“Are you never happy, woman? I have no idea how Jake puts up with you.”
“Watch it, creep. I’m a lovely person. And you need a shave.”
“You’re sounding more like my mom every day.”
“Thank you. Michelle and I are like this,” she said and held up her hand with two fingers crossed.
“It wasn’t meant as a compliment, Casey, but take it whatever way you want.”
She grinned and then cast her uninterested eyes over Kyle. “Can you please get dressed? I’m afraid bits of you might dangle out, and I’d prefer not to see that.”
“I’m not doing it for you.” Kyle said dismissively then looked over at me and assumed his sexiest man pose. “You like?”
Um, yeah!Do I ever!I fought the urge to tackle him to the ground, but since his brother’s girlfriend was in the room, I figured I’d better play it cool. Shrugging, I said, “Eh, I’ve seen better.”
Casey transformed her hand into a gun and pulled the trigger. “Ooh, shot down.”
He clutched his chest as if the invisible bullet had punctured it, but his towel slipped and Kyle grabbed for it on its way down. He caught the cloth just before exposing himself, and then turned and ran for the bedroom door. His naked ass was in full view of both of us girls.
“Dammit, Kyle!” Casey complained, covering her eyes. “I told you this would happen. I can’t everunseethat.”
“You better not tell Jake!” he called from the bedroom.
“Oh, I will, and he’s gonna be pissed. In fact, I’m going to go tell him right now. If that doesn’t wake him up, I don’t know what will,” Casey said with an amused look on her face. She turned to me and winked.
Casey finished putting on a little makeup and swept her long brown hair into a ponytail before standing up. “I’m leaving,” she called to Kyle.
He opened the door and stepped out dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, flip-flops on his feet. “Okay, give Jake a big, smoochy kiss for me.”
“I always do,” Casey affirmed, and hugged me. “It was really nice meeting you Kenzie. When Jake wakes up, we’ll all hang out.”
Just as she turned to leave, I saw the flash of grief in her eyes. I knew that look. It was the same one my father had worn after my mom died. I prayed she would get the happy ending my dad had been deprived of all those years ago.
* * *
“You ready?” Kyle asked.
“Where are we going?”
“You said I needed fresh air. I have somewhere I want to take you.”
“Are we leaving the hospital?”
“Yes. I need a break.”
“Are you sure that’s okay?” I questioned. The last thing I wanted was for him to feel obligated to entertain me.
“With who? Jake? I hardly think he’ll mind. Besides, we have a family group message. Any changes are reported within seconds.” Kyle opened the door. “Let’s go. We don’t have much time.”
“For what?”
“You’ll see.”
I followed Kyle to the elevators, which we took to the ground floor parking garage. He led me to a white truck and opened the door for me. The entrance was higher than normal, and I contemplated how to get into the damn thing.
“Do you need a boost?”
Tapping one of the tires, I asked, “Are you compensating for something?”
