Page 122 of Theirs for the Holidays

I nod. “Behind Mrs. Foster’s house, right?”

“That one. So you know how steep it is. He went flying down that hill at full speed and hit a rock or something in the road. Sent him right over the handlebars of the bike, and he landed at a really bad angle. Had to be in a cast for weeks. He was such a fucking insufferable patient. Mom and Dad kept having to threaten to have me and Lennox hold him down on the bed because he tried to walk everywhere when he was supposed to be resting.”

I smile because I can picture that so clearly. Rhett’s always been headstrong, and he hates being idle when there are other things he could be doing.

“Why did he even do that?” I ask Sawyer. “No offense, but riding a bike down a big hill seems like more of a you thing to do than a Rhett thing.”

Sawyer breaks out into a grin. “Because I dared him to.”

“Wow.”

“Don’t think he let me forget it either. I think I heard about how I was the reason he broke his leg for the next three years. But the point is he was fine. Stubborn and annoying as hell, but totally fine. He’s even hardier now than he was then.”

I take a deep breath, wrinkling my nose at the sterile hospital smell. I’ve always hated the way they cover up the smell of death and illness with bleach and cleaners, because it doesn’t really do much to hide what hospitals are usually for.

I feel more steady now, at least.

Sawyer keeps a hold of my hand and keeps telling me stories about him and his brothers when they were younger. Some of them I know from knowing them for so long, but Sawyer has a way of telling stories that makes them feel new and hilarious all over again. Soon enough I’m giggling into my free hand, feeling much lighter than I did when we arrived.

Before long, a doctor comes out and comes over to us, and all the progress I made calming down is immediately erased.

“Are you here with Rhett Sullivan?” he asks.

We both get up at the same time. “We are,” Sawyer replies. “Is everything okay?”

The doctor smiles, and the icy vise around my heart eases up. “He’s going to be fine. We have to admit him so we can monitor for a concussion, but you can go back and see him now if you’d like.”

“Thank you,” Sawyer says.

We get Rhett’s room number, and the two of us make our way there quickly.

Rhett’s sitting up in the hospital bed when we walk in, and Lennox is sitting in a chair off to the side.

It’s a relief to see Rhett with his eyes open, and he smiles when we walk in.

“There you are,” he says. “I couldn’t find you.”

“Because we weren’t in here, dummy,” Sawyer says, but even that is edged with fondness. “Glad you’re all in one piece.”

“How many pieces would I be in?” Rhett asks.

Lennox snorts. “They’ve got him on painkillers while they wait to see what’s going on with his arm. So he’s a little high right now.”

“You’rehigh right now,” Rhett fires back.

I can’t help but smile at seeing him like this, and I move closer to the bed.

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” I tell him.

The doctor steps into the room behind us, closing the door. “You’re Rhett’s other brother?” he asks Sawyer, who nods. He looks to me then. “And what’s your relation?”

“I’m his girlfriend,” I say immediately, and the lie of us dating is the furthest thing from my mind in this moment.

Rhett looks over at me, his eyes hazy from the drugs and the adrenaline, and he smiles. “Yup. That’s my girlfriend,” he says, nodding. “I’m so fucking lucky, right?”

My heart trips over itself. I can’t tell if he really means it or if it’s the drugs or if he’s working to maintain the lie we’ve crafted even now. Either way, his words have my stomach flipping over, and I smile back helplessly.

“You’re lucky to have so many people here for you,” the doctor agrees. He introduces himself as Dr. Warren, shaking our hands. “Rhett’s going to be fine,” he says. “Like I said, we need to monitor him for a few hours to make sure he’s not concussed. He had a head wound that needed stitching, and according to our x-rays…” He flips through the file in his hand. “His wrist is broken. Just a hairline fracture, but it will need to be splinted.”