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Boone
My girl was running herself into the ground and I couldn’t stand by and do nothing. For the last four days, she’d done everything she could to help her folks as they began to recover from their injuries. She’d cleaned their house and brought clothing to the hospital they could wear around their various casts and bandages.
She’d stayed in their room, refusing to go home to rest at night. Curled up on the couch wasn’t allowing her to sleep properly, so today I was aiming to fix that. Waiting until she was busy helping her mom, I slipped out into to the hallway and pulled out my phone. I’d grabbed her brother’s number earlier in the week and put it to use now.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Christopher, Boone here.”
“Oh, hey, man, everything all right with my folks?”
I winced that he not only didn’t ask about Gabs, but seemingly didn’t know what was going on with his parents—who were staying in the same damn hospital where he worked. I was starting to get a pretty clear picture of how this family functioned, and it wasn’t pretty.
“They’re the same. I’m calling about Gabs. She needs a break before she falls over. Are you able to come sit with your folks today, so I can take her away for a few hours at least?”
He scoffed. “She understands they’re in the hospital, right? Surrounded by doctors and nurses. She doesn’t need to be there twenty-four seven. Just take her away. They’ll be fine.”
Wishing I could reach through the phone to shake the man, I bit back my growl and forced my voice to remain calm.
“Christopher, can you please do this for your sister? Just come down here and sit with your parents while I make sure she gets some rest today.”
Another scoff came across the line. “That’s bullshit. You just wanna get some from my sister and she won’t go with you. Ever think maybe she doesn’t like you as much as you want her to?”
My vision went red as I stopped holding back and growled at Gabs’ asshole brother.
“You better watch your damn mouth, boy. Don’t think I haven’t seen how your family works this past week. Everyone leans on Gabs, expects her to do every-fucking-thing without complaint. And she has done just that. For four fucking days she’s given her all. She’s worn out. If she doesn’t get some decent sleep and rest soon, she’s gonna be in a damn hospital bed herself. If you don’t believe me, get your ass down here and you’ll soon see for yourself. Then while you’re here, you can man the fuck up, and take your turn with your folks.”
I hung up the phone before he could respond and paced the hallway, trying to vent my anger before going back to Gabs. I hadn’t lied to the man. She was close to exhaustion. Wanting to take care of her had nothing to do with the sexual desire I felt for her. Did I want her? Definitely. Could I wait for her? Hell, yes.
“Boone?”
Gabs’ soft voice had me turning to where she stood in the doorway of her parents’ room. I strode over to her.
“Hey, darlin’, everything all right?”
With a frown, she nodded. “Are you doing okay? If you need to head back to your ranch, you can. I totally understand you having things to do.”
I pulled her into my arms and held her tightly against me. I doubted Gabs had ever demanded anything for herself. She just kept on giving to everyone around her.
“I’m right where I wanna be, Gabs. But I’m getting worried about you. You need a break.”
She shook her head before leaning up to press a kiss to my lips.
“My folks need me here.”
With that, she turned and slipped back into the room. Before I could follow her, I caught sight of her brother striding down the hallway. The bastard had been in the building but hadn’t even checked in with either his sister or folks this morning? He couldn’t have been so damn busy that he didn’t have time to look in on his family.
Christopher didn’t say a word as he passed me, but he didn’t make eye contact, either. That was fine with me. I couldn’t think of a damn thing to say to him that wouldn’t lead to me wanting to knock some sense into him.
Keeping my eye on him to gauge his reaction, I followed him into the room. He stopped just inside the door and watched as his sister flittered around the room adjusting pillows, straightening out blankets. Basically, doing whatever she could to make both their parents more comfortable.
He turned to me and the look in his eyes gave me hope he was finally seeing that his sister was wearing herself out, that he needed to step the hell up. With a nod, he turned back toward Gabs and moved over to her.
“Hey, Gabs.”
“Oh, hey, Christopher. I didn’t hear you come in. You get a break in your schedule?”
He nodded and I held my breath, waiting to see where he was going to go with this conversation. I had no clue about his work schedule. He might not be able to spend the entire afternoon with his folks, but if he was working here at the hospital, he could pop in between patients or whatever it was he did here.
