Shattered Edge Page 9

  “What should I do? What if he comes back here?”

  “Honey, I think you should call the police.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, and your parents need to know too.”

  I thought for a minute and agreed. “Yeah, they cut him off for the same reasons years ago. You know, tough love and all. My mom still cries about it.”

  “What mother wouldn’t? That’s a difficult thing to deal with.”

  I called my dad and he was at my house in minutes.

  “Dad, this is my boyfriend, Justin Middleton. Justin, this is my dad, Sam Mitchell.”

  They eyed each other for a few seconds and then they shook hands. My dad wasn’t nearly as tall as Justin but he was my dad and very protective of me. Dad thanked Justin for being there with me and handling Preston and it was obvious he was relieved I hadn’t been alone.

  The police got there right about then. We ended up putting a restraining order on him, only the police said it really couldn’t do that much. They would send a patrol car around the house to check on things every day and night. But that was about it.

  Justin called a security company to set up an installation. We all decided that I would stay at Justin’s until the alarm was installed. He was on call that weekend, so I would have his place to myself. By Monday, everything would be set in my house.

  My dad was going crazy. Like me, he never thought Preston would stoop to this level. We all hoped when he went to prison, that he would come off the drugs and remain clean. That didn’t happen. It killed us but we learned to move on. We couldn’t live his life for him and he’d made his choice so we had to accept it.

  Justin and I were in bed and watching TV that night when I realized that we hadn’t had sex. I looked at him and just stared. He must’ve felt my gaze on him because he turned his eyes toward me and smiled.

  “What?”

  “We’re laying in your bed and we’re not sexed up.”

  “Speak for yourself sweetheart,” he laughed.

  “What?”

  “Babe, just because my paws aren’t all over you doesn’t mean I’m not sexed up.”

  He was confusing me. “I’m not following.”

  “Okay, then let me explain Terri. Sometimes there are things that are more important than sex. Like today for instance. You were crumbling on me. I was afraid for your safety. You’re hurting inside for your brother. Yeah, he made that choice. But honey, he’s still your brother. And it still hurts like hell. So sometimes, we might just need to be together. You know...talk, touch that sort of thing. And not always sex. I’ll always be sexed up around you. I’m a testosterone filled tool. What can I say? But I respect you and your feelings enough to know that’s not what you need right now. Am I making sense?”

  That was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to me in my life. I wanted to curl up with this man and stay like this for the rest of my life. I really didn’t want to go all gushy on him, all girlie like, but damn it all, when he said that stuff, my eyes filled up like a pond after a heavy storm, and well, I just couldn’t blink enough to keep the overflow at bay.

  He rolled me on my back and his face was next to mine in a heartbeat. In a whisper that made me shiver all over he said, “Terri, honey, I didn’t mean to make you cry. I just wanted you to know that I really am just a horny guy all the time around you. But just because I am, it doesn’t mean I’m going to take advantage of you...ever. Today was rough on you and I think you needed some time.”

  “Thanks Justin. I’m only crying ‘cause that’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. Really.”

  He nudged my face with his nose and smiled against my mouth.

  “Really? You’re not just saying that?”

  “No, I won’t ever just say that.”

  His smile grew and he kissed me chastely. Then he rolled on his back and took me with him, snuggling me against him. I fell asleep in his arms, and woke up the same way in the morning.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Justin

  This is going to be a long weekend of call. Terri’s at my place so I’ll try to sneak home as often as possible to spend some time with her, but she also needs her space too. When she was upset over her brother, my world toppled too. Seeing her like that put an edge on my soul that I didn’t like. I don’t want it to return.

  I’m thinking about hiring a private detective for her. I’m worried that brother of hers will come back and hurt her. She’s scared too but won’t say much about it...she’s trying to put forth a brave face. I’m proud of her but I swear to God, if he lays a hand on her, he’s a dead man. I’ll see to it myself. He won’t have to worry about a fix anymore, because he’ll be permanently fixed...by me.

  Work has been a ball buster all morning with one case after another. We’re getting closer to the holidays and I can sure tell with all the car wrecks. And Destiny...her flirting has gone from mild to outrageous. Even the other nurses are making comments to me about it. I’ve told her to stop, and if she doesn’t, I’m going to file a sexual harassment claim against her. Just this morning, she came up to me and put her arms around me as I was scrubbing. Then she slipped a hand, or tried to anyway, down the front of my pants. I pulled away from her and made a point of telling her how inappropriate her actions were. She screwed up my scrubbing routine and I had to begin all over. I was extremely pissed off.

  I stormed into the OR and the scrub nurse raised her brows at me. “Rough morning, Dr. Middleton?”

  “Actually it was a great one until I had my scrubbing routine interrupted by a very unprofessional nurse.”

  “You must be referring to Destiny. She has it bad for you. Talks about you nonstop.”

  Cathy, the scrub nurse finished helping me with my gloves, gown and mask and I thanked her. Then I added, “Well, Destiny’s behavior is not only unprofessional, it’s harassing and annoying.” I stormed over to the patient and forced myself to calm down so the team could begin the procedure.

  Every time I finished a case, I’d exit the OR and there Destiny would be waiting like a hawk, ready to swoop on her prey. I finally had enough and I ripped into her.

  “I’ve had quite enough of this behavior of yours. First off it’s unprofessional. You can’t be touching me. Second, it’s harassment. Third, it’s annoying. STOP this now!” I was raging and continued to do so until I found myself at the door of the administrator’s office. Of course, he wasn’t there. There was an emergency number to call, but this wasn’t an emergency. So I headed back to the surgery floor. The red haze of anger had eased somewhat and I walked into the surgeon’s lounge.

  Mike, a general surgeon I knew, was sitting at the table drinking some coffee and reading a text. He glanced up when I walked through the door. I’d opened it with such force, it slammed against the wall behind it.

  “What’s eating you Middleton?”

  “A pain in the ass nurse named Destiny.”

  He laughed and answered, “Ah, I see.”

  I swung my head in his direction. “No, you don’t. She’s harassing the hell out of me.”

  “Seriously?”

  “As an MI.”

  “Hell, when you said that, I thought you were having issues with a love interest.”

  “Hell no! The woman won’t leave me alone. She’s stalking me. Every time I turn around she’s in my face. I was scrubbing earlier and she tried to put her hand down my pants.”

  Mike started laughing.

  “This isn’t funny. I’m pissed as hell. She’s a damn lunatic.”

  That wiped the grin off her face.

  “You are serious.”

  “That’s what I told you. I told her to leave me alone and she won’t. I told her that her behavior is unprofessional and bordering on harassment. She just gives me this crazed look.”

  “Have you told anyone?”

  I grunted. “I went to admin but everything was closed up. The weekend you know.”

  “You need to notify them first thing Monday morning.�
�

  “Yeah, that’s my plan. What is it with these nut jobs? I’ve never given her any indication that I was interested in her. I even told her I was seeing someone.” I leaned back in the chair and rubbed my pounding head.

  “Crazies. They’re everywhere. Just be careful Justin. You never know.”

  My phone beeped. I looked down to see a text from Terri.

  “Damn it,” I said out loud.

  “Bad news?”

  “Yeah. It seems I’m in the middle of a shit storm right now.”

  I left the room and called her. Her house had been broken into. The window had been smashed. She was fine, but the police had notified her and her dad was on the way there to check things out. The police had recommended for her to stay away and I agreed. She was going to text me when she heard more.

  Well, I thought, things couldn’t get much worse. I was wrong. They would go from bad to really bad right before the bottom fell out.

  ********

  Later that evening when I made it home for a couple of hours, I found Terri in the den watching a movie.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were on your way here? I would’ve made you something to eat. You must be starved.”

  “Hey, no worries. I’ll just grab whatever’s in the fridge. So did they get everything worked out at your house?”

  She followed me into the kitchen and answered, “Yeah. My dad has a window guy coming in tomorrow. They boarded it up so it’s okay for now.”

  “Good. I’m glad you weren’t there when it happened babe.” I gave her a tight hug.

  She squeezed me back and said, “Yeah, me too. Thanks for letting me take over your place Justin. You’ve been the best.”

  I leaned back and brushed her hair back. Her eyes had tiny crinkles around the edges and dark circles beneath them. I ran my thumbs along them in the hopes of easing her mind a bit. “Honey, everything will all work out just fine. Preston will leave town again and things will go back to normal before you know it.”

  She shook her head, “I don’t know Justin. Something is so different this time. I’m just so worried, not about me, but about him. I can’t help but think back when we were kids. I always looked up to him. All my friends had crushes on him. And now...he’s nothing but an ex-con with a heroin habit. Just imagine if that would be Pearce.”

  My heart sank into my gut when she said that. I hadn’t thought about it that way. If either of my brothers, the two people I loved the most, ever went that route, I would want to bleed right along with them. “Oh Terri. I can’t. I’m just so damn sorry you have to deal with this. Please promise me something.”

  “What?”

  “Look, I know how hard this must be, but please don’t do anything stupid. I don’t want anything to happen to you. Okay?”

  “Okay,” she said nodding.

  “If he calls you, don’t meet him or anything. He was way too aggressive towards you and I can’t bear the thought of him laying a hand on you.”

  We stood in the kitchen as I waited for the microwave to ding. She was dressed in a sexy pair of low cut black yoga pants with a matching black tank top and a little jacket over it. Her hair hung down her back and she wasn’t wearing any make up at all. She smelled like lavender and all I wanted to do was tangle my body in hers and kiss her like crazy. There went that little thing poking me on the inside of my chest again. My gut tightened right along with it as I watched her eyes go all soft on me. She lifted herself up on her tip toes and circled her arms around my neck. Now why’d she have to go and do that? My whole body responded with a jerk and I saw her eyes widen as she felt it too.

  She pulled my head down and right when my mouth was on hers, she said, “I felt you Justin. Let me just say I’m glad I’m not the only one.”

  “Babe, no worries about that,” I said back.

  “Thanks for being here for me.”

  The microwave started going BEEP BEEP BEEP. It was probably a good thing because we were both on fire for each other. I could see it in the rise and fall of her chest, in the way her heart was beating faster, in the flush of her skin.

  “I’m glad to be here for you.”

  BEEP BEEP BEEP

  “You need to eat Justin.”

  “Yeah.”

  She finally released her hold on me, but I could tell she didn’t want to. I huffed as I pulled the plate out and set it on the counter. She moved to take the seat next to me, but I couldn’t allow that. I pulled her onto my lap instead and had her sit there while I ate. She even started feeding me after a while. It was with great sadness when I cleaned my plate. We laughed and I asked her if she could feed me dessert. She brought out some cookies I had in the cabinet.

  “I noticed you’re a cookie guy.” She’d caught me. I fancied myself on eating fairly healthy, but blew it all in the cookie department.

  She laughed and said, “Don’t look so damn guilty. You can have a cookie Justin. It’s okay.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.” She walked toward me and held out a chocolate chipper, and I started to laugh.

  “Are you trying to tease me Ms. Mitchell?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Might I suggest an alternative method?”

  “What would that be?”

  “The removal of your clothing.”

  She gasped. And then blushed. “Really?”

  “In my most fervent dreams. Unfortunately, I have to get back to the hospital soon. But maybe when I get off call?”

  “Oh yes!”

  She was so willing. And then a thought struck me that I had meant to ask her the other day.

  “Oh, I need to ask you something. Every year, each department in the hospital gets involved in the fundraiser ‘Sponsor a Child for Christmas.’ Next week, our department is having its party for that. Would you like to go with me?”

  “Sure. It sounds really cool.”

  “Yeah, it is. Every employee in each department has an opportunity to sponsor a child. You know, buy them toys, clothing, that type of thing. The entire hospital gets involved, but each department hosts their own party. Ours is next Saturday at Jackson’s house.”

  “Oh, that would be awesome. I’d love to go with you. What’s the attire?”

  “Cocktail.”

  “Great. I assume it’s in the evening.”

  “Yep.” My phone started buzzing with a text. “And here it goes.”

  I took a look see and sure enough, I had to head out.

  “Don’t wait up because in all likelihood, I won’t be in until after six a.m.” I kissed her sweet soft lips and headed out the door.

  “Justin?” I heard her call from the porch.

  “Yeah babe.”

  “Be safe honey.”

  I nodded and smiled.

  After I hopped in the car and started driving, I realized I’d forgotten to tell her about crazy Destiny.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Terri

  Justin’s house was perfect. Everything he had chosen had been selected with great taste and care. The paintings on the wall were exquisite and his furnishings were unreal. He had a taste for antiques. Who didn’t in Charleston? But he was able to mix the old with the new, and come up with the perfect blend of eclectic. I wondered whether his mom had helped him. Most likely he’d hired a decorator. I’d been to his parents’ home on Murray Boulevard. They lived in one of the finest homes in Charleston, overlooking the harbor on the battery. It was an old beautiful mansion that was extravagant yet welcoming. So maybe since he’d grown up with this, he’d known exactly what he’d wanted in his own home.

  I remembered listening to Lexi after she stayed at Pearce’s the first time. She talked about this same thing. Understated elegance with a flair for comfort. After being around real estate all my life, I saw it all the time...how these fine homes could be so stiff and formal, you never wanted to sit down in them. Not so here. I was curled up on the sofa feeling perfectly right at home.

  I’d decided to review my week ah
ead, just to make sure all my ducks were lined up. Hopefully, the new security system would be fully operational on Monday so I could go home. Even though I loved it here, I wanted to be in my own place. Feeling like a refugee didn’t sit well with me. It still was fairly early, but I decided to go to bed anyway. I figured I could watch some TV upstairs, or even read some. I wanted to get up early and get some shopping in. I had a new dress to buy for that party next weekend.

  After checking all the locks and making sure the security system was armed, I headed up to bed. It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep but something woke me up in the middle of the night. I sat up in bed, trying to figure out what it was. My hands clenched the sheet as my heart pounded in my chest. I sat and tried to listen for any strange noises, but heard none. Maybe I’d had a bad dream is all, I figured.

  My silly heart wouldn’t stop pounding. I finally pulled myself out of bed and walked to the window to look out. I saw a shadow move across the driveway and just like that it disappeared. Was my mind playing tricks on me?

  My forehead had beads of perspiration on it and the palms of my hands were really sweaty. I rubbed them on my shirt, trying to dispel some of the moisture. I didn’t know what to do. Should I call the police or Justin? Maybe I was overreacting. I needed someone to talk to. I picked up the phone and called Justin. It went straight to his voicemail so I left him a message and then a text. I was sure I would be talking to him real soon.

  When Justin did call back, it was to inform me that I was probably imagining things. He asked me if everything was locked up and if the security system was on. I said it was so he told me not to worry about anything.

  I fell back to sleep, but only for a little bit. The alarm system had been tripped and I suddenly heard loud beeping and “Intruder Alert” over and over. Then the phones started ringing. First the security company called wanting to know if it was a false activation. No, it was the real deal I told them. Yes, they needed to call the police. I could barely breathe as I told them to call Justin as well. My hands were shaking so badly that I almost couldn’t hold onto the phone.