I nearly face-planted, and we both know it, since my sprained ankle requires crutches I can’t use with my broken collarbone. I set my jaw. “That was one time. And I was under the influence.”
“Three times,” Anna corrects cheerfully. “I was here for two of them, remember? And the night shift documented a third attempt at 2:00 a.m. There was some discussion about whether you should be given a ‘Fall Risk’ bracelet or just tied to your bed with the words ‘Stubborn Idiot’ written in Sharpie on your face.”
“I know what I would’ve gone with,” Robbie says, raising an eyebrow.
My whole face flushes hotter. “Okay, but?—”
“Ames,” Anna says, “I know it sucks, but you’ve gotta wrap your mind around it. There’ll come a time to push yourself, but if you do it now before you’re ready…”
She doesn’t need to say what will happen because I think we all know it’ll be nothing good. Falls. Reinjury.Permanentinjury.
“He’ll come home with me,” Robbie announces likehe’s already decided. Like he’s the boss. “I have a first-floor bedroom, so minimal stairs. I’m strong enough to move Ames around. And I have the next two weeks off.”
My attention’s so caught on “move Ames around” that I’m a beat late when it comes to the rest of what Robbie said.Two weeks off?
“Wait, what?”
Anna and Robbie have moved on in the conversation, so they both ignore me. Anna’s explaining exactly what I’ll need help with in terms of my range of motion—dressing, bathing, getting to the bathroom, managing my meds.
Every word she says makes me want to sink through the hospital bed and the vinyl floor tiles, all the way to the Earth’s core.
The thought of Robbie helping me bathe—of those big hands soaping my skin, of being that vulnerable with him when I’m already struggling to keep my feelings in check—is going to finish off what the fire started. I will literally, no exaggeration,die.
“I… I could help you, Ames,” Auden volunteers softly. He’s clearly trying not to interrupt the conversation between Robbie and Anna or to further piss me off. “I mean, if you need someone, I could come over after school. Or I could see if I can get some time off?—”
“No,” I say too quickly. “That’s so sweet, Auden, but you don’t need to. I might needminimalhelp—” This huge concession should earn me a shiny gold star. “—but I do have four siblings and two parents who can pitch in?—”
Robbie’s head whips toward me, making it clear he’s been paying attention the whole time. “Beckett’s running Axford Lumber, True’s got commissions backed up, Holden’s the person responsible for law and order in our town,Eliza’s saving lives at the clinic, and Wilder offered to come home from his trip early, but we told him no. Which of them were you gonna ask? Do you really think your sweet buttinymother or your father, who’s still recovering from his heart attack, should be the ones hauling you out of bed? And before you suggest it, Rocco and Jana and the rest of your team told you not to worry about Watchfire for the next few weeks, which means none of them are free to help you personally, and your friends on the fire crew are working with the Mabel folks to keep the station running, so they’re busy, too.”
Auden’s mouth drops open at this barrage, like he thinks Robbie should be kid-gloving me.
But though Robbie’s being dramatic—I mean, it’s not like Holden’s facing down gun-toting criminals in our tiny town, for god’s sake—he’s also right. More than that, Robbie knows sometimes a battering ram’s the only way to break through my stubbornness.
It’s annoying as fuck when someone knows all your shit and calls you on it.
“I’m telling my mom you called her tiny,” I mutter.
Robbie grasps my uninjured foot and gives it a slow, absent massage—a weirdly soothing gesture. “Vivian already told me nobody takes care of you like I can.”
Auden blinks from Robbie to me in surprise.
I shoot Robbie another glare as a blush works its way down my neck. The possessiveness in his voice…fuck.
This is a small taste of what spending a week all wrapped up in Robbie’s devotion is going to be like, I just know it. A dangling carrot of perfection that will be snatched away if I have a weak moment and reach for it.
I close my eyes and wonder if it’s too late to checkmyself out AMA and go live in a cave somewhere. Then I realize I’d probably need Robbie’s help getting out of bed, which would kind of put a damper on my escape.
Fuck.
“Robbie’s place makes sense,” Anna says with a small smile as she types something into her computer on wheels. “Ground-floor bedroom, plus he has experience with medical situations, and—” She pauses, and her eyes meet mine. “Robbie’s dedicated. Your mom’s right about that, you know.”
Yeah. That’s what I’m worried about.
“Besides.” Her eyes dance. “The man said he’s already got two weeks off.”
“Yes, back to that.” I narrow my eyes. “Since when do you have two weeks off, Robert? I thought you were hoarding PTO like a dragon for your wedding and honeymoon. What does Lissa think about this?”
Something flickers across Robbie’s face. Guilt, maybe?
