Love Heals (The Love Duet Book 2) Page 15

  Pfft, what is the point of having a cop for a boyfriend if you don’t take advantage of getting your parking tickets waved? I smiled mischievously imagining Jason going all alpha at the town hall, barking at the poor ticketing officer who had the audacity to fine me.

  Pushing the conversation to the back of my mind, I walked the short distance to the bookstore. It astounded me how someone that was blind like Memphis, had achieved so much despite it. I don’t know how I would have coped losing my sight at the age Memphis did, learning a new normal, and not be shit scared and never leave my room.

  I didn’t get far when the gorgeous blonde herself came out of the door of her shop, her big dog in front of her.

  Knowing not to sneak up on her, I yelled out to her, “Hey Memphis, to your right.”

  Memphis turned and beamed at me. “Hey you! The sun certainly is beating down today isn’t it,” she called back, not shielding her eyes from the harsh glare of the sun.

  Why would you think that Kelsey? Honestly such a nitwit.

  “Sure is, hopefully we get those thunderstorms they have been predicting. My garden needs the rain to give me a break from watering,” I told her ruefully when I reached where she was standing. Her dog, Jasper, sat at her feet, or on her feet more like and promptly started snoring.

  “Does he do anything but sleep?” I asked laughing. So far, I had only seen the big Newfoundland sleep, but then it was summer and he was a big hairy beast.

  “Believe it or not he does,” Memphis giggled with me. “When I am not with Creed or at the club, this guy is my eyes. My first dog Apollo was just as lazy, but I loved him to distraction, when he passed I didn’t want any other breed of dog but a Newfoundland. Creed was beside himself, he wanted to get me a Lab or a Golden Retriever.” Reaching down, Memphis stroked the soft thick hair of her pet. “Losing something so important, something that was such a huge part of my life, I found it hard to replace him, ya know?”

  I cocked my head at the woman busy patting her dog and wondered if we were still talking about her beloved dog or something, or someone else.

  “Are we still talking about Apollo?” I asked what I was just thinking.

  “No, subtle, aren’t I?” she quipped, then stood up straight to face me.

  “Hand,” Memphis demanded and I automatically placed my hand in hers.

  “Creed and I were forced upon one another due to some extenuating circumstances, but his and Jason’s story is very similar in many ways.”

  “How?” I asked immediately.

  “Well like Jason, Creed lost his first wife in an horrific tragedy. If wasn’t as if they split up and divorced, Lila and Creed were still very much in love when she died. Just like Jason and Zoe. I never met her, she was well before my time at the club, but her legacy lives on in Shiloh and in Jason.” Memphis squeezed my hand and pointed to the sidewalk.

  “Let’s walk; Jasper needs some exercise as he’s been inside all day.” Whistling through her teeth at the dog, he got up instantly and started walking slowly on the other side of Memphis. He was pressed so close against her leg she was practically leaning on me.

  “So,” I urged Memphis to keep talking. This was the conversation I had been eager to have, Jason and I were working things out, mainly with sex and ignoring the fact he couldn’t or wouldn’t love me. To hear how Memphis coped with a ghostly third person in their bed might help me get my head in the right space.

  “So, the worst thing you can do is insist that person doesn’t exist for them anymore. Lila was my only sibling, and when she died so did the last of my family. I was left alone except for Creed and a mountain of guilt.”

  “Why guilt?”

  “Because for most of my life I had been in love with my sister’s husband. It wasn’t a silly crush on my older brother-in-law, I loved him deeply, desperately even.” Memphis stopped walking and turned to look at me. I was so engrossed in her story I didn’t even realise where we had stopped, or cared.

  “Yeah, I understand that. Growing up I loved Jason, he never once felt like a brother to me, the feelings I had, still have for him are just as strong if not stronger.” Letting out a sigh, I told her what worried me more than anything.

  “What if he never loves me? Likes, cares for, all that is fine, but I want to be his everything. Is it so wrong to ask to be the reason Jason gets up in the morning to be on his mind every minute of the day? Am I asking too much, being greedy? After all, he has declared he has deep feelings for me and wants to be with me.”

  “Honey, you and I are such similar creatures, we both love men who once gave their hearts to another. And both men are as stubborn as the other; if Darth were still with us, he would knock their heads together and insist they pull their heads out of their arses.” Memphis smiled sadly, obviously thinking of the man that saved her life and Shiloh’s. “He was a truly wonderful human being, a complete oxymoron with his hard, pissed-off exterior and sweet soft inside. He loved his Vegas but didn’t take that jump, and it haunted him when he lost her, regretted not making her his. I don’t think he would have coped as long as he did had it not been for Squirt, his other great love. You have ‘met’ Darth?” Memphis asked, using air quotes.

  Laughing, I nodded my head which seemed stupid because it wasn’t as if she could see me.

  “Not in real life, but I have gotten to know him quite well through Shiloh. Their conversations are… unique and… interesting,” I answered, as politely and diplomatically as I could. To be honest sometimes hearing Shiloh talking to her Darth freaked me out! To see the little girl argue with an empty space took some getting used to, I wasn’t quite there yet.

  “Tell me about it, poor Deck is just starting to accept that his daughter and dead mate still watch Tour of Duty together.” Memphis sobered, her smile gone. “Kelsey don’t let your head get muddled with what ifs, Jason is with you now, he cares about you very much. The guys don’t gossip like women do about their relationships, but the flock have ears and we hear things. He is very protective of you, you have something special with him, that has to count for something right? Love comes when you least expect it, trust me.”

  Everything Memphis was saying wasn’t anything I hadn’t already told myself at least once. Hearing that my doubts and fears were real and normal gave me a sense of validation. I just had to keep showing him that I was there for him no matter what, and pray like hell it meant as much to him as it did to me.

  “Okay enough of this, how about a—” the sound of squealing tires stopped me mid-sentence. Spinning to my right, I gasped in shock to see that Memphis and I were standing on the road in the path of a car coming straight at us.

  “Oh shit! Memphis move!” I screamed urgently. Acting on impulse, I dived sideways and covered Memphis with my body and shoved both of us away from the car. Jasper barked and growled loudly, at me or the car, I didn’t care. The only thought in my mind was to get my blind, pregnant friend off the road.

  “Oh my god, Kelsey,” Memphis cried out over the loud roar of the oncoming car’s powerful engine and her dog’s fierce barking.

  I hit the ground so hard with Memphis landing on top of me, I lost my breathe from the impact. Very thankful I had the foresight to avoid her pregnant belly and took most of the impact from the ground with my own body.

  “Ow,” I wailed, a stinging pain throbbed in my elbow where I hit it when we fell.

  “Kelsey? Oh my god what happened? Where is Jasper? Jasper!” Memphis cried out frantically, and trying to get up at the same time which was not ideal for me as her hands were pushing on my chest. Taking in gulps of air, I desperately tried to get my breath back so I could reassure Memphis I was okay and see if she was too.

  A commotion of male voices across the street got my attention, it was then I recognised that we were near the fire station where Jason’s mate Chase worked, right next to the police station, but Jason would not be there I knew. Had he been still on duty, the driver of the car would not have gotten away.

  �
�Oh good, the fire boys are coming to our rescue,” I panted out still winded. “Hang on Memphis, the guys will help you up. Jasper is fine hon, he is right beside you,” I told her just as the big lug dropped his heavy weight on her chest, which meant on me too.

  Oh, good lord, how heavy is this mutt? I wondered stupidly as if that was the worst thing to happen to me and not a car nearly bowling me over.

  Angry male voices shouted out orders, heavy footsteps came closer and closer until I felt a large, rough hand on my bare shoulder.

  Oh shit, did I rip my new shirt? God damn it!

  “Kelsey? Memphis? Oh, fuck, are you both okay?” Someone with a deep, sexy voice asked from above me, but with Memphis squirming on top of me I couldn’t see whose face belonged to the voice.

  “I’m fine, but Memphis is scared, please help her first, make sure she didn’t hurt her stomach,” I begged.

  “It’s okay sweetheart, here is my hand, okay now let me get you up, don’t move let me do all the work,” the kind sexy voice said, then after a few seconds I was free of the weight on my chest. Breathing deep through my nose, I started to take stock of where my body hurt and ached. My elbow and the back of my shoulder hurt the most with a heated burn, closing my eyes against the pain I stayed still.

  “Here Kelsey, let me take a look before we move you sweetie.”

  Opening one eye, I peered at the devilishly handsome face of Hoove Grant, or Dylan as his mother knew him as, the rest of the town knew the muscled hunk as Hoove. His legendary appetite was the main reason Lake ordered so much produce from me.

  “Hey Hoove, how are you doing?” I asked with a shake of laughter, hissing when my side cried out in protest.

  “Can’t complain Kels, though it wasn’t me that just nearly got skittled by a one tonne car,” he joked, his hands running over my body looking for I presumed broken bones and open wounds.

  “You know you are a married man Hoove, and I happen to be in a committed relationship with a very well-known and protective cop.” My attempt at humour fell flat when Hoove touched a sore spot.

  “Ouch! Hoove watch it,” I grumbled indignantly.

  “Looks like you get a free ride in an ambulance smart arse,” Hoove said to me then turned to the man beside him.

  “Carson, get Chase to call Jason. It won’t be a pleasant call and only Chase will be able to calm the fucker down,” Hoove cautioned Carson, his station boss and Lake’s husband.

  “I’m more worried about the Wounded Souls’ road captain, that man is one intense bastard,” Carson muttered. “Hey Kels, bit of excitement for ya, hey?” Carson joked, but the tick at his jaw said he thought this was anything but a joke.

  “G’day Hoges, yeah that’s me all excitement and action,” I replied with a shrug, only to hiss when my shoulder cramped up again.

  Seriously Kelsey, how do you get yourself into these situations?

  Allowing Hoove to lay me back to the asphalt, I closed my eyes against the harsh sun and waited.

  Jason was going to go postal when he picks up his phone.

  And I didn’t even want to think about Creed’s reaction, that man’s love for his wife ran deep. Whoever was in that car better hope someone other than the Wounded Souls finds them first.

  Chapter 17

  JASON

  “Hey Johnston, you in your car?”

  The voice of my partner came over my car radio just as I was about to pull into my driveway.

  Oh for fuck’s sake. What the fuck does he want with me now?

  I deliberated ignoring the call after starting early again this morning then doing a stint at the Bar and Grill to help Mia with some stocktake. She was having trouble accounting for some pretty expensive top shelf alcohol that was on the buying manifest but she couldn’t find it in the storeroom. Rather than bring Steel in and watch him lose his shit, she asked me instead.

  We found the grog, eventually, but the bottles weren’t the kind she paid for, so after some nail-biting and some back and forth from Mia, she called her lug of a husband and told him that someone at the bar maybe doing a dodgy deal. I hightailed it out of there not long after that; I had seen Cooper Steel lose his temper enough during our teen years, so his epic temper was not all that interesting to me.

  Pulling over just at the start of my drive, I looked over the street and saw that the red Ford wasn’t there. Where the hell was my Mermaid? Glancing at the clock in the dash, I noticed that I was later getting home that intended.

  “Kelsey should be home? Where the devil could she be?” I mused out loud, reaching over the console for my phone, unknowingly I was about to find out.

  “Johnston, listen mate we’ve got some trouble out from of the fire house.” Jobe’s voice came across the line again, this time he sounded nervous.

  “Yeah, yeah hang on mate,” I grumbled at him even though he couldn’t hear me.

  ME: Mermaid why aren’t you home?

  Shooting off the text, I watched the screen for the delivered to change to read. And waited. Another thirty seconds went by and still it didn’t change.

  This was not usual for Kelsey, maybe she was delivering produce in town, or perhaps she was at the hardware store, dreaming of a new spade or whatever.

  “Jesus Christ Johnston, get your arse back here. Someone just tried to run down Kelsey and Memphis.” The words were barely out of Jobe’s mouth when I slammed the car into first gear, spun the steering wheel and turned the car around on its axis. Taking off with the tyres spinning, I reached the corner in record time.

  “Jobe, what the hell is going on?” I asked into the handset of my radio, my hand shook so bad, I nearly dropped the bloody thing.

  Ten mind-bending seconds went by before Jobe replied, all sorts of shit already flying through my head. Was she injured? Why the hell did a car go for her? A deliberate action or just an accident? I tried to calm myself and concentrate of my driving, thank Christ I didn’t have my Harley. Cop or not, I would have broken every road law to get to my woman as fast as possible.

  Jobe said tried, someone tried to run her and Memphis down. To my way of thinking that meant Kelsey was okay, a close call maybe. Whatever the circumstances that led to the incident, someone was going to find themselves in a world of hurt. Creed was not going to take the news any better than me.

  Weaving through an intersection, then over the medium strip of a roundabout Jobe finally answered my call.

  “Mate it is fucking bedlam here. I have four very fucking angry bikers, a few hysterical women, and Creed is yet to arrive. Please get here fast, I do not want to deal with Creed Stephens when he sees his wife crying and scratched up.”

  “Kelsey! Is Kelsey all right?” I yelled back at him, dread tingling up my spine.

  “Mate she is okay, a few knocks on her shoulder, side and elbow from hitting the ground so hard, but other than that she is spitting fire. She won’t get in the ambulance, all she wants is you, and Memphis won’t go anywhere without her husband. I swear to god, this is why I ain’t married,” Jobe grumbled. I took a deep breath, and eased my foot marginally off the accelerator but not too much. If Jobe said Kelsey was breathing fire and being stubborn she couldn’t be hurt too badly. That knowledge did not ease my worry however, I lost the plot when she suffered from a bout of heatstroke, her being nearly hit by a car? Yeah, this relationship stuff was giving my emotions a decent workout. Hearing that Kelsey needed me did some pretty girlie shit to my heartbeat.

  Fuck she needs me? More like I need her, I bloody crave the woman. My day starts and ends with her; her tender kisses, her soft touch, her amazingly beautiful smile.

  Turning onto the street that brought me to the new business hub where Memphis’ book store was located, just across the street from the fire and police stations, I was met with a barricade of cop cars, ambulances and Harleys.

  Parking as close as I could, I jumped out of my car and sprinted to where the large huddle of people were standing. A day, not too long ago, of being exactly here when the
former mayor of the town lost his shit at Axe.

  What the hell is going on in this place? What happened to the quiet leafy town I grew up in?

  Gun totting councilmen, drugs at schools, dangerous people behind the wheel. What else was going to happen?

  “Booth!” I yelled out when I spotted the tall frame of my president. Swinging around when he heard my call, Booth’s jaw ticked in an attempt at control, but it was the rubber band on his wrist being snapped in quick succession that told me a very different story.

  “Jason, see to Kelsey, then we need to talk.” Was all Booth said before the sound of a loud roaring bike engine could be heard over the noise of the crowd.

  “Oh fuck, here we go,” Booth muttered, striding his way towards the oncoming biker.

  Letting Booth deal with Creed, I pushed my way through the crowd of people that was keeping me from seeing Kelsey.

  “Jay!” Jobe called out when he saw me. “Over there mate.” He was pointing in the direction of the Ford I gave Kelsey to drive. The tailgate down and she was sitting on it, slouched against each other, Kelsey’s arm was in a sling and Memphis had white gauze over her forehead, her hand laying protectively over her belly and her dog Jasper standing to attention on the ground in a protective gesture.

  “Kelsey!” I shouted loudly. Her head whipped up at the sound of my voice, and she immediately jumped from the tailgate. I saw her flinch when her feet hit the ground, but it didn’t stop her progression to get to me.

  “Don’t move baby,” I scolded her, a little harder than I intended. But the way she was limping worried me as were the tears that were forming in her jade eyes. Kelsey crying tore at my heart, I’d much prefer her breathing fire.