Chapter Twenty-six

LOGAN

Stepping inside, the sight of pale Juniper sitting with her eyes closed and tubes running into her made my stomach clench. She looked so small, so vulnerable there, and at that moment, I wanted to do everything I could to make her better.

I forced a smile on my face. The last thing Emily needed was me looking worried. I couldn’t make her daughter’s illness go away, but I could provide her strength as a man who cared about her and Juniper.

Juniper remained asleep, which I hoped was a good thing. After all, a little good rest always helped me when I was sick. I took the flowers and put them on the windowsill.

I’m sure she would have preferred some toys to flowers, but they would have to do.

Emily collapsed into the only chair, and I walked to her side, content to support her with my presence. She didn’t say anything, and so I put my hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. She reached up to pat my hand before dropping her own.

I couldn’t pretend to know what she was going through, even if the sight of the sick little girl in front of us upset me. I’d never had children, and even my dogs had never had any serious health issues. The problem with illness was it wasn’t a situation you could throw effort at to resolve. It really was out of her hands.

I might not have understood what it meant to be a parent with a sick child, but I did understand, all too well, what it felt like to have a situation out of your hands. A lifetime of business dealings had made me all too familiar with that feeling.

We stayed like that for a good twenty minutes. No talking, nothing but just watching Juniper. She occasionally stirred in her sleep but didn’t wake up, but I wondered if she would soon, as she was moving more and more.

“Do you think I’m selfish?” Emily said, breaking the long silence.

“What?” I didn’t bother to hide the surprise in my voice. It was an odd question, for sure, especially considering the situation.

“Do you think I’m selfish?” she repeated.

I shook my head. “No, why would you even think that? Think about everything you do for your daughter.”

“Lionel said I was. I only wanted him to come to be here for Juniper. That’s what we were arguing about.” Emily rubbed her eyes. “I’ve never wanted things to be difficult with him.”

“Don’t worry about Lionel,” I said. “He’s an ass. And we both know who the selfish one is.”

“Thank you, Logan.”

A light knock on the door interrupted our conversation, and Sally stepped inside a few seconds later, a blanket in one hand and a bucket full of LEGOs in the other. She shot a concerned look over at Juniper.

“Thanks for picking up the LEGOs and blanket, Mama,” I said.

“I’m glad I could be of some help.” Sally glanced my way, a curious glint in her eye that made my neck and shoulders tense. I really hoped she didn’t decide to use this opportunity to grill us about the state of our relationship.

Juniper murmured a bit and then blinked open her eyes, taking all of our attention. She glanced at Sally, Emily, and then me, managing a weak smile.

“Hey, Mama,” Juniper said weakly. “Grandma. Mr. Hawkins.”

“Hey, sweet pea,” Emily said. Despite her best attempt to keep a smile plastered on her face, the pain was obvious in her eyes. I only barely resisted pulling her into a hug.

“Hello, dear,” Sally said. With a smile, Sally placed the bucket on a small rolling overbed table and tucked the blanket over Juniper.

There was another knock, and a doctor entered. He looked at the three adults and then over at the girl. “I’d like to discuss Juniper’s condition.”

Emily nodded and rose. “Can we talk out in the hallway? Mama, you should come hear what he has to say.”

The doctor nodded. “That’s fine.” He stepped into the hallway. Emily and Sally followed.

After the door closed, I turned back and saw that Juniper was already trying to build things with her newly delivered LEGOs. Despite being awake, her eyes drooped, and her coordination and concentration didn’t seem the best, so I grabbed a few pieces and started putting them together to help her.

Juniper frowned as she dropped a few LEGOs. “It’s hard to see.”

“I’m sure it is. You’re very sick.”

“It’s hard to breathe sometimes.”

I nodded slowly, trying to keep the concern off my face. The last thing the sick little girl needed was to see scared adults. “You’re in the hospital, and all the doctors and nurses will get you fixed up. That’s their job after all.”

Juniper managed to smile and picked up some LEGOs.

“How about I help set a few of these up for you?” I said. “You’re the foreman, and I’m the worker.”

“What’s a foreman?”

“He’s like the boss of guys who build things.”

“I wanna be the foreman and the worker,” she said, a cute little pout on her face.

I chuckled. “I’ll just do a few then. Just to help you get started.”

Another minute or so passed as I continued putting together a few pieces in the pattern I saw her doing before, not quite sure what she wanted, but she didn’t correct me, so it must have been good enough. I didn’t play with LEGOs as a kid, but I was quickly seeing the appeal in terms of creativity.

“Why didn’t you bring the doggies?” Juniper suddenly said. Her voice was ragged, and she wheezed as she spoke. The sound broke my heart.

I looked into her eyes and shrugged. “I would have loved to do just that, Juniper, but they don’t allow dogs in the hospital except in special situations. It’s a rule.”

“It’s a stupid rule. And if you’re sick, isn’t it always a special situation?”

I grinned. “Well, not disagreeing with you, but I don’t make the rules here since I don’t own the hospital.”

“But I want to play with the doggies.” She coughed a few times.

I resisted a frown. Juniper needed to calm down, so she didn’t spend the next ten minutes hacking up her lungs. Scratching my chin, I thought over how to best handle the situation.

Normally, I might have tried to appeal a bit more to reason, even if she was a young child. But she wasn’t just a cranky young girl; she was a scared and sick little girl in the hospital. Sometimes you need to give people what they want. If not at that moment, then in the future.

That was another thing my life in business had taught me. If it could work for multimillionaire deals, I didn’t see why it couldn’t work on a five-year-old girl.

“How about a compromise?” I said. “Do you know what a compromise is, Juniper?”

She bobbed her head. “It’s where both people give something, so they can get something rather than nothing.”

The explanation brought a big grin to my face. “That’s right, Juniper. That’s exactly right. A lot of adults don’t even get that. You’re a very smart girl.”

She eyed me with suspicion. Not trusting flattery was another good sign of intelligence. Maybe she’d be working for me in my company in fifteen years.

“What’s the compromise?” she asked.

“When you get better, you can visit my house and play with Joe and Dean there.” I raised a finger. “But you have to make me a promise in return.”

Juniper furrowed her brow. “What?”

“That you’ll do your best to get better soon. It’s win-win. The sooner you get better, the sooner you get to play with the dogs.”

She nodded slowly. “I will.” She let out a long yawn. “I’m tired, and my head hurts. Is it okay if I go back to sleep?”

“It’s fine. You get all the sleep you need. Your LEGOs will be here when you wake up.”

Juniper closed her eyes and lay back down.

I rolled the table away from the bed and made sure her favorite blanket fully covered her. I wasn’t sure if the hospital would let her keep it there, but it could at least comfort her for the moment.

As I stepped out of the room, the doctor waved to Sally and Emily and walked away.

They both looked at me.

“How is she?” Emily asked.

“She went back to sleep,” I said. “She wants to see my dogs. I told her after she gets out of the hospital.”

Emily nodded once.

Sally nodded and hugged Emily. “I need to take care of a few things, but I’ll stop by tomorrow morning before my Davidson Foundation meeting. Call me right away if you need anything else.” She walked over and pulled me into an embrace, which took me by surprise. “Thank you for coming as well. I’ll make sure your mother knows.”

I wasn’t sure whether that made me proud or embarrassed. I lightly patted her on the back, and she released me to head down the hallway, the clack of her heels against the tile floors echoing.

Emily let out a long sigh. “The doctor says she’s in rough shape, and it was good I brought her in when I did, but he also said the meds seem to be working.”

“That’s good then. It’s just a matter of waiting it out.”

She nodded slowly. “It’ll be at least one more day, but they’re hoping the worst of it is over.”

I placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Like I said, if you need anything, let me know. I can fly in specialists if you need them. I’m heading back to work tomorrow, but I can easily pick up a phone and get what you need, or anything you think will make Juniper feel better.” I dropped my hand.

Emily stared at me. “That easy, huh? You can get what you want?”

“Yes. I don’t normally need a lot, but this is a special situation.” I shrugged. “What can I say? There are a few advantages to having a lot of money.”

“I suppose so.” Emily laughed quietly. “Okay, then, you know what I really need?”

“No, what?” I mentally prepared to make some quick calls. At that point, I was prepared to do whatever I could to make her day a little less painful.

“Food.” She shrugged and smiled. “I’m so hungry. I was able to ignore it before, but now that all my adrenaline’s worn off, my stomach is eating itself.”

“Something special? Or something from the cafeteria?”

Emily shook her head. “Special sounds like it’d take a long time. I’m not picky at this point, just hungry. So, the cafeteria is fine. Just grab whatever looks good.”

“Okay, then. I think I can swing riding an elevator and walking down a hall even without calling someone up.” I winked.

I hesitated for a moment and then stepped toward her. I tilted her head up and gave her a light kiss. She kissed me back, no surprise or shock on her face, only weariness. With one last hug, I headed toward the elevator.

In the distance, I spotted Sally Jolie in the elevator as the doors were closing. I stopped. It was too far to tell for sure, but it looked like she was smirking.

I would have loved to tell her that her plan worked, but that still wasn’t clear. It didn’t matter anyway. For the next couple of days, the only thing important was Juniper.