What the hell was going on?
Chapter Nineteen
Brody
“Brody, you should go back to the hotel.” Momma put a hand on my arm, but I couldn’t stand being touched.
“I’m not goin’ anywhere until I speak to a doctor and hear Dev’s okay.” My voice quavered, and I was so damn glad the rest of the team and Troy and his family had left. We were alone. “I swear, Momma. When I saw him lyin’ there…not movin’…I got so scared.” Tears burned in my eyes. “I thought he was dead.”
“Oh, dear God, but you know he’s goin’ to be okay. Not even a broken bone. He’s a strong man.”
A woman entered the waiting area, and I immediately recognized her from the pictures Dev had shown me. I leaned close to Momma to whisper in her ear.
“That’s Dev’s mom. I’m surprised she came.” A terrible thought struck panic through me. “What if they called her because he’s worse than we think? They haven’t told us anything.”
Momma grabbed my arm. “Don’t think like that. We woulda heard somethin’.” She smoothed her shirt and stood. “I’m gonna introduce myself.”
Now it was my turn to hold on to her. “Momma…you can’t. She—she doesn’t know about me ’n Dev. She doesn’t even know he’s gay,” I murmured.
“Still,” she insisted. “You’re teammates and friends and her son is hurt. It’s the right thing to do.”
Knowing it was useless to argue, I watched her cross the room and listened in.
“Excuse me, are you Mrs. Summers?”
Dev’s mother, who’d been writing in a notebook, looked up. “Yes? May I help you?”
“I’m Faith McGrath. Brody’s mother? He and Dev are very good friends. I just want you to know that we’re prayin’ for Dev.”
She inclined her head. “Thank you.” Nothing further. No giving her name or asking Momma to sit by her side. But Momma wasn’t about to give up.
“We were wonderin’ if there was any news on Dev’s condition. How is he? We’re very worried. Dev is such a wonderful man—we’ve spent a lotta time together in the off-season.”
With a sigh, Dev’s mother closed her notebook. “That’s very kind of you to say. I haven’t been given any information. I’m sure they’re waiting until after the test results come in. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a call to make.”
She left, and Momma returned to me, shaking her head. “That woman.” She shivered. “I swear the temperature is below zero the closer you stand to her.”
“She doesn’t know anything, I gather.” My main concern was Dev’s health. Not her personality. From what Dev told me, I knew she was a bitch.
“No. I can’t imagine poor Dev growin’ up in a house like that. Now I understand why he left and never returned.”
The waiting was driving me up the wall. I couldn’t sit there any longer and got to my feet. “Do you want a coffee? I gotta get out of here.”
“Sure, honey. I’ll wait here.”
I took the elevator to the cafeteria and got two coffees and a bag of cookies and muffins. A bunch of people recognized me, and as much as I wanted to yell at them to leave me alone, I forced a smile and signed autographs and took pictures. It was close to half an hour before I made it back upstairs. By that time, Jonas and Marlon had arrived and were sitting with Momma.
“Here you go.” I handed her the coffee. “I got some stuff to eat too.”
“You need to eat something, honey. You barely touched your dinner last night.”
I chewed some of a muffin, having no idea what it tasted like. Jonas took the chair next to mine. “Still no news?”
I shook my head.
“Man, that was a nasty hit. Coach said the team is filing a protest. Devil had released the ball. No way three of them should’ve taken him down.”
The food tasted like mud, and I tossed it into the wastebasket. “It doesn’t matter. All I want is for him to be okay.”
