Susan high-fived Christy. “True that.”
“So, Christy is Brooks’ mom?” I asked.
Delaney nodded. “She has some health issues. Susan is her live-in caretaker. Calling my mom really was the best thing. She’s dealt with helping people her whole life.”
I put my arm across Delaney’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “Good.” I didn’t want her to feel bad about being here. “And if Roc is up to it, we could totally do dinner.”
“Don’t mention that to her. She’ll be at the store quicker than you asking her to stay.” Delaney laughed.
A horn honked outside.
“Showtime!” Susan yelled. “You stay here and hold the door open, Christy,” she ordered.
Susan bustled out the front door, and Christy held it open.
Delaney and I followed Susan out the door and over to the SUV.
“Damn, girl,” Delaney laughed as Harlyn opened her door. “Did you buy a new car on the way to pick up your dad?”
Harlyn held up the keys and shook them. “Just stole it from the old man’s garage.”
Roc reached across and grabbed the keys from Harlyn. “I’ll be taking those,” he grunted. “You put more miles on it than I have.”
Harlyn shrugged and slid down from the SUV. “Like you really would have fit in my car. Besides, your cars barely get driven because you’re never home.”
We all moved to the passenger side, and Susan opened the door.
“What the hell is this?” Roc grumbled.
“The Calvary is here to get your butt out of this truck and in the house,” Susan explained. “It’s amazing they even got you in the front. They should have laid you across the backseat.”
I helped Harlyn get the wheelchair out of the back of the SUV and rolled it over to Susan. I locked the wheels and finally looked at Roc.
His face was pale, and I could tell he was tired.
Though it might have been the fact Harlyn had dressed him like a safety cone.
“Well, your shirt looks happy.”
He flipped me off and curled his lip. “The first thing you’re helping me do is get these fucking clothes off.”
Susan and Harlyn moved to each side of him, swung him so his legs were hanging out of the SUV and put his arm over their shoulders.
“You two grab his legs,” Susan ordered Delaney and me. “We all need to lift at the same time.”
Delaney and I each grabbed one of his legs, and we all managed to lift at the same time. I blindly unlocked the wheelchair with my foot and scooted it under him. We lowered him down and all breathed a sigh of relief when he was in the chair and not lying on the ground.
“Well, damn. That was much more smooth than at the hospital. I thought we were going to need a crane to get him in the truck,” Harlyn laughed.
“Down is much easier than up. You should have taken a car to pick him up.” Susan stood behind the chair and made a beeping sound to get us out of the way.
“What are you doing, woman?” Roc grunted.
“Taking you into the house. I was in there. There is a lot of work to be done.” Susan pushed him past us and up the sidewalk.
“What the hell kind of work?” he asked.
“You really think Mave is going to be able to carry you up and down the stairs? We need to set up the guest room downstairs for you and Roc-proof the house.” Susan huffed and managed to tip Roc back enough so she could push him up the slight step into the house. “Thank God you don’t have steps up and down the porch. You’d be trapped in the house ‘til you could walk.”
Harlyn grabbed a duffel bag from the SUV and walked into the house behind Roc and Susan.
Delaney stood next to me and sighed. “Are you sure about doing this? We could always have Susan keep an eye on Roc and you could hang out with Christy.”
I rolled my eyes and bumped her shoulder with mine. “You have no faith in me.”
“All I’m saying is, this isn’t really going to be much of a vacation for you.”
It wasn’t, but I knew I still had about two weeks of vacation I needed to use. The money from this non-vacation was going to fund my two-week escape to the beaches of Bali or wherever I ended up going. “I’ll be fine.”
“Jesus, woman!” Roc hollered from inside the house.
Harlyn turned to me and rested her hand on my shoulder. “You’re a saint if you manage to make it through this, Mave. A damn saint.” She shook her head and walked into the house.
I tipped my head back and looked up at the bright, midday sky. “What the hell have I gotten myself into?”
Out loud, I was optimistic and seemed ready to do this, but inside, I was terrified and wondered if I had gotten myself in too deep.
However, I felt it didn’t matter. I was in too deep to back out now.
“Mave!” Harlyn called. “You wanna come in and see what all Susan is doing?”
I opened my eyes and looked at Harlyn standing in the doorway. “I’m coming.”
It was only a month or so. I could totally do this.
Hopefully.
*
Chapter Five
Roc
“Put qualifying on.”
Harlyn grabbed the remote and pointed it at the TV. “Have you heard of the word please?”
I grabbed a pillow and crammed it under my arm. “I have.”
“Maybe you should try using it?” She flipped through the channels ‘til the twits who announced the AC Cola Series started jabbering.
“They need to get these yahoos off the screen and show the damn race,” I grunted.
“You only want them to show the pits so you can see what the team is doing.” Harlyn tossed the remote on the coffee table and kicked her feet up.
The thought had crossed my mind. I knew the team was fine without me, but it still felt completely wrong not being there for qualifying.
“What time is it?”
“They don’t start running for another half an hour, Dad. You’re gonna have to listen to Don and Ted wax on about their love for Terry McDougal.”
I curled my lip and reached for the glass of water Mave had brought me. Fuck Terry McDougal. The guy was a prick who won with luck most of the time.
I sipped on my water and heard Susan hollering for Mave. Mave jogged past the TV and into the living room. When I had first seen Mave out by the truck, I hadn’t even realized who she was. She looked completely different from when I had seen her in the hospital. Her long, reddish brown hair hung to her shoulders, and she was wearing a pair of white shorts and a pale purple shirt. She looked like she was ready to go for a stroll rather than take care of me.
Susan had taken the reins of getting everything set up on the lower level of the house and had Delaney, Christy, and Mave running around doing her bidding.
“You could take a nap before the race starts,” Harlyn suggested.
I glared at her. I hated that she could tell that I was tired. All I had done was get rolled into the house to sit on the couch.
“I’m sick of sleeping all of the time,” I grumbled.
“Sleep is good. You heal while you sleep.”
I laid my head back on the couch and sighed. “You better wake me up when qualifying starts,” I ordered.