Page 29 of Forever Wild
He still doesn’t look convinced, so I say as nicely as possible, “Your house is a fortress of sadness. You can’t keep hiding away. And kids are fun and genuine, and they don’t care that you’re not in peak form.”
He smiles again, small at first, but it grows and the full weight of it aimed at me lights me up inside.
Jack hits the button on the screen. “I’ll be there.”
There’s a beat of silence then James says, “Great. I’ll let her know.”
“That’s all I’m committing to for the summer,” Jack says. “No other events.”
“Got it. If you’re only doing one, this is the one I would suggest too.”
Jack makes a noise that might be his agreement or maybe him already regretting letting me talk him into it.
I shift in my seat. If I got him into this, then the least I can do is make sure it’ll be as easy as possible for him. “Make sure they know that he’ll need to sit because of his knee and that he might need to cut the visit short if it’s too much too soon.” I watch Jack’s expression carefully as I speak.
“Yeah, of course,” James says. “Anything else?”
Jack stares back at me in a way that makes my stomach dip.
Smiling, I say, “I’d tell you to warn them of his attitude, but that isn’t a new quirk so I’m sure they’re aware.”
James’ laugh plays over the speakers and Jack rolls his eyes.
“That’s all,” Jack says. “Thanks, James.”
He hangs up and the SUV falls silent.
“Soo…” I say to break the ice. “Want some coffee first?”
10
PERFECTLY AGREEABLE
EVERLY
I feel a little awkward as I walk beside Jack down the wing of the pediatric unit at the hospital. I know a couple of the nurses through Bridget, but Jack is walking at a clip, even with his bad leg, and I have to hustle to keep up with him.
“You don’t have to come with me,” he says as we follow behind Gina, the woman leading us to the conference room at the end of the hallway where she promised lots of children are eagerly waiting to meet him.
“Hospitals scare me,” I say, sticking close. “I saw one too manyGrey’s Anatomyepisodes as a kid.”
His lips quirk with amusement. “I didn’t think you were scared of anything.”
Despite my reservations, once Jack steps into the room of kids,a lot of them, all of which areveryexcited to see him, I go alittle soft inside.
One little girl runs over and tackles him around the legs, then stares up at him in wonder. She barely comes to his knees and has to tilt her head way back to look at his face.
She looks at him the same way most grown women do, but it’s way cuter when she does it.
I watch Jack for any signs of discomfort, but thankfully the girl is latched on to his right side and he doesn’t seem distressed at all. In fact, he looks…sweet.
Well, as sweet as Jack ever looks. But his jaw is unclenched and the glare he often sends my way is nowhere in sight.
“I’m so sorry.” A woman, maybe the girl’s mom, walks over and encourages the little one to step away. And, yep, there’s that same look her daughter had.
Gina motions to a chair that they’ve placed in one corner of the room. Jack starts for it, and I step to Gina. “Can he also get a second chair to prop up his leg and maybe an ice pack.”
She looks apologetic, like she should have foreseen all these things. “Absolutely. Give me two minutes.”
