James chuckled. “If you can’t admit it to me, then I have my answer. And it leads me to believe that you’re just screwing around.”
Ethan rolled his eyes. “You have nothing, dammit! You’re not a cop anymore and this isn’t a damn interrogation—no matter what you might think. What goes on between me and Summer is between me and Summer. Not you. Not your family.”
“So what are you saying, Ethan? What do you think is going to happen from here?”
That was the million-dollar question. “Honestly?”
James nodded.
“I know I don’t have any right to ask, but I am asking you not to say anything to anyone about this right now. You may not agree, but I’m trying to protect your sister from having any more guilt or lectures thrust upon her. I don’t want anyone upsetting her. I certainly don’t want to see her cry again.”
James huffed and stepped away from the window. “That’s asking an awful lot. I don’t know if I can just sit back and watch the two of you carrying on behind everyone’s backs. It’s not right.”
“Why?” Ethan demanded. “Why is this not right? It’s none of anyone’s business!”
“She’s my sister! Geez, it’s like we are going around in circles here, man, and I’m getting a little tired of it!”
“Just…just give us a little more time, okay? Let’s get through getting Zach settled and figuring out how it’s all going to work. At some point, everyone’s going to have to go home. Ryder is anxious to get back to Casey and the baby; I know you’re anxious to get back to Selena… There are so many other things going on right now that everyone is trying to deal with, why add this?”
James didn’t have an answer. “All right. I’m not going to say anything to anyone, but believe me, Ethan, I’m watching you.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you even find out? We’ve been very careful.”
“I was coming down here to see if she wanted to have breakfast with me and saw her coming out of your room half-naked.” He made a sound of disgust. “I’m not going to lie to you, I wanted to kill you.”
“Shit. We didn’t even see you.”
“If I stumbled upon you, you can be sure it could happen again with my father, Ryder, or even my uncle. If you’re hell-bent on keeping this thing a secret, you’re going to have to be more careful.” He cursed. “I can’t even believe I just said that.”
“Does this mean that we have your blessing?”
James glared at him. “Don’t push your luck. I wouldn’t go that far. Let’s just say I’m…observing.” He paced back and forth a couple of times in an attempt to get his thoughts straight. “Make no mistake, Ethan, if I think for even one second you’re screwing up and making her look or feel like she’s some hooker you picked up, it won’t end well for you. I know you don’t think I gave a damn about Summer all the years I was gone, but you’re wrong. And now that I’m back, I plan on making sure she’s happy.”
“That’s all I want for her,” Ethan said solemnly.
“We’ve known each other a long time, Ethan,” James warned. “But that won’t mean shit if you hurt my sister.”
“Duly noted.”
With nothing left to say, James walked to the door. With his hand on the knob, he faced Ethan one last time. “Let me ask you something.”
“Anything.”
“If this situation with Zach hadn’t happened, would you still be keeping this a secret?”
It was a hell of a question. “I don’t know. If it hadn’t been for the climb, Summer and I wouldn’t have had the time alone together. I’m not sure if either of us would have done anything or acted on the way we felt about each other.”
James continued to look at him sternly. “I appreciate your honesty. We all knew she had a crush on you when she was a kid, but I guess I thought—and I’m sure everyone else did—she outgrew it. Guess we were wrong.” He shook his head. “Don’t tell Summer we had this conversation. If she’s as fragile right now as you say she is, I don’t want to be the cause of upsetting her more.” Ethan nodded and watched as James left the room, closing the door behind him.
“Well, one down, only about another dozen or so Montgomerys to go.” Ethan collapsed on his bed.
Chapter 12
If Ethan thought it was hard keeping things private with Summer before, it was downright painful now. Knowing that James knew, and not being able to tell Summer was its own form of torture.
They all went back to the hospital that afternoon, and Ethan felt the weight of James’s stare. He had to hand it to the man: if he’d used this kind of tactic when he had been a cop, Ethan was sure many a suspect confessed to whatever wrongful deed they’d committed. Summer was oblivious to it all—mainly because she was so nervous about seeing Zach.
“What if he’s still mad at me?” she asked softly from her seat in the back of the van. “What if he blames me for this?”
Ethan didn’t know what to say and luckily Gabriella spoke up. “Summer, we’ve been over this. Zach knew the risks going into it. The tour company went over every possible scenario with the guys during their training. I know you and Zach weren’t getting along before he left, but I highly doubt he can find a way to pin this on you.”
Summer wasn’t convinced. “Oh, please… Most days at the office he found ways to blame me for stuff that went wrong in departments I hadn’t even worked in yet.”
Ethan listened and frowned. Summer was right; it was something he and Zach had discussed right before he left for the climb.
James was listening too. He didn’t want to believe some of the things Ethan had said to him earlier, but as he heard Summer talking, his heart broke a little for her. What the hell had Zach been thinking? Why had he been so hard on her? Shifting in his seat, James turned toward Summer. “Hey,” he said, “I don’t want to hear you talking like that. Zach isn’t going to be mad at you, and if he is, we’ve all got your back.”
She gave a tremulous smile. “I appreciate it, more than you know. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be fair to argue with him right now. After all, he’s hardly in a position to defend himself against all of us.” She sighed. “If he’s upset with me—or worse—then I’ll take it. I understand. I really do. Now isn’t the time to fight with him. He’s got to be scared and angry and in a lot of pain.”
To say that James was impressed would be an understatement. Maybe Ethan was right. Again. His sister had matured a lot. The Summer who James remembered was spoiled, more than a little self-centered, and would have done her best to prove she didn’t do anything wrong, no matter how the cards were stacked against her. But listening to her now and hearing that not only was she willing to accept the blame, but she was willing to do so even if it were misplaced—well, that spoke volumes. Maybe she wasn’t a kid anymore. Maybe she could handle herself. And maybe, just maybe, she could make her own decisions.
Even on the subject of the men she chose to be involved with.
Or man.
Or Ethan.
When the hell was this voyage of self-discovery going to end?
Deciding to get out of his own head, James said to Summer, “We won’t fight with him, but we will try to guide him toward the truth.”
“But we don’t even know the truth yet. Has anyone talked to Mike Rivera? Do we have any more information on what exactly went wrong? We’ve all been so consumed sitting vigil with Zach and waiting for some sign of his recovery that—I know I can only speak for myself—I forgot to even ask how this happened.”
Ethan pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’m on it.” He slid to the far corner of the bench seat and began to talk in hushed tones.
Summer didn’t want to listen. She was afraid of what she was going to hear. Her brother still held her hand and she gave his a gentle squeeze. “Thank you.”
He looked at her quizzically. “For what?”
“For just being you.” She smiled. A genuine, serene smile.
She humbled him. He had a feeling that she wouldn’t be thanking him if she knew what had transpired between himself and Ethan earlier. She would probably be more than a little furious with him. Maybe it was a good thing they were keeping it quiet. “I just don’t want to hear you beating yourself up, kiddo.”
She chuckled. “I’m not a kid anymore, big brother. I think you need to find another nickname for me.”
He smiled. Yes, he could see that. It just sucked that it took this situation—and Ethan—to make him see it.
* * *
No one was certain what to expect when Dr. Peters led them into Zach’s private room—there was anxiety and anticipation on many levels. Summer stayed toward the back of the group, choosing to hide behind Ethan, and waited to see how her brother was going to react toward all of them.
“What’s she doing here?” Zach snapped, and Summer’s heart sank.
Robert Montgomery stepped close to his son. “Who?”
“Her.” He pointed to Gabriella. “What the hell is she doing here?”
Summer had to give her friend credit; if Zach’s words or tone hurt her, you’d never have known it. “She’s been here since we got word of your accident,” Robert said, his tone gentler than he had ever used. “She flew up here with Ethan and Summer.”
“And so…what? The company is just running itself?”
“Last I checked, I don’t run the company,” Gabriella said, her tone dripping sarcasm, and it was enough to shut Zach up.
After that, everyone moved cautiously toward the patient and got their first real look at him. He did his best to answer all of their questions about how he was feeling but quickly became annoyed with the whole thing. Dr. Peters saw it and stepped in.
“I know you’re all excited to see Zach and to finally be able to talk to him, but we don’t want to wear him out. He’s got a long recovery ahead of him.” He looked around the room. “Why don’t some of you go and grab some coffee and maybe hang out in the waiting area and then switch off with one another, okay?”
Gabriella exited the room first.
William walked over to his nephew and smiled. “It’s good to see you awake.” He placed a gentle hand on Zach’s good shoulder before turning and following Gabriella. Robert stayed where he was. There was no way he was leaving his son just quite yet.
Ethan walked up to the bed and looked down at Zach with a wry grin. “You always were an attention hog.”
Zach chuckled. “Yeah, but I must be losing my touch if these are the extremes I have to go to.” They laughed at that.
“I’ll be back later, man. Do you want anything?”
“To not be in a hospital bed in a freaking near-full body cast would be a good start. Any chance you can help me out?”
Ethan shook his head and held up his hands helplessly with a grin. “I skipped that lesson in the Boy Scouts. You’re on your own there.”
“Yeah, yeah…that’s what they all say.” Their easy banter went a long way toward easing everyone’s minds. Repeating William’s actions, Ethan placed a reassuring hand on Zach’s shoulder and walked away.
Summer followed him out the door, her throat clogged with emotion. As much as she wanted to walk over to Zach, to see him up close and touch him, she was so scared that he would turn cold on her just like he had to Gabriella. She wasn’t ready to face that yet.
Out in the waiting room, she found her uncle talking to Gabriella quietly in the corner. Summer had no idea why her brother had reacted that way to seeing his assistant, but she knew it had to have hurt Gabriella’s feelings. She didn’t want to interrupt their conversation though. Turning around, she walked straight into Ethan. “Oh! Sorry. I didn’t realize you were right there.”
His hands had come up to steady her. “Are you okay? You came out of Zach’s room right behind me. Did you even talk to him?”
She shook her head, shame overwhelming her. “Did you hear the way he spoke to her?” She nodded her head in Gabriella’s direction. “He has no reason whatsoever to be upset with her and yet he spoke like he hated her. After listening to the two of you bantering back and forth, I didn’t want to ruin his good mood.” She looked up at him and blushed. “Actually, I didn’t want to ruin my mood. If I can avoid him for a little while…if I can just watch him and see he’s okay, then maybe…” A tear rolled down her cheek. “Maybe he’ll have some time to forgive me.”
Unable to stand her sadness and self-doubt any longer, Ethan took her by the hand and led her over to one of the sofas.
“I spoke to Mike.” He waited for any kind of reaction from her. When her eyes only seemed to appear more anxious, he continued. “Everyone is situated at different hospitals so that’s why he hadn’t called. He needed to make the rounds and talk to his guides first, and then to the climbers. He would have come and talked to Zach, but he heard Zach was sedated.”
“Was Zach the most injured?”
Ethan shook his head. “There are three others who are in similar condition. Injuries range from cuts and bruises to mild hypothermia, to broken bones and concussions and…spinal injuries.”
“Oh God…”
“Summer,” he said as he took both of her hands in his and tugged her gently to get her attention. “The storm came out of nowhere, Mike said. They were at a particularly steep part of the mountain with very narrow walking space. It was mountain on one side and a steep drop on the other. Everyone was tied together and they were moving along when a strong gust of wind hit and one of the team members lost their footing and slipped. They were hanging on by a thread and were going to fall for sure when Zach jumped into action to help them. Another gust hit and it became like a chain reaction.” He waited for that information to settle in. “It wasn’t your fault, Summer. Zach was trying to save someone who was in need, and the weather turned against them. He’s got nothing to be angry with you about.”
The words filled her with hope. It wasn’t her fault! She didn’t distract him and cause her brother to make a foolish mistake that, in turn, caused his injuries! She wanted to jump up and high-five someone; she wanted to squeal with joy! She wanted to… “Wait,” she said suddenly as all of the joy seemed to slip away. “But he was angry with me before he even left. What if he’s still hanging on to that anger?”
Ethan rolled his eyes. “Why are you looking for trouble? I told you he and I talked before he left and he came to realize how hard he’d been on you. Can’t you just have a little faith? A little hope he’s going to be happy to see you?”
“If I had to go by previous experience…”
“Then don’t go by previous experience,” he teased, and unable to help himself, he leaned in close and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Forget about what happened before the climb. Let’s look at this as a clean slate and hopefully Zach will too. Okay?”
She nodded and then looked across the room to where her uncle and Gabriella were still standing. “I just feel so bad for her. And believe me, I know exactly how she feels.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure what that was about, and I’m not sure we’ll find out anytime soon.” Ethan looked at his watch. “I don’t know how long your dad and brothers are going to be in there with him. Do you want anything? Something to drink? A snack?”
Summer shook her head. “I’m going to go over and see how Gabs is doing. Maybe you can talk to Uncle William and get his take on the whole thing.” The one Montgomery—other than Summer—Ethan didn’t mind talking to. He readily agreed.
* * *
Divide and conquer. It was a good tactic, and Summer hoped they’d be victorious in figuring out what was going on. She hated to admit it, but she was beyond relieved she had been spared Zach’s wrath. But she felt bad it was at Gabriella’s expense.
“Want to grab some fresh air?” Summer asked Gabriell
a.
Gabriella seemed to welcome the distraction, and with a murmured thanks to William, the two of them headed toward the elevators.
They rode down in silence and walked to the cafeteria for some hot chocolate.
And to their bench outside the hospital entrance.
“William saw Ethan kiss you,” Gabriella said once they were seated.
“What? When?”
“Just now. Up in the waiting room.”
Crap. “What did he say?”
“Nothing at first. He just sort of raised his eyebrows and smirked.”
“Oh great,” Summer groaned.
“I told him you were upset because you thought Zach was going to blame you for the accident and Ethan was probably just trying to make you feel better. Like a surrogate big brother.”
“Do you think he bought it?”
Gabriella turned toward her with a bland expression. “Are you kidding me? You know what your uncle’s hobby is, right?”
“The whole matchmaking thing?” Gabriella nodded. “Oh, please…he did that with his own sons. He’s not trying to do that anymore—especially not with us.”
“Are you sure about that? I’ve heard him taking credit for getting Ryder and Casey back together as well as James and Selena. You think he’s not watching you and Ethan and getting ideas?”
As much as Summer wanted to blow off the idea, it did have merit. If her uncle got on board with setting her up with Ethan, then she’d have a family ally on her side. Hmm…
“I suppose worse things could happen,” Summer said dismissively and took a sip of her hot chocolate.
“Yeah, like your brother could snap at you and make you feel like a complete outcast in front of everyone.”
“My brother is a jerk. I’m so sorry, Gabs. I don’t know what he was thinking.”
“That I’m not supposed to be here. That I’m just an employee and should be sitting at my desk like a good girl. That I shouldn’t have a life or any interests outside of work.”
Okay, where did this come from? Summer had to wonder. “He’s probably just overwhelmed and he knows he can count on you to keep things running smoothly when he’s not around.”
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