Haley's Cabin (12 page)

“How much time?”

“Just a few days, no more. I won’t be able to take much more than that.” He hugged her. “In two days

time I’m coming for you, and you damn well better have an answer for me.”

“Fine. But I won’t change my mind. I love you and that’s that, damn you.”

She pulled out of his arms and left.

Jeremy let her go. It was the hardest thing he’d ever done, but he let her walk away, hoping to God he

hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of his life. And as her words played back in his head, he grinned.

“She cursed,” Jeremy muttered to himself. His sweet little Miss Manners had said
damn
. “Huh. Go

figure.”

Jeremy swung his now-repaired black truck into his brother’s driveway and shut off the engine. Within

minutes he pounded on Brad’s door and readied himself to do battle. He was prepared to go to great

lengths to get Haley’s address. He didn’t want to bend the rules of his profession as a detective by going

through the precinct’s database to find an unlisted address. Brad would have her address because she

was his patient. And if Brad gave him any of that doctor/patient privilege crap, Jay would knock him

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senseless.

Restless and edgy, Jay shouted, “Come on, Brad, open up, dammit!”

The door swung inward and Jay found himself on the receiving end of one of Brad’s very

uncharacteristic scowls. It happened so rarely that it took Jay by surprise every time.

“What do you want?” Brad ground out.

Ah, now he was beginning to get the picture. Brad was bare-chested and his jeans were undone. Must

be ladies’ night at Brad’s Place. Jay grinned. “Uh, I need a favor.”

Brad shoved a hand through his already disheveled hair—another anomaly—and sighed. “Fine, you

might as well come in.”

Jay squeezed past his brother and entered the house. A petite red-head popped out of the bedroom,

wearing the tiniest nighty he’d ever seen. Or maybe it just seemed tiny because the little beauty was

so…chesty.

“Brad, sweetie, are you coming back to bed?” In a sing-song voice she teased, “I’m all hot and

anxious.”

“Mara, I’ll be right there, just give me a few minutes, okay, sweetie?”

Jay stared, shocked to the core that his brother had a woman in his house and was about to get
busy
.

He shouldn’t be shocked, though. Brad was a grown man, six years his senior and clearly not celibate. It

was just that Brad dated very few women. The times he did date, Brad always kept it private. He was a

quiet, secretive person by nature. Being a doctor probably made him even more careful of the women he

chose.

As the red-head bounced her way back into the bedroom, disappearing from sight, Brad turned to him

and grumbled, “Make it quick, will ya?”

Jay couldn’t stop his grin from spreading. “So, where’d you get little Miss Pom-poms?”

Brad rolled his eyes and plopped onto the couch. “First, I didn’t
get
her anywhere. I met her at the

library. Second, quit staring at her chest, you sick perv.”

Jay cocked his head to the side. “Who said anything about her chest?”

“Pom-poms?” Brad sneered.

“I only meant to say she looked like a cheerleader, that’s all.”

“Whatever,” Brad growled, growing meaner by the second. “What favor did you need?”

Jay sat in the chair across from his brother. He liked his brother’s place, but it wasn’t at all his style. It

was way too modern and sterile looking. “I need Haley’s address,” Jay blurted.

Brad stared at him for a tense few seconds. “I shouldn’t, you know.”

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Jay slumped and rested his head in his hands, feeling very much on the ragged edge. “I know. And I

wouldn’t ask, but damn I miss her. I need to see her. Like, yesterday.”

Brad started to talk, but the phone rang, interrupting whatever he was about to say. He leaned toward

the other end of the couch, picked up the phone and bellowed, “Hello!” His face went from angry disgust

to cold fear. Jay sat straighter in his seat, ready. Anything that could put that look of terror on his

brother’s face was a matter of serious concern. Brad didn’t shake easily.

“Lisa, baby, stop crying I can’t understand you,” Brad said, and Jay was stunned when his brother’s

usual calm voice fell flat. “Tell me what hospital.” Brad held himself still as a statue. “I can be there in ten

minutes, just hang tough, baby.”

“That was Lisa,” Brad mumbled, staring at the phone in his hand as if it were about to bite him.

Jay quirked a brow at him. “Yeah, I gathered that much. What’s up?”

“She’s been in a car accident. She’s at Mount Carmel West.”

“Is she going to be okay?”

“Yeah, I think so.” He scrubbed a hand over his face and muttered, “Fuck, I have to get there and fast. I

don’t want her dealing with all this alone.”

Lisa Quick was Brad’s… Hell, he didn’t really know how to describe Lisa and Brad’s relationship. She

was younger than Brad and Jay both. She was also the only woman Brad had ever referred to as
Lisa

baby
. Or baby, for that matter.

He’d met Lisa some years back when she came to work for him at his office. She’d taken the job as file

clerk temporarily, but somehow Lisa and Brad had bonded. By the time Lisa quit working for him,

they’d already established a regular weekend ritual. Every Saturday was their day. They’d spend it

together doing silly things. Lisa’s idea, no doubt. Brad wasn’t much of a silly sort of guy. But for Lisa

he’d do just about anything.

Then a thought occurred. Women came in and out of Brad’s life, but Lisa Quick was always there. And

seeing the devastated look on his brother’s face now, Jay didn’t think what Brad felt for Lisa was mere

companionship. There was something more going on in that genius head of his, but Jay was pretty damn

sure his brother was clueless about it.

“So, what about Mara?”

Brad frowned at him, pausing in his mad scramble around the living room as he searched for his

discarded shirt and socks. “Who?”

Yep, just what he thought.
Lisa calls and Brad forgets all about Miss. Pom-poms.
So, he didn’t think

he’d ever fall for a woman, huh? In a way he was right. He hadn’t fallen, he’d slowly descended. So

slowly in fact, that even he didn’t realize it was a done deal.

Typical of the two of them.

Where Jay had done a free fall into the love pool, Brad had done a slow slide. Damn, for a pair of

brothers who resembled each other so closely on the outside—similar height, same hair color and even

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the same stocky build—they couldn’t be any more different on the inside. Must be why he loved the big

lug so much. If Jay had had a brother exactly like himself, he would have ended up killing him by now.

“Want me to go with you?” He wanted—needed—to get to Haley, but Brad might need his support and

that was more important right now, or so he kept reminding himself.

“No. Lisa will be fine,” he said. More stubbornly, Brad snarled, “I’ll see to it.” He slipped into his shoes

and stood. “You need to go to Haley. Settle things with her. Tell her how you feel. You only get one shot

at real love.” He rattled off her address and was out the door.

Jeremy turned to the bedroom and groaned. Clearly, Brad had forgotten about his cheerleader and it

was up to him to see her home. He muttered a few choice curse words and strode down the hall. Miss

Pom-poms better not be a slow dresser, because he had a date with destiny, and nothing was going to

stand in his way. Not even a red-head in a nighty.

Haley was beginning to wish she hadn’t agreed to meet with her coworker friends for a drink after work.

All day on Monday, they’d pumped her about her weekend. She’d been very good at keeping them at

bay, too. Now it was Tuesday and she was surrounded. There was no escape.

“Okay, spill the goods, sister,” Janice prodded. “Just what happened this weekend to give you that rosy

glow?”

Haley choked on her light beer and laughed. “Rosy glow?”

“We know you got laid, but we still want details,” Gretchen said, a saucy grin lighting up her usually stern

face.

Haley had worked with this particular group of women since she first started at Berlitz and Kent. Two

things were obvious. First, the candid discussion didn’t even bring out the hint of a blush of

embarrassment. With anyone else, she would have been mortified. Second, she wasn’t getting out of the

bar without telling them what happened on her little weekend away. Haley knew they would never give

up their inquisition. Not until she gave them something to gnaw on.

She took a long drink of her ice-cold beer and said, “Well, I went to the cabin for the weekend.”

“The cabin you won from the dickhead?” Gretchen asked.

Haley smiled, remembering how angry Gretchen had gotten when she’d shown them the video of Eric

cheating on her. Gretchen had wanted to put a serious hurt on him at the time. Haley had talked her out

of it by explaining that if any of them interfered, it could cause her serious problems with the divorce.

Gretchen hadn’t been happy, but she’d relented.

“Yep, same one. Anyway, I met someone. A neighbor.”

“Oooh, sounds yummy already,” Janice said with a gleam of delight.

“His name is Jay, or Jeremy rather, and he’s absolutely the hottest, sexiest, nicest, most caring man I’ve

ever met. He’s a police detective. I swear, you guys, he’s everything I ever wanted in a man. I’m

hopelessly in love.”

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Everyone went quiet for a moment, then Candace spoke.

“He sounds pretty great, hun. Why the long face?”

This was the hard part. The part where she had to explain that Jay had sent her away. She felt like some

silly schoolgirl shooed away by the older, popular guy. It was humiliating and it hurt that he wouldn’t

admit what they’d had was more than a weekend romp.

“I told him I loved him. He sent me packing. End of story.”

“Jerk,” Gretchen said, her hands fisting on the table as if she imagined strangling Jay herself.

“No, it wasn’t like that.” She paused, thinking back to when she’d gotten her divorce. “You know, once

Eric was out of the picture for good, you guys all seemed pretty intent on fixing me up with Mr. Right. At

the time, I wasn’t ready. I’d just gotten away from one mess and I wasn’t in the mood for another

emotional rollercoaster ride. I was too wired and unstable for anything other than a little mattress

bouncing. But with Jay…” Haley hesitated, attempting to put into words how she felt about a man she’d

known only a few days. “I don’t know. He’s different. Other men pale in comparison.” Haley

strengthened her spine and her resolve. “Still, I knew what I was doing. I’m a big girl and he made no

promises. It was a casual weekend fling. It’s just my dumb luck to go and fall in love.”

“What exactly did he say?” Janice asked, looking serious and concerned all at once.

“He said he wanted me to think about my feelings. He didn’t want me rushing myself. Then he gave me

two days to think it over before he comes knocking. Today is supposed to be that day.”

Candace reached across the table and patted the back of Haley’s hand. “You need to have a little faith.

The day’s not over yet. He could still show up at your front door.”

“Thanks for saying so, but I doubt it. He doesn’t even know where I live.”

“He just may surprise you. After all, they aren’t all like Eric, sweetie,” Candace said gently.

Gretchen was silent. Finally Janice turned to Haley, and said, “Candace is right. Don’t give up on finding

Mr. Right. Sometimes it’s necessary to run across a few Mr. Wrongs, just so you’ll know the

difference.”

“I know. Really I do. But what if Jay is just another Mr. Wrong?”

“Then you move on,” Gretchen said. “You keep searching for that one man who makes you

feel…whole. That’s what life is.”

They were right. Haley had been in the dumps since leaving Jay. But one thing was true. Jay was not like

Eric. She had to have a little faith.

Jeremy sat and stared at the ranch-style, cream-colored house. He clenched and unclenched his fists

around the steering wheel a dozen times, partly in fear, partly in an attempt to keep himself from running

up the drive, grabbing Haley and heading for the hills.

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Whether she wanted to go or not.

He’d gotten Mara home and had called Brad on his cell to find out how Lisa was doing. She’d be fine.

A fractured ankle, a broken arm, two cracked ribs and a collapsed lung. But she would mend. Thankful

of that, Jeremy went to Haley’s.

He drove past her house countless times just to torture the hell out of himself. He liked her house; it was

small but cozy looking. His apartment was a place to park his hat and that was about it. Two days away

from her had solidified two very distinctive things for Jeremy.

He’d come to realize he could no more live without Haley than he could his gun and badge. The second

thought was that he actually shook every time he considered she might not want him anymore. Jeremy

had managed to bring down some of the nastiest criminals Columbus, Ohio had to offer, yet a little bit of

a woman with mesmerizing green eyes made his hands shake like a wet pup.

It was true, love really did stink.

Even with all that, being in love with Haley Thorne was also the most exhilarating feeling he’d ever

experienced. Before he’d met her, he’d been a cynical, brooding ass. A few hours around her and his