“Hey, dad or no dad, that kid’s going to love you just as much. Alyssa hasn’t known you long, and I see how quickly and easily she’s drawn to you.”
“She’s a sweet kid. And I’m just being overly emotional for some reason. That must be your fault.” He winked at me and gave me a nod. “Shall we head back?”
“It’s so hard to leave. Speaking of Alyssa, she would die for this place.” I turned my horse around and came up next to Daniel.
“We should bring her here sometime. As long as she doesn’t try to smuggle a horse home.”
Back at the ranch, Cal greeted us and helped me from my horse. I avoided Daniel’s gaze and the knowing look he was sure to deliver. I turned to him when I heard his phone ring. He dismounted the brown beauty and pulled his cell from his jacket pocket.
“Hello.” A short pause and concern in his eyes had my heart racing, my feet moving toward him. “Yes, she’s right here,” he said.
CHAPTER 13
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Gray
Daniel handed me the phone, lips pulled to a tight line. “It’s Alyssa,” he whispered, though he didn’t need to tell me.
“Alyssa, hey. Is everything okay?”
“No, it’s not.” Such few words, but the way in which they were delivered sent chills through me.
“What’s wrong?”
Daniel’s arm came around my shoulder, and he watched me intently.
“We’re in the hospital. I didn’t know who else to call. I’m sorry. Gray, what do I do?”
I blinked slowly, aware of the expectation for me to be a source of strength. Daniel must have sensed it. He rubbed my back and leaned in toward the phone to hear.
Calmly, I replied, “Who? Who’s ‘we’? What happened?”
“Me and my mom. I’m okay…I guess. I don’t know…but Mom, she’s messed up. We got in a car accident. That freaking Teddy. Please, can you come here?”
I glanced to Daniel with expectant, wide eyes; he nodded. For a moment, I couldn’t move or speak. He gave me another nod, this time encouraging.
I shook out of my trance. “Yes, of course. But it will be a couple of hours. Can you hang on until then?”
“I guess so. I’m sorry I called. I just don’t have anyone else.”
“It’s okay. I’m glad you called. Just please tell me you’re safe right now. Where’s Teddy?”
“I don’t know. I’m fine…but I’ll be better when you get here.”
My heart clenched inside my chest for Alyssa, understanding exactly how helpless she felt. A familiar terror settled over me that I had become someone so important to this young girl whom I didn’t want to fail. “Text all the details to my phone, and I’ll call you from the car in just a few minutes.”
We raced to the lot before I had a chance to click off. I told Daniel everything she’d said, in case he had been unable to hear.
“I was afraid to ask what Teddy had to do with the accident,” I said, buckling up. “I didn’t want to upset her any more.”
Daniel glanced over and then started the car, apprehension etched across his forehead. He reached over and touched my leg. “It’s going to be okay. Try not to worry.”
“I hope you’re right. I just can’t believe…Never mind. Can we go, please?”
“Sure.”
I didn’t worry about Daniel’s concern for me or my mental state. I would stay strong for Alyssa, and he wouldn’t have to pick up the pieces of Gray once again. I pulled my phone out and checked for a text from her. Determination churned inside me as I anxiously waited for answers and planned how I could possibly help her. The adrenaline produced from my internal rant sent my pulse racing. “Don’t valet when we get there,” I snapped. “We’re running in and out.”
“Of course.”
Unwilling to wait any longer, I dialed Alyssa’s number. It rang several times before going to voicemail. A few minutes later, a text came through. “Oh my God.”
“What does it say?” Daniel asked.
“She says they went to pick up Teddy after his car ran out of gas. He and Laurie argued while she drove, and somehow Teddy caused them to crash. Alyssa was in the back.”
“And where’s Teddy now?”
“She doesn’t say. She’s in the room with her mother, and that’s why she didn’t answer the phone.”
Just before we arrived at the hotel, I had an idea. I hit a speed dial on my phone as Daniel watched me curiously.
“Voicemail,” I said, shaking my head as if he knew whom I’d called. “Becca, it’s me. I need a huge favor, and it’s really important. I’m a couple of hours from home, but Alyssa is at the hospital. She’s fine but alone. If there’s any way you can get there to wait with her, I’d really appreciate it. I’ll text you the details. Please…call me back or text ASAP.”
“Does Becca know Alyssa?” Daniel asked as we pulled into the loop.
“They met once, but Becca knows how much Alyssa means to me.”
“Then it’s a great idea. Alyssa’s lucky to have you, Gray.”
I gave him a sliver of a smile for the compliment, not truly accepting his words but appreciating he’d said them. We exited the car on the double, with Daniel explaining our emergency as the valets approached. Back at the room, we shoved everything into our bags at high speed. We landed at the door, pausing for a brief moment as if to acknowledge the part of our special weekend that had to be left behind. Selfishly, disappointment crept in to sidle next to my concern for Alyssa. First Nathan and now this. They said a mother was only as happy as her unhappiest child. At that moment, I could relate to that concept; sadness pressed upon me so hard I didn’t say a word for the next two hours.
Daniel dropped me off at the hospital but didn’t stay. We both knew why. Becca had called me an hour earlier to tell me she’d arrived to be with Alyssa. Along with being grateful, a sense of pride welled in me that Becca had become someone I could turn to. She deserved my support of her relationship with my father, no matter how difficult or awkward it could be.
Alyssa and Becca met me at the nurses’ station with relieved smiles that took me by surprise. Someday I might get used to the idea that there were people who counted on me. A tan bandage covered most of Alyssa’s right forearm. Her eyes were crimson, and her hair scrappier than the usual ratty look she fashioned. She appeared to be fine otherwise.
“Gray.” She ran the last few steps into my arms. “I’m so glad you’re here.” The smile from seconds before faded when she looked up at me. Her eyes, puddled and strained, clung to me.
“Hey, no tears now. I’m here, and it’s going to be okay.”
She dropped her cheek against my collarbone. Becca approached, and I whispered a thank you.
“Why am I strong when you’re not around, and then you get here, and I turn into a blubbering sissy?”
Becca and I exchanged knowing smiles at the compliment Alyssa didn’t know she’d given me.
“It’s okay. You’re going through a lot, and I’m honored you saved your blubbering for me.” The laugh I’d hoped for didn’t come. “Besides, you’re the least sissy-like girl I know.”
She pulled away and wiped her cheeks with the palms of her hands. “Damn straight.”
“What about that arm?” I gestured toward the wrapping.
“It’s okay. Just a bunch of little cuts from glass. Some of them were stuck in there. Hurt like a bitch when they dug ’em out.”
“I’m glad you’re okay.” Though I worried I could provoke more tears, I had to ask, “I’m sorry about your mom. How is she doing?”
Her eyes fell to the floor. “It’s really freaking bad, Gray, just so you know.” Her protective instincts were so obvious to me as she stared past us at nothing at all. “The doctor says she’s going to be all right, but you look at her, and it’s hard to believe.”
I stepped back into her space, garnering her attention. “Do you want to take me back to see her?”
Her desperate eyes cam
e to mine. Fear struck me for a moment. I’d seen that same helpless expression on Noah’s face when I was the only one he could count on.
“Please.” The delicate edge of her voice cut right to my heart. She turned toward a hallway and then stopped and turned right back. “Becca, are you coming?”
We both looked to Becca and waited. She hadn’t told me how long she could stay or what I’d pulled her from. She smiled before stepping in behind Alyssa. “Of course.”
They allowed only two at a time in the room, so Becca waited outside. Alyssa hadn’t been exaggerating. Most of Laurie’s face was swollen, including one of her eyes. A huge square bandage covered her left cheek. The doctor ran through the list of major injuries, which included a concussion, broken ribs, and multiple contusions from being thrust halfway through the window and back. Under sedatives, she slept while he spoke quietly under the hum and beeps of machines. His detached tone bit at me. I could put my own issues with hospitals aside, but for Alyssa’s sake, I’d set him straight if needed.
“She won’t wake again for at least an hour,” the doctor said. “You may want to grab some food or get some rest.”
“How long will she be in the hospital?” I asked. If Alyssa hadn’t heard that news yet, the reality needed to be dealt with soon anyway.
“It’s difficult to predict at this time, but my guess is at least a couple of weeks.”
Alyssa’s eyes went wide and shot to mine. I reached to comfort her, but she cut to the door, swiping up a black leather jacket on the way out. I followed her all the way out to the parking lot, where she slammed her back against a wall. Furious fingers dug to an inside pocket, where she fished out a pack of cigarettes.
What the hell? I yanked the cancer stick from her puckered lips before she had a chance to light up. “When did this start?”
“What are you, my mother?”
“Five seconds ago you were crying on my shoulder.”
She threw her hands in the air. “A moment of weakness. I got it covered now.”
“You’ve got it covered?” I tried to keep my voice calm in this new territory of arguing with an irrational teen.
“Yeah. And I’m almost eighteen. I can smoke if I want.”
“Actually, you’re not almost eighteen. You’re like…nine months away. And it doesn’t matter, because they just changed the legal age to twenty, you little shit.” Damn! Obviously, I sucked at mothering.
She folded her arms and turned her tear-filled eyes away.
I put my hand on her shoulder and she jerked it away. “Alyssa,” I said softly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“I don’t give a crap.”
“Hey, look at me. I’m…I’m just not great at this stuff. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t make excuses, but it’s all little overwhelming for me too. The hospital, the accident…” I pointed to the cigarette on the ground. “You smoking.”
Silence fell between us for a few moments. We both stared out toward the parking lot. An ambulance to the right of me packed up a gurney before driving away. Alyssa’s head turned slowly back to me. “Man, what a bitch,” she whispered.
My mouth flew open, but I took in a few cleansing breaths until I felt confident with a response.
“I didn’t mean you,” she said. Her fist crushed the small pack still in her grip. “I meant me.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I was selfish. I’m sorry. You were just trying to help me. I didn’t even think about what you’ve gone through and how all this might make you remember bad stuff.”
I put my back against the wall next to her, swung my arm around her shoulders. “You’re pretty smart, kid. But I’m fine. The only thing that matters is you and your mom.”
“Thank you.”
“But I’m telling you right now, this smoking thing is not going to happen.”
She lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “It’s not even a thing. I actually just found them in the waiting room.”
“Hey, ladies.”
Startled, I snapped my head forward to find my dad holding a cardboard box filled with burgers and fries. “What are you doing here?”
“Becca called and said you were all hungry.” His smile squinted his eyes in that sweet way I loved once upon a time. Or at least I think I did. Part of me resented this “father the hero” gesture, but since the distraction for Alyssa was much needed, I pressed past that.
“Great,” I said, and then turned to Alyssa for a brief introduction.
They exchanged nods, and Henry said, “Nice to meet you. I’m very sorry about your mother.”
“Thank you, Mr. Donovan.”
“Let’s grab Becca and eat these before they get cold. And, please, call me Henry.”
We picked up Becca and trekked in solemn ranks to the cafeteria. Alyssa stole glances back at my dad, and once again I caught a curious longing in her eyes. I hadn’t shared much of my childhood with her, so for all she knew he could have been the best damn father in the world. I could see some therapy in her future if she kept looking at men that way.
The burgers gave Alyssa a margin of renewal and eased the awkwardness of our unlikely group meeting. Short remarks uttered between the silences took us through most of the meal. A conversation sparked about Teddy when Dad asked how the accident had happened. Alyssa gave them both a blow-by-blow along with intermittent remarks about her mother’s relationship with Teddy. Her voice grew agitated, and a few expletives flew from her mouth, which I didn’t comment on. I wondered if my dad felt a sense of déjà vu being on the receiving end of a teen girl’s rant. A timely buzz of his phone rescued him from the uncertainty of how to respond to her. He politely excused himself and walked out to the patio area.
“I’m so sorry you’re going through this, Alyssa,” Becca said in a soft, motherly tone. She reached out and touched Alyssa’s arm.
“It’s not fair to my mom or me. My real dad takes off when I’m too little to even remember him, and this is what I get instead?”
“Not all men are like that,” Becca said.
“Too many are,” I said without a second thought. I couldn’t help but wonder if Becca’s words were simply to comfort Alyssa or if she felt a certain truth behind what she’d said. Obviously, the men in our lives could not be used as a counter example to Teddy.
Becca shot me a look of disappointment. I’d already processed the guilt, so her insistent eyes did nothing but annoy me.
“Where’s Teddy now?” she asked.
Alyssa shoulders shifted slowly up. “Gone. And hopefully he’ll stay that way.” Then she bolted upright and pushed out of her seat. I followed her line of sight to the entryway where the doctor stood. She took off toward him without a word.
I stood and watched her, about ready to follow, when Becca’s hand caught my wrist. “I wish you’d stop doing that.”
I pulled my gaze to her, taken aback. “Doing what?”
“Making off-handed comments about Henry. I don’t like to hear it.”
“Why? Because you’re together now, and the truth hurts?” I let the irritation come out in my tone. I didn’t have the time or energy to deal with our issues when I should have been focusing on Alyssa’s.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Gray. You were a child. A traumatized child, so hurt and confused you…” She glanced toward my dad, who was just coming back through the door.
“I what?”
“Gray,” Alyssa called to me and waved me over.
I had no choice but to let this provocation go. “Look, I can’t have this conversation now. I appreciate what you did tonight, but you and Dad can go now. Thank you…and tell him I said thanks for the food.” Even as I walked toward Alyssa, I knew Becca’s words would needle at me until I had the time to ponder her implications.
“My mom’s awake,” she said as I approached.
In the room, an odd combination of anxiety and awkwardness consumed me. Laurie and I were never on the best of terms. We av
oided regular contact, so we’d only had a handful of conversations. I stayed a few feet behind Alyssa while she sat on the edge of the bed, gave her mom a gentle hug, and stepped into the role of a strong young woman. “You’re going to be okay, Mom.”
Tears pooled and slid back from the outer edges of Laurie’s eyes. Her lips parted as she struggled to speak. A slow whisper came. “I’m sorry I did this to us.” Then she turned slightly; her eyes found mine. “Gray.”
I took a hesitant step forward, wary of intruding yet determined to do whatever I could to ease the situation for Alyssa. “I’m here, Laurie. Whatever you need.”
“Please…take care of Alyssa.”
CHAPTER 14
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Daniel
My chest tightened under the weight of a heavy heart as I watched Gray sleep in my bed. Less than an hour earlier I’d reluctantly slipped my arm out from under her and crept away so I could work. I’d ended up bringing my laptop and briefcase to the small wooden table in the corner of my bedroom, unable to stand being as far as my office.
I checked my email under a dim lamp, hoping I’d heard the last from Dr. Wallace. The response I’d ultimately formulated days earlier was intended to be the last communication. I had made the decision that ignoring her comments about Gray was the best thing to do. I simply forwarded the contact information she’d requested and wished the prying doctor good luck.
My eyes drifted from my computer over to Gray every minute or so. When it became clear I wouldn’t make much more progress, I leaned over and grabbed a sketchpad from the top of my dresser. I flipped to a blank page, picked up a pencil, and stared at the woman who’d stolen not only my attention but also my heart. I began with the soft curve of her back, dragging my pencil up toward her neck. The fine details of her silken hair never proved challenging; my pencil seemed to work on its own as the chocolate wisps took shape before my eyes.
As I drew, I wondered if I’d ever get used to the sight of her. No matter how many attempts I’d made to sketch her on paper or in my mind, I’d never get used to how she looked at me when her eyes filled with lust. How her body moved when heat radiated between us. That fierce fight in her expression. And how utterly beautiful and at peace, body and soul, she appeared as she lay in my bed. Gray had proven what a strong woman she could be, yet somehow a foreboding fear pressed me to stay by her side. I never saw her as broken, but our relationship had proven far from stable, and Gray still had work to do in order to overcome her past.
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