Page 18 of Will & Patrick's Endless Honeymoon
She hugs him tightly and struggles with tears again, tight little puffs of wet breath hitting his neck. He fights off his own. Eventually, she whispers, “You need to go?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry I can’t wait for Nonna and Reba with you.” Though he isn’t sad about missing his mother again.
As if on cue, Will’s phone vibrates and he sighs to see that Owen, his right-hand man at Good Works, requires his presence back at the office to sign a ton of papers before he leaves town himself. “I have to go, but I’m always here for you. Always. I’m just text or call away. Or come home if you really need to, okay? You’re always welcome home.”
“Thank you.” She hugs him again and Will clutches her tightly. “Have fun in…” She frowns. “Where are you two going?”
Will smiles. “It’s a secret.”
Caitlin grins. “Oh, okay. Good plan. Don’t let Mom find out the details or she’ll find some way to make your honeymoon all about her. I want to hear everything when you get back, okay?”
“We can FaceTime.”
Caitlin kisses his cheek, and he squeezes her hand. “You’re gonna be amazing out there,” he tells her again.
“Get in your car and go, cheeseball. Jeez.” She shoves him playfully. “You’re getting borderline ridiculous now.”
Will blows her another kiss as he climbs into his BMW and heads back into town. He knows Caitlin’s future will be bright, but a tug in his gut tells him nothing is ever going to be the same once she crosses the town line.
She’ll have flown.
“Will isn’t answeringhis texts or his phone.” Kimberly tosses her phone back into her blue Christian Louboutin purse. “Neither is Caitlin. What if he’s drinking? What if she’s dead in a ditch?”
Patrick ignores her. If there’s a problem with Will’s blood sugar, even a big insulin dump like one required to cover the onslaught of a bunch of alcoholic drinks, his phone will get a notification from the monitor. If Will wants to turn off his phone to avoid the drama llama that is his mother, that’s his prerogative. Patrick wishes he could turn off hisrealityto avoid it himself.
He checks Kevin’s pupils and reflexes, and reviews the SCAT-2 findings again. The concussion is mild, but he’s not taking chances with his uncle-in-law.
“Will’s probably in a meeting,” Kevin says sensibly. “I don’t need him here. Honestly, Kimberly, I don’t need you here either. I’m fine. Go on home.”
“I already missed saying goodbye to Caitlin,” she says morosely.
Kevin sighs. “That was your choice. I told you I was fine here alone.”
“You’re not fine, Kevin! You could have a brain bleed and die. Do you understand?” Her eyes go annoyingly wide. “Die! And what would I do without you?”
Kevin sighs.
Patrick raises his brow and sends what he hopes is a sympathetic look but it’s probably more of a “your sister is cray-cray, and you’re marginally less dumb than I thought” look instead. He’s apparently good at those.
Kevin rolls his eyes, and Patrick’s not sure if that’s for Kimberly or him.
Kimberly’s phone dings and she gasps. “It’s Caitlin. They were in the air when I texted. They just landed to make their connection. She’s angry. I need to call her.”
Patrick slaps the sign on the wall by the bed. “Out.”
“What?”
He slaps the sign again. “No cell phones. Out.”
“That’s absurd. I’ve seen you use your cell phone in these rooms. No one pays attention to those signs.”
“Unless you want these monitors to miss something important about your brother that could lead to him being a brain-dead zombie by dinnertime, then get out of this hospital room. You can use your phone on one of the outdoor decks or at an entrance.”
Kimberly glares at him, huffs as she pulls her purse over her shoulder, and marches out with a toss of her blond head.
“She’s been on that phone all day,” Kevin says, scrubbing a hand over his jaw, worry threading his voice.
“The sign’s crap. I needed a break.”
