Page 68 of Wild Card

“Talon saw me like this?” I whisper-shriek.

“You should have seen yourself a few hours ago. There’s a reason we were all frightened.”

She urges me to sit on the toilet. “Let me clean you up.”

I lean back, close my eyes, and groan in appreciation when she places a cold cloth over my face. “Bear with me, baby. This may sting a little.” She then cleans the area on my lip and applies some kind of ointment.

With gentle hands, she works my brush through the tangles, scaling her nails along my scalp in a soothing motion she used when I was little.

The water cuts on and she replaces the cloth with a fresh one, pressing it to my cheeks. “This should help with the splotching.”

“I don’t understand. This is all so odd. Peanut butter allergy? At twenty-six?”

“Stranger things have happened,” she muses, but there’s a hitch in her tone.

“Do you think it’s an allergy?”

“I’m not a doctor.”

“No, but you’re a specialist in a lot of areas.” I lift one side of the cloth to get a look at her. She secures my hair in a ponytail, avoiding eye contact. “Grandma?”

“I don’t know, Willow. It was extreme for an allergic reaction in my opinion.”

She’s voicing exactly what I’m feeling.

“But one thing is certain, Talon hasn’t left your side. Chase kept us up on the details, but we had to wait to see you. Imagine your grandpa and my surprise when you were transferred to a room and we found you curled into that handsome boy. You should have seen your dad’s reaction. Sterling was shocked still. Wish I had that on video. If the situation wasn’t so intense, I’d have laughed.”

I can’t let her assume more than there is going on. “Talon and I aren’t together. It’s?—”

“Complicated,” she finishes for me. “Talon clarified.”

My heart races. Please, God, don’t let him reveal how we first met. “What exactly did he clarify?”

“It’s understandable you were resistant to get involved with a patient. But that’s over now.”

“About that…”

“It’s lucky for us that young man is persistent and came to check on you. And Wolf, he didn’t hesitate to put that pup in his truck and get him help. It was like Wolf knew he was a good guy. Like maybe they met before.” There’s an unspoken insinuation in her statement.

She knows something deeper is happening. Her raised eyebrows and profound stare prickle into me as she waits me out.

“They have met before,” I murmur.

“Mmhmm, that much was obvious. Seems like Chase wasn’t surprised by Talon’s presence either.”

“Yeah, they met before, too.”

“Seems like my darling granddaughter is keeping things.”

“Like you guessed, it’s a little complicated.”

Her eyes light with amusement. “There is nothing little about that man. Including his interest in you. Nothing wrong with playing hard to get, but don’t chase the good ones away.”

“I’m not playing hard to get. I have my reasons for being cautious.”

She rips the cloth from my fingers. “Time to throw caution to the wind. Although I don’t think you have a choice with this one. He’s strongminded,” she states with such delight that I can’t burst her little bubble.

“He’s a great guy.”

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