His parents stood over him, and a quick scan of the room told him Bax had gone. His mother eyed him with a worried frown, and his dad just watched him closely. Gray regretted Bax’s absence. His realized he much preferred Bax’s ball-busting to this fretful hovering.
“Wha… Baq…?” he tried. The crease in his mother’s frown deepened as she clearly didn’t understand him, so he felt around along the bed until he came up with his phone.
When his mother read the text, she smiled. “He’s gone back to your house to take care of the dogs and get some rest,” she said, beaming with pride. “That boy stayed with you all day yesterday and through the night. He was about to tip over when we got here.”
Gray checked the time on his phone. It was almost eleven-thirty. He guessed he’d been asleep a little more than three hours. His phone also showed a couple of missed texts from Meredith, the latest less than three minutes old.
Meredith:I’m in the parking lot. Should I come up?
“I’ve already let her know she’s welcome,” Dahlia said, smiling. “She texted me a minute after she sent that to you.”
Gray nodded his thanks, and before he could do anything else, a soft knock issued from the door.
Lowell Blakewood moved across the room as Gray raised the head of his bed, his heart beginning an obnoxious thumping in his chest.
He took one look at her, and the organ somersaulted.My God, she’s beautiful.
She stepped in carrying a cloth grocery sack, her eyes slightly wary as she took in the crowded room.
“Come in, come in,” his father said, coaxing her toward Gray’s bed.
Gray couldn’t take his eyes off her. He cursed his crippled tongue and the part of his brain that had dared to forget her.
“Dahlia and I were just going to step out for some lunch,” his father was saying. “Would you consider staying with Gray until we return?”
Moving toward him, her eyes met his. Gray’s mouth was so dry, he couldn’t even smile, but he made himself nod — like a hyperactive bobblehead. At this, he watched the corners of her mouth tip up. Just barely.
“Um… sure,” she said, her voice tiny. “I can stay.”
The relief he felt was startling. That and the naked joy. They had an hour at least. He locked eyes with his father and silently pleaded for him to take his mother to a long, lazy Sunday lunch.
His mother leaned over him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Text us if you need anything, darling.” The pinched and worried look in her eyes told him that his dad might not succeed — if he had, indeed, received Gray’s message. “Have a nice visit.”
When his mom took only two steps toward the door, Gray’s father walked to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, steering her out. “See you in a little while,” he said, nodding meaningfully to Gray in a way that let him know he’d do his best.
Finally, he managed to smile, and he turned it toward her.
“I brought you some lunch,” she said, holding up the green, cloth bag.
Gray knew he could make the“th”sound, but not without a little cascade of spittle leaving his mouth. He took up his phone, waved it to her with intention, and typed.
Gray:Thank you.
Gray:You didn’t have to do that.
He sent the two texts and watched her fish her phone out of her purse.
She smiled at him in earnest this time. “It’s nothing fancy.” She set the bag down on the rolling tray table on the left side of his bed. Meredith took out a plate coated in Saran wrap and a bundle wrapped in foil. “Just a panini sandwich and some Rice Krispy treats.”
Gray’s heart gave a lurch. He’d assumed the reusable grocery bag meant she’d stopped at Rouse’s or Albertson’s on her way to see him. But no. She’d cooked for him. He remembered Bax mentioning her cooking. His fingers flew over the screen.
Gray:I hear I like your cooking.
He watched her cheeks color as she read the message. When she didn’t respond, he pressed.
Gray:Is that true?
The color, an alluring pink high on her cheeks, deepened. “Yes, I suppose so,” she demurred. Then she shifted the attention from her and held up the sandwich. “Hungry?”
