“It was. And while I’m complaining about the pain, I know it will be worth it in the end.”
“Yes. It will. See you tomorrow.”
“Bye.” Mallory closed her eyes as the nurse turned her chair and left the physical therapy department and headed to the elevator that would take her back to her floor.
She’d been here six weeks. The facility was the best in the city, and while she could have gone back to New York, she’d chosen to stay here. It helped to be close to everyone she loved even if they refused to see her.
Well, Donna refused to see her. Mallory knew through Clark and Davis that her stepmother felt guilty over everything that had happened with Renee. She was also recovering from her own bullet wound. Luckily, her daughter hadn’t hit anything vital when she’d shot Donna in the stomach.
The doctors said it was a miracle, but Mallory liked to think it was karma making sure a woman who’d only ever done everything out of love hadn’t suffered for her choices even though they’d turned out to be the wrong ones.
Mallory had written to her stepmother, had Clark pass on the letter, but so far Donna hadn’t replied or made an attempt to see her.
Sighing, she pressed a hand to her belly when her stomach rolled with a wave of nausea. She was determined not to throw up today. The fact she stank to high heaven from sweat wasn’t helping.
“How’d today’s session go?”
Her eyes popped open to see they’d reached her floor and one of her favorite nurses was waiting for her. “Good, Gavin. Tough, but good.”
“You look a little peaked. You need me to hold your hair back?” he asked with a grin.
Smiling back, she said, “No. I’m not going to vomit today.”
“Ah, mind over matter. I like it.” He glanced behind Mallory. “I’ll take her from here, Jo.”
A hand rested on her shoulder. “You did great today, Mallory. I’ll be in to get you tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks.” Jo took her down to the torture suite five days a week and even though their conversations rarely went deeper than the superficial “ready to go?” or “how’s your day?”, they’d built a connection that while not friendship exactly, still made Mallory feel better to see Jo’s face. The other two days, either Clark or Davis was there to wheel her down three floors.
Gavin crouched in front of her, his face suddenly serious. “You have some visitors.”
“Oh? It’s not the weekend.”
“I know. And even though I’m thrilled to see you have people who care other than those two lawyers who send all my nurses into swoons, I’m not ready to take you to them until I know you’ll be okay with these two people.”
“Okay.” She had no idea who would be here to see her. No one had visited her in the hospital or this rehab center. It brought home just how alone she was. How alone she’d be the rest of her life. Swallowing, she licked her lips and breathed out. “All right. Tell me.”
Gavin kept his gaze on hers as he said the two names she never would have thought she’d hear. “Jacob and Maddox Conners.”
Air rushed through her lips, whistled between her teeth, and caught in her throat as her eyes darted over Gavin’s shoulder to focus on the door to her room. “They’re here? In my room?”
“No. I made them go to the lounge. I didn’t want you to see them if you don’t want to.” Gavin pointed at her. “Plus I know what you’re usually like when you come back from therapy so I thought you might want to clean up first.”
She wanted to do that. Get cleaned up before she faced Jacob. Except she knew she only wanted to to delay the inevitable. Shaking her head, she pulled her shoulders back and said, “Take me to the lounge.”
“Are you sure?” Gavin asked.
“Yes. Let’s get this over with.”
“You don’t sound happy about this.” He frowned. “You don’t have to see them, you know that, right?”
“Yes. And yes, I do. I don’t know why they’d be here. They must hate me for what I did.”
Gavin waved that off. “You’ve told me everything, and I don’t believe for a second that little boy hates you; the man might, but if he’s smart he won’t.”
Her eyes locked with Gavin’s. “I lied to him.”
“You didn’t lie; you didn’t tell the whole story, but you didn’t lie.” His hand landed on her knee, the one with full feeling. “You kept your connection to Maddox a secret for all the right reasons.”
