CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWO

It was almost comical how every head turned to look at him as JJ entered April’s hospital room. The second June told him James had left, he’d hurried back upstairs to her side.

JJ hated her ex. He wanted nothing more than to shove his fist into the man’s face, but he’d refrained . . . barely. He couldn’t believe the guy had shown up and misrepresented himself, pretending to still be married to April. Taking advantage of the fact that she’d lost her memory.

April didn’t really talk about her marriage, but from what he’d gathered from his friends, things between her and James hadn’t ended badly, per se; it was just a very unhappy marriage there at the end. JJ wasn’t sad about it. Anyone who couldn’t see how amazing and wonderful April was, and didn’t treat her as if she was the most important person in their world, didn’t deserve her.

JJ knew without a doubt that he didn’t deserve her either. But the accident had changed everything for him. It had brought the point home in a very painful way that life was short. He’d spent the last five years fighting his attraction to April. Making up every excuse under the sun as to why he should keep his distance. But the second he heard she’d been hurt, all those excuses fell away like dust.

He still didn’t deserve her, but he’d decided to do everything in his power to be the kind of man she wanted and needed.

And then he found out about her amnesia.

It had almost taken his legs out from under him. She didn’t remember him, or their friends, at all. She didn’t remember Jack’s Lumber, or how vital she was to their business. She didn’t remember how each of their friends had met and fallen in love. Didn’t recall anything about Newton . . . how much she loved Granny’s Burgers, the first snowfall, the small-town atmosphere, or anything else about living in Maine.

He’d been ready to fall to his knees and tell April how big of an idiot he was, how much he admired and liked her, and to beg her to go on a date—but after learning about her injuries, he’d had second thoughts.

He didn’t want to overwhelm her. Didn’t want her to agree because she thought she had no choice. So he’d stuffed his feelings down deep, like he’d been doing for the last five years, and vowed to be a rock-solid friend. Someone she could rely on in what had to be an incredibly confusing time for her.

When her memories returned—and he had every reason to think they would, after talking with her doctor—he’d ask her out. Make sure she knew how important she was to him.

“I can’t stay with you,” April said in response to his offer to watch over her when she went back to Newton.

“Why not?”

“Well . . . because.”

JJ smiled. It wasn’t much of a protest. “There’s more than enough room at my place. Your apartment only has one bedroom, and I’m too big to sleep on your dainty little couch.”

“Oh,” she said in a small voice.

JJ mentally kicked his own ass. She currently had no way of knowing where she lived or how big it was. He walked around the doctor and his interns to the side of the bed. April looked so lost lying on the white sheets. Her light-brown hair was lifeless against the pillow, needing a thorough washing. She was pale, with faint dark circles under her eyes, and her lips were chapped. But he’d still never seen a woman as beautiful as she was at that moment.

She was alive, and he was more than grateful that she’d escaped the horrifying wreck without more horrific injuries.

“I live not too far from the office in town. It’s an older house, needs a lot of work, but I love it. The original wood floors creak with every step, and the kitchen was built sometime in the seventies, I think. But it’s clean. And I have two bedrooms. You’ll have privacy and time to heal, and you’ll be safe. I give you my word,” he said earnestly.

“I’m not worried about being safe with you,” April told him, looking him in the eye. “You’ve been the one constant since I woke up. I just don’t want to be a burden.”

“You aren’t. Not ever. It’ll be my honor to help you get back on your feet.”

“Because I work for you?” she asked.

JJ stared at her for a beat. He could do one of two things here. He could let her think that he was taking care of her like a boss would a valued employee. Keep things on a professional level. Or he could begin to let some of his feelings show.

He chose the latter.

“No. I mean, yes, I would want to help any of my employees. But not once have I moved a woman into my house simply because she’s on my payroll. Or for any other reason, for that matter.”

It was scary putting his heart on his sleeve, but JJ was done keeping his distance from April. He’d learned his lesson.

“Oh.”

“Right, so . . . ,” the doctor said, interrupting the moment. “If Mr. Justice will consent to look after you for a few days, I’ll get that discharge paperwork started.” The doctor smiled. “You’ll need to check in with your local doctor daily for the next five days, and if anything changes—double vision, an increase in pain, your memories returning—contact him or her immediately. The last thing we want is you having an aneurysm and letting it go unchecked.”

“Is that a possibility?” JJ asked in alarm.

“Her head hit that window extremely hard,” the doctor said evenly. “Her brain rattled around in her skull, and while the airbags are meant to help, they jerked her around even more when they went off. Anything can happen; I’m just being cautious. If I thought she was in imminent danger, I wouldn’t let her go home. She simply needs to take it easy and let the swelling in her head subside completely and not take any chances.”

“She’ll take it easy,” JJ said firmly.

“Now you’ve done it,” April said with a small laugh. “I’m gonna be wrapped in a bubble and not allowed to go anywhere or do anything.”

“Damn straight,” JJ muttered as the doctor laughed.

“You’re a very lucky woman,” the doctor told April. “And I think you’re going to be just fine.” He scribbled some things on a clipboard, then turned to leave, his minions doing the same.

As soon as they were gone, JJ leaned over April and fluffed her pillow. He fussed with the blankets and made sure she was comfortable. Then he picked up the chair and brought it closer to the bed. He sat and took her hand in his own.

“What?” she asked.

“What, what?” he countered.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“As if you’re trying to read my mind.”

“Well . . . I’m trying to figure out how much pain you’re in. If you’re trying to hide how much your head hurts so I don’t panic. I also want to know if you’re upset that James left, and how you really feel about moving into my place. If you’re uncomfortable with the idea and just agreed because you want to get out of this hospital, I can talk to the others, see if you can stay with June and Cal. Their house is huge. Or maybe even Bob and Marlowe’s place; they just moved in, but they’ve got plenty of room too. It’s quieter where they are, so that might be a better—”

April squeezed his hand. “Stop, Jack. I’m okay with going to your place . . . unless you’ve changed your mind.”

“No!” he exclaimed. “Sorry,” he added when she flinched. “I have no problem whatsoever with you being at my place. I’d prefer it, actually.”

“Why?”

That was a loaded question. All JJ’s good intentions of giving April some space, of letting her memories return before he pushed her, flew right out the window. “Because I’ve thought of having you in my home for longer than I’m comfortable admitting. And it sucks that you’ll be there because you got hurt . . . but I can’t say I’m upset about it.”

She stared at him for a long moment. “What’s going on between us?” she whispered.

“Nothing. And everything,” he said honestly.

“That’s clear as mud,” she replied with a small chuckle.

“About as clear as our relationship has always been,” JJ said with a shrug.

“I wish I could remember,” she admitted. “But I knew something about you was different from the others from the second I first saw you.”

“You mean when I was freaking the hell out because you had blood all over your clothes and dripping down your head?”

“Yeah,” she agreed with a small laugh. “I don’t remember the others, but I appreciate them being here. Taking turns sitting with me, keeping me company. But with you, it’s . . . more. I feel safe when you’re here. When I wake up in the night and look over and see you sleeping in that uncomfortable chair . . . it makes me feel as if there’s more between us than boss and employee.”

“There is. Always has been, even if we haven’t wanted to admit it.”

“So that’s how it’s been?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?” he questioned.

April nodded. “I feel as if I got a second chance at life. I don’t remember the accident, but I’ve heard about it from the doctor, and Bob even showed me pictures of my car at the site.”

JJ growled at that. He hadn’t known his friend shared the pictures of her mangled car with April.

She smiled. “It’s fine. I asked him about the accident, and he was very reluctant to show them to me, but I insisted.”

JJ grinned at her. “That’s because you’ve got us all wrapped around your little finger, and have since the day you started working for us,” he said. “I swear, we’re all a little afraid of you. It really should be called April’s Lumber instead of Jack’s Lumber.”

The smile on her face faded.

“What? What’s wrong?” JJ demanded.

“I don’t remember anything about the business.”

JJ leaned forward. “You will.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do,” he insisted. “You just have to cut yourself some slack. No one expects you to get back to town and jump right back into everything. You heard the doc, you need to take it easy. Your brain is still swollen. Let yourself heal.”

April sighed and nodded.

JJ could tell she was still worried about what would happen in the future, but they’d take things one day at a time.

“Can I ask you something?”

“You can ask me anything,” he told her, reluctantly sitting back, giving her some space. He was an intense guy, and he knew it. He didn’t want to overwhelm her.

“What really happened? With my wreck?”

JJ wasn’t sure he wanted to talk about this; thinking about what happened to her made him feel helpless, and the terror and devastation he experienced the moment he heard about the accident were all too fresh in his mind. But if she wanted to know, he’d tell her.

“You got a call from one of the ski resorts about another tree that had fallen on one of the slopes. Chappy, Cal, Bob, and I were all at Bob’s place, helping him and Marlowe move in, so you decided to head out to the resort on your own to check it out. See how big of a job it would be and, from what the employee who talked to you said, what mitigation efforts could be taken to keep any other trees from falling in the middle of the season. You were on your way when, the police assume, perhaps an animal crossed the road in front of you. By the look of the skid marks, you slammed on your breaks, then lost control of the car.

“There was a ditch alongside the road, and a pretty extreme drop-off beyond that. The car bounced out of the ditch and went down the hill, hit the bottom hard, and flipped. I’m not sure how long you were down there before a family drove by and saw the skid marks that disappeared over the edge. They called the police . . . and here you are.”

April nodded. “It’s weird. I mean, I know it happened to me, but since I can’t remember any of it, it seems as if you’re just reciting the plot to a TV show or something.”

“I wish,” JJ said. Then squeezed her hand. “But I always knew you had a hard head.”

April chuckled, then winced. “Ow, don’t make me laugh.”

“Sorry,” JJ said with a smile. “Why don’t you close your eyes for a while. Rest before the doc comes back with your discharge papers.”

“You’ll stay?”

Her words warmed JJ’s heart and made him feel as if maybe, just maybe, he’d actually have a chance with her. “Nothing could tear me away.”

“Thanks. And for the record?”

JJ waited for her to finish her thought.

“I’m glad it’s you here, and not James.”

Damn. This woman slayed him.

“Although it was kind of funny to see how wary he was of you.” April smiled even as she closed her eyes. “My mom never understood why we got divorced. I can’t believe she sent him up here even after I spoke with her and told her I was fine.”

JJ wasn’t sure what to say in response to that.

“Although I think she regretted it after you talked to her that one afternoon. I swear, you had her in the palm of your hand after you listened to her talk about her latest crochet project for thirty minutes. Not even James had the patience to listen when she started in on her crocheting.”

JJ chuckled. “I like her. Even if she did have bad judgment when it came to your ex.”

April’s eyes opened in slits, and she shrugged at him. “He wouldn’t hurt me.”

“He did hurt you,” JJ countered. “He didn’t see the treasure that was right in front of his face. Didn’t treat you as if you were the most important thing in his world. But his mistake is my gain.”

“Because of the business,” she whispered.

JJ simply shook his head. He wanted to say so much more, but it was obvious April’s head hurt, and again, this wasn’t the time or place to tell her how much he loved her.

Yes, loved her. This woman had gotten so far under his skin it wasn’t even funny. Physically, he’d never done anything more than hold her hand—and even that, only since her accident. But he still loved her with everything in him, and had for a long while now. He worried about her constantly, thought about her every day, and went out of his way to be around her as much as possible.

If she knew how madly in love he was, she’d probably freak out. He needed to tread carefully so as not to scare her.

“Jack . . . I don’t . . . I can’t . . .”

“Shhhh. You don’t have to do a damn thing other than get better. You’re safe with me. In every way. Understand?”

She nodded.

“Good. Now close your eyes and rest. I’ll let June and Cal know they can head back to Newton, and I’ll call Chappy and Carlise and tell them not to drive over today.”

“Your friends have been amazing. Taking turns coming all the way out here to Bangor.”

“Our friends,” JJ countered. “And you would’ve done the same thing, and we all know it. Sleep, April. Soon you’ll be home.”

“Home,” she whispered . . . then didn’t say anything else.

It wasn’t long before her breaths evened out and her muscles relaxed. JJ kept her hand in his and didn’t move an inch. He’d always been the kind of man who was always on the go. Liked to be doing something. But there was nothing he could think of that he wanted more than to sit right where he was and watch the woman he loved sleep.

She’d scared the hell out of him, and he’d never take one day with her for granted again. She might never love him back, but he knew deep in his heart that he’d never love another woman. She was it for him. Even if it had taken way too long for him to get his head out of his ass, he’d spend the rest of his life making sure she knew how he felt.