Page 12 of Catching Our Moment

“That’s probably from the anti-inflammatories we’ve been pumping in your body.” She motioned at the IV. “It doesn’t change the fact that it was after an impact strong enough to break your clavicle. And your body, including your spine, has taken a lot of abuse.”

Shaw took his hand from Riley’s and ran it over his face.

The doctor continued talking to Shaw and Riley about what was planned for the next day or two and when he could be expected to leave.

Shaw stared at his blanket, a grim expression on his face.

He did this when he didn’t want to hear what was being said to him—it always reminded me of a petulant child.

Dylan’s chin was cradled in his hand, but his leg was shaking with impatience as he studied his brother.

I glanced at Dylan and whispered, “You’re being awfully quiet.”

He shrugged. “Just waiting.”

“For what?—”

Riley was full of nervous energy. Shifting and fidgeting, she jumped when her cell phone rang. “Oh, baby, it’s my agent,” she exclaimed as if it were Christmas morning and Santa was calling. “I’ll be right back.”

Dylan stepped forward and began asking questions about his restrictions—driving and the limitations of using his arm and shoulder.

I asked about the kind of PT he would need and the follow-up schedule.

The doctor smiled at both of us. “You seem to have a hell of a team working for you already, Mr. Shawfield.”

Dylan laughed. “We don’t work for him. I’m his brother,” he said.

“Is she his sister?” A pretty intern gestured to me.

“Definitely not.” Dylan let out a surprise laugh. “There is no brotherly love there.”

I stepped away, going back to sit and stay out of everyone’s way. What was I doing here anyway? I knew I shouldn’t have come. I stared at my useless phone, trying to find a graceful way out of there.

An intern finished typing some notes on the keyboard by Shaw’s bed as the doctor headed toward the door.

At his obviously glum look, she added, “It’s best you stay for another day or two.

We have people whose entire career revolves around pain management.

If we send you home, it will be with Tylenol.

” She clapped the guy at the computer on the shoulder and looked over at Shaw.

“I’ll come by and check on you later today.

Let the nurses know if you need anything.

It’s nice to have you here—even if Carolina beat Baltimore.

” With a quick smile, she was gone, her entourage shuffling quietly after her.

As soon as the door closed, Dylan turned on me. “Kelcie—jeez, you look like someone kicked your dog. I was just joking. I meant you’re not family because he never thought of you as a sis?—”

“Dylan, just shut up,” Shaw groaned.

Dylan sat beside me and quietly added, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it?—”

I patted his arm. Being the younger brother, Dylan often teased Shaw and me about the time we spent together.

“Shaw and Kelcie sitting in a tree…k-i-s-s-i-n-g…” and all the things little brothers do.

“It’s okay. I know what you meant. But enough years have passed, and I think teasing him about me has had its time. You can give it a rest.”

Dylan winked and whispered to me, “Never.”

The door burst open, and Grace and Aaron barged in. “Shaw. Shaw. Are you okay?” My son ran past me and straight up to Shaw’s bedside, scanning everything around him but not quite looking at him.

“Yeah, my man, I’m fine,” he said. “Come on over here and tell me about the game.”

“We left when you got hurt,” my son said matter-of-factly.

“Yes, but did you like the game?”

“Until you got hurt. Yes. I liked it a lot,” Aaron said and nodded emphatically.

Riley stormed through like a whirlwind, her hands flapping. “Oh. My. God. Baby!”

She pushed past Aaron and threw herself at Shaw, forgetting all about his sling. He grimaced in pain.

Dylan pulled Riley back off Shaw. She stumbled in her heels and adjusted herself. “I’m sorry, I forgot myself. I’m just about to burst!”

Shaw shifted in his bed, and I reached for the controller to lower it for him. He gave me a grateful nod before turning back to his girlfriend.

“What is it, babe?”

She began jumping in her stilettos, clasping her hands to her chest, and screamed piercingly, “I got the part!”

Shaw’s head tilted slightly, his brows drew together, all his concentration on the bouncing woman. “Part? What part?”

“When we were in LA, all that networking and stuff we did…someone mentioned me to the producer of A New Adventure —you know, that reality travel challenge—and they called my agent!” She began pacing around his bed.

“Oh. Did you try out for it or something?” Grace asked.

Riley didn’t turn to acknowledge who asked but just waved her hand, dismissing the ignorant question. “No, no. I guess it’s all about who you know. They want celebrities on these shows to get people to watch them.”

Was she a celebrity?

Ok, that was unkind. She was an influencer and, you could say, a model. I guess they were automatically celebrities.

“Well…um…that’s wonderful,” Grace responded since no one else seemed in a rush to say anything.

Shaw ran his good hand over his face again. Poor guy. His world seemed to be changing every five minutes. Being doped up on pain medication probably wasn’t helping him process everything.

I stepped up next. “Congratulations, Riley. How exciting.” I threw in as much excitement and joy for her as I could because…

good for her. This obviously meant a lot to her.

There was a fair amount of envy on my part, not just because she was beautiful, and not just because Shaw loved her, but because she was passionate about achieving her dream.

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and said, “Thank you, Kelly.”

Okay. I tried.

A slight noise came out of Grace, and I glimpsed over to see her covering her mouth, hiding her amusement.

Shaw shook his head, blinking his eyes slowly, but caught up enough to take my cue.

“Yes, honey. Um…congratulations.” He reached over to beckon her down and kiss her gently on the cheek.

“I’m very happy for you.” Was it just fatigue or medication that held back his legendary enthusiasm?

Maybe his own dilemma was overshadowing his joy for her.

This lack of excitement wasn’t like him.

We all went around offering our congratulations.

“So, when does it start?” Dylan asked, leaning against the sink.

She stilled, her head dropping as she hesitantly walked over to Shaw and took his hand. “Well, that’s the thing.” She cupped his hand in both of hers. “They want me in LA tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” His brow furrowed, confusion returning.

“Yeah. I’ll be gone for three to four months of shooting.”

“Three or four months?”

“Yes. We are going to be traveling all over the world. A new adventure each week. New challenges and things to do, tasks for them to film…” It was clear she already had one foot out the door. “And since it’s a contest…”—she winced—“we can’t communicate with people at home.”

“Riley…” Shaw’s voice faded. “This is awfully sudden, isn’t it? I mean, you aren’t even packed.”

She became more animated. “I know!” She paced around the bed.

“I need to run back to Charlotte and get a few things.” She plowed around everyone in her path as she paced.

“My agent booked me on a flight this afternoon. I have a few hours in Charlotte before I get on a late-night flight to LA.” She walked away from his bed, her fingertip to her lips. “This is crazy, isn’t it?”

Silence fell in the room.

Shaw studied Riley.

Riley studied the floor.

Dylan, Grace, and I studied Shaw.

Aaron voiced the question we were all wondering. “But who will take care of Shaw?”

Riley’s head popped up, and she rushed to sit at his bedside. “Oh, baby…what about you?”

And there it was. She finally thought about him and the fact that he was currently lying in a hospital bed.

“If I leave, who will take care of you in Charlotte—take you to your PT appointments and make sure you are eating and feeling okay?”

She turned to Dylan. “Can you take care of him?”

“Me? No, Riley, I own a business. I work?—”

“You’re a contractor. You work for yourself. Surely?—”

Shaw held up his hand to stop them from going down that bumpy road, and his smile was sad but resolved. “I’ll be fine.” He lifted his hand and caressed her cheek. “I’ll be okay, honey.”

“But in Charlotte?—”

Aaron stepped forward. “He can come home with us.”

Five sets of eyes swung to Aaron and, in unison, said, “What?”

Aaron walked over and took my hand in his, his gaze resolute. “Mom and I can take care of him.” He stood shoulder to shoulder with me. “Mom is a real good physical therapist, and I can babysit him after school.

Oh my God, my son with the heart of gold… I was going to kill him. “Aaron, I don’t think Shaw would want to live with us. We don’t have a lot of space, and he’s used to his privacy?—”

“Mr. Dylan, what about the other side of the house we live in?”

“The other side of the duplex is finished, actually.” Dylan brightened, his back to Shaw, knowingly putting me on the spot.

Aaron squeezed my hand. “See. It will be perfect.”

My phone chose that moment to work, ringing with a shrill sound that I thought was saving me from an uncomfortable situation. Then I looked at the caller ID.

James. My stomach clenched. What did he want?

I sent the call to voicemail. I could only deal with one situation at a time.

My moment of distraction solidified Dylan and Aaron into a united team. “He’ll come home with us,” Aaron said, and Dylan put his hand on Riley’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry about our guy here. We’ve got him. He’ll be back on the field in no time.”

Riley perked up at that idea and began gathering herself to leave. She cupped Shaw’s face and kissed him deeply. I closed my eyes, wishing I didn’t have to witness this.

“Alright, then, I see you are in good hands. I’ll call you, baby, when I get to LA and let you know more of the details.”