Solitary Man(38)
Author: Carly Phillips

TWELVE

Married. Nikki rolled over expecting to find Kevin stretched out beside her, but her husband apparently had other ideas. She sat up in time to see him, fully dressed, attempting to slip from the bedroom. The disappearing act had eerie undertones of a night long past.

“Looking to avoid me?” she asked lightly, though she couldn’t have felt more different.

He turned. Expecting to see guilt etched into his features, Nikki was relieved to see he merely looked like a man who’d gotten up earlier than his… wife. Since she was stumbling over the word, she hoped Kevin was having an easier transition to their newly married state. Of course last night had been spectacular, but then nights with Kevin always were. “I didn’t realize you were awake.”

“I wasn’t till a minute or so ago.”

“I thought so. You were out cold.”

She smiled. “That’s because you wore me out”

He stepped toward the bed, heat and desire unmistakable in his dark gaze. “I could say the same.”

She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “Then where are you off to so early?”

“To visit Max. His doctor checks in around ten A.M. and I want to make sure I’m there to hear everything. Otherwise I won’t get near the truth.”

The slight wrinkles around his eyes testified to the concern he felt for his father. Though he wouldn’t admit it aloud, and perhaps he’d never admitted it to himself, he loved the older man. Nikki was certain.

She just wished he didn’t have to beat his head into a brick wall every time he dealt with Max. But at least he wasn’t alone anymore. She tossed the covers off and swung her legs over the bed. “Give me ten minutes and I’ll go with you.”

He stiffened. “No.”

“I’ll be quick. You’ll be there by ten.”

“You don’t need to deal with Max and his addiction. I’ll go alone.”

Nikki narrowed her eyes. “At this point it’s his health and he’s your father.”

“Right. Which makes him my problem. Besides I have a few stops to make first. I’ll see you when I get home from work.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “Whatever.”

He walked toward where she sat on the bed and leaned down to brush a kiss over her mouth. He lingered, moistening her lips with his tongue and arousing her with the simplest touch.

She recognized his attempt at pacifying her, but he’d left her feeling more frustrated than placated. Still, when he lifted his head, she felt the loss.

“I know you mean well, but you don’t need to be there for Max.”

She’d have been there for him. But she wasn’t surprised he didn’t recognize the distinction. He may not feel she needed to be there, but she did.

Only after he left the house did she head for her old room downstairs to retrieve the information she’d accumulated from the local library. In her bag, she put literature she’d printed off Internet sites and her stomach filled with a growing sense of dread. Kevin had problems letting her in—creating that sense of family and togetherness she needed, that her baby needed. Nikki had known that going in. But she’d also hoped he could learn to open up. Learn to love her.

But he was also the child of an alcoholic, and as she’d learned over the last few weeks, overcoming his past was a prerequisite to them having a future—and that was something he had to want to accomplish on his own.

Nikki wasn’t averse to giving him a push in the right direction. All she could do then was hope for the best.

* * *

“He checked himself out.”

Kevin glanced around the empty hospital room. Only the white rumpled sheets evidenced that Max had been there at all. “And you let him?”

The nurse who was assigned to Max’s room shrugged. “He’s an adult. We couldn’t keep him if he didn’t want to stay. Once the pain subsided, he wanted out.”

Kevin groaned. He’d rearranged his schedule to meet with the doctor and Max, to make sure his father followed orders when he was released. The man needed to take care of himself and to cut out his drinking. Not a prayer of either one of those things happening, without…

“How is he?” Nikki’s soft voice interrupted his train of thought.

Kevin turned to find her standing beside him. She’d pulled her hair back into a ponytail and wore a baggy striped shirt over black leggings. Ever since leaving the bar, she looked more like the girl he’d known, more like the woman he’d come to care too much about.

She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Where’s Max?” she asked, glancing over his shoulder to the empty bed.

For the first time since he’d entered the patientless room, he was grateful Max had taken a hike. “Good question. Now I have one. What are you doing here? I thought you were home.”

She opened her eyes wide, radiating innocence where he’d bet there was none.

“I was. I didn’t know I needed your permission to leave the house.”

“You don’t. Unless you’re coming here. And I specifically told you that you didn’t need to concern yourself with my alcoholic father.”

She nodded. “I know what you said. I never promised I’d stay away.” She smiled, a wide grin that would have fooled anyone who didn’t know her as well as Kevin.

Behind the bright smile lurked a hidden pain. He should have given in to her offer and let her come along with him, but he’d wanted Nikki protected from the likes of Max, his foul mouth and nasty temper. Drunk he was mean enough—in pain and going through withdrawal, he was even worse. “I appreciate the thought but you don’t have to be here.”

“Families stick together,” she said. “You might not realize that now but in time you will.” She turned to the nurse. “Excuse me. What time did Mr. Manning leave?” she asked.

“As soon as the doctor came by and signed the discharge papers.”

“Where is the doctor? I’d like to speak to him.”

“He got called away on an emergency. Leave a message and he’ll get back to you later.”

“And Max?” Nikki asked again.

The nurse shrugged. “I assume you can find him at home. He said he had Jack waiting for him.”

Kevin muttered a curse. Jack Daniels was his father’s favorite weakness. “I need to find him.” Kevin knew, even if his father didn’t want to face it, that continued alcohol abuse could kill him.