BlackJack (A Standish Bay Romance Book 1) (25 page)

“Yes.” He
unfolded his long, lanky body and stood. “Is there anything else I can do for
you?”

“Nothing now, thanks
for everything you’ve done,” John replied as Shannon suddenly looked a million
miles away and the miles between here and there were laced with sadness and
pain.

For the next
several hours Shannon and John sat vigil beside Cameron’s bed. He slept most of
the time, but occasionally he’d wake up and try to smile. His nurse came and
went. The lab came and drew blood. The respiratory therapist came in and
checked his lungs. The orthopedic surgeon came to check his broken ribs and his
handy work with his broken arm and his leg. It was, Shannon mused, as though Cameron’s
hospital room had a revolving door. But it was a good thing. They were taking
very good care of him.

Shannon’s body
was completely drained of all energy, and her brain barely functioned. She’d
gone way beyond tired. The chair she sat in was okay at best, and every few
minutes she felt herself fading out and her head would drop forward and then
she’d snap it back up. One of these times she was going to slither off the
chair and hit the ground. At least maybe then she could get some much needed
rest.

A knock sounded
on the door, causing Shannon’s head to snap up again.

“Hey, can I
come in?” said a gorgeous, but exhausted looking man,
her man,
and her
heart fluttered.

“Sure.”

He reached her
side in three long strides, she stood and then fell into his outstretched arms.
He held her tight, stroking her hair and murmuring soothing words into her ear.

***

“I’m here. Everything
will be okay.” He pulled back and kissed her mouth, tasting her salty tears. He
wanted nothing more than to inhale her, but this was neither the time nor the
place. Reluctantly he peeled his lips from hers, looked at Cameron and sucked
in air as pain pierced his chest. Cole dropped his arms and reached for
Shannon’s hand with one of his and entwined them together. “How is he?”

Shannon explained
everything she knew and what muscles Cole had that were not already tense,
tightened up. Cameron looked awful, young, pale and fragile lying in the bed
against the stark white sheets. He struggled to fight back his own tears, which
in the past twenty-four hours was nothing new.

“He’s strong
and he’s a fighter. He’ll be up and around in no time.” Cole prayed his words
rang true. They had to for Shannon’s sake, for John’s and for his own and
especially for Cameron’s.

Shannon
squeezed his hand and leaned closer into him with her head resting against his.
Her scent drifted to his nostrils, reminding him how much he’d missed her,
missed everything about her. He dropped her hand and circled his arms around
her waist, pulling her close. It was then he noticed John sitting tense and
quiet in the corner watching them. Cole might be free from the stigma of being
a murderer, but John still clearly didn’t approve of him being with Shannon. Well
hell, too bad. He’d have to get over it because nothing could keep him from
being with her now. Nothing would stop him from loving her, marrying her and
having a family with her. John be dammed.

“Hey John,” he
drawled.

“Jackson?”

That went well,
Cole mused.

Cameron coughed
and all eyes flew to him. His eyes fluttered open and when he saw Cole he
smiled big time and his eyes sparkled.

***

Great, John
thought. His son never looked at him like that and certainly not when he got
here. What was it about the guy that not only his ex-wife, but his son as well,
went ape over? Just because he was some big shot musician didn’t they know he
put his jeans on one leg at a time like all working stiffs?

He mumbled
something and left the room. Coffee, all he could think about was the fact he
needed a caffeine boost and a bottle of his favorite pink drink
.
Suddenly
his stomach had turned sour. He stopped his fingers just as they were about to
comb through his thinning hair. If he didn’t stop the habit, he’d be bald by next
week.

“Excuse me,”
said a young nurse from behind the nurses’ station. But then again, everyone
seemed young to John lately.

“Yes?”

She smiled
hesitantly before she asked, “Is that Cole Jackson in your son’s room?”

Wouldn’t you
know? A young pretty nurse would never smile at him like that. He should’ve
known. He almost said no. The word was formed and nearly out of his mouth, but
for some reason he mumbled “yes” and continued walking toward the elevator
doors. He hated feeling this way. God, he cringed. He was jealous of Jackson. Jealous
of everything he stood for—his fame, his talent, his obvious way with people,
but especially the way his son worshiped him.

It hurt him to
see them together. It hurt to see Shannon and him together. He hated himself
even more for those feelings. She had every right to date and even remarry if
she wanted to. His whole body shuddered. What bothered him the most was he’d
have to share Cameron with another man. There would be a stepfather in Cameron’s
life.

He wondered if
Shannon had felt any of these feelings when he’d married Cheryl. Maybe, but
somehow he doubted it. She was much too much a caring, giving and loving person
to be plagued by petty jealousy.

Right this
minute he made a promise to himself. A promise to stop being jealous of Jackson.
Be happy for Shannon. Happy she finally found someone to love, and more
importantly, someone to love her back. No being jealous because his son and
Jackson had the same musical talent. Could share things he never could with Cameron.
And just stop being an overall prick.

Yeah right,
sounded good, he just wondered if he could do it? He would start by buying
three coffees. The old prick would have bought two, and let Jackson be dammed. It
was a small peace offering, but it was a start. He paused at the doorway and
watched the three of them talking and laughing and touching. Swallowing his
jealousy, he walked in.

“Hey, I brought
coffee.” He winked at his son, and when he handed Jackson one he said, “Truce.”

Jackson seemed
surprised by the peace offering as he took the Styrofoam cup and replied,
“Truce.”

“Hey Dad,” Cameron
said from his bed, which had been raised to a more comfortable sitting position.
He pointed to the table beside his bed. “Look what Cole brought me. It’s an
autographed copy of an old Led Zeppelin album. Every member’s signature is on
the cover, and there’s not a scratch on the vinyl. Isn’t it cool?”

The exuberance
in Cameron’s voice killed John and made this jealousy thing really hard to kick.
But he’d made a promise to himself. He rolled his eyes and mumbled, “Way cool.”
Then to Jackson he shook his head. “You’re killing me. How the hell can I
compete with things like that?” He pointed to the album.

***

Cole knew
something had changed between the time John left the room and when he returned.
He seemed visibly relaxed and less hateful toward him. Almost civil, he guessed
one could say. His comment about competing was not made in anger, but in
acceptance of him being a part of Cameron’s life.

“It’s no big
deal. I’ve had it for years. I carry it with me everywhere. Kind of like a good
luck charm.”

John snorted. “That’s
what I mean. Shit. I don’t have stuff like that sitting around my house.”

“Dad,” Cameron
broke in. “It’s no different from Mom having autographed books by Lee Child or
Sandra Brown or Nora Roberts. She has bookcases full. Mom knows famous authors,
Cole knows famous musicians, and you know…” He paused and smiled right at his
dad. “Famous cops.”

John threw his
head back and laughed. It was Cole’s first glimpse of what he thought and hoped
was the real John McKenzie. Since the ice was now broken, they chatted about
music, books and movies, and Cole realized that John and Cameron’s tastes ran
along the same lines as his, with the exception of music. John was a country
music fan all the way.
Ouch man, that hurt
.

Chapter
Nineteen

When Cameron’s
dinner came, well, if chicken broth and Jell-O constituted dinner, Shannon
thought it was probably a good time to check into a hotel. She kissed her son
and reassured herself he would be fine for a couple of hours without them, and
she shuffled Cole and John out the door. At the hospital’s main entrance, John
paused and Shannon could see he had something on his mind. His brows were
creased and his mouth tight.

“There’s a
Sheraton down the street. Maybe we should stay there?” John stated as he stared
across the street to the parking garage.

“Okay,” Shannon
agreed.

“Hey Jackson, Cameron’s
guitar was destroyed in the accident. I’d like to buy him another one.” He
raised his eyes and met Cole’s. “Maybe you could...um...go shopping with me
tomorrow?”

Shannon could
not believe her ears. Was John making nice with Cole? Had someone hit him in
the head? She smiled and kissed John’s cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered
happily.

He narrowed his
eyes and grinned. “For what?”

“You know.” Even
with Cameron in the hospital, Shannon suddenly felt like the luckiest person in
the world.

Cole finally
answered John’s query. “I’ll ask the concierge where there’s a good music store.”
His eyes darted from John to Shannon and back to John. “I’d be glad to go with
you.”

“Great,” John
replied. “I’ll see you two later. I’m going to get me a room, a bite to eat,
grab a quick nap and I’ll see you two back here later.”

Shannon and
Cole stared at John’s back as he walked toward the parking garage. “I think I
might like this John,” Cole said as he put his arm around her shoulders and
they walked in the same direction as John.

“Yeah, I might
like him again too.”

“Do you think
aliens have taken over his body?”

“Maybe.”
Shannon laughed. “Or maybe he finally realized what an asshole he’s been, and
he wants to play nice.”

“Yeah.” Cole
laughed. “That’s it. He finally realized the sandbox is big enough for all of
us.”

Anyone remotely
close to them could hear their laughter echoing off the concrete walls of the
parking garage.

Once in their
hotel room, Cole shut and locked the door, leaned against it with his arms
crossed in front. A grin plastered on his face, and his midnight eyes smoked
with lust. Shannon’s pulse soared and every erogenous zone in her body shot off
the sensitivity chart. Her fingers worked the buttons on her leather jacket and
it dropped to the floor. She peeled her sweater off and locked eyes with Cole,
smiling again when she heard him groan.

Her fingers
slid down to her jeans and after undoing them she tried to kick them off, and
then laughed as she remembered her boots were still on.
Smooth, Shannon,
real smooth
. Cole strolled casually toward her and dropped to one knee. “Here,
let me help you,” he said with a quiver in his soft voice.

One boot hit
the carpeted floor, then the other. Next he removed her jeans but didn’t get up.
He skimmed his warm fingers up the inside of her calves and continued up her
now quivering thighs. Shannon bit her lip to hold back a groan as he slipped
his fingers inside her lace panties, gently opening her folds and inserting
first one finger, then two. His thumb found and teased her sensitive nub.

The pressure built
and Shannon began floating, drifting until she realized Cole was carrying her
to the bed. He laid her down, stripped off her panties and knelt between her
open thighs. One glance at him and she saw the look of a man who was going to
get some, and it stole her breath away.

Nothing else
existed but Cole’s hot mouth making love to her body and his tongue mating with
her. She fisted his hair and pulled him in closer as her body began to tremble
and crest. Her head moved from side to side and she cried out, “Cole...oh God...Oh
my God.” She arched her back forcing her hips higher and higher as the orgasm
hit her and kept coming and coming until she couldn’t take it and begged for
mercy by pushing his head away and trying to close her legs.

Cole slid up
her body and held her as she trembled in a release that would not quit.

“I love when
you come for me,” he said in a raspy voice filled with desire. “You taste so
good.”

“Cole,” she
breathed out. “You need to take off your clothes. It’s my turn.”

Shannon laughed
as he shed his clothing in record time and his gorgeous, naked body, standing
at full attention, joined her on the bed, giving her full access to him. Before
she tasted his body, she tasted his mouth and lost herself in his kisses.

***

Cole’s tongue
twisted and twirled with Shannon’s. Kissing her resembled an intoxicating
elixir, one he could never get enough of. She was addicting, and it was an
addiction he never wanted to quit. A deep guttural moan rising up from deep
inside was lost between his throat and Shannon’s mouth. He heard her purr as
she settled deeper into the kiss. He splayed his hands on her back, unhooking
her bra and pulling her even closer to his scorching body. They’d gone way past
separate entities and were entering the point where he couldn’t tell where his
body ended and hers began.

This was what
love was—love and soul mates. She was the other half of his heart, and this
time he would never let her go. He ended the kiss and nuzzled her neck as he
fought to control his breathing. “I love you,” he whispered breathlessly as he
lightly bit her soft creamy neck. “I love you so much.”

Shannon leaned
up and looked at him, her lips curved into a sensual smile, her blue eyes smoky
with lust. “I love you.”

Cole sucked in
his breath and held it as she proceeded to torture him with her mouth and
talented hands. When he thought he would lose it, he flipped her onto her back
and entered her with one deep thrust of his hips. Then he froze as he tried to
control his body. He didn’t want to come yet, he wanted this to last, and he
wanted to watch her when she unraveled.

***

Shannon lay
still, her eyes closed as she waited for Cole, knowing he fought control of his
body. She’d been bad, really bad. Then his hips moved and his warm palms cupped
her breasts. His fingers rolled her nipples and she thrust her hips up to his. He
shifted and pulled her legs up and over his shoulders and thrust deeper still. The
sensation tinged on painful, but not quite, as a burst of intense pleasure
traveled through her body. Her insides contracted around him as she crested
over and over. He tensed and moaned and collapsed on her as she felt the hot
moisture from his seed enter her body.

“I don’t think
I can move,” he groaned into her ear.

“Hmm, me
neither,” she purred. “I missed you.”

“Me too, more
than you’ll ever know.”

“Hmm, try me.” She
wiggled beneath him.

“I would if I
could move.”

She smacked his
back lightly. “You have a dirty mind, Cole Jackson.”

He laughed and
nipped her ear with his teeth, causing her to gasp. “Don’t all men?”

Shannon pushed
him off and out of her. “I’m going to shower. You can join me if you’d like.” She
cast a siren’s smile over her shoulder as she disappeared into the bathroom,
knowing he’d be right on her heels.

***

One hour later
Shannon and Cole stood together at Cameron’s bedside. They arrived just as
Doctor Splaine entered the room, making his nightly rounds. They waited
patiently through Cameron’s exam and the doctor’s questions, then he turned to
them and Shannon saw a tiny flicker of recognition in his eyes when he looked
at Cole, then it was gone behind his doctor’s facade.

“Doctor
Splaine, I’d like you to meet Cole Jackson.” She placed her hand on Cole’s arm.
“Cole, this is Doctor Splaine, he’s taking care of Cameron.”

Cole reached
out and shook the doctor’s hand. “Nice to meet you, and thanks for taking such
good care of Cameron for us.”

Shannon
couldn’t believe stone-faced Doctor Splaine smiled, well, more like almost
smiled. Maybe he was human after all.

“Cameron is a
great kid and a lucky one at that. He should be sleeping now as we just gave him
something to help him rest.” He went to leave and then paused in the doorway. “Amber
Sullivan’s father arrived a short time ago. She’s in room 327. He might like
some company. From what I understand his wife passed away last year, and
Amber’s all he’s got left.”

Just as Doctor
Splaine left, John came in, his face beet red, and his breathing labored. “The
media knows you’re here Jackson. It’s a zoo downstairs. One little asshole
actually stuck a microphone in my face and asked how I felt about my ex-wife
having a rendezvous at the Sheraton with Cole Jackson while my son’s barely
hanging onto his life.” He held up his hand and put his thumb and index finger
together with barely an inch of space between them. “I came this close to
clocking the guy in the face. Instead I told him you two went to the hotel to
rest and Cameron is recovering just fine. Somehow, I don’t think he believed
the resting at the hotel part.”

Shannon felt
the heat sting her cheeks. “No, I don’t suppose he did.”

“Anyway, I
insisted security be posted at the main entrance and at all accesses to Cameron’s
floor. I’m not having our lives turned into a media circus.” He looked at Cole
sympathetically. “How can you stand it?”

“I can’t. But
if you like, I’d be willing to go down and give a statement so maybe they’ll leave
us alone.”

Shannon placed
her hand on Cole’s arm and shook her head. “No. I’ll call Sharon White, my
publicist, and have her do a press release. It may give us some time.”

“Mom,” Cameron
moaned, looking sleepy. “You never told me about Amber. How is she? Can I see
her?”

Oh dear. With
Cole’s arrival and Cameron not having asked again, she had purposely put off
telling him. Shannon sat on the edge of his bed and decided the only way to
tell him would be to come right out with the truth, no matter how much pain it
caused her son. “She hit her head badly, honey, and she’s in a coma.”

“No.” Cameron
rolled his head from side to side and yelled out in anguish, “No.”

Shannon watched
as her son struggled with his emotions. She hurt for him. He was too young to
know this type of pain and loss. She said a quick silent prayer, “please spare
Amber’s life, she’s way too young to die.”

“Will she wake
up?”

Shannon blinked
back her own tears and looked at Cole, then John who both appeared to struggle
with their own emotions. “The doctor doesn’t know sweetheart, but you could
pray and maybe that’ll help.”

***

Cameron closed
his eyes and silent tears slithered down his cheeks. His chest hurt, and he
could barely breathe for the lump clogging his throat. Amber. He wanted Amber. If
he hadn’t insisted they turn back, they would’ve been on a different bus and
she would be okay. He had only wanted to help. God, his head felt like a top,
spinning fast and furious, barely managing to stay on his shoulders. They must
be giving him some potent drugs. He was tired and his body felt like an
elephant stomped on it. There was a constant drum roll going on inside his head
and the only time he got relief from the pounding pain was when he slept.

Right now, he
wanted to sleep to end his pain. And when he awoke he hoped this whole mess
would be a dream, and he and Amber would be back at the motel making love. His
last thoughts as blackness descended all around him was of Amber dying.

***

John watched as
Jackson massaged Shannon’s shoulders.

“You’re tense
and stressed out. Try to relax.” Her head dropped forward slightly as his fingers
continued to gently rub and massage her neck and shoulders and back.

“Hmm, that
feels good,” she said. “However good it feels right now, I don’t think anything
could help how awful I feel inside.”

Jackson looked at
him. “Would you mind taking over here while I go and get Shannon some tea?”

“Stay. I’ll get
it,” John said as he left the room. Visiting hours would end soon, and he knew
only one parent could spend the night with Cameron. He supposed he and Jackson
would head back to the hotel soon. Strange, how in the course of twelve-hours,
John had a new found respect and admiration for the man. And damn it, he didn’t
want to like the guy, but seeing firsthand how he acted with Shannon and Cameron
and how much he loved them both, how could he not begin to like him?

He supposed it
was time to be happy for Shannon and to let her go into the arms of another man.
Even though he had his own wife he loved, there would always be something
special about Shannon. She would always possess a piece of his heart.

Before he left
the hallway, he glanced into Amber Sullivan’s room. He presumed the man sitting
with his eyes closed in a chair next to her bed and holding her hand was her
father. John swallowed the lump in his throat. That could be him and Cameron. It
made John realize just how lucky they were.

***

Within the
hour, Cole and John left Shannon to sleep on a reclining chair bed in Cameron’s
room.

“Do you want to
leave your car here and drive with me to the hotel?” Cole asked John, not
knowing how he’d react to the invite.

“Sure. Want to
grab a drink at the bar? I’m in desperate need of a beer.”

“Sure, but I’ll
have a club soda.”

John suddenly
looked embarrassed. “Sorry. I forgot. My brain’s kind of mushy right now. Never
mind, I think I’ll just crash for the night.”

Cole shrugged
one shoulder. “Whatever.”

“Care to meet
me in the lobby at nine so we can shop for Cameron’s guitar?”

“Sure.”

They road in
silence to the hotel, valet parked and just as they were about to step into the
hotel entrance, one lone reporter came out of the shadows ready to pounce. “Excuse
me, Mr. Jackson, would you like to comment on AJ Macleod’s suicide?”