“Honey, keys?” Chad interjected. “Sorry, I’m going to be late.”
“Laundry room, and your lunch is in the fridge.” She turned and gave Chad a real kiss, lips and all. “Have a good day. I love you.”
“Love you too, babe. See you later, Quin.”
Chad detoured through the kitchen and grabbed his lunch before exiting through the laundry room. Penny leaned against the bar, arms crossed over her chest, and examined him.
“Why were you at the hospital? What happened?”
“The doctors think her grandmother had a stroke, but they aren’t certain yet. At least that’s what she told me last night on her way home.” He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from fidgeting. He’d spent the whole day messing with the cops and insurance before going home to crash. He’d woken up long enough to talk with Kellie before passing out again. In the light of morning he wondered if he should have made her come to his place instead of being alone.
Penny gasped and placed a hand to her chest. “That’s terrible.”
“Yeah.”
“What about the rest of her family? How are they doing with this?”
“She doesn’t have anyone else. Her dad died and her mom lives out of the country. I kind of feel like shit for not being there with her, but she said not to bother.”
Penny rolled her eyes. “Girls don’t say what they really mean.”
He chuckled. “Kellie does. If she wanted me to be there with her, she’d have told me.”
“That really sucks, but that’s sweet of you to be there with her. Your text said you were there all night?”
“Yeah, I basically dropped the guys off and went straight to the hospital. I texted you?” He didn’t remember that.
The corners of her mouth turned up. “Yeah, you did. She really means something to you, doesn’t she?”
He mimicked her pose leaning against the bar. “Yeah, she does.”
“Do I get to meet her?”
“Eventually. I don’t want you to scare her off or anything.”
“Oh shut up.” Penny smacked his arm. “Go get Josie out of bed, will you?”
“Sure thing.”
He’d never done this before. How could he call himself a real dad if or when he’d never even woken his daughter up for breakfast?
Things were going to change. He was determined to make it happen.
He walked down the hall to the first door on the left. The room was decorated in a riot of pink and frills. Yesterday Penny had texted him a short video of Josie in her pink tutu practicing her karate moves. It was weird, but he’d never felt more like he could be a real father.
It was clear Penny had at least tried to wake Josie up. The comforter had been pulled off onto the floor and Josie lay curled up on her side, a pillow covering her face. He might not win Father of the Year awards, but even watching his girl sleep brought a smile to his face. He sat on the edge of the bed and put his hand on her side.
Josie groaned and wiggled farther away.
“Is that any way to say hello?”
She rolled over, a mass of curls covering her face and her little bow mouth scrunched up. Josie blinked at him and pushed her hair out of the way. “Daddy?”
“Morning, Lady Bug.”
A slow smile spread across her face, lit with an inner glow that melted his heart. She crawled into his lap and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Hi, Daddy,” she mumbled into his shirt.
“Hey now, you’re supposed to be getting up, not going back to sleep.”
“Don’t want to.”
“Well, if you don’t want to get up, I guess I’ll just leave then.”
“No, don’t leave.” She gripped him tighter.
He ran his fingers through her hair, or tried to until he ran into tangles. “Then why don’t you get up? We can eat and watch some cartoons. Would you like that?”
She nodded vigorously and slid out of bed, holding his hand. As if someone had flipped a switch, she was a bundle of energy and raring to go.
* * * * *
Kellie parked her Cube in the garage at the hospital and sat staring at a solid wall of concrete. Yesterday had been hard. She’d napped for a while after Quin left, then gone back to the hospital until they kicked her out for the night. It had been worse on her own, and she didn’t expect it to be any easier today. She sucked in a deep breath and pushed open her door, dragging her bag out after her.
The air was humid. She hadn’t watched the news, but there was a very good possibility they could get the last good soak before the summer really took hold. For now, all it did was make her hair frizzy and stick to the back of her neck. She slung the strap of her bag over her shoulder and headed for the stairs.
People were already loitering outside the hospital, talking on cell phones and congregating in clusters. In the sea of people, she was alone. She could have asked one of the girls, her neighbors or even Quin to come with her, but they weren’t blood. She might love them like family or care for them a lot, but this was her responsibility.
She made her way into the hospital and up to the ICU floor. The person manning the desk was different, so she signed in.
“Name?” the attendant asked.
“Kellie Nahm.”
The woman slowly lifted her head and blinked at her over the rim of her glasses. “Nahm you say?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“And your patient’s name?”
“Cho Hee Nahm.”
“Mrs. Nahm isn’t allowed any guests today.”
Kellie froze. “I’m her family.”
She shook her head. “Don’t matter none. If you want to wait, I’ll let them know you’re here and someone can come speak to you.”
“Did something happen to my grandmother?” She hated how her voice trembled, but damn it, she couldn’t do anything.
“Someone will come and call you shortly, ma’am.”
“Will you just tell me if anything’s happened?”
“I don’t know that. I only know Mrs. Nahm cannot have any visitors.”
Kellie glanced around. “Where do you want me to go?” So what if she was a little short with the woman. Something could be terribly wrong and they weren’t telling her.
“Go into one of the family rooms and someone will be with you soon, ma’am.”
“Fine.”
She stalked around the corner to more fish bowls like the one she’d waited in with Quin. Last night she’d sat in one while they told her it was possible that her grandmother had suffered a stroke, at home and alone. She shoved the first door open and plopped down in yet another uncomfortable seat to wait.
The minutes ticked by until she’d sat and stewed for half an hour. By the time a short, stocky woman entered, Kellie was alternately scared and pissed.
“Hello, sorry to keep you waiting. I’m Briana Sanford, I’m with social services.” She put down a clipboard stacked with file folders and a plastic Big Gulp before offering her hand.
“Hi.” Kellie shook the offered hand. “I don’t think I understand why I need social services.”
“Well, it’s not you.” Sanford sat across from her and opened one of the folders. “There was concern expressed about the conditions that your…” She squinted at the papers. “Grandmother?”
“Yes, my grandmother,” Kellie replied, clipping her words. “What exactly were these concerns?”
“She has Alzheimer’s, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And when she fell and had her accident, she was alone?”
“She was alone because the new nurse left her. If you would like to check the schedule, the nurse was supposed to be there until three a.m., but left a little after midnight. She was not supposed to be alone.”
“From what I understand, this was a recent development to have her assisted twenty-four hours a day?”
“She’s gotten worse, so yes.”
“But it was suggested over a year ago that you go to complete care.” Sanford fl
ashed a piece of paper at Kellie. “Or you put her in a nursing home, correct?”
Kellie had a bad feeling about this. Anxiety simmered in her gut. “Yes it was, however, it was a cultural decision to keep her at home. We’re Korean. We don’t give up one of our own. A year ago she was easy to manage. Her friends, our neighbors, could help me watch her and I could leave her alone for short periods of time. That’s changed and I’ve altered the schedule accordingly.”
Briana took a sip of her Big Gulp and eyed the papers. “There was also a reported concern for her well-being, which is why I was brought in. I have to research this and while this is going on you aren’t going to be able to see your grandmother.”
“Who reported me?”
“I can’t say.”
Kellie bit her lip to keep from fuming. Someone wanted to paint her as the bad guy? Who would be so cruel to separate them now, of all times?
“Can you at least tell me how she is?” Kellie asked without looking at her.
“I can. She’s stable, no change.”
“So what do I need to do to prove that I’m taking care of her? What’s the next step?”
“I need to talk to the person who runs the home healthcare company you use—”
“Sonya. I can give her a call right now.”
“Yes, Sonya. I can call her later. Just write down her contact information in case something is missing from your grandma’s file.” She handed her a pen and a sticky note. “It would help if I could do a home visit. The doctor’s estimation of her well-being will factor in heavily. None of this can happen until this afternoon though. It’s not a fast process.”
“So I’m supposed to do what? Leave her here alone?”
“Is there any other family nearby?”
“Not in this country. My mother moved back to South Korea with her new husband.”
“Then I’m sorry, but for now your grandmother is a ward of the state.”
Those unexpected words hurt more than anything else in her life.
Chapter Seventeen
Crane—This iconic bird is a national treasure as well as an easily recognized tattoo element with its bright-red cap of feathers. It represents peace and hope, much like the belief that one who folds one thousand origami paper cranes will receive a wish. Cranes also stand for happiness and heavenliness, and are often designed in honor of new families.
Kellie strode through the front door of the gym. Since the A/C hadn’t been replaced yet, cinderblocks held the doors open and fans blew hot air into the hot building, creating a cyclone of heat. She didn’t recognize the person at the desk, otherwise she would have walked past.
“Hi. How can I help you?” a muscle-bound young man asked.
“I have a visitor pass, but I forgot it. Can you look me up, please?” She dug her license out of her purse and pushed it across for him.
“Sure. Give me one moment.” He clicked away at the computer. “There you are. I have you all signed in. Have a good workout. Sorry about the air.”
She grunted and walked past. While she’d come to the gym with the goal of working out, she wasn’t above lying to herself. The real reason was that she wanted to see Quin. There was something comforting about the idea of sparring, kicking his ass and turning up the heat with a little post-workout fun. She’d almost gone to the shop, but if she went there she would end up working and with the way she was now, she had no business doing tattoos or payroll.
The gym was mostly empty, which was fine by her. She changed into shorts and a sports bra in the locker room and returned to the gym floor. The punching bags were lonely over against the far wall. Lucky for them she’d brought her MMA-style boxing gloves. Tugging them on, she took up position at a bag and threw a few light punches.
There was something calming about the rhythm she settled into—left, right, left, right, shuffle a step and repeat.
She pictured the face of the ER doctor, the condescending nurse and even the apologetic social worker on the bag and hit with enough force it jarred her arm all the way to her shoulder. As the bag danced on the chain, she moved more. The hot air burned her lungs, and in less than ten minutes sweat soaked through her clothes.
It felt good to move, to force her aggression out through her arms and into the bag. She hadn’t worked the kinks out through anything but sex in months. And even the sex wasn’t as physical anymore. Emotions were getting involved, not that it was a bad thing, but tension had built back up.
“Tuck your elbows in. You’re flapping like a chicken.” Quin stepped up to the other side of the bag and held it still.
She bit back a “fuck you” and threw another punch, this time more aware of where her elbows were.
“Better.”
She hadn’t had the presence of mind to tell anyone what had happened at the hospital that morning. She’d driven home only to realize she didn’t want to be there.
“Doll, get some water. Take a break.”
“I’m good,” she heaved.
Quin stepped around the bag and caught her wrist. “Kellie, you’ve been going at it for half an hour, you’re soaked and it’s at least a hundred degrees in here. Get a fucking drink of water or I’m kicking your ass out.”
“Fuck you,” she growled out at last and pushed him, but it did no good. Her arms felt like lead weights and he was a wall of muscle.
“Later. Drink now.” He forcibly turned her and gave her a shove toward the water fountains.
“It’s hot as hell in here.” She swiped an arm across her face, her bangs sticking to her skin. Her nose burned from the sweat dripping off her brow and onto the new piercing. “What happened with the A/C?” She ducked her head to suck in chilled water.
“I haven’t replaced the damn cameras yet, so there’s no footage of whoever did it, and nothing else to go on. My insurance is going to kill me.” He leaned next to the water fountain while she sucked down water.
She splashed some of the water on her face and stood. “These gloves reek.”
“Wash them.”
“I have, but they still smell gross. Here, smell.” She peeled one off and shoved it in his face, but Quin backpedaled.
“No thank you.”
“Fine. How was stuff this morning?”
“Good. Come to my office. I have a window unit in there.” He gestured behind her. Kellie shrugged and followed, removing the other glove. “I think I’m going to have to make a rule that if you come here, you have to wear a baggy shirt or something.” His hand was too warm for comfort against the small of her back, but she didn’t move away.
“Is this the she’s-my-woman display?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll try to not roll my eyes too much.” He opened the door to the office and she walked into a wall of cold. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. “Holy shit, is your office doubling as a walk-in freezer?”
Quin swatted her ass and closed the door. “Mostly it just makes your nipples stand out.”
Kellie tossed her head back and laughed, the first one since this nightmare had started. “You’re such a guy.”
His blue eyes sparkled and smartly stayed on her face. “Well, I’m honest. What are you doing here? Not that I’m not glad to see you, but I didn’t expect to until tonight or something.”
The moment of joy evaporated and she sank into one of the chairs. With her anger worked out for the moment, she was just exhausted and pitiful. “Between that stupid fucking nurse taking off and something someone said, they’re investigating me for elder abuse.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“Nope.”
Quin’s jaw had come unhinged and he stared at her. “How?”
She shrugged and massaged her temples. “I don’t know. They wouldn’t tell me.”
“That’s seriously fucked up.”
“Now that I’m not pissed off as much I can think clearer. It’s going to work out, but it sucks that I can’t be there for her right now, you know?”
He pulled the other chair around to face her and sat with his knees bumping hers.
“I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to be at the house. I’m not used to it being so empty. I don’t want to go to work because I’ll end up working and I’m in no mood to put up with shitty clients. I probably shouldn’t have come here. You need to be working.”
“That’s the good thing about being the boss. Sometimes you can delegate to someone else. Why don’t you go shower and let’s go grab some snow cones? It’s fuck-all hot.”
“Snow cones? What are we? Five?”
“Have you had a Blue Bell-stuffed snow cone?”
She stared at him. Blue Bell ice cream was a Texas staple. But ice cream and a snow cone? “Um, no.”
“How the hell have you survived? Shower. We’re getting snow cones.”
Damn him. It sounded good. “Don’t do it because I dropped in on you.”
“Doll, when it comes to Blue Bell snow cones, I’m using you as an excuse.” He grasped her wrist and tugged. “Come here.”
Kellie rolled her eyes and let him pull her into his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and took comfort in his strength. She wasn’t the kind of girl who needed a shoulder to cry on. She was tough, and she took pride in the fact that she could roll with the punches, but even she had a breaking point. Somehow the fates had set it up so that when she needed support, she had the strongest out there.
* * * * *
Quin sat staring at the red light without actually seeing it. The sickening sensation that gnawed at him was worse. He’d tipped the first domino. It was his fault, and he didn’t know how to fix it.
Someone laid on their horn, startling him out of his misery. He gunned the engine and his tires screeched. How could he have screwed stuff up so easily? For once he actually wanted something that didn’t depend on him alone. It took two people to have a relationship, and when Kellie found out everything was his fault, she was going to leave him. And the worst thing was that he wouldn’t blame her. At the most important moment in her life, he hadn’t protected her.
He’d failed, just like his father.
Except now he couldn’t do the right thing and tell Kellie. She’d find out. Secrets always came out. But he was a selfish bastard and wanted to hang on to every last minute he had with her. He didn’t know if this was love, but it had to be close.
The Harder He Falls: 2 (So Inked) Page 27
