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“If that’s a little, I can’t wait to see a lot.”
She laughed softly and poked his shoulder with her bandaged hand. “You, Ellis Hunter, are a pain in the ass.”
“Finally a woman sees through him,” his youngest brother’s voice said from the doorway and his good mood plummeted. He glowered over at the two men standing there.
“Damian. Nate. What are you doing here?”
“I called them,” Bree said before either of them could speak. “It was touch and go with you there for a while. The doctor said I should prepare for the worst and I thought they should be here.”
“Told you he’s too stubborn to die,” Damian said.
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Ellis said. “Where’s your cameraman?”
“Guys.” Nate stepped between them. He glanced at Bree, then back at his brothers. “Not here.”
A tiny head poked out of Nate’s anorak and squeaked when she saw Ellis. He forgot all about his annoyance. “Peanut!”
Nate unzipped his anorak and set Peanut down by Ellis’s feet. She pranced up the length of the bed like a model on a runway, showing off her snowsuit.
Ellis grinned at his middle brother. “You bought her a snowsuit.”
“She was cold,” Nate said defensively.
“It’s pink.”
“She likes pink.”
Ha. And Peanut had claimed another victim. She was charming, he had to give her that. Not many managed to sneak in through Nate’s defenses, but she had him wrapped firmly around her little pom-pom tail.
Ellis held her up and studied the new outfit. It wasverypink with little rhinestone snowflakes and white faux fur lining the hood and booties. He imagined the heiress she’d once been approved wholeheartedly of the look.
She licked his nose, and his heart melted all over again.
“Oh, there’s my pretty girl.” He hugged her, ignoring the pain it caused in his ribs, and rubbed his face against the crest of soft hair at the top of her head. “Did you miss me? I missed you. Yes, I did, you little demon diva.”
At the snort from Damian, he scowled at his brothers. “You can leave now. Thanks.”
“We have shit to talk about,” Damian said, but again Nate stepped between them and held out his arms as if the two of them would break out into a brawl at any second.
Which was a possibility given the last time they were all in a room together. Even from a hospital bed, he could take his youngest brother.
Nate glanced worriedly at Bree. “Not here, guys. C’mon.”
“Bree already knows how dysfunctional we are,” Ellis said dryly and lifted his blanket so Peanut could burrow underneath. “Hell, she probably knows Dad better than any of us at this point. Whatever family shit you think we need to discuss, have at it. She’s in this.”
Damian glanced at Bree and the corner of his mouth lifted in a sneer. “Yeah, okay. I have shit to say to her, too. You went off on this bullshit half-cocked rescue mission for a man who is either—let’s face it—dead or drunk and doesn’t want to be found. You nearly got Ellis killed. For what?”
“Don’t talk to her like that.” Ellis wanted to jump out of the bed and throttle his youngest brother, but he only managed to shove himself upright before the pain stopped him. Under the covers, Peanut squeaked indignantly at having her cozy burrow disturbed.
Bree set a hand on his arm. “It’s okay,” she said softly, then to his surprise, she walked over and squared off with Damian. “For what? Because I care about Dr. Will. Which is more than his sons can say.”
Ellis winced. He felt that blow down to his core and could tell both Nate and Damian had, too. Nate seemed to shrivel in on himself, wanting to disappear.
But Damian bristled, which was a classic Damian response. “You don’t know anything about our family.”
“I know enough. Dr. Will made mistakes with you guys. He admits it, owns it. But he is not the same man he was. He saved my dog when nobody else would try and he savedme, gave me a friend when nobody else cared. The very least I can do is return the favor. So you can either help or get the hell out of my way.”
Ellis had to bite his tongue to keep from grinning. She was a force of nature, more powerful than any blizzard, and Damian had no clue.
