.”

  “See, you’re not completely independent, either, Mr. Judgey.”

  “Touché.” He poked her ribs, making her jump. “Smart-ass.”

  Tickling wasn’t fair. “Eat your ice cream. It’s melting.”

  “Yes, dear,” he said, and made a big show of taking a bite. “Welcome to stay over tonight, you know.”

  She smiled at the offer, but had to refuse. “I shouldn’t. I might sleep too late. Mom has to check in at seven.”

  “I have an alarm clock, love.” He tucked her hair behind her ear. “But whatever’s easiest for you.”

  It was really tempting. She didn’t want to be alone, knowing she’d lie awake worrying about what they’d find tomorrow. At least with him next to her, she wouldn’t be staring at the ceiling alone. “I should stay in my bedroom.”

  He nodded. “Okay. If you think that’s best.”

  She tilted her head to catch his eye. “I didn’t say alone.”

  He smiled. “Oh.” He leaned in to kiss her, but she put her hand on his chest.

  “Just sleep. The other stuff is…noisy.”

  He nuzzled the side of her neck, his lips brushing her ear. “It’s not me who has a problem bein’ quiet, kitten.” The gentle touch made her pulse quicken.

  The sliding door opened. They sprung apart.

  “Jacob, I’m going home, now,” his mother said. “Sarah needs her sleep.”

  “Yes, mum. I’ll be along soon as I finish my bowl.”

  One brow arched, noting how long they’d been out there, but she said, “Alright, darling. I’ll leave the front light on.” She went back inside.

  “We should head in.”

  At least it was Vivian who came out. If Dad caught them sitting too close together...

  The bowls were left in the kitchen sink, then she escorted him out the front door. “Wait a while to make sure they’re asleep. I’ll leave my window open.”

  He kissed her, short and soft. “Until later, love.”

  She watched him walk around the corner.

  When dressing for bed, Beth picked her most conservative summer pajamas. Her bed was a twin, which didn’t leave a lot of room for two of them, so she spread an extra blanket and pillow on the floor next to it. Like a slumber party, if you had those with gorgeous twenty-year-old men that happened to be your boyfriend and see you naked. She jotted down the questions she wanted to ask at the hospital in a notebook, then got in bed and waited.

  Around midnight, he came over the wall. He climbed in her w
indow and silently lowered it closed. “Hey,” he whispered. He wore an old tee with a few holes in it and a pair of sweatpants.

  “Hi.”

  He glanced down at the floor. “Like old times, eh?”

  “It’s a small bed,” she said, and drew back the sheet, scooting over to make room. “You might prefer the floor.”

  He crawled onto her mattress for a welcome kiss. “Over holding you? Never.”

  They tried for a working position, ending up with him on his back and her on her side with her limbs draped over him. Spooning would’ve worked, too, but she didn’t want to turn her back to him, yet. They couldn’t talk that way.

  “Pillow smells like you,” he said.

  “It does?”

  He nodded. “Like your shampoo. Back in high school, I’d catch a whiff of something that smelled so good…finally figured out it was your hair.”

  “Back then? Really?”

  He ran his fingers through her hair, stroking her scalp. “That fruity tropical stuff. It was so distracting when you’d lean over my shoulder to check my work.”

  “My leave-in conditioner. I thought you had ADD ‘cause I always had to repeat myself.”

  “Unh-uh. It was this.” He kept petting her head, making her tingly.

  This wasn’t helping her resolve to only sleep. Mom brushed her hair all the time when she was a little girl and that was relaxing, so she had no clue his fingers doing the same thing would be arousing. Then again, a picture of him was arousing for her. She tried to think sleepy thoughts.

  “Still awake?”

  “Mmm-hmm.” She snuggled closer. His pec was a really nice pillow.

  “Want me to come with you tomorrow?”

  “Think they’ll only allow family.”

  “Oh. How long should it take?”

  “Not terribly? It’s simple in words. They open up the area, visualize the tumor, and remove it. Make sure there’s no bleeding, sew her up, done. Maybe an hour or two, I don’t know. They’ll tell us what to expect. I just hope she doesn’t have to stay overnight.”

  “Why would she?”

  “Bad reaction to the anesthetic or a drug. Anything can happen.” There were way too many variables with the human body for her comfort.

  “Beth, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Does your mother have allergies?”

  “No…”

  He held her tighter. “Then the odds are with her. Try to go to sleep, love.”

  “Okay.”

  With her glasses off, she couldn’t really stare at anything, anyway, so she closed her eyes and listened to his heartbeat below her ear. The steady thump lulled her into drifting off.

  Chapter Four

  When Beth’s alarm went off at five-thirty, Jacob wasn’t there.

  Her guess of an hour or two for the surgery? On par. What she didn’t know was they were injecting Mom with a dye to see the sentinel lymph node first, whatever that was. Mom had to wait around three hours for her body to spread the dye to where the surgeon needed it. Good thing she suggested Mom bring a book.

  “Elizabeth, could you stop pacing, please?”

  “Sorry, Mom.” She sat in the uncomfortable hospital chair and watched the clock, her knee bouncing with impatience. She’d tried reading already, but after going over the same sentence three times, she gave up and had to move. “Maybe I’ll find Daddy.”

  He couldn’t wait and do nothing, either. She found him in the cafeteria, buying coffee. “How long have we got?” he asked.

  “Maybe another half hour. If the surgeon’s on time.”

  “Want to take a walk?”

  “Okay.” The hospital smelled like no other place she’d been, and she didn’t like it.

  She steered them to the courtyard outside. They had some grass and pathways running between the offices and the hospital. There was a breeze today, and the weather had cooled down to seventy degrees at this hour of the morning.

  “Mom is pretty Zen about this whole thing.”

  “Zen?” Her father looked sideways at her.

  “You know, calm. Unruffled.”

  “She’s an adult.”

  “Plenty of adults freak out at the C-word, Dad.” Like him, though he didn’t display that like most people.

  “I don’t know what to tell you, Elizabeth. Your mother is a strong woman. It’s part of why I married her.” He still walked like an Army guy, with perfect posture and even steps.

  “Do you think it’ll be good news today?”

  He checked his watch. “We should head back.”

  She sighed. “Okay, Dad.”

  Mom had changed into a hospital gown while they were gone. Her doctor was there with a clipboard.

  “Hi, folks. I was just going over the procedure with Mrs. Lawson. We’ll be using a local anesthetic, as this is an outpatient surgery. Besides removing the tumor and a bit of the surrounding tissue, I’ll be taking out the nearest lymph node to check if the cancer has spread.”

  “What if it has?” Beth asked.

  “Then we’ll be going back later and removing the axillary lymph nodes in the armpit to be safe, but I’m hoping that won’t be necessary.” She turned to Mom. “Are you ready?”

  Mom nodded. They left for the operating room. Beth and her father found the nearest waiting room and sat.

  An hour was an eternity in a hospital. She got up and called Jacob to tell him what was up, then raided the soda machine. Most of the status lights were red. “Orange Crush it is.”

  Dad had more coffee when she got back, and he’d found a golf magazine. She picked up Ladies’ Home Journal.

  At one-hour-fifteen, a nurse came to tell them Mom was in the recovery room.

  “Did they make a big hole?” Maybe not the most polite question to start with, but she was worried about the size of that evil thing.

  Mom wasn’t offended. “No, honey. The tumor was only a little larger than a shelled peanut.”

  “How do you feel?” Dad asked.

  “Fine. The area is still numb. She played some nice classical music.” He took her hand on the other side of the bed and held it. She smiled at him. “We can go as soon as they clear my vitals,” she said.

  “Cool.”

  “I have your clothes,” he said. He looked like he didn’t know what to do with himself in there, and found a stool nearby and sat down.

  Once they were satisfied Mom wasn’t going to have any funky reactions, they had her go to the bathroom, then her doctor gave her a list of instructions for wound care and a prescription. Mom dressed in a button-down top and yoga pants, and they went home.

  She ate some toast and a handful of strawberries since she couldn’t have breakfast before the surgery, and stretched out on the couch.

  “What happens next?” Beth asked.

  “My doctor wants me to call between six and seven tonight. She’s hoping the pathologist can look at my samples right away.”

  “Yeah.” She thought Mom looked okay—just tired. “Fingers crossed. Do you need anything?”

  “I’m fine, honey. Go be a teenager.”

  “You don’t need a blanket, or juice, or more to eat?”

  “Really. Besides, Daddy’s home today. I’ll bug him.”

  “I love you, Mom. In case I haven’t said it recently.”

  She smiled. “Love you, too, Beth. Go on.”

  Beth went straight to Jacob’s, of course.

  He answered the door. “Hey, Bethie.” They hugged. “How’s your mum?”

  “Okay. Maybe a little tired. There were no glitches, thank God.”

  “I’m glad.” He tightened the embrace, hugging her again. “Knocked at a good time. I’ve been in the garage all morning, and just took a break for lunch.” Two years in London had him saying gar-age instead of garage.

  “Explains why you’re all dusty.” And sweaty. Eww.

  “Don’t wrinkle up your cute little nose. You love it.”

  She followed him into the kitchen. “Where’s your mom?”
<
br />   “In her room boxing up her clothes and girly things since she flies out tomorrow. Speak of the devil.”

  “I thought I heard voices,” Vivian said. “Hello, Elizabeth. How is your mother?”

  “Good so far, thank you.”

  “You’re making lunch, Jacob?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “There should be enough cold cuts still if Elizabeth is hungry.”

  “I’m alright, Mrs. Lindsey.” She couldn’t call her Vivian here in a house she’d been visiting as a kid. Too weird.

  “Have him make you a sandwich if you change your mind.” She walked back to her bedroom.

  “Have a seat, love.” He brought her a soda, then set about making his lunch.

  She told him all about the morning, how her parents were dealing, and the waiting for the pathology report. He listened and chewed, interrupting her only to ask for the layman definition of a technical term. It was nice being allowed to talk about it, what with her parents either avoiding the subject or being overprotective. “And I don’t even know if Mom’s called my brother, yet!”

  “So call him yourself.”

  “I don’t want to spoil it if she has a plan.”

  “Then ask her if she’s called him.” He rolled his eyes, thinking his solution was the obvious one.

  “When Dad goes back to work.”

  “Whatever. Your family needs to learn to communicate like me and Mum. We say what we’re thinking.”

  “It comes natural to you. We aren’t like that.”

  Though, really, why shouldn’t she call Andrew? She had his info in her address book and it had been a long time. He was her brother no matter what her parents thought about him.

  Jacob finished his lunch and wiped his hands on his jeans.

  She shook the angst from her head. “Well, enough about my drama…my mother told me to ‘go be a teenager’.”

  A mischievous glint came into his eye. “She did, did she? Carte blanche to be young and daring and irresponsible?”

  “I wouldn’t say that…”

  He darted around the table and caught her. “How do you feel about shaggin’ outdoors?”

  “I…uh…we could get caught.”

  “That’s part of the fun, love. It’s like a dare.”

  His scent enveloped her. How could he be sweaty and dirty and still not smell bad? There was probably some scientific explanation for her primal senses recognizing his awesomeness. Some other girl would just as easily think he was gross. Right?