Page 27

CHAPTER

TEN

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I hated hospitals. The smell of antiseptic and industrial cleaning products made my stomach queasy.

But my friend needed me. I didn’t know if it was the right move, agreeing to move in with him—with stipulations, of course.

Still, if it worked out, then I’d probably be able to use him on my resume what with my upcoming stint as a caregiver.

Each step up to the sliding-glass doors shot me back to a time when I practically lived at the hospital with my mom.

Right up until she’d decided to live out her days in our home.

It didn’t matter how much advanced warning the doctors gave, it was never enough.

I hated this for them. I hated that Reece would have to go on living his life without the one person who’d always had his back.

Cancer sucked.

We walked through the doors, stopping at the reception desk. The older woman gave swoony eyes to Reece. In her defense, I doubt she could’ve helped it. I noticed. Thankfully, Reece didn’t.

“I’m here to see Charlotte Reece. She’s my mom.”

The woman sobered herself quickly to type in the name. “Do you have the code? ”

“I do.” When prompted, he typed in the code and the woman directed us to the bank of elevators we needed to get to his mom. The hospital was huge.

We waited for the elevator car to get to us.

With each ding , my stomach dipped a little more, so I held his hand a little tighter, figuring he needed the support.

The doors finally took mercy on us, sliding open, and we walked on.

I held the ‘door close’ button to keep anyone else from joining us because I just wanted him to get to his mother without having to stop at other floors to let people off.

I continued pressing the floor number to keep us from stopping to pick others up.

A bitch move? Probably. But my only concern in that moment was Reece and getting him to Char.

When the elevator opened for us, we had to follow the signs leading us to her room.

Intensive Care. That was why he needed the code.

We stopped at the nurses’ desk to check in.

Two people were allowed in the room at a time.

“What do I need to know?” he asked the nurse. After she verified that he was, in fact, allowed to know the details, she broke it down for him.

“Your mom stopped responding to treatments.”

“I know. What about the trial drugs?”

“The doctor will tell you more when she gets here, but your mom wasn’t a good fit. Her nurses have been managing her care at home.”

“I know, but we were just there. No one showed to check on her.”

“From what we know, she refused care over the weekend. The nurses’ log clearly shows the phone call.”

“She’s been hiding things from me.” Reece rubbed the palm of his hand over his forehead. “So what got her admitted today?”

“Her iron levels dropped too low for her to function. When the nurse showed up this morning, your mother was unconscious. ”

“Jesus, unconscious ?”

“She regained consciousness shortly after her nurse arrived. An ambulance was called and she was admitted up here due to her underlying condition. She’s getting infusions and we’ll keep her here for a couple of days to make sure it’s just her pain medications causing the anemia and not something more serious. ”

He looked absolutely stricken.

“You want to go in alone first?” I asked and the man shot me an ‘ Are you insane ?’ glare that couldn’t have been interpreted any other way.

“Okay. I just don’t want you to feel pressured or anything.”

Rather than reply, he took my hand again and we walked to his mom’s room. The top section of wall had windows and the bottom was solid. I supposed so the nurses could keep an eye on the patients as they went about their duties.

I held my breath as he opened the door, worried that Char might be upset at me intruding on their family reunion. Her eyes were closed but sprang open as soon as we entered.

“Baker,” she said weakly. “What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here?” he snapped and I squeezed his hand tightly to get him to calm down. He glanced at me, nodded once, and then said, “The nurse called. Bree and I caught the first flight we could to get here.”

Char’s eyes moved to me and she smiled as much of a smile as she seemed to be able to muster. “Bree. How’re Benny and Claudia?”

“They’re good, but we’re here for you.”

“I didn’t want my boy to worry.”

“Ma, hockey is my job. I love it, but I love you more.” That was some serious single-mother energy right there. A strong, burly man like Reece expressing such sensitivity, not caring about witnesses. I had to fight back the strong surge of emotion his words caused in me .

“Well…” She struggled to take in a breath. “Thank you.”

“Your nurse said you stopped teaching,” he said and Char winced. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me—but that is what it is. You’re moving down to Charleston so I can take care of you.”

“I’m supposed to take care of you .”

“For an educated woman, that was the dumbest thing you’ve ever said to me. I can’t keep up with hockey if I have to stay up here with you, and I’m not leaving you again.”

“If it helps, Char, I’ll be around to hang out with you when Baker”—I almost slipped and called him Reece again—“is working. We had such a good weekend that Benny, Claudia and I want to get to know you more.”

“I—”

She started to speak, but Reece cut her off. “She quit her job to be here today.”

“You shouldn’t have…”

“Family is more important,” I replied. Yes, she wasn’t actually my family, but this was what Reece wanted from me. I planned to give it my all.

As Char looked between us, she reached a hand out to both Reece and me. I wasted no time taking it in one of mine. Reece used both of his.

She sighed low, resigned. “I’ll move to Charleston with you,” she said, “if I won’t be a burden.”

Reece visibly relaxed. His taut shoulders fell, and he sat back in his seat. No fight required. I was glad to help give him this peace. Though I really couldn’t understand why she’d refused to stay with Reece, especially once she’d had to stop teaching.

We weren’t in there but ten minutes when the doctor came in to talk with Reece.

I stood from my chair to give them privacy when Reece shot me a ‘ What in the hell are you doing? ’ look that would’ve dropped any normal man, but I was no man and apparently not normal because it failed to hit its fear mark.

“I’m giving you privacy,” I explained.

“Did I ask for privacy?”

“No. But it’s your mom’s health stuff.”

“Bree, sit your ass down. You’ll be spending time with her. You need to know what’s going on.”

Well, he had a point. I still felt like an invader of privacy, but the thought of putting any more stress on the guy bothered me more than the idea of being intrusive, so I dropped back into the seat to listen to the good, the bad, and the downright ugly news the doctor delivered.

As it happened with too many good people stricken with this illness, Char’s cancer had spread to both lungs and her left kidney.

Once they felt she was stabilized enough to go home, the in-home nurses would be responsible for managing her pain, along with giving meds for nausea and administering a cocktail of supplements to help boost her energy.

I heard the phantom ticking of the clock with every new word spoken by Reece or the doctor.

Char’s eyes glassed over, but she otherwise remained stoic until the doctor left, and then she just looked tired.

When I brought up moving her to Charleston, the doctor said, “Given we’re talking about end-of-life care and I believe she’ll be well looked after for her remaining time, as long as she feels up for the move, it’s fine.

We’re now talking about quality over quantity.

I believe spending this time with her family will be beneficial to all of you. ”

Reece made this strangled sound but tried to cover it up by coughing. “Sorry. Choked on saliva,” he said.

I stayed silent because what words of comfort could I offer?

The man’s world—his precious mother—was actively dying.

Yes, I knew this, but I felt it slapped across my face now.

I felt the pulsing handprint the doctor’s words left.

Still, I had a job to do, and even without words, I planned to do it. He needed me.

Char let me hold her hand, but Reece, he needed comfort, just maybe not a hand. I touched his thigh to show him that I was there if he needed me. I gave us about ten minutes of quiet before deciding we were done.

“Right,” I said, standing and clapping my hands together. “Keys.”

Reece cocked his head at me like he thought I’d gone round the bend.

“Keys,” I repeated, making grabby hands. “You haven’t eaten, and I don’t want to hear any argument. You need to keep your strength up so we can get done what has to get done.”

He blinked. Then he smiled. “You are so damn sexy when you get all take charge.”

My eyes bugged. “You can’t say that—your mother .”

“Is asleep now.” He pointed to her. “And she’d wonder what the hell was going on if I didn’t mention how sexy you are,” he said, dropping the keys into my hand. “You want me to go instead?”

“You’re who she needs to see when she wakes up.” No matter how happy my presence here and in Reece’s life made her, I felt firm on that point. “What are you in the mood for?”

He smirked, dropping his eyes to my crotch.

“Not on the lunch menu.” I tipped his chin up to look at my face instead.

“But not off the dinner menu?” He raised an eyebrow, challenging me.

The man was trying to take back some control in this crappy situation, trying to prove he was the same Baker Reece he’d been before this news.

I saw right through him. More though, I didn’t care.

If poorly timed sexual innuendos helped him feel even a little bit better, good.

Good .