Chapter Twenty-Seven
Declan finds me a bench to sit on when we hit baggage claim. I nearly didn’t make it off the plane, my legs were so shaky from the effects of the Xanax and the adrenaline crash, fight or flight reactions in overdrive long after the turbulence ended and the flight resumed its previously smooth journey.
Twenty minutes later, we’re in a cab on our way to thehotel. Declan keeps his arm around my shoulders, holding me tightly against him.
Thank god for my boy.
Thank god it was him and not Casey with me on the flight. I’m not sure I could’ve handled the panic if it’d been her. It’d been too close to what had happened.
He’s just different enough in all the right ways.
Strong enough to help carry me, to prop me up, literally and figuratively.
I’mreally out of it. I’m barely aware he’s checking us in at the hotel. He even fishes my wallet out of my back pocket for me for my ID. Then the bellman brings our bags for us while Declan keeps an arm around my waist and helps me up to the room, and puts me to bed, and…
I dream about Ellen. But instead of the nightmares I’ve been plagued with sincethatday, this is the first…gooddream.
In it,she’s sitting on our bed and smiling at me. I sit to talk with her.
“You need to let me go,”she says.
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean, George. You have Casey and Declan now. Let them heal you.”
“I don’t want to say good-bye to you.”
“You don’t have to.”She stands.“I’m happy to share you with them. You need them, and they need you. I’m glad you have them. Let them take care ofyou.”She heads for our bedroom door.
I try to ask her what she means, but I can’t get out of the bed to follow her, and then everything fades into calm, dreamless rest.
When I’m finally coherent again, I find myself lying in a very comfortable bed, naked, with Declan next to me, also naked, sitting up and watching TV.
I’m draped over his lap.
“There he is,” he says. He plays with my hair.
I draw in a deep breath. “What time is it?”
“Almost two p.m. We need to check in with the conference either this afternoon or first thing tomorrow morning. We have the cocktail party tonight at nine, the mixer. But that’s something we can miss, if you want to. I think we need lunch, though. I know I’m hungry, and you didn’t eat anything this morning.”
“Please tell me I didn’t embarrass the hellout of myself?”
“No, Sir. You were moving a little slowly, and not talking much, but I’m the only one who noticed. I don’t think anyone recognized you.”
“Okay.” I force myself to sit up, where I lean in and kiss him. “Thank you.”
I love his bashful smile, the one only Case and I get to see. “You’re welcome, Sir.”
I tip my head forward, our foreheads touching, and I wait.
He chuckles. “You’rewelcome,George.”
I kiss him again. “You’re a fast learner, boy.”
“I try, Sir George.”
It takes me a moment to process that. When I do, I roll my eyes.
