Fireflies From Heaven (15 page)

My comment
seemed to amuse him. “I don’t have a bionic leg anymore,” he said, looking down
at his bandaged leg.

“You’ll get
used to it. Does it feel weird?”

“It feels
incredible.”

I relaxed for
the first time since Isabelle had walked in on us this morning. Reed was out of
surgery, and he was okay. Everything else was secondary to that.

I’d intended to
stay only a short time so that Reed could rest, but I fell asleep in a chair
beside his bed.

I woke up with
the feeling that I was being watched.
 
Blinking, I saw Isabelle standing in the doorway, looking deep in thought
as she stared at us. I started to say something, but when I looked again she
was gone.

Reed was
released from the hospital the next day.

Three days
later Isabelle still hadn’t spoken to me despite that I’d called and texted her
several times.
 
She was ignoring Cora
as well, but Cora seemed to agree with Reed that Isabelle would eventually get
over it.
 
I wasn’t as sure, and it
bothered me because the more I thought about it the more I realized that
Isabelle was right. If she’d kept something like this from me but told Cora,
and the both of them together had left me out of it for two years, I’d be hurt
too.

I’d worked long
hours the last couple of days to make up for the time I’d taken off to be with
Reed after his surgery. I figured I was just tired from work and maybe stressed
over what was going on with Isabelle, but as the day wore on I continued to
feel achy and sluggish.

I rarely ever
got sick.
 
Apparently, I was going
to make up for it now because when I took my temperature it read 102.
 
I fell onto my bed and buried my head
into my pillow. When I opened my eyes I was sure I was dreaming because Reed
was lying beside me fully dressed in jeans and a button-down shirt, his boots
on the floor beside the bed.

Stretching, I
felt his hand brush my forehead. “You’re still burning up.”

“I know. You
shouldn’t be around me. You’ll get sick.”

“I never get
sick.”

“You look like
you’re going out,” I told him.

“Nah, I just
haven’t been able to put on jeans and boots in so long that I couldn’t
resist.
 
Cora called me and told me
you were sick.”

“You don’t have
to stay here. I don’t want to ruin your night.”

“Where else
would I be,” he said, sliding his knuckles against my cheek. “I brought some
soup and iced tea if you feel like eating later.”

“Thanks, Reed.”
I closed my eyes, loving how it felt to be nestled against him.

I slept and
when I woke up again Reed was still there. We watched several movies and he
fixed me a bowl of chicken noodle soup and tea. I loved being with Reed, and I
doubted I’d ever get to the point where doing nothing more than lying in his
arms wasn’t the highlight of my day.

 
“I want to take you on a real date,” Reed
told me when we were lying together, side by side, on my bed.
 

That made me
smile. Although every time we were together it felt special, so I didn’t feel
like I was missing out on anything.

“Where do you
want to go on our first date?”

“We don’t have
to go anywhere. You could just take me to bed and make love to me,” I
suggested, gazing up at him.

Reed’s chest
vibrated with his deep laughter. “I was planning on that, but first I want to
take you somewhere that you’ll never forget. Somewhere that doesn’t end with me
leaving you the next morning or the cops stopping to question us.”

I laughed.
“Those were good times.”

“You’re not
hard to please, are you?”

“No. I don’t
care where I go as long as I’m with you.”

“I used to
think about you a lot while I was in Afghanistan.” He traced my bottom lip with
his thumb. “If I’d had a bad day, picturing your face helped relax me. I
thought about us doing ordinary things that everyone takes for granted like
talking about our days over coffee, going out for dinner, seeing a movie.”

I shivered
beneath his touch. “I thought about you too, Reed.
 
I wondered what you were doing and if
you were safe.
 
I was afraid to
imagine us together in the future because it hurt too much.”

“Why did it
hurt?” he asked, frowning.

“Because I
didn’t think that I could ever have you.”
 

“If only you’d
known, Ellie. I was yours since that day I drove you home from school.” He must
have seen the surprise on my face because he added, “It’s true.
 
I didn’t do anything about it because
you were too young.”

“I had no idea,
and all those years I thought I’d only be able to touch you in my dreams,” I whispered
in amazement, reaching out and brushing the side of his face with my palm.

“You dreamed
about me?” I saw the interest flicker in his eyes.

“All the time.”

“Me too.
Promise you won’t laugh?” he asked seriously.

“Did you dream
about something wild and crazy?” I asked him playfully. “Were we naked?”

“No,” he said
with a smile in his voice. “Although I did think about you naked a lot.”

“I’m dying to
hear this.”

“I used to have
this recurring dream of us in Las Vegas.
 
You’re decked out like showgirl and I don’t know what they hell I’m
wearing. I guess it’s a gangster outfit—Hey, you said you wouldn’t
laugh.”

“I’m not laughing—much.
I didn’t actually say I wouldn’t laugh.”

Reed tickled my
side and I squealed. “Keep going, I want to hear the rest of your story.
 
What do we do dressed like a gangster and
a showgirl, play Blackjack and walk the strip?”

“No.
 
We rob a casino and make a run for it,
but as we’re weaving through the crush of people you’re pulled away from me,
and I can’t find you. I always wake up after that. What do you think that
means?” he asked, staring down at me.

“That you’re contemplating
armed robbery?” I teased.

“Nah, I don’t
want to spend the next ten to twenty behind bars.”

I thought about
the dream. “It could mean you’re afraid of losing someone you care about.”

“I think it has
something to do with that night I left you. It’s always bothered me, which is
probably why I keep having the dream. I also like how you look in that showgirl
outfit.”

He kissed me
tenderly, his hand rubbing slow circles on my back.
 
I drifted off to sleep thinking about
Reed’s dream and realized that I was a little afraid of losing him too.

By the time
Saturday rolled around I was feeling better, and Reed was anxious to meet my
dad. It was impossible to tell what Reed had been through by looking at him
because he was the picture of perfect health. His left leg had several deep,
angry scars and he still walked with a slight limp, but it was hardly
noticeable.
 

Reed was
picking me up at my apartment and we were riding together to meet Dad at The
Pit.
 
I was nervous because I wanted
Dad to love Reed as much as I did.
 
Changing
three times, I finally settled on simple red dress that was covered with tiny
flowers, had a scoop neck, puff sleeves and flared skirt that stopped mid-thigh.
 
I slid on my brown leather cowboy boots
and spent an obscene amount of time trying to flat iron my waves into
submission. Finally, my hair fell into a smooth sheet down my back.
 
As always I went light on the make-up,
brushing on light pink eye shadow, mascara, blush and pink lip gloss.

The doorbell
rang and my heart tripped a beat, but when I pulled open the door I was
surprised to see Dad, not Reed, on my doorstep.

“Dad,” I
greeted him with a smile. “I thought we were meeting at The Pit.”

He nodded. “That
was the plan, but I wanted to talk to you first.
 
I was thinking we could ride together.”

“Oh, okay. That
works.
 
Reed is actually picking me
up, but we can all ride together.”

I didn’t think
he looked too pleased with the arrangements, and I wondered if it had something
to do with what he wanted to talk to me about.

“I saw your
friend Isabelle last night at Shooters.” He looked at me as if expecting me to
say something, and when I didn’t he asked, “She didn’t tell you?”

“We had an
argument. Isabelle isn’t speaking to me.”

Dad frowned.
 
“She mentioned something about that, but
she’d had too much too drink, and I didn’t give it much thought.”

A jolt of alarm
shot inside of me. For him to bring it up to me Isabelle had to have been
pretty wasted and that was unusual for her.

“Some guy was
getting too friendly. I had to step in, and I ended up taking her home.”

I blinked,
surprised. He took Isabelle home last night? “You arrested Isabelle?”

Dad’s brows
shot up. “No. I told the loser she was with to get lost and I gave her a ride
home.”

“I’ll talk to
Isabelle Dad.
 
She doesn’t usually
drink that much.”

 
“That’s good to know because if I hadn’t
of been there last night she’d have ended up going home with that loser and she
was in no condition to make that decision.” Dad gave me a look I’d seen a few
times when I’d gotten in trouble and he was about to lay down the law. “Ellie,
you have to be careful when you’re out.
 
You’ve got to keep a clear head and never let anyone hand you drinks.”

“I know, Dad.
 
So does Isabelle.
 
She’s just been really upset lately,” I
told him not wanting dad to think badly of Isabelle.

“Just be
careful,” he replied and we started talking about other things, but I couldn’t
get what he’d told me about Isabelle out of my head.

Dad was in the
kitchen making a cup of coffee when Reed arrived a few minutes later, and my
heart flipped when I saw him dressed in jeans and boots with a blue plaid
button-down shirt.
 
His hot blue
gaze raked over me and his slow smile of appreciation did strange things to my
insides.
 
When Reed hauled me into
his arms and lowered his mouth to mine, I let out a small gasp of pleasure.

“Don’t mind
me,” I heard Cora say from behind us as she entered the apartment.

Breaking apart
we stepped out of the doorway just as Cora tossed a black plastic bag at Reed,
which he caught in one hand.

“You can thank
me later,” Cora said with a laugh. “I was in the ‘Adult Only’ section of the
Halloween store, and when I clapped eyes on these little gems I thought of the
two of you. Knowing how ya’ll enjoy these kind of things, I thought what the
hell.”

What happened
next seemed like it was played in slow motion and I was excruciatingly aware of
every second of it.

Reed reached
into the bag and I grabbed for his arm just as he pulled out a length silky
black material that said on its cardboard package ROPES OF LOVE, but that
wasn’t nearly as bad as the little paddle with the words SPANK ME written in
the center.

 
“Thanks Cora.” Reed grinned. “I forgot
the handcuffs and riding crop at my place, but now we’re good for the night.”

My dad cleared
his throat, really loud. I saw the shock on Cora’s face when her eyes landed on
him, and as long as I live I’ll never forget Reed’s expression as he stared at
my dad while Reed was holding the silken rope and paddle.

“Your dad hates
me,” Reed said later that night as we sat on a pair of park swings.

“He doesn’t
hate you,” I told him, but I wasn’t sure it was the truth.

“Did you see
the look on his face? I was sure he was going to shoot me on the spot, and he
probably would have if he’d had his gun.”

“It wasn’t that
bad.”

Reed got off
the swing and paced, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Okay, maybe it
was that bad,” I admitted. “Next time will be better.
 
He’ll have forgotten all about this.”

“Ellie, I don’t
think your dad is going forget that the first time I met him I was holding
ropes and a paddle that he thought I was going to use on his daughter.”

I fought a
smile. “You’re right, he’ll never forget that.
 
But you explained that it was just a
joke.”

Reed propped
his forearms on a bar just above his head and stared at me.
 
“Yeah, I tried and he told me he’d kick
my ass if I touched you with any of those things.”

“Did he really
say that?”

“No. I gave you
the edited version.”

“Okay, so next
time we have dinner with him we’ll leave the sex toys at home,” I replied,
making a circle in the dirt with the toe of my boot and trying not to smile. He
stalked towards me, and my belly did a somersault.

 
Reed’s hand grabbed my booted foot and
pulled the swing and me, toward him until I was straddling him. “You’re not
upset?” he asked, his gaze searching mine.

 
I placed my hands on the side of his face
and kissed him. “This will seem funny one day.”

“I can’t wait
for that to happen.
 
You sure you’re
okay?” he asked, his forehead against mine.

“No.” I wrapped
my arms around Reed, relishing the erotic feel of my bare legs against his
jeans. “I really need you to kiss me now.”

His mouth was
on mine, kissing me thoroughly and with enough raw passion that I felt as if I
was on fire.
 
We were so caught up
in the kiss that we ignored the first few raindrops, but soon the sky opened
and a cascade of water poured down on us.

Grabbing my
hand, Reed led me towards his truck but we were already soaked to the skin by
the time we got there and the short drive to Reed’s house seemed to take twice
as long and not because we were dripping wet, but because there was an
unmistakable sexual tension heating the air between us.

We opened the
door to his house and stumbled inside, dripping water all over his floor as we
kissed and touched each other with a sense of urgency that was quickly turning
to desperation.
 
Somehow we made it
to Reed’s bedroom.