“No, thank you. I just need a break.”
Dani ended her call with Elena and quickly scrolled through her contacts for Cole’s brother Sam’s number. As soon as she had the number ringing on speakerphone, Dani climbed into her car, jammed the ignition button and sped out of the parking lot.
“Dani Moore,” Sam answered. “This is a surprise.”
“Hey Sam. Do you have a second to talk?”
“For you? Always.” Sam was such a charmer.
“I’m calling to let you know that Cole’s in the hospital because of a bad headache. They’re doing an MRI right now, but I had to leave to tend to something at home. Can you go and make sure he’s not alone? I don’t want him coming back to an empty room if he doesn’t have to.”
“Is he okay? Did something happen after the sting?”
“He got a blistering headache pretty soon after. I tried to get him to see a doctor last night, but he wanted to try and sleep it off. That didn’t work.”
“Sounds like Cole. You know how he feels about doctors.”
Dani choked back a sigh. “So do you know about his condition?” Dani wasn’t sure who knew what anymore. Thus was the problem with secrets. All the more reason to come out with hers, if she got the chance.
“Did he tell you?”
Dani felt like she and Sam were talking in code, tiptoeing around the truth. “If you’re talking about what they discovered in that MRI six years ago, yes.”
Sam blew out a breath. “I’m glad to hear he told you.”
“Me, too. I just wish I’d had the chance to talk to him about it before they wheeled him down the hall. I’m sick with worry. Someone should be there.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll get over there right now.”
“Will you let him know that I’m thinking about him? And let him know I’m ready to talk whenever he wants to. His truck is at my house, but we can sort that out later. It’s not a problem for it to stay here as long as possible.”
“Thank you for being there for my brother, Dani. You’ve always been a rock for him.”
“Maybe on the outside. On the inside, I’m tied up in knots.” Dani turned into her neighborhood and pulled past the security gate.
“That’s what you get with my brother.” Sam cleared his throat. “I know this is none of my business, and you can tell me to take a hike, but are you two back together?”
Dani shook her head when she caught sight of Cole’s truck in her driveway. It was not only a visual of what could be, it was a reminder of everything that was wrong. What was he going through right now? What was happening? Was he okay? “I don’t know yet. We’ve got some things we need to work out.” That felt like the understatement of the century, but at least she knew a little bit of what was behind their breakup. “Hey, Sam. I just got home, so I need to run.”
“Oh, yeah. Sure. I need to get my butt to the hospital. Thanks so much for keeping me in the loop.”
Dani hung up and rushed inside. “Elena?” she called.
Cameron and Colin came running around a corner and nearly plowed right into her.
“Elena’s sick, Mommy,” Cameron blurted.
“Where is she?”
“In the kitchen.” Colin took her hand and led her as if she didn’t know the way.
Elena was sitting at the kitchen table with her head in her hands. She turned as Dani approached. She was extremely pale and there were dark circles under her eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
“Please don’t be sorry. These things happen. We just need to get you feeling better. Can I get you anything?”
Elena shook her head. “No. We had some ginger ale in the fridge. I’m just going to climb into bed and hope it goes away quickly.”
“Yes. Of course. I have the boys. Just promise me that you’ll buzz me if you need anything at all.”
