Mack released her so fast she stumbled and he had to grab her arm to keep her up right. Embarrassment heated his cheeks. What the hell?
Marley smiled at her daughter. “Maddie, come here. I want you to meet my friend.”
Maddie approached, gradually this time, eyeing him with unease. She stopped right beside her mother, planted her hands on her hips and glared. “Grandpa says you’re a real ass.”
“Maddie!” Marley gasped.
A huge grin spread across Mack’s face. The girl had as much spunk as her mother. “Well now, I’m hoping to change that.” Mack squatted down in front of Maddie and then glanced up at Marley. “Do you think your mommy would like if I took you and her out for ice cream?”
Maddie’s anger disappeared. “Mommy, can we? Can we?”
“I would love to, but you have to put your shoes on first, sweet pea.
Maddie took off without a backwards glance.
Mack slowly stood, waiting for Marley this time.
She didn’t disappoint either. “You sure do know the way into a girl’s heart.”
He grabbed her hand, needing to touch her. “Are you saying I have a place in your heart?”
“You do. You have all of it.”
THE END
CAROLINE
Sweet Caroline…Good times never seemed so good, Sweet Caroline… I believe they never could…
Caroline Cotter foughther way through the grog and pried open her eyes, Neil Diamond’sSweet Carolineplaying on autorepeat somewhere in the room. Every time she woke, it was to his voice, but there was nothing sweet about her situation.
“She’s awake, General.”
Voices floated in and out of her conscious, strange figures in white lab coats and thick glasses. Caroline tried to move her arms, but they’d been strapped to the narrow hospital style bed, not that she enough strength to actually move.
She could barely lift her head.
Holding her eyes open took all her energy.
But it was worth the effort when a familiar figure appeared next to her, his uniform blurry at first, and then zooming into sharp contrast. She tried to speak, but her tongue felt heavy and dry, too thick to move. All she managed was a low moan.General Rainer, her spurned ex-fiancee.
Oh, God.
He smoothed a rough hand down her head and cheek, sending a shock of near pain at the abrasive contact on her sensitive skin. No one had touched her since she’d been here. The agony of the forced contact was more than she could process. He shouldn’t be touching her. Why was he here?
Why was she here?
Finally he drew his hand back to his side, letting it rest next to his snugly fitting uniform. “She seems really out of it.”
Another voice, this one was somehow familiar although Caroline couldn’t put a name to the soft feminine tone, “We’re keeping her heavily sedated. Her body can regenerate the blood and nutrients she needs better that way.”
“Ah, not what I expected but,” Rainer stroked his smooth chin and she could practically feel his gaze boring into her, “effective none the less. I’ve been informed you’ve hit a snag in the experiment.”
There was a slight pause and then the female spoke again, from somewhere behind Rainer. “Not a snag, sir. The subject can only give so much blood at one time without killing incurring death. We test each batch as quickly and efficiently as possible but so far all tests have failed. There is something we’re missing.”
“Something inside her,” Rainer gestured to Caroline.
She had no idea what they were talking about but a growing sense of dread enveloped her entire body.
