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Eleanor’s eyes were closed, but her lips twitched. “Chocolate chip?”
That made her giggle. “I didn’t ask, but if you really want that...”
She slowly shook her head and then dozed back off.
“Sit,” Mick said from behind her, and when she turned to look at him, he was holding out his hand.
With nothing else to do, she did as he suggested. “I feel so helpless and it seems odd to be sitting here waiting.”
“Would you rather go? I can call the car and...”
“No,” she said adamantly. “I don’t want to leave her alone. There’s no family, no one else she wanted here. How awful would I be if I abandoned her right now?” Sighing, she rested her head on his shoulder.
They sat in companionable silence for several minutes before he spoke again. “Today was very eye opening to me.”
“Really? Why?”
“You may not believe this, but...this is the first time that I couldn’t fix a problem.” He paused. “I think you may have noticed how I tend to look at what needs to be done and I do it. If there’s a problem, I fix it. If there’s a need, I do my best to meet it. I’ve helped friends with addiction, I’ve helped them through divorces, and losses of family members...but I didn’t know those people. In the last few weeks, I’ve come to know Eleanor, and you have no idea how much I wish I could make this right for the both of you.”
This sweet man had the biggest heart of any person she’d ever met.
“As much as you don’t think you’ve helped, you have. You’re here. She wanted to meet you and I know it meant a lot to her that she finally did.”
Which reminded her...
“What did she say to you?”
“When?”
“Right before I came back into the room. She was telling you something.”
She felt the kiss on the top of her head. “I promised not to tell you yet,” he said gruffly. “And I’m a man of my word, so...”
Don’t I know it...
“It’s okay. I wouldn’t want you to betray a confidence.”
They got quiet again and Sienna yawned.
“Rest, beautiful. I’m right here and if anything changes, I’ll wake you up.”
But she shook her head. “I don’t want to miss anything.”
Instead, she shifted and then pulled her chair closer to the bed and began talking to Eleanor about some aspects of her trip that they hadn’t talked about yet. There was no way to know if she could hear her or not, but it made her feel better to keep talking.
Which she did until...
Until it was over.
He hated leaving, but...there was nothing else he could do in North Carolina and a list of things he needed to do back in L.A.
Eleanor had passed that night, while Sienna had been telling her about some of the vineyards they had toured in Napa. His heart broke for her, but he knew how much her being there meant to Eleanor.
“Thank you,” she’d whispered.
Mick stood and leaned forward, resting his arms on the bed railing. “For what?”
“For taking Sienna on an adventure.”
