by Amber Lynn
“It probably would’ve been smart of us to warn you I was coming along, but everything has been moving so fast today that it must have slipped our minds. Do you think it’s possible for Lisa to look in on her dad really quick? We’ve got Pepe in the car and we’d like to get him dropped off at your place before we settle in here with you folks.”
Lisa hadn’t caught sight of her brothers and sisters, but she assumed they were in some waiting room. She did want to see with her own eyes that everything was okay, but she could live with her mother’s word that things were looking better.
“You brought the dog, too? You guys are here a lot sooner than I expected and it seems like you had to get a lot of things together to make that happen. Do you have a private jet or something?”
Ryan looked like he could be a movie star or something, but Lisa didn’t think that meant it was obvious he made a lot of money. She glanced over at Ryan, curious if he’d added some gold chains with giant dollar signs to his attire. Of course he hadn’t, and nothing about the clothes he’d put on that morning to walk Pepe screamed money.
A small smile appeared on Ryan’s face as he explained. “Since I travel a lot, I just have a good relationship with certain airlines and can usually get squeezed in when I need to be.”
It was clear her mom was going to ask more questions, so Lisa stepped in to stop the inquisition before it started. Eventually she was going to have to give her some answers, but it wasn’t really the time or place for it.
“If he feels like it, Ryan can explain why he’s racked up so many frequent flier miles while I’m in with Dad. If you think that’s possible.” Lisa felt slightly like she was leaving Ryan to the wolves, but he seemed to be a big boy, more than capable of taking care of himself.
Her mother nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off of Ryan. “He’s asleep, and is supposed to stay that way for a while, but I think we can get you in to see him.”
Lisa didn’t plan on waking him up. Just looking through a window to verify he was breathing was all she wanted to do. When it came down to what the doctors would allow, that was about all she got. Seeing the strong man who had been such a big part of her life with monitors around him and tubes coming out of him wasn’t easy, but the gentle lift of his chest made Lisa think that he’d live to fight another day.
Chapter Eleven
Ryan knew showing up would lead to lots of questions. He didn’t want to take away from the weight of the situation, but at the same time it probably wasn’t a bad thing he could get everyone’s mind on something else. Lisa was guided away from him as soon as they made it to the waiting room where the rest of her family waited.
Having her out of his sight made Ryan a little uneasy, but he needed to get used to the anxiety. They’d both said they loved the other one, but the situation wasn’t the best to open up about feelings. Lisa didn’t seem to be overwhelmed by how fast things were moving between them, which made Ryan wonder how much she understood about his feelings.
After Lisa had been led by a nurse down a hallway, Ryan had the enjoyable task of being stared at by fourteen sets of eyes. It was easy to pick out the four sets that belonged to Lisa’s brothers and sisters. None of them really looked a thing like Lisa, but their eyes seemed to all be the same shade of brown as hers. Ryan wasn’t expecting them to all have blond hair. For some reason he thought they’d share the same general characteristic of eye and hair color as Lisa.
“What’s he doing here?” one of Lisa’s brothers asked. He looked slightly older than the other one in the tight group of siblings sitting on a couch, so Ryan assumed he was the soon-to-be doctor, Justin.
The lawyer was about two years younger, if Ryan remembered right. The sisters were even younger, and it was easy to tell which one of them was still hanging out around home. None of them looked extremely pleased to see him.
“I’m going to have to let him explain that, because I didn’t get great details, other than his name’s Ryan.”
“Ryan Gulliver, if you want to be specific. It’s nice to finally meet you guys.” It was odd to use the word finally, since he’d only known they existed for less than a day. With everything Lisa had shared about them, he did feel like finally was appropriate.
The people in the room all kind of looked at each other, like they were trying to figure out if anyone had a clue who he was and why he was intruding on their private moment. Ryan was still sizing everyone up, so he didn’t bother jumping in to explain immediately.
Lisa’s brothers were both pretty big, but they looked like the kind of guys who got that way from working on the farm, and not spending hours a week at the gym, like he did. Knowing their professions, Ryan didn’t get the feeling they liked to get their hands dirty, so he probably wouldn’t have to prove he only wanted what was best for Lisa, at least not with his fists.
“Is that name supposed to mean something to us? Because it doesn’t.” The brother who seemed to do the talking for the group said. “He came with Lisa?” The question was directed at Jean.
Ryan didn’t miss the skeptical look in both of the sisters’ eyes. Both of the women were smaller than Lisa, which surprised Ryan because he thought Lisa’s healthiness came from growing up on a farm. Her sisters looked more like sticks than women Ryan pictured growing up working on a farm. He was using some weird stereotypes for his judgment, but after being around Lisa, he pictured her when he thought of a farm girl.
“You’re Justin, right?” Ryan asked. The brother in question looked surprised that he’d guessed right. “And you’re Henry, Melanie and Olive.”
The surprise looks spread as he matched the names with faces. He felt better about catching them off guard than he should have. He wanted to be there for Lisa, but he also wanted to meet the people who gave her crap for trying to chase her dreams.
“So you know who we are. That still doesn’t explain who you are.” Justin was getting a bit more disgruntled.
“Calm down, Justin. I’m sure he’ll get to that.” Jean stepped forward and a little in front of Ryan, like she’d be able to protect him from some onslaught.
Ryan was almost a foot taller than her and twice as wide. The only thing Jean could save him from was an overly excited puppy that was looking for someone to kiss.
“I’m Lisa’s boyfriend. I thought that was pretty obvious, but sometimes the obvious thing isn’t the first to come to mind.”
“You’re Lisa’s boyfriend?” The question came from Olive, who looked almost like she’d just taken a bite out of a lemon based on how pursed her lips were.
The look didn’t improve the sour look that had been on her face from the moment he walked in the room. Unlike her sister, the youngest Barnes child had long blond hair, which was curled delicately around her face. When he first saw her, Ryan immediately had the sorority sister label fire off in his head.
“Yeah. She was at my apartment when she got the call earlier today.” Saying that made Ryan smile, because a sense of pride welled up inside of him. It was weird that simply talking about Lisa being in his apartment made him happy.
“You’re Lisa’s boyfriend?”
It was like Ryan hadn’t said a word. Olive clearly couldn’t get her mind wrapped around the fact that Lisa had a boyfriend. Lisa had mentioned she’d only brought boyfriends home when she was in high school, and there was only two of them. No one since then had been serious enough to even mention, so chances were it’d been close to a decade since anyone in her family heard she was seeing someone.
“That’s what I said. I’m sure she’ll be back soon enough to back me up.” It would’ve been easier if they were in a room together and they could see how he looked at Lisa. He hadn’t seen the expression himself, but Dylan had mildly teased him about it after they left the diner.
“What exactly do you do for a living?” Henry asked, moving on to questions Ryan expected.
“Currently, I play hockey.” Ryan could’ve expounded on that, but he didn’t feel the need in the current envi
ronment.
“Professionally?” Melanie asked. She didn’t sound any more enthused than the other siblings. At least Ryan could say he’d heard all their voices, none of which matched the accent Lisa had admitted was fake.
“Yes, professionally. I’ve been playing for about eight years. Well, technically I’ve been playing since before I can remember, but I’ve been getting paid to do it for eight years.”
Jean was still a little in front of Ryan. She’d already assumed he had money with her personal jet comment, so the look of surprise on her face when she turned around for a second wasn’t expected.
“You’re an athlete.” Her words weren’t really a question, just a statement. She didn’t wait for him to answer before she faced her family. Evidently their reactions were more important than reading him.
“I’m starting to think hearing problems run in your family. I haven’t noticed Lisa having any issues, but I guess I’ll have to keep it in mind.”
Jean didn’t shake the surprise from her face as she turned around to face Ryan fully. “You’ll have to excuse us. We weren’t aware Lisa was dating anyone, let alone someone famous. We don’t get a lot of celebrities stopping by for a visit.”
Ryan smiled and shook his head. “I wouldn’t call me a celebrity. You guys didn’t have a clue who I was, so it’s not like I’m well-known.”
“We don’t exactly live in a hockey town here.” The way Jean said it made it seem like that was obvious. “You could be the best player out there and we wouldn’t know.”
“I can assure you I’m not the best. I make do, though.”
“And you’re really Lisa’s boyfriend?” Olive seemed to be stuck on that question.
“He is,” Lisa said coming up from behind Ryan and wrapping her arms around his waist.
Ryan ignored the fact that there were other people in the room and turned around to see Lisa. He knew she needed to get all the tears out earlier in the day, but he really hoped it’d be awhile before he had to see tears streaming down her face.
He was happy to see there weren’t tears. There was a bit of sadness he picked up through the smile she had plastered on her face, but seeing her dad had caused a world of improvement.
“You feeling better?” Ryan had already noticed she was, but it didn’t hurt to get verbal confirmation.
“I am. Thank you again for getting me here. You’ve been great today.”
Ryan smiled as he leaned down to kiss Lisa’s forehead and stroked her hair. “Anytime you need me, I’ll be there for you. Are you ready to go get Pepe settled? I’m sure your family would love to sit around and catch up for a little bit, but we shouldn’t leave him out there too much longer.”
The carrier Pepe was in seemed secure, but Ryan was worried the dog would somehow break out of it. He wasn’t the happiest camper when he was put it in. He hadn’t yipped or anything, but Ryan saw the look in his eyes that seemed to say someone was going to pay for the injustice.
“You might want to try a little harder to hide your sarcasm,” Lisa whispered. Chances were the others in the room could hear her, and it wasn’t like Ryan hadn’t made a point to be as sarcastic as possible when he mentioned catching up.
Lisa wanted to be there for her family, but she really didn’t want be there for all the questions. Only spending a few minutes with the others made Ryan understand why that was. He didn’t have to grow up with the feeling like he wasn’t as good as everyone else, and it pissed him off that she had.
They’d made it pretty clear they couldn’t believe the two of them were dating. It made him wish he had a ring he could put on Lisa’s finger just to reiterate the fact he was serious about them.
“I’ll see what I can do. So, are we heading to the farm, or should we start looking for a hotel to stay in?”
Ryan preferred the hotel option. Hotels generally frowned upon leaving a dog in the room, but they could get lucky and find one that had a pet sitter on the premises. Ryan had never had to use one, but he’d booked enough rooms that he’d seen the amenity listed.
“You’ll be staying at the farm, of course,” Jean was quick to answer. “We have a pretty full house with everyone back home, but I’m sure one of the couches will be free.”
Ryan rolled his eyes, hoping the offer was just a mother not wanting her daughter to sleep with her boyfriend under her roof. He’d been chased off by a few daddies with shotguns in his youth, but it’d been a long time since he had to deal with parents trying to protect their daughters.
“Last I checked, my bed was big enough for both of us. It won’t be the first time we’ve shared a bed, and I’m not letting Ryan get a crick in his neck from sleeping on a couch.” Ryan heard determination in Lisa’s voice. He wouldn’t think to question what she said, but her family evidently didn’t hear the same thing he did.
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” her sister Olive started.
“You don’t get to make choices when it comes to my life,” Lisa replied before she could finish. “If there’s an issue with Ryan staying with me, then we’ll see about finding a hotel room that doesn’t have a problem with two adults sharing a bed.”
Lisa looked exhausted and the instant arguing with her family wasn’t helping. There was no reason things needed to be complicated. He would’ve been fine sleeping on the couch, but there was the principle of it all that he understood.
“I just didn’t want things to be awkward. If you’re both okay with staying in the same room, then that’s fine by me.” Ryan wasn’t facing into the room, so he couldn’t see how sincere Jean was being about her peace deal.
“Let’s go get Pepe settled and get you something to eat,” Ryan suggested.
They hadn’t eaten since he’d forced some breakfast in Lisa at the airport. Along with being exhausted from her day, she had to be starving. He didn’t figure she’d be up for taking a nap, but he may be able to convince her to get a burger somewhere.
“I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to eat, but I’m sure Pepe could use a snack and a long break outside of his kennel.” Lisa still wasn’t smiling with the joy he’d watched the previous night. She was trying, and the other people in the room may have actually believed it, but Ryan knew better.
“Then I’ll have to find something you just can’t say no to eating,” Ryan said as he surprised Lisa by picking her up and spinning around so he could face her family. “I know how important it is to Lisa to be here when her dad wakes up, so I’ll try to get her back within an hour.”
The farm they were driving out to was around twenty minutes away, so they were going to need to have a quick dinner. Ryan would’ve preferred being able to say they’d be back in the morning, but if everyone else was going to be camped out there for a while, Lisa needed to be too.
“You can take your time,” Jean said. “The doctors said he probably wouldn’t wake up again tonight.”
“But they think he’s going to wake up again, right? I mean, you said he woke up, but he looked so pale when I saw him.”
Ryan gathered Lisa closer to him as she spoke. She was scared, and people seemed more interested in him than they were filling her in on what was going on.
“I’m sorry, sweetie.” The words from Jean sounded sincere. “I know we haven’t had much time to explain what the doctor said, but they really did sound positive. They said he wouldn’t need to have surgery, but he’ll need to change his diet and his daily chores are pretty much over. He won’t like it, but he really doesn’t have a say.”
“How long do they think he’ll be here?” Lisa asked.
It was a good question. Ryan had been given a week off, which was pretty generous for the club. He’d miss two games, ones that there were only fifty-fifty chances he’d play anyway. Lisa hadn’t requested a specific amount of time off, but she seemed to think there wasn’t a huge problem with a prolonged absence.
“It’s still a little early to tell. We’ll know more tomorrow after they doctors observe him a littl
e more,” Jean said.
Ryan got the feeling they were going back and forth as far as whether things were okay. What he was hearing was that no one really knew. It was good news that he’d woken up, but what came next was an unknown. They had someone who was practically a doctor sitting right there with them. One would’ve thought he’d share a little of his insight.
“We’re going to take Mom home to rest here soon, so you might as well stay there. She needs to get some sleep, even if we have to take her kicking and screaming.” Justin sounded certain they’d be able to accomplish the task.
The look Jean gave him made it clear there was going to be a lot of kicking and screaming involved. Ryan was thankful they had Pepe to think about so he didn’t have to drag Lisa out of there.
“Okay. If you guys get there before we leave, maybe we’ll stay in for the night.” Lisa didn’t sound too sure about that, but it was enough of an ender to the conversation that they said their goodbyes and headed back to the car.
Ryan hadn’t been paying close attention to the time, but they’d been in the hospital for over thirty minutes. Pepe was not going to be happy, and Ryan was already thinking of ways to make it up to him. The poor little guy had been a trooper all day.
“I’m sorry you had to deal with them on your own. I figured they’d be bad, but they seemed a little worse than usual.”
Ryan had just settled Lisa into her seat and was helping her get buckled in. She was coherent, but the daze-like motions she seemed to be doing let Ryan know how tired she was. He hoped the rest of the family was quick to follow behind them, because he really didn’t want to see how far Lisa could push herself.
“Don’t worry about me. I can deal with obnoxious relatives. I can’t promise I won’t hit one of your brothers if they say something out of line, though. I’m hoping it’s the doctor, because I’ve heard it isn’t a good idea to punch a lawyer.”
Ryan was trying to make a joke, and the small chuckle that escaped Lisa’s lips told him that was how she took it. In reality, there were definitely things they could say that would get Ryan swinging his fists, but he hoped they were smart enough not to say anything bad about their sister to him.
