I’d never gone out with a ‘good girl’. I’d imagined them to be high-maintenance, bad in bed, and full of annoying rules. But for the first time in my life, I didn’t care. I wanted the good girl, and I was going to get her, come hell or high water.
“What’s her name?”
Granny tilted her head to the side.
“Oh, shoot. It’s on the tip of my tongue.”
I cleared my throat.
“I’ll be right back.”
She laughed and clapped her hands together.
“Go get her, Son!”
I ran down the hallway, looking around. I didn’t see her anywhere, and I wasn’t sure whom to ask. My heart sank. I was starting to wonder if I’d imagined the whole thing. After twenty minutes, I was walking in circles, not willing to leave until I got her name.
And then I heard it.
Singing.
I knew it was her before I was even close. When I looked in the open doorway, I stopped, frozen in place. She was singing an old church song, something I hadn’t heard in years. A song that I’m sure I would have found dull if I’d heard it under any other circumstances.
She looked like an angel.
She sang like an angel.
And from the way she hovered over the young man laying immobile in that bed, she was literally an angel.
I was still standing there when she finished her song. She looked up and saw me, taking a tiny step backward. Dammit. I didn’t want her to be afraid of me.
I remembered how I looked suddenly, covered in tats and wearing leather. And she couldn’t even see all my piercings.
What was I doing? I must be insane. But that didn’t stop me.
Nothing could.
“What’s your name?”
“Me?”
I cracked a smile at that. Who else would I be talking to?
“Yes, you.”
“Molly. Are you Bonnie’s son?”
“Grandson. She raised me.”
“Oh. She’s a nice lady.”
“Yeah. She’s the best.”
I watched her nervously take the man’s hand. I frowned. Was that her . . . boyfriend? No, he was too young. And she worked here. Move on, Cal. A boyfriend wouldn’t matter. Only a husband might stop me from what I was planning.
Maybe.
I cleared my throat.
“I’m Callaway.”
She smiled but it wasn’t a very big smile. That was okay. I realized I was going to have to move slow. She wasn’t some club girl who was going to peel off her panties just because I snapped my fingers.
I almost moaned at the thought of this beauty docilely taking off her panties for me. I wondered suddenly what color they were. White, probably, I decided.
And just like that, white was my new favorite color.
“Do you work here? Or are you visiting?”
I nodded toward the young man on the bed. It seemed like an innocent question but she looked upset the moment the words left my lips.
“Both.” She swallowed. “I work here to help pay for Tommy.”
“Oh. You’re a good . . .”
I was about to say ‘friend’ but I needed to know. I let my words dangle, hoping she would fill in the blanks.
“Sister.”
I exhaled a sigh of relief. I was going to get this girl, and nothing would stop me. But even I would feel guilty taking her away from someone in a coma.
I wasn’t a total fucking monster.
I was willing to be, if it got me what I wanted, but I would feel bad about it.
“How long have you guys been here? I’ve never seen you before.”
I was grinning at her dopily. At least she didn’t look like she was going to run off anytime soon. Of course, I was kind of blocking the doorway.
“We just got here a few weeks ago. He had an accident a few years ago. He was in a state-run hospital for a while but it closed down. I . . . I didn’t know where to take him.”
I realized the poor girl was about to cry.
“This is a good place. Try not to worry.”
She nodded and gave me a brave smile. That smile just about broke my heart. In fact, I felt like my chest had cracked open and all these unfamiliar feelings poured out of me.
I felt protective. Possessive. And wildly turned on.
What the hell was wrong with me? Women were a dime a dozen. But that way of thinking made zero sense to me right now. Staring at her. Wanting her. Fucking worshipping her.
“I’d better get back to work.”
“Do you need a ride home? I can wait. Nana is reading, but I can hang out a while.”
She looked startled but she shook her head rapidly.
“I work the night shift.” Then she gave me a shy smile. “But thank you.”
I watched her push her cart into the hallway, fighting the urge to ask her what time in the morning I should pick her up.
Then I decided, fuck it. I’d just ask at the front desk and surprise her.
Molly. Her name was Molly.