Chapter 10
1296 Words
Chapter Ten
A call from Sunny Grove woke Nicole up at dawn. Birdie had gotten into a food fight with Lulu at dinner, then smuggled some cookies back to bed with her and launched a sneak attack in the middle of the night.
Nicole heard the smothered amusement in the attendant’s voice, but apparently Lulu hadn’t thought it was at all funny.
“She’s requesting an immediate transfer.”
“Oh no.”
“Yes. And you know what a hard time we’ve had finding roommates for Birdie. We’re going to have to switch her to a private room for a while.”
Nicole stuck her phone under her pillow and let out a not-so-silent scream. Why did Birdie always have to get into trouble? Private rooms were so much more expensive than shared rooms. Crap.
When she’d gotten a grip on herself, she brought the phone out again. “Is there any way to talk to Lulu about it? I’m sure Birdie didn’t mean any harm. Lulu must know that.”
“Maybe after a few days but right now her parents are insisting on an immediate move.”
“What about another roommate? She gets lonely on her own.”
“She definitely does better in a shared room,” the attendant agreed. “We’ll see who else moves in, maybe there will be a better match. Sorry, Nicole. I know this makes things tougher for you.”
About twice as tough, to be exact. Birdie’s disability payments only covered a certain amount, and she’d always had to supplement with her own income.
At least she still had some of the money from Roger’s diamond engagement ring. He’d allowed her to keep it—probably out of guilt. She’d sold it and put all the money into an account meant for Birdie.
Sometimes she missed the way it made her hand sparkle. Like a fairy wand granting wishes.
“Okay,” she said, resigned. “Maybe being on her own will convince Birdie she should be nicer to her roomies.”
“She tries.”
“I know she does.” Now she felt guilty for blaming Birdie for her mischievous nature. She did try…until she forgot to try. “Please keep a close eye on her. If she starts getting depressed, let me know and I’ll come down for a visit. I’m overdue anyway.”
“Will do. Take care, Nicole.”
Nicole hung up and lay back in bed. Mornings were always chilly in the dorm, and she loved snuggling under the duvet while the sky slowly lightened outside the window. Staring up at the ceiling, she traced patterns between the knot holes in the unfinished planks.
Oh Birdie. She could barely remember a time when Birdie hadn’t been her three-o’clock-in-the-morning worry. Because of Birdie, she’d become interested in nursing. Because of Birdie, she’d assumed the role of guardian and responsible adult after their mother died.
Other things in life never seemed as dire. Job, school, relationships, even Roger—she’d never obsessed over those things the way she did over how best to care for Birdie.
And most of the time, she worried that she was getting it all wrong.
Did Birdie need special treatment or did she need to feel normal? Would she be better off at home or in a facility like Sunny Grove? Should she be surrounded with people or kept more sheltered?
Why was there no instruction manual for situations like this?
Birdie herself was no help. Every time Nicole asked her opinion, she agreed happily with anything. She didn’t think beyond her present moment. It was part of the damage her brain had sustained.
Sometimes, during Birdie’s most frustrating moments, Nicole had to remind herself. At least she’s still with me.
Without Birdie, she’d be utterly alone.
The worst part was that everyone had an opinion, and they were all over the map. Different doctors offered different advice, as did therapists and counselors and social workers. Mom had insisted that she live at home, but after she’d died, Nicole couldn’t afford to pay for live-in help, so Birdie had moved into a facility like Sunny Grove, but not as nice.
Then…Roger.
He was like a fairy tale prince swooping in and solving her biggest worry in life. But it was all bullshit. She and Birdie had moved into Roger’s Queen Anne mansion for three months, until Roger decided Birdie had to go.
“You can’t just kick her out!” Nicole had screamed at him—the first and only time she’d lost her cool with him.
“Of course I f*****g can. It’s my house. She keeps chasing the cat with her wheelchair.”
“She’s just having fun. She’s not doing any harm.”
“She comes into my office whenever she feels like it.”
“Lock the door.”
“I shouldn’t have to. She should know better.”
“She has brain damage, Roger.”
“Which is why she needs to be somewhere with doctors around.”
That was when he’d found Sunny Grove, which was extremely expensive but at least he paid for it. Until Nicole ended their engagement and started paying the fees herself.
Birdie was on the waiting list for a more affordable facility, but who knew how long that would take. A private room at Sunny Grove would drain her savings in no time.
Nicole did a quick calculation. The money from the engagement ring would run out in three months. Three months.
She had to make this sale go through. She had to get Max, and now Kai, to want to sell the lodge. When Felicity arrived with the offer from the Summit Group, they had to be primed to see the benefits of a big investment in the property they’d held for generations.
A pang in her jaw made her realize that her entire body was tense from the stressful direction of her thoughts.
She forced her muscles to relax, one by one.
Stress reduction.
I have my stress handled.
She smiled as Kai’s voice filtered into her mind. She smiled a lot when she was with Kai. There was something so direct about him, so strong and magnetic, that she sometimes forgot to be on her guard around him.
She thought of Kai holding an armful of plastic deer head, looking up at her with that outraged expression, and laughed. He’d caught the deer, and she had no doubt he would have caught her, too, if she’d fallen off the ladder. He made her feel safe, which made no sense because she knew he still saw her as a possible threat.
But that was because of his protective nature—something she appreciated. She didn’t mind him looking out for his father and his family’s legacy. She admired that.
Too bad it made them enemies.
Nestling deeper under the covers, she drifted into a half-dreaming, half-waking state in which Kai strode toward her across the wide lawn of the lodge. His t-shirt clung to his rippling muscles. It must have been raining because the wet shirt was completely see-through, revealing each flexing ridge and valley of muscle. His stormy eyes smoldered with heat as he closed in on her. He wanted her. He wanted to throw her across a bed and do incredibly naughty things to her. He wanted to make her scream. He wanted to get her wild and wet and trembling.
And she wanted all those things too. And more.
Then he was sweeping her off her feet, his hot gaze burning into her, causing her to melt into his arms. His mouth hovered over hers, sensual and tempting. Kai’s kiss would be a whirlwind sweeping away all her boundaries, her fears, her worries. Whisking her to a place of pure sensation.
No.
She shook herself awake and sat up in bed.
No.
This was nothing but a dangerous fantasy. She’d done the whole “white knight riding to the rescue” thing. That was Roger’s whole pitch—‘I’ll take care of you. You don’t have to worry about a thing.’ But it had been a huge mistake. No man was going to swoop in and solve her problems. That was her job.
Kai could be a good distraction though. Of that, she had no doubt. No man had appealed to her as much as Kai did in a very long time. Maybe ever.
Fix her problems? No. Give her a good orgasm? Absolutely.
Smiling at the idea, she slid out of bed and went to brush her teeth. Fantasy orgasms with Kai had to stay where they belonged—in her imagination. She had a mission to complete.
- Writer
