by Sherri Renee
“She’s stable now,” he said. “I’ll want to keep her an extra day or two, though, just to make sure there aren’t any other problems.”
“Can I see her?” I didn’t recognize my voice. I sounded like a frightened little girl and pressed so close to Jace I’m sure I looked like one too.
Dr. Jackson looked like he was about to say no, but his face relaxed. “She’s sedated, but if it will ease your mind you can see her for a minute.”
I nodded hard and stood up quickly, grabbing for Jace’s hand. I wanted to see her, but I didn’t want to go alone.
Dr. Jackson pushed himself to his feet and turned to the door.
“Thank you,” I whispered, and he looked back at me with a small smile, giving him a kind grandfatherly look. “Thank you for taking care of my mom.” I broke away from Jace and wrapped Dr. Jackson in a tight hug. He seemed surprised at first but soon hugged me in return and patted my back.
“I’m glad I could be there for her,” he said.
I let him go with a nod. I wanted to smile, but I knew I owed this man for my mom’s life and the depth of thankfulness I felt for him right then was too profound to allow me to do something as mundane as smile.
He seemed to understand and clasped my shoulder in a tight grip for a second, looking deep into my eyes, before turning and heading out of the room.
Mom was so pale and so still on the hospital bed, she almost looked like she hadn’t survived after all. My stomach tightened and I swallowed hard. The slow steady rise of her chest assured me that she was alive, and if Dr. Jackson was to be believed, would be back home very soon. But that didn’t lessen the shock of seeing her in such a fragile state.
I walked to her side and took her hand in mine. “You’re going to be fine,” I whispered with a nod. “You’re going to be just fine.”
Jace took me back to his house without even asking if I wanted to stay with him or go home, and I was so thankful. My brain felt like mush. I didn’t want to have to make any decisions, and I didn’t want to be alone.
Jace stomped snow off his boots at the door then helped me with my coat when we got inside. We hadn’t talked much, but it didn’t feel uncomfortable. Jace was always easy to be around, and I appreciated that more than ever right now since my every thought was focused on my mom.
He hung our coats in the hall closet. “The guest room is this way. Let’s get you tucked in.” He took my hand and led me down a short hall, turning into the second doorway. The room was simple and tidy and again gave me the feeling that I was in a cabin high up in the mountains somewhere.
Jace took my purse and set it on the nightstand before pulling back the red and black plaid comforter and giving the bed a pat. “I can get you a shirt to sleep in if you want.”
He looked at me uncertainly and waited for my nod before he left the room. “I’ll be right back.”
I sat on the edge of the bed and looked around the room. The dresser was made of a light colored wood that matched the nightstand and headboard. A braided rug was on the floor and simple plaid curtains that matched the comforter hung over the room’s single window.
Jace was back in under a minute and handed me a green Forest Ridge t-shirt. He stepped close and cupped my face in his hands. “She’s going to be okay,” he said looking deep into my eyes. “Dr. Jackson is a great doctor, and he’ll make sure she gets the care she needs.”
I nodded but my bottom lip quivered. Jace ran his thumb over it before leaning down to kiss my head. “It’s been a long day. I know you’re beat. Can I get you anything else before bed?”
I shook my head. “Thank you for being there for me,” I struggled to get the words out without letting any tears slip out with them. “I . . .”
“No thanks needed.” He gave me a tiny smile. “I’m in the next room,” he said tipping his head to the left. “Let me know if you need anything at all.”
I nodded, and he left, closing the door with a sweet smile. I sat where I was for a while and replayed the events of the night. Mom had seemed so healthy and happy when I left the hospital earlier. I felt guilty now that I’d left her. I should have stayed. Maybe I could have done something. I swallowed the growing lump of fear in my throat. It was almost more than I could wrap my mind around that she’d almost died just a few hours after I’d left.
I took off my clothes and let them drop to the floor before putting on Jace’s shirt. It was big on me and hung half-way down my thigh, but it was soft and comfortable, and I liked knowing it was his. I turned out the light and crawled into the unfamiliar bed to stare at the ceiling.
The house was quiet. Too quiet. My mind wouldn’t quit racing and at some point the tears that I’d been holding back since my phone rang found their release. I pressed a pillow over my mouth, hoping Jace wouldn't hear me as I let them flow. I couldn’t have held them back if I’d tried.
Jace was such an amazing guy. I couldn’t believe how he’d been there for me first with Danny and now with Mom.
He acted older than a normal high school senior sometimes, and I wondered if being sick had made him mature faster than he should have had to. My thoughts turned from my mom to Jace, and I ached knowing he’d gone through such a scary time alone. He’d had his family at least. He wasn’t completely alone, but I still couldn’t believe he hadn’t told any of his friends.
I tossed and turned and threw off the sheet before covering back up again. My mind seemed to want to torture me, flitting from Kristen almost being killed to Laurie disappearing before skipping over to Jace going through cancer treatments alone and finally landing hard on the fact that I’d honestly almost lost my mom.
When she’d invited Drake over, she’d mentioned that she wanted me to at least know who he was in case something happened to her, but I’d never let myself believe that was truly a possibility. I blinked at the ceiling. I couldn’t lie there and think about all those terrible things for another second.
I got up and went out to the hall. I started to walk to the living room thinking I’d watch TV to distract myself from my thoughts, but my feet turned the opposite direction, leading me to Jace’s door. I stood in front of it, hesitating, before giving it a quiet knock.
“Michelle?” Jace said right away, and I guessed he hadn’t been sleeping either. “Do you need something?”
I opened his door and walked into his room. Enough light from the moon slipped around the closed curtain to light my way. I noticed this room looked a lot like the guest room. Very simple and neat with blue plaids instead of red. I shyly stood at the end of the bed. “I can’t sleep,” I said. “Can I stay here with you?”
Jace pulled back the covers in invitation, and I quickly crawled into bed beside him. He pulled me against him, and I was surprised for a second to realize he wasn’t wearing a shirt. His skin was smooth and warm, and I laid my head on his chest.
He stroked my hair while I listened to the soothing rhythm of his heartbeat beneath my ear. “I’m scared,” I whispered into the dark. Jace’s arm tightened around me pulling me closer. “What if my mom never comes home?” I couldn’t say the word “dies” although it freely ping-ponged through my every thought.
Jace ran his hand over my hair again. “I can’t make you any promises, but I really think your mom will make it through this.” He was quiet for a second, and I thought that was all he would say, but then he started talking again, telling me how he’d first discovered he had cancer and the long road he’d traveled before coming out on the other side.
“I can’t make you any promises,” he said again, “but I do know your mom has one of the best doctors around. Dr. Jackson really cares about all of his patients and stays on top of their progress even when he’s off duty. I wish your mom didn’t have to go through this at all, but I don’t think she could have anyone better than Dr. Jackson by her side.”
With Jace’s arms around me, and his comforting words thawing my icy thoughts I slowly relaxed more and more with each stroke of his hand against my hair.
I had a brief picture of how Danny would have reacted to my mom having cancer if we were still together.
I was sure he would have been upset and felt sorry for me, but I knew he wouldn’t have driven all the way to the hospital to comfort me when I needed it the most. I would have been lucky to get a text asking how I was doing, and that was only if he wasn’t at basketball practice. Danny would always come first in Danny’s mind.
Jace, on the other hand, was quick to drop everything whenever I needed him. I snuggled into his side and smiled when he pressed a kiss to the top of my head. Danny moving was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. Before I knew it, I was asleep.
Chapter 34
I wasn’t able to take Mom home from the hospital until Thursday. She said she was a little sore, but I thought she really looked good all things considered. And she looked relieved. I didn’t know if it was because her secret was finally out in the open or if she was thankful the surgery was behind her, but she was happier than she’d been in a long time.
Her near-death experience was still fresh and raw in both of our minds. I caught myself staring at her from time to time, simply thankful she was there. Things could have easily turned out much differently.
She was going to have to take it easy for a while and I was determined to do everything I could do pamper her. I got her settled in the living room with a movie, one of the sappy holiday ones she couldn’t get enough of, and made her a glass of fresh vegetable juice. She wrinkled her nose at it, but after the first sip, she nodded. “It’s not nearly as bad as it looks,” she admitted.
Jace came over after practice and helped me cook a whole chicken with carrots and potatoes. He knew his way around the kitchen, and I had to admit I sat back and watched him put the meal together more than I helped since I was more of a master reheater than a master chef.
I couldn’t stop smiling, and he couldn’t stop sneaking kisses which made me smile even more.
I shared some stories about my “dad” with Mom and Jace while we ate. Mom’s mouth dropped open when I repeated some of the things that little girl had said. Jace stared down at his plate but his shoulders shook with laughter.
Mom looked over at him and let out a chuckle of her own. “Well, that didn’t turn out exactly like I expected,” she said. “I do hope you’ll try to get to know Drake, though. He’s a piece of who you are and you might find out he’s not really a bad guy.”
“I don’t think he’s a bad guy,” I said. “But I’m not so sure about that daughter of his.” I raised my brows with a mock look of horror.
I got Mom settled in her room with everything I thought she might need for the next few hours and made sure her phone was charged and right beside the bed. We had a basketball game tonight, and Mom had insisted she didn’t want me to miss it. Once she was tucked in, I gave her a big hug and she kissed my cheek.
“Thank you for everything you’re doing, Michelle. I know this isn’t easy on you.”
“We’re going to get you through this together,” I said. I looked around one last time to make sure she was all set up and moved the TV remote to her nightstand so she could easily reach it if she felt like watching anything. “Call if you need anything at all.” I gave her a stern motherly look. “I mean it. If you need anything, you call me.”
“Yes, Mom,” she teasesd.
I rushed out of her room and found Jace sitting on the couch in the living room waiting for me. “I’ll get my coat, and I’m ready,” I said as I raced past.
“Come here for a minute.”
I hesitated. I didn’t want to make us miss the bus. Jace stood up and held open his arms. I grinned and ran straight to him. We could be a little late. His lips quickly settled on mine, and he gave me a long slow kiss that left my knees weak and my mind spinning.
“I’m going to be thinking about that all night,” he said, looking down at me with heat in his eyes.
And now I would be thinking about it all night too. I swallowed, blinking up at him. I already couldn’t wait for the game to be over so we could do that again. I might get used to Jace and his kisses eventually, but so far every one set me on fire. I couldn’t get enough of him.
We were playing Wylie in a real game at their gym tonight, and I was a little nervous about seeing Danny. I held Jace’s hand all the way there on the bus, and I was reluctant to let go when we got off.
I gave his hand a squeeze. “Watch out for Danny,” I said before he headed to the locker room. “I don’t want him causing any problems.”
Jace’s mouth kicked up on one side. “Don’t worry about me and Danny,” he said in a way that made me really worry. “I owe him one.”
Matt grabbed his arm as he walked by. “Break it up already,” he joked, pulling Jace away. “We’ve got a game to win.”
Jace looked over his shoulder and winked at me.
I crossed my arms over my chest and gave Kristen a worried look. “You don’t think Jace and Danny will get into a fight do you? Because I don’t think I can handle it.”
Kristen looked after the guys and shook her head. “Nah, I think they have something much worse in mind for Danny.”
“What?” I asked with a scared look. Danny wasn’t my favorite person right now, but I didn’t want him to get hurt. Jace and Matt were both nice guys. I didn’t think they’d hurt him, but Kristen made it sound like they had something planned.
“Don’t worry,” Kristen said, bending her arm over her head to stretch. “They wouldn’t do anything bad. Forest Ridge has just been practicing hard the past few days. The guys are really finding their rhythm. I think if Matt and Jace have their way Wylie’s going to leave here tonight with their tail between their legs.”
I let out a relieved sigh and joined Kristen in stretching. Wylie taking a beating was something I wouldn’t mind seeing.
Jules came running up to join us. “I see you and Jace are together,” she said breathlessly, giving me a quick hug. “He is so crazy about you. He about talked my ear off at Bobby’s party about how pretty you are and how smart you are.” She rolled her eyes in a friendly way.
“I couldn’t wait to tell you, but I’ve been out of town with my grandparents until today. You two look so good together.”
Remembering how jealous I’d been thinking Jules was dating Jace, I tried not to cringe. Thank goodness she couldn’t read my mind and find out how nuts I’d been. “Thanks,” I said. “I’m kind of crazy about him too.”
Megan came bouncing up to me with her eyes wide and her black hair swinging. “So it’s true? You and Jace are dating?”
I thought about how she’d jumped all over Kristen for moving on to Matt right after she and George broke up and prepared myself for some kind of rant. When I nodded, her face broke into a happy smile and she bounced up and down on her toes.
“That’s so exciting,” she said.
I cast a quick look at Kristen and was met with her look of disbelief. I guessed it was okay for me to move on to another boyfriend but not for Kristen.
“Danny totally blew you off at the last game,” Megan said. “I don’t care how strict Wylie’s coach is that was just wrong.” She planted her hands on her hips and gave a firm nod before turning to the locker room door as our guys came running out.
“Woo hoo!” she yelled, and the rest of us joined her.
My eyes sought Jace, and I was once again reminded how he could so easily slip from one role to another. Tonight, no one would guess that the tall, muscular jock handling a basketball like it was second nature spent hours almost every day in front of a computer inventing other worlds.
I saw him send a sweeping look around the gym until his eyes landed on mine. When they did his face lit up and he ran straight for me.
He grabbed my hands and looked deep into my eyes. “I missed you,” he said.
“You just saw me ten minutes ago,” I said, but a smile stretched my face so wide it was almost painful.
“One minute away from you is too long
.” His warm brown eyes fixed on mine before he added a wink which made his words more playful than corny, but they still caused my heart to flutter.
Boy, oh boy, did he have a way with words.
He glanced over his shoulder to where his team was warming up. “Gotta go,” he said. He kissed his fingertip and pressed it to my nose with a shrug. “No PDA at games,” he explained as he ran off.
Jules let out a long sigh and Megan pressed her hands to her heart while pretending to faint. Even Kara smiled at his display.
“You are one lucky girl,” Kristen said, watching the guys form lines for layups.
I hooked my arm through hers and bumped her hip with mine as Matt caught her eye and tipped his head in this cute little “what’s up?” thing he did. “I’d say that makes two of us.”
“Ugh, no fair.” Jules stuck out her shiny pink lip in a pout. “I need a guy too.”
I hooked my other arm through hers and studied her options. “What about the blond you saw on Wylie’s team last week?”
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t want a long distance relationship. I want someone I can see every day.”
I couldn’t argue with that. My three-day long-distance relationship with Danny had been a disaster. Of course, I was sure with the right couple it could be done.
The smell of fresh buttery popcorn wafted into the gym as the concession stand opened, and the stands quickly filled as the starting time neared. I watched our guys practicing and Brian Mathis caught my eye. His hair was longer than the Wylie player Jules had noticed last week, but he was tall and blond. He was a good player, too, I saw as he effortlessly tipped a ball into the basket.
Nudging Jules I tipped my head towards him. “What about Brian? He’s cute.”
Jules watched him and a slow smile spread across her face. “I’ve never really thought about him like that before.” Her brow wrinkled, and I could tell she was thinking about him like that now.
