“Older.”
Summer nodded. “Must be nice. I always wished I had a sister. I have one female cousin on my dad’s side. We were kind of close, but it’s not the same.”
Gabriella snorted. “Trust me, having a sister is not all it’s cracked up to be.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s just say I moved to Portland to be as far away from her as possible.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound good.” She hesitated and was almost thankful for a distraction. “Want to talk about it?”
“I’ll give you the Reader’s Digest version—she’s older than me and didn’t like having to give up her only-child status. My entire life, she did her best to torment me. She was never kind. We didn’t do things together like normal sisters do; everything was a competition. The only problem was, no one explained the rules to me. I just wanted to have a relationship with her. She wanted to make sure everyone liked her best.”
“Wow. I don’t even know what to say.”
“There’s nothing you can say. She destroyed friendships I had, caused strife between me and our parents… Every insecurity I have is because of her.”
Summer looked stunned. “You are quite possibly the most confident woman I have ever met. What could you possibly have to be insecure about?”
She laughed. “This Gabriella? The one sitting here with you is not the same one my family sees. You see a confident businesswoman; they see someone who is hiding from life. You look at me and may see a well-dressed individual; they see me as someone shallow who likes to lord her money over them by buying expensive clothes. It’s exhausting and endless.”
“Gosh, I am so sorry. I had no idea. I naturally assumed life would be so much better with a sister rather than a houseful of brothers.”
“You may be right. I’m just the wrong person to talk to about it. I’ve heard of a lot of women who rave about the relationships they have with their sisters, and I can’t even relate. If even once she had shown me an ounce of kindness, I would have been so grateful. But throughout my life—particularly before I came to work for Montgomerys—she made sure I knew she was better than me. More successful. Wealthier. She had the whole world at her fingertips because she married well and I was just a lonely, struggling single person nobody wanted.”
Summer’s jaw almost hit the ground. “How can you even say that? You’re stunning! How could she even imply nobody wants you?”
“I don’t date much.”
“By choice, I’m assuming.”
A sad one, Gabriella thought miserably. “I have some issues with trust,” she said quietly. “Thanks to my sister.” She sat quietly for a moment. “Don’t get me wrong, not every problem with my life is her fault, but she’s done a lot of damage.”
Summer could relate. Her brothers and her father had been so overprotective because of her family name—it was sometimes hard to know if someone was with her for herself or for her name. She knew Ethan was different, but even though there was trust, there was a boatload of other hurdles for them to get over.
Suddenly Gabriella stood. “Okay, enough of a sidebar for now. Let’s go back upstairs and see if there are any updates.”
“Okay, but I’m stopping at the vending machine for my chocolate fix.”
“Didn’t we just finish drinking our chocolate fix?” Gabriella asked with a smirk.
“Please…to deal with this group and this level of stress, there isn’t enough chocolate to be found.”
* * *
For all the years Ethan had known the Montgomery family, he had never felt like an outsider until now. Maybe it was his own imagination or guilty conscience, but as he sat with James, Ryder, William, and Robert, he pretty much felt completely alone.
When Summer had ignored him earlier and walked away with Gabriella, he felt as if a part of him were walking away. He was completely torn. What was the right thing to do here? Did he go on as he and Summer had and just say the hell with the consequences? Keeping quiet and not disrupting things—especially now—had seemed the smart thing to do, but now he wasn’t certain. James had been giving him the stink eye since they arrived at the hospital, and Ethan wasn’t sure what that was about. Then Summer had blown him off.
Deciding that another lap around the room wouldn’t hurt, Ethan stood and went to the window and looked out at the parking lot below. There wasn’t much else to see. It was a gray day out, but watching the people coming and going was something to do besides sitting.
He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and found Robert Montgomery standing beside him. Out of respect, he chose to check on his well-being. “How are you doing, sir?”
Robert gave a mirthless chuckle. “I hate this,” he responded honestly, in a low voice. “I’ve never had to deal with anything like this before. None of my kids have ever been hurt, not like this. I know I have to defer to the doctors, but this waiting is making me crazy.”
Ethan could totally relate. If they didn’t get some definitive news soon, he was certain he’d go insane. “Sometimes it’s hard to sit back and trust in the professionals. I think I would have felt better if they had let us see him. Even for a minute.”
Robert was staring straight ahead out the window. “I don’t know where he got the drive to want to do all of these dangerous hobbies. That was never my thing. His mother’s either. Sometimes it seems like he’s got a death wish.”
“It’s not that,” Ethan said. “Zach loves what he does—he thrives on the challenges in the business world—but he also feels a little boxed in by them. He likes the outdoors and challenging himself to see if he can conquer the extremes there as well.”
“Just seems pointless to me. For all the thrill he got out of this trip, was it worth it? What if he’s broken his back? What if he never walks again? Was it worth it?” He hung his head and did his best to collect himself. “Summer knew he wasn’t ready for it, and we all ignored her pleas just as much as Zach did. Maybe we should have joined her. Maybe we all should have shown a lot more concern a long time ago. If we had, Zach wouldn’t be here right now.”
“I have to disagree with you there,” Ethan said, feeling somewhat annoyed at Robert’s take on the whole thing. How could crushing Zach’s personality be for the better? “He could just as easily get hurt driving to and from work; does that mean he should stay closeted in his home and never go out?”
“That’s not what I’m saying at all,” Robert said defensively. “I think it’s great that Zach’s adventurous and loves being outdoors. But sometimes a person can take it a little too far. Like this.”
“Robert, there’s risk involved in everything we do, whether it’s an extreme sport or driving in the car. For all we know, this was a freak accident. Summer thought Zach’s leg wasn’t ready for this, but we don’t know for sure that it was the cause of the accident. She couldn’t know with any great certainty either. I was all set to go on this climb too.”
“And yet you didn’t. You backed out. Tell me why.”
Ethan shrugged. “To be honest, I’d just gotten into the habit of going along with the things Zach suggests. We both work too much sometimes, and if it weren’t for Zach, I probably wouldn’t take any time off for myself. So when he suggests something, I say yes so I don’t have to go through the hassle of thinking about it for myself.” He grimaced at his own words. How lazy did that make him?
“But why now? Why this trip? Why did you suddenly decide this was the time you didn’t want to go?” Robert pushed.
“I don’t know,” Ethan said. How the hell was he supposed to explain he was growing restless with his life? That after spending one night with Summer, he realized he knew what he wanted but couldn’t have it? That she had gotten into his head and into his heart?
Robert eyed him suspiciously. “I know you better than that, Ethan. I know Summer was wearing down Zach; I think she wore you down too.”
More than you know, Ethan wanted to say. He shrugged. “Summer and I didn’t really talk that much about it. I was simply playing peacemaker between the two of them. I listened to what she had to say and relayed it to Zach. I didn’t take her concerns that seriously. It just finally occurred to me that all these extreme sports weren’t doing it for me anymore. That’s all.”
Making a noncommittal sound, Robert turned around and found his daughter standing not two feet away from them. “I was wondering where you’d gone off to,” he said with a small smile. “Everything okay?”
Summer wasn’t looking at her father; she was looking at Ethan with total devastation. She knew he wasn’t ready to talk to her family about them, but she hadn’t expected him to sound so callous either. She was beginning to wonder who the real Ethan was. Was their time together merely about sex? Was she reading the whole thing wrong? She had practically thrown herself at him back at the springs. Maybe when they met up in Glacier Bay, he was just looking for more of the same.
And she had given that to him.
Repeatedly.
She needed to leave. To have some time away from everything. Between the lack of sleep and the constant worrying over her brother, Summer wasn’t sure what was real and what wasn’t anymore. Forcing her gaze away from Ethan’s, she faced her father. “If it’s all right with you, I’d really like to head back to the hotel. I’m not feeling so well.”
Robert stepped forward, concern etching his face. “Are you okay? Do you need anything?”
She gave a small smile. It wasn’t often her father showed explicit concern for anyone’s feelings; it was nice to experience it right now. “I think I just need a couple hours of sleep. Will you call me when you hear from the doctors?”
He nodded. “Of course, of course.” In a rare show of emotion, he pulled his daughter into his embrace.
Summer couldn’t remember the last time her father had hugged her. With her emotions so close to the edge, she pulled him in tight and held on.
“Hey, now,” he whispered and pulled back to look down into her face. “Are you sure you’re going to be all right?”
Her voice wouldn’t work; she couldn’t have uttered a word even if she wanted to, so she simply nodded.
Looking over Summer’s shoulder, he said to Gabriella, “Will you go with her? Make sure she’s okay?”
“Of course,” Gabriella said and carefully wrapped her arm around Summer. With one last look at Robert, she said, “You’ll call us? As soon as you hear anything?”
“Yes. Hopefully it won’t be too long before someone gives us an update.”
“It doesn’t matter how small the news is,” she said, her voice almost pleading. “We want to know.”
“You have my word.”
Chapter 10
Neither spoke on the cab ride back to the hotel.
It wasn’t until they were in the elevator that Summer broke the silence. “I need sleep. I mean several solid hours of sleep. I barely know my own name anymore.”
Gabriella yawned next to her. “Something about a season…”
Summer’s head lolled slightly to the side. “What is?” she asked around a yawn.
“Your name.”
“Very funny.”
They walked slowly to their room and once inside, they each went about getting changed and crawled into their own beds.
She couldn’t speak for Gabriella, but Summer was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. If it weren’t for the phone ringing four hours later, she would not be awake now. Forcing herself to sit up, she reached for her cell phone and became instantly alert when she saw her father’s number on the screen.
“Hello?”
“How are you doing?” Robert asked, wanting to ensure that his daughter was all right before bombarding her with news. “Sorry to wake you so soon.”
“I’m good… I’m good,” she said and then yawned. “What’s going on? Is Zach out of surgery? Have you talked to the doctors?”
He huffed. “He’s still in surgery. He had some internal injuries. They’ve set the bones in his legs and got the pins in and that alone’s going to make him pretty much immobile for quite some time. The nurse who came out said it should probably be another hour or so and then we’ll meet with the surgeons.”
“Wow. So we still don’t know everything.”
“I’m afraid not.”
It was her turn to sigh. “What about you, Dad? How are you doing?”
“No…no…I’m fine. Frustrated. But fine. You know I’m not big on patience and I hate standing around.”
She smiled. “I know. Do you want me to come back? To be there when you meet with the surgeons?”
“No, I want you to eat something that doesn’t come out of a Styrofoam container. At the rate this is going, we probably won’t be able to do more than get a glance at Zach tonight. It’s already late. There’s no point in hanging around now we know he’s here and he’s safe.”
Summer knew he was right, but she still felt guilty about not being there. “Are you sure? I could be there within the hour.”
“I know you’re worried just like the rest of us, Summer. But it would be pointless for you to drive all the way over here at this late hour only to turn around an hour or so later and go back. Wait until tomorrow. Hopefully by then, we’ll be able to see him.”
“Will you call me after you talk to the surgeons?”
“I promise.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Try to get some more rest. Tomorrow will be here before you know it, and while it won’t be as stressful as the last couple of days, I’m sure it’s going to present its own share of challenges.”
They hung up and Summer reclined against the pillows and closed her eyes. The urge to call a cab was almost overwhelming. She looked at her phone and then around the room and was doing the math when Gabriella rolled over on the other bed and said, “Don’t even think about it.”
“About what?”
“Going back to the hospital. Your father has been true to his word about calling as soon as he gets news, and your being there isn’t going to change anything. Until Zach gets out of surgery and they get him into recovery and settled into the ICU, no one is going to get in to see him.”
“Get out of my brain, witchy woman,” Summer said and slouched down farther onto her bed.
“I know how your mind works because mine works the same way. When I heard the phone ring, I instantly started thinking about what we would have to do to get ready and get back there.”
“I know in my head that it makes sense to stay here, but my heart is telling me to get up and go.”
Doing her best to sit up, Gabriella stacked her pillows and reclined against them. “If it were still just the three of us—you, me, and Ethan—then I’d say we should go. But there are five of them there, Summer. Five big, loud, opinionated men. They aren’t going to leave without all the information on Zach and whether more specialists are going to have to be called in. If we were to show up there, you would be seated in a corner without being heard and I would end up making all of the calls.”
“Or you’d be told to make all of the calls.”
“Or that.” Honestly, Gabriella didn’t mind making the calls; it made her feel useful. But this was Zach they were dealing with, and she had a feeling she’d be hard-pressed to stay neutral and professional.
“He told me I should get more rest. Like I’m going to be able to go back to sleep now.”
Gabriella looked at the clock. “We should order dinner. Why don’t you go and grab a shower—one that lasts longer than five minutes—and I’ll call downstairs and place the order.”
“Because you don’t always have to be the one to make the calls,” Summer reminded her. “Why don’t you take the first shower and I’ll make the call?”
�
�But…”
Summer held up a hand to silence her. “This is not up for debate. You go and use up all of the hot water and I’ll work on getting dinner sent up and then, once we’ve eaten way too much, I’ll take my turn using it all up. Deal?”
“Deal.”
* * *
“Maybe I should call him,” Summer said two hours later, as she flopped back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling.
On the opposite bed, Gabriella was in the same position. “Not a good idea.”
“Why?”
“They could be in with the doctors right now. You don’t want to disturb them.”
“What if he forgot?”
Gabriella shot a bland look in her direction. “When has your father ever forgotten anything?”
“You’re right, you’re right. I know you’re right,” she said with a dramatic sigh. “I just thought they’d be done by now.”
“Maybe the surgery is, but like I said earlier, the five of them probably had a list of questions a mile long for the doctors.”
“Maybe.”
“You know your father is going to want to have Zach moved closer to home as soon as possible. There’s no way he’s going to want to stay here in Alaska.”
“I know I’m no medical expert, but I have a feeling it’s going to be a while before they’ll be okay with letting him fly.”
“He’s going to have a fit.”
“Who? My father?”
Gabriella shook her head. “No. Zach. He’s going to want to be out of here within a matter of days.”
“That’s probably why they suggested the medically induced coma. To keep him from getting too worked up.”
“They can’t keep him that way forever. Eventually, he’s going to get up and start demanding his own way. It’s a male thing.”
“It’s a Montgomery thing,” Summer said dryly. “He can pitch as big a fit as he wants, but with his injuries, he’s going to have to wait until it is one hundred percent safe for him to be moved. And where would he get moved to? Portland? Back home by my folks in North Carolina? I mean, who’s to say?”
Meant for You Page 17