Chapter Five: Unwitting Rivals
As Greg declined, JC found himself spending more and more time with the Castles. He had even spent nights at the request of the children, becoming the one they looked to for ‘Dad’ activities. They were now his children, bit-by-bit, step-by-step. JC had been dropped in favor of Dad C or Daddy C. But he wasn’t there merely for the children; he was there for Lisa as well. Some days, she allowed herself to lean on his strength and compassion. Other days, she was prickly and uncommunicative. JC no longer took those times to heart. He’d seen the tremendous strain she was under and was amazed at her fortitude. The spoiled, little rich girl had turned into a remarkable woman, one he intended to stand beside as long as she wanted him.
“Are you sure you’ll be all right on the sofa?” Lisa asked JC for the fifth time. “I can have Scott climb in with Digger—”
JC took the pillow she was clutching and tossed it onto the family room sofa. “I can sleep anywhere,” he told her. She’d already tucked the sheet around the cushions so smooth, cool percale would be against his skin.
“But—”
“Lisa, I’ve used this sofa for a couple of times before,” he reminded her.
“I—I feel we’re putting you out. You’re the guest…”
“I’m hardly a special guest. It’s okay. Really.” Being down here was definitely better than in the room next to hers, which Scott’s room was. He didn’t think he could bear listening to her pace, weep and toss restlessly in bed without going to her. He would go with the best of intentions, to lend comfort, but Lisa in bed would possibly be more than he could handle. This way a flight of stairs and half a house was between them.
“If there is anything you need in the morning…anything at all, let me know.”
“I promise.”
“Thank you, JC. The kids really do need to get out from under for a few hours.”
JC was taking them to Disney World the following day. He’d arranged a private duty nurse to stay with Greg so Lisa could accompany them. She needed the respite as much if not more than the children.
“Well…then…” Lisa hesitated.
“Say goodnight, Lisa,” JC prompted.
“Goodnight Lisa,” she quipped with a smile.
JC touched her chin and ran the pad of his thumb over her full bottom lip. “You don’t do that nearly enough, honey. You have a beautiful smile.”
Lisa shivered at the blatant sensuality in that small touch. She couldn’t possible be thinking…JC was her past. In the present, he was merely a dear friend. His simple caress should not cause warmth to pool in her belly…still…it had been some time since Greg had been able to make love to her. Even before his diagnosis he had been too tired…and she was still a healthy woman with normal urges…
Reading the heat and confusion in her eyes, JC dropped his hand. “Goodnight, Lisa.”
“Goodnight, JC. Sleep well,” she said just above a whisper as she left the room.
The only saving grace of Lisa’s blindness was the fact she couldn’t see how aroused he became during the intimate moments they shared. She missed the blaze of desire in his eyes and the tautness in his face and the obvious hardening of his body. If he didn’t hold her, they would both be safe.
Krista woke to the feel of Bess pulling her arm.
“Can seep. Bad deam,” Bess whimpered. Of all the children Bess was the most confused by Greg’s illness. Death was beyond her comprehension. All she knew was Daddy didn’t seem like Daddy and Mommy was sad a lot.
Krista lifted the corner of her covers. “Climb in.”
Bess shook her head. “No. Mommy.”
“Mom needs to sleep.”
“Daddy?”
“No. Dad’s sick.”
The little girl frowned. “Daddy C?”
After a moment, the older girl decided seeking JC was the best choice. Crawling from her bed, she grabbed her comforter and pillow. “C’mon.”
The two crept to the first floor family room where JC normally slept on stay-overs. He was fast asleep on the sofa.
“You either hafta sleep on the floor or the couch,” Krista whispered.
Ignoring her sister, Bess lifted the edge of JC’s light cover and climbed on top of JC. She settled against him, one hand in his hair and one thumb in her mouth. Closing her eyes, the mere presence of a trusted adult was comfort enough to let her sleep.
Krista cast a jaundice eye towards her sister. She would like to be able to do that, too. Going to the other sofa, she wrapped herself in her comforter. With the pillow in place, she lay down to sleep.
JC woke to the feel of two small warm weights on him. Easing his eyelids open, he saw a head of straight sandy hair resting under his chin. Bess. Glancing down at his legs, he saw a mop of curls pillowed on his thigh. Digger was nestled between his legs. Venturing a glance at the other sofa, he saw Scott and Krista.
They had sought him out last night. Not Lisa. Not Greg. Again he had that warm paternal, melting in his chest. Scott may well be the only one with JC’s blood coursing through his veins, but they were all his kids now. Children of his heart. If they needed him, he’d move heaven and earth to reach them. He’d walk through the fires of hell to insure their safety and happiness. In that moment, he knew how Roy and Karen Chasez had felt when they had taken in the five year old boy JC had been all those years ago. Blood doesn’t matter if there was love and he loved Greg and Lisa’s children with a fierceness he couldn’t have fathomed before. He couldn’t love them more if they had all been born of his sperm.
“Seems you became one popular fella in the middle of the night.” JC heard Lisa’s soft voice close to his ear.
“Looks like it, huh?” he answered.
“How does it feel, Daddy Chasez?”
“Fantastic. Scary. Awesome. Intimidating.”
She laughed quietly. “Welcome to parenthood.”
JC shifted slightly, turning his head to see her face. She sat on the floor, her face just inches from his. “Are you cool with this?”
“It’s what Greg wanted.”
“That’s not what I asked. Are you okay with the way things are with me here?”
“At first, I hated the idea…”
“But?”
“You’ve proved yourself a real stand-up kind of guy. You’ve been a tremendous help,” she told him.
“You still didn’t answer me, Lisa.”
“Yes, I am okay with you being here.”
Oh, God! He wanted to kiss her. She looked so inviting, so tempting…her hair mussed, her eyes still drowsy, her mouth still sleep soft. If he just moved his head a couple inches… “Lisa…” His lips touched hers. He felt her surprise but she didn’t pull away. Neither of them deepened the kiss. After a brief moment of clinging, they backed away. “Lisa…”
Her fingers found his lips. “Shh…don’t say a word.” She didn’t want to feel guilty for enjoying the feel of his mouth, the first male/female contact she’d had in months. If he apologized or said more, she would feel guilty.
Greg silently witnesses the gentle kiss, noting Lisa was not adverse to JC’s attentions. When the other man removed her fingers from his lips, they leaned their foreheads together in an intimate gesture of wordless understanding. Quietly, Greg stumbled back to his bed down the hall. Anguish and pain ripped through him — and it had nothing to do with the vile disease killing him. Not only had JC managed to get elevated to ‘Daddy C’ to his children, he was apparently making in roads with Lisa! His hear sank. He should have guessed it wouldn’t take long for JC to replace him — it certainly hadn’t last time around, Greg thought bitterly.
With his back to the door, Greg wept for all he was about to lose, not only to JC but also to the very devil himself. He was losing more than his life. He was losing the opportunity to grow old with Lisa at his side. She was the only woman he’d ever loved — and she hadn’t been a woman when he’d begun to love her. He would never see his children grow into teenagers, go to high school, make him crazy because they wouldn’t listen to the ‘old man’ anymore. He’d miss first dates, first kisses, first sexual experiences, first loves and first broken hearts. He wouldn’t see his first grandchild. All those wonderful, momentous firsts…his children would look to JC for a father’s wisdom.
It wasn’t fair. He’d been a good guy all of his life, tried to do the right thing. He paid his taxes honestly. He provided for his family gladly. He’d never cheated on Lisa — not even when he was away at college. Lisa had been the only woman in his life for nearly twelve years. He’d loved her enough to forgive her transgression with JC and accept another man’s child. When Lisa had been blinded, he’d done everything he could to help her. He patiently assisted her adjustment to a sightless world, held her when she cried, weathered her helpless outbursts of temper and restored her self-confidence with his unaltered affection. Hadn’t he proven he was worthy of more than a hellish short life and a painful death?
“Greg?” Lisa entered his room after she’d heard the rough sound of a man crying.
“Just go away, Lisa,” he whispered, ashamed to be caught wallowing in self-pity.
”Not a chance, mister,” she said firmly. Carefully she climbed on the bed and pulled him into her embrace. She rocked him and crooned soothing noises as she did for the children. She let him sob out his grief with her loving approval. He was always so brave for them all; he needed to release his sorrow and fears. Once his tears subsided, she asked, “Wanna talk about it?”
“No.” He clung to her; she was his lifeline. Nuzzling her breast, he was acutely reminded he’d been unable to be a husband to her for many months. He’d never been a great lover to begin with — now he wasn’t a man at all.
Lisa stroked his damp brow. He felt feverish. “I’ll tell JC I can’t go today—”
“No! You and the kids have been looking forward—”
“Greg, you’re too warm. I’m not going to leave you when—”
“There’s a chance I’ll be dead when you get back. Isn’t that what you mean?” he accused.
“No, it isn’t. Don’t go putting words in my mouth, Greg Castle. What I was going to say was…what sort of wife would I be if I went away when you seem to be having a bad day?”
“They’re all bad days,” he reminded her. “And as to what sort of wife…one who is exhausted and in need of fresh air.” Greg shifted so he was holding her “JC can’t handle four kids alone.”
“He can take Scott and Krista. The twins can stay here.”
“Lisa…”
“I can call Jamie and Jennie,” she said of the children’s regular teenage babysitters. “They can keep the twins occupied.”
“So you can what? Watch me sleep? JC already hired a nurse in case I need someone. I’ll be fine, sweetheart.”
“Greg—”
“No. End of discussion. Put a leash on Digger and have a great day.” Then he kissed her, really kissed her, for the first time in weeks. His mouth was coaxing and hungry. He was a selfish bastard, because when she opened to him, arching against him, he felt a sense of victory over JC Chasez.
“Why did we even come?” JC asked Lisa as once again he sensed her concentration drift away. “Should we pack it in and call it a day?” He kept an eye as the two older children finished the rides they could do solo.
Lisa pulled her thoughts back to JC. She would bet he was a regular chick magnet pushing the twins in their double stroller. There was something about a handsome male with little kids…Her lips tipped up into a smile. “Hey, Daddy C.”
Damn! She hadn’t heard a word he’d said, but here she was making him forget what he’d said with that witchy smile of hers. “Hey, Mama.” He could still fall into those dark eyes of hers. Once again he was a hormonal teenager who would do anything to get her into the backseat of his Jeep. At least back then, she’d wanted him almost as much as he’d wanted her! “Where do you go when you drift off like that?”
“Not too far.”
”Greg, huh?”
“I found him crying this morning. I was ready to stay home, but he insisted I come.”
“He’s a good guy, Lisa. He knew you needed to get away for awhile.”
”He accused me of something. I denied it at the time…But he wasn’t wrong.”
“What was that?”
”He said I didn’t want to leave, because I was afraid he’d die in my absence. I hadn’t thought of it quite that way. He was right.”
“That’s probably normal, don’t you think? You guys got a lotta love and history. You’d wanna say good-bye.”
“And he kissed me. Not some little peck. He hasn’t kissed me like that in ages.” She grinned. “He even copped a feel.”
JC swallowed his jealousy. Sometimes he forgot Lisa wasn’t his. “Honey, I don’t think Greg is the ‘cop a feel’ type. Besides I don’t know if that even applies to old married folk.”
She stuck out her tongue and laughed. “You are such a prince. All I can say is I thought I might get some action.”
Down, boy! JC told himself. He had no business being upset because Lisa still desired Greg. “I think that is way TMI.
Slipping an arm around his lean waist, she gave him an affectionate squeeze. “Sorry. I’ll keep my horniness to myself from now on.”
JC forced himself to smile. “It’s cool, Lisa.” She was truly relaxed for the first time since he’d seen her in Greg’s hospital room. He wouldn’t steal that away from her with his possessiveness and envy. He’d have his shot at her after Greg was with the angels. If she wanted Greg to make love to her before he died, he’d have to keep his petty objections to himself.
“Dad C!” Scott called out as he and Krista raced up. “It was awesome!”
Krista hugged JC’s waist and peered up at him with Lisa’s beguiling eyes. “Can we have ice cream now?”
Suddenly animated, Digger bounced in his seat. “Ice ceam!”
JC tilted a look at Lisa. “Whaddya say, Mama?”
“If you are referring to me,” Lisa quipped, “I ain’t your mama, Chasez!”