Page 21 of Forever Your Touch (Manwhore #4)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Mason sat in the chair by Jo’s hospital bed, his feet propped up on her mattress and well away from her injured leg.

They were going to keep her for a few days to monitor for blood clots and infection.

The girl had done a number on herself. They didn’t want her walking anytime soon and the ER doctor was right.

The orthopedic surgeon said she’d need at least three more surgeries to repair all the damage.

Mason wasn’t sure what that meant for school.

He’d check with the dean for her. Maybe she could do her stuff online and through email.

School managed it during COVID so he didn’t see why they couldn’t accommodate her for something that wasn’t her fault.

Nik was passed out in the other chair, not wanting to leave him alone. Lily took the other hospital bed in the room and was out to the world. She and Nik had just had their little girl, Rose, three weeks ago. This had to be hitting them both hard.

He scrubbed at his tired and burning eyes and checked the time. A little after midnight. Keith had gone to the airport to pick up his parents. They’d flown in on the next available flight. Keith grabbed the only open seat on the one he took.

There was a soft knock at the door, and Angel, Kade’s wife, came in. She had some kind of fuzzy throws with her. She used one to cover both Nik and Lily and gave the other to him. “How’s she doing?”

“The pain meds she’s on are pretty much keeping her asleep,” he whispered. He didn’t want to wake up Nik or Lily. They were both worn out, thanks to baby Rose. “Otherwise, as well as can be expected. You want to sit? I need to stand up and stretch, anyway.”

“No, you stay there. I’ve been sitting all night. Kade went to meet the doctor at the airport and bring her back. We should know something soon about Ava.”

Becca had named her daughters Sasha Irinia and Ava Jaqueline, after their mother and her brother, Jackson.

She said Jackson was the most stubborn person she’d ever met, including all the Kincaid men.

She wanted to give her daughter a fighting chance, and giving her Jackson’s name was as good as anything.

Dimitri was “allowed” to give them their first names on the condition they didn’t suck. Becca’s words, not his.

They were all terrified for little Ava, but all they could do right now was wait and pray.

“Did he take Mateo home?”

“No.” Angel shook her head, her red hair swaying with the movement. “He’s asleep on Conner’s lap.”

“Ava will be okay.” Mason took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Just look at Mateo. He survived the impossible. She’s a Kincaid, and she’ll beat this too.”

“I hope so.” Angel’s face softened. “I haven’t even seen her, and I already love her.”

“Me too.” Mason took his sister-in-law’s hand and squeezed. “She’s got a fierce family rooting for her, Angel girl. She’ll make it.” They’d all adopted Nik’s nickname for Angel. Nikoli had gotten to know her in the bar he frequented back in Boston, never knowing she was his sister-in-law.

“You decide what you’re going to do about her yet?” Angel nodded toward Jo, still fast asleep.

“Yeah, I guess I have. I just need to talk to Keith first.” It was only right.

Keith asked him to look out for Jo, not fall for her.

Wasn’t it some kind of taboo thing to date your best friend’s little sister?

Mason didn’t really care, though. He wanted Jo, and he was going to fight for her.

He knew he was going to have a hard road, because she loved the asshole, but she was worth it.

“You want some coffee? Your dad found an all-night Starbucks across the street.”

“Yeah, but send Conner. You shouldn’t be out this time of night by yourself.”

She laughed. “You know, for the sweetest of the bunch, you have their same overprotective tendencies.”

Mason shrugged. “We were all raised by the same man.”

“That, you were.” Angel gave him another small smile. “What kind of coffee do you want, and please don’t give me a huge complicated order. It’s late, and my brain can’t handle it.”

If it were any other day, he’d call BS. Angel owned a bar and could remember a customer’s favorite drink long after they’d left her establishment.

It was how she got people back. Well, that and employing hot bartenders, both male and female.

The stress of today, though? He’d cut her some slack. They were all wiped.

He gave her his very simple order of half milk, half coffee, which happened to be her own order since he’d learned it from her, and then sat back to wait for Jo’s family to arrive. He’d never met them, since Keith drove home, and he’d gone to Dimitri’s when the school closed for holidays.

The last time Mason remembered feeling this drained was his high school championship football game. They’d won, but barely. The team they’d faced gave them all a beatdown that lasted for days.

Jo shifted in her sleep, muttering something.

He leaned closer and heard her call for Ray.

It was like a little knife twisting in his gut.

How could she love a guy who didn’t even come to the hospital when she was seriously hurt?

He understood her family’s dislike of him now. He understood it all too well.

Ray went and pulled a stunt like this after Mason decided to try to like him for Jo’s sake. That went out the window as the hours passed and he didn’t show. It brought out those overprotective instincts Angel had been talking about.

He just needed a plan.

And telling her his intentions right now was out of the question. She had enough to deal with. Besides, Mason wasn’t sure how she’d react, and he couldn’t run the risk of her flipping out and telling him to leave. She needed someone who had her best interest at heart.

The door opened, and Keith came in followed by who he assumed were their parents. They were both older, late forties, maybe early fifties for their father. Josephine could have been her mother’s twin sister. They were alike right down to the facial expressions.

“She’s still asleep?” Keith frowned, concerned.

“They gave her some heavy-duty pain meds. The nurse said not to be surprised if she slept through the morning.” Mason kept his voice down so as not to wake anyone.

“Mom, Dad, meet Mason Kincaid, my best friend and Jo’s fill-in big brother.”

“Mason.” Keith’s mom rushed over and hugged him. “Keith told us everything you’ve been doing for Jo. Thank you, honey. If you hadn’t been there today, God knows how bad it would have been.”

“You slept over at her house?” Her father’s brown eyes narrowed, the expression in them calculating.

“Yes, sir. She and Ray let me sleep on the couch. My dad just arrived from Russia. He has cancer and yesterday was a bad day for me. Jo helped me not to go out of my mind.”

“Keith mentioned your father was sick. I’m sorry to hear that.” Some of the tension went out of Cooper Maxwell. “Are these friends of Jo’s?” Mr. Maxwell gestured to Nik and Lily.

“No, they’re my brother and sister-in-law. They came to wait with her too.”

“Why?” Mr. Maxwell frowned.

“Jo’s family to me, which means she’s family to them. There’s not a chance they’d let her stay here by herself. Even if Becca wasn’t in the hospital, there would be a revolving door of my family in and out.”

“Dimitri’s wife?” Keith asked.

“Yeah. She went into labor, and we found out she was having twins, but there’s a problem with one of the babies. Twin to twin transfusion or something. Ava is tiny, and they’re telling us she might not survive.”

“And you’re here instead of with her?”

Mason nodded. “I promised Jo I wouldn’t leave her. I’ve been in to see Becca, said a few prayers in the chapel for her and Ava, but otherwise, I’ve kept my butt planted right here in this chair. My entire family’s been in and out checking on her. She hasn’t been alone today. I promise.”

“You’re a good boy, Mason.” Jo’s mother kissed his cheek, and he barely hid the wince at the word boy. “Jo’s lucky to have you.”

“I’m the lucky one.” Mason glanced at Jo, and he actually felt his expression soften. “She made me think about a lot of stuff, and it’s changed me for the better.”

Keith’s expression changed, and Mason knew it was time to get the hell out of Dodge. He wasn’t ready to talk to his best friend yet. Soon, but not yet.

“I’ll go and let you guys spend some time with her. I need to check on Becca anyway. These two have a newborn at home, so they’re not getting any sleep. I would appreciate it if you could let them snooze until they wake up.”

“Of course,” Mrs. Maxwell said and took the seat Mason vacated. He should have offered her the chair straightaway. His mother would be disappointed in him, which was why he wasn’t about to tell her. He blamed it on him being damn tired.

“Keith, I’ll catch up to you in a bit.”

“Sure, man. I think we need to talk, yeah?”

Keith knew exactly what they needed to talk about. He’d never been able to hide a damn thing from him.

“Yeah, we do.”

With that, Mason left them alone and went in search of his family, his thoughts turning to Becca and baby Ava.

He only hoped the specialist could keep his niece alive.