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He went to the kitchen and brought her back a glass of water. In a flash, she saw the same hungry look in his eyes from years ago.
Or maybe it wasn’t there at all. It was possible she saw what she wanted instead of what was there.
DARRENCHIDEDHIMSELFfor letting his gaze linger a few seconds longer on Reese’s delicate features. There was something decidedly fragile about her right now that brought out his protective instincts. All he could say in his defense was that he must be a glutton for punishment.
“I’ll call the doctor,” he said as he walked back to the kitchen. Distance was good. It helped him stay focused. He made the call to Dr. Stacie and got her voice mail. Darren had barely hit the end button on his cell when it rang. It was the good doctor herself.
“Everything okay with the babies?” Stacie Larson asked, sounding panicked. To be fair, his call had come out of the blue.
“The girls are fine,” he quickly reassured her. “I have a friend who was hit in the head before possibly being robbed. Think you can swing by? It’s after hours and the nearest hospital is—”
“Far,” Stacie said. “I know.”
“Do you mind doing me this favor?” he asked, figuring it would be easier not to move Reese again now that he had her on the couch. Plus, Stacie moved four miles away from him to help with the twins.
“Your house?” Stacie said after a heavy silence. He had no idea what the sudden attitude shift was about. Or did he? She was aunt to his twins and overprotective.
“Yes,” he confirmed. “It’s important to me or you know that I wouldn’t ask.”
Stacie let out a sharp breath.
“I’ll leave now,” she agreed before ending the call without warning.
He turned to Reese, who’d made herself comfortable on the couch, and said, “Help is on the way.”
“Are you sure bringing a doctor here is a good idea?” she asked.
“The law will want to stop by and question you after checking out the equipment building,” he explained as he retrieved a glass of water for himself.
“Can they do that at the hospital?” she asked.
“I guess so,” he said. “Why? Are you uncomfortable here?”
“This is your family home,” she said. “I feel like I’m intruding.”
“You’re not,” he said, realizing he might not be rolling out the red carpet, but he didn’t want to throw her out, either. He wasn’t built that way. If someone needed a hand up, he couldn’t turn his back. Call it the cowboy way, but it was ingrained in him. “I want you to stay.”
“Won’t your wife have an issue with me being here?” she asked. The question was fair given their history, he supposed.
“If you’re talking about heightened teenage hormones making us feel in love, that happened a long time ago,” he clarified. “We’re grown adults now, I have children and no residual feelings toward you.” The lie about his feelings tasted sour on his tongue now that he heard the words out loud. For a split second, he’d convinced himself that he actually believed it. Correcting it now didn’t seem like the right play. He fell back on defense, realizing he couldn’t leave it like that. “Which means that I’d like to help and no one will question me about it.”
Half a dozen emotions played out across her features before she settled on the one that he never could quite read. All those years ago, he’d known she was holding something back. All this time later, she didn’t seem any closer to letting him in on the secret.
“I appreciate your kindness, Darren,” she said. Hearing his name roll off her tongue wasn’t helping with those old unresolved feelings that were trying to surface. Reese had sent him a text to let him know she was leaving town and taking a job with his uncle. She’d said the two of them should take a break and figure out who they were without each other. The next news he heard was the two started dating. Talk about gutting an eighteen-year-old. He would have warned her about the man, but it would have come off as jealousy and his hurt pride wouldn’t allow him to contact her once she blew him off. He’d licked those wounds for a solid year.
Darren told himself forgetting the hell he went through because of her would be a bad idea. Keeping the recollection near the surface would help him stay focused.
Besides, the twins would be back tomorrow and his normal life of diapers and everything pink would resume.
“It’s settled then, right?” he asked. “You’re staying for a while?”
“Yes,” she said. “But the minute anything changes, you let me know.”
Why did she always have her running shoes tucked next to the door? Or maybe a better question was, what had made her that way?
“Deal,” he said, figuring this wasn’t the time for questions even she most likely didn’t have answers to. He bent down and picked up Iris and Ivy’s favorite blanket. The feel of the silk lining in his hands connected him to the girls, and to the life he’d made long after his fool heart had been broken into pieces that never seemed to fit back together quite right again. There were too many jagged edges now that could cut through his chest if he breathed the wrong way.
“How well do you know the doctor?” she asked, sitting up. Her face twisted in pain with the move and her hand came up to her forehead, like she could somehow dull the ache by touching it.
