“If you’re sure, but if you change your mind give me a day or two,” Sean said. “I’ll go let the crew know they can come in and see you.”
“Are there really a bunch of people waiting to see me?” Macon asked after the door closed.
Adam nodded. “Yeah, it’s not like home, buddy. These people give a shit. There have been times that we’re all we have so we stick together. Are you really feeling all right?”
“I feel like hell.” He smiled. “And I feel great, too.”
“Because of Ally?”
He shrugged. “She’s cool.”
Adam leaned over, his hands on the metal railing of the bed. “She was adamant about not being admitted, Macon. I got here right as the ambulance did and she was a little off.”
“Well, she’d just survived a tornado.” He felt off, too. And they were going to have a long talk about who was in charge when Taggart wasn’t around. She hadn’t obeyed his very reasonable commands.
Of course if she had, he might be dead, so maybe he’d rethink the lecture and make her some pancakes instead.
She’d also joked about his leg, so maybe she wasn’t entirely adverse to it.
“It wasn’t that and it wasn’t only about the money. I tried to explain workman’s comp to her. It would cover everything and I know damn well Sean is paid up, but she wouldn’t listen,” Adam explained. “She got really upset when they asked for ID.”
“If they get her ID they can bill her.” He thought he was starting to understand her. She’d been closed off, with all kinds of walls up, but he liked the woman who wasn’t hiding from him. She was funny and maybe the tiniest bit insane. It was like she’d opened up to him after the day’s incident with that asshat, Timothy. Or yesterday’s. “How long was I out?”
“A night. It’s almost noon. And I would bet a lot she wasn’t as worried about the money as she was handing over that ID. She didn’t want them to see it. I think she might be hiding something.”
His brother could be paranoid. It came with the territory. He worked in high-level security, the kind that sometimes got co-opted by the CIA. Adam had gone from being a soldier to being what their father called a mercenary. Now that he’d seen Adam in action, he would simply call him a hero. But he was a paranoid hero.
“I don’t think she’s trying to hide anything except the fact that she’s broke, and I have no room to complain there. It’s not like I’m rolling in it.” He stopped, coming up with another reason his brother might have a problem with Ally. “If you don’t want her in the guesthouse, say so.”
His brother’s eyes narrowed. “And if I said so? What would you do?”
“Get an apartment,” he replied.
“Shit, you want her.”
“I like her.” And he wanted her. She was the first woman he’d wanted in forever and that scared him because he hadn’t exactly tried having sex since he’d lost his leg. He’d been afraid his dick didn’t work anymore, but she’d fixed that problem. “I like her a lot.”
“Yeah, you like her in a ‘give up my nice house and go live somewhere scary because at least we’re together’ way.” He sighed and shook his head. “Of course she’s welcome. Sean says she’s passed all his background checks, so we’re good. Also, she saved you so her goodwill bank is full with me. She’s hiding something and it’s going to come out in the end. Do you want me to run a check on her?”
Sean would have run a cursory check, the same most employers did. Adam would delve into her background, peeling her apart like an onion and going through every layer. He would be ruthless about it and Macon was sure that once Adam was on the case, he would know everything there was to know about Allyson Jones. Including the stuff she might not want him to know.
“No. If I need to know she’ll tell me.”
“And if she decides you don’t?”
“It’s not a grand love affair, Adam. She needs a place to stay. I need someone to make sure my brain’s not bleeding. I’m sure she’ll be out and on her own in a week or two.”
Adam huffed. “No way. That’s one stray who’s looking for a home. I’ve seen it. Sometimes they really like to drift, but not that one. She took the first responsibility she could. She sacrificed for you the minute it came up. She might not think she’s looking for long term, but she’ll get comfortable. You better be sure you like her because getting rid of her might be hard on both of you.”
He wasn’t going to sic Adam on her. She’d saved him. She’d risked her life for his and if she had some secret…well, who didn’t? There were things he would never tell her. He would never give her the full story of what happened the day he lost his leg.
“Okay, I’ll back off,” Adam said. “Now, I’m going to let the hoard in. That is one mean-looking set of cooks, man. Do all restaurant employees look so rough?”
He grinned. “They do when they work at Top.”
For the first time in a long time, he felt like he belonged somewhere. He sat back as Adam called the first visitors in.
* * * *
“I’d really feel better if you let me run a few tests.” Will Daley was a handsome man. He was also stubborn.
“I’m fine.” Her back hurt like a mother, but she wasn’t about to run up thousands of dollars of debt when she could take some Advil and be good as new in a couple of days. Well, except she was fairly certain she’d developed a new fear of storms, but hey, what was one more phobia to add to the list?
“If you need me, call.” He handed her his card.
“I will.” She would for Macon.
The doctor shook his head and walked away.
“I think you frustrated the hot doc.” Deena walked up carrying two coffees.
“Tell me you got some sleep.” Deena was still wearing her cute top and blingy jeans from the night before.
She smiled, her lips curling up as she handed Ally the coffee. “I napped against Eric. He might look like all hard muscles, but he makes a nice pillow.” She frowned suddenly. “Oh, god. What if I snored? I’m pretty sure I snore, and not in a sweet snuffle way. Do you think the fact that I sound like a dying elephant will turn him off?”
It had been so long since she’d had a friend like Deena. Maybe never. She’d been that trashy Jones kid back in her hometown, the one whose dad went to jail. No one here cared about how awful her father had been. No one knew how much trouble she was. “You don’t sound like an elephant. It’s really more like a rhino.”
Deena slapped playfully at her arm and then gasped. “I’m so sorry.”
Ally shook her head. “I’m fine. I’m bruised, that’s all.”
She’d had way worse. This was going to be an ache, but she kind of liked it. She’d earned this ache. She’d done good.
Deena’s eyes filled with tears. “I can’t believe you did that. You know they’re saying he might have died without you.”
She wasn’t so sure of that. “I don’t know. He’s got a thick skull.”
“Stop. You need to stop being so modest and start thinking properly. You know what Macon’s reputation is, right?”
“He’s a nice guy?” He’d always been nice to her. Was he nice to the other waitresses? Sure. Maybe he was really nice to them. She’d noticed Jenni and Tiffany in the waiting room. They were two of the other servers. Both were young and pretty and probably had never spent a night on the streets or attacked a drug dealer with a hammer. Jenni was a petite blonde working her way through college, while Tiffany was an artist of some kind. She had the willowy figure found on magazine covers.
Ally was kind of short, and since she’d started eating at Top, she’d filled way out. What if Macon kissed any woman who totally threw herself at him?
“Macon is known as the great deflector,” Deena said as they walked toward the waiting room. “I gave him the nickname myself when I noticed how easily he deflected Jenni’s every attempt to trap him. That poor girl had it so bad. I don’t think it’s because she’s passionately in love with him. She’s the kind of girl who notices when a guy doesn’t notice and then she’s all over him.”
She knew the type. They annoyed her. “But everyone notices Jenni. The girl can’t walk into the kitchen without someone telling her how good she looks.”
“Because the other guys are smart,” Deena explained. “She’s a sweet kid, but none of these guys are interested in a kid. When Eric figured out her game, he hit on her once, let her turn him down, and now she leaves him alone. She’s perfectly satisfied with getting some compliments, but Macon ignores her. She trapped him in the storage closet once and I swear I’ve never seen a dude run so fast. For a guy with a C-Leg, he’s a gazelle when he wants to get away.”
“So he’s not a player.” She liked that he didn’t bother to play Jenni’s game. Maybe she should have a talk with Jenni.
“Not at all. I thought he might play for the other team. Until you walked in.”