He considered Damon, unable to dismiss his sense that his partner was taut with tension, and knew Hunter practically had the job already.
Damon hated that he was so late.
It was past four in the morning by the time he got to the hospital. It hadn’t helped that Ty had tried to talk to him when the dance club closed. The last thing Damon was going to do was confide in his partners and let them decide he shouldn’t be a part of F5F anymore because he had too much on his plate. The best course was to shoulder through the challenge and get to the other side.
Somehow.
The hospital lobby was deserted. The nurse at the desk of the oncology ward glanced up when the elevator doors opened and she waved to him with her fingertips.
He took that as a sign that his mom was more or less okay.
Damon strode down the hall, not having it in him to make conversation. He didn’t like letting anyone down. He didn’t like that he couldn’t fix everything for his mom. He didn’t like that Ty and the others had no idea what was going on in his life, but he didn’t want to confide in them either. His mom’s illness was private.
An ordeal he had to survive alone.
His throat was tight when he reached her room but he was reassured by the sound of the heart monitor within. He opened the door just a little, not wanting to disturb her, and caught his breath at how vulnerable she looked.
How much longer would it be?
He walked toward the bed, moving as quietly as he could. She didn’t awaken, which was unusual. His mom had always been a light sleeper.
But then, they’d probably given her something for the pain.
Damon balled his hands in his pockets and looked down at her, wondering what he’d do when this came to its inevitable end, hating that he couldn’t change any of it.
Then he saw the bottle of massage lotion on the end table. It wasn’t where he had left it.
Haley had been with her.
She’d come.
Relief flooded through Damon and he knew he had to do something to thank her.
He could think of one thing he was more than ready to do.
She might not be interested, though. He had called an end to it.
Damon lifted the blanket and tucked it over his mom, smelling the familiar scent of the lotion as he did so. His mom smiled and reached for his hand without opening her eyes. She gave his fingers a little squeeze, as if he was the one who needed comfort, then her hand slid away as she slept more deeply again.
He watched her sleeping for a while, then went back to the nurses’ station. He learned that Haley hadn’t just given his mom a massage: her touch had meant that his mom hadn’t needed the extra morphine to get to sleep. The nurse enthused about the effect upon his mom’s vitals and Damon was more than glad to hear it.
Haley had gone above and beyond.
And now he owed her.
He was sufficiently honest with himself to be glad.
Haley took a chance at the end of her shift and went back to the oncology ward. It was quiet, the nurses all answering calls and she was glad that there was no one to see her visit Natasha’s room. The door was almost closed and she listened for a moment, noting the slow and steady sound of the monitor. She smiled, assuming that Damon’s presence was responsible, then eased open the door just a little bit.
But Natasha was alone, sound asleep.
He’d either left or never been.
Haley bit her lip, unable to keep herself from wondering why. There were lots of possibilities. He had a date. He was having sex with someone else. He’d moved on to another willing partner and she was still thinking about him. Pathetic, but she supposed she was still useful to him.
Even that would end too soon.
Haley pivoted to leave and ran into an obstacle.
A man-sized obstacle, one that smelled of perfume and cigarettes. Damon was wearing a black T-shirt that fit like his second skin with the F5F logo over his heart, jeans, and a leather jacket. The smell told her that he’d been at a party and she was disgusted that he could go out and enjoy himself as if his mom hadn’t been waiting for him. Haley spared one upward glance to let him see her opinion, then pushed past him with annoyance. She marched down the corridor, not wanting to talk to him.
She heard Damon striding after her but didn’t stop. The elevator was there so she hurried into it and jabbed at the button, but the doors didn’t close quickly enough to stop Damon. He got in, looking determined and formidable. The doors closed, and the elevator started to descend. Haley folded her arms across her chest and tried to ignore him, which wasn’t easy since he practically filled the space.
Damon hit the stop button and Haley glared at him. She reached to start the elevator’s descent again but he caught her hand in his.
It wasn’t fair that his skin was so warm and his touch so gentle.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, his voice dangerously low.
“You. Start the elevator again, please.”
“Answer me first.”
Haley took a shaking breath. “How dare you ask me to visit your mom because you decided to go to a party?” she demanded and his eyes flashed. “I thought you cared about something more than yourself...”
His fingertip landed across her lips. “I had to work.”
Haley took a step back and found herself in the corner of the elevator, with Damon still looming over her. “Well, they’ve changed gyms a lot if dancing and drinking is work...”
“I wasn’t dancing. And I wasn’t drinking.”
“Why should I believe you? You smell like you’ve been to a party.”
His lips tightened and for a moment, he looked exasperated. Then he was impassive again. The man of stone. “We have a dance club at F5F,” he admitted. “I hate bars. I hate that social scene, but I was reminded today that I haven’t been doing my part in taking Friday night shifts at the club.” His voice hardened and his eyes narrowed. “No one tells me that I’m not playing for the team.”
“You can’t smoke in bars.”
“But you can smoke outside of them and people do. The cloud is incredible and it’s inescapable.”
“They shouldn’t smoke near the doors.”
He almost smiled. “It’s winter. They do.”
She considered him, knowing that his partners’ accusation had stung. “They accused you of not doing your share?”
He nodded once.
“But it’s because you come to visit your mom.”
“Yes.” Damon bit off the word, which made Haley remember Khadija’s comment. He poked the button to set the elevator in motion again and his eyes glittered when he glanced at her. “So, I did my part tonight and no one has cause for complaint. End of story.”
“I don’t think so.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Haley folded her arms across her chest. “How can you be playing for the team if you haven’t told them about your mom?”
“It’s none of their business.”
“They think she’s your date.”
“I know.” His eyes narrowed. “How do you know?”
“Cassie told me when I went to the massage class.”
His eyebrows rose in surprise.
“I didn’t ask. She was venting a little. People tell me things.”