A Forever Kind of Guy: The Braddock Brotherhood, Book 2 (26 page)

“How’s he doing?” She glanced at Molly in the rearview mirror. The normally self-possessed little girl showed signs of stress. “He’s bleeding. It’s getting all over me.” She was trying hard not to cry. “Hurry,” she blubbered.

“I am,” Hayley replied.

Fletcher stirred and started to whimper, though he barely made a sound.

She wheeled into the emergency entrance and slid to a stop outside the sliding doors. She ran to them and they parted magically for her. “I’ve got an injured little boy out here,” she yelled.

She went back to the car and shoved the seat forward. Two nurses ran out with an orderly pulling a gurney. One of the nurses edged Hayley aside. “Let me.”

She did a cursory exam after asking Hayley what happened.

“He fell off a swing set. I didn’t see it. I wasn’t watching. He hit his head.”

Hayley didn’t want to lose it in front of Molly, but she couldn’t seem to catch her breath or slow her heart rate. She wanted to throw up. She was sweating but her insides had turned to ice.

The nurse nodded at her companions. “Let’s get him on the cart.”

In seconds they were heading back inside with Fletcher. “You’ll have to move your car,” the nurse called over her shoulder. Hayley parked in the first empty spot she saw and raced back to the emergency entrance. She sat Molly in a chair in the nearly deserted waiting area. “Stay here, okay?”

Molly nodded bravely, her lower lip trembling like mad.

Ray arrived home, surprised to discover Hayley’s car gone. Perhaps she had taken the kids out to get something to eat. He was beat. It had been a long day and a bitch of job, installing crown molding on the most uneven ceilings he’d ever seen.

He started inside when he noticed the door to Hayley’s unit was ajar. Crossing her porch, he pushed it open. “Hayley?”

Empty silence greeted him. Prickles of warning ran up the back of his neck. He crossed to the kitchen and saw Hayley’s purse on the counter. The sliding door was open.

He flipped open his cell phone and hit the auto dial for her number. Where the hell was she? And Fletcher. And Molly? Oh God, if anything had happened to Molly, Rick would never forgive him. He turned when he heard a ring tone behind him. He stared at Hayley’s purse where her phone rang and vibrated persistently.

Almost as soon as he snapped the phone shut it rang.

“What the hell is going on?” It was Rick. He sounded pissed and scared.

“I don’t know. I—”

“Molly called us. She said she’s at the hospital.”

“What!” Ray’s insides froze. “Oh God. Is she okay?”

“I don’t know. She was so upset she could hardly talk. We’re on our way over there now.”

“I’ll meet you there.”

When Ray walked into the ER, it was to find Rick and Kaylee hovering over Molly. He went white when he saw the blood on Molly’s clothes. “What happened?” he demanded.

Molly was huddled on Rick’s lap. Kaylee patted Ray’s arm. “It’s okay. Molly’s okay. Fletcher fell and hurt himself. Hayley’s in there with him.” She nodded to the area behind the circular, glass-enclosed reception desk.

“How’d you guys get here? I tried calling Hayley but she left her cell phone at the house.”

“Molly called us,” Kaylee replied. “I let her have my cell phone whenever we leave her anywhere. Just in case.”

“Is Fletcher going to be all right?” Molly asked.

Kaylee patted her knee. “We’ll see, honey. I’m sure Hayley will be out in a minute.”

“The hell with that. I’m going to see if they’ll let me back there.”

Ray gained admittance because one of the nurses behind the glass partition was Roscoe’s cousin Natalie. He followed her directions to the X-ray department, where he found Hayley sitting on a gray plastic chair bent over from the waist, her arms wrapped across her stomach. Fletcher was nowhere in sight.

Ray nudged Hayley. Her head popped up and she stared at him. She looked like she was in shock. Her eyes were huge and glassy, her skin deathly pale.

Ray hunkered next to her. He covered her hand with his. Her fingers were ice cold. “Hey. How’s Fletch?”

“He’s getting an X-ray. He’s got a bad cut on his head, and they think he broke his collarbone.”

Ray frowned, understanding now where all the blood on Molly’s clothes had come from. “A broken collarbone. That’s not too bad.”

As if Ray’s reply had released a lock somewhere inside her, words tumbled out of Hayley’s mouth without rhyme or reason and in no particular order. “I heard Molly scream. They were playing on the swings, up in the fort. And Fletcher was Superman, I think. I’m not sure. I walked into the laundry room. For a minute. Only a minute. And he was on the ground, and I was afraid he was dead. That I’d let him get killed. Same as Steffie. I wasn’t there. I wasn’t paying attention. And his head was bleeding. His head. Oh God, he hit his head and his eyes were closed and he didn’t wake up—”

Hayley was gasping for breath, beginning to hyperventilate.

“Okay. Okay, calm down. He’s going to be all right, isn’t he? Molly said—”

“Oh God. Molly. She’s in the waiting room. I left her there by herself—” Hayley stood, her panic real. “Oh my God, what was I thinking? I told her to sit and wait for me. It’s been hours—”

“Ssshhh.” Ray caught her as she lunged for the hallway to the waiting room. “It’s okay. Rick and Kaylee are here.”

She stared up at him. “They are? But how? I didn’t even have my phone. I didn’t call them. I didn’t even think about it.”

“Molly had Kaylee’s phone. She called them. It’s okay.”

“And you? She called you too?”

“No.” Ray didn’t want to relive the experience of hearing Rick’s panicked voice on the other end of that phone call earlier.

“They must think I’m the biggest idiot. They’d never trust me with Molly again.”

“They don’t think that. Molly’s fine. And Fletcher will be too.” He gazed at her. “You, on the other hand, look like you’re about ready to pass out.”

“No. But I would like to throw up.” She almost smiled.

“Come here.” Ray embraced her, smoothing her hair, enjoying the way she clung to him.

“I should apologize to them for being such a ditz.”

“You’re not a ditz. And you can apologize later. I’m going to go tell them everything’s okay and let them take Molly home, okay? I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.” Hayley’s answer was muffled against his chest, and she didn’t let go of him.

After a minute he eased her away from him. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

“Okay.”

Ray walked down the hallway to the waiting room, sensing how weirdly right this all felt. In spite of Hayley’s panic earlier, it felt right for him to be here, comforting her, taking charge in a way.

He explained the situation to Rick and Kaylee. Molly bounced back like she always did, happy to hear that Fletcher would be fine. He walked out to the parking lot with them and retrieved Hayley’s purse from his car.

By the time he returned, Fletcher was back in the emergency room treatment area, and a doctor was putting stitches in the cut on his head. Ray held back, where he could see but not be seen.

The doctor spoke in soothing tones to Fletcher, who stared at him with wary eyes but didn’t move a muscle. Hayley clutched Fletcher’s hand. The damn doctor was flirting with her, though to give Hayley credit, she seemed oblivious. All her attention was concentrated on Fletcher. But Ray ground his teeth when the doctor did everything but ask her to dinner, which he probably would have, if Ray hadn’t stepped forward when he did.

“Here’s your purse, hon,” he said as he positioned himself next to Hayley. “I thought you might need it. You doing okay, Fletch?” He gazed at Fletcher. The kid’s gaze locked with his, and he nodded almost imperceptibly.

The doctor shut his mouth, sent Ray an annoyed glower and finished with the last stitch.

“His collarbone isn’t broken. No skull fracture, either. He’s a little banged up is all,” Hayley informed Ray. “Dr. Ryan says head wounds always bleed a lot.”

The doctor slid his stool away from the gurney. “The nurse will be in shortly with some paperwork for you. You have any questions or concerns, she’ll give you a number to call here at the hospital.

“See you later, champ.” He patted Fletcher’s knee and disappeared.

“Jerk,” Ray muttered under his breath as he watched him go.

Hayley turned to look at him and frowned. “I thought he was nice.” She turned back to Fletcher. “How you doing, sweetie?” She kissed the top of his head. “We’ll go home in a little bit, okay? Maybe you can have some ice cream. Would you like that?”

Fletcher nodded, his dark eyes solemn, flickering from her to Ray and back.

A nurse bustled in with a list of instructions for Hayley. Fletcher’s information as a ward of the state was in Hayley’s purse, so she went back to the front desk to complete the rest of the paperwork.

Ray took the chair Hayley had vacated earlier. “Playing Superman, huh, Fletch?” Fletcher stared at him. “Let me tell you something I’ve learned about being a super hero.” Ray gazed thoughtfully in the direction Hayley had taken to the reception desk. “Sometimes, the damsel in distress doesn’t know she needs to be rescued. You might have to convince her of that.” He swung his gaze back to Fletcher. “And other times, she might rescue you before you even know it.”

He could swear the kid understood exactly what he was talking about even though he wasn’t a hundred percent sure he understood it himself.

Fletcher flexed his fingers in the blanket then held his arms out to Ray. Ray transferred Fletcher from the bed to his lap. Fletcher leaned against Ray with a heartfelt sigh.

“Are you sure you’re okay to drive?” Ray asked an hour later. He held Fletcher as they made their way to the parking lot.

“I’m fine,” Hayley assured him. She unlocked the car and pushed the seat forward so Ray could put Fletcher in his car seat. He buckled him in and straightened.

“You’re sure? Because I could drive you home, and we can come back and get my car tomorrow.

“Stop it.” She gave him a little shove against his chest. “I may be a ditz, but I’m not helpless.”

“Okay. I’ll follow you.”

He waved to Fletcher and went to his Explorer and followed Hayley home.

Fletcher was asleep when they got there. Hayley let Ray carry him in to his bed.

“No ice cream tonight,” Ray commented as she pulled the covers over the boy.

“I guess not.” She smoothed Fletcher’s hair back gently, avoiding the line of stitches on one side.

“How about a glass of wine?”

They went into the kitchen. Hayley opened the refrigerator door then closed it. “I’m beat, to tell you the truth. I think I’m going to go to bed.” She gazed around at the counters. Ray noticed a can of SpaghettiOs and a box of instant pudding. Whatever her meager dinner plans had been probably seemed a lifetime ago. He still wore work clothes. His jeans and work boots and a tee-shirt which bore traces of sawdust and sweat.

“Oh God, Ray, you haven’t even been home. You haven’t eaten. You must be starving.”

He had been home before he lit out for the hospital. For about two minutes. Long enough to let Oscar out, fill his water bowl and feed him. As if on cue, Ray’s stomach growled. It was after ten, which meant he hadn’t eaten in ten hours. But neither had Hayley, most likely.

“Aren’t you hungry? Want me to make you something to eat?”

He moved in closer, boxing her in against the counter. “I’m hungry,” he acknowledged, burying his fingers in her hair. “But not for food.”

He brought his mouth down on hers, demanding, commanding. He truly did want to devour her, take her inside himself and keep her there forever.

This time she didn’t hesitate., She met him full force, exactly what he’d been hoping for. He didn’t care if her defenses were down, if he was taking advantage of her reaction to the earlier crisis. She wasn’t helpless, as she’d pointed out to him earlier. And she wasn’t a ditz, even if her lack of emergency planning made her think so.

He had no idea how they managed it, how they maneuvered themselves into her bedroom, how their clothes left their bodies, how they became naked and intimately locked together. All he knew was that Hayley was warm and responsive beneath him and being inside her was the best, most intoxicating feeling he’d ever experienced.

She shifted and he groaned, knowing he was close and wanting to make it last and last and last. He rolled to his back, hoping that would help slow them both down. Moonlight filtered in through the thin slats of the blinds, revealing her well-toned curves in all their glory.

He couldn’t stop touching, stroking her hair, her skin, marveling at her vitality and energy. He cupped her full breasts, stroking their softness, the nipples pebbling beneath his calloused fingers. He took one into his mouth to suckle, and Hayley’s reaction was immediate. She moved against him, her thighs flexing, encasing his hips.

He moved to suckle the other nipple, and she arched her back. He stayed with her, refusing to relinquish the prize. Hard to say whose control slipped first. Ray had the sense that he’d been sucked into a vortex of swirling light and emotion and sensation like nothing he’d ever experienced.

Above him, Hayley slid away from him then slid back, causing tiny moments of panic and exhilaration each time. Was she even aware of what she was doing to him? Or was she lost in her own world? He had to keep her there, right there, with him.

He rolled again as he neared the edge. Her nails raked his back as she clutched at him, her muscles rippling around him, forcing a response he was finally, mercifully, only too happy to give.

Ray came to, that was the only way to describe it. He hadn’t fallen asleep exactly. Maybe he’d passed out from euphoria. Not that that sounded any more manly. Hayley was still underneath him, her skin hot and slick against his. He was still inside her, and her legs were locked around him as if she didn’t want to let go.

“Wow,” she whispered, more to herself than to him.

“You got that right.” He buried his face in the curve of her neck, breathing in the scent of her.