Chapter Fourteen
On Sunday, TJ got up early to visit Colt at the hospital. His doctor wanted him to stay another night but Colt, being a stubborn ass, was fighting it. TJ hoped to talk some sense into his brother. Concussions were serious shit; people died from them.
His phone rang as he walked out to his driveway to determine whether he had to shovel snow to get out. It was Delaney.
“Hey. He didn’t check himself out, did he?”
“Not yet. But if you don’t get here soon and sit on his chest, he’s going to. Believe me, I’ve tried everything else.”
“Put him on,” TJ said.
“Hang on a sec while I go back in his room.”
TJ could hear someone on a loudspeaker in the background and figured Delaney must be in the cafeteria. A few minutes later, he heard the ding of an elevator and then rustling.
“Leave me alone,” his brother’s pissed-off voice came over the phone.
“You know that thing you want me to do?” TJ zipped his jacket and got in his Range Rover. His neighbor must’ve plowed his driveway because it was clear enough to get out with no trouble.
“Talk to Josh and Win about my will? Yeah, what about it?”
“If you don’t stay another night, I’m not doing it.” He turned on his Bluetooth and backed out.
“Fine. I’ll do it myself.”
“You suck, Colt. Why do you want to upset Delaney like that? Just man up and stay in the goddamn hospital.”
There was quiet on the other end. TJ would’ve thought Colt had hung up on him except he heard his brother breathing. He took the turn to the on-ramp and hopped on the interstate. The roads had been cleared, but he was careful to avoid black ice. Although it had stopped snowing, it was still below freezing.
“You staying?” he asked, knowing Colt wasn’t bluffing. His brother would pop that IV needle out faster than TJ could get there to stop him and limp out of the hospital because he was obstinate. They all were.
TJ took the Sierra Road exit and hung a left. “I’m pulling into the hospital now. You better be there.”
“Hurry,” Colt taunted. “Win just brought doughnuts and I’m not saving you any.”
Win, huh? Shit.
The question was, should he tell him about Deb? The kiss. He tried to reason with himself that it wasn’t as if he’d slept with her or even touched bare skin. So why rock the boat? Because unlike the first kiss, which had merely been loaded with suggestion, this one had been as intimate as sex. Leaving her apartment had been the toughest thing he’d ever done. And even though it would never happen again, the honorable thing to do was to tell his brother.
TJ found a spot in the overflow lot, banged his head on the dashboard, and counted to ten.
Confession time.
When he got to the fourth floor, the ladies at the nurses’ station smiled at him and pointed to Colt’s room.
“How’d you know who I was looking for?” It was a different shift of nurses than it had been the night before.
“Lucky guess,” one of them said, and the others erupted in giggles.
TJ knocked on Colt’s door, then let himself in to find Win sprawled comfortably in a chair and Josh standing against the wall, eating a doughnut.
“Did you save me a bear claw?”
“There’s one in the box with your name on it,” Win said. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked like he’d slept in his clothes. If TJ didn’t know Win was a health nut, he’d think his brother had been on a bender. “Where’s Mom and Dad, Delaney, and Hannah?”
“Hannah had to open the store. Mom and Dad are sleeping in after spending most of the night here,” Josh said. “And Delaney went home to get Colt sweats.”
TJ whipped the blanket off Colt. He had on one of those standard-issue hospital gowns. “Tired of your ass hanging out the back?”
Colt gave him a middle-finger salute and pulled the covers back up. “Give me one of those doughnuts.”
“Surly, aren’t you?” TJ grabbed him an apple fritter, got himself a bear claw, and looked at Win. “You didn’t bring coffee?”
Win ignored him. TJ handed Colt his doughnut and pulled up one of the empty chairs to sit in.
“You talk to Jack?” TJ asked Colt.
“Yep. He’ll be running the department until I come back. At least my ankle’s only sprained. In fact, go ahead and elevate it for me.”
“Do I look like Nurse Ratched to you?” TJ grabbed a couple of pillows from the minuscule closet, piled them at the foot of the bed, and rested Colt’s foot on top. “That good?”
Colt pressed the bed remote to elevate it some more. “Yup.”
“You talk to them?” TJ cocked his head at Win and Josh.
“They’re fine with it,” Colt said. TJ knew they would be.
Josh rested against the windowsill. “I plan to leave my share to Hannah. I assume you’re all good with that as well.”
The three of them nodded. It was a somber conversation, but TJ supposed the hospital was a good place for it.
“What tours do you have going today?” Colt asked.
TJ ticked them off, including a snow kayaking group Josh was leading. And later in the day, Win was teaching three guys how to kiteboard.
“When is the new website going up?”
“Tomorrow.” TJ was excited about the launch, especially the retail store, which he expected to bring in a lot more orders than they were getting with their current slapdash system.
Colt fidgeted with the bed remote again, lifting himself into a sitting position. “What are you planning to do about Colorado Adventure?”
“I’m gonna hire a hit man, what do you think?” Josh and Win laughed. Colt the cop just scowled. “I’ll try to get a story about us in another adventure magazine. Given that we have Delaney Scott designing exclusively for us, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Damned straight,” Colt said. “What’s going on with you and Karen? It seemed like you two hit it off at Josh and Hannah’s house.”
TJ didn’t know where Colt had gotten that from. Karen might be interested in pursuing something, but he wasn’t.
“You planning to take her out or not?” Colt persisted.
Win and Josh perked up. For a bunch of guys, his brothers acted like grandmothers when it came to his love life.
“What are you, match.com?”
“How about Friday?” Colt was pushy.
Not gonna happen, even though he had nothing else to do on Friday night. Saturday was Deb’s birthday party. He had to go to that, though he worried it would be awkward between them since they’d practically dry humped in public.
“What’s wrong with you?” He turned everyone’s attention to Win, hoping to change the subject.
“Nothing.”
“You look like crap and smell like something died,” Josh said, got up, and straddled one of the chairs backward.
Win straightened. “I’ve got some stuff I’m dealing with.”
TJ and Colt exchanged glances, then Colt asked, “What kind of stuff?”
“Just stuff.” Win wouldn’t make eye contact.
“You dying?” Josh asked, which was sort of unlike him. Of all the Garners, he was the most serious. But the quip made Win’s mouth quirk.
“Nope.” He glared at Colt. “And it has nothing to do with the law either.”
“I never said it did.” Colt readjusted the pillow behind his head.
“Why not? You guys always think the worst of me.”
“They do.” TJ motioned to his brothers. “Not me, though.”
“You most of all,” Win said, and TJ felt a hot rush of guilt. Not just because there was some truth to it but because of Deb. He had to tell him. “It involves a woman.”
It always did with Win, but TJ couldn’t remember a time when a woman had his brother like this.
“What? Someone’s husband after you?” Colt joked.
“That’s exactly the crap I’m talking about.” Win scowled and then blurted out, “She’s pregnant.”
The room went silent. Other than the low hum of the heater and the ticking of the wall clock, not a sound.
Colt eventually cleared his throat. “Who is she? And what are you planning to do?”
Win hung his head back and shut his eyes. “Britney, the blackjack dealer I’ve been seeing. We’re getting married.”
Stunned silence, and then Colt asked, “Do you love her?”
Win didn’t respond, which was answer enough. No one would say he shouldn’t marry her. As old-fashioned as it was, it was the way they’d been raised.
“Does she want to marry you?” Josh asked. Given the fact that they were talking about Win, TJ thought it was a foregone conclusion that she did.
“I don’t think so,” Win said, which drew looks of surprise from the rest of them. “I don’t even think she likes me all that much. But I don’t want her raising my kid alone.”
TJ got up and leaned against the wall. “Nothing says you can’t share custody.”
“For the baby’s sake, I think it would be better if we got married. She’ll need support and I’m in a position to do that.”
It explained the raise, TJ thought to himself.
“If she doesn’t want to marry you, you can’t make her,” Colt said.
“I won’t have to. She just will,” Win said with his usual amount of confidence.
Josh got to his feet and joined TJ on the wall. “Why not do what TJ said and share custody?”
Win sidetracked. “I’m bringing her to Deb’s party.”
Despite her story that she was over Win, TJ knew this would crush her. “It’s Deb’s big day. Don’t bring her.”
“Britney’s part of my life now,” Win said, looking down at his boots. “Deb and I are buds, that’s all. Last I heard, Boden was in to her.”
Glad you’re so well informed, TJ wanted to say.
“We’d like to meet her.” Colt was always the pragmatist. “You need to loop Mom and Dad in on this. Soon.”
“I know.” Win scrubbed his hand down his face. He was going through hell.
“We’re here for you,” TJ said. “Whatever you need.”
“I know. If you could not tell anyone right now that would be good. And I need to talk more with Britney . . . figure out a date.”
“Of course,” Colt said. “For now, this is just between us. But Win, don’t wait on telling Mom and Dad.”
“I won’t.” He got to his feet. “I’ve got my kiteboard group and then I’ll go over to their house and talk to them. See you guys tomorrow.”
He left and they all stood around staring at each other. It wouldn’t be so terrible bringing a baby into the family—they all liked kids—but not like this. Not in a loveless relationship where Win was trying desperately to do the right thing, even though it so obviously made him miserable.
“Well, shit,” Josh finally said. “Our little brother is all grown up.”
“Our little brother apparently doesn’t know how to use a condom.” Colt let out a breath of frustration.
“You don’t know that.” This wasn’t the time to rag on Win. What was done was done. TJ turned to Josh. “I know we said we wouldn’t tell anyone, but maybe Hannah could give Deb a head’s-up.”
“I try to stay out of that, but I’ll tell her. Otherwise, she’ll kill me.” Josh pushed off the wall. “I better go, too.” He walked over to Colt’s side and leaned over the bed. “Take care of yourself, old man.”
When it was just the two of them, TJ said, “This has got disaster written all over it, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t know, Win’ll be a good dad. He’s a screwup, to be sure, but a good-hearted screwup.”
That was the truth. “You okay if I go?”
“I’ll probably slash my wrists from loneliness.” Colt snorted. “Just leave the doughnuts.”
TJ met Delaney on his way out of the hospital. She had a bouquet of get-well balloons in one hand and Colt’s duffel in the other.
“How’s our patient?” she asked.
“As ornery as ever.” He kissed her cheek. They talked for a little while in the lobby, but Delaney was anxious to get to Colt’s room. TJ told her, “He’s all yours.”
He went outside to find that the temperature had warmed to a balmy thirty degrees. It would’ve been a nice day for skiing, but he didn’t feel like it, a rarity because he always felt like skiing. But the night’s kiss still had him tied in knots. He didn’t want to complicate Win’s situation by telling him.
He got in his truck, drove back to Glory Junction, and exited on Main Street, cruising slowly past the Morning Glory. Deb was working today. He considered going in and getting a cup of coffee but went to GA instead. His default safety net.