Page 118 of Dr. Brandt

“That girl reminds me of him,” Elena smiled, wearing riding boots that came up to her knees. “Do you want to take a ride with me? The ocean looks amazing from the top of those mountains,” she said, pointing toward the back of her estate. “It’s my favorite place to go after a long day.”

“Nah,” I said. “Jacks is putting that pony away, and we’re going to head home. I’m starved and—”

“I’m getting you on one of these horses one day,” she laughed in her contagious and youthful Elena way. “You can’t only bury yourself in spreadsheets and all that boring office stuff while you work here.”

“It pays great,” I said with a laugh.

“Right,” she answered as we walked outside. She pointed at the vomit green 1980s station wagon I’d bought with my first, well-earned paycheck. “That piece of junk would speak otherwise about how much I pay you. Collin has even questioned it.”

I chuckled and stepped down the stone steps to the car. “I’m sure he has, and because of him and Jake, I hang onto the thing. It drives them insane.”

Elena laughed, crossing her arms and looking down at me as I got in the car and pulled out my phone to text Jacks. “It’s honestly the only reason I’m cool with that hunk of junk,” she laughed. “Those dipshits need to be humbled in the car area of their lives if you ask me.”

“Exactly.”

I picked up my phone as soon as it rang. “Jacks, I’m taking off. And if you want to take your driver’s license test tomorrow, I suggest you step it up so we don’t miss dinner with your dad.”

“Be out front in a second,” he said.

Cameron said he’d loan Jackson his Maserati for the test. I swear, I didn’t know if putting Jacks in the station wagon would be a bad idea compared to the damn sports car. Either way, I wasn’t going to argue. Arguing with Cameron about doing things for his son these days was pointless.

I guess the sad part of this was that I felt Cameron and I had become amazing best friends and co-parents. It wasn’t necessarily because I wasn’t trying to take things further. Trust me, my hormones raged insanely when I was around him. Tonight, after we went to dinner, I’d be envisioning the way his eyes would get glossy as he came inside me or how much I craved his enormous cock. His moans, his growls, his teeth grazing over my nipples.

“Mom,” Jacks said, making me jump and clear my throat, scaring the shit out of me for getting horny while thinking about Cam again.

Goddammit, why couldn’t Cam just hit on me or something? Anything. I’d take sex without commitment at this point. But Cameron showed no interest, and I wasn’t going to push him to do anything he didn’t want.

“Let’s go,” Jacks said. “Or is this piece of junk even going to start?”

“Stop,” I said. “It takes a few tries before the transmission turns over. You know how it goes.”

“Thank God Cameron is letting me borrow his car,” Jacks laughed, and his eyes brightened as I put the car into gear and drove down the driveway. “And I’m almost at my budget for buying my own car, too.”

“I’m so proud of you, Jacks. I really am. I feel like you’ve turned into such an amazing, responsible young man. It’s sorta mind-blowing,” I said, leaving a trail of black smoke as we left the enormous Malibu estate.

“Well, maybe Cam’s right,” Jacks said. “Maybe disconnecting that crappy side of my brain allowed me to stop having seizures and think sharper, too.”

“Don’t get me started on that,” I said, knowing that Cam and Jacks had a million and fifty jokes about how Jackson’s right hemisphere was the only half of his brain that worked.

“Well, I’m thinking at least fifty percent better with half my brain by considering buying a Toyota pickup instead of this hunk of junk.”

“You know what?” I said, eying him. “Leave the car alone.”

“Ha,” he reached over and rubbed my shoulder. “I love you no matter what, Mom.”

Cameron

“All right, deuces. I’m out,” I said to my secretary, grateful this long-ass day was over.

I was scheduled to be in the office all day, but after two emergency calls and determining whether my patients were candidates for emergency surgery or not, I’d been spinning in circles.

I was exhausted, but the thrill of seeing Jessa and staring into those crystal blue eyes tonight at dinner, on top of being with my son, was what drove me to nearly skip out of my office.

“Hey, Dr. Brandt,” I heard a male voice call out, pretending to be a female fawning over me.

I turned back, knowing it was Collin since the neurological office center was one floor above me. “Hey, handsome,” I teased. Luckily there were no patients around to catch me acting like some whacko.

“You and me tonight, right? I know you’re lonely, and Elena is working late at the center,” he teased.

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