Page 1 of Deserving Maisy
CHAPTER ONE
“Jase, please don’t do this.”
“I’ve told you a million times not to call me that. My name isJason. You’re so stupid.”
Jack held very still. He didn’t know where he was, who was talking, or why his head hurt so badly. He also wasn’t sure why he didn’t just sit up and open his eyes to find out what was going on…but something deep down inside told him to wait. To listen.
“Sorry.”
“You’re doing this, Maisy. I don’t want to hear any more about it. And if you don’t…”
The man’s voice trailed off, and even though Jack didn’t know either of them, he didn’t like the implied threat.
He probably should’ve kept his eyes shut, but he couldn’t stay silent any longer. He didn’t like the way the man was treating the woman.
Shifting on the bed, he opened his eyes. Or tried to. The light in the room was extremely bright, and he winced and immediately closed his eyelids once more.
“He’s waking up!” the woman exclaimed.
Jack braced against the pain of a killer headache, and when it subsided slightly, he risked opening his eyes once more. This time going slower and squinting. Everything was blurry as he struggled to sit up.
He felt a hand tug on his arm and resisted the urge to sigh. It was her. The woman with the soft voice. Given the size of her hand, it wasn’t as if she could actually move him, but Jack did his best to sit up on the bed anyway. Wanting to see the face that went with the soothing voice, Jack turned his head to look at her.
His breath hitched.
Her light brown hair was tussled and, to his untrained eye, looked as if it needed a trim. She had spots of deep pink on her cheeks and her chestnut-brown eyes met his without hesitation. She was a bit too thin, but he still thought she was very pretty.
“Easy,” she said in that melodic voice.
“Glad to see you awake,” the man said. His voice grated on Jack’s nerves. His eyes had adjusted to the light and he glanced at the man, instinctively knowing he was the one in the room he needed to be concerned about.
“Do I know you?” Jack asked a little gruffly. He felt off-kilter, his head was throbbing, and he had no idea where he was.
“Name’s Jason Feldman.”
The man didn’t hold out a hand for Jack to shake, and it felt as if the guy was assessing the situation, being careful not to say too much too soon. How he knew that, Jack had no idea. Bringing a hand up, he massaged his temple, attempting to alleviate the radiating pain in his head. “Where am I? What happened?”
“What do you mean, what happened?” asked the woman—who Jack remembered had been called Maisy. She was hovering next to the bed, looking at him in concern. He liked that. A lot. Had he ever had anyone seem that concerned about him before?
But at the simple question, his mind blanked. He wasn’tsurewhat he meant. He looked into Maisy’s eyes. “I don’t know.”
“Whatdon’t you know?” she asked gently.
“Anything,” Jack blurted. “I mean…I know my name is Jack, but that’s about it. Why does my head hurt? Where am I? Who are you? What happened to me?”
An almost delighted snort sounded from Jason on the other side of the bed, and Jack quickly turned his attention to him.
“Sorry, I just…I didn’t expect this,” the man said.
Jack’s eyes narrowed as he took him in. If he wasn’t mistaken, the man was trying to hold back a smile. But that couldn’t be right. Why would he be happy that Jack couldn’t remember anything?
“As I said, my name’s Jason Feldman. You’re at my house in Seattle, Washington. You were in an accident and hit your head.” He nodded to the woman. “That’s my sister, Maisy. And you’re Jack Smith—my brother-in-law.”
Jack’s head spun. The only thing sticking him was the brother-in-law thing. That meant…
He turned to look back at Maisy.
She was staring at her brother with what Jack could only call a stricken expression on her face. But that emotion wiped clean when she looked down at him.
