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“You just have to know their schedule, and I happen to have it memorized. We can hide in the shadows—no one will ever know,” she promised.
“Oh, I like you, Savannah,” he breathed, “you really are the perfect woman.”
“I’ll take it for now, but remember, I warned you that you should lower your expectations of me. I just don’t want you to be too disappointed when reality sets in.” She giggled and pulled on her t-shirt. “I can be ready in three minutes,” she said. “Meet me on the patio.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he agreed. He watched as she disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door. He didn’t need to lower any of his expectations because she was honestly, the most perfect woman he had ever met. Even with her stubborn streak, Brooks was sure that he had hit the jackpot getting Savannah as his roommate, and for that, he was grateful.
Savannah
Savannah rolled over and groaned when her phone started ringing. “Who’s calling you at this hour?” Brooks asked. She had no clue, but it couldn’t be about anything good.
She quickly answered her phone and when she heard Lorna’s voice on the other end, her heart felt about ready to stop. “It’s my dad’s nurse,” she whispered, covering the phone so that Lorna wouldn’t hear her talking to Brooks. He sat up in bed next to her as if knowing that there was a problem and wrapped an arm around her side.
“Lorna,” Savannah breathed into the phone, “is he all right?” She knew that things had been going too well lately. She had spent the better part of a month with Brooks and was the most relaxed she had been in her whole life. Of course, that probably had a lot to do with all the orgasms he was giving her. She should have known that her happy-go-lucky mood wouldn’t last and that something bad would happen.
“I’m afraid that he took a fall trying to go to the bathroom on his own, and I had to call an ambulance. He’s in the ER now, getting checked out. It looks like he might have fractured his right hip, but I won’t know for sure until the X-rays come back. He’s comfortable now, but he’s a bit confused and asking for you.”
“Oh God,” Savannah breathed. “All right. I’ll get dressed and head home now, but it’s going to take me about ten hours to get there.”
“I’ll keep you updated while you drive. I’m assuming that they will want to admit him if his hip is broken,” Lorna said. “I’m so sorry that this happened while you were away.”
“No, it’s not your fault. He’s stubborn. It could have happened on my watch—I just never should have come here. This vacation was a big mistake.” She could feel Brooks pull away from her and she instantly regretted her words, but she couldn’t deal with that right now. She had to pack her things, tell the girls she was leaving, and go home to take care of her father.
Savannah ended the call with Lorna and got out of bed. “Will your dad be okay?” Brooks asked.
“We don’t know yet,” she admitted. “Lorna thinks he broke his hip, but they are waiting on x-rays. He’s confused and asking for me, and I need to be there for him. God, I never should have left him,” she repeated. “I’m an idiot for just taking off on him like I did. I was all he had, and I just left him.”
“Stop beating yourself up, honey,” Brooks said. “I don’t know your father, but I’m betting that he wouldn’t want you giving up your life to take care of him.”
“No, but taking care of him is my job. After my mom passed, I promised my dad that I wouldn’t leave him, and that’s just what I have done.” She bit back the sob that was trying to escape her chest, not wanting to cry in front of Brooks.
“You shouldn’t drive yourself back home. Let me take you and I can stay and help out,” Brooks offered.
“No,” she almost shouted, “you should stay here and enjoy your vacation with the guys. I’ve already taken up so much of your time around here, I’m sure that the guys want to spend time with you.”
“At least let me get you home, and then I can come back if everything is all right with your dad. I want to help you, Savannah.” That was something that she wasn’t used to—someone offering to help her. Sure, Ginger and Norah were great, and they’d stop in to make sure that she was doing okay with her dad when their schedules allowed, but she also knew that they had their own lives to live.
“Listen, Brooks, we’ve only known each other for a few weeks now,” she started.
“Actually, it’s been a month already,” he corrected. “Don’t brush me off this way, Savannah.” She hated seeing the hurt in his eyes, but this was for the best. She needed to remember that he was just a fun summer fling for her, and nothing more. It was what they had promised each other from the start.
“I’m not brushing you off, Brooks. I’m going home to take care of my father. This was just a fling—you don’t owe me anything.”
He ran his fingers through his already unruly hair, making it stand on end. “First, you tell your father’s nurse that coming here was a huge mistake, and then, you tell me that we don’t owe each other anything. I’ve been reduced to being just a fling to you?” he growled.
“If you remember correctly, it’s what we both agreed on,” she insisted.
“Oh, I remember,” he spat. “You didn’t want any strings and I offered you a summer fling. I guess that’s on me, but I was hoping that you were starting to feel something for me. I know that I have feelings for you, Savannah.”
“Don’t,” she said, holding up her hands as he started to cross the room to her. “I can’t do this with you right now, Brooks. I need to get my head together and drive ten hours to see my father. I have his power of attorney and if they need to operate or anything like that, I’ll need to be there to grant permission. I have to pack and leave.”
“Right,” Brooks spat. “And you need to do all of that on your own. You don’t need anyone else, right Savannah?” She wanted to tell him that he was wrong, that she needed him—that she did have feelings for him too, but none of that mattered right now. Her father’s health took precedence over everything else going on in her life right now, it had to—no matter how she hurt Brooks or how much her own heart was breaking.
* * *
Savannah drove straight through the night, getting to the hospital as the sun was coming up. Her father had been taken into surgery while she was driving and honestly, she was a nervous wreck waiting for some news about how he was doing. She knew that she should have taken Brooks up on his offer before she even threw her suitcase into the trunk of her car, but she was being stubborn and didn’t want anyone else to give up their summer vacation because of her family problems.
Lorna met her at the entrance of the hospital and took her to the third-floor family waiting room. “How is he?” Savannah asked, sitting in the chair across from her father’s nurse.
