His eyebrows shot up. “That’s not a bad idea, I’ll have to check my schedule, but right now I need something else. I need you to get Nyxie’s side of the house ready for her kids to move in. They need everything from food and toilet paper, sheets and dishes, to pots and pans.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line. “Okay. But won’t your girlfriend want to pick out her own stuff?”
“Nyxie is trying to adopt her sister’s girls. CPS is coming by for home study sometime in the next couple of days. However, her brother just woke up from his coma, and she doesn’t want to leave his side to buy what she needs. Let me give you her phone number, and you can consult her on decorative things.”
It took Sonia a moment to get into her contacts before the information was passed. “And what’s Nyxie’s last name?”
“Stryker,” Declan said with a wide grin, making Nyxie gasp. His head jerked around and he pinned her with a hard stare.
“I didn’t think we were going to tell anyone,” Nyxie said quietly hoping her voice wasn’t picked up on the hands-free device. Her eyes were wide as she looked back at him. He seemed angry but she wasn’t sure why.
“We got married this morning,” Declan said to Sonia. “We haven’t told my parents, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone just yet.”
“Congratulations and best wishes,” she said, sounding perplexed, but saying what she knew was polite.
They thanked her in unison, and then quickly got off the phone. Declan turned to Nyxie. “We aren’t telling anyone?” he asked.
“You want people to know?” Her tone sounded high pitched with surprise. She searched his face to see if he was kidding, but didn’t know him well enough to pick up on the subtle cues of teasing with a straight face.
“Why wouldn’t we?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.
Wasn’t it obvious This marriage didn’t really count because it wasn’t real. When their contract was up, they would quietly divorce, and no one would know they were ever married.
“You’ve already gotten pulled off Cody’s case because we know each other. I don’t want you to get in trouble for marrying me.”
“The damage is already done, and no one was overly scandalized.”
“Not yet,” she said as he drove the Jeep into the doctors’ parking lot. “Can’t we just keep this to ourselves?”
His brow lowered. “I know it was sudden. Would you prefer that we announce we’re engaged? I wanted to have a second ceremony anyway.”
Why would he want to have a second ceremony or to tell anyone what they had done when it wasn’t real? “I don’t understand why you want to have a second ceremony.”
“Well, among other things, my parents are going to be upset that I got married and they weren’t invited. Wouldn’t you like to do it again with our friends and families there? Don’t you want the big church wedding?”
“Your parents hate me. They won’t want to know you married me.”
Declan pulled into a parking place and shut off the engine. He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned his whole body to face her.
“Nyxie, I don’t go out of my way to hurt my parents. We may disagree about many things, but we still love each other. My mother would be devastated.”
She bit her lip and nodded. She conceded, with as much understanding as anyone could have, a child had unconditional love for his or her parents. Despite everything, she had always loved her parents, even when she hated them the most. It was easily the most confusing part of being an abused child. Perhaps it was because there were always good moments sprinkled in with the bad; like the time her father baked her oatmeal cookies for her birthday and told her she could eat as many as she wanted. Or when her mother got her tax refund and gave Nyxie five dollars that she could spend on anything. Sometimes she would be praised for taking care of Cody, or for mysteriously producing liquor when her father suffered withdrawals and was hallucinating. Nyxie always tried to drain the last few drops from the bottles before carrying them to the dumpster, or if he passed out before the bottle was empty, she might pour off a swig or two for the bad times to come.
“Maybe you should go talk to them and explain that it’s not real. I’m sure they’ll be relieved.”
He stared at her, his eyes narrowing. “That judge wasn’t pretending, Onyx. We are really married.”
She hated when he called her Onyx. Not only did it show his annoyance, but it also took her back to her childhood when everyone called her that. “You know what I mean. We’re not really married. My Dom saw I had a need….”
His head tilted to one side, studying her face, his eyes boring into hers until she felt so uncomfortable that she had to look away.
“You think I married you because of our agreement? You don’t understand….”
“I’m not the one who’s confused.”
“You are if you think we’re getting divorced in a year or two.”
Her big brown eyes widened as she returned his stare. Of course, it wasn’t real. Why was he making this joke? He never joked around. Then she realized he wasn’t making a joke. “You didn’t even ask me if I wanted to get married,” she said, taking off her seatbelt.
Afraid that she was going to bolt, Declan grabbed her wrist. Before he could speak, the phone rang. The car’s radio display said Incoming call from Dr. Patel, his boss. Releasing her, he put his finger in front of his lips to silently ask Nyxie not to speak while he answered it through the car’s hands-free device.
“Dr. Stryker,” Declan said in his usual curt tone when answering the phone.
“Dr. Stryker, when are you going to be here? I’ve got a trauma on her way to the OR and I wanted to know if I need to find someone else.”
Declan had already spoken to Dr. Patel about coming to work late that morning, so he knew he wasn’t being reprimanded. “I’m in the parking lot. It’ll take me about ten minutes to get changed.”
“Very good,” he said, his voice tinted with his native Indian accent. “Did your appointment go well?”
“Yes, it was mostly just signing papers and whatnot. I appreciate you being so understanding,” Declan said, shrugging at Nyxie. “I used a little bit of my extra time this morning to get married.”
“Brilliant,” he said and paused. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone. It’s not the bike accident’s sister is it?”
He smiled widely until he saw Nyxie shaking her head at him with lines formed between her eyebrows. “It is, actually.”
“You surprise me. Usually Americans are so cautious about these things. My wife and I only met twice before we were married. Our fathers were in business together. The whole thing was arranged when we were children. But now, we have been happily married for 27 years. Congratulations.”
Declan actually smiled at her, as if to say she was all wrong about what people would think.
“Thanks. I’m on my way.”
He hung up and climbed out of the Jeep, grabbing his phone and gym bag, and her overnight bag.
“We’re not finished discussing this,” he said when he had her door open.
“That’s a surprise,” she said sarcastically as she slid from the seat until her feet hit the asphalt. “I figured you had already made up my mind for me.”
That rare boyish grin that made her heart drop into her stomach, spread across his face, and he took a hold of her hand as they walked into the building. “I have, but I’ll listen to your arguments. Don’t you want to be married to me?”
It was just like him to ask it that way. He didn’t ask if she wanted to marry him. She was sure he couldn’t imagine anyone not wanting to walk down the proverbial aisle if he asked. He was handsome and rich. Who wouldn’t want that?
A million reasons why not to be married to him flashed through her mind. She felt she barely knew him. Did she want to be in a relationship where there would always be a threat of corporal punishment hanging over her head?
“I don’t know. My mother married the first pe
rson she slept with. I don’t want to repeat her mistakes. How well do we really know each other?”
“Here’s everything you need to know about me,” he said, stopping and turning to face her. “I love you and I know you love me too.” He kissed her gently, lingeringly. “I’ve got to go, baby. We will finish this conversation later.”
~*~
Before she went upstairs, Nyxie stopped by the information desk to see if they had moved Cody out of the SICU. “Yes,” the elderly volunteer said. “He was moved to a regular room on the pediatric floor. Would you like me to write down his room number?”
“Please. Now that he’s in a regular room, is he allowed to have flowers and balloons?” She didn’t ask for herself but she knew Mrs. North had asked about it.
“Yes. There is a gift shop just past the elevators if you would like to buy some.”
“Thanks.”
Nyxie dismissed the idea of going to the gift shop out of hand. She’d never waste money like that. As she stood waiting for an elevator, her eyes drifted to the glass walls of the little store. It was bright and colorful inside, filled with plants, balloons and stuffed animals. Then it occurred to her that she might be able to buy Cody something. She had extra money since Declan said he’d pay her bills. No one had told her if the money they had collected at the diner was expressly for Cody’s medical bills, but she’d set it aside with that assumption. She took a step back as the elevator emptied and filled up with new passengers, but her eyes were fixed elsewhere.
Nyxie walked toward the shop and examined the contents through the glass. After a minute of perusal and day dreaming, she sat down on a bench across the hall, and fished her little notebook out of her purse. Declan had taken her water bill and electric bill, and had promised to pay them, but Nyxie was reluctant to spend money until she knew they were paid. Besides, she knew she still had the final bills to pay, and she wasn’t working. Yes, she definitely needed to hold onto her money.
She made notations in her little book, moving the money back into the cash on hand column. When she didn’t know where to put the money from the collection, she started a new page. Would she have to pay taxes on it?
Shit.
Why did it always take ten minutes of debate to spend a few dollars? She put aside the notebook and counted the money that was not earmarked for Cody’s bills or her household expenses. Thirty-seven dollars. It would have been used for groceries, and anything remaining, would have been used to buy clothing from garage sales for school next year. She eyed the bank app on her phone as if it were a bottle of her daddy’s liquor. Eventually, she would run out of her own money and she would be forced to use the money Declan put into an account for her.
As she logged in, she made herself a promise, if there was more than $200, she’d spend up to five dollars on a balloon for Cody. If there was less or the balloon was more, Cody would have to do without.
As the login launched, she wondered if she needed to pay taxes on the money he had given her. She supposed now that they were married, she would not. Oh shit, what would that do to her tax liability. It was going to throw her into a higher bracket. Damn it. She’s already earned six months’ income, how would she come up with the money to make up the difference? Maybe he’d agree to file separately. Then it occurred to her that she would have legal custody of Lotus and Reina, and maybe even Cody. She could write them off this year. She had never even claimed Cody before because she didn’t know if she could. She just paid the taxes of a single person.
Finally, her account came up and she stared at the balance. The sum came to ten grand minus the thirty dollars she had spent on the fajitas.
Rather than calm her fears about money, it amplified them. The members of her family were all addicts. What if she became a shopaholic? How long was this money supposed to last her? With no rent or utilities to pay, she could probably make it last at least a year. Hell, she could make that much last longer than that. It would be such a temptation to break her $2 rule. She only purchased garage sale clothing if it cost $2 or less. Maybe it would be all right now if she spent $4 to $5 on special garments.
But that was the way it started, wasn’t it?
Christ. She just wanted to buy her brother a fucking balloon. It shouldn’t be this difficult.
~*~
Nyxie stood outside Cody’s room, girding herself for what she would find inside. Now that he was off the ventilator, she could get a greater sense for how severe his brain was damaged. She painted on a smile and wrangled the three balloons through the door. One boldly colored Mylar balloon with the words, “Get Well Soon,” and two latex balloons, were tied to a small weight that looked like a little shiny present. The gift shop carried a large BMX bike balloon that would have easily been her first choice for Cody a month earlier, but now she could barely look at the thing.
He was asleep when she walked in, but her movements awakened him. He grinned at her with a crooked smile that showed weakness from the brain injury on one side. But it also showed her that her little brother was still in there somewhere. He didn’t speak, but he stared up at the balloons.
“Hey, Cody! Sorry, it took so long for me to get here. It was a crazy morning.” She placed the weight on the rolling tray table so he would be able to see the balloons easily. “How do you feel?”
He lifted his right hand weakly in a seesaw motion, which appeared to have exhausted him, if the way his armed dropped back to the mattress like dead weight was any indication. She forced herself to act cheerful, as if seeing him so ill, didn’t rip out her heart.
“I bet.” She set down her overnight bag and purse, and fished out Cody’s new cell phone. “Declan bought us all cell phones. I think Lotus and Reina have sent you messages.” She clicked into his texts. “Do you want me to read them to you, or do you want to read them yourself?” she asked, holding the phone toward him. When he didn’t reach for the phone, she began reading each one in the order it came in. They were pretty much what Nyxie expected. Little greetings of:
I miss u.
R U OK?
Please txt me when u read this.
Mostly they were messages saying hi. They also sent little selfies and a couple of short videos. It broke her heart to see Lotus apologizing because she forgot to call 911, and Reina saying she was having bad dreams almost every night about the truck hitting him.
Cody fell asleep before they had finished watching the videos, and Nyxie sent off a response to each girl to let them know Cody had seen them.
During his long, frequent naps, Nyxie spent her day wading through the online parenting classes and taking tests. Good information was sprinkled in with a lot of common sense stuff. Much of it would have been helpful when Cody was little.
Chapter 3
Declan entered the pediatric wing around 9:30. It was his first break since they arrived. He stopped by the nurses’ station, and looked at Cody’s chart as he took the last few bites of a sandwich he had scrounged up. Having never seen Declan before, the nurses eyed the young doctor speculatively.
“No more seizures?” he asked the nurse who had given him the folder.
“No, doctor,” she said. “Are you a new pediatric resident?”
“Surgery, for the moment,” he answered, handing the chart back. He wanted to ask them to take extra special care of Cody, but to say so, might imply they didn’t always do their best. He thought about telling them Cody was his brother-in-law, but after the conversation with Nyxie, he wasn’t sure if she would tell her brother. “Thank you for taking care of him. He’s very special to someone special to me.”
~*~
The lights of the room were dimmed when Declan entered, and he was surprised to find Nyxie stretched out in bed with Cody. She laid with her back against the rail, taking up no more room than necessary. His IV lines had been carefully moved out of the way, and Nyxie and Cody slept holding hands. The little stuffed animal he had found while cleaning out the garage apartment was tucked under Cody’s broken arm.
The nurses wouldn’t be happy when they discovered her. Declan had mixed emotions. He knew he should be happy for her, but in truth, he felt a twinge of jealousy. He suspected she would never love him as fiercely as she loved that kid. It wasn’t as if he didn’t understand that Nyxie and Cody only had each other as children. Essentially, Nyxie was more mother to Cody than sister. A small grin came unbidden to his lip, knowing she was going to be a great mother to their children.
And he was going to be a crappy father—much like his own. Somehow, he would have to try to be more like his grandfather than like Coach.
Declan pulled his phone off his belt, snapped a picture and sent it off to each member of his new family. He cursed when both Nyxie’s and Cody’s phones chimed loudly, waking the boy.
“Hey,” he said when he saw Cody looking at him. “I’m Declan Stryker. We met briefly yesterday. Has Nyxie mentioned me?”
Cody’s lips began twitching as he fought to form words. It took him the better part of a minute to fight out a few words. “P-p-pea-nuh buh-er.”
Declan grinned widely. “Peanut butter? That’s what she told you?”
Cody returned his smile lopsidedly.
“That was a long time ago. I’m surprised you remember.”
“N-nest time,” Cody fought to say. “Don’t….”
“Forget the bread and jelly,” Nyxie finished, as if they had said that phrase many times before. “Oh, my God, Cody, you’re talking.” She turned to Declan. “He hasn’t spoken until now.” Nyxie pushed up to a seated position and yawned. “I guess I fell asleep.”
“It’s been a long day, baby.”
“Yeah.”
Declan helped her climb out of the bed, then put the rail back in place to protect her little brother. It took Nyxie another couple of minutes to say goodnight before they grabbed her overnight bag and made their way down to the bowels of the hospital.
~*~
Nyxie settled into Declan’s warm, strong arms as they lay in the same position they shared their first night together. “Why don’t you want to be married to me, baby? I know you love me.”
The Love He Craves (The Love She Craves: Selling Her Soul to Declan Book 2) Page 2
