“Lily was sick recently and needed some bloodwork. She’s fine, as it turns out, just a little low in iron, but Ernest came across the results, and he lost his shit because apparently our blood types would never combine to make hers.”
“So you’re breaking up with him and need me, why?”
Her voice wobbles. “I felt unsafe. He tore up our apartment, and Lily was screaming. You’re the first person I thought of. My parents are in the middle of moving, so I didn’t want to burden them. You know they’re getting older, and my mom has high blood pressure. I didn’t want him showing up on their doorstep and terrorizing them.”
Well, fuck.
The last of my anger for my ex seeps out of me, but a different kind of torment takes its place.
I turn to Liliana and watch her sleep. Her chest rises with even breaths and her dark hair curls over her eyes. We’ve never met before, but I suspect this growing terror in my heart is for her. Because I’ll be damned if I ever let anything happen to my kid.
Fucking hell. I have a kid.
I swallow. “Do you want me to pay for your room for a few weeks? Until he calms down?” At least that way I can maybe visit Liliana.
Her hands twist in her lap. “Actually, I have a favor to ask.”
I’m prepared for all kinds of requests. She wants money. She needs a babysitter. She wants me to hire a bodyguard for her. But I’m not prepared for the words that come out of her mouth.
“I was hoping we could move in with you for a while.”
It’s eight a.m., and the streets of Charming are blessedly quiet. I’m parked on the side of the road, exhausted.
I paid for a few nights at the motel for Janelle and told her I’d call her in a day or two. Then drove around half the night, debating what to do.
I might be the biggest dumbass there is to actually be considering her request, but at the end of the day, she and Liliana are a package deal, and I won’t allow anyone to endanger my kid.
My phone rings, startling me. When I see a hospital on my caller ID, my blood runs cold as a million scenarios run through my mind, none of which are good. I guess that happens when both of your parents die in freak accidents. My heart beats out of my throat when I answer.
“Is this Ben Rodriguez?”
“Yes.”
“I’m a nurse at South Texas Medical. Your friend Sienna Cruz asked me to call you.”
I still. “Sienna’s in California.”
“No, sir. She was injured at a football party last night, and she needs someone to pick her up.”
I don’t understand how she could be here when I left her at the airport yesterday, but I don’t want to waste time asking questions. “I’ll be there in twenty.”
I’m there in ten.
4
SIENNA
The second Ben stalks into my hospital room, I burst into tears. I don’t know why seeing him pushes me over the edge, but all the agony of the last twenty-four hours finally gets the best of me.
“Holy shit, Sienna. The hospital told me you were injured at a party. What happened?” His voice is gentle as he sits on the edge of my bed.
I must look horrible with my head wrapped in gauze. I’m wearing one of those tattered hospital gowns, and my eyes are black and blue.
Before I know what I’m doing, I grab his t-shirt and pull him to me, where he wraps me in a hug.
He lets me cry quietly, all the while stroking my back.
“I... I didn’t... didn’t know who else to call. Gabby’s in Dallas, and most of my friends left for the summer.”
Except Destiny. That conniving bitch.
I cry harder. I’m getting snot all over him, but he doesn’t seem to care.
“I got you,” he whispers. “I’m glad you called me. Everything’s gonna be okay.”
I close my eyes and absorb his heat. It’s only then that I realize I’m shivering.
“Here, let’s get you warmed up.” He tugs the blankets over me and gives me the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen. “I’d hate to see the other guy.”
It’s a joke, but it makes my lower lip tremble.
His eyebrows furrow. Hesitantly, he says, “I’m surprised Winston’s not here.”
My eyes drop to my lap. “Cal’s not coming.”
Ben’s quiet, but I appreciate not having to answer a million questions right now.
A nurse comes in to check my vitals, and Ben sits in a chair. Now that I’ve calmed down, I realize he looks like hell too. Is he wearing the same clothes he had on yesterday? I’m wearing some ass-ugly polyester, so I’m not judging. Just curious.
Esther, the nurse, hands me my belongings bag. It’s clear, and without opening it, I can tell half of my clothes are covered in blood. Ben notices it too, and his jaw clenches.
“After the doctor checks you out one more time, you’ll be discharged,” Esther says as she reviews my chart. “I’m glad your boyfriend can drive you home.” Before I can correct her, she hands him some papers. “Here are the directions for cleaning her wound. And we’ll need to see her in five days to remove the stitches. Keep an eye on her because she lost a lot of blood last night, but she’s lucky she didn’t get a concussion. Tough girl.” She gives me a smile.
When the door closes behind her, Ben is deathly silent.
Reluctantly, I pull out my t-shirt from the belongings bag, but it’s stiff with blood. I obviously can’t wear this. “Would you mind going down to the gift store and getting me something to wear? I don’t really care what you get.” I reach for my wallet only to realize I’m out of cash. I gave the last of it to the guy at the airport to pay for the Uber. “I’ll, uh, have to pay you back.”
Thank God I’m on my mother’s insurance because my father would lose it if he found out what happened.
“I’ve got some gym clothes in my car. They’ll be big, but...”
“That would be great. If you don’t mind.”
It isn’t until I’m clad in Ben’s t-shirt and rolled-up track pants that I realize how personal it is to wear someone else’s clothes. I sniff the collar, and it smells like him. Like clean male and that sexy cologne he wears.
I finally brave a glance in the bathroom mirror. Damn, I look like something chewed me up and spit me out.
But when I read Ben’s t-shirt, I chuckle. It’s light blue and super-soft, and it says, “The Tenth Annual Nut Festival. Our nuts are bigger than yours. Charming, Texas.”
Ben doesn’t say anything until we’re driving out of the parking lot.
“Are you hungry? We can get some drive-thru.”
“I’m starving.” I give him a hesitant smile even though it hurts my face. Every time he looks at me, though, I know he’s studying my bruises.
I let myself get distracted by the drive.
This early in the morning, Charming is as pretty as a postcard. Quiet, tree-lined streets spiral out of the quaint downtown quad. The Rise-N-Grind Coffee House already has a steady stream of customers making a trek for their weekend menu. Then there’s the Yellow Rose Bar & Grill and the Road Runner Cafe on one side of the street, which are complemented by the Wild West vibe of Whiskey Row along the other.