on him before Georgia and Ericâs rehearsal dinner. I wanted to see if he was getting along with that nursing student you hired to watch over him. And to ask if heâd changed his mind about going to the party tonight now that weâd sprung him from the rehab center. Heâs only been home for a week. I thought heâd be itching to get out and see Âpeople,â Chad said. âI didnât think heâd run and hide.â
Brody heard footsteps on the other end, the sound of doors opening and closing. The farmhouse he and his siblings called home had been in the family for generations. Theyâd grown up playing hide and seek, racing up and down the stairs. Joshâs short-Âterm memory had disappeared in the wake of the accident, but his youngest brother still knew every inch of the house. âYouâve checked all the hiding spots?â
âI know this house as well as he does, Brody.â A door slammed in the background. âAnd I canât fucking find him. Unless he took a hike, heâs around here somewhere. His truck is still parked out front. Hell, so is the new girlâs sedan.â
âCheck the barn and the studio apartment,â Brody said. He had a pretty good idea where Josh had gone. âAnd call me back. Iâll be waiting by my phone.â
Not getting a blowjob from the woman he could still taste on his lips.
Brody turned to face Kat. âIâm sorry.â
âThat wasnât about the kid on the mountain.â
Her fingers made quick work of the buttons on her shirt. And sheâd also slipped back into her skirt.
âNo,â he said. âMy younger brother was in an accident. Heâs had a rough recovery. He insisted we move him back home. But . . .â
His voice trailed off. She didnât need to know the details of Joshâs short-Âterm memory loss, or the depression that had followed.
âAnd now heâs missing,â she said.
âYeah, but he didnât go far. The cars are still there. So is his caregiver, Iâm guessing.â
âAnd chances are theyâre together.â
âYes.â Together and doing the things he wished he could do to her. But just in case Josh had wandered off into the woods surrounding his familyâs property, or taken one of his sisterâs rescue horses for a joy ride, Brody needed to wait by the phone. Heck, heâd drive down and start looking himself if he didnât needed to be here to pick up the famous Dr. Westbury in the morning.
âI should go,â she said.
âWait.â Brody stepped forward. The thought of watching the door close behind her without the promise of more felt downright wrong. Chalk it up to the fact that part of him still wanted herâÂher mouth on him, her legs wrapped around his waist as he slipped inside her. Or credit the fact that his desires lined up pretty damn well with hers, and one night wasnât enough. Not even close.
âHow long are you in town?â he asked, glancing around the room. He found a pad of paper with the hotel logo across the top and a matching pen on the desk. He quickly wrote his name and number on the top sheet, tore it off and held it out to her. âIâd like to see you again.â
Surprise stared back at him. Shit, maybe sheâd only wanted a few hours with him. That thought stung, probably more than it should.
But then a smile, edged with sadness, replaced her wide-Âeyed shock, and she took the paper from his hand.
âYouâll be seeing me again soon, Brody.â
Â
Chapter 5
K AT SLID THE key card into the door while mentally listing the things sheâd lost in Brody Summerâs hotel room. Her controlâÂsheâd tossed that aside the minute he stripped her down and tied her up. Her plan to offer comfort, to listen to his problemsâÂas soon as he learned the kid was safe, sheâd abandoned her good intentions.
And
Christine Echeverria Bender