“Really, Jake?”
“Well . . .”
He wished he could just gloss over all the things that made his bad situation even worse. But he couldn’t lie to her. Besides, she was probably his best friend, and even though she lived nearly five hours away in Sacramento, she was also his closest relative. Plus, he didn’t really want to lie about it anyway.
And so, with another sigh, he started into a long-winded explanation of all of the little scary-ish details that he hadn’t mentioned yet. Like the fact that Sue had told him the repairs to the road could take days or even weeks, depending on whether the storm moved through and cleared up quickly, like it was supposed to. And like how he’d realized he was out of his prescription pain meds and although his doctor had sent a new prescription to the pharmacy, it would be at least a few days before it could be filled. Not that he had any way of picking it up right now, either.
“God, Jake, you need that medication,” she interrupted, just as he’d been about to tell her that his cane was also down at the bottom of the stairs to the beach.
And she was right. He knew what this was going to do to him—the pain was already working its way farther up his leg and into his hip. He’d have even more trouble walking. And sleeping. Not to mention caring for his new housemate—should the man decide to stay.
“I know! I’ll pick it up for you—maybe they can rush it so it’s ready sooner?—and then I’ll drive out there and rent one of those boats from Hal, is it? Right at the marina?”
Jake laughed, maybe a little too loudly. “Kris, I appreciate that, but that’s a little extreme, don’t you think?”
“Not if it means you won’t be in pain,” she replied softly. “I can hear it in your voice, you know. I can tell it’s worse than you want to admit.”
He hated that she knew the truth, but he also wasn’t about to deny it. “It’s... not good.”
“Jake.”
“Yeah, okay. I’m worried, too, alright?” He pushed himself up to sit a little taller, grimacing. “But there’s really nothing I can do about it right now except try to stay off of it and wait for the road to be repaired. And no, as sweet as it is for you to offer, I don’t want you taking awhole dayto come out here and try to mission-impossible me my prescription.” The words came out a little harsher than he’d meant them to, and he immediately shook his head. “I mean—”
“I would, though, Jake. You know that, right? If youneedme to, please, please tell me.”
He could hear the mixture of worry and love in her voice, and he frowned again. “I know. I’m sorry to worry you. And you should know that I had no intention of screwing up my leg when I went to go on my walk this morning.”
“I guess you only promised me you wouldn’t climb up on a roof, not that you wouldn’t get all heroic and play superhero.”
There was a moment of quiet where he couldn’t think of anything to say. Instead, he reached out and picked up his mug. His tea was barely still warm, and he drank the last sip before turning his thoughts back to the man hopefully resting in the extra bedroom.
“The man won’t talk yet. I don’t know his story,” Jake said quietly. He set the mug back down. “But I’ll keep you updated, okay? Just remember”—Jake cleared his throat—“my cell phone’s not working. I’ll order a new one, but again, with the road out...”
“Yeah, it’ll be a few days, I suppose,” Krista said, and then she let out a sort of resigned sigh. “I’m proud of you, even if you just screwed yourself over. You did a good thing, little brother. But be careful, okay? And call me. And please, please, if you need me,pleaselet me know, and I’ll figure out how to get there—road or no road.”
“I will.”
“Talk to you later?”
“Yep. Bye, Kris.”
“Bye, lunkhead.”
Jake chuckled as he hung up the phone, and then he twisted to look toward the hallway again. It’d been a while now—at least thirty or forty-five minutes—and he hadn’t heard so much as a peep from his houseguest. He hopedthat meant the manwasresting. And if his leg didn’t hurt so much, maybe he’d get up and check.
“Ah, damn,” he mumbled to himself as the worry he’d been trying to hide during all of his phone calls resurfaced with a vengeance. Gritting his teeth, Jake pushed himself to his feet. Then, slowly, he made his way back down the hall toward the extra bedroom.
Chapter Six
Rye
Ryehadtriedtostay awake, but after he’d finished the tea Jake had brought him, he’d lain back down on the bed, pulled the blanket up over himself—the softest blanket he thought he’d ever felt—and closed his eyes, intending to just rest.
He’d fallen asleep almost immediately.
And it hadn’t been his normal sleep filled with nightmares and fear and restlessness. No, it had been almost peaceful, quiet, dreamless. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept like that.
Maybe it had been the tea.
