Promise Me (Book One of the Kirkland Family)

Promise Me: Chapter 14

Chapter 14


Justin watched her wake up, though he kept his gaze averted, seemingly focused on Josie and her small cup of Jello.  Hannah blinked at the blanket he covered her with last night, and then glanced around the room, finding him on the other side of the bed, sitting in a chair, while Josie sat upright against her raised hospital bed and slurped her meager breakfast.

Damn.  She even looked beautiful waking up...sleep still in her eyes, her hair a mess and falling out of its ponytail, the imprint of the chair cushion on her cheek.

And Josie saw her, too.  “Hannah!” his daughter squealed in a croaky voice.  She was still getting better and the lack of fluids from the night before made her throat hoarse.  It pained him to see her still pale and tired-looking, but she smiled this morning when she finally opened her eyes for real, so he couldn’t complain too much.  And she was eating, though he wished she could have something more substantial than Jello.  “Maybe for lunch,” the nurse said.  “She’ll need to keep this down first, and get up and walk around a bit.”

“Hey, sweetie,” Hannah said, scooting off her reclining chair to approach Josie.  She stopped to stretch catlike beside the bed and smiled contently.  “How are you feeling?”

“Hungry!” Josie exclaimed.  “You stayed!”

Hannah chuckled, a deep, throaty sound that stirred Justin.  “Of course, I did.  I promised, after all.”

Josie’s smile turned down a bit.  “I know, but...”

But she’s been disappointed before, Justin finished in his mind.  He had to tell Josie that her own mother wasn't coming to see her, and she tried to look okay with it, but he knew she wasn't.  In his mind, he cursed Beth over and over, but it wouldn't do any good.  And it would only put him in a worse mood.

He gave his baby girl a pat on the leg and looked at Hannah straight on for the first time since the red-haired beauty opened her eyes.  Hannah glanced at him, too, and by God, he could almost hug her for the understanding and affection he saw in her hazel eyes.  If she pitied Josie, then she hid it well, which was what Justin wanted for his convalescencing angel.  He didn’t want anyone to become friends with Josie because they felt sorry for her.  And Hannah -- if she did -- didn’t project that.

Josie licked the last of her Jello from the spoon and sighed as she tossed it on the rolling tray.  Hannah scrunched up her nose and peered into the empty cup.  “What are you eating?”

“Green Jello,” Josie said mournfully.  “What I wouldn’t give for a cheeseburger right now.”

“Or a breakfast burrito and hash browns from McDonalds,” Hannah added, and Josie groaned.

“Oh, that sounds good!  Or, a whole pepperoni pizza!”

Hannah laughed and said, “Nothing like cold pizza for breakfast.”

All this talk about food made Justin’s stomach growl loudly, the first sound out of him, and both females looked at him and laughed.  “Hungry, Justin?” Hannah asked with an amused, sexy smile, and his belly suddenly wasn’t the only deprived organ in his body.

God, yes!  But with Josie in the room, he couldn’t exactly describe what he was hungry for, so he simply stated, “Are you?”

Hannah stared at him for a moment.  Her expression warmed and began to glow with feminine awareness.  Oh, yeah, she was thinking about that kiss.  He’d not been able to think of much else all night.  It had been the hottest kiss he’d ever experienced.  Her mouth reminded him of frosting on a spatula from homemade chocolate cakes when he’d been a child...sweet, very lickable, and difficult to turn down.

But just as a subtle blush spread up her cheeks, she shrugged and glanced away.  “I can eat.”

I bet you can...

Josie started talking, and Justin had to get his mind out of the gutter before he acted on his hunger in front of his daughter.  “Grandma and Grandpa called, and they’re coming to see me in a little bit,” Josie was telling Hannah, “And they say they have a surprise for me.  I can’t wait!  And the doctor says I’ll get to go home for the Fourth, so I won’t miss the fireworks, and Grandma says that she’ll stay with me today if you need to go home, but you’ll come back later, right?”

Hannah took Josie’s hand and pressed it between her palms.  In all the panic and confusion of the last twelve hours, it seemed they'd all forgotten tomorrow was a holiday.  And Hannah appeared glad that Josie would get to go home for it.  “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away, but I do need to get back and check on Teddy.  Is that okay with you?”

Josie’s eyes widened with fright.  “Oh no!  I forgot about Lady!  I didn’t feed her last night, and she’s probably starving by now!  Would you go get her and watch her for me?”

“I would be happy to care for Lady while you’re getting better,” Hannah said.  The short cut-glance Hannah gave Justin said she didn’t think that he’d do it, so why bother asking her own father?

I can take care of a stupid rat, Justin growled inside his head.  How hard can it be?

He opened his mouth to say as much, but the only thing that came out was a big, fat yawn, something he’d been trying to suppress since Josie woke up an hour ago.  He’d managed to snooze a little in the middle of the night, but was jerked out of it when he heard Josie moan in pain.  The nurse had to come in and give her another dose of painkillers, and afterward, he couldn’t bear going back to sleep, in case Josie started hurting again.

The yawn cracked his jaw, and once started, there was no stopping it.  Josie giggled, but Hannah blinked worriedly at him.  “Did you get any sleep last night?” she asked.

“Yes,” he grunted when his mouth was capable again.

“He’s lying,” Josie announced.  “Every time I woke up, he was awake.”

Hannah leveled a solid gaze at him.  He knew she could see the shadows under his eyes and the scruff of his jaw from his morning whiskers.  Not to mention the unsteady shaking of his exhausted limbs.  “You’re going home, too, right?” Hannah inquired, that same concern in her eyes.  “You need sleep.”

“I’ll be fine,” he said, ending the discussion with his firm tone.  But the damn stubborn woman wasn’t done.

“You won’t be fine,” she insisted, placing her fists on her hips.  “How can you be?  I slept, and I feel like crap...oh, sorry, Josie.”

Josie grinned at Hannah’s small curse word.  “That’s okay.  You look like it, too.”

Hannah shot Josie a bemused, sarcastic look.  “Gee, thanks.”

“No problem whatsoever,” Josie quipped.

Justin eyed both the females, wondering about this odd affection they had for each other.  They could be the best of friends, or sisters, or even mother and daughter, and it amazed him that up until the beginning of the summer, they never met.  He still wasn’t sure of Hannah’s intentions for Josie, but he was beginning to understand how the two became so close.  They were almost the same person.

Beautiful, sweet, cantankerous, temperamental, bossy.

Sonofabitch.  Now, he had two of these creatures in his life.  One, he wouldn’t trade for the world, and the other, he couldn’t get rid of, and he battled with the idea on whether he still wanted to.

Thank heavens, his parents walked in the room at that moment.  “Josie, dear!” his mother called out.  “How are you feeling?”

“Still hungry,” Josie answered.  “Where’s my surprise?  Is it a cheeseburger?”

Everyone, including Justin, had to laugh.  As weak as his daughter felt, she could still light up a room with her smile and giddiness.  It warmed his heart to see this side of her.  He’d missed it.

“Not quite, dear,” his mom said as his dad moved over to the bed, something tucked into the front flap of his overalls.  The denim bulged and squirmed suspiciously, and Justin had a fairly good idea what the surprise beheld.  His dad reached in and pulled out a furry ball of rat-like animal.

“I’ve got myself a stowaway,” his dad said, handing Josie’s pet to her.

“Lady!” Josie cried out and cried for real as she held the creature up to her cheek.  “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome,” his mom said.  “We thought she might make you feel better, but you’ll have to keep it down.  She’s not supposed to be in here.  We’ll all get kicked out if they find her.”

Josie laid the animal in her lap and stroked the long fur, shedding little hairs everywhere.  Yeah, like no one will notice the evidence all over the bed, Justin thought, shaking his head with disbelief.  Why would anyone want such a thing?  It just sat there, basking in the affection it was receiving, and nothing else.  It couldn’t play fetch or roll around in the mud with her.  It couldn’t beg for scraps or protect her from home intruders.  It didn’t even roll over or play dead, or any other number of cool tricks.  It was just a hairy lump...that apparently squeaked very loudly.

“Shh, you’ll get us in trouble,” Josie cooed it while it “Wee, wee, weeee!” on her lap.  His dad pulled a handful of baby carrots from his pocket.

“Here, these might help.”

Justin gaped, flabbergasted, as his daughter stuck a carrot between her lips and lifted the rodent up to her mouth.  The furry beast sniffed the orange stick before grabbing it from Josie.  Josie and Hannah laughed, as did his parents, but he could only lean back in disgust.  “I taught her that!” Josie said proudly.  “Here, Daddy, you try it.”  

Justin reared back from the carrot offered to him.  “That’s okay,” he said, not wanting to get any closer to the lump and its wee-ing.

“Come on, Daddy,” Josie whined, jabbing the carrot at him repeatedly.

“Yeah, Daddy,” Hannah urged softly, “Come on...it’s fun.  It’s not like you have to kiss her.”

Justin seared Hannah with a glare.  She only smiled mischievously in return, her hazel eyes warming on him.  Damn, I’m going to have to kiss her again.  That’s all there was to it.

At Josie’s persistence, and the fact that if she didn’t stop the commotion from his refusal, someone might come in and eject them from the hospital, he huffed out a breath and gingerly took the carrot stick.  “Fine, but never again.”

He put the carrot in his mouth, holding it only with his lips and bent closer to the guinea pig.  For a split second, he flicked his gaze up to Hannah.  She was holding back laughter.  The damn minx.  Then he touched the carrot to the animal’s nose, and waited.  Okay, up close, the thing was kind of cute...in a girly-pet kind of way.  Small, black eyes.  Crazy, swirly cowlicks all over its fur.  A weird, toothy grin when it stiffed at the carrot, and it delicately snatched the vegetable from his mouth.  It didn’t even stink, like he’d think it would.

He sat back in his seat and rubbed the cold carrot taste off his lips.  Josie was giggling.  His mom was chuckling, and his dad had turned a shade of bronze from keeping his own mirth inside.  What a man did for his baby girl.

And Hannah continued to smile, but there was some confusion-mixed-passion in her expression.  Justin didn’t want to see it.  Because if he looked close enough, he’d start dissecting that look, and right now, all he wanted was to get out of her company for a while.  The best way to do that was to go back to the farm and get a few hours of shut-eye.

Standing up, he said to Josie, “Well, since Hannah is taking care of the rat for the next couple of days, you need to let it go home with her.  I don’t know how she plans to sneak it out of the hospital.”

Hannah narrowed her eyes.  He had intentionally spoken of her in the third person, because to address her directly was to acknowledge some awareness of her, and then it would probably go to her head that their kiss affected him just as much as it did her -- which was entirely true, but he wasn’t admitting that to anyone.

Hell...did she actually almost pass out afterward?

He still remembered how she lost focus of the world afterward, and he forced the memory to a corner of his brain.  Oh, he planned to see if she reacted the same way to his next kiss, but that didn’t mean he wanted her to know that.

Coming out of that insane thought process, he watched how his mother wrapped the guinea pig in a small towel and tucked the bundle into an oversized tote bag which she brought in with her.  “Got it covered,” his mother announced and handed the bag to Hannah.  Then Mary Alice turned to him.  “Justin, be a dear, and drive Hannah home.  She doesn’t have a ride.”

Hannah flung a protesting look at his mother the same time he did, and she said, “That’s not necessary.  I don’t live far.  I can call a cab.”

“Nonsense,” Mary Alice waved at them.  “Like you said, it’s not far, so he can give you a ride.”

Then his mom gave him another, hard look, taking in his tired, ragged appearance, and said, “On second thought, maybe you should let Hannah drive.  Did you get any rest last night?”

“Yes,” Justin answered shortly, but both Hannah and Josie snorted, “Liar.”

“I can drive,” he insisted, rising slowly to his feet.  His head swam for a second, but he battled against the dizziness.  No one seemed to notice.  Good.  He didn’t need a woman driving him home.  He didn’t need a woman driving his truck, period.  He owned a man’s truck.  And he’d be damned if he allowed that redhead play chauffeur for him.

Giving Josie a kiss on her forehead and thanking his parents for coming in so early, he left the room with Hannah on his tail, carrying the furry critter in that tote bag.  He walked fast.  Whipped around a corner, hit the end of the corridor at a steady clip and turned a second corner.  Hannah’s voice called out, “Where are you going?  The exit is this way.”

Justin stopped and looked around.  All these freaking hallways looked the same.  Then he noticed a sign above a far set of double doors that read Main Lobby.  Crap.  He must be more tired than he thought.  And now he couldn’t hide it.  With a dazed glare at the sign, he brushed past Hannah.  She sighed heavily and continued to follow.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?”

“No.”

“‘No’, you’re not sure, or ‘no’, you don’t want me drive?”

“No, you can’t drive my truck,” he said through clenched teeth.

“Why?” she asked, still on his heels as they emerged into the sunlight.  “Is it a standard?”

He smirked.  “You can’t drive a standard?”

“I learned to drive on a standard,” she informed him, “but I figured you’d think just because I’m a girl, I can’t.”

He came to a halt in the middle of the parking lot.  “Now, why would you think I have such a sexist attitude like that?”

She stopped beside him and squinted up into his face.  “Because you do.”

“I do not!”

“Yes, you do.”  Her voice was calm, but her words sparked indignation inside him.

“I have my opinions about women in general, but they are not sexist,” he argued.

“Whatever,” she said and picked her way through the lot of vehicles to his truck.  Holding out her palm, she said, “Keys.”

“No,” he said, pushing the unlock button on his remote.

“Don’t be an ass,” she said, exasperated.  "You can't drive when you're this tired."

"And you're not driving my truck," he argued as he opened the driver side door.

"Do you really want to risk both our lives because of your stupid views on women and trucks?"

"There is no risk because I'm not that tired," he lied.

Hannah sucked in a breath that clearly meant she was about done bitching at him.  Good.  He was getting a headache.

"Okay," she said, "I do hope you manage to get home okay...for Josie's sake."

And with that, she turned on her heel and walked away.

"Whoa!  Where are you going!"

"Home!" she yelled over her shoulder.  "I'm walking!"

"Why?!"

At about five parking spots up the lot, she turned and glared at him.  "Because I'm not risking my life in hopes that you are not as stupid as you sound right now!"

"Stupid?!"

"Yes, stupid!  I used to call you Jackass Justin, but I'm rethinking that title.  Dumbass Jackass Justin seems more appropriate!"

"Fine then!  Walk home!  I hope you get blisters on your feet!"  Hannah turned around and kept trudging up the parking lot as though she didn't hear anything at all, and Justin realized that if she did hoof it to her house all on her own, he'd hear about it from Josie and his mother...and maybe even his dad.  Crap.  To save his skin, he'd have to relinquish his truck to her.

But first he had to get her into his truck.  Already, she had crossed over two aisles of cars and was nearing the sidewalk along the street.  With a growl, he hopped behind the wheel, backed out of his spot and drove slowly and carefully over to her before she could cross the street.  "What is your problem?!" he called through the open window.

Hannah glanced over at him, saw him in the driver's seat, and clenched her jaw so tightly, she might have cracked a molar.  Justin got out, his knees buckling a bit in his exhaustion, and stared her down.  There was nothing a woman enjoyed more than arguing with a man, and this man was banking on that belief.   If he could get her to arguing, then maybe he could get her to drive and still make it look like he won.  Finally, after a long, silent consideration on her part -- and Justin was fairly damn sure she made him wait that long just for the hell of it -- she stomped down the sloped pavement to him, set the pet tote on the ground and poked him in the chest.  

"My problem is you!  Your damn male pride is going to cause you to have an accident!  Have you even thought about what would happen to Josie if something happened to you?  Do you want her to live with her mother?"

Shocked into silence, he stared at her, while his plan to pick a fight with her completely fled from his consciousness.  Shit.  She had a point.  He never even considered that possibility.  He'd only been thinking of escaping his daughter's and mother's relative wraths.  But Hannah had this knack for putting things into the appropriate perspective.  It was damn annoying.  Wordlessly, he held out his keys to her.  

At least, she had the grace to not smile smugly at him.  She just picked up Josie's guinea pig and crawled behind the steering wheel.  Justin grumbled as he maneuvered around to the other side.  And to make things worse, she was a terrific driver.  Dammit.  She babied his truck without driving like a Sunday School teacher, and watching her fingers caress the gear stick like a woman who knew exactly what she was doing...he was too freaking tired to feel this aroused.

Finally, she parked outside a two-story Victorian house -- albeit, a tame version of a Victorian -- in the town's historic district.  And though, the drive was short, Justin was fairly sure he dozed somewhere between Donaghey Street and here.  Because during one second, he was looking away from Hannah’s steady grip on his gear shift, and the next, she jerked him into cognizance by braking in her driveway.  Blinking rapidly, he forced his body to wake up and, at least, appear to be alert and vigilant as he tried to focus on the structure outside his windshield.  Her house was in dire need of a good paint job and was a strong wind away from losing half its shingled roof, and the yard looked at though it hadn’t seen a lawn mower in nearly a decade.  To him, that was just lazy, but as he thought about it, that was a big house for one person to take care of.
But through the hazy study of her home, he saw her glance at him, heard her heavy sigh, and felt the rumble and vibration of his truck’s engine cease altogether.

“What are you doing?” he asked as she pulled the keys from the ignition.

“Regretting myself already,” she mumbled in a voice he probably wasn’t supposed to hear.  That’s when she opened up her door and hopped out, dragging the pet tote along with her.  She circled the hood and came to his door...and opened it.  “Come on...out with you.  I’ve got a spare bed you can crash on.”

For a moment, his exhausted brain saw two Hannah's, but he shook his head to straighten out the image and used the motion to reinforce his words -- um, correction: word, "No."

"I really don't want to get into this again.  Do you?"

"No," he said wearily.

"Then come on...let me help you out," she offered tugging on his elbow.  He shrugged her off.

"No."

"Is that the only word you know?"

Despite his lack of decent rest and his growing irritation, Justin still had the presence of mind to smirk and answer, "No."

And Hannah had the good sense of humor to smile in return and roll her eyes.  "Ha, ha, Jack...now get out of the truck, because you're not getting these keys back until I say so."  Justin watched his truck keys disappear under her shirt.  Damn minx.  He was half-tempted to go after them.

But as he swung his legs out the open door, his butt slid off the seat, and his feet dropped to the ground...Let's face it...I'm too tired to argue.

Justin felt like he'd been on an all-night bender.  His body seemed to have lost all coordination and cooperation.  Hannah swore, "Jesus, Jack," as he stumbled back against the side of the truck to help him regain his balance.

"Why do you keep calling me Jack?" he slurred.

"Would you rather I just call you Jackass?"

"I'd rather you just call me Justin," he growled, using up a good percentage of his remaining energy.  "Or Sir.  You could call me 'Mr. Kirkland, sir'."

"How about I add Smartass to your growing list of names?"

If he weren't so bent on not liking her, he might actually would.  “Just point me towards the nearest bed,” he said.

“No, you’ll get the second nearest bed,” she countered.  “I’m not sharing mine.”

Too bad.  He waved at her to lead the way, and she fished out his keys long enough to lock his truck and then trotted up the wrap-around porch to the front door, digging into her pocket for her own set of keys.  Justin made it to the top step before another debilitating yawn wracked his body and numbed his limbs.  He reached for the banister to brace himself as his jaw stretched beyond its limit, heard her say, “No--wait!” and felt his handhold splinter away from the porch.  Then he fell ass over head into the bushes below.

A thousand needles pricked him from neck to knees, and his muscles instantly reacted, rolling himself into the overgrown, weed-infested grass.  “Sonofabitch!  What the hell?!”

Hannah rushed down the steps to him, brushing her hands over his arms and chest.  “Oh, heavens!  Are you alright?”

Justin laid his head down on the ground and moaned.  “What the hell did I fall into?”  There wasn’t an inch of skin that didn’t sting from scratches along his exposed flesh.  And he was fairly damn sure he was bleeding in spots.  What a freaking way to wake up!

“Rose bushes...the thorns got you,” she answered, a funny smile playing on her lips, though her eyes revealed some concern.  “I’m sorry.  The porch railing has been rotting, and I haven’t had the time or the money to replace it yet.”

Justin closed his eyes and moaned again in agony.  “Thorns.  Wonderful.”

“Can you get up?  You’re bleeding...right here.”  She placed a fingertip on his chest where his shirt gaped open and traced a rather painful scratch.  The warmth of her touch dazed him more than the throbbing gash, and he clenched his fingers around her wrist to stop her hand from traveling further along his chest.  The last thing he needed right now was her caressing him.  His brain was senseless enough from sleep deprivation.

“Don’t touch me,” he snarled more forcefully than he intended.  He saw her lips thin out and she jerked her hand away from him.

“Well, excuse the hell out of me for trying to help you,” she bit back, and muttered, “Jackass.”

He glared at her, and she smiled bitterly, adding, “Sir.”

Justin twisted around and pushed himself to his feet, rising unsteadily.  Hannah stood as well, but a bit more slowly, watching him struggle to catch his balance.  “Do you think you can manage to get inside without falling on your ass again, or do you need me to hold your hand?”

He’d had enough.  “Give me my keys.  I’m going home.”

“No,” she said and stomped up the porch and through the front door.

“Dammit, Hannah!  You’re likely to kill me if I stay here!”

“It’s a real possibility!” she shouted from inside her house.  

With a mouthful of curses that he didn’t bother to keep at a low volume, he followed behind her...cautiously.  There was no telling what kind of hazard might befall him inside her house...an ancient ceiling beam crashing down on his skull, or a giant hole in her floorboards, waiting for him to plunge into and break a vital bone, or a swarm of termites looking for fresh meat.  If the exterior of her Victorian was anything to go by, then there was a definite probability he won’t survive the interior.

“I’m going to die,” he muttered as he crossed the threshold...and jerked to a complete stop.  Hannah had turned on the hallway light, and the first thing he saw was the floors.  Wide-board oak, shining brilliantly under his feet.  The staircase rose before him, more of the same oak wood on the treads with a vibrant carpet runner adding softness to the angles of the steps.  The walls were painted in gentle hues of blues, and white wainscoting lined the lower half of the hallway.  To the right of the hallway, a room opened up and revealed a massive, carved desk, a sprawling cage for her guinea pig, and wall-to-ceiling bookshelves flanking a river rock fireplace.  And to his left was the living room area, decorated in a crazy mismatch of furniture and collections of various knickknacks.  Beyond that room was an empty one, and past that, he could see the opening to the kitchen.  The place smelled like pine cleaner and fresh linens.  And it was nearly spotless, with the exception of a basket of laundry on the striped sectional sofa and a pile of mail on a bold red table in the hallway.

To Justin, the front door was a portal into another dimension.  Outside, the house was falling apart, but here, on the inside, he felt like he’d stepped into the pages of a Home And Garden magazine.

“What the hell?” he mumbled to himself, looking around.  Hannah was in the room with the shelves and desk, putting Josie’s guinea pig into the cage with her own, and she peeked at him over her shoulder.

“Did you say something?”

“You say you don’t have the time and money to fix your porch, but you’ve managed to renovate the whole inside?”

She approached him and huffed.  “I can’t do anything to the outside until I get the roof repaired, and right now that costs more than I have in my savings.  And it’s not like the roof is going to fall down on our heads.  It only leaked in the back bedroom when there was a big rain.”

He stared at her.  “And where will I be crashing?”

She cheeked him with a grin.  “The back bedroom.”

“I’ll take the couch,” he said, and she rolled her eyes.

“Relax.  I had the leak patched.  It’s fine, and you’re too big for my couch.  Come on...let’s get you in bed before you fall over again.”  She prodded him up the stairs with a gentle push on his back, and he carefully tested the banister along the side of the staircase before taking the first step...just in case.

Deciding to tease her, he commented, “Normally, when a woman says that, it’s not separate beds we’re getting into.”

“Yeah, well...” she said vaguely, and he looked down at her behind him.  Her eyes jerked upward to his face.

“Were you staring at my ass?”

She blinked once, and then smiled sweetly.  “It’s a very nice ass...too bad it’s attached to the rest of you.”

“I could say the same thing about you, Hannah Banana,” he replied, supplementing with a rakish grin.

“Just keep moving before my next birthday passes me by,” she said and shoved him on his butt.  She had some gall, that was for sure.  

“Keep fondling my ass, and we may have to rethink these separate sleeping arrangements,” he warned her.  She chuckled, and he smiled to himself.

Yeah, it was very hard to not like her.

*****