Page 12 of Love on the Brain
Jane smiled and leaned over to release the restraint. “Don’t worry, I’m sure he’s here to check in on you. You don’t have to rush.”
He scrambled out of the seat as Connie opened the door. “’Scuse me, Mimi!”
“Noah, be careful!” Jane called after him. She gathered her tote and their coats and climbed out of the car. Ryan was towing a suitcase in each hand up the walkway with Noah behind him pulling her carry-on.
“I think your boys have that taken care of.” Dale winked at her.Yourboys? Jane felt a little tingle of awareness at the thought of Ryan being hers. She supposed he was, in a way. He was her friend. Is that what Dale had meant?
She hoped so. Implying something more would be … wrong.
“Jane.” Connie took the jackets from her arms. “Why don’t you bring your stuff up and get settled, then you can meet us in the kitchen for tea and a snack?”
“Thank you,” Jane replied. “I won’t be long.”
Connie patted her arm. “Take as long as you need.”
Once inside the house, she trudged up the stairs to the guest room, flicked the switch of the nightstand lamp, and set her tote on the armchair in the corner. Her suitcase was already on the trunk at the foot of the bed. She smiled, grateful she hadn’t had to carry it up. Closing her eyes, she rolled her head in a slow circle, stretching her neck to get the kinks out.
Noah and Ryan’s chatter carried across the hall from Casey’s childhood bedroom. It became white noise as she slipped into a meditative state. She laced her fingers together and inhaled slowly, raising her arms above her head and pulling up from her toes. As she exhaled, her fingers let go of their hold and she fanned her arms out beside her, palms up. She arched her back, puffing out her chest and squeezing her shoulders before rolling them back and around.
Still kinky.Jane sighed, using her right hand to work a stubborn knot in her left trapezius.
“Mind if I try?” Ryan’s deep voice cut through her thoughts and elicited a shiver. “Sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to make you jump.”
“It’s okay,” she breathed, looking over her shoulder. Ryan filled the doorway. “Where’s Noah?”
“He went downstairs for cookies. Can I help you with your knot?”
Jane nodded. “Thanks.”
She turned away from him and relaxed her shoulders. He lifted her ponytail and slipped it between her turtleneck and sweater. The gesture felt unexpectedly intimate, and Jane couldn’t hold back another shiver. Why was she reacting to him like this?
Ryan applied equal pressure to both her trapezius muscles, digging into the spots that had always caused her trouble. Back in college, they’d regularly massaged each other’s shoulders after long days of studying or volunteer work. Casey had taken over the duty when they’d married. Since he died, the occasional nurse friend would help, but no man had touched her like this—or at all—in years.
“Ooh—right there!” she moaned. Ryan’s hands paused, then resumed. Jane’s cheeks burned as she realized what she’d said and how her words and the accompanying sound could be misconstrued. Pressing her eyes closed, she concentrated on her breathing and keeping her mouth shut.
“Right side is good,” Ryan murmured. “Give me just another moment on the left.”
Jane stayed silent, holding her breath as he cupped her shoulder with his left hand and applied pressure with his knuckles into her problem area, kneading and working at the lump until it released.
With a deep sigh, she let her breath go and sagged back against his solid frame. “Thank you.”
His arms wrapped around her, warm and strong. “He’s going to be okay, Jane. Count on it.”
Jane took another full moment to savor the feel of Ryan’s secure embrace. “‘If God is with us, who can be against us?’” she quoted.Us.What was wrong with her brain lately? Why was she thinking of her and Ryan as a team in Noah’s battle?
Because you’ve always been a team.That was true. Ryan was Noah’s godfather, and he’d promised to always be there for him. Performing surgery on him was going above and beyond.
But that was what he’d always done. Ryan was an achiever. If there was an opportunity to do more and be more, he’d take it.
For some reason, this answer to her question came with a twinge of disappointment.
But why? She had no right to want more from him.
Pushing her conflicting thoughts away, she slipped out of his arms and glided to the door. “Noah has a million questions for you. I told him you’d answer them at the Super Bowl party, but since you’re here and he doesn’t seem the least bit tired…”
Ryan’s smile in the dim light lit up the entire room. “I’ll stay as long as y’all need me to.”
Jane returned his grin and entered the hall before she said something stupid.
