LifeOverLimb (4 page)

Tanner swallowed hard as he wondered just what he’d gotten himself into.

Chapter Four

Ricky nervously twisted his fingers as Tanner pulled into the driveway of the house. While on the outside it looked like a basic, non-descript Cape Cod home, Ricky knew very well how deceiving that appearance truly was. Inside, there was sure to be mass-destruction and chaos on a FEMA worthy level.

Tanner turned off the engine and Ricky took off his seatbelt, but made no move to get out. “Are you sure about this?”

A frown passed over Tanner’s sexy-as-sin face. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“It’s just that my family can be a bit much at times.”

As if on cue, a loud shriek sounded from inside the house. Since they were still in the car, it was too muffled to tell if it was male or female, but Ricky would bet his last penny that it was Carla. Ever since she’d turned fifteen, she’d taken on a melodramatic streak so bad that it threatened to drive Ricky to drink.

“Shit,” Ricky muttered as he hurried to get out.

If he didn’t get in there soon, she’d only get worse and then the rest of the kids would start shouting. After that, it was impossible to get them calmed down. He opened the door and rushed inside, Tanner hot on his heels.

Entering the kitchen, Ricky came to a skidding stop, his mouth parting in shock at the scene in front of him. Oh, they were all so going to get it once they were alone. Jess held the younger twins, Lenny and Angie, by the scruff of their shirts, both of them so high in the air, the toes of their socks barely touched the tiled floor. Carla was trying to get Alex down from the table. Not that Ricky saw fault in her logic, given the ten-year old boy was only wearing his
Spongebob
boxers. He kept dodging her grasp, pausing long enough to flex his non-existent biceps. Malinda was scrambling around, trying to clean up a huge puddle of what looked to be milk mixed with orange juice.

“What in the hell is happening?” Ricky demanded.

The room instantly fell quiet as all gazes locked on him. The silence only lasted a few beats before the excuses started a’coming.

“I was just trying to tell them to get dressed,” Jess defended.

At fifteen, he was already taller than Ricky, but the kid was always the best at obeying the rules when Ricky was left in charge. The problem was sometimes he was too zealous in his efforts to make sure everybody else toed the line, too.

Jess’ twin, Carla waved her hands at Alex who was still playing muscleman. “Look at him, he’s a barbarian.”

“Shut up, Carla. You’re not the boss of me,” the ten-year old Alex retorted.

“She is when Ricky or Mom aren’t here,” Malinda cut in. She rolled her eyes at Ricky, “Do you see what I have to live with. Why can’t Mom send me to boarding school like the kids from the
Harry Potter
books?”

“Because you’re not a wizard,” Ricky drawled, a headache already forming.

“I think I am,” Lenny called, still in Jess’s grasp. “I’m pretty sure I made my lizard move a couple of inches the other day only by using my mind.”

“Good for you,” Ricky replied, after all, kids did need positive encouragement.

Carla tilted her head to the side, her long dark hair brushing against her shoulder. “Who’s your friend?”

“It’s Tanner.”

Carla’s eyes widened and Ricky prayed that she wouldn’t mention all the times Ricky had talked about the hot, flight medic. “So, how do you know him? I’ve never heard you mention him before.”

Ricky could have kissed her at the moment. He gave her a tiny nod of thanks, which she acknowledged with the barest of smiles.

“We know each other from work,” Tanner replied, his gaze still wide from all the chaos they’d walked into.

“Hmmm…I guess you’ll do. You’re not as cute as Chauncey or Brody, but you’re not a troll either,” Carla replied.

Tanner blinked a few times and Ricky almost wanted to apologize for his sister’s bluntness. Then again, for Carla that was actually a compliment, so maybe he shouldn’t complain too much. Ben faced much worse and he was considered family.

“Yeah, she’s fifteen,” Ricky explained.

Luckily, Tanner just smiled, showing he didn’t take offense. “I remember how my own sister was at that age.”

“How old is she now?” Carla asked.

“She turned twenty last year. She just got married a year ago.”

“That’s awfully young.”

“Carla, zip it,” Ricky snapped between clenched teeth.

Of course, the brat ignored him and kept on interrogating Tanner. “Was the wedding nice?”

“I wouldn’t know. I wasn’t invited,” Tanner replied tightly.

Carla’s face softened, mirroring the emotions swelling through Ricky. “Is it because your family is a bunch of bigots like my dad?”

Okay, that was just about enough of that type of conversation. Ricky clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Get moving or you’re going to be late. Carla, take Alex and get some clothes on him.”

“But I wanna go to school like this,” Alex pouted.

“Not happening. Now get moving and put something on, and not shorts or a t-shirt. It’s going to be cold and rainy today. Jess, take Lenny and Angie, and find something for them to wear. Make sure they brush their teeth and by that, I mean actually watch them do it, or else they’ll just wet down the toothbrushes and fake it.”

Angie stomped her foot. “I hate the taste of toothpaste.”

“I went out last night before work and bought that
iCarly
brand that you really like.” Fishing into his backpack, Ricky found the tube and handed it to her.

She grabbed it with a squeal and ran off, her twin and Jess in tow. After the rest of the kids filed out, Ricky started to clean up the mess so he could make them a decent breakfast.

“Why don’t you rest and let me do that?” Tanner offered.

Ricky knelt down and swiped up a bit of the juice-milk combo that had been missed. He straightened and tossed the paper towels into the trash. “You don’t need to bother. I ate on the drive home, remember? I’m feeling much better.”

In truth, Ricky still felt a bit shaky and tired, but he’d die before he admitted it. He already looked dorky enough as it was without adding more to it. A bit of a jam ended up on his scrub top and he took it off, regretting it immediately when he realized he’d worn a
Doctor Who
shirt underneath. It even had a picture of one of
The Daleks
on it with the words
Exterminate!

He glanced down at it, heat covering his cheeks. “Can you not tell Ben about this? He loves to ride me for loving this show.”

“Why? I happened to love
The Doctor
.” Tanner started to help clear the remaining mess on the table.

Relief flooded Ricky and he found himself falling just a little bit harder for the nurse.

“Ben worries that I don’t get out enough,” Ricky confessed.

“Trust me, the club and bar scene are really overrated.” Tanner moved closer and ran a finger down Ricky’s chest. “Personally, I’d rather stay in and watch TV.”

“Really? Because if you want, we could come back after we drop off the kids…what I mean is if you’re not busy or….hell, you may not even be interested, and if you’re not, that’s okay. It would suck, but I won’t get upset… Not that I really don’t want—”

Tanner cut him off with a soft but intense kiss that demanded Ricky give it his full attention. Something he gladly did and then some. Letting out a short gasp, he brought his hands up and grabbed Tanner’s shoulders, wanting to get even closer to the man.

Ricky parted his lips, allowing Tanner to slide his tongue in his mouth. Desire punched through Ricky at the warm, spicy taste of Tanner. Each stroke of the man’s tongue seemed to go directly to Ricky’s cock, making him so hard and needy that he let out a couple of whimpers.

Tanner broke the kiss, but didn’t step back. Gazing down, he gently ran the pad of his thumb over Ricky’s bottom lip. Feeling a bit bold, Ricky darted his tongue out so he could lick the man’s skin.

“You taste so good,” Ricky whispered.

“Not nearly as good as you do,” Tanner whispered back, before going in for another kiss.

This second one was just as sweet as the first, making Ricky weak in the knees and lightheaded for other reasons besides low blood sugar. This time he thrust his own tongue out, tangling it with Tanner’s. Meanwhile, Ricky’s cock was so hard, he was almost crazy with need. The urge to rock forward so he could ride Tanner’s thigh was strong, but Ricky resisted. Any one of his sibs could come in and while Ricky didn’t mind them seeing him kissing, he wasn’t about to subject them to X-rated displays.

“I would love to spend the day with you,” Tanner said. “I’ll even let you pick out what shows we watch.”

“Are you sure? We’d have to come back here. While I have my own place, I usually stay over when Mom is out of town. That way the kids will have somebody home if needed.”

“I don’t mind at all. The only thing you have to do is let me help you make breakfast. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you’re still shaky.”

Ricky grinned. “Maybe it’s because you’re such a good kisser.”

Tanner laughed as he nuzzled their noses together. And how sweet was that? Ricky felt his insides melting into a pile of goo at the tender gesture. Along with that came the realization that he was already head-over-heels for Tanner. If Ricky wanted to be truthful, he’d had it bad for the nurse for months.

“As good as that suggestion is to my ego, we both know better,” Tanner said.

He guided Ricky to a chair and forced him to sit before going to the refrigerator and opening it. Peering in, he frowned. “Ah…Ricky?”

“Yeah?”

“Why are there pinecones in here?”

“That would be Malinda. She’s always trying to keep things she finds outside.”

“What? She doesn’t have a treasure box like other kids do?”

“Yeah, but she wanted to make sure the pinecones stayed fresh.”

Tanner gave a slight nod. “Strangely enough, that kind of makes sense.”

He pulled out some eggs, butter, and shredded cheese and dumped them on the counter. “Where do you keep your pans?”

“Since it was Jess’s turn to clean up after dinner last night, they’re probably still in the dishwasher.”

While Ricky loved his brother, the kid had perfected half-assing to an art form. Sure enough, Tanner found the pans right where Ricky predicted. He pulled them out and began to make up omelets and toast.

Gradually the kids began to filter back in. The younger ones took a seat while Carla and Jess went over and helped Tanner.

“Hey, Ricky, what time are you supposed to take your next insulin shot?” Tanner asked, not turning away from the stove.

“Not for a couple of hours yet,” Ricky mumbled, more embarrassed by his weakness than ever.

“You need to check your blood sugar again,” Tanner pressed.

“I will in a second.”

Pressing her lips together, a determined line, Carla marched over to Ricky’s backpack and dug out his glucometer. Going over to the table, she took the chair opposite and held her palm up, waggling her fingers. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”

Ricky let out an aggravated sigh, but gave in, stretching his arm over the table. Carla moved almost as efficiently as Tanner had earlier and soon the readout was displayed. She let out hiss of anger. “What in the hell?”

“Watch your mouth,” Ricky automatically admonished.

She made a slicing motion in the air. “Don’t you dare tell me what to do. Not when you can’t even take care of yourself.”

“You’re making a big deal out of nothing. I just need to get some more food in me and then I’ll be as good as new.”

“That’s exactly what you said right before you ended up in the hospital,” she shot back, her voice breaking a bit in the end.

Ricky felt like the biggest jerk in the world for upsetting her so much. Then Angie ran over and wrapped her tiny arms around Ricky’s waist and an even heavier dose of guilt hit him.

Carla shook her head. “That decides it. I’ll just stay home from school today and watch over you.”

“I can’t let you do that. You and Jess are already going in late today as it is since you had to stay home and watch the kids until I got off work.”

She slammed her hand on the table. “Too bad, somebody has to take care of you.”

“I’ll do it,” Tanner spoke up.

Every gaze in the room turned in his direction. Shrugging, a slight blush came over his cheeks. “I already promised Ricky that we’d veg out in front of the TV today. Nothing says I can’t monitor his sugar levels at the same time.”

“Do you promise to stay with him all day? At least until I get home from school?” she persisted.

“I really don’t need a babysitter,” Ricky protested.

“Yes, you do,” Carla and Tanner said at the same time.

Jess came over and clapped Ricky on the shoulders. “Just give it up. You’re outnumbered on this one and I don’t mean just two to one, all six of us are in agreement.”

A triumphant smirk came over Carla’s face as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Just give it up already and let us take care of you this time. The martyr thing was really cute at first, but it’s been getting old lately.”

Ouch, it really hurt to be on the wrong end of her candor. “Fine, I’ll let Tanner be my own personal nurse for the day. Are you happy?”

“Immensely,” she replied with an exaggerated grin.

Jess leaned down and whispered, “Just think of it. Having Nurse Tanner around could prove to be all kinds of fun. Am I right? Huh?”

When Ricky realized that his idiot brother had said that loud enough for the whole room to hear, he let out a groan. To hell with diabetes, because it was going to wind up being his family that was the death of him.

Chapter Five

Tanner never fully appreciated the average soccer mom until he found himself behind the wheel of a van full of screaming kids. Though he’d been certain that there had only been six when they left, they must have magically multiplied somehow along the trip because there was no way in hell only a half dozen kids could make that much damn noise.

Ricky shot him an apologetic look from the passenger seat. “They can be a bit much at times.”