Page 12 of Where We Bloom (The Blackwells of Montana #3)

“I’m coming over with a banana bag,” he informs me. “Are you home, or are you still at Connor’s?”

“I’m at home. And I hate bananas.”

“It’s an IV, and you’re getting it.”

“I hate needles more, and you know that.”

“Too bad. Three minutes.”

He hangs up on me and I toss the phone onto the couch before walking into my closet to change out of Connor’s shorts—but I leave the shirt on—and exchange them for light, loose athletic pants.

With a detour to quickly wash my face, I have just enough time before there are two knocks on my door, and Blake strides right inside, carrying his old-fashioned doctor bag with him.

“You left me with Connor all night,” I inform my brother.

“Reluctantly. He followed my instructions to care for you,” he replies with a scowl. “He did take care of you, right? Do I have to kill him?”

“No, he took care of me.” I sit on the sofa, too tired to get into it with him. “But I don’t want Connor to be my caregiver.”

“Why not?”

“For girl reasons.”

My brother, the doctor, pulls out a large IV bag and clips it to the lamp beside the sofa, and starts fiddling with tubes and then pulling out tape and gauze and the dreaded needles.

“Have you had sex with Connor Gallagher?” he asks me. There’s no judgment in his tone, and there shouldn’t be because Blake has a lot of sex of his own.

“A long time ago,” I confirm, then watch as my big brother’s eyes narrow. “But not last night.”

“Jesus, Bee, he’s got to be close to fifteen years older than you.”

“I didn’t know that at the time, not that it matters. I’m not telling you the whole sordid story. I don’t ask about all of your many conquests. I don’t want to know.”

“Give me your arm.” I hold it out, palm up, and he presses the pad of his finger against the skin of my inner elbow until he seems happy with the vein he’s found, then wraps an elastic band around my bicep.

“Look away,” he murmurs, his head bent over my arm in concentration. “You hate this part.”

Doing as I’m told, I look to the left and think about adding some bookshelves to the far side of my living room. I feel the prick in my elbow, but then it’s gone. Blake pulls the needle out, leaving the tiny catheter in my vein. He secures it with tape and gets the fluids flowing.

“I’m getting you some water. Have you eaten anything?”

“No, I woke up less than an hour ago.” I watch him saunter into the kitchen. He fills the large tumbler I use for water and brings it to me. “I have some soup in the fridge.”

“I’ll heat it. Do you have enough for two?”

“I have enough for six,” I reply and sip my water. Using my toes, I scoot my ottoman over to put my feet up and close my eyes, listening to my brother bustle in the kitchen.

“Have you talked to Chase?” Blake asks.

“Not yet. Did they find the guy?”

“He was in the hospital,” Blake replies as he pulls the bowls of soup out of the microwave, wraps each one in a towel so they’re not too hot to hold, the way our mom used to do, and brings them into the living room.

He passes me one before he sits in the chair opposite me.

“He’ll be there for a few more days yet. ”

“Wait. Why is he in the hospital?”

Blake scoops a noodle into his mouth. “Connor didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“He beat the hell out of that guy. Broke his nose, his jaw, his wrist.”

My own jaw drops, and I stare at my brother in shock as my chest warms. Why is that so hot? I wish I’d seen that. “Seriously?”

“He’ll have to have surgery on the jaw. The wrist will set fine. And as long as you follow through on pressing charges, he’ll be charged with sexual assault.”

“I’ll definitely press charges against that piece of shit.”

“Good.”

“So Connor beat the hell out of that guy for me?”

Blake grins. “Yep. He told me about it when he called me last night, but I went in to see for myself this morning. That dude is fucked up. Serves him right for drugging and laying his hands on my baby sister.”

Connor did that for me.

I admit, that doesn’t sound like the actions of someone who just wants sex and nothing more. However, he could have been acting out of kindness or obligation. He is an alpha male personality, so perhaps it was his big-brother vibes. Like he’d want someone to do the same for Skyla.

Like if he saw anyone being treated that way, he still would have stepped in.

It doesn’t mean that it was explicitly for me.

“You’re thinking way too hard for someone who feels as shitty as you do.”

“How do you know I feel shitty?”

“You look shitty,” he replies, grinning when I narrow my eyes at him. “You should start feeling better soon, though.”

I already am. Between the food, this IV, and the water I’ve drunk, I’m starting to feel human again. My head isn’t pounding, and the cotton is mostly gone from my mouth .

“I’m sorry you’re spending your day off playing doctor to me.”

“I don’t play at being a doctor,” he replies. “And you’re my best girl. Of course, I came to check on you. I have tomorrow off, too.”

“Two days in a row?”

“I know, there was a schedule mix-up. I’m not complaining. It doesn’t happen often.”

“Any plans?”

“Errands, house stuff. The usual. Check on you.”

“I’ll be at work.”

He frowns over at me. “Jesus, Billie, take a day off. Recuperate.”

“I’ll be fine.” I wave him off and set my empty bowl aside, but he shakes his head.

“As your doctor?—”

“You’re not my doctor. That’s not ethical.”

“I want you to stay home. Rest. Lots of fluids and good foods.”

“No.” He starts to argue, but I hold up a hand. “I’ll drink lots of fluids and eat good food, but I’m not staying home.”

I won’t be able to sleep anyway.

Without replying, he takes our empty bowls to the kitchen and loads them into the dishwasher, then returns to me and sits by me on the couch after checking the bag that’s now half empty.

“What are you doing?”

“We’re going to cuddle,” he says as he wraps his arm around my shoulders and tugs me against him. “It’s good for you.”

“Cuddling is good for you?”

“Yep.”

“What if I don’t want to?” He knows I want to. My big brother knows that touch is my love language.

“I want to.” He kisses the top of my head. “I want you to know that Connor went above and beyond last night, Bee. Aside from kicking that asshole’s ass, he helped you when you threw up?—”

“Oh God.”

“—and watched you all night. He didn’t sleep, so he could monitor your breathing and make sure you weren’t in distress. It wasn’t just a matter of getting you somewhere safe and letting you sleep it off while he did the same.”

Now I feel like a jerk for kicking him out of here earlier.

“He could have just dropped me off at the ER.”

“He could have,” Blake agrees. “But he didn’t. And I can tell you that when he first called me, he was scared as fuck.”

I turn so I can look up at my brother. “He was?”

“Yeah. And Connor doesn’t exactly strike me as the kind of dude who lets much faze him.”

No. He doesn’t me, either.

“I thought you should know. I don’t have a clue what’s going on with you two. From what I’ve seen, you dance around each other. You look at each other like you want to devour each other, but I watch you fight it. Both of you.”

“Are you trying to set me up with him?”

“Just telling you what I know and see. I love you.”

I sigh and settle against him. “I love you, too. Stop interfering.”

“I’m not.”

“Not yet.”

“Do you like him?”

I sigh again and feel stupid tears threaten, so I swallow hard. “Yeah, but he doesn’t?—”

“Maybe stop assuming what Connor does or doesn’t think and pay attention to what he does .

Because like you said, he could have just dumped you off at the ER and washed his hands of the whole situation.

Instead, he nursed you through the worst of it, and I’m not lying when I tell you he was afraid. ”

“If he was that scared, why didn’t he demand you come over? It’s not like any of you to hold back if you think I’m in trouble.”

In fact, I need to check my cell. There are probably a gazillion messages. I’m honestly surprised they haven’t all landed on my doorstep, including Dani and Skyla.

“I tried. He was … scared for you , but confident he could care for you. He listened to everything I said, and when I checked on you early this morning, it was clear he was doing a good job.”

“Huh. I don’t want him to be scared because of me.”

He kisses my hair again. “Just something to think about. Now, hand me the remote. We’re going to watch TV.”

“The bag’s almost empty. You can go home.”

“Nah. I’m hanging out with my best girl.”

“You’re annoying as fuck, Blake.”

“I know. I love you, too. Oh, and by the way, the rest of the family will be here in about thirty minutes. I can’t hold them back anymore.”

“Shocker.”