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“He's been sleeping a fair amount, from the pain medicine and the anesthesia. But if you call his name, he'll open his eyes.”
Lindsey urged Austin closer. “Come on come on take his hand and talk to him, so he knows you're here.”
Austin hung back, resisting. “I don't want to bother him if he's sleeping.”
“Most patients rarely remember much of the first night of their intensive care unit stay,” Tiffany explained. “Go ahead. It won't bother him. I've noticed he's calmer when his family is around.”
She'd said exactly the right thing to make Austin step closer to the bed. He gingerly took his dad's hand in his. “Hi, Dad. It's me, Austin. Can you hear me?”
His father opened his eyes and slowly turned his head to see his son. As their gazes connected, the older man nodded.
“I know you can't talk with that breathing tube in your throat, but I want you to know that I'm here and I love you.” Austin's voice was low and thick, as he was trying hard to keep it together.
Her eyes pricked with tears as Abe Monroe nodded again trained to smile around the breathing tube in his mouth. His heart squeezed even tighter when the older man clutched his son's hand as if he would never let it go.
The next day, Lindsey found herself back in the family center, seated among the rest of the Monroe family. Aaron had surprised everyone by flying in from Boston which added a new level of chaos.
Everyone was so nice, putting her at ease and including her in their conversation. She was just starting to remember some of their names and linking them to faces, which, considering the size of Austin's family, was no easy feat.
She was seated beside Austin when his brother Adam, the pediatrician she remembered, strolled over.
“Hey, Austin. I see you finally got a girl of your own, huh?” Adam's eyes swept over her with a frankly admiring glance. “I like her. She's pretty.”
She braced herself, waiting for Austin to correct his brother’s erroneous assumption, but he didn't. “Thanks. I like her, too.”
Unsure of what to say to that, she simply smiled weakly and held her tongue. Austin had asked her to come with him for support because, like a typical health care professional, he'd expected the worst. But his dad was making amazing process. They'd already gotten word that they'd taken out his breathing tube first thing that morning.
There was no point in reading more into Austin’s motives for asking her to come along. And it was possible that he just didn't want to go into detail about their convoluted relationship. She couldn't really blame him. She wasn't really she wasn't sure how to describe it either.
Did they even have a relationship? She had no clue.
Austin could have any woman he wanted. And he proved that by dating half of the emergency department staff back in Sun Valley. He was an expert at short term relationships. She had to remember that there living under the same roof was a matter of convenience. Nothing more.
Yet being included in the Monroe gathering, as if she were actually a part of the family, gave her a strange sense of belonging. Growing up an only child, dragged from one of her mother's failed relationships to the other had made her feel isolated. Alone. She'd never experienced the warm, loving support or the overwhelming teasing of the Monroe family.
She secretly wished she and Josh really did belong here.
“How’s Krista?” Austin asked.
Adam’s entire face lit up. “She’s amazing. She’ll be here soon.” Adam’s expression turned serious. “I pray Dad will be able to make it to our wedding.”
“He will,” Austin assured him.
She remembered meeting Krista last night; she was Adam’s fiancée. She wanted to ask when the wedding was taking place but didn’t.
A few minutes passed before Alec called, “Austin? Can you come over here for a minute?”
“Sure.” Austin flashed an apologetic glance, then stood and crossed over to where the brothers were having a quiet discussion. The moment his seat was vacant, Amber slipped into it.
“So, Lindsey, how long have you been seeing my brother?” She asked bluntly.
“Ah...” She glanced helplessly at Austin, but he was already deep in conversation and not paying her any attention. “Not long.”
“Oh.” Amber’s crestfallen face betrayed her disappointment. “We were all hoping you were different.”
“Different?” She had no idea what Amber meant.
“Yeah, you know, different.” Amber gave a philosophical shrug. “All of Austin's relationships are short lived. We were hoping the reason he brought you along all the way from California to meet us was that your relationship with him was something that might actually last.”
