“We’re here. Wait in the truck while I go get help.”
Dad doesn’t open his eyes, he only nods. Jogging into the medical center, I head for the counter. Ashlea is there laughing with one of her co-workers. She looks up at me, and the smile disappears from her face.
“What’s happened?”
“Dad, a crate dropped on his foot. I wanted to take him to the hospital, but he won’t go.”
Ashlea nods and disappears behind a wall only to reappear closer to the door with a wheelchair.
“Come on, Kris, I’ll need your help getting him into the chair.”
***
For two hours, I sat in the waiting room. At first, I checked my messages, then I read one of the magazines, which had a lot of inconsistencies about me. Finally, I began to pace and stare daggers at the receptionist. At first, she smiles at me, but now she’s shifting uncomfortably in her chair and trying very hard not to meet my eyes. I’m about to give her a piece of my mind when a hand lands on my elbow. Whirling around, I come face to face with Athena.
“What are you doing here?”
“Your dad had them ring me.” Her hand grabs mine, and she tugs me out through the doors into the late morning sun. “And Ashlea thought you might need the company.”
After everything I’ve done, the way I treated her, she still comes to make sure I’m all right. My whole body is tuned into her touch. It’s like a burn that makes its way up my arm and straight to my cock.
The sun is gleaming off her hair, highlighting the natural streaks of blonde through her light brown. When I left, she was a girl, and now she’s a woman. I know I’m staring at her, I know I’m holding her hand a little too tightly, but I can’t seem to form words or tear my eyes from her.
“Oh, good, you found him.”
Turning, I find Deputy Todd, smiling at us, and Athena removes her hand from mine. I feel her loss instantly and want nothing more than to punch Todd.
“Yes.” Athena smiles at him, and he drapes an arm around her shoulders. “Have they told you anything?”
My gaze is locked on his arm. I don’t like it. I don’t want him touching what’s mine.
“Kris?”
Shifting my eyes to Athena, I see nothing but concern on her beautiful face.
The hand that she held tingles. I shake it and place it on the back of my neck, rubbing the skin there.
“No, I was just about to talk to the receptionist when you walked in.”
Athena nods. “Okay. How about you wait here in the sunshine, and I’ll go find out?”
“No, it’s okay.”
Athena shakes her head. “I know you well enough to know when you’re stressed. Let me do this for you.” Her hand goes to Todd’s stomach in an all-too-friendly gesture. “Why don’t you and Todd get to know each other. I’ll be as quick as I can.”
“Okay, honey,” beams Todd.
I want to punch him in the face so that he never smiles at her again, but instead, I put both hands in my pockets and nod. Athena smiles, moves out of his arms, pats me on the arm like I’m a lost puppy, and goes back into the building. I watch her walk away, but when I look back at Todd, he’s watching me.
“She’s a great girl,” says Todd, drawing his eyebrows together.
“Yes, she is.”
“Too good for you.”
I take a step back and smirk at him. “Is that so?”
Todd takes a step toward me. “Yep. Athena deserves better than you. Hell, she deserves better than me. But at least with me, I’m not going to dump her the minute things get tough or greener pastures appear.”
His meaning is crystal clear, and part of me knows he’s right, but I know her.
“Back off, Todd.”
“Or what?”
Todd pulls himself up to his full height, squares his shoulders, and his mouth goes into a firm line. I smirk at him and close the gap between us. We are chest to chest, but I’m still a good few inches taller than him. Anger radiates off my very being. We stare at each other, dislike and distrust permeating the air.
“Um, do you two need a room?”
Both our heads snap in the direction of Athena’s voice, and simultaneously, we step back from each other. Athena has a smirk on her face, moves between us, grabs Todd’s hand, and looks up at me.
“Your dad is ready to go. He’ll need to stay off his foot for a good long while, but you can take him home.” She turns her head to Todd. “And you can take me home.” Athena looks back at me. “See you tonight at the rehearsal dinner.”
Todd glares at me, and the two of them walk hand in hand back to his police cruiser where he opens the door for her, turns and waves at me, then he gets into the car. My gaze rests on Athena, who looks happy. The anger that threatened to overwhelm me moments ago dissipates.
“Mr. Livingston?” I turn my head toward the voice, it’s the receptionist. “Your father is ready to go. The doctor would like to have a few words with you before he does.”
I nod and look back to where Athena was, but the cruiser is pulling away, and she’s no longer visible.
“Thank you,” I say as I scrub a hand over my face. “Lead the way.”
Chapter Ten
Athena
“Holy mother! Did you see me? Did you see me all up in his grill?” Todd practically shouts at me.
“It was a bit hard not to. What the hell was that all about?”
“He smelled bad.”
Laughter erupts from me. “He was on the docks with his dad. They were probably helping one of the boats pull in their catch.”
“The guy thinks he’s got dibs on you. I was just making it clear that he isn’t good enough.”
“Okay, did he say he had dibs on me?”
Todd glances at me, a smirk on his face. “No, but it’s a guy thing, I could tell. So, I set him straight. I told him he wasn’t good enough.”
“For a moment there, I thought you two were going to come to blows.”
Todd nods, his head moving up and down so fast he reminds me of a bobble head. “I know, right? Me in a fistfight over a girl.” Both of us laugh. “I-If only my dad could see me now.”
From the little I know about Todd’s family, they try extremely hard to accept his lifestyle, but they always hope he’ll find a nice girl and get married. As far as I know, he’s never taken a man home to meet them.
Todd stops his cruiser at the bottom of the hill to my house. “What time tonight?”
“What?” I ask.
“I heard you say rehearsal dinner. I am your pretend boyfriend, I should be there.”
“The rehearsal is at five at the chapel, then dinner at the yacht club.”
“Do you need me to come to the chapel and fight Kris for you or meet you at the club?”
I smile broadly at him. “I think with my family around, I’ll be able to handle myself around Kris. So, the yacht club?”
Todd nods. “Remember, you’re my pretend girlfriend, I don’t do cheaters.”
“You don’t do girls, full stop.”
Todd waves a hand in the air at me. “Pfft! Technicalities. What time?”