“Thank you, dear, for being here for us,” he replies.
“Anytime,” Kara says as the guys start to wheel Mrs. Gomes out of the living room and to where we are.
Mr. Gomes rushes to his wife’s side, grabbing her hand. “I’ll be right behind you in the car.”
“Okay, thank you,” she says with a grimace of pain.
“Be tough. I love you.” He leans down to kiss her head as she takes a big inhale, trying to do as he said.
The couple reminds me of my grandparents. Their love is evident and something everyone strives to be when they are their age.
I glance at Kara, and we lock eyes for a second before I move to help them maneuver out the door.
They load Mrs. Gomes into the ambulance, and I step back to go talk to Kara again.
“They’re all ready to go,” I say, motioning toward them. “Thanks for being here for Mr. Gomes.”
“Least I could do. I feel so bad for her. She was in a lot of pain.”
“She’ll be just fine. We see it all the time. When I started, it happened to this sweet old lady who lives across the street from the station. We’ve all helped with her recovery, so I can say with certainty that Mrs. Gomes will be okay after a few months.”
“You guys have helped with her recovery?” she asks with a laugh of disbelief. “Isn’t that going a little above and beyond?”
I shake my head with a smile. “Not for Granny Rose. We’ve all become her kids and now even grandkids, as she refers to me. After she lost her husband, we took custody of her dog, Oscar, when he became too much for her to care for.”
“Isn’t that sweet?” she replies with a grin and a sigh.
“Are you ready for tomorrow night?” I ask.
Atta yells over the rig at me, “We’re getting another call. Hurry it up, lover boy.”
I don’t hide my smile at the way he just called me lover boy. I’ll own that shit till the cows come home when it comes to Kara.
I lean in and give her a quick kiss on the cheek. “See you tomorrow.” As I run off, I turn to yell, “Just you wait. I’m filling that place up. My sister, her friends, the guys—we’ll all be there!”
“Bye.” She giggles.
I thought my day was made, getting to see her, but I was wrong. Hearing her giggle like that lifted me to cloud nine. I surehope this isn’t too serious of a call because I don’t want this high to fade one bit.
8
Kara
“I don’t knowwhat to wear!” I yell out to Nikki, who is bringing a bottle of wine back to my room.
I’m a mess, and I know it, so she is opening up some wine to hopefully calm me down a bit. I wasn’t even this nervous when I played at Ruby’s the first time. It was because no one knew who I was or that I was even playing there. That’s so not the case tonight. Knowing that those fliers have been made and that Silas, along with his sister and the guys from his station, will be there has made me even more nervous.
“You have plenty to wear,” Nikki says as she hands me a glass. “Now, drink.”
I slump my shoulders forward and take a sip.
“I liked being nobody. Now, I feel like I have to live up to expectations people have in their heads.” I sulk.
“You, my friend, are being ridiculous. He’s doing this because he knows you’re good. They enjoyed you the first time, and they will love you even more the second time.”
“But his sister has never heard me play. What if she’s like,Bro, why are you wasting my time with this girl?”
Nikki drops her head to the side. “You need to stop.”
