“I’m telling you, I’d turn for him if he’d have me,” Ethan added after he’d swallowed.
“Tex, there is no way in hell I’d carry enough product in my bathroom for that pretty face of yours,” Buster drawled.
Annabelle ate and drank and listened to her friends. They were keeping the conversation light, teasing each other, and she felt herself slowly begin to relax. No one had asked any questions, but she knew they were coming.
Had she only been gone three days? It felt like a lifetime, because so much had changed in that short time. She’d fallen in love, had the best sex of her life, retrieved her drug-addicted brother and gone deeply into debt. It was no wonder her head was hurting.
Ethan rested a hand on the back of her chair when he’d finished his own pie, and his fingers stroked her neck. Looking around the table, she saw no change of expression on the faces of the others. Could they see what Ethan was doing? Did they care? Did she care that they’d seen?
Closing her eyes briefly, Annabelle tried to think, but couldn’t seem to push through the gray haze of exhaustion currently occupying her head.
“How about I take you for a rest, Belle? Just a few hours, then you’ll feel up to dealing with everything.” Branna had come around the table, so she would have seen Ethan’s fingers on Annabelle’s neck.
“Yes, I-I think I need that.” Annabelle got to her feet and took her friend’s hand. She wasn’t usually one to rest, but she was pretty much at the end of her strength now that she was here and Cooper was safe. She needed to recharge, wake refreshed and strong again, and she needed to get away from Ethan before she fell apart and asked him to hold her again, and this time never let go.
“I’ll see you later, then?” This she directed at Ethan. “And…thank you,” she added. The words were still way too lame, but again she’d needed to say them.
“We discussed you not saying that again, honey.” Ethan came to stand in front of her. “Go and sleep now, and when you wake up I’ll be here.” He touched her cheek.
Her nod was jerky, and then Branna led her away.
She stopped to look in on Cooper, and found him dressed in one of Jake’s t-shirts, which hung on him. He was lying back against the pillows with his eyes closed while Jake and his mom looked him over.
“How’s he doing?”
“It’s not good, Annabelle,” Dr. McBride senior said, “but we’re going to fight right alongside you two to make sure we get him through this, okay?”
Annabelle nodded and then sniffled. More tears. She’d never cried so much in her life.
Jake stood and came to her. Taking her in his arms, he held her tight. Branna stood behind her and Annabelle held out a hand to her, and they stood that way for a while until she’d stopped crying once more.
“I’m pretty pissed with you right about now, Annabelle, but that can wait until you’re stronger,” Jake said, letting her go.
“Buster said that.”
“I bet he did.” Jake wiped her tears with his thumb. “You’ll probably get it from Newman, Cubby, and a few others too, but you need to know it’s only because we love you, okay?”
She nodded, sniffled and then nodded again.
“Take her to a bed now, love,” Jake said to Branna. “I’ll give you an update after you’ve had a rest, Annabelle.”
“Ethan needs to rest too, Jake. Can you make sure he does?” Annabelle said.
“I will, and you need to know that what he did for you he did willingly and because he cares,” Jake said. “So don’t go and do anything rash like selling your house just because you think you owe him.”
“I do owe him,” she whispered, “more than I can ever repay. He…he did so much for me and Cooper, went out of his way to do it.”
“Because he cares about you,” Branna said.
“B-but you know me, Bran. I can’t live with a debt like that and not at least try and repay it.”
“Now is not the time to talk about this,” Branna said, taking her hand. “Now you need to sleep, and we’ll deal with the rest when you’re stronger.”
She didn’t fight the hands that pulled her from the room, nor the ones that stripped her to her panties and bra, pulled back the covers and then nudged her into bed.
“It’s going to be all right.” Bran kissed her forehead.
Annabelle closed her eyes, and that was the last thing she remembered as the blissful numbness of sleep pulled her under.
