Page 52 of Reckless
I blinked. He didn’t used to. We used to do everything together.
Babs cleared her throat, adjusting to a more comfortable position in the bed. “I know it’s a lot to ask of you, Kelly, but he’s going to need a shoulder to cry on once I’m gone. I understand it might be hard for you, considering your history, but…” She squeezed my hand.
“Oh no, it’s fine. Of course, I’ll do whatever Gage needs of me.”
Babs blinked up at me, her eyes almost an exact match of Gage’s green ones. “You’re an amazing girl. I hope you know that.”
I smiled thinly. Without an answer to that, I only had one thing left to do. “I’ll give Gage a call now. Get him to come back. We can sort things out from there.”
“Thank you, Kelly. Just tell him I want to see him. I don’t want him driving like a lunatic because he’s so worried.”
“Will do.”
I stepped out into the hallway and tried to catch my breath. I needed to sound calm, but my heart was thumping in my ears. I hit the dial button and pressed my cell so hard against my ear it’d probably leave a mark to keep my hand from trembling.
It rang, then went straight to voicemail. I rubbed my forehead hard. Dammit.
Knowing Babs would be nodding off soon, she wasn’t awake for long usually now, I pushed back into the room and kept my tone light as I fibbed, “Babs, he’s on the way.”
“Have you seen today’s news?”
“News? No.” I went to stand by her bed and turned my attention to the entertainment show she was watching. This wasn’t news. A new lump formed in my stomach.
“You and Gage are an item.” Her lips curled up, and she batted her eyelashes. “You’re thehottestnew couple, apparently.”
“Oh, god.” The photographer. I’d almost forgotten about him with everything that had happened since we left the Amish farm. “Some guy took our picture. We were just out…”
A photo of Gage and me flashed up on the screen. He was leaning toward me, seeming to whisper in my ear as I laughed.
The host of the gossip show was saying, “Is this the reason Gaged has canceled a string of shows, disappointing fans everywhere? Is Gage leaving the band, forcing a breakup?”
I gasped.
“It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if you two were together, would it?” Babs said. “You were great once. And I know that things are different now, but the love you two have, I can see it still, even if neither of you can. It could get you through anything. I always thought the two of you were meant to be.”
Many people got this way close to death. Some tried to apologize for past mistakes, some wanted to share every aspect of their lives, and others wanted to make everyone around them happy. As if their last duty in this world was to sort out the lives of their loved ones.
I shifted uncomfortably. “It was different when we were younger, things were so easy. Now, there’s so much standing in the way. I can’t leave my mom here to fend for herself.”
“I’m not trying to put pressure on you, dear, and I do think your mom needed you to take care of things for her for a while after that terrible accident. But I think she could do okay now on her own. Matter of fact, I think she would like to do more for herself and is quite able.”
I snorted. “Mom relies on me. I—”
“She came to visit me, and we had a talk. Ask her about it. I think you’ll be surprised. And I think you and Gage would do wonderfully together. I’m just sorry I won’t be here for the grandbabies.”
Tears sprang to my eyes and I blinked rapidly before agreeing to talk to Mom. Anything to make Babs happy after Gage’s stormy exit. My mind drifted back to earlier in my living room. What she was proposing wasn’t so off base. If it wasn’t for our living in separate states and his career and my career, it would be simple.
“I guess I just think you suit one another. That’s all. Will you just sit here with me, Kelly? Just until he gets here?”
I could never resist any patient who didn’t want to be alone. So I sat by Babs, taking hold of her hand again, and gave her a warm smile. “Of course I will, anything.”
We watched the end of the gossip show, which made me want to grind my teeth, but if a dying woman wanted to watch celebrity gossip, who was I to tell her to switch the damn channel?
Her eyes were drooping when the door opened, and I bolted upright.
A sweaty, disheveled Gage stopped at the end of the bed and stared down at us. His shattered green eyes moved from his mother to me then back to her.
“You can’t give up. I told you, I’ll take you to New York, pay for the best physicians—”
