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I heard Nolan sigh and then he was placing the tray of food on the window seat in front of me.
"Where is he?" I asked, though I'd intended to keep my mouth shut.
"Maddox? He and Isaac are asleep." Nolan reached for the other tray with the untouched food before adding, "I guess being forced to drive a thousand miles without stopping for the night can wear a guy out."
I shouldn't have felt guilty since I’d had no choice in the matter, but I did anyway. With all the threats of harming myself that I'd made during the drive to Minnesota, Maddox and Isaac hadn't wanted to give me any opportunity to follow through on them, so they hadn't stopped for more than a few minutes at a time.
"Not him," I said, because Maddox wasn't the one I was thinking about. No, my thoughts had been focused on one man and one man only for most of the evening. "The doc."
"Sawyer?" Nolan asked in confusion.
I tried to play it cool by grumbling, "These stitches are too tight." It was all I could do not to react when Nolan leaned into me a bit so that he could look at the stitches for himself.
"Well, Sawyer's meticulous when it comes to his work, but then again, you aren't his usual type of patient. I can call him and ask him if there's something we can do to make you more comfortable." I saw Nolan reach for his phone as he glanced at Dallas. "He was going to check on Jerry's abscess before going to bed, right?"
I didn't really pay attention to Dallas’s answer. My irritation that the man hadn't come to check on me himself got the better of me. "Poor Jerry. Another dissatisfied customer."
"What?" Nolan asked.
"Tell old Jerry he's better off seeing a real doctor instead of that quack."
"Wow, you're a piece of work," Nolan said softly. His clear disapproval was like a punch to the gut. I shouldn't have cared what he thought of me, but I did. Probably because every word coming out of my mouth was a lie and that had been something that went against every fiber of my being. I’d detested liars from the time I'd been a little kid.
The dishes rattled as Nolan picked up the old tray that he’d left behind hours earlier around dinnertime. "For your information, Maddox told Sawyer you're not a fan of doctors and hospitals so that's why he agreed to take a look at you himself. I realize that you're going through a hard time, Jett, but can I offer you some advice that will make your time here a bit easier to get through?" Nolan asked.
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him if I could really stop him from telling me, but I kept my mouth shut if only to keep my parents from rolling over in their graves at my extreme rudeness.
"Don't be a dick," Nolan said simply and then he turned to leave. His voice had shaken a little as he’d spoken and I realized it was because my verbal attack against his friends had been the equivalent of an attack on him. I glanced over my shoulder at him as he walked to Dallas. Dallas held out his big arms and wrapped them around Nolan. I saw Dallas whisper something to Nolan that had him nodding. Nolan left the room, but Dallas stayed. The larger man held my gaze for a moment and then made his way toward me.
I turned my attention back out the window. I probably should've been nervous about the upcoming confrontation with Maddox's brother, but I was kind of looking forward to it.
"He'll tell you he’s sorry tomorrow," Dallas said as he sat down on the window seat across from me.
"What?"
He motioned with his chin in the direction that Nolan had gone. "He can't watch people suffer. It's not in his nature."
Dallas’s voice was rough and somewhat hard to understand, but I was captivated by it nonetheless, because along with the chalkiness was a softness that spoke volumes. I couldn't help but think back to my days at boot camp where the training officers had decided that the louder they yelled, the more likely the orders would be followed. I got the impression that no matter how softly Dallas spoke or how difficult it might be to understand his words, his message would always ring loud and true.
"Once he calms down, he'll realize Maddox and Isaac aren't the only ones who are suffering."
"I didn't choose to come here," I snapped. "Maddox had no right—"
"Yes, he did," Dallas interjected. "He had every right to step in and make sure you’re okay. Because that's who he is. That's what he does. You're his best friend. If anyone knows this about him, it's you. If you hadn't been okay with that, you would have cut him loose a long time ago."
