by Rylon, Jayne
Holly’s heart cramped at that. Both that Trent felt guilty for what had happened, and also that her poor mom had spent the day after her surgery sedated and alone because Holly had been too stubborn to let someone walk her home after her argument with Trent.
No more of that dumb shit. They were going to have to face their issues head on if they had any chance of figuring out how to build a relationship that would last. After the past two nights, the endless reflecting she’d done while stuffed in that godforsaken trunk, and the coming together they’d shared before and after, she was certain that’s what she wanted.
“I’ll tell her, but I already know she’s going to say there’s nothing to forgive. Now me, well…she’ll probably ground me until I’m forty-two.” All three guys laughed. “Go on.”
Holly shooed him out the door, then peeked through the sidelight to watch him get in a car with one of the security team—she thought she’d heard someone call him JRad—and pull away from the curb.
“Come on. Let me make you some breakfast.” Lorenzo led her into the kitchen. While he busied himself getting eggs from the fridge, she toasted bread, and Owen doled out Moose’s kibble. It felt nice to fit in, to be part of a team instead of the sole person responsible for everything. Holly hated to admit it, but she’d been exhausted, and hadn’t even realized how badly.
Things were easy here, with the guys, even if they were complex.
They didn’t talk too much as they refueled, each lost in their own thoughts. But when she rose to put her plate in the dishwasher even as Owen scrubbed the pan and Lorenzo put the condiments back in the fridge, Owen asked, “You want to go see your mom?”
“Can I?” Holly had assumed the hospital was off limits while she was on lockdown. Hearing her mother’s voice would be so much better if it wasn’t on the phone call she’d been planning to make a moment after the transplant ward opened and in person instead.
“If you’ll agree to take us with you, I’ll check with the super cop outside.” Lorenzo jerked his thumb over his shoulder to where “not-agent” Lucas had taken up his post and refused to come inside. He was intense.
“Deal.” Holly grinned.
A few minutes later, Lorenzo came back inside and pointed to himself while he shook his hips in a way that made it kind of difficult to concentrate on what he was saying. “Who’s your favorite boyfriend?”
“Seriously? We can go?” She jogged over and flung her arms around him, laying a kiss on his lush lips. She had to rise onto her tiptoes to do it and his wide shoulders made sure her arms didn’t overlap much across his back. With him and Owen, she’d feel secure enough. “Thank you.”
“Damn, if I’d known it would get me a hug like that, I’d have braved the super-cop myself.” Owen’s wry smile still held a hint of uncertainty.
So she pried herself from Lorenzo’s grip, which had encircled her waist, and turned to Owen. “You don’t have to do anything to earn my affection. You already have it, you know?”
He didn’t respond, but she didn’t wait for an answer either. Holly smothered him with a tight embrace, then laid a loud, smacking kiss on his lips.
“Now, I’m going to get dressed. I need some concealer and a long-sleeved shirt. Maybe that will be enough to fool my mom into thinking everything is fine.”
“Don’t count on it.” Lorenzo grumbled.
“Yeah, not likely, but…gotta try.” Holly winced as she headed for her room and pulled on fresh clothes, then spiffed herself up as well as she could. Not too much, because that would be obvious. But at least she braided her hair and slapped on some lip gloss.
When she emerged, the guys had also changed and milled around near the door. Owen looked up, his gaze hanging on her.
“What?” She glanced down at herself.
“Just wishing Lorenzo hadn’t been so persuasive when he talked to our babysitters.” Owen turned away from her as if ashamed to let her see how much he wanted her.
“The doctor already warned us before surgery that her visiting hours would be limited during recovery. If we go now, we’ll be home soon enough.” She winked at him as she put on her shoes.
Owen laughed, but she had been serious. Would he want to do something about the desire smoldering between them? Or would he insist on waiting for Trent? She looked to Lorenzo, who frowned, then shrugged.
But she couldn’t worry about it then, because she really needed to see her mom and follow up with the doctors. Sure, she’d called for updates several times over the past twelve hours since she’d returned, but it wasn’t the same as seeing her mother, hugging her, and getting her ass chewed out to make her sure the woman was okay.
“Let’s go.” Owen opened the door, then stepped cautiously outside.
Lucas relaxed his bulldog stance and said, “There’s a taxi waiting at the curb. I’m going to follow you in our van with all our equipment and stay right outside the hospital entrance. Maybe whoever nabbed Holly will be dumb enough to try it again. If they do, don’t worry. We’ve got you.”
He pressed plastic fobs that looked like garage door openers into their hands.
“A panic button?” Holly wished she’d had one of those the other day.
Lucas nodded. “Push it if you suspect anything, however tiny, is off.”
“I will.” There was no way in hell she was getting separated from Owen and Lorenzo again. She wasn’t foolish enough to assume she’d manage to escape twice.
“Go ahead. I’ll be right behind you.” Lucas strode to his van with only the barest of detectable limps and climbed inside as Owen and Lorenzo sandwiched her in the taxi.
On the way, Owen made small talk with the driver while Lorenzo brushed his thumb over her hand. And when they arrived, Owen paid the man, telling him to keep the change.
“That was nice of you,” she said to him when they were heading for the hospital’s revolving door.
“Yeah, well, I know how it is to depend on tips. Some people gotta make up for the rest, you know?”
Holly nodded. Owen wasn’t wealthy like Trent, far from it. She suspected his struggles made hers look tame, and yet he was more generous than people who had a hundred times as much. As if he could read her mind, he reopened his wallet, which he still had in hand.
Focused on seeing her mom and getting an update on her condition, Holly didn’t notice the man curled up on the bench beside the door until Owen stopped short, and she nearly collided with him.
He fished out a few bucks and tucked them into the Styrofoam cup clutched in the sleeping man’s hand. The guy wasn’t awake to ask for money, but Owen gave it to him anyway.
Her heart twitched.
Lorenzo paused, holding the door open, and smiled sadly when he saw what his friend had done. She was going to have to ask what was up with that. Later. After they’d made sure her mom was okay.
Entering the hospital took her breath away, and not because of the astringent odor lingering in the air, stinging her lungs yet somehow failing to make her feel clean. Everything that had happened in the past few weeks felt like a bizarre dream. One she was afraid to wake from, where her mom got the kidney she’d so desperately needed, and Holly had found something equally as valuable in the form of not only one but three life partners.
Things were so different—this future had been inconceivable to her. But now that she had stepped into this world, she would fight to keep from slipping back into her old existence.
They were quiet as they rode the elevator up to the transplant ward. Holly gripped Owen and Lorenzo’s hands tighter as they approached her mother’s room, afraid of what they might find within it. As soon as she poked her head inside, her mother wagged her finger and shrieked, “Holly Hendricks, what the hell did you get yourself into?”
Holly burst out laughing. She rushed to her mom and tried to ignore the tubes and machines so they could hug each other. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“I could say the same.” Her mom glowered. “Don’t go scaring me like
that ever again.”
“Sorry. Believe me, I didn’t intend to.” Holly wasn’t sure how much her mother had been told, but she didn’t want to worry her with the full story if she didn’t have to.
“I will admit, waking up to find you missing was one way to take my mind off the surgery.” Mom lost a bit of her energy then, so Holly helped her to lie back. “When I’m more with it, you’ll tell me every last detail. I mean it.”
“Yes, Mom.” Holly’s eyes filled with tears. They weren’t entirely out of the woods yet, but this was progress. “You look good. Your color is so much better already.”
“I feel ten years younger.” Her mom smiled and squeezed her hand. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. It’s because of you that I made it this far and that I had this chance at all. You and your boyfriend, of course. I owe you both more than I could ever repay.”
Holly’s weepiness only increased at the mention of him. She sniffled and so did her mom, who didn’t know the half of what he’d done for them yet.
“Where is Trent?” her mother asked, her eyes narrowing as if she could spy the answers to her question, and those she hadn’t yet probed about, in Holly’s expression.
“The police needed to speak with him.” She sighed.
“So he’s not off licking his wounds because he thinks he got you in trouble or some dumb male crap like that?” Mom was going to be back to her old self in no time at all.
Holly snorted. “Nah, we’re past that stage. That was yesterday’s drama.”
Owen and Lorenzo chuckled in the background, making her grin even as her cheeks heated.
“Good.” Her mother huffed. “He’s too good for you to let him screw it up.”
“You think so?” Holly glanced down at her mom’s hand and the tubes pumping medicine into her bruised skin. They were each damaged in some way. Could it be possible that she and Trent could heal each other? Or for that matter, that she could do the same for Owen and Lorenzo?
Her mother had no idea how tricky and delicate things were at the moment.
“I told you to chase him down after dinner the other night, didn’t I?”
“Yeah. That feels like three years ago.” Holly suddenly felt drained. Owen slid the chair from the window near to her and she sank onto it with a small smile over her shoulder at him.
“An awful lot has happened since then.” Mom beamed up at Owen and Lorenzo before reaching out to lift Holly’s chin. “Daughter, I know you better than anyone. Or at least I used to…”
She cleared her throat. Lorenzo poured some water from the bedside table into a paper cup and passed it over. Holly helped her mom guide it to her lips to drink.
When she’d finished, she said, “Things are changing for us both. For the better. I’m not saying I’m an expert on stuff like this, but I want you to know that I love you unconditionally, no matter where we go from here or who ends up walking by your side. Whether that’s Trent, or someone else, or more than only him… So long as you’re happy and treated right, I support you. You know that, right?”
At that, Holly turned to check out the guys’ reaction to Mom’s approval. Lorenzo had his hand on Owen’s shoulder, gripping hard. Owen was frozen, as if he might crumble if he so much as breathed.
“I do, but it’s nice to hear it anyway.” Holly felt lighter than she had in…well, years.
Lorenzo spoke up then. “No one knows what the future will bring, but I can promise you this: I respect your daughter and I plan to do my best to take care of her for as long as she’ll let me.”
“Me too,” Owen choked out.
Mom stared at them both, but Lorenzo didn’t so much as shift where he stood. Finally, she nodded slightly. “Perfect. I’m not going to be around for a while. I’m glad to know she has someone to lean on when I’m not there.”
“I thought I was coming here today to make you feel better,” Holly figured her mother would always one-up her when it came to that. That’s what moms like hers did best.
She was damn lucky.
“I do feel better. Much.” Her mom sighed. “I think I might even be able to take a proper nap now, if you don’t mind.”
Holly wasn’t really ready to go, but she didn’t want to inhibit her mom’s healing any more than she already had by stressing her out the day before. “Okay. I’ll come back as soon as I’m allowed.”
“Good.” Her mom peeked at Owen from below drooping lids. “You can breathe. It’s okay.”
“Sorry. I’m not used to this.” Owen unclenched his hand, which had fisted in his jeans, finger by finger. “Talking about feelings and…having someone accept you no matter what.”
“Well, you better get used to it, son. I appreciate you looking out for my daughter, but you’re safe with her too. With us.” Holly’s mom grinned. “And you’d better prepare yourself for when I’m out of this damn bed. Because I’m a hugger, too.”
He blinked, looking so startled that Lorenzo and Holly couldn’t swallow their laughter. She imagined her mom cossetting Owen and smothering him in affection until he relaxed enough to let her see the man Holly had gotten glimpses of in the past month of living with him.
“I’ve got you covered, Mom.” She rose and flung her arms around Owen, holding him tight. Quiet and steady, he’d always projected an illusion of calm strength. Who could have known he’d didn’t understand how to show any other part of himself? From now on, Holly was going to make it her mission to teach him how. And to be worthy of his trust.
“That’s my girl. Now, next time you come see me, make sure you bring Trent in case I need to talk some sense into him too.” Her mom rolled her eyes. Then she rested her head on her pillow and closed them, a smile still lingering on her face.
“Rest, Mom. And get well.”
“I’m going to try my damnedest. This place ain’t cheap and they’re talking about a rehab facility. I bet I can skip that if I learn to do their exercises or whatever on my own.” Mom’s smile vanished as the reality of her future care needs sank in.
“No need to rush it.” Holly cleared her throat. “I’ve got you covered. Trent made sure of it, okay?”
“He what?” Her mom blinked a few times.
Holly nodded, “It’s true. There’s absolutely nothing for you to worry about except healing up. I can’t wait for you to go home and start living the life you should have had before.”
“Well, that makes two of us. You get started on yours and I’ll catch up. I love you more than anything, Holly.”
“I love you too, Mom.”
“Tell Trent I’m going to cook him an even better celebration dinner when we’re on the other side of all this.”
“His favorite is feijoada,” Lorenzo said with a wicked grin.
Owen barked out a laugh. “Uh, no. That’s your favorite.”
Lorenzo shrugged. “He already got one meal and messed it up. My turn.”
“I’ll let you take turns choosing the menu if you share your mother’s recipes with me. We’re going to need a bigger table, though.” Mom beamed. “Now get out of here and do something fun.”
“You heard the lady,” Owen murmured with an uncharacteristic easy smile that set Holly on fire. When they finished their goodbyes and got in the elevator, he punched the button for the level that housed the cafeteria.
“The taxi the security guys arranged is meeting us on the ground floor,” Lorenzo pressed that one too.
“I know. Mind if we make a quick stop first?” Owen asked them.
“Are you hungry?” Holly squeezed his hand. “My mom has taught me a thing or two. I can cook for us when we get home if you want. I’m still making up for missing a few meals myself.”
He grinned at her. “I’ll get something to hold us over. But yeah, I’ll take you up on that.”
Lorenzo linked his fingers with Holly’s, then drew her aside when they got off the elevator. He nodded to Owen. “Go ahead. We’ll wait for you here.”
It wasn’t long before he retu
rned with two paper bags. He handed Holly one and kept the other. They piled back into the elevator as she opened it up and found her favorite chips and an apple.
“What’d you get?” she asked as they crossed the lobby and into the afternoon air.
“Nothing.” He shrugged, then gave his bag to the man they’d passed on the way in, who’d woken from his nap. “Lunch is on me, buddy.”
“Thanks, man. I’m starving.” The guy peeked inside and grinned. “The good stuff even. Not just leftovers. Yes!”
Owen held out his fist and let the man bump it before turning toward her as if people did that kind of stuff every day. No big deal. Lorenzo smiled knowingly at Owen, clearly having guessed his intentions.
Right then, Holly knew she was in trouble. Because it wasn’t only Trent she was coming to care for but his best friends too. Sex was great. But this… This was dangerous.
10
Holly paced.
Trent still wasn’t back, he hadn’t texted, and now Lorenzo was about to leave too.
“I’ll call off if you want.” He came up behind her and rubbed her shoulders.
“There’s no need. Owen’s here. And so is the new shift outside.” She jerked her thumb toward the place where Ransom, Sevan, and Levi were hanging out. “As long as they’re going to send someone with you too, go. Have fun and rake in those dollar bills while you show the ladies how studly you are.”
Lorenzo cleared his throat. “Does that bother you?”
“That they all see what I’m lucky enough to have?” She snorted. “Hell no. Go. Make ’em jealous as fuck.”
He grinned, then kissed her before smacking her ass. “For the record, you’re the only one getting any of this. Okay?”
She hadn’t been about to ask, even if she had wondered exactly how that worked. Were they in an open relationship? Or was she just lucky enough of a bitch to have three guys to herself? It made her greedy and pretty hypocritical, but she liked the idea that they would be all hers, like the arrangement Andi and Kari had with their guys. They had so much to figure out yet.
