Page 79 of Forbidden Kisses
“Sorry,” Krista said.
“When will she wake up?” Jack asked, turning to the nurse, a young woman with kind eyes and short, wavy hair.
“Well, she hit her head pretty hard. We have her on pain medication and a sedative to help her rest right now. We want to give her brain a chance to heal.”
“How long?” Jack asked. He needed to talk to Grace. He needed to tell her how sorry he was…and how he felt about her.
“We want to monitor her for the next twenty-four hours. Are you family?” the nurse asked.
“No. Kind of.”
“Grace’s mother is on her way,” Krista told the nurse. “I sent my brother to go pick her up in his cab.”
Jack groaned. “That’s just great.”
“Do you seriously think we wouldn’t call Grace’s mom?” Krista shook her head. “You need to get over your grudge against Tammy, Jack.”
“Voices. Remember to keep it down. I really should’ve already asked you to leave,” the nurse warned. She probably knew Krista, since they both worked at the hospital.
“We promise,” Krista said. “Abby, let’s go get some coffee downstairs. Jack might want some time alone.”
“Thanks.” Jack sat and took hold of Grace’s hand. A zing of electricity ran through him. Their touch had always been that way.
He willed Grace’s eyes to open. Just for one second. He needed to see that she was going to be okay. He couldn’t lose her.
The door behind him creaked open. The scuffling steps of someone who was either too lazy to lift their feet or couldn’t entered the room.
Jack had one guess who the visitor was. He didn’t look back. Instead, he steeled himself against his emotions. Krista was right. He needed to get over his grudge, but he had no idea how. “This is your fault, you know,” he finally said. “Grace was doing this because you asked her to.”
Tammy Donner stepped up to the bed.
Jack could hear her sniffles beside him. She walked around and sat in the chair that Abby had occupied earlier. She was slow to sit, careful.
“You asked her to fix things between our families when it wasn’t hers to fix.” He met Tammy’s gaze across Grace’s bed. Without meaning to, his grip on Grace’s hand tightened. He pulled his hand away and wiped it over his face, willing the hardness of his muscles to ease. He wasn’t going to verbally spar with a woman who was sick.
Tammy reached for Grace’s other hand. “That’s where you’re wrong, Jack. I told her not to do the tournament. She was determined. You know how Grace is. No one has ever been able to tell her what to do.” Tammy kept her gaze firmly on Grace. “Besides, you’re the one who agreed to do this dangerous thing with her. Didn’t you learn your lesson after your friend died?”
Jack erupted out of his seat, unable to contain his energy. “Don’t talk to me about mistakes or lessons learned. You don’t get to talk to me about anything.”
Tammy pulled back, her eyes rounding as she stared at him.
Dammit.
“I’m sorry, but one of you needs to leave,” the nurse said, stepping in again. She folded her arms under her chest.
“I’ll go.” Jack cast one more glance in Tammy’s direction, not meeting her eyes fully, then stormed out of the room.
—
Early the next morning, Jack went to the hospital to check on Grace, but she was sleeping soundly. Whatever drugs they were giving her apparently worked well. Instead of pacing her hospital room and waiting for his chance to make amends, he left and distracted himself by giving his only employee a birthday gift. It wasn’t every day that a boy legally became a man.
“What do you think?” Jack asked.
Tristan turned back to him, a wide childlike grin sweeping over his face. Even though he’d just turned eighteen, he still looked like a boy to Jack. The kid cursed excitedly and added, “Are you serious?”
“Watch your language. And yeah, I’m serious.” Jack matched the teen’s grin, slipping out of his bad mood for a moment.
“No way!”
