A_Little_Harmless_Fascination (25 page)

“She was still mad at your mother. For some reason, she
thought she had let your mother down. She thought she had been too easy on
her—which was true. Then she was dead, and instead of just letting you go into
the foster system, she brought you home. As if you had a place with us.”

Jillian shook her head. “You’re mistaken. She was worried
how it would look.”

Her aunt snorted. She had heard the sound many times, but
now it sounded odd. It had a strange quality to it. Jillian had to swallow the
nervous laugh that threatened to escape. She had to keep her aunt talking.

“You stupid woman. She adored you. Do you know how many
times I heard her tell that story about you hitting Gerald Swanson and breaking
his nose at the deb ball? Hundreds.”

“She had a funny way of showing it.”

“It was because she thought she babied your mother too much,
and she did. She made her life so easy while she ignored me. I could have been
just as successful as your mother, if I had that kind of support.”

“My mother did what she did on her own. She accomplished all
that because of who she was. She worked hard.”

She snorted again. “No! It was Mother. I never had the
support that she had.”

Jillian inched closer. If she got close enough, she might be
able to get the gun away from her aunt.

“And then what? You had Grandmother to yourself for ten
years, and you didn’t do much more than marry a loser who ran off with your
maid.”

“You bitch!” She swung out at her and clipped Jillian across
the jaw with the gun. Jillian saw stars as she stumbled back and fell on the
floor.

“He died in a wreck.”

Jillian shook her head, trying to clear her vision. “While
running away with the maid.”

“You have a mouth like your mother. I took care of her, just
like I will take care of you.”

For a second, her world stopped. A chill slipped down her
spine, one that had her blood freezing. “Mother? Father?”

“I know how to work on a car. Just a little nick in the
brake line and it looks like an accident.”

Slowly, the knowledge of what her aunt said registered with
Jillian. Rage exploded. Jillian jumped to her feet. The only thought that she
had was killing her aunt.

“You fucking bitch,” she yelled as she tackled Blanche.

They toppled over onto the floor, Jillian landing on top of
her. Before her aunt could react, Jillian grabbed her arms. She continued to
struggle, though, and the gun went off. Jillian felt the sharp bite then burn
of the bullet. She rose and stepped back. Her head started to spin, the room
turning into a merry-go-round. There was banging on the door, but she didn’t
react. The rush was gone, and now she felt as if she were moving in slow
motion. Her aunt had risen and was pointing the gun at her, but Conner crashed
in through the door. It took him only a moment to assess the situation and
tackled her aunt from behind. The gun skidded across the floor. Blanche
screamed in anger or pain, or maybe both. Jillian couldn’t figure it out. The
edges of her vision were starting to dim.

The multitude of voices filling the room hurt her. She
looked around, but she couldn’t seem to figure out who was there. Heck, she
thought she heard Brent’s voice. Then she was falling, but before she hit the
floor, someone had ahold of her and picked her up.

“Baby, stay with me,” Conner said, his voice hard to hear.

“I shot her, I shot her!” her aunt screamed.

“Get that crazy bitch out of here or I will make sure to
shoot her.”

Her vision was dimming. Bile rose in her throat, but she
swallowed it back. She tried to lift her arm but it didn’t seem to want to
work.

“Conner.”

“Babe, be quiet. Rest.”

She heard the desperation in his voice, but she didn’t
understand it. Again she tried to raise her hand, but it just didn’t move.

“How is she?” Micah asked.

“She’s lost some blood. When is the fucking ambulance going
to get here?”

“Mick,” she said.

“Don’t worry. He’s okay,” Conner assured her.

“I love you, Conner.”

“Dammit, Jillian don’t…”

It was the last thing she heard as her world faded to black.

*
 
*
 
*
 
*

“What did the doctor say?” Micah asked as Conner returned.

“She’s going to be fine. The loss of blood wasn’t as bad as
I thought it was.”

Micah slapped him on the shoulder as Conner looked around
for Devon. “What happened to your brother-in-law?”

“Devon has a habit of making himself scarce when the police
arrive.”

Conner nodded as he sat in one of the chairs that lined the
hallway. “You might as well go home. It’ll take a while to get her into her own
room. With the storm, they’re short staffed, and of course, there have been
more accidents than normal.”

Micah ignored him and sat in the chair next to his. “You
need to get some scrubs.”

Conner looked down and saw the blood on his shirt. Jillian’s
blood.

“What the fuck did she think she was doing attacking her
aunt?”

“Saving her life and Mick’s.”

He glanced at Micah, who was leaning back against the wall
with his eyes closed.

“How’s he doing?”

“Fine. Being a pain in the ass according to Adam. He had ten
stitches, but you know what a head wound is like. Mild concussion. They are
keeping him overnight for observation.”

“And Blanche?”

“The police took her into custody. She’ll go before a judge
in the morning.”

He nodded and opened his mouth, but someone was yelling his
name

He turned his head and saw Maura running down the hall, her
hair flying behind her as she practically jumped into his arms.

He caught her close as Zeke came running behind her. “She
wouldn’t sit still, and I told her she had to pay for the trip over on the
jet.”

“How did you get here so fast?”

“We were in LA on the job. We got the phone call hours ago.
When Maura couldn’t get ahold of you or Jillian, she got us over here.”

He glanced at the clock, trying to figure out how many hours
they had been in the ER, but he had lost track of the time.

Maura hugged him tighter. “I keep finding you in hospitals.
I don’t like that.”

He heard the tears in her voice. He gave her an extra
squeeze. “This time it isn’t my fault.”

Maura pulled back and looked up at him, her green eyes
bright with unshed tears. “How’s Jillian?”

“She’s okay. They’re stitching her up right now.”

“Just now. What’s taking so long?”

He shook his head at his sister’s indignant tone. “You
missed the storm that hit. It was horrific. It took us forever to get here, and
then there were some life-threatening situations.”

Maura settled her hands on her hips. “I don’t care. Jillian
is special.”

Micah chuckled behind him. “Like brother, like sister.”

Conner shook his head again and found his first smile. He
had screamed the same thing when they had arrived hours earlier.

“Mr. Dillon,” a nurse said from behind them. “You can go in
to see her, but only you. The doctor’s orders.”

Maura didn’t look happy.

“I’ll be right back. I’m sure you could use some food.” He
looked at Micah, who nodded.

“Come on, I know this hospital well. I spent a few days here
a couple of years ago.”

Maura hesitated, but Zeke sent Conner an understanding look
and grabbed her hand.

“Come on, love. You can’t do anything here, and I am sure
that Jillian will want to see Conner first.”

She shook her head. “Give us a minute.”

The other two men waited for Conner’s nod.

“You’re in love.”

She didn’t ask. She didn’t have to. They might be years
apart in age, but they were closer than a lot of siblings.

“Yeah.”

She smiled. “I’m happy.”

“I’m not.”

She laughed. “And?”

“What?”

She rolled her eyes. “We could use a Hawaiian office, ya
know?”

“Are you trying to get rid of me?”

She shook her head as she sobered. “What I want is that the
two people I love most in the world be happy.”

He sighed. “We’ll see.”

She kissed him. “Call if you need me.”

She hurried off, and he shook his head. It seemed that in a
way, their roles had reversed. He followed the nurse back. Jillian was in a
smaller room inside the ER and blessedly alone.

She looked so…quiet. That was something he wasn’t accustomed
to with her. She was always so full of life, so ready for any and all
adventure. Seeing her like this was unnerving.

“Are you going to keep standing there staring at me?” she
asked, her voice weak.

His lips curved and a sense of rightness filled him. “If I
feel like it.”

He walked forward and slipped his fingers beneath her palm.

“I thought I heard Maura yelling your name. I must be out of
it.”

He lifted her hand and kissed it. “No, she’s here with
Zeke.”

She sighed as she opened her eyes slightly. “Mick?”

“Fine. He’s got a concussion but he’s fine. He’ll be home
tomorrow.”

Her eyes slid shut, and her breathing evened. He didn’t want
to give up her hand, so he hooked the leg of the chair with his foot and pulled
it over. He sat there, looking at her. Less than a month ago, he had never
thought to settle down, never thought he would be able to have a woman
understand him. Jillian did. She might not see what she did for him, but she
never questioned his nature. She either let him be, or pulled him out into life.
She gave herself to him in bed without a thought.

Whether she had figured it out yet or not, she was his. She
would just have to deal with it.

Several days later, Jillian was sitting on the back lanai,
unhappy with the situation. The sun was shining, the trades were cool, and she
had friends and family to make her happy. But she wasn’t.

“I want to go in the water.”

“The doctor said no,” Conner said.

She looked out at Zeke and Maura playing in the surf.
Resentment filled her. She felt as if she was coming out of her skin, and she
didn’t know what to do about it. She was snarling at everyone, but Conner in
particular.

“Then get my laptop.”

“No.”

The need to yell at him almost choked her, but before she
could say anything, the sliding door opened and her cousin stepped out.

“Hey, cuz.”

She couldn’t stop the smile he brought about. Brent and she
had never been close before, but the one thing that had come out of the mess
her aunt had created was that she and Brent had become closer. And that would
piss her aunt off, Jillian thought with a silent laugh.

“Hey, yourself. How are you doing?”

He bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek as if it was
something so ordinary. To her, it made her feel...weird and kind of wonderful
at the same time. She hadn’t had close family since her parents had died, and
it was kind of cool.

“Fine.”

“Can you tell Conner that I should be able to go swimming or
write?”

Brent looked at Conner, then shook his head. “I think I would
rather not. Your boyfriend has a mean punch.”

She looked at Conner, who continued to read over his iPad as
if none of them were there.

“At least let me answer email.” Oh, God, she sounded whiney,
and she hated it.

“No.”

His easy answer, along with the quiet control he had shown
since she’d gotten out of the hospital, was starting to piss her off. She
didn’t know why, but it made her want to scream.

“Quit being a pain in the ass.”

He looked at her, then at her cousin. Without a word, Conner
stood and went into the house, closing the door behind him.

“What was that?” she asked.

Brent sat down in the chair Conner had just vacated. “Give
the guy a break. He’s been through a lot.”

“Him? I was shot, and I almost died.”

“First of all, you didn’t almost die. Yes, I know my mother
shot you. But, that man had the living hell scared out of him. You didn’t see
him pounding on the door, and you didn’t see him at the hospital.”

“He felt guilty.”

“Maybe a little.”

She sighed. “So, where’s Justin?”

“He’s off on the bike. I wanted to see you.”

She smiled at that. Even with the aggravation she felt, she
was really starting to like Brent. “He’s really pretty, you know. I wish you
had told me you were gay.”

“I didn’t tell anyone but my mother.”

“Who freaked.”

“Yeah, I was worried what you would do when you found out.”

She snorted. “Please, I knew.”

His eyes widened, and he shook his head. “You did not.”

“I was back for break from college. It lasted two days
because Grandmother went on one her of her tirades. I saw you making out with
Javier.”

He rolled his eyes as his face turned red. “I can’t believe
you spied on me.”

“Spied on you?” she asked. “You were going at in the
garage.”

“That man did have a way with machines,” he said with a
sigh.

“And that still gets to you.”

“I guess so. I guess it is the whole sharing an interest
thing. I loved working on engines. My mother freaked when I told her what I
wanted to do. She insisted that I go into banking.” He rolled his eyes, and his
dimples appeared when he grinned at her. “Can you imagine me doing that?”

She looked at the young man and realized for the first time
just how different he looked. His dark hair was longer than normal, and he had
a goatee. The cut-off shorts and T-shirt could have been blamed on the
vacation, but she bet it was a way of life now.

“No, no I can’t.”