Page 16 of Take Me Slowly, Part 1 (Aurora Hollow duet #1)

LEAH

"Thanks for sticking around." Whitney looked over at me and offered a smile.

"I know I haven't been in town long—" I started.

"It feels like you have." She leaned over in the worn, plastic waiting room chair and hugged me. "You're practically part of the family now." She sat up and gave me a meaningful look before sliding her gaze towards Connor.

He was pacing through the corridor outside their father's hospital room. Deepening the already worn path in the faded blue linoleum.

"There's nothing going on," I said.

Okay, not exactly nothing. He had eaten me out on the back of his quad bike. But, in spite of his claims I belonged to him, we were barely friends, much less anything more.

Sure, I'd been quick enough to come here and sit in the waiting room that smelled like hospital grade disinfectant and starched sheets to be with them while they waited. I told myself I was here for Whitney, not Connor. I didn't think I convinced myself.

"Did he and Riley take you up to the lookout?" she asked a little too loudly.

Connor stopped mid-pace to glare at us both. "Whit…"

She waved him off with a flap of her hand. "We both know you don't take just anyone up there." She looked over to him. "Have you been up there with anyone but Riley? Ever?"

"This isn't the time," he snapped.

"He hasn't," Whitney told me. "I only know about the place because Riley told me one time. They won't even take me up there."

She let out an exaggerated sigh, but this was a distraction from worrying about her father.

The doctor hadn't said much since we arrived, and their mother hadn't left Jacob's side.

Nurses bustled around the tiny hospital, looking worried, but never stopping long enough to give any information.

As far as I could tell, Jacob was still alive. That had to be a good sign, right?

"You won't get on the back of a quad," Connor said to her.

"Not with the way you drive," she agreed. "I should object to you putting my friend in danger like that." She narrowed her eyes at him in playful warning.

"Your friend ," Connor drawled the word, "enjoyed every minute of it." His gaze settled on me, his tongue slipping over his lips. Could he still taste me there? Was he waiting outside a hospital room for his father while my release was still on his face?

My face heated. "It was fun," I said half to myself.

"It was more than fun." Riley stepped into the waiting area, carrying a tray of coffees in one hand and bags of chips in the other. "I heard you screaming. While we were flying around the bends."

The bends, right. I gave him a smile of thanks as he handed me a coffee and a bag of chips.

"You know what would be fun to ride up there?" Whitney asked.

We all turned to her, likely thinking the same thing. Hopefully she was thinking something different entirely.

"What's that?" I asked carefully.

She squinted at me. "A horse. What did you think I meant?" She stared for a moment longer before grimacing and waving a hand in front of her face. "Oh. Oh gross. I did not need that thought in my brain."

My face got hotter. "You might have been thinking of a motorbike. Or a bicycle. Maybe one of those motorised scooters." All of those sounded like fun, but not as much fun as her brother and Riley riding me. Or me riding them. Or them, riding each other.

Fuck, could Whitney read my mind right now? I hoped like hell I wasn't too obvious. Or if I was, she'd pretend I wasn't.

"A motorbike would be much better," she said quickly. "If it's not ridden by a maniac like my brother. I swear, he has a…" She must have remembered where she was and why, because she clamped her lips shut and glanced towards the door to Jacob's room.

"I don't have a death wish," Connor said, his tone low but dark. "The opposite. I want to live my life." Coffee in hand, he stalked away to flop down beside Riley, at the other end of the waiting room.

"If you're wondering if he's always been an asshole, the answer is yes." Whitney followed him with her eyes before turning back to me. "I'm pretty sure he was born with two middle fingers raised, right at the doctor."

He flipped her off with his one spare hand.

"That sounds like him," I agreed. "Except maybe one for the doctor and one for the rest of the world."

Whitney laughed. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Riley probably came out ass first so he could moon them."

"Projecting much?" Riley grinned. "If you want to see my ass, you only have to ask."

"Hard pass." Whitney held a hand up in front of her face, palm out. "That'd be like seeing my brother's ass. I have some fun kinks, but that's not one of them."

"TMI, Whit." Connor grimaced.

"Don't be such a prude," she told him.

"Don't be a pain in my ass or I'll tell you exactly what we were doing up at the lookout with your friend," Connor said. He toasted me with his coffee before taking a sip. He made a face like he was ready to spit it out. "Ugh, what is this, fresh mud?"

"It is pretty bad," Riley agreed. "That's hospital coffee for you."

"I'm sure it's not that bad." Whitney tentatively took a sip. She looked a lot like her brother when she grimaced at the taste. "I stand corrected. And spare me from the details, please. I'll approve if I have to but I don't need facts."

"Don't need your approval, Whit," Connor said. "Who I fuck is my business."

"If you don't stop, I'm going to stick my fingers in my ears and start singing," she warned.

"Anything but that," Riley groaned. "I just had my eardrums repaired from the last time."

"Fuck off," she said. "I'm not that bad."

They both looked like they were going to argue when the doctor appeared from Jacob's room.

All three of them shot to their feet. I was a moment behind, feeling like I was intruding on something I shouldn't be present for.

I thought about stepping away, but Whitney grabbed my hand and held it, hers trembling.

"How is he?" Connor asked.

"He's going to be just fine," the doctor said. "The heart attack was mild and he got here in time. He's going to need to rest for the next while, but I expect him to make a full recovery."

"Thank goodness," Whitney whispered. "We'll make sure he rests, won't we?"

"Absofuckinglutely," Connor agreed. The relief on his face was tinged with something else. A hint of frustration? I couldn't get a read on it before it was gone, firmly pushed away with a firm nod.

"Thank you, Doctor Blair," Whitney said with a lot more genuine enthusiasm. "Can we see him?"

"For a little while," the doctor said. "No letting him overdo it or I'll have to throw all of you out." He nodded before disappearing down the short corridor into a room at the end.

"I'll wait out here." I gave Whitney's hand a squeeze before letting it go and sinking back into one of the chairs.

"Me too." Riley pressed a quick kiss to Connor's mouth before flopping down beside me.

Arms around each other, Connor and Whitney stepped into Jacob's room, closing the door behind them.

"They must be super relieved," I said.

"I would be," Riley said. "I mean, if it was my dad in there. Or my mum. How about you?"

I shifted uncomfortably, not just because of how hard the chair was under my rear.

"I dunno. I guess. My mother and I aren't close, but I don't want anything to happen to her."

"What about your father?" Riley asked.

"He left when I was little." I sipped the terrible coffee, which was quickly getting cold. "My stepfather and I aren't that close either." He always made it clear I wasn't biologically his.

"Any siblings?" Riley peeled off the lid of his coffee before downing the last of it.

"One stepbrother, Brooks. He's a couple of years older than me."

"Are you close?" Riley asked, eyebrows dipping as he smiled.

I made a face. "No. And especially no, not like that. My stepbrother is, I don't know, the golden child of the family."

My stepfather made sure he had everything, whereas I was never extended that same courtesy.

Brooks had birthday parties and extravagant presents.

I got practical gifts, like shoes. He was given a car.

I had to buy my own. I was basically ignored when my stepfather's family spent Christmas with us.

Reminded I wasn't biologically related to any of them except my mother. Although, she was just as cold.

"Why do I want to punch him in the face?" Riley mused.

"I don't know. It's not his fault how they treated us," I said.

"I don't know if he had it much better, to be honest. My parents had high expectations for him.

If he didn't meet them, they'd always grill him about why.

Why was his report card straight As instead of A-plusses" I didn't know why I was telling him all of this.

It was nice to have someone to confide in, I supposed.

I would have told Whitney or Fiona, but the opportunity hadn't arisen.

So, here I was, telling Riley instead. Or at least, telling him first.

"Did you get all A-plusses?" Riley asked. "Let me guess, you did and they didn't notice?" He seemed offended on my behalf.

"I didn't, but they wouldn't have noticed," I said. "I did okay. I was always better at art than anything academic."

"Painting and drawing," he said.

"Yes… And… Sculpture." Just saying the word made my heart ache. "Creating art out of things nobody wanted, that was always my thing. Making something pretty out of trash."

"That explains your attraction to me and Connor," Riley said jokingly.

"You're not trash," I argued.

"Plenty of people would disagree with that, but thanks." He gave me a smile I hadn't seen from him before. A real, genuine smile.

"Now I'm the one who wants to punch someone," I said. "I'm sorry people make you feel that way."

"I'm sorry your parents made you feel that way.

" He reached for my hand, wrapping his fingers around mine.

"No one should do that to anyone, especially someone as sweet as you.

Tell me about your sculptures. Why haven't I seen you making any?

Have you been hiding them in a secret room in your house? "

"I haven't been making them," I said. "I?—"

Connor and Whitney stepped out of Jacob's room, both looking a lot more relieved than when they went in.

"Bastard is tough as shit," Connor said. "We might have to tie him down to keep him from working too hard."

"We'll help out," Riley said. "Whatever you need."

"Yeah, I can too," I said. If I was going to stick around town and become part of it, then I wanted to help out the townspeople the way they helped each other. I wanted to be a part of that. The warm community that looked after its own.

"Thank you," Whitney said to us both. "Don't think we won't take you both up on that. Because we absolutely will."

"Shit yeah, we will," Connor said. "Let's get something better than that crap coffee."

"Yes please." Whitney hooked her arm through mine, pulled me to my feet and we headed out of the hospital, into the evening air.