Surprises

Part Twenty-nine

Jason decided before Keesha arrived that if she glanced at his legs before looking into his eyes it was over between them. The love she professed couldn't be real. Hell, it wasn't real. How long did it take for her to say the words? He stiffened, hardening his demeanor for her arrival. He wouldn't be swayed by the softness in her brown eyes or the curve of her full lips. He had to remember that without the use of his legs he would be a different man and not a man Keesha could love.

The door swished open. Jason held his breath, waiting.

First, her face peeked through and then the rest of her. She stared straight into his eyes and rushed to his side. Without looking once at his useless limbs, she took his hand in hers and raised it to her cheek. The ice cold shell around his heart melted into a liquid pool of nothing.

"When Matt told me you wanted to see me, I came right over," she said. "How are you?"

"Stationary." He glanced at her watch. "You left work to come here."

"Not exactly. I've been suspended from active or desk duty. I was at home when Matt called."

"He called. I didn't tell him to call."

Her face fell. "Oh." The touch of her hand on his relaxed. She lowered it to her lap. "I see."

Jason's heart constricted. "I didn't mean that."

"What do you mean?" she asked, staring down at their hands. "I want to be here with you. Do you want me here?"

He couldn't lie. "Yes."

"Then why are you pushing me away?" she asked, slowly resting her gaze on him.

"Because I don't want your pity."

"Good. I don't have any to give," she answered.

Jason inhaled a ragged breath. "They don't know if I'll walk again. I'll be in a wheelchair. I won't be able to make love to you the way I did before if at all."

"There's more to us than love making," she said. "I've been doing some research online. Unless the doctors have told you differently, you're fully operational. You shouldn't let something like sex keep us apart."

"Not when it brought us together," he said quietly.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Sex was the catalyst that reunited us, but there is more. Love makes us strong. I love you, Jason. It's taken me a long time to come to terms with it, but now that I have, I'm not turning my back on how I feel or on you. I am here for you. Have faith in me."

That's what he needed from her. Those words and her assurances. He reached for her, pulling her into his arms. "I do. Baby, I do."

# # #

Dara lied to Sonny. All the arrangements for the move hadn't been made. She just didn't want his help. So instead of accepting it, she called on an old friend.

"There's really not much you need to pack," Lois said, after checking Hope's closet she joined Dara in the other bedroom. "A few dozen stuffed animals—"

"Courtesy of Mike," Dara said.

Lois smiled. "The doting grandfather. Be careful of them. They're known to spoil granddaughters rotten. She has quite a few clothes. I'm sure courtesy of her mother and father."

Dara nodded sheepishly. "I couldn't resist. I guess I'll have to be careful of spoiling her, too."

"Don't be too hard on yourself," Lois advised. "You're allowed to indulge."

Dara groaned. Some indulgences led to disaster. She remembered the kiss. The taste of Sonny's lips on hers. The feel of his tongue as he parted her lips and plunged inside. The emotions that rippled through her. The desires and need that almost made her make a mistake and forget everything else except how it used to be between them.