“I thought I’d learned how to deal with the panic. But nothing I’d done prepared me for the race. I was okay until I got to the second buoy. Everyone had to turn around and go back the same way. There were swimmers everywhere, all jostling to get around the buoy without swimming too wide.” He stopped and took some deep breaths. “I panicked and started swallowing too much water. Someone’s arm connected with my head and I…” Dylan started coughing hard.
Annie stood up and grabbed the red button, pushing it quickly to get help. Within seconds the white curtain flew open and Dylan’s nurse came into the room.
“Is it the coughing?” She lifted the oxygen mask off Dylan’s face and helped him sit upright.
Annie nodded, too shocked by the sound coming from Dylan’s chest to do anything else. The nurse spoke quietly to Dylan and kept a careful eye on the monitors. It seemed to take forever, but eventually he stopped coughing.
He didn’t grumble when the nurse wiped his face and put a clean mask on him. He simply sat back in the bed and closed his eyes.
The nurse looked at the bag of clear fluid attached to a pole beside the bed. “I’ll replace his antibiotics in a few minutes.” She glanced at Dylan before coming around the bed and standing beside Annie. “The coughing should stop soon.”
Annie pulled some tissues out of a box on Dylan’s bedside table and blew her nose. “It looks exhausting.”
“It is,” the nurse agreed. “Just remember that Dylan’s in the best possible place. He won’t leave the hospital until we’re certain he’s okay.”
The curtains around Dylan’s bed opened. Logan came into the room with two take-out bags in his hand. “I thought you might be hungry. Do you want to join me in the visitor’s room?”
Annie looked back at Dylan.
“He’ll be okay,” the nurse said. “I’m only a few steps away.”
Dylan lifted his hand and waved her away. “Go. You look tired.”
Annie choked out a laugh. “You know how to make a girl feel special.”
Dylan’s mouth tilted into a lopsided smile. “I try my best. Go.”
“Come on, Annie. I bet I can make the world’s best hospital coffee.” Logan held the curtain open.
Dylan’s nurse smiled as she left the cubicle. “It comes out of a machine,” she whispered to Annie. “Take the bet. The coffee’s horrible in the visitor’s room. It’s better from the cafeteria.”
“Coffee it is, then,” Annie said to Logan. She turned back to Dylan and tried to look beyond the exhaustion on his face. “We’ll be back soon.”
“Don’t rush.” He said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
***
Annie opened the doors to the ward Dylan had been transferred to last night. She’d left the hospital not long after he’d been wheeled into his new room. He’d still looked exhausted, but his doctor seemed happy with the progress he’d made.
She stopped by the nurses’ station and introduced herself, not sure about what she needed to do to see Dylan.
“You can go straight into his room,” a nurse said. “Our visiting hours are between nine in the morning and eight-thirty at night.”
Annie smiled at the nurse, then headed further along the corridor. Dylan’s door was open. The curtain around his bed had been partially pulled to give him some privacy when all of the other visitors started arriving. She walked quietly into the room in case he was sleeping.
Dylan opened his eyes and blinked at her. “Hi.”
Annie held out the daisies she’d bought from the florist on the ground floor. “These are for you.”
A smile worked its way across Dylan’s face. “I’ve never been given flowers before.”
Annie looked at the red and orange daisies in his hand. It was better than staring at him like a love-struck teenager. “I thought they might brighten up your room.” She looked for a vase, but couldn’t see anything to put the flowers in.
“The nurses will find something,” Dylan said. He put the flowers beside him. “Where’s Logan?”
“He’s visiting some friends at the local newspaper. He’ll be here soon.”
Dylan glanced at the bag in her hands. “Have you been shopping already?”
Annie was happy to be distracted by what she’d found on her shopping expedition. “Logan took me to Walmart last night. I thought you might want some clean clothes.” She tipped the contents of the plastic bag onto the bed.
She glanced at Dylan. He didn’t seem worried that she’d bought him clothes from a budget store. “We guessed your size. I hope they look okay.”
Dylan picked up one of the t-shirts she’d bought. It was deep blue with a black design printed on the front. While Dylan looked at the t-shirt, Annie took a moment to appreciate the dark stubble on his jaw, the way his pale green hospital gown pulled across his shoulders. He looked so much better than he had yesterday.
She put a box of tissues on his bedside table. “I tried to find clothes that would be comfortable to wear. Logan said he’d get your suitcases from your hotel later on today.”
“That would be great. I think the key card to my room is in my bedside cabinet. I like the t-shirt. What do you think?” He held it in front of his chest.
“I think you’ll be the best-dressed man on the ward.”
Dylan picked up a pair of navy sweatpants and smiled. “You could be right. Thank you.”
Annie shrugged. “That’s okay. I had to buy myself some things and thought you might like some clean clothes. Logan added a bag of toiletries in case they don’t have spare toothbrushes and things in the hospital. Where’s your oxygen mask?”
“I passed the first set of tests. I don’t need it anymore.”
“That’s great. When can you go home?”
“Not today,” a voice said from behind Annie.
She turned around and watched a woman in her mid-fifties walk into the room. “I’m Doctor Shaw. Dylan will be staying with us until sometime tomorrow.” She checked the chart at the bottom of Dylan’s bed and nodded. “You’re doing fine, Dylan. We’ll have the last blood test results back from the lab in a couple of hours. If they look good, we can give you a prescription of antibiotics, rather than using the IV Line.” She flipped the chart closed, then put it at the end of the bed. “I’ll be back in another couple of hours to check on you.”
Dylan watched his doctor leave. A heaviness settled in the room, and it had nothing to do with what was happening to him.
“What’s wrong?” Annie asked.
Dylan looked down at the clothes on his bed. “I did a lot of thinking last night…about me…about us. I can’t be your friend, Annie.”
Annie didn’t know what he was talking about. “If this has got anything to do with the race, you shouldn’t let it worry you. You’re going to be okay…”
“I’m not okay, Annie, and I don’t think I will be for a long time. I know you didn’t want anything more than friendship from me, but I was hoping I could change your mind. I need to step away from us. You deserve someone you can see a future with. I’m not that person.”
“It’s too late. You’re already my friend. Just because you had a horrible flashback, it doesn’t make you incapable of being my friend.”
“It wasn’t just a horrible flashback. It’s inside me every single moment of every single day. No matter how hard I try, I can’t function like most people do. I’m not normal, Annie.”
“Who cares about normal?” Annie asked. “I was living what I thought was a normal life and it all came crashing down around me. If there was one thing I learned, it was that life is special. You have to live the best life you can and stand up for what’s important. When something doesn’t feel right, you go with what does. We feel right. I like spending time with you.”
Dylan shook his head. “This isn’t about you. I can’t live my life always worried about hurting someone close to me. I can’t spend time with you.”
The curtain around Dylan’s bed flicked open and Logan stood in
side the room with a wide smile on his face. He looked between Dylan and Annie and his smile disappeared. “What’s wrong?”
Annie bit her bottom lip and tried not to cry. “Nothing. I’ve got to go.” She walked past Logan.
“But I brought donuts.” Logan held a bag in the air. “Chocolate cream and raspberry jelly.”
Annie shook her head. “I’ll meet you at the hotel. Send me a text when you’ve finished here.”
“What about Dylan’s mom? She’ll want to meet you.” Logan left the bag of donuts on the table at the end of Dylan’s bed and stared at Annie.
“I can meet her another time.” Her voice wobbled, so she did the only thing she could do. She left quickly, striding past the nurses’ station and out into the corridor before Logan said another word.
She was emotional and tired, and all of the things that would reduce her to a quivering wreck if she didn’t leave. Dylan hadn’t been the only one thinking about the past.
Being in the hospital had cracked open every emotion she’d felt when Ruby died. Dylan was pigheaded and selfish if he thought he was the only person who had a closet full of issues to deal with. She might not have fought in Afghanistan or survived the cruelest treatment a person could inflict on another human being, but she’d been fighting her own demons. She’d had to come to terms with her daughter’s death, learn to forgive her ex-husband and move on with her life. That wasn’t something that happened quickly or easily.
She pushed the button on the elevator and waited. If Dylan didn’t want anything to do with her, then she couldn’t do anything about it. She had no idea what that meant for opening her own business, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t be good. She couldn’t afford to lease the kitchen in Dylan’s warehouse if he put the rent up. And without the kitchen, she didn’t have a business.
If Annie had felt bad when she’d left Dylan’s room, she felt devastated now. Their friendship was in tatters along with her dream. Life couldn’t get much worse.
Or so she thought.
Chapter Eleven
Annie stared at the boxes of food on her kitchen counter. She looked at the list in her hand and headed across to the fridge. It had been three days since she’d last seen Dylan.
Molly would be arriving soon. They were going to a friend’s house to photograph the meals for Annie’s business, the business she didn’t know if she’d be starting. It would have made sense to check with Dylan, confirm if she could still lease the kitchen in his warehouse. That would have been the sensible, mature thing to do. But that relied on talking to Dylan, and she hadn’t wanted to do that yet.
Tess had told her he’d come back to Bozeman two days ago. They’d decided to leave his kittens with Tess, rather than move them again when Annie got home. Logan had told Dylan where his kittens were, so there’d been no reason for him to go out of his way and talk to Annie. It was a clean and simple break. It shouldn’t have been a big deal. He’d moved on, decided he didn’t want her in his life.
She could deal with rejection. It was part of life. She could turn what happened into a positive learning experience and never look back. And if she really believed that, she might as well add that pigs could fly.
Annie closed the fridge and packed bunches of rosemary and parsley on top of some white dinner plates. Molly had originally wanted to photograph the food for Annie’s publicity shots in Dylan’s kitchen. That wouldn’t be happening, so they’d found a good alternative. Jackie, a friend of Molly’s, had a kitchen with lots of natural light coming through the floor to ceiling windows. Pale gray marble counters and beautiful off-white cupboards would add a touch of glamor to the photos.
“Are you ready?”
Annie jumped. Molly was standing in the living room, staring at her with a worried look in her eyes. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“You were daydreaming. I hope they were good thoughts?”
Annie picked up the box of plates and herbs. “I’ve had better. Is your car unlocked?”
“It is. Your box can go on the back seat.”
They worked quickly, moving all of the boxes from the kitchen to Molly’s car. They’d carefully thought about what they’d need to take with them to make the photos look amazing. Molly had raided the props her sister used in her florist store. Extra vases, fairy lights, candelabras and candles in all shapes and sizes had been carefully packed.
Annie had prepared all of the meals in her own kitchen. It wasn’t ideal, but it had worked. She’d left all of the sauces and garnishes off the dishes, kept everything in separate bowls, ready to arrange on plates when they got to Jackie’s kitchen. These photos were important. They’d sell her business, make customers want to eat her meals.
“Where’s your camera gear?” Annie asked.
“It’s set up and ready to go. All we have to do is stage the photos.”
“It was good of Jackie to let us use her kitchen.”
Molly nodded and reversed out of the driveway. Annie’s neighbor, Mrs. MacNamara, was in her garden, fussing with the plants that always looked so perfect. She wound her window down and waved at her elderly friend.
As drove toward Jackie’s home, Molly carefully negotiated traffic lights and corners just in case the fragile cargo in her car fell everywhere.
Annie felt some of the tension in her shoulders disappear. It was such a great afternoon. The sun was shining and the streets were relatively quiet. After the chaos in her kitchen, she was going to make the most of the drive.
Molly turned down Sourdough Road. Annie looked at the street signs and frowned. “I thought Jackie lived a few more streets east of here?”
“She does. There’s been a change of plans.” Molly kept her gaze on the road. “Jackie had a house emergency, so I had to find another kitchen.”
“Is everything okay?”
“It will be, but in the meantime we’re going back to plan A.”
Annie hadn’t known they were on plan B. “What do you mean?”
“We’re going to use Dylan’s kitchen.”
Annie felt as though someone had zapped her with a stun gun. “No, we’re not. Dylan and I aren’t talking to each other. If he doesn’t want me in his life, he won’t want me in his kitchen. I thought you preferred Jackie’s home?”
“I was being a kind and considerate friend. Tess told me what happened in Boulder. I didn’t think you’d be happy using Dylan’s home as our photo location, so I asked Jackie if we could use hers.”
“And now we can’t. Does Dylan know we’re using his kitchen?”
“I called him as soon as I heard from Jackie. He doesn’t mind us being there.”
Annie crossed her arms in front of her chest. “You bribed him, didn’t you?”
“I did nothing of the sort.” Molly glanced at Annie before looking back at the road. “I might have given him a good deal on some publicity photos for his warehouse, though.”
“He doesn’t want me near him.”
“He told me where his spare key is kept, so he can’t be that worried. Besides, I don’t think he’s going to be home until much later. He said something about a doctor’s appointment.”
“Is he all right?”
“I suppose so.” Molly pointed to the entrance of Montana State University. “If we targeted some of your advertising budget on the staff and students, you could end up with more customers than you want.”
“I’m not sure about the students, but the staff are a good idea. Has Logan said anything about Dylan?”
“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Tess.”
Annie wouldn’t be doing that. Tess had enough on her mind without adding Annie’s issues to the drama in her life. As they drove closer to Dylan’s home, Annie didn’t know what to do. They had a car full of food and all of the paraphernalia that went into making a photo shoot successful. She needed images for her posters, menu, flyers and website. If they didn’t take the photos today, it could be another week before everything came together.
She c
ould go into Dylan’s home, help set up the photos, then leave Molly to do her job. Or she could stay and risk bumping into Dylan. Except Dylan didn’t like bumping into anyone, especially someone that scared the living daylights out of him.
Molly glanced across at Annie. “You’re awfully quiet.”
“I’m not sure using Dylan’s home is a good idea.”
“Bozeman’s a small town. You’re going to have to get used to the possibility that you’ll see him sometime.”
“I’m happy with sometime,” Annie sighed. “It’s just today that’s the problem.”
“He might not even be there.” Molly’s reasonable tone was more annoying than comforting. “It shouldn’t take me more than two hours to take the photos. Dylan didn’t think he’d be home until after six-thirty, so we’re fine.”
Annie looked down at her watch. Dylan’s kitchen was lovely, and depending on how many boxes he still had to unpack, it would look so much better than the poky little kitchen in her apartment.
The only good thing about using Dylan’s home were the kittens. At least Blinky, Boxer, and Boots would be happy to see her. “Okay, Dylan’s home it is.”
“Wise decision,” Molly said with a smile. “It’s going to be fine, just wait and see.”
Annie hoped so. Otherwise, she’d have more than a bruised heart to deal with.
***
Dylan opened the door to Pastor Steven’s home and listened to the noise coming from the living room. It sounded as though a party was going on. Jeremy’s voice boomed across the top of some awful music, cutting through the quiet Saturday afternoon that the rest of the neighborhood was enjoying. Dylan wasn’t sure what was going on, but it definitely wasn’t anything therapeutic like eating.
He walked toward the noise and only just managed to avoid a skateboard flying through the air. Within seconds, a pair of jean-clad legs landed on the floor, blocking the entrance to the room and giving Dylan something to smile about. When more body parts didn’t appear, he moved forward and stared at the idiot lying on the ground.
“What are you doing down there?”
Loving You (The Bridesmaids Club Book 2) Page 21
