Jacked (Trent Brothers #1)(84)

Fuck.

I tried to banish visions of the chase from that night—the lights, the glare on the wet roads, the adrenaline that coursed through our veins tracking that stolen Nissan. It would do me no good to rehash it now. “I’m all about family, but you can’t do it all, Erin.”

She was exasperated. “I’m the one who gets things done, Adam. It’s expected.”

Yeah, we’d see about her being so accessible to everyone once I had a say about it. “What about your sister?”

Erin’s hair swayed again. “Kate’s got her own challenges. It’s always fallen on my shoulders.”

I could relate to that. I was forever cleaning up after Kyle’s and Jason’s antics. “So what are you going to do?”

Her bottom lip puffed out. “I hate to bake.”

I grabbed my cell and scrolled through my calendar. Suits from the network wanted me to come to the main office for a meeting with the bigwig but that wasn’t until the following week. “What time is the service Thursday?”

“Why?”

I looked up. “Why? Because I want to know what time to pick you up, that’s why.”

Her head started shaking again. “You don’t have to do that.”

I’d need to take Friday off, too. Could they make it any more difficult to type on these damn phones? How did I end up in next year? Back. God damn it. Not June. These buttons aren’t made for men’s fingers. She said Thursday. “What time, Doc?”

“Adam, you don’t have to go. It’s family and everyone will be upset and—”

“What time, Erin? It’s not up for debate.”

She looked stunned. “You really want to take me?”

God, how many men have f*cked with this woman’s head? “I don’t say things I don’t mean. Going to take you to the funeral, too.”

“There’s a church service before the burial.”

I shrugged. Been in plenty of churches before.

“A Catholic church,” she added.

Was she really that set on me not going, trying to dissuade me? “Just so you know, all four of the Trent brothers were altar boys at one time or another. And no, we weren’t sexually assaulted or anything like that. Well, maybe Kyle was. Would explain a few things. I’ll have to ask him next time I see him.”

It felt great to see her smile again.

I took her by her hands and pulled her up off the counter chair. “I’m driving you, so no arguments.”

Those big blue eyes gazed up at me, capturing my complete attention. “My mother expects me to stay overnight.”

I slipped my hand over her cheek. “So I’ll sleep on the couch or something. It’s not that far of a drive, either. We’ll figure it out as we go, okay?”

Erin nodded. “Okay.”

I leaned down to kiss her again, wanting to wipe the worry from her mind. I knew she was hurting but I couldn’t stop myself. “What time, Doc?” I asked, probing her for answers.

“Six,” she whispered. “Starts at six.”

Her answer made me smile. She made me work for it. The sadness making her eyes still heavy, however, was instantly sobering. “How about we go relax and watch a movie?”

I seized her moment of hesitance. “Come with me.”

“What about the dishes?” She pointed.

“Leave them.” I didn’t let go of her hand as I led her down the stairwell, the old steps creaking under both our weight.

I’d been working on renovating the basement for the last few years. The walls were framed and dry walled and I’d used some of the money from the show to buy a huge sectional sofa and a large flat screen television. I had hoped she wouldn’t notice the steel eye-hook bolted to the exposed ceiling joist in the middle of the room, so I pulled her down to sit next to me as quickly as I could. Though it hadn’t been used in well over a year, it was still something I wasn’t ready to openly discuss. I debated taking it down. The last thing I wanted was for her to fear me, especially since I was finally taking a chance with someone.

She was sitting on the very edge of the couch, tension and apprehension and that womanly consternation making each of her movements very deliberate. I kept reminding myself to take it slow, test the waters, see how receptive she was.

One step at a time, Adam.

I grabbed the remote and slid behind her, sprawling out on the wide couch. I wanted to feel her close to me. The dying man inside me was starving for it.

I grabbed a few pillows and crammed them under my head, making sure to make a spot for her. “You’ve been through enough. Kick back. Relax. Let’s watch some TV.”

She turned to look at me. “I should get going. I have to figure out why I lost my fellowship.”

Thinking about her running out, running away, nearly set me into a panic. I wasn’t willing to let her go just yet. “Your boss going to be there?”

“No, but maybe I can get answers somewhere else. Maybe one of the other committee members is in. Why they told Randy, Doctor Mason, first and not me… I don’t know. I just have to get to the bottom of this.”

I held her firm. “I think it’s shitty that they didn’t give you an official reason. Hearing something so important second hand, well… So how did this other woman find out before you?”