All About You (All Series Book 6) (18 page)

“Don’t move. Stay there.” She grabbed the towels and started to pat him dry. “Now stay again. I’ll get your clothes.”

“I’m not a dog.”

“What?” What was he talking about?

“You keep telling me to stay. I’m not a dog. And just bring my boxers. That’s all I need.”

As quickly and gently as she could, she got him into his boxers, guided him back to his room, and helped him into bed. Despite his complaints about the extra pillows, she placed two more behind his head and propped him up. The minute his head hit the pillows, his eyes shut.

Once she thought he was sleeping, she sat down on the floor next to his bed and put her head on her knees.

She thought watching a four-year-old was tough. That was nothing compared to caring for someone you loved.

Questions

Finn blinked his eyes open and took inventory of his body. His head wasn’t so bad, but his ribs were throbbing. Right now though, he wasn’t sure what was worse, the pain from his ribs, or the nasty medical hangover from the drugs.

He took a deep breath, wanting to stop the cough, but knew he shouldn’t. They’d told him to cough and clear his lungs, regardless of the pain, so he gave in. Then he eased his legs to the side of the bed and onto the floor, just sitting there on the edge until he knew he was steady enough.

Once he was positive he wasn’t going to throw up, or fall down, he stood up and took a few steps toward the bathroom, holding onto the bed, then the wall when he could.

In the bathroom he took care of his business, then looked at himself in the mirror and tried not cringe at the bruising on the side of his face and forehead.

His face was clean, no more smoke or soot on it, and he was trying to figure out how that happened. Vaguely he remembered taking a shower, but couldn’t possibly figure out how he’d managed it alone.

He ran the water in the sink and splashed it on his face and neck, hoping to wake up some more, then decided to brush his teeth while he was there.

“Finn! What are you doing? Open up the door. Are you okay?”

He heard the worry in Olivia’s voice. “I’m fine.”

“Open up and let me help you.”

“I can go to the bathroom without help.” What the hell? He wasn’t dying. He heard the door handle rattle and was thankful he was done going to the bathroom since she decided to just walk in on him. “Do you mind?”

“Sorry,” she said, a blush covering her face. “I was worried. You could barely stand on your own last night.”

“I’m good now. At least I feel steadier. Is that coffee I smell?” It was exactly what he needed and realized he was starving.

“Yeah. We made you breakfast and I was bringing it up and panicked when I didn’t see you in bed. Are you finished in here? Can I help you back to bed?”

He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so he fought not to snap back. She was only trying to help. “I’m done. I don’t need help. I can walk.”

She put her hand on his arm anyway, and though he didn’t want to admit it, it felt good being there. Not steadying him physically, but mentally.

He sat on the edge of the bed and slid his feet up, propping himself back on the pillows, before extending his legs out straight. Then he finally noticed the plate of food on the dresser next to his travel mug.

“Here, I thought the coffee would be easier to drink from this mug than a cup, but I can swap it out if you want.”

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll hand me that mug right now.”

He watched her lips twitch, then she handed him the mug and he took a healthy gulp, not caring that it was too hot for such a big sip. It felt like paradise on his dry throat, soothing the nerves that were forcing him to want to cough, rebelling at the dirt and soot still in his lungs.

“I’m glad I made a full pot. Looks like you might need a refill soon.”

“Yeah. It feels good right now. Tastes like heaven too. Almost as much as the smell of the French toast.”

She picked the plate up and set it on his lap along with a fork and butter knife. “I couldn’t find a tray.”

“This works.”

“Do you want me to cut it up for you?”

“I’m not a child. Speaking of which, where’s Trey?”

He did remember Trey came home with them, and was shocked he was just now thinking of that. Trey was always his first thought when he woke.

“Watching cartoons in the living room. I told him I would get him when I knew you were awake enough. I’ll go do that now.”

He nodded and dove into the breakfast.

A minute later, he heard Trey’s feet pounding up the stairs. “Daddy!” Then Trey jumped on the bed like he always did when he woke before Finn.

It was only the pleasure of seeing Trey’s smiling face that stopped him from reminding Trey he was hurt and jumping on the bed wasn’t helping his ribs any. Neither was the fact that Trey was snuggling into his side. He’d take the pain any day in exchange for a hug from his son.

“I made you breakfast.”

“You did a great job, scout. I love it.”

“Olivia only had to pick out four egg shells.”

He choked and coughed, then wished he didn’t, knowing it would be hard to stop the coughing again. Finally regaining control, he shifted his eyes back to her and asked, “Really?”

“Don’t worry, I got them all.”

He liked the mischievous gleam in her eyes and the way she was looking softly at Trey as the two of them sat on the bed. “How many pieces of French toast did you eat, Trey?”

“Two.”

That shocked him. He expected the answer to be none. “What happened to your bagel and peanut butter?”

Trey had had the same breakfast every morning for the last month. He’d finally get sick of it and choose something else, then eat that every day too. Finn hoped to God he didn’t have to cook French toast everyday now until Trey got tired of it.

“I told him that a good chef tastes his food first before he gives it to other people.”

“It was really good,” Trey told him and then leaned forward with his mouth open to take a bite of Finn’s.

Finn finished up his last bite, and took his final sip of coffee just as Olivia reached for the plate. “I’ll just go clean up breakfast. There’s more warming if you want it.”

“Just coffee if you don’t mind. I don’t think I should risk eating too much just yet.”

“Do you want some more pain pills now that you’ve got food in you?”

“No. No more of them. I’ll stick with Motrin.” A dull pain was better than a fuzzy head any day. “There’s a bottle in my bathroom.”

He watched as she walked in to get them and returned to hand them over. “Come on, Trey. I’ll fill your Dad’s mug up and you can bring it back to him and visit while I clean up breakfast.”

“Okay,” Trey said, happily, bouncing off the bed. He didn’t miss Olivia’s grin of amusement over Finn fighting back his wince of pain. Or her whispered, “Sorry about that.”

***

“Where’s Trey?” Olivia asked a short while later. All the dishes were cleaned and put away, everything in the house was in order, and she was thrilled she’d made it to morning, let alone through the night.

It was pretty touch and go for her there. Once she knew Finn was out for the night, she took care of getting Trey ready. She didn’t know the first thing she needed to do there, but since it was way past Trey’s bedtime, he’d been tired and more than willing to get ready without fighting her.

Thankfully Trey helped her along the way, and after four stories, he finally fell asleep, so she shut the light off in his room, but left the door open. Since there were lights in the hallway, she figured Trey might need them to light his way if he had to go to the bathroom or needed her.

After Trey was sleeping and Finn was resting peacefully, she got ready for bed herself. She didn’t want to sleep next to him for fear she’d jostle him by mistake, but she was afraid to sleep on the couch downstairs and not hear him either.

“I sent him to his room to play. Come here and sit next to me.”

She hesitated, then sat on the edge of the bed next to him. He pulled her forward and rested her head on his chest. “I don’t want to hurt you,” she said.

“You won’t.” He ran his hand over her head. “If I didn’t thank you last night, I’ll do it now.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Not just for taking care of me, but Trey. He doesn’t seem worse for the wear, everything considered.”

“I think that’s a compliment.” She lifted her head up to look at him and he leaned down to kiss her on the lips.

“It was.” He continued to stroke her head. “Where did you sleep last night?”

“Next to you.”

“There’s no pillow.”

“I brought one up from the couch. No big deal, I didn’t sleep much anyway.”

“I can see that.”

“Is that your way of saying I look like crap?”

“Only you would think that.”

“Any woman would.”

“I thought we established you weren’t like most women.”

She had no idea what this conversation was about, and her fatigued mind couldn’t focus on it. “It’s a good thing, right?”

“Yep.” He hesitated, then said, “Did I take a shower last night? I’m a little fuzzy on the details.”

“You did, with my help.” He blushed and she was surprised to see it. “Don’t worry, I didn’t take advantage of you, no matter how much you begged me.”

He smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners, the scruff of his beard rubbing against her forehead briefly before he gave her a chaste kiss. “I don’t think I would have minded if you did.”

“True, but you wouldn’t have remembered by the sounds of it. That takes all the fun out of it.”

He shook his head, amusement riding high. “You smell different. I mean, not your normal scent.”

“You don’t carry my brand of shampoo,” she said, sitting up to face him. It felt good lying against him, but she didn’t want to push her luck, assuming she was causing him discomfort.

“I might have to rectify that.”

She opened her mouth, then closed it again. Unsure what she wanted to say. No, that wasn’t true, she knew what she wanted to say, or rather ask, but decided not to.

He knew her better than she thought, though, and said, “Go on, ask.”

“Has anyone ever lived here with you before?”

“You mean a woman?”

“Yes.”

“Just Trey’s mother. But only for a short time. You’re actually the only other woman that’s been in this room besides family. It’s not even the same bed, if you want to know the truth.”

She should have realized that, but she wasn’t thinking clearly—that Trey’s mother had been here. The fact that he got rid of the bed they shared made her wonder even more. Was he so devastated over their relationship he had to destroy every trace of her?

“What’s her name?”

It probably wasn’t a conversation to have right now, but she wasn’t sure the best time to ever have it. If he seemed open to talk, she was going to take advantage of it.

“Becca. And she only lived here for a few months.”

He did say that she left when Trey was a baby, but she hadn’t thought it was that early. “Can I ask what happened?”

He nodded. “I bought this house when I found out she was pregnant. We moved in shortly before Trey was born. She left when he was six weeks old.”

What?! How could someone just do that? Walk away from a newborn. “Why?”

“If I ever see her again, I’ll ask. Then again, I’ll most likely just turn my back if I see her, never knowing the real reason. Not that I couldn’t guess it.”

“She didn’t tell you she was leaving?”

She wanted to ask what his guess was, but held her tongue. He was answering her questions, but they were short answers.

“Nope. I came home from my shift. My mother was watching Trey. It was Becca’s first day back to work. Little did I know she’d packed all her stuff up during the night and filled her car. I found a note on my pillow.”

“I don’t know what to say.” She was surprised she could even find the words to voice that.

“Neither did I. You’re the first person I’ve told that much to outside of family. I’d appreciate it if it didn’t go any further.”

She nodded, not knowing how he could have handled that. How he could have handled not knowing it all, on top of having to raise a baby on his own.

Was he heartbroken over her? Is that why he rarely dated anyone? She wasn’t sure she’d be able to function if she were in his shoes.

“Your secret is safe.”

“I know. If you’re worried that there’s baggage and I’m carrying a torch for her, you can rest assured that’s not the case. I feel nothing for her at all. Not even the hatred I did back then. She just ceased to exist to me. I’d like to keep it that way.”

That at least answered one question for her. She had so many more she wanted to ask. So many things she wanted to know.

During the night, her mind was filled with what she could only assume was jealousy. That Finn lived in this house with Trey’s mother. That they were happy at one point, that they talked of the life they’d have together.

Now she knew all those dreams that
she
had or wished for herself weren’t something that Finn had shared with another woman.

With a peaceful sigh, Olivia laid her lips on Finn’s. “It’s probably for the best.” She’d keep reminding herself that when the curiosity got the better of her.