Owner of a Broken Heart Read online

  Clinton smiled. “A Buick?”

  “I don’t think so.” Nina’s raspy voice startled them for a moment.

  Sheldon and Clinton turned to Nina. “Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?” her father admonished.

  “I was until I heard you say you were putting me in a Buick,” she said.

  “Go back to sleep,” Clinton said as he stroked the back of Nina’s hand. “Or your doctor is going to kick us out of here.”

  “All right,” she said.

  Tears welled up in Sheldon’s eyes as he watched Nina drift off back to sleep.

  “Sheldon, why don’t you go and get some rest?” Clinton suggested.

  “I think I will. I’ll be in the waiting room with her sisters.” The two men hugged and Sheldon whispered to Clinton, “Take care of my baby.”

  Clinton took a seat beside Nina’s bed and silently promised that he would take care of her for the rest of his life.

  Chapter 25

  Two weeks later, Nina was released from the hospital, and despite her pleas to go to her home, Clinton and her family whisked her to Charleston where she was waited on hand and foot.

  Resting against the pillows in her room at the bed-and-breakfast, she waited for Yolanda and Robin to get out of her room. But that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon as they looked at her as if she’d break into a million pieces if she moved one inch.

  “You two can leave and I won’t die,” Nina said.

  “Don’t even joke like that,” Robin remarked dramatically. “We almost lost you and . . .”

  “Calm down,” Yolanda said. “Nina is just being Nina. But we’re not going anywhere.”

  “I hope you don’t plan on getting another Mustang,” Robin said. “You’re too hotheaded to handle that much horsepower.”

  Nina folded her arms across her chest. “Channeling Alexandria Richardson now?”

  The door to her room opened and Alex walked in. When the conversation stopped, she figured her sisters had been talking about her.

  “What did I miss?” she quipped.

  “Nothing,” Nina said. “Can you get your sisters out of here?”

  Alex shook her head and joined Yolanda on the settee near the window. “Little Sis, why don’t you accept the fact that you’re stuck with us and enjoy it?”

  Nina rolled her eyes. “I’m really fine.”

  Yolanda nodded. “You sure are with your busted leg and broken arm. You’re awesome. What the hell were you thinking, driving and crying? I thought I taught you better than that.”

  Robin furrowed her brows. “And you were crying because?”

  Alex crossed her legs. “Let me guess, you and Clinton had an argument.”

  Nina closed her eyes. “I don’t remember. Instead of talking about me, why don’t the three of you catch me up on what’s been going on in your lives? Y’all have been real quiet about that.”

  Robin rose to her feet and stood next to the window. “You all are going to find out anyway, so I might as well tell you. I’m getting a divorce.”

  “What?” the three sisters exclaimed in unison.

  “Not you,” Yolanda said. “I thought you had the perfect marriage.”

  “Nothing in life is perfect,” Robin said in a near whisper. “Logan and I have just grown apart, and I don’t know if we can work things out. Especially after what I’ve learned about my husband.”

  “Which was?” Alex asked.

  Robin hugged herself tightly. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Nina shook her head. “You don’t get out of it that easily. What did you find out?”

  “Logan is a father.”

  No one knew what to say after Robin dropped that bombshell. Nina wanted to hug her sister tightly, she couldn’t move from her bed.

  “But-but . . .” Yolanda sputtered, looking for the right words to say. “Not Logan.”

  “He claims that he never slept with this woman, but the DNA test didn’t lie. That slimy bastard,” Robin spat.

  “I’m floored,” Alex said. “Logan always seemed like a stand-up guy and this just doesn’t seem like him.”

  “You know what, Alex, you go to him and try to work things out then,” Robin snapped. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to lash out at you.”

  Alex shrugged her shoulders. “Whatever. I get that you’re upset, but you should be logical. What if the DNA test was tampered with?”

  “Stop watching so many soap operas. He cheated on me and made a baby with some other . . . I wanted to have Logan’s child. But . . .”

  Yolanda turned to Robin. “Does Daddy know?”

  “Yes,” Robin replied. “He helped me move when he was in Virginia at that conference. Logan was irate when he came home and I was gone. He went on and on about how this woman had been stalking him and wanted him to break his vows but he didn’t. He swore that the DNA test would clear him and I believed it like a fool. You guys used to laugh at me and called me Miss Optimistic. But that Robin is gone.”

  “I’m sorry you’re hurting, but don’t let him steal your joy. I could beat his ass for hurting you.”

  Yolanda pinched Alex on her arm. “Whoa! This is a side of you I haven’t seen in a while.”

  Alex pinched Yolanda back. “Shut up.”

  Before Yolanda could retort, there was a knock at the door.

  Robin crossed the room and opened it. Clinton walked in and smiled.

  “Am I interrupting something?” he asked as he looked around the room.

  Robin shook her head. “Have a seat, Clinton, we were just leaving.”

  “No, we weren’t,” Alex said.

  “That’s right,” Yolanda said. “Because we all need to talk to you.”

  Nina groaned. “All right, all of you get the hell out of my room so I can spend some time with my fiancé!”

  “So rude,” Yolanda said as she and Alex rose to their feet.

  “That’s your sister. And she learned that behavior from you,” Alex said as she followed Robin and Yolanda out the door.

  Clinton smiled as the Richardson sisters walked out of the room. “They’re giving you a hard time?”

  “Smothering me is more like it.” Nina held her arm out to Clinton and he hugged her gently.

  “They’re doing it because they care,” he replied. “How are you feeling?”

  “A lot better now that you’re here.”

  “You really scared us. I thought I was going to lose you,” he said. “That car has got to go. Besides, we can’t put our babies in the back seat of a Mustang. And we certainly aren’t going to put a baby seat in mine.”

  Nina groaned. “Not you, too, Clinton. That car is totaled, but as soon as I get a check from the insurance company, I’m getting another one. No arguments. Maybe I’ll get an EcoBoost instead of a GT this time.”

  He kissed her on the forehead. “I know. But seriously, where will Clinton the third, Clinton the fourth, and little Clintina sit?”

  Nina laughed, then touched her side. Laughing hurt her ribs. “You’re crazy if you think I’m going to name my daughter Clintina. But I do want a big family. And you can drive the minivan. And I don’t hear you talking about getting rid of your Mustang.”

  “And I’m not getting rid of mine. It’s an investment, a classic car. I tell you what, instead of a minivan, how about a stylish SUV?”

  “Whatever, but I don’t do big cars.” Nina nestled closer to Clinton and closed her eyes. “This isn’t how I imagined we’d spend time in bed together.”

  “You need to recover, but trust me when you’re one hundred percent we’ll make our time in bed together more exciting,” he said.

  “Umm, I like the sound of that.” She reached up and stroked his cheek.

  “Knock, knock,” Sheldon said as he walked into the room. “Oh, I didn’t realize that you two were . . .”

  “It’s all right, Daddy,” Nina said. “Clinton was just holding me because your daughters spent the morning terrorizing me.”

&nbs
p; Sheldon smiled and took a seat near the window. “They just love you, honey. You gave us all quite a scare. That’s why we’re all here, terrorizing you. So, you two are back together and everything is right with the world, huh?”

  Clinton nodded. “I never should’ve let her go in the first place.”

  “So, the wedding? Is it going to be in Charleston, Charlotte? Where are you two going to live?” Sheldon asked.

  Clinton dropped his arms from around Nina. “We haven’t worked that out,” he said. “I know we’re going to have to make some big decisions soon.” He brushed his fingers across Nina’s cast. “The most important thing right now is for Nina to heal.”

  Sheldon nodded. “I understand. You know, I would be happy to have you two live here.”

  “Daddy,” Nina said. “Do you really think we should live where Clinton works? Alex would never give us a moment of peace. I can see it now, three in the morning, she’s knocking on our door wanting to go over a business proposal.”

  Clinton and Sheldon broke out laughing. “She would do that,” Clinton said as he eased off the bed. “But I appreciate the offer.”

  Sheldon rose to his feet. “All right, but the offer stands.”

  “Thank you, Daddy,” Nina said as Sheldon headed out the door. When the couple were alone, Clinton turned to Nina.

  “Do you want to move to back to Charleston?”

  “I want to be wherever you are. That’s the thing about freelancing. I’m free. It was a risky career move, but I like flexibility.”

  Clinton perched on the edge of the bed and was about to kiss his fiancée when the door opened and her sisters returned.

  “Eww,” Yolanda said. “I know you two were not about to . . .”

  Nina sucked her teeth in disgust. “Well, if we were, you busted that groove up. Why are y’all back?”

  Robin folded her arms and turned to Alex. “Because someone said we needed to talk to Clinton.”

  Alex smiled. “If you’re going to marry Nina, then we need to ask you some questions.”

  “Can this wait?” Nina asked. “I’m tired.”

  “That’s fine because we don’t want to talk to you anyway,” Yolanda said as she walked over to Clinton and linked arms with him. “Let’s go have lunch. Nina, you go to sleep, all right?”

  Clinton looked helpless as Nina’s sisters dragged him out of the room.

  * * *

  The moment Clinton and the Richardson sisters entered the bed-and-breakfast’s restaurant, he knew this wasn’t going to be a friendly chat. Robin smiled sweetly at him and offered him a seat at the head of the table. Yolanda and Alex sat on either side of him and Robin called for the waitstaff to bring in their lunch.

  “So,” Yolanda said. “What in the hell happened between you and Nina before the accident?”

  Clinton cleared his throat. “We had a disagreement.”

  “We know that,” Alex said. “But what was it about and why did you allow her to get in that car when she was so upset?” She folded her arms across her chest.

  “I wasn’t there, I’d already left because she’d given me my engagement ring back and it was over.”

  “Why?” Yolanda and Robin asked at the same time.

  “Because I thought that she and Lamar had slept together,” he said in a low voice, embarrassed that he had actually listened to that man.

  “Lamar? He’s still sniffing around her?” Yolanda asked. “I remember the night that she saw him and told him to kiss off. Who told you that those two had something going on?”

  Heat radiated from Clinton’s collar. How was he going to explain to these women that he’d been a fool and nearly killed their sister? “It was a misunderstanding and we’ve worked past it.”

  “Not really, because we have to be sure that you aren’t going to be a problem for Nina,” Robin said, quickly dropping the nice sister façade. “Because if you are, we’d prefer it if you didn’t marry her.”

  “Wait a minute, I love Nina. How could I predict what was going to happen?”

  “How could you believe that Nina was unfaithful to you? She loves you!” Yolanda exclaimed. “She’s never been so happy. Maybe you’re the cheater.”

  Clinton rose to his feet, trying to keep his anger in check. “I know you all love your sister and this family is really close. But Nina doesn’t need protection from me. I’d appreciate it if you three would mind your own damned business.”

  The sisters looked at Clinton with their mouths wide open. “Oh, he’s going to fit in this family just fine,” Yolanda said with a laugh.

  Alex and Robin nodded in agreement.

  “Clinton, sit down and have lunch, please,” Alex said. “Nina told us what happened and trust me, we’re not always like this. But it’s nice to know you’re honest.”

  Yolanda shook her head. “Because if we were, there’s a man in Virginia who would be in a world of hurt right now.”

  Robin’s smile faded. “Excuse me, I’m going to check on the food.” She bolted from the room, leaving Clinton wondering what was going on.

  After lunch, Clinton headed back to Nina’s room happy to be marrying into the Richardson family, though he was a little concerned about Robin. Something was going on with her. Since he wasn’t really family yet, he didn’t feel comfortable enough to ask her what was happening in her life. Besides, he was certain that she and her sisters would handle whatever was going on. That’s just how they seemed to work.

  “Knock, knock,” he said as he entered the room.

  Nina had been trying to climb out of the bed when Clinton quickly crossed over to her. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going crazy in this bed! And I’m itching in places I can’t reach lying down.”

  He lifted Nina into his arms. “You need to rest and recuperate. You were hit by a truck, babe.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Really, I’d forgotten all about that. I just want to get into a warm bath. Can you help me do that?”

  “You know I can’t. Those casts can’t get wet.”

  She pouted. “Then you can give me a sponge bath.”

  Clinton nodded. “I’ll do that. First, let me get you in this chair.” He sat her in a rocking chair, then he eased her nightgown off her body. It was hard for him to look at the scars on her body and not blame himself for them being there.

  Nina noted his silence. “What?”

  “I’m so sorry that I . . .”

  She shook her head as his finger trailed down one of her scars. “We’re not going to do this. We’re not passing blame around.”

  “I’m going to get a towel and some warm water. Don’t move.”

  “If I could, I’d be out that door so fast.” Her laughter warmed his heart as he walked into the bathroom to fill a small basin with warm water.

  When he returned to Nina’s chair, he smiled at her and started the sponge bath. He washed her feet, moving up the calf on her free leg and then between her thighs.

  “Are you okay?” He stroked her with the warm cloth and Nina moaned.

  She nodded as he moved the cloth across her stomach. “They didn’t give me baths like this in the hospital.”

  “Tried to ask the nurses to let me, but they said no.” Clinton winked at her as he dipped the cloth in the water and lathered it up again. He rubbed it across her breasts and up and down her neck and shoulders. “Still good?”

  “Never felt better.”

  He rinsed the cloth again and wiped the suds away. Clinton dried her with a soft towel, then reached for a bottle of lotion from her dresser. Of course, it smelled like roses. Smoothing it across her body, Clinton said a prayer of thankfulness. He was blessed that Nina didn’t die and they’d have a future together.

  “I’m so sorry,” he murmured as he propped up her broken leg on some pillows.

  “Clinton, you don’t have to keep apologizing to me.”

  “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” He grabbed a clean gown and helped her into it.

&
nbsp; “Hopefully, you’ll never have to find out.”

  “You scared the hell out of me, babe.” Clinton let go of her hand and pulled another chair up beside hers. “And I feel like this is my fault.”

  Nina sighed. “We both could’ve handled things better.”

  He stroked the back of her hand. “I could’ve listened instead of accusing you. Nina, I just felt so jealous when—”

  She brought her finger to his lips. “You never have to worry about another man coming between us. If I wasn’t ready to spend forever with you, I wouldn’t have taken your ring.”

  “I know that and I can’t believe I let Lamar’s lie get to me like that.”

  “Well, I should’ve sat in the parking lot until . . . there is enough blame to go around.” A tear slid down her cheek. “Things could’ve been a lot worse.”

  “Yes. I’m with your family though. No more Mustangs.”

  “Really?” She blinked in rapid succession.

  “Yes.”

  “How about I promise to slow down and you don’t make me cry anymore?”

  “I can do that.” He kissed the back of her hand. Nina wished she could make love to her man. As if he could read her desire, Clinton leaned in and kissed her on the forehead.

  “We’re going to have the rest of our lives to make love every day.”

  “Promise?”

  “Absolutely.” He kissed her again, with fire and passion. Nina’s moan hung in the air as the door to her room opened.

  “Oh my God!” Yolanda exclaimed. “I know y’all aren’t doing what I think you are.”

  Alex turned her back and Robin smiled.

  “We’re trying to have a moment here.” Nina shook her head at her sisters.

  “Don’t you think you should be in bed resting?” Alex said as she started toward Nina.

  “I think I need to lock my door.”

  “Come on, guys. Let’s leave them alone, for now.” Robin ushered her sisters out of the room.

  “Guess we’ll see you two at dinner, since Nina can get out of the bed.” Yolanda waved her hand as she left.