Fireflies From Heaven (7 page)

My brain felt
like it had short-circuited.
 
Nothing Reed could have said to me would have come as more of a shock,
not after everything I knew about him and Amber.
 
“You want to get together with me?” I
said in disbelief.

“Ellie, I was
going to call you, but then you showed up at my hospital room that day and you
seemed, I don’t know, skittish.
 
Isabelle
mentioned that your ex-boyfriend is marrying Brooke, and I thought you might be
still hung up on him.
 
I’d planned
to give you some space, but here you.”

“Reed, I’m your
nurse from the VNT.”

His brow
furrowed and he watched me, frowning.

“Remember, a
nurse was supposed to come visit you today from the VNT and check your
leg?
 
That’s me.” I gestured at my
navy-blue scrubs.

Reed was silent
for several moments, and he slowly nodded in understanding.
 
“I see. You’re not here because you
wanted to see me.
 
I’m your job.”

“You know
you’re not just a job to me.
 
I care
about you, Reed.”
 
Silently, I
begged him to believe me.

“Don’t say
anything you don’t mean, Ellie.”

“Amber thinks
the two of you are getting back together. I wish things were different.”

“Ellie, Amber
and I are not getting back together.
 
If you’re not interested I’ll accept that. You don’t have to lie to me.”

“I’m not lying,”
I protested.

“Ellie, maybe you
should go,” he said calmly.

 
I could tell he was disappointed, but it
struck a nerve that he asking me to leave. I was frustrated and I was hurt, but
I was not leaving.
 
Not yet.

“I’m not going
anywhere until I look at your leg.”

“My leg is fine.”

“I’ll have to
see for myself,” I insisted.

“Are you always
this bossy with your patients?”

“Only when they
call me a liar.”

His eyes
flashed with regret, and his brows drew together in a frown.
 
“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

It wasn’t an
apology, but if we were going to call a truce I’d have to meet him
halfway.
 
“I didn’t mean to upset
you.
 
If you want to ask for another
nurse, I’ll understand.”

He looked as if
he was considering what I’d said.
 
“If you think I’m going to call your boss and complain about you because
you won’t go out with me, then you can relax. I’m not that big of an ass.”

I blinked,
surprised. “I don’t think that.
 
You’re just a lousy judge of character because I’ve never been anything
but honest with you.”

We stared at
one another for several tense heartbeats before Reed broke the silence.
 
“Tell me you don’t feel something between
us.” His steady footsteps ate the distance between us.

“I feel it
Reed.
 
I’ve always felt it.”
 
He reached for me and I stepped back,
afraid of what I’d let happen if he touched me.

“You really do
think I have something going on with Amber. What can I do to fix this?”

“She loves you
so much,” I whispered.

“Ellie,” Reed
said softly, taking my hand.

 
I pulled it back quickly.
 
“I have another stop.
 
I should look at your leg, Reed.”

He didn’t
argue, and fifteen minutes later I left Reed’s house and went to see my dad.
 
He wasn’t home, but Jack greeted me with
big, wet kisses and listened intently while I vented and said all of the things
to Jack that I couldn’t say to Reed.

I couldn’t stop
thinking about the grim picture Isabelle had painted of her and Reed’s childhood,
and it hurt remembering her heartbreaking tale.
 
Their mom had been killed in a car crash
when Reed was only four, Isabelle seven.
 
Their dad had worked a lot while their
mom was alive, but after she was gone the pressure of raising two kids without
a wife was more than he could handle.

 
Darryl Bentley had always been a drinker,
but it wasn’t until after his wife was gone that his sickness accelerated to a
whole new level and he gradually turned into someone they didn’t
recognize.
 
A monster.

 
He started forgetting to do things like
buying groceries, doing the laundry and housework.
 
Isabelle and Reed had done what they
could, but they were young, and it wasn’t the same as when their mother was
alive.
 
The first Christmas after
their mom was gone had been the worst.
 
They’d both wanted their mommy back something fierce and so they’d
walked to the mall to see Santa and ask for her to come home, too innocent and
full of belief to realize the impossibility of the request.
 
 

Isabelle had
said she’d known something was wrong by the strange look that Santa had given
her, but she did her best to assure Reed that everything was going to be
okay.
 
When they’d finally gotten
home after walking a total of six miles to and from the mall in the bitter cold,
their dad had been furious.
 
He’d
been stumbling around, screaming and smelling of the bottle.
 
When he’d unfastened his belt, Isabelle
said she hadn’t understood what he meant to do until he’d whipped them both.

Two weeks
later, they awakened on Christmas morning to find their dad passed out beneath
the Christmas tree, still drunk and lying in a pool of vomit.

“It’s his
fault!” Reed had shouted angrily to Isabelle. “Santa didn’t come because of
him!
 
I hate him! I hate you!” His
little fists had pounded Darryl until the man’s big fist slammed into Reed’s
jaw knocking him out cold. That was the Christmas they learned that there was
no Santa Claus.

After that
nothing Reed did would please Darryl.
 
It was as if Darryl hated him, and wanted to punish him for being
alive.
 
Isabelle had done as much as
she could to protect Reed, but it wasn’t enough especially since Reed had done
everything he could to shield his sister from Darryl’s wrath.

One afternoon Darryl
had woken up still drunk and furious to find Reed gone.
 
Isabelle, who’d been throwing up all
day, hadn’t gone to school, but Reed had and she’d tried to tell Darryl that.

“Stupid little
bastard!” He’d shouted stumbling out the door. “Wait till I get my hands on
him!”

Isabelle began
to cry and followed her dad to the bus stop where Reed was about to be dropped
off.
 
She needn’t have worried.
 
Once five-year-old Amber Foster saw
Reed’s dad, she calmly informed the bus driver that Reed was supposed to be
dropped off at her house that day.
 
Since Amber’s dad was a school board member, the bus driver didn’t
hesitate and drove off leaving Darryl Bentley screaming and carrying on behind
them.

 
Will Foster found out what happened and he
insisted Reed spend the night, but Reed refused to leave his sister alone, so
the Fosters went to pick up Isabelle as well.
 
Isabelle begged Mr. and Mrs. Foster not
to call Social Services.
 
“They’ll
separate Reed and I.
 
Please,” she’d
begged.

 
In the end Mr. Foster forced Darryl
Bentley into rehab and insisted Isabelle and Reed stay with his family while
their dad got help. Mr. Foster threatened to call Social Services and the
police if Darryl didn’t complete the rehab or if anything abusive happened
again.

Isabelle and
Reed spent a lot of their childhood with the Fosters, and Reed and Amber became
inseparable.
 
Some of the kids at
school had started making fun of Reed because of his old clothes and lack of
school supplies, but Amber stood up to the bullies, taking Reed under her wing
and insisting that her friends accept him.

They’d been
best friends all throughout elementary school, and in middle school things between
them changed.
 
“Reed started
watching Amber with a look in his eyes that I knew meant he was falling hard
for her,” Isabelle had said. “When they were sixteen they were a couple, and I
was sure nothing would ever break them up.”

But they had broken
up.
 
Amber had fallen for another
guy and Reed had made love to Ellie.
 
Was that too much for Reed and Amber to overcome?
 
I fell asleep pondering the answer.

“Have you been
avoiding me?”

Startled, I
glanced up at Isabelle, who’d taken the vacant seat across from me at Rachel’s,
our favorite coffee house.

“What?
 
No, of course not,” I replied too quickly,
feeling guilty for not being honest with her about Reed.

“Sheesh, relax.
I was only joking.” Isabelle looked at me as if she thought I might have had too
much coffee. “You should reconsider a second cup,” she added jokingly, nodding
at my large sized coffee.

“Sorry, I’ve
just been swamped with work.”

“Hey, I talked
to Reed this morning and he mentioned that he had the best nurse in the entire
city,” Isabelle said, smiling.

“Thanks.
 
I was going to call you last night, but I
went to visit Dad.”

“Don’t sweat it.
I’ve been busy myself.
 
Are we still
on for this weekend?”

“Absolutely.
Girls night out, I can’t wait.”

Isabelle hugged
me and before she left and I breathed a sigh of relief.
 
I was making a big deal out of
nothing.
 
It wouldn’t be the end of
the world if Isabelle found out I’d slept with Reed or even if she found out
that I was still harboring feelings for him, but it might put her in a
difficult position since she was Amber’s friend.

I made a quick
stop by the VNT office to turn in paperwork before heading out to see Reed. It
was early and I didn’t run into anyone, which was good because I wasn’t in the
mood to hear Sandy talk about giving Reed a bath.
 
I knew she wasn’t serious, but I was
still jealous. I didn’t want to hear about another woman seeing, or having her
hands on, Reed’s naked body.
 
Groaning in frustration, I reached for my coffee and told myself to stop
acting ridiculous.

A half an hour
later, I arrived at Reed’s picturesque home. He was sitting on the front porch
with his laptop when I pulled up.
 
After our meeting yesterday, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Reed and
I walked cautiously towards him, curious and excited about what would happen
between us today. He lifted his dark head and smiled and my stomach did a slow
flip.

“You came back.”
His deep leisurely drawl that sounded oh-so-sexy and made me want things I
couldn’t have.
 
Reed started to
stand, but I shook my head and took a chair next to the patio sofa where he
sat.
 

He was wearing
a t-shirt, this one black with ARMY written on the front and gray sweats and he
was sexier than any other man I’d ever seen.
 
Apparently, I had a thing for men in
t-shirts and sweats. No, I just had a thing for Reed.

“You didn’t
think I would?” My voice actually shook.

He closed the
laptop, set it on the table to his left and focused his attention on me.
 
“I thought you’d come back.
 
You’ve got mettle, and I am your
patient.”

“Right.
 
You are. I hope I didn’t interrupt
anything,” I told him, nodding at his laptop.

 
“I’m taking some college courses online,
but it’s nothing that can’t wait. I have a lot of time on my hands,” he said
with a smile.

“That’s
great.
 
I mean, not that you have a
lot of time to kill, but taking college classes is good.
 
Anything interesting?”

“I’m finishing
up some basic courses. Next semester I’ll start classes in my major.”

Intrigued, I
asked, “What’s that?”

“Mechanical
Engineering.”

“Wow. That’s
impressive.”

Reed shrugged.
“According to the army I have a knack for making things work, and it’s
something I’m interested in.
 
Do you
want to go inside or can we do this here?” he asked, apparently ready to get
down to business.

“Here is fine.”
I pulled his file out of my bag and clicked my pen.
 
“How have you been feeling?”

“Good.”

“Are you
experiencing any pain?”

“Nothing
unbearable.”

“On a scale of
1 to 10, how would you rate your level of pain?”

His dark brows
drew together as he thought about it. “Two, maybe.”

I glanced up
and locked eyes with Reed.
 
“Hmm. A
two,” I repeated, thinking it was probably more like a six or seven.
 
“Are you sure?”

“What’s that
supposed to mean?”

“Some patients,
particularly men, tend to underestimate pain.”

He scoffed. “That’s
a little sexist, don’t you think?”

At first I
thought he was kidding, but after several tense moments and he hadn’t broken a
smile, I realized I’d offended him.
 
“You’re right.
 
I should have
said ‘Some people’ not ‘Some men’, but since its true that men do that and
you’ve already told me you’re not going to call my boss and complain, I
probably shouldn’t worry about it, right?”

“I said I
wouldn’t complain to your boss because you wouldn’t go out with me.
 
Sexism, well that’s something I take real
serious.”

I looked up
from my notes and stared at Reed, whose expression was grim, and I stiffened.
“I’m sorry.
 
The comment was
unprofessional.”

 
His lips twitched.
 
“Ellie, stop.
 
I’m only messing with you.”

 
I exhaled in relief.
 
“Yeah, I knew that.”
 
I hadn’t. “Jerk,” I whispered softly,
smiling.

“What was that
Nurse McAllister?” he prodded with a smile in his voice.

“I said
‘hurt’.
 
Where does it hurt?”

“Do you really
want me to answer that?”

 
Something in his voice sent a shiver down
my spine.
 
I shouldn’t have done it,
but my eyes slipped below his waist and landed on the unmistakable bulge in his
sweats.
 
I was suddenly hot.
 
All over.
 
I pressed my legs together and shifted
in the cushiony chair, flushed and aroused.
 
My gaze lifted to Reed’s and I saw that
he was aware of my desire and as on fire as I was.

My hand that
held the pen trembled, and I tried to remember what I was supposed to be asking
him, but I was at a loss.

“You thought I
was serious,” Reed chided gently. “I’d never do anything to hurt you, Ellie.
 
I sure as hell wouldn’t complain about
you no matter what you said or did.”

“That’s
reassuring.”

“Feel free to
say or do whatever you’d like with me, I won’t complain.”

“You’re flirting
with me.”

Our gazes
clashed and held.

“I won’t
apologize for it.”

I felt edgy
enough to jump right out of my skin. “I won’t ask you to.”

“So you’re not
going to complain about me?” His gaze heated and melted into mine. “No matter
what I say or do.”

I was burning
up. “What are you going to do?” I asked breathlessly.

“That’s up to
you.
 
You’re calling the shots,
sweetheart.”

 
I stood so quickly that the file on my
lap dropped and papers scattered on the porch.

“This is wrong,”
I muttered to myself.

“Because of
Amber,” he said deliberately. “Ellie, has it occurred to you that you can’t
make me be with another woman?”

“No.”
Flustered, I clasped my hot cheeks with my hand.
 

“Think about
it, Ellie. I have.
 
All last
night.
 
You think that it’s best for
Amber and me to get back together, but what if you’re wrong?”

I sank back
down into the chair, confused. “I don’t know.”

Reed was watching
me cautiously, as if he wanted to convince me but was unsure about how to do
it.
 
He reached out to touch me, but
stopped and lowered his arm.
 
“God,
you’re sweet and selfless, but you have to know what you’re saying doesn’t make
sense.”

“Can you
honestly say you don’t have feelings for Amber?”

His steady gaze
held mine. “No, I can’t.
 
She’s been
my friend for years. I feel something for her, but it’s not what you think.”

“Maybe if you
gave it some time,” I suggested.

Reed let out a
frustrated sigh and laughed humorlessly.
 
“I can’t decide which I want to do to you more.
 
Kiss you or spank you.”

My stomach did
a double somersault.
 
“What?”