Without argument, Isabel walked in that direction, and when I pulled the Tylenol out of the cabinet in the kitchen, I had to take a moment. Hands braced on the kitchen counter, I pushed through the feeling that I’d made a massive mistake by doing this.
As soon as I strode through the living room, painkillers in one hand and an ice pack in the other, and caught sight of her sitting on the edge of my bed, I knew I had.
She took the pain meds without complaint, allowing me to pull back the covers so she could slide in. Not a word was spoken as she settled herself onto my pillow, let me set the ice pack on her hip. For that, I was glad because I didn’t even know what to say.
Isabel Ward was the blood-red apple, tempting just by being herself. She was the thing I shouldn’t want but might wreck the world around me in order to try.
One taste, even the smallest indulgence, and I’d know exactly what I was missing.
If I allowed myself to, I’d want to devour her whole. Because there were no half measures, not with her. There might be a hundred things I didn’t know about her. What her favorite food was. If she was a good dancer. If she liked action movies or romances or stories that made her cry. If she liked to read or if ice cream in the winter sounded good to her.
The frantic urge to uncover each and every thing took me by surprise. Because I’d never felt anything like it.
It was impossible not to compare it to Beth, and I hated that too. Beth had been slow, sweet growth. And this … this was not in the same universe.
I walked out of the bedroom and took a deep breath because I didn’t need to figure it out immediately.
While she slept soundly in my bed, I fed the kids dinner, and we walked down to the lake for a little bit.
After we got back to the house, I quietly pushed the door open. She was on her back now, her wrapped wrist laying on her chest, which rose and fell evenly.
“Are you going to wake her up?” Anya whispered.
I ushered her away from the door. “Soon. She’s only been asleep for a couple of hours. I’ll give her another hour and then see if I can wake her up.”
Emmett gave me a nervous look from where he sat on the couch. “And if you can’t?”
“I’ll be able to,” I promised him. “She’ll be okay, bud. You said she never passed out when she … when they fell?” I almost stuttered over the question because it sparked a dangerous, violent reaction in my head if I tried to imagine her and Anya crashing to the ground. Something volatile.
He shook his head. “No, she said way too many bad words when she hit the ground.”
Reluctantly, I smiled. “That’s a good sign.” I tilted my head toward the bedroom. “Your parents gonna be mad when they find out about this?”
His eyes got huge. “Oh yeah. I was actually supposed to FaceTime with my mom tonight, but maybe I’ll just ignore it so she doesn’t find out and try to get a flight home. My dad has to coach tomorrow.”
If I had to guess, missing a game would be an easy sacrifice for both of them, but I didn’t tell him that.
“Is Isabel’s phone in her backpack?”
He shrugged. “Probably.”
Her pack was still sitting on the floor by the door, right where she’d left it when she walked in. After turning on a movie for the kids, I picked it up, pausing before I unzipped the front pocket.
The phone was right there, and when I touched the screen, I saw a few texts and two missed calls from Paige.
“Do you know her passcode?” I asked Emmett.
“You’re breaking into her phone? Cool.” He motioned for it. “I know the pattern. Up, middle, down, then middle.”
He tapped the screen, the phone unlocking immediately.
“You’re not going to throw me under the bus if she kicks my ass for this, are you?”
Emmett laughed. “No. I’ll tell her I did it.”
With a nod, I walked out onto the back deck and pulled up the missed call. I hit the name of her sister-in-law and took a deep breath.
Paige answered on the first ring. “Holy shit, Isabel, I’ve been freaking out since Molly texted me. You fell out of a tree?”
I winced. “This is Aiden, actually. Her … boss.”
Deafening silence met my announcement.
“You’re …” She paused again. “Aiden Hennessy?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry to call you like this.”
“Is she okay? Why do you have her phone?” Paige asked, the concern in her voice loud and clear.
“She’s asleep, and I think she’ll be fine. Sore, but nothing broken or seriously injured.”
She exhaled heavily, then I heard her cover the microphone and repeat what I said to her husband. “I’m going to put you on speaker, Aiden. Logan wants to know what’s going on. Is Emmett okay?”
“Yeah, he was a little rattled when I showed up at the house, but he’s the one who called 911 when the branch broke. He’s a brave kid.”
Logan spoke next. “What happened exactly?”
I told them what I knew and what the paramedics relayed to me.
Paige made a tsking noise. “Why am I not surprised she’d be so damn stubborn about this?” Her voice wavered on the end. Then she sniffed, and I heard Logan murmur something quietly to her. She sniffed again. “Sorry, Aiden, I just hate being away when something happens to my babies.”
I smiled a little, imagining the woman in my bed as anyone’s baby. “No apology necessary.”
“You’re sure she shouldn’t go to the hospital?” Logan asked. “How do you know she doesn’t have a concussion?”
“I don’t,” I answered honestly. “But I’ve had a couple myself, so I know what to look for. She’s steady on her feet, she never passed out, no nausea, no confusion.” I sat in a chair and stared out at the water, thought about the night in front of me. “I’ll wake her every three to four hours, and if I have even the slightest worry, I promise I’ll take her in.”
“What about the kids?” Paige asked.
“My parents live about five minutes away. I can call my mom to come over here if it comes down to it.”
She exhaled audibly. “Okay. Before we even talked to you, I decided to switch my flight to the first one out tomorrow. Logan is going to talk to his head coach, not sure if he’ll be with me or not.”
“I’ll text you my address.”
Paige paused. “She’s going to hate that you called us. Like, a lot.”
“Yeah, I figured as much,” I answered wryly. “But I’m a parent. I’d want to know if it was me.”
“We appreciate you telling us,” Logan said.
“Gimme a second, honey,” Paige said to her husband, and I heard the sound of a door closing a second later. “Just … a word of advice, Aiden. If you’re open to it.”
My brow furrowed at the change in her tone. “Of course.”
“Isabel is the most stubborn of the four girls, and that’s … a pretty impressive feat if you’ve met her sisters.” She took a deep breath. “And underneath that is the kindest, biggest heart of anyone I know.”
My face went hot. “Paige, I—”
She ignored me. “She will argue with you helping her. She will fight you every step of the way tonight, and I need you to promise me that you will ignore her when she says she can handle it herself or she doesn’t need anything. Because knowing someone is there to take care of her is the only thing keeping me from losing my mind right now.”