Making the Rules (The Rules #1) (10 page)

Chapter 15

Kendal

A huge part of me wanted to crawl on top of her and make love to her until she couldn't stand, but it wasn't right to do it. I'd just berated Heather and Terri for being whores, and here I was wanting to be one. Besides that, a one-night stand wasn't in the cards either. I was ready to try again, and Dana was the woman I was hoping to try with.

I left her a note the next morning on the night stand closest to her and changed into a pair of oxfords and a golf shirt. I had forgotten about scheduling a golf game with Damon and Matt, but thanks to the reminder going off on my phone at five that morning, I was on my way to see them both.

The taste of Dana lingered on my lips, and I couldn't seem to get the sound of her moans out of my head. It was like getting access to something new and exciting and having to play with it later. It was less than couth to think of her that way, but the old parts of me would forever be lingering around in the dark, hoping to come out and stretch from time to time.

"What are you smiling about?" Damon called to me as I walked up to the country club.

"A girl I took to my bed last night." I popped him in the chest and extended my hand to Matt. "Hey man. Long time no see. How are you?"

"I've been better." Matt gave me a big brotherly hug and opened the door for us. "I have another girl you can take to your bed too."

I laughed and walked into the country club. "Erica still have you?"

"I swear, I'm going to wake up one day and find out that she's swallowed my dick whole." He shook his head and shivered as Damon chuckled.

"You're so damn dramatic. You'd be lucky to have a woman as hot as Erica Hall get near your dick."

"True." I shrugged and pulled out my phone to see if Dana texted. The note for her asked her to let me know when she was up. I didn't want to leave her alone too long.

She's got a shift at the hospital. Stop being so damn protective.

"So who is this hot piece of ass that has you checking your phone every two minutes?" Damon tossed me the score card and the pencil.

I jerked forward to catch them and growled at him. "Don't call her that. She's a great girl, a real sweetheart."

"What's she doing with a chump like you, Tarrington?" Matt pushed the door open to the cart rental area and gave me a knowing look over his shoulder.

"I'm praying I've finally turned a new leaf. After two years of celibacy, I've earned another shot at a relationship, wouldn't you think?"

"I do." Matt got on the back of the cart.

"I think you deserve far more than you give yourself credit for." Damon got in the driver's seat and patted the seat beside him. "Tell me all about her."

"She looks a lot like Ana, but more curvy. She's twenty-four or so and is a nurse at the hospital."

"Is this the intern?" Damon turned and pulled his sunglasses off his face.

"Yeah, why?"

"Kendal. If she's an intern, then she's a student at UT, man. Aren't you banned from dating all students, or is it just yours?"

Sickness pulsed through my stomach, but I tried to not overreact. "She doesn't go to UT, dude. There is a nursing school here too. Lots of them, actually."

"Have you asked her?" Matt turned around as Damon pressed the gas and the cart lurched forward.

"No." I let out a long sigh.

"Good. Don't." Damon patted my chest and drove down the cart path as Matt hummed something in the back. I needed to change the subject. I was going to talk myself out of something with Dana before it really started.

It has started.

"What's going on with Beth? Any news on that front that you wanna share?" I turned to face Damon as Matt bounded off the back of the cart. He was always first in line no matter what we were doing. Damon and I had gotten used to just giving him his way, especially when the fucker got bigger than us somewhere along the way.

"She's going to dinner with me sometime next week. That's all she'll give me." He ran his fingers through his hair and reached down to grab a beer from the cooler between us.

"You're drinking at seven in the morning? That's the sign of an alcoholic."

"Right. You want one?" He offered me one and I took it.

"Of course. I'd not let you go down a dark path alone. What kind of friend would I be?"

"A shitty one." He took one more drink and got off the cart. "I sent her flowers and told her after a meeting the other day that I missed her."

"And? How did she respond?" I cringed at the thought of what happened. By the scowl on his face, it wasn't good.

"She said 'that's nice' and walked off. She's not interested anymore." He grabbed a club and shrugged. "She's got a few more weeks and I'm going to move on."

"What? You're not moving on. You're in love with her. How many women have you ever been in love with?" Panic raced through me. I cared about Damon and Beth. They were too good together to let the newness of the relationship and all the extra bull shit that society wanted to sling at them fuck it up for them.

"One, Kendal. I've been in love with one woman. I've told several a lie, but this time I meant it." He shrugged and turned to walk toward the tee box. Damn. I was going to have to pull her aside and see what the hell was going on. After talking with her the week before, she seems to still be in love with Damon, but now... who the fuck knew. Women were so far beyond complicated at times.

As if we weren't.

"So how was the art show thingie?" I took Matt's club as he offered it to me.

"It was a private showing, and it went really well. Jonathan wants to pick up all that I've done and has a few ideas for some pieces that some of his clients are looking for."

"That's great news. Are you moving up there or staying down here?" I pulled my phone out as it buzzed.

"I'm not sure yet. I know Erica wants me up there, but something tells me that if I do go that we'll end up together."

"Because she'll force you into submission?" I lifted my eyebrow as I tried to imagine Matt Bryant being forced to do anything. He'd somehow circumvented his father from pulling him into the Bryant Empire and not fooled a damn person in the process. His childish act was an epic fail and we all knew it.

"No, because she'll tease me until I force her into it." He rolled his shoulders and stretched as Damon walked back. "You guys think I'm sweet and fruity because I love art. You don't know shit."

"He's a beast in the bedroom. Puts us to shame." Damon patted me on the back as he moved toward the cart.

"Do I wanna know how you know this?" I mumbled and pulled my phone out to read Dana's text. She was on her way to the hospital and would get the new locks done hopefully that day. The beautiful girl was already trying to run out of my life and we'd not even gotten to really know each other yet.

I didn't wanna overreact, so I didn't. After hitting the ball past both of my friends’ balls, I got back in the cart and took a long drink of my beer.

"So what the fuck is up with Heather Turner?" Matt turned around and pressed his forearms to the back of our seat.

"She has a job at the college and is promising to ruin my life if I don't give her blow jobs from time to time." I smiled over at Damon. We'd spent four years jacking around with Heather in college and had agreed more than once that the woman had far bigger balls than we ever would. She was insatiable.

"So do it," Matt huffed. "Or have Damon do it. He's fucked up things with Sis and needs a bit of a release."

"Fuck you too." Damon jerked the cart to a stop and waited until Matt was in the tee box to turn toward me. "You need to get rid of Heather, Kendal. You know that bitch is nothing but trouble. Where you might call her bluff, she's not going to call yours. She's mean and when she wants something-"

"Did she come see you?" Realization rolled over me. He wasn't nearly as shocked about her being back in town as he should have been. Granted, I mentioned her being at the college to him when she first showed up, but even still...

"Yeah. You know she was close to Christa and Delilah."

"Speaking of the twins." I made sure to show my disgust on my face. "Why the hell would you hire Delilah to work for you? I swear you look for trouble, invite it in and fucking knit it a bed for it to sleep on."

"I didn't hire her, you dick." He got off the cart. "My father did, not thinking anything about it."

"Oh. Shit." I contemplated calling Bethany and decided against it. I could talk to her on Tuesday when she came in for her TA duties. "Why didn't you tell Beth that?"

"Because, matchmaker, she should have already known that. I asked her to marry me, remember? I'm not a complete asshole."

"True, but you mostly are." I lifted my beer to him as he sneered at me and walked toward the tee box.

Matt jumped onto the back of the cart and bounced on it, shaking the shit out of the rickety thing.

"Damn, man. Chill out." I swatted at him and caught him in the nuts, hitting home.

He groaned and dropped down into the seat behind me as he swatted me in the back of the head.

"What are we going to do about Damon and Beth? I can't handle this fucking tension at the house much longer." Matt groaned again and cupped his crotch.

I got off the cart and shook my head as I walked around to the back. "I don't know. They're just both being stubborn."

"I get that, but one of them is going to have to bend a little or the whole damn relationship is going to break. That's not acceptable." Matt sat up and pressed his hands to his knees. "We gotta fix this."

"We're grown men, and we're not fixing this. We're not in high school anymore or college. Life is what you make it, and if we patch this shit up for them, they'll just find a new way to tear it down." I was almost surprised by the words coming out of my mouth, but damn if they weren't true. Damon didn't need me riding in to save the day. I'd done that and hurt Bethany's trust and left Damon without his woman anyway.

"Maybe you're right," Matt mumbled as Damon walked up.

"Right about what?" He handed me the club.

"About you needing to get cock enlargement. I saw something on TV the other day." I pushed at his shoulder as Matt laughed loudly.

"That sounds like you, Kendal. Watching the home shopping network during porn hour."

"That wasn't even funny," I called over my shoulder and positioned myself to smack the ball one more time. I didn't need to play like a pro. I just needed to beat the two knuckleheads I was spending my Saturday morning with.

"What ever happened to old what's her face?" Matt asked as I walked back to the cart and got on.

"Which what's her face are we referring to? I've been with a lot of women over the last few years, Matt."

"That's a damn lie." Damon gave me a sideways glance. "You've been with one woman since college. What's her face?"

"Oh. You're talking about Ana."

"That's the one!" Matt bounced on the back of the cart as Damon growled and tried to keep it on the cart path.

"I have no clue where she is, and I don't want to." I rubbed my chest absently as thoughts of her resurrected in my mind. I wanted to push Dana into her place, but it wasn't the same, not in the slightest. It could be over time. I could see my relationship with Dana growing into something far better than what Ana and I had, but time was a cruel bitch who took far more than she gave.

"So you don't want me to hire her at M&B next?" Damon chuckled as I whipped my head around to pin him with a hard stare.

"You wouldn't dare do that shit." Had he seen her? Was she around?

He laughed and stopped the cart. "No, I wouldn't, and I wouldn’t hire Delilah to hurt my woman either. You bastards are getting on my nerves with who you think I am. Haven't I proved myself trustworthy?"

"Yeah, you have, buddy." I reached for him as he got off the cart.

"Good. Tell her that next time you see her."

"I will. I promise. I will."

Chapter 16

Dana

I dropped my phone on the bedside table and let out a long sigh as I lay in Kendal's bed the next morning. The smell of him rolled over me and I flipped over to lay on my stomach so I could press my face to his pillow and breathe in deeply. I was class-A stalker material, and didn't give a shit about getting caught. Not that it would be him catching me. He was out playing golf with a few friends from what his note said.

After snuggling down into the covers for a few more minutes, I decided it was time to get my happy ass up and get to the hospital. I had another hour before I had to be there, but being in someone else's house without them there was less than comfortable.

The kitchen was stocked with all kinds of fruits and goodies, like Kendal had a private chef that came. Did college professors make that much money?

"Maybe so," I mumbled and made myself something quickly, cleaned up and changed into my scrubs. I realized as I walked toward the front door that I was stranded without a car. What the hell was I thinking the night before? I could have at least driven over to Kendal's place. I called an Uber and was grateful to have it pull up twenty minutes later. I was going to be cutting it close, but it was the best I could do.

I called the apartment complex and explained the situation about the locks on the door as I rode back into the heart of the city. The lady promised to get it taken care of by Sunday afternoon, which was better than I expected and yet not soon enough. Where the idea of staying another night with Kendal was beyond exciting, it felt like a burden I didn't want to put on him. What if he'd had enough of me the night before? The last thing I wanted to do was make things awkward for us.

His sweet note to call him when I got up was the only thing keeping my shitty thoughts at bay.

The Uber pulled up into the large overflow parking lot at Memorial Hospital and let me out. I paid the guy and walked into the building with a crowd of new residents. Their excitement was contagious, and I once again couldn't help but revisit the notion that nursing wasn't enough for me. Maybe I did need to push my education another few steps to become a full-fledged doctor. Surely some of my credits would transfer to the new degree.

The thought of another round of student loans left my chest aching, but they were a means to an end. I would pay them off before I died... hopefully.

I made my way to my assigned floor and stopped by to find Amanda sound asleep. Tinsley stopped beside me in the open door and gave me a scathing look.

"Why are you so concerned with this girl over all the other patients on our floor? Don't you know that it's unethical to have favorites?"

I glanced over at her, not at all concerned with what she thought about me caring for Amanda. It was none of her business and if she thought it was only because of Kendal, she was wrong. I'd been stopping by to offer Amanda attention since getting the internship. The fact that she had a devastatingly handsome older brother that might be the love of my life eventually was a huge bonus, but it was just that - a bonus.

Turning, I walked out of the room without another word. The nasty huff behind me caused a smile to spread across my face. I wasn't a nefarious person at all, but if there was a way to bring our head nurse on the floor down just a little and offer her a great taste of humility... I was all for it.

I checked all of the normal spots for Jackie before walking down to her private hideaway with trepidation. The last thing I wanted to do was walk in on her and Parks again, but in an effort to get her on her rounds and keep her from getting in trouble with Tinsley, I was willing to take one for the team.

Pressing my ear to the door, I held my breath and heard something I hadn't expected to hear. Crying.

I knocked softly and pushed the door open as Jackie called out.

"No, don't. Someone is in here."

"It's just me." I stuck my head around the edge of the door and after seeing that she was alone, I moved into the room and closed the door behind me. "What's going on? What happened?"

She sobbed softly and pressed her hands to her face. "I'm a whore. That's what."

"No you're not." I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her shoulders as she cried harder.

"Yes I am. I thought maybe after spending a few days sleeping with Parks that I might mean something to him." She choked on a sob and pulled away from me as she started to cough loudly.

"Did he say you didn't mean anything, or are you assuming that because he had to go back to New York?" I reached out and rubbed her back softy. The poor girl was in a full-scale meltdown, and as much as I loved her, she had ten minutes before I turned into my apathetic mother and told her to pull her shit together and get up.

Nothing was worth getting bad marks on the internship, least of all a hottie from New York that probably slept with anything that looked good and walked on two legs.

"He didn't say anything, Dana. He just left last night on a red eye. I tried to get his number before he left, but he was really weird about it."

My conversation with Kendal the night before raced through my mind.

"Did you go after him or did he come after you?" I put my hand on my hip and realized that it was a pretty fucked up time to test the theory that Kendal had used on me, but it was already out there now.

"What? Neither. He left without a word." She sobbed loudly again.

I reached for a handful of Kleenex and handed them to her. "No, originally. When he got here at Memorial. Did he hit on you first, or did you hit on him?"

"I hit on him. Why? What does that have to do with anything?"

Whore.
I cringed at the thought. Was that some kind of fucked up alpha male code? Did they not like strong women that knew what they wanted? How shitty was that?

"What? Nothing. I was just wondering where this all started. Come here." I reached for her again and wrapped my arms around her. "You're not just a piece of ass. He's either a bigger idiot than we thought, or he got called back to New York in a hurry. He seemed like a great guy when he was here. I'm going to vote on him getting called back and not having the time to call you or not wanting to because of how late it was."

"He didn't have my number." She huffed and pulled away from me again before wiping at her face angrily. "It's just so fucking messed up. Every time I find a guy that I'm compatible with, poof, they fucking disappear. I'm obviously not worthy of anyone's time or emotional energy." She walked to the door. "I'll be fine. I've been through this a million times. Let's go do our shit and then I'm faking death."

"How about just sickness?" I walked out of the room behind her and stopped short as they wheeled an empty bed out of the room near the end of the hall. Mr. Jackson?

"That'll work too." She reached for me as I moved past her in a haze. "Hey. Where you going? Our rounds are back here at the nurses’-"

"I know. I'll meet you there." I pulled from her and walked quickly to the room, pausing only as I reached the door. "Where are you?"

I turned to find the hall empty. Where was he? Had he finally gone home to let his family offer their comfort until he passed? Had he gotten better? That had to be it. He looked great the last time I saw him.

After standing there for a few more wasted minutes, I turned the corner and jogged down toward the south wing of the hospital. For some odd reason, they were much more friendly to interns than anyone on my floor ever was.

The sweet older woman that glanced up from her computer gave me a warm smile. "What can I do for you, dear?"

"I was looking for Mr. Jackson. He's usually-"

"Oh yes. Such a nice older man."

"Right. Did he go home?"

"He sure did. Peacefully too."

"Peacefully?" Confusion rolled over me, though it shouldn't have. "He went to his son's house?"

"No, dear. He died in his sleep last night. He went to his final resting place." She stood and reached out to touch my hand. "Oh, you're Dana. One of our interns, right?"

"Yes, ma'am." I tried to push past my shock. It wasn't as if I didn't expect there to be death in a hospital, but not getting to say goodbye left too many open wounds in my heart. It felt far too much like the situation with my own father. Abrupt. Unfair.

"He left you a note, dear. He delivered it a few days ago as if he knew the end was close." She turned and shuffled through a few things as I stood there in stony silence. What did it say? Why did it matter so much?

Because I wanted to take Kendal by to see him, to let him pass the old father's test over Kendal and give me the nod of approval. I knew without a doubt that he would. How could he not? Kendal was the best guy I'd ever dated.

Were we dating?

"Here you go, hon. Let me know if you need to talk to a grief counselor. Sometimes being new to all of this is a little overwhelming. Most of the other nurses will tell you that it's just better if you don't get emotionally involved with anyone, but I think that's hogwash. I love letting my patients know that they're cared about. It's too sterile in here in the first place." She sighed and dropped back down in her seat.

"Thank you. I appreciate it." I lifted the letter in the air and turned to go. I needed to find a quiet place to sit down and read the letter, but now wasn't the time. Even though my heart ached for my loss, there were things to be done. If Jackie could move past falling for a playboy doctor and being made to feel like a piece of ass and still get her rounds done, then I could too.

I made my way back to my side of the floor and stopped beside Jackie as she counted out pills.

"You okay?" She glanced over at me.

"Yeah, I think so. I just really liked that old man."

Tinsley poked her head up and caught my attention. "This is why I told you not to get too connected with anyone. It's not because I'm an ass. It's because people die all the time around here. The diagnosis the doctors give is usually spot on." She shrugged and turned back to her computer. Lucky for her, her tone wasn't nearly as demeaning as it usually was. I was in the mood to smack someone around emotionally and she would fit the bill beautifully.

"I hate that part of this job. It's one of the reasons why I was determined not to be like my mother and become a nurse." Jackie pulled her long blond hair down and ran her fingers through it before pulling it back up.

"I'm still not sure if I'm going to stick with it or go farther."

"And be a doctor?" Tinsley glanced up again.

"Yes, but this conversation is between me and Jackie. I'm sorry we're in earshot of you, but mind your own damn business." I turned back to find Jackie staring at me with her mouth wide open.

"You sure you're okay?" she whispered and stiffened as Tinsley moved to stand in front of me.

I returned my attention back to her, ready for a fight. Her words took the wind out of my sails and left me defeated.

"Good luck with being a doctor instead of a nurse. We might have to change the sheets when they die, but you don't have to stand in front of the family and give them bad news. Kind of like Dr. Lewis sort of, kind of did to Mr. Tarrington."

"What do you mean sort of, kind of? He told Kendal to prepare for end of life for Amanda." Even repeating it hurt me. I wasn't sure how Kendal was getting through it, but avoidance and ignoring the truth of the matter had to be part of it. He hadn't really brought it up much more than to say he'd give up everything for his little sister.

"Nick is an old friend of Kendal's mom. He's uber sensitive about the whole situation, obviously." She huffed and turned to walk back to her desk.

"Nick?" Jackie leaned toward me and whispered.

"Dr. Lewis." I walked around the counter and stopped beside Tinsley’s desk. "Stop being so damn cryptic and tell me what you're getting at."

"Go get Amanda's file and see for yourself. There's a timeline on it. Nick just doesn't have the balls to tell Kendal."

"What?" Shock ran through me. "Is he required to tell him?"

"Nope. He should. I mean, it's just good business practice, but I can see why he's not doing it. Would you be able to, Dr. Young?" She snorted.

Anger burned through me, and I backed up before I grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her up from her comfortable chair. She had no humanity inside of her.

"Where is the file?" I glanced around until my eyes stopped on Amanda's room. The file sat in the plastic file holder affixed to her door. Without thinking any more about it, I walked to stand in front of her room and plucked the file from the door.

"You sure you want to do that? You'd kinda feel obligated to tell Dr. Tarrington about his sister’s rapidly approaching end, right?"

I coddled the file to my chest and turned to face her. "Have you looked at it?"

"Hell no. I don't want that pressure in my life. I don't like very many people, but Kendal is one of the few. There is no way I could tell him that the last member of his family is headed out sooner than any of us might imagine."

"How the hell do you know it's soon if you haven't looked at the file, Tinsley?"