CHAPTER TEN

 

RONNIE

I slide my hand into Danny’s and hold on tight as we walk down the corridor to his mom’s hospital room. I can’t imagine how hard it must be for him to see her like this. If it were my mom... I can’t bear to think about it. As much as I tell myself I don’t want to be like her, she’s the center of my family, and we would all be distraught if anything happened to her.

As distressed Danny as is, though he doesn’t say anything. In fact, he’s been unusually quiet since they were allowed to see her for a few minutes last night before we went home. Hank stayed, of course. He planted his feet and told the doctor that he wasn’t going anywhere, and considering how huge the guy is, I don’t think they thought there was much chance of moving him, so they let it slide.

“It’s going to be okay.” I squeeze Danny’s hand outside her room. He turns slightly gray. “The doctors said she’ll make a full recovery with time and physical therapy.”

“It’s not that,” he says, closing his eyes and swaying a little while he takes a deep breath. “She seemed so frail last night. And I... It’s been years since I’ve seen her, and she looks so different. What if I’d lost her last night? The doctors say they’re observing her in case she has another episode. What if she does?”

I pull him away from the door and wind my arms around his waist. “Then she’s in the best possible place where they can look after her. But that’s not going to happen. It’s going to be all right.”

“I don’t know how I would handle this if you weren’t here. You’re amazing. You know that, right? You might not want to be like your mother, Ronnie Frost, but you definitely have her caring nature.”

My heart squeezes. When it comes to him, I’m starting to care more than I expected I could. How would he react if I told him that? Stepping back, I drop my hand into his. “Let’s go in.”

Danny’s mom is sleeping when we enter the hospital room. She’s pale, and one long, fuzzy socked foot sticks out from under the thin hospital blanket. Her hands are folded over her waist, her fingernails perfect squares of rose gold. Next to her is a man who bears a resemblance to Danny and his dad.

Legs stretched out, arms crossed against his torso, he glances at us through sunken eyes. He drags himself out of the chair and joins us at the end of her bed. He’s a little older than Danny, bulkier like Hank, and he has the same nose and jawline they share. He looks at Danny the same way his dad did, like he wants to hug him, but his arms stay at his sides as he says in a hushed tone, “Danny, it’s good to see you.”

“You too.” Keeping his voice low, Danny offers his hand, and the other man takes it before his gaze slides to me.

Danny’s grip on my hand tightens as he tugs me closer and his gaze narrows on his brother. “Joe, this is Ronnie.”

“Nice to meet you. Sorry it’s under such bad circumstances.” Joe engulfs my hand in his huge one. “You’re his girlfriend?”

Danny’s girlfriend? I glance at the guy I’ve been spending my time with. More time than I’ve given any other man, more of myself. He’s staring at me, waiting. Wanting me to say what? That for the first time in my life, maybe the more that I want isn’t wrapped up in my career or who I am as an individual? Or hoping that we’re on the same page and this isn’t anything more than a fling?

“Ronnie’s a friend.” Danny takes the decision out of my hands.

I’m grateful, and also a little crushed. But what did I expect? We haven’t even talked about what this could be because I’ve balked at the idea that there’s more here. Been upfront about my opinion of relationships. “Right. Friends.”

“That’s good,” Joe says, glancing at their mom and grimacing. “I’m glad you’re here, Danny. Both of you.”

“How’s she doing?” Danny moves around the bed and takes the seat beside his mom.

“Good. She’ll probably wake up soon. I sent Dad home when I got here this morning so he could rest. Said I’d sit with her until he came back. I expect that will be soon. But I could really do with a cup of coffee.”

“How about I get us all one?” I offer. Danny didn’t sleep much last night, and neither did I. We could all use a hit of caffeine. Plus I want to call my mom and fill her in.

Danny nods. “Thanks.”

“I’ll come with you,” Joe says. “I want to stretch my legs.”

Danny tenses and flicks an almost imperceptible glare at his brother. Is he worried that Joe will want to talk about him? Or that I will?

“We’ll be back in a minute.” I lean down and kiss Danny on the cheek. His breath catches, and my lips against his skin jolts my system. We’ve snuggled up, cuddled up, gotten incredibly close, but not in front of other people. Even with my family, neither of us intended to get caught being affectionate. “Do you want anything else? A bagel or a Danish? Muffins? Chocolate? Anything.”

“No. I’m good,” he says, catching my hand, squeezing it, and then letting go. “You two grab coffee.”

“Okay.” Joe opens the hospital room door and steps out into the corridor. “Which way?”

“I think it’s this way.” I head left.

Joe catches up easily. His hands are shoved in his pockets. His arms held close to his body bulge with muscle and ink. If I asked him if he was a no-strings-attached kind of guy, he’d almost certainly respond with a yes. I can pick my type a mile away. My old type. “Do you own a motorcycle by chance?”

“How long have you known Danny?” he asks at the same time, almost stopping midstride while his eyes widen. “I do. Why, do you want to go for a ride?”

“No, that’s not why... Never mind.” My suspicions confirmed, it’s time to get this conversation back on track. “We’ve known each other a little over a year. His best friend Erin, I suppose you know her, married my brother.”

“Your brother’s the golfer? Garrett Frost. I think I saw somewhere that he and Erin got hitched.”

“They did.” We enter the hospital cafeteria and line up to order the coffee. “And since Danny and Erin are kind of a package deal, my family adopted him into the fold.”

The server, a plump, middle-aged woman with gray roots peeking through her ginger hair, commandeers his attention for a moment while he places his order. Then he asks, “Does my brother still take three sugars in his coffee?”

“Three?” I almost choke on the idea of that much sugar in one cup.

“Yeah.” He gives me a grin very similar to Danny’s more charming one. “He always had a sweet tooth.”

“One. Just one. Things change, I guess.”

“And you?”

“Same,” I say to the server before pointing at the display case. “And that Danish—what’s in it?”

She glances at the flaky pastry. “Cherry.”

“Great. I’ll take one of those.”

The woman nods, and her double chins jiggle before she busies herself with our order.

“Your family loves Danny. That’s good,” Joe says once the server is done and we’re walking back. His brow puckers a little, and there’s a note of sorrow in his voice. “Great, actually. And you? You’re just friends?”

“Yep.” I sip the bitter liquid because I don’t know what to say or even what the answer to that question is. Are we just friends who work and sleep together? Because it doesn’t feel like it anymore. But I don’t want to elaborate with this man who is a stranger, and who, as far as I know, doesn’t have a good relationship with his brother.

Although that is a question I want to ask. Why can’t they see what a great guy he is? Just because his skills lie in helping people get in touch with their feelings shouldn’t be a reason for them to look down on him like he’s not good enough.

“Sure you’re not something a little more...”

“I don’t see how any of this is your business.”

“You’re right. It’s not.” He stops outside their mom’s room and rests against the wall. His shoulders caving, he exhales. “Danny’s life is none of my business. It hasn’t been in years. We haven’t been in touch, and I...” He scrubs his hand over his face and lets it drop to his side. “I want to know how my little brother is. I want to know that he has great people in his life and he’s doing well for himself.”

I’m kind of sorry for the guy. He’s missed out on a lot of his brother’s life, and he clearly wishes he hadn’t. I can’t imagine what that must be like. Even when I lived in New York away from my family, we were close-knit. Garrett and James both visited whenever they were nearby. Mom constantly called me. We’re not like Danny’s family at all. “Why don’t you ask him how he is?”

He chuckles dryly, like the idea is ridiculous. “You ever tried to have a conversation with him that he doesn’t want to have? Everything’s a damn joke. I don’t know how to talk to him. And that’s if he wanted to talk to me at all.”

“It’s not my place to get involved.” But I want to. I want to tell Joe that his brother is a wonderful guy and how we’ve started a business together and how he’s got my niece wrapped around his finger and maybe me, too. I want to tell him that what he lacks in athletic ability he more than makes up for in sensitivity, and how talented a lover he is. Okay, maybe I don’t want to tell him that much detail. But I want him to understand how much Danny means to me and to my family, even if his own family can’t see how much he’s worth. I want them to want Danny in their lives as much as I do.

“I know.” He rests his head against the wall and stares at the ceiling. “I just thought maybe you would tell me how he’s really doing. Or maybe you could get him to talk to me. I’d like to have a relationship with my brother again.”

“You would?”

“Look, I should have tried harder to keep in contact with him when he and Dad stopped talking. I guess I figured there was always time.” He glances at the door to the room. “I don’t know my own brother anymore, and I need to find a way to fix that.”

“You should tell him that.”

“I was hoping that maybe you might consider talking to him about it first. We’ve always struggled with communicating. It’s like we speak two different languages. I think he’s a lot more likely to listen to you than me at this point. Maybe you could help us reconnect.” He moves from the wall and comes closer. “What do you think?”

I’m not a meddler, but I can’t imagine being in his and Danny’s situation. My brothers are all different—the jock, the tech-head, the real-estate mogul— but being together comes easily. I wish Danny could have that too. I’m pretty sure that seeing his mom in the hospital has him thinking about it too. So if I can help... “Oh God, I’m turning into my mother.”

“What?”

“Nothing, never mind.” Cynthia Frost would march right into that room and start trying to make this family talk to each other the minute she knew there was any chance they could reconnect. She’d want Danny, as part of our family, to have the opportunity to be happy as part of his own family because that’s how much the woman cares. I can’t believe I’m considering acting like my mother. For the man I’m sleeping with, no less. “I need to think about it.”

“That’s all I can ask.” He takes his phone out of his pocket. “How about we exchange numbers? That way you can let me know.”

“Okay.” I tell him my number and he calls it. My phone starts to ring.

Danny walks out of the room behind us while my phone is still ringing. He drags his hand through his hair, his jaw tense. There’s a pissed off glint to his gaze as the noise my phone is making dies abruptly and his brother tucks his phone back into his pocket. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” I dart a glance at Joe, who shrugs.

“We were just talking about her brother. The golfer.”

“His name is Garrett.”

“Right. He made the cut. Going to play in the U.S. Open.”

Danny glares at his brother before he shutters his expression. “I know. He’s the only jock I like.”

Joe shuts his mouth, a pained look crossing his features that makes him look as worn as Danny does right now.

“Mom’s awake,” Danny says, his tone softening. “She’s doing better than last night. Dad’s in there with her now. Filling her in on his predictions for the upcoming football season.”

“Well, I better get in there,” Joe says. “It was nice talking to you, Ronnie. Are you sticking around, Danny?”

“I’ll be back later. I have a swearing bird to feed. Forgot to do it before we came in.”

“All right then,” Joe says, shaking his head and rolling his eyes while he squeezes past to enter the room. “Catch up with you both later.”

Danny keeps his hands in his pockets while we walk through the corridors. He doesn’t say anything until we exit the hospital. “So what was all that about?”

“Nothing really.” I take a moment to examine my nails. I’m really not sure that I should get involved, but I care too much about Danny to not at least consider helping.

“If I’m not mistaken, my brother now has your phone number,” Danny says.

“We thought it would be a good idea if they have my number too. In case anything happens.”

“Maybe.” He hums while he thinks it over. “I suppose that makes sense.”