Mick turned his head to look at her. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Their gazes held for a few heartbeats before Rachel lowered hers to her right hand and touched her finger to the tube taped on the back side. Her chest ached more than it had all day.
Rachel pointed back and forth between the men. “You two came here together? How do you even…?”
Riley answered for them both. “Technically, it was four of us.”
She lifted her chin and gave Riley the mom look.
Mick took a step toward her. “Your brother and I had a talk after I got back from the police station.”
“Police station? How long have I been in here?”
“A few hours.” Mick stuffed his hands in his pockets. “They arrested a suspect for the fire at your father’s house.”
“You mean all of this could be over?”
“At least the part about the fires, I guess,” Riley answered for Mick.
Her pulse increased on the monitor as details flooded her thoughts, too complicated and interwoven to be unraveled with a single arrest. “But we still have to figure out—”
“Yes, we’ll have a lot to make sense of,” Riley said, “but not today.”
“He’s right,” Mick said. “You should get rest so you can come home tomorrow.”
Her brother stepped over to the wardrobe, where the nurse assistant had helped her store her clothes in a plastic bag. “But would it be okay if I get your keys so I can take the girls there? It seems like you might need childcare, and I need a place to stay. The garage gets a little cold.”
Her gaze flicked to Mick’s and away, but her attentive brother didn’t miss it.
“Bet there’s a story there.”
Mick stared at his feet. Rachel’s cheeks burned, probably giving more hints away.
“Yeah, take the keys. You’re in charge.”
While her brother fumbled in her purse, she gave him a cautious look. This wasn’t a perfect time for him to take on extra responsibilities as someone so newly sober, but, for tonight, they had no choice.
“Well, let’s take the girls out to the waiting room lounge so they can eat those candy bars.” Riley pointed to Mick. “Could you take them out there? I’ll meet you in a minute.”
The twins popped off the bed and followed Mick into the hall. No one mentioned that they could have easily nibbled on them right in the hospital room. Riley stepped to the side of her hospital bed, rested his hands on the rail and leaned in close.
“Give the guy a chance, okay? You’re so hard on everyone, except me.”
“You don’t understand. The stuff he made me leave in the fire might have helped prove—”
He shook his head until she stopped. “Mick already told me. But it doesn’t matter now. We’ll just have to figure out another way.”
“There might not be…”
His lips lifting in a sad smile. “Remember when we were kids, and I said you were the dumbest girl I ever knew?”
She drew her brows together but nodded.
“If you let this guy go, you’ll prove I was right.”
* * *
Mick braced his hands on the sides of the hospital room’s doorframe and then propelled himself inside. He wouldn’t have the chance to say everything that was on his mind tonight, but since he might not get another opportunity to talk to her, he planned to have his say.
