AllFreeNovel
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“You know he ain’t gonna give that up to anyone,” Ryan mused. “It’s practically part of his anatomy.”
“Bro, remember that time Landry hid it? He ransacked the whole house.” Jamie reminded the group.
I couldn’t help but smile. We all sat on his giant couch, eating pizza while he was like an actual tornado whipping through the house, demanding to know about his precious hunk of metal.
“That was not funny,” Coach bitched.
“It was funny,” Wes refuted.
“You’re swimming extra laps in the morning.”
“How about a fresh trauma latte now that Jess is awake?” Rory suggested from her place in Ryan’s lap. “Might be nice to have something hot for her when we are allowed back in.”
“Yeah, that’d be good.” I agreed, gazing off in the direction of her room. What is taking so damn long?
A light touch on my arm had me jolting. “Kruger?”
I glanced down at Rory, the smallest of the bunch. Her wide gray eyes stared at me. “Can we pick up anything else for you?”
Jess’s memory. Folding my lips in, I shook my head. Rory nodded, and the three girls started moving toward the exit.
“Wait,” I said, finally finding my voice. “Here.” I dug into my back pocket to pull out some cash. “Get whatever you guys want.”
“Oh, you don’t have to,” Madison said, staring dubiously at the offered money. “It’s tradition.”
“I can’t do anything for her right now,” I said, feeling naked. “At least let me pay for her coffee. For everyone’s.”
Madison nodded sagely and took the cash.
Landry laid her hand on my arm. “You’re doing more than you know. You’ve been here the entire night. Sat by her bedside…”
“It’s not enough,” I whispered.
Rory rushed forward and wrapped her arms around my waist. Her head didn’t even clear my shoulder. Surprised, I glanced around, expecting to see Ryan charging me. But his ass was still in that god-awful waiting room chair. Our eyes met, and he lifted his chin, half smiling.
Bro. I’d be pissed if Jess was giving out free hugs.
“We love you, Kruger, and we’ll be here for both of you.”
I patted her back and cleared my throat. “You shouldn’t be handing out love like that.”
Rory gasped and pulled back. “Are you saying you don’t love us?”
All three girls gave me the eyes. You know, the look that was all wide and dewy with hurt like someone kicked their puppy after telling them it was ugly. As if that wasn’t bad enough, they huddled together, mashing themselves in front of me with wobbling lower lips.
“I’m saying you got boyfriends,” I lamented, trying to hold strong.
“But we can still love you,” Madison said. “I thought we were family.”
Ryan, Jamie, and Rush appeared.
“What the hell did you say to them?” Rush demanded, his dark features appearing even darker.
“He said he didn’t love us.” Rory sniffled.
Three glowers turned in my direction.
“Oh, for shit’s sake,” I spat. “I didn’t say that. Of course I love you.”
