Page 9 of I Could Never
CHAPTER 4
CARLY
A KNOCK WOKEme the following morning. When I emerged from the bedroom, I spotted a shirtless Josh already at the front door. His perfectly carved back, inked with the image of a serpent, blocked my view of whomever was there.
A snake.Appropriate.
I didn’t like the man, but there was no denying how damn hot he was.
His deep, morning voice was raspy as he spoke. “Can I help you?”
“I’m Scottie’s behavior therapist,” I heard a woman say. “I work with him here once or twice a week.”
Josh scratched his head of unruly hair. “Oh.” He moved aside. “Come in.”
I caught the attractive brunette’s eyes falling briefly to his chest.
He held his hand out. “I’m Josh. Good to meet you.”
“Lauren.” She smiled as they shook.
I could have sworn she resisted letting go.
“I didn’t realize Scottie had someone coming to the house.” I interrupted her ogling.
She turned toward me, seeming to notice me standing there for the first time. “Yeah.” She cleared her throat. “It’s a home-based service we provide, funded by the state. I’ve only been working with him for about six months, but he’s been in our adult program for a while.”
“Lorraine neglected to mention that,” I said. “What do you do with him?”
“We read together, do puzzles, sort items, and work on self-care—things like brushing his teeth, dressing, and tying his shoes,” she said. “You must be Carly?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“His aunt did mention you would be coming to stay with him in place of her. I didn’t realize you were married.”
“Oh.” I looked over at Josh. “He’s not my husband. This is Scottie’s brother Brad’s friend. I was engaged to Brad before he passed away.”
She smiled over at Josh, her eyes lighting up. “I see.”
I bet you do.
The last thing I needed was to be in the middle of a flirt fest—or worse—between Josh and this college student.
She turned back to me. “I’m so sorry about your fiancé. Before Wayne passed, he used to tell me all about him. He was a movie producer, right?”
“He worked in television as a writer, but he’d been promoted to producer before he died, yeah.”
“I’m sorry.” She frowned. “So, you’re both here to take care of Scottie…together?”
“We’re sharing the responsibility right now,” Josh said. “Until we can find him a good fit for a permanent home.”
Lauren nodded. “That’s really cool of you.”
“Scottie is still sleeping,” I said. “If I’d known you were coming, I would’ve woken him.”
“That’s okay. Wayne used to get him up before I arrived, but I don’t mind waking him.” She looked over at Josh. “If you need anything, let me know. We have a lot of resources at the agency that may be able to help with your search for placement.”
It was interesting that she offered to helphimand notus. It was sickening how much of a chick magnet this guy was, given his questionable personality. But then again, Lauren wouldn’t know about that yet. Too bad Josh Mathers didn’t come with a warning label covering his perfect face.