Heather Rainier (13 page)

Dr. Hawks raised his hands in a supplicatory gesture. “Someday I’ll learn. Mom approved of her and that should’ve been my first clue. So, how is Divine, Texas, treating you? Besides the tattoo? Got a boyfriend? Bevy of boyfriends?”

Jayne burst into more giggles. “Um, no ‘bevy’ to speak of, but I do have a boyfriend. He’s here with me today. He’s also my artist.” She showed him the rest of the healed artwork in progress. It was Dr. Hawks’s turn to drop his jaw, but not in a creepy way. He had seen her in various stages of health and illness, and she didn’t feel uncomfortable with him seeing her exposed like that.

“How far does it go?”

She showed him and said, “He drew it just for me. No one else will ever have one quite like this. The shading and script lettering comes next.”

He nodded as she covered it back up. “I’m assuming he uses strict standards of hygiene?”

“Very. He knew about the swelling and that I was coming to see you today and postponed the second session last Friday night, even though, besides the hangover, I felt fine.”

Doc arched a silver brow. “Hangover?
You
had a hangover?”

Jayne nodded weakly. “Oh yeah. A vicious one too.”
Yeah and it turns out that tequila really does make my clothes come off. Thank God it was for the right person.

A knowing expression crossed Doc’s face. “That’s why you called? Because you had a swollen gland after tying one on.”

“Well, yeah.”

“That’s a symptom of recurrence in only two to three percent of patients. Your ears are a little inflamed and so is your throat. Allergies?”

“Yeah… Did I drive all the way to Houston for
nothing
?”

Doc scoffed. “Well, it’s good to see you too, brat.”

Jayne laughed and slumped in relief. “You know what I mean. It is good to see you, though. Good to see your old age hasn’t impeded your playboy image any. Actually, maybe I’d better rephrase that. Tattooed bad-boy image. Next you’re gonna say you own a…” She chuckled as he pulled out his smartphone and his fingertips danced on the screen.

“Say hello to my latest toy.” It was a beautiful, chrome-plated motorcycle.

“Victory? Is that the brand? Seth has a Harley.”

“Yes. She’s been fully restored. Smooth as sin.”

“Why, Dr. Hawks, you sound passionate about your new toy.”

Doc nodded and smiled as he rolled his sleeves back down. “It’s a lot of fun. About this swollen node. I’ll order lab work for you as a precaution. Get back on your allergy meds, keep that tattoo well cared for as it progresses.” He crossed his thick arms over his chest and adopted the “protective pit bull” expression. “This artist boyfriend. Is he good to you?”

“Seth Carter. He’s very good to me. He’s out in the waiting room. He didn’t want me to drive all this way alone. It was nice to have company.”

Seth had been attentive but quiet on the trip. At times, he’d been so deep in his own thoughts she’d kept quiet to not disturb him. A couple of times, she’d caught him gazing at her with inscrutable eyes. Each time, he’d squeezed her hand and kept on driving.

Dr. Hawks placed his hands on her shoulders. “All right, then. As long as he treats you right. Go live your life, Jayne. Stop worrying. Be sensible, of course, but go—live your life. Marry you artist. Have lots of—Sorry.” He dropped his chin guiltily.

She flapped her hand at him. “That’s okay. It’s been a long time. I’ve adjusted.”

“So you adopt. Raise lots of babies. Have a great life.”

Jayne wanted to jump down off of the exam table and run right out of there and do exactly what he suggested. She’d been bracing herself for another biopsy and an overnight stay in Houston. She was ready to get back to Divine.

* * * *

Biting the inside of his lip was making it sore, but Seth couldn’t seem to help it as he worried about what was happening in the exam room. He’d worried all weekend, wondering what they might find out today and the fragility of life had been hammered home to him. Jayne had voiced it perfectly a few weeks before when she’d told him that she was done letting life pass her by, watching everyone else move on while she’d coped with her illness. The most important thing she’d asked of him, he’d denied her. Who knew how long any of them had? He’d tried to be noble but realized now how futile it was if she’d missed her chance. Just like with the tattoo, they had unfinished business that he hoped and prayed for a chance to see through.

Seth dropped the magazine back on the end table when Jayne appeared in the doorway. The tension that had been building inside him since Friday night reached the breaking point as she walked toward him in the empty waiting room. The happy glow in her eyes told him everything he needed to know.

He gently grasped her upper arms as she reached him. “What did he say?”

She gestured at the bandage at the juncture of her elbow. “He ordered blood tests to be on the safe side. He thinks the swelling was something minor. I want to celebrate.”

Nothing held Seth back as he crushed her to him, his body perceptibly shaking as he kissed her until they were both light-headed and breathless. She trembled as she kissed him back just as wildly. The feel of her velvety tongue stroking his intoxicated him as she dragged her fingers through his hair. A wave of heat swept over his nerve endings as she tightened her arms and moaned softly. He squeezed her ass cheeks with both hands and answered her vocalization with one of his own. The fear that an invisible illness might steal her away from him abated.

Somewhere inside the doctor’s office, a door closed, rattling the receptionist’s glass sliding window in its track. Realizing they were still in a public place, Seth finally broke the kiss to whisper, “The second we get home, all these clothes are coming off.” He gripped her ass and rubbed her denim-covered pussy against his hardening cock, and they both let out a passionate gasp.

Jayne gasped. “Really?”

“Yes. Are you done here?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go.”

Back at the truck, she seized the moment to kiss him more privately in the parking garage. It was torture because they were five hours from home and she’d already said on the way down in the elevator that she couldn’t wait to get back to Divine. He wanted her first time to be in a bed, not in the cab of his truck. So he banked the fires of lust as best as he could and got on the road for home.

Seth smiled when she turned up the volume on his truck radio. Jake Owen’s “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” was playing, and she closed her eyes as she bobbed her head. He was unbelievably glad that he’d been able to be there for her, whether the news had been good or bad. He imagined her dealing with Hodgkin’s on her own. She wasn’t on her own anymore. He increased his speed on the Interstate minutely.

She wiggled in her seat and batted at her rib cage where she’d told him there were still a couple of spots healing on the tattoo.

Seth grinned. “Does it itch?”

Jayne nodded. “Yes. But I’m not scratching.”

“Good girl. It’ll get better.”

She smiled and nodded at him, looking radiant. Every emotion showed in her expressions. He liked that about her. Tamar had worn her jaded nonchalance like a badge of honor, and it had rubbed off on him until it was normal to hide his feelings from the world, and her.

She’d always preferred his darker edgy side and the way it showed in his art and had pushed him to explore it further, even as he’d resisted and begun designing sexier, fantasy-oriented tattoos. He’d realized afterward that she’d probably been seeking validation for the choices she’d been making at the time. As a trust fund baby on the outs with her parents but with access to their money, she’d stretched the boundaries of propriety to the point where there were none at all. A cold chill swept over him at the memory of the last time he’d seen Tamar’s face. Shaking himself mentally, he focused his attention on Jayne. He couldn’t do anything about the past but move on from it.

At the next gas stop, Seth checked his messages and found a text message from an unknown number.

“Hey, butthead! It’s me, Lucy. This is my new number. Haven’t seen you in a while. Can you handle a houseguest?”

His sister, Lucy, had recently moved back to Temple, Texas, their hometown, after completing her training as a massage therapist.

Seth quickly replied,
“Sure. Where are you?”

He hadn’t seen Lucy since shortly before he’d moved to Divine the autumn before. What he’d heard about her fiancé from their mom hadn’t impressed him. He could definitely handle a visit from his feisty little sister, as long as it didn’t occur until after that night.

His heart sank as her next message appeared.
“On your porch.”
His balls ached as if in protest.

“Crap.”

“LOL! Hard to misinterpret that!”

“Sorry. We’re about three hours away from Divine at the moment, headed back home.”

“Who is ‘we’? Do you have a girlfriend?”

Seth observed Jayne’s dark head bob as she walked through the convenience store. She caught him watching her and made a funny face at him through the front window. She radiated happiness.

“Yes. I’ll explain later. There’s an extra key under the potted plant by the front door. Can you hang out on your own for a few hours?”

Lucy didn’t need to know that not all that time would be spent on the road. Some of it was going to be spent making love to a sweet brunette. He regretted not being able to stay the night with her, which he knew she’d like.

“Sure. I saw a cool-looking Western wear store in town. I’ll do a little shopping.”

Jayne waved at him and made a motion like she was drinking from an imaginary cup and pointed at him, asking him if he wanted something to drink. He nodded as a wide smile crossed his face, and he once again wondered that the sensation still felt foreign to him. She definitely brought it out of him.

“That’s Cheaver’s. Ask if Rosemary is there, and tell her you’re my sister. She can show you around. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Okay. Later.”

Jayne walked over to him as she returned from the convenience store with two Cokes from the soda fountain. “What’s up?”

She snuggled up to him and he slung his arm around her and kissed the top of her sweet-scented head. “Looks like I have a houseguest.”

“Oh yeah? Who’s that?” Her eyes were clear and held no hint of attitude or jealousy. Tamar had detested Lucy and anything that had taken Seth’s focus off of her. He shrugged his shoulders as though physically throwing off her memory. Why she kept coming to mind he wasn’t sure, but one thing was certain—Jayne was nothing like her. That relationship had messed with his expectations and it was going to take time to readjust them.

“My sister, Lucy, is in Divine for a visit.”

“Oh. That’s nice. Is she younger or older?”

“Younger. Thirty-one. She’s already at the house.”

“Oh. Well, I can’t wait to meet her.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Why would I be? We still have privacy at my place.”

Seth chuckled at her solution-oriented mind-set. He liked her plan.

Just before they climbed back in the truck, Seth received another text, this time from his mother.
“Honey, when you get a chance, could you call me? It’s about your sister.”

His mom had discovered the joy of social media and had ended her message with a sad face. That didn’t sit well, but he held off on calling her. He’d had a feeling that some sort of drama was actually behind Lucy’s visit. When they finally rolled back into Divine, Seth caressed Jayne’s shoulder and squeezed her closer.

“I’d thought about making supper for us tonight, but…”

Jayne gazed at him from the passenger seat. “We can eat…later. I have leftover fettuccine Alfredo in the refrigerator.”

At Jayne’s house, Seth climbed from the truck and came around to open her door. Instead of climbing down, she wrapped her arms around Seth and met his kiss halfway as he lowered her feet to the ground. He lifted her unneeded overnight bag from the floorboard, and they walked to her front door. The house was in shadows as the sun set. Jayne looked up at him, radiant in the fading light. Her cheeks turned pink as she came closer and let him wrap his arms around her. She boldly rose on her tiptoes and tightened her arms around his waist as she pressed her body against his. Her cocktail of playfulness mixed with innocence was intoxicating.

He savored the moment he brushed his lips against hers, soaking up her warmth and her scent as she gave in to him. Anticipation raced in his blood as he imagined what it would be like sinking his cock into her sweet body the first time. Finally. With his lower lip, he rubbed against hers, asking for access, which she eagerly gave. She clutched the material of his T-shirt and stroked his tongue with hers as he deepened the kiss. His cock swelled with desire as he tightened his arms around her, and he groaned when she tilted her hips to stroke his erection with her lush body.

As he released her lips to take a breath, he smiled at the dazed look in her eyes. They seemed greener in the shadows of her porch, and he held her tight as he stole another kiss from her. He was aware of a faint creaking noise behind her, and they were both startled.