Chapter 3

Mac had a pounding headache. It was pressure like she’d never experienced before. She was prone to migraines. Usually, she could just lie down for a little while, about an hour, and it would ease up. But this one. Not today.

She and her crew were going to start ripping up carpet in the downtown house. The other place, the estate home, is what they were calling the larger home. It made it easier, she thought, if they were to think of them as two separate jobs. She knew that it did her, but it wasn’t really working out that way. When ordering, her dad ordered for both projects at the same time. That would work all right, but she thought that they should have been billed as two separate places.

“Want me to cancel the order, honey?” She said that it was all right. The equipment and supplies were going to be delivered to the estate house and she’d just have to have a crew go out there and bring it here. “They’d charge you nearly what it cost in the savings to have them separate them out and deliver them to each place, I’m betting.”

“That’s what they said to me when I called about the order. It’s no biggie, Dad, I promise. I’m just dealing with this pain in my head, and I don’t want to be a bitch about anything.” He told her that she was doing a fine job of not taking it out on him. “I’m trying.”

As the crew was getting some of the items that they needed to work on today, she found herself a dark corner and lay on the floor. It wouldn’t be ideal for her to be there, it was dangerous, as a matter of fact, sleeping on the job, but she needed relief, and it wasn’t going to come with her not being able to get to her doctor’s or at least rest like she was planning to do. After about twenty minutes, she was ready to give up when one of the Hathaway men showed up.

“I’m Kahana.” She told him good for him. His grin might have been cute if she wasn’t in so much pain. “Your dad told me that you suffer from migraines. I can help you with that. If you’d allow me to.”

“I have a doctor, but he’s out of town right now. Usually, I get a shot of something in my head, I can’t think right now, and that will do me for a while.” He asked her what kind of meds did she get. “Let me think for a moment. It starts with a d…I can’t remember.”

“Dihydroergotamine? Or it’s usually called DHE.” She told him that was it. “That’s usually for severe migraines. Has he ever tried giving you Sumatriptan? It’s a lesser dose, but it might do the trick without making you sick. I heard too that you have a terrible tummy reaction with the DHE.”

“Please, I’ll take just about anything right now.” He didn’t waste any time but joined her in the room she was in. After taking her blood pressure, which was up a little, he injected the Sumatriptan right into her head and waited with her when it started to take effect. “That feels so much better already. Not gone but tolerable.”

“I’ll give you a second dose here in a few minutes. Just try to relax and breathe.” He asked her if it was possible for her to go home to rest. “It would be but I drove myself in here today. I don’t feel well enough to drive myself home.”

After the second dose, she felt like she could fly a kite. Or be the kite. She knew too that she wasn’t going to be able to go home at all with the way that she was feeling. Just to stand up off the floor made her slightly ill; however, her head didn’t bother her so much now. When he administered the third dose to take the effect all the way off her head, she couldn’t have moved if her life depended on it.

Waking up in a dark room, she didn’t move for fear of waking up her pounding head again. The longer she laid there the better she was feeling. It wasn’t until her mom said her name that she realized that she wasn’t alone in her room.

“You feeling better, honey?” She said she thought so. “Well, you’ve been down for four days. I don’t know what you were given, but you sure did need the rest that went with it.”

“Four days? Great. That’s going to put us behind now.” Mom told her to hush that it had been taken care of. “I think I can sit up now. Not too quickly, but I can sit up.”

With her mom’s help, she was not only able to sit up but she could sit in a chair as well. Her head wasn’t hurting her at all, either. It was almost as if she were a real person today.

“With the shots that Doctor Gimble gave me, it would be four or five days before my headache would go away. I’ve never felt this good, Mom, in a very long time.” Mom told her because Doc Gimble was nearly seventy years old and told her once why mess with success. “I remember that. You wanted something stronger for your anti-depression, and that was his answer. I had forgotten about that.”

“I didn’t. Every time I take my medication, I think about that. Had it not been for your dad telling me to find a real head doctor, I do believe that’s what he called her, then there is no telling where I’d be right now. I know that I’d be hiding away from people again.”

Her mom had suffered terribly from depression. It got to the point that she wouldn’t leave the house and didn’t shower unless someone made her. And eating, too, was out of the question for her mom. She was still seeing her doctor and it seemed to have been a perfect fit for her. She might have to look for a doctor herself. Maybe Kahana would be her doctor as he seemed to have his head out of the past and working to be a better doctor than most.

After having some lunch with her mom, she headed to the downtown building. A lot of work had been done while she’d been gone, and she was glad that the carpets were all torn out and the floors were being sanded. The work on the drywall was started but without the wire there, they were at a standstill for that.

“Did you call them to see what the holdup was?” Mark, her foreman just under her said that he’d called several times and was put on hold and forgotten. “I’ll take care of them. I’m headed out that way here in a few minutes. I’ll drop by. Is the company truck around?”

She was nearly there to bash in some heads when she heard from her dad. “They delivered too much here so when we get this finished up, then I’ll send the rest to you. Damned contractors.” She told him that she couldn’t wait and was headed to the cable office anyway. “You tell them, honey. And I might just keep the cable that’s going to be left over for their screwing things up.”

There wasn’t anyone in the office when she arrived at the cable company. After getting the run around for about twenty minutes, she finally had had enough and put her fingers into her mouth and let go of her infamous whistle. Dad told her that it could make trains look bad. It was so loud.

“I want the cable that was ordered a week ago delivered to this address.” She carefully wrote out the instructions and what she needed. “If it’s not here by the end of the day, then—”

“We delivered it three days ago.” She asked the man who seemed to have a chip on his shoulder where he’d delivered it. “I’ll have to look.” When he didn’t move, she took several steps in his direction, and that got him moving. “What will you do if we don’t get it there by the end of the day? It’s not like there is another cable company around to meet people’s needs.”

“Ah, but you’re wrong on that. I’m thinking that from now on, I’m going to be telling people about satellite and the benefits that it will bring to their homes. Do you have any idea how many houses we work on that need an upgrade? What if we told them that it’s better to go to a streaming service rather than depending on your company to get news and movies coming into their homes?” He told her to go ahead. “Good. I’ll tell Mr. Hathaway that you’re not going to be his provider, and that will make it so his brothers, all five of them, aren’t going to use you either. Then there are the people that come to see them. How much business do you think you’ll lose when they start telling people what a piece of work you are?” Mac made a decision she hoped that she’d not regret later. “You know what? Forget it. I’ll just put a satellite in.”

“Yeah? What are you going to tell that Hathaway person when it all goes to shit? You’ll be begging me to come out to your little job site and put the cable in. You’ll see.” He walked away laughing, and she pulled out the phone and called Axel. After telling him everything that was going on, he told her that he was going to put her on hold, to hang on for a few minutes.

She could see the man she’d talked to answer his phone. Without a thought as to who he could be talking to, she made her way out of the offices and back to the parking lot. She hated being indoors more than she had to be, so she was glad for the small reprieve. It was then that Axel got back to her.

“Okay. If I don’t miss my bet, Mr. Landry is going to be begging you to put the cable in. If he can’t persuade you to do that, he’s going to be out of a job. It’s not your fault if that was where you were going with your thoughts. My dad owns the franchise here in town, so he’s going to be making a couple of calls. If you think that satellite would be better, I’m all for it.” She said she didn’t want anyone to lose their job over this, but if anyone deserved it, it would be that prick. She also told him that cable internet was less spotty at times than having a dish atop your home. “Good, I was hoping you’d say that. I’m sure that within the hour, you’ll have all the cable you need for several projects you have going on.”

When Landry came out of the building, she could tell he was pissed. Telling Axel what he was doing, coming toward her had him laughing. Then out of nowhere, the punch to her face had her falling back on her ass, then nothing. She was sure that he was going to hurt her, too, when she was down. And she’d only just gotten her headache to go away.

Waking up, she wasn’t surprised to see her parents in the emergency department room with her. What did surprise her was that Axel was there as well as Kahana. He was shining a light into her eyes, and it was annoying.

“Did you know that you talk to yourself when you’re unconscious?” She told him that she didn’t since she was out. “Good point. Anyway, I’ve had to have fourteen stitches put in the back of your head. Also, two in your lip. I believe, too, that you have a hard head. You should have had plenty more stitches than just the few that I was able to squeeze in.”

“Gee, thanks.” He laughed and told her that she was welcome. “When can I go home? I have a lot of crap that needs taking care of.”

“You’re not. At least tonight, you’re not. As I was going to say, you have a concussion. As well as those stitches in your pretty head.” She didn’t think this day could get any worse than it was right now. “My dad has taken care of your cable guy. It’s doubtful that he’ll be able to work anywhere once this gets out. He’s been arrested, too, by the way.”

“Good. I’ve never met someone so arrogant in my life than that guy. How is it that he’s been working there more than a day.” Charlie said he’d never been told about him before. “Well, you need to make sure that whatever other businesses you own know that you’re around to help them out if you need them. I’m betting, too, that the turnover rate for that place is high as well.

She was brought up to date about what was going on, and she was ready for them all to go away so that she could have something for the pain. As soon as she was thinking about how to be nice without feeling like shit, Kahana told her that she should take something for the pain. Thankful that it was taken out of her hands, she didn’t have to be mean again and tell them all to get the fuck out. Her dad lingered a bit as she was drifting off.

“Baby, I just wanted to tell you how much I love you and am so proud of you.” She smiled at her dad, the only thing that she was sure that he’d understand. “I’m going to leave when you’re asleep. Don’t scare me like this again.” She nodded, then drifted off to a painless sleep.

~*~

“You like her.” Axel looked at his brother, Stamos, and asked him what he was talking about. “I’ve never seen you like this before, and the only thing that has changed is that you met Mac. She is making you a lot less tense, too.”

“I don’t know what it is you’re talking about.” But he did. It just occurred to him that he loved hanging out with her no matter how prickly she was. He found that he wanted to say things to her that would get her going, and that was just stupid, he told himself. “She is the most odd woman I’ve ever met. She just tells it like she thinks too.”

“Yes, she does. Are you going to ask her out? If not, then there is a long line of us that would love to take her out on a date.” He felt his temper flare, and that surprised him. He’d not thought of Mac in that way before. “You’re angry. Good. I was hoping that you’d get off your ass and see what the two of you can do together.”

“I don’t want to date her.” Stamos called him a liar. “Okay, so I do but until you mentioned it, I never thought of her like that before.”

“Now that you are thinking about her, I’m serious when I say if you wait too long, every one of us is going to ask her out. Doubtful that she’d go, she might not even go when you ask her, but I think that the two of you are more suited than any of the rest of us.” He asked him what he meant. “I really don’t know either, but I can see the two of you having a long-term relationship—perhaps even going the extra mile and marrying. Your kids would be hellions. But they’d be well loved and taken care of.”

“I don’t know what to say.” Stamos told him to ask her out. “I think I will. She’ll more than likely turn me down, but I’m not going to give up so easily. How did you get to be so smart?”

He knew that she was going to be at the downtown building today. She was supposed to be taking it easy, but he knew that he’d be doing the same thing. Working kept the demons away. Overthinking was his biggest problem, as was overworking. Taking a trip to the building, he was shocked to see how much had been done. Asking where Mac was, they told him that she was on the second floor pluming in the new shower stall that had finally arrived.

She was working when he found her. Cursing too. She was funny when she was flustered, but he didn’t comment on that. He liked his head right where it was. As soon as she stepped back from the job, he cleared his throat. Almost as if she knew that he’d been there, she turned around and asked him if he really needed to have hot and cold water in the shower.

“I’m reasonably sure that I’d need them both. The thought of taking a shower with only one of those sounds very painful. Would you have dinner with me tonight?” She asked him what he said. “The shower? I’d really like to have both hot and cold if you can manage it.”

“No, the other part. Where you asked me out. Are you insane?” Axel told her that there were days that he’d asked himself that same question. “I’m not much of a dating person. I mean, it’s been a long time. I was hurt once, and the thought of getting tangled up with a man again has me a bit gun-shy.”

“Your dad told me about Richardson. He seemed to think that you were also kind of glad that he left when he did.” She nodded and cocked her head, and looked at him. “Do I have something in my teeth?”

“No. You really are an odd man. Where would we be going on this date if I were to say yes?” He asked her where she wanted to go. “I don’t care, but I think I’d like to go to a place that has cloth napkins. I’m sick to death of fast food.”

“I can arrange that. What time are you getting off today?” She told him that it wouldn’t be too much longer after five. “Good. I’ll pick you up at six, and we can have dinner together.”

“You know, when your brother Kahana asked me out, he said that I’d have to figure out where I’d like to go, and he’d take me. I don’t want to have to pick everything out. If I were to ask you out, then I’d pick, but since you…never mind. You must think I’m off my noodle.” He told her that he didn’t think that at all that it made sense to him. “Thanks. I’ll see you…I live with my parents, as you know, so don’t expect to be able to spend the night or anything. And your home isn’t up to par yet so no hanky-panky until we get to know one another a bit more.”

“I can handle that too.” He gave her a quick kiss on her mouth, careful of her stitched-up lip, and before she could chastise him for it, he left her to finish up her work. Now, all he had to do was sometime in the next six hours, he had to find someplace that had cloth napkins. He didn’t think that would be so difficult. Pulling out his phone, he called his mom. She’d know the perfect place. He didn’t know how she’d take him dating Mac, but it was only a date between them and nothing more. “Mom? It’s Axel. I have a date tonight with Mac, and the only stipulation that I have from her is that there needs to be cloth napkins. I’m assuming that counts out all the fast food places around.”

“I should hope so. Cloth napkins, huh? How about I think about that and call you back? Did she tell you if she’s allergic to anything?” Axel told his mom that he’d not asked. “Might want to get with her mom then. Find out that and her favorite food.”

“You don’t seem surprised that I’ve asked her out.” Mom told him that she was glad that he was getting out there and that she and his dad really enjoyed being around Mac. “It’s nothing serious. I swear. Just that I’d like to see her, and this might not be anything at all.”

“I understand that. But do you?” He asked her what she meant. “Axel, you’ve been hanging out with her since you met her. You’ve been to that job site more times than I think you’ve been to your own home being taken care of. Of course, you like her.”

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll call her mom right now. I just want this to be special. Don’t ask me why, I don’t have an answer but I do want to make this date better than she’s had before.” She told him that she’d be awaiting his call and to not screw this up. “I won’t. I swear it. I really am excited about this, and I don’t know why either.”

After talking to Dani, she told him that when Mac wanted cloth napkins, that usually meant comfort food. Or steak. While she wasn’t a big red meat eater, she did like a good steak on occasion and her favorite side dish was baked sweet potato. He thanked her a great deal, and again, she didn’t seem to be surprised that he’d asked her out. Was he that obvious?

Calling his mom back, she had two names of restaurants that she thought would suit the bill. He told her too that her mother said that she didn’t care for over-the-elegance when dating, not unless it was a celebration of some sort.

“That’s what your dad told me when I mentioned that you were going out. That she’d be more of a woman that didn’t care for that sort of stuff but would fine with paintings for sale on the walls sort of restaurant.” Axel asked her if she thought him dating her was a bad idea since she was working for him. “Axel, you’re a grown man. You should be able to figure that one out on your own. Do you like her, or are you just hoping to get into her panties?”

“I don’t think that’s the reason, no. I’m going to tell you the truth mom, the thought of her dating or even seeing someone else has me wanting to find them and tell them to back off. And I’ve never had a date with her yet. Is that insane?” She laughed, and he felt his own humor tugging at his mouth. “I’m going to take that as a no. You don’t think that I’m insane.”

“You’d be correct.” She laughed a bit more. “I do see you two having a long-term thing. Will it result in marriage? I don’t know. But I do want you to know that you have my blessings.”

“Thanks, Mom. You’re the best, and I love you very much.” She told him that she loved him as well and that he needed to get his ass in gear before their date was on. “I was going to get her flowers, but I have a feeling, like me, she’d not want to see them die. Now that I think about it, I’m not going to get anything. It’s our first date and I don’t want her to be upset with me over a box of chocolates or even some kind of flower arrangement.

When he closed his phone, he thought about where they were going. He didn’t think that it was a sexy dress kind of place, but he did want to see her in a dress. While sitting at the light in town, the only one, he thought about what she’d look like in something tight-fitting and red. When the car behind him blared on their horn, he realized that he had a hard-on. Things were getting out of hand.

Axel hadn’t been a person that was a big dater. He did enjoy the company of the opposite sex and, on occasion did think about that when going out. But he found himself wanting more than that with Mac. He thought that she could hold her own in any kind of conversation and wouldn’t speak if she had nothing to say. She wouldn’t mince words either but tell him what she thought of him no matter what the circumstances were.

By the time six rolled around he had himself in a tizzy. He’d been out before, with beautiful women, too, but this date—he didn’t want to put too much thought into what that meant, but he wanted things to progress to some other level with Mac. Not necessarily sex, but close to it. The thought of some heavy petting, like he was in high school, did appeal to him a great deal. He left to pick her up at a quarter past six and was glad that he’d not arrived too early.

She was still getting ready, he was told, when he was let into her family home. Charlie said that he was glad to see them both together but promised not to look into things too deeply. His smile said something differently and Axel laughed. Sitting in the living room with her parents, they told him how well his home was coming along. He was glad that someone knew, as he’d not been out there since he’d been the first day. Christ, he needed to get out more. Especially since he was paying so much to have the house finished up before fall.

He heard her in the hall before she entered the room. He closed his eyes for a moment, unsure in that moment why he’d asked her out. But as soon as he opened his eyes, it was all he could think about was how much he wanted the things between them to go the extra step. He wasn’t entirely sure what that step would be, but he wanted to go there with Mac.

“You look beautiful.” She told him to behave. “I am, I promise.” She had on a dress, but it was far from what other women he’d dated had worn when out with him. Her dress wasn’t short, but it was longer in the back. There were tiny strings holding it up with just enough lacy ruffle to hide the fact that she was wearing a bra. Having her shoes in her hand when she’d gotten to the living room, he laughed when he saw that they were tennis shoes. Axel was glad that he’d only worn jeans and a shirt and tie as he felt like they did well together on what they were wearing.

Getting into his car after helping her into the passenger side, he had to take several deep breaths before he got in as well. She asked him if he was all right as soon as he got the car started up. He looked at her and smiled.

“I’m not sure. I’m not even sure that I’ve ever been all right. But this, going out with you is going to be the highlight of my life.” He kissed her again, this time letting himself linger just enough that she knew that it was more serious than the first time he kissed her. When Mac put her hand on his arm, he turned off the car and pulled her into his arms to deepen the kiss—still careful of her mouth. It was awkward, but it didn’t seem that either of them cared. When they pulled apart, he was glad to see that she was breathing as hard as he was and had the same confusion on her face that he was feeling. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but please don’t date my brothers.”

“I won’t.” He nodded and started the car again. They were pulling out of the drive when she spoke again. “I’ve been asked by them all, so you know. And it wasn’t until you asked me that I realized that I was waiting on you to get your ass in gear and ask me out too. What took you so long?”

“I don’t know. But I was stupid for not asking sooner.” She laughed, and he did as well. “You know, you could have asked me out. That would have been fine with me, too. Then you could have picked where we go.”

“Next time. Where are we going, anyway?” He told her. “That’s one of my favorite places to go. Mom said that you called her and I’m really glad that you did. Thank you for wanting this to be special tonight. I’m looking forward to having a great time.”

And just like that, he was in love. It took his befuddled mind to catch up with his heart, but there it was for him to see. He was in love with Mac.