Page 15 of Infatuation

“No problem, mate.”

He turned and walked into his room, thinking that for the first time in a week, he would be taking the hard meds.

“You want to tell me why you brought this motley crew to my house without warning?”

Mal shook his head. "I didn’t want to say I was bringing them if I couldn’t convince them. Both of them just wanted to spend the week sitting around their quarters. I thought it wasn’t a good idea.”

“That bad?”

He nodded. "Actually, probably worse. We lost Forrester.”

The name brought to mind the young kid that had spent his honeymoon in New Orleans just a year earlier. "Oh, shit.”

“Yeah, Amanda is kind of a wreck.”

“I can imagine. How are you doing?”

“You can see that my beautiful face is just fine.”

She took his hand and tugged on it. "No. I want to know if you are doing okay.”

For once, Mal’s expression turned serious. "Yeah. A few dreams here and there, but no depression. Seriously, I was knocked unconscious and missed the worst of it.”

“I take it Deke and Kade didn’t? They looked a little roughed up.”

“They look amazing compared to what they looked like a few weeks ago. Kade especially. I understand we almost lost him. He was trying to save Forrester.”

Her heart jumped into her throat. "Do Kade’s folks know?”

“Probably not. He’s shut down. He was quiet before, but now he’s damned creepy.”

“Mal,” she admonished. "That’s no way to talk about your best friend.”

“Yeah, I know. But it’s the truth. You saw. He barely talks now. It’s like he’s not there. I thought you might be able to help out.”

She studied her brother’s eyes. "Like how?”

“He’s always had a crush on you. You have to know that.”

“Yes.”

“Well, he always seems so...relaxed around you. He talks to you more than he talks to any woman I’ve seen him with.”

She dropped his hands. "So you want to act as my pimp?”

He rolled his eyes. "Good God, no. I might have to bleach my brain to get that image out of there.”

“Why don’t you explain what you want from me, Mal?”

“He talks to you. If you could get him to listen, to come back to life, that would be fantastic.”

“So a miracle?”

He chuckled. "No, just a sounding board. Not sure if it will work, but I thought maybe you would bring him out of his shell.”

“I’ll try.”

“That’s all I ask, sis.” He leaned forward and gave her a kiss. "I’m going to go to bed. You need help with the dishes?”

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