“I…know,” I say roughly. There’s no doubt in my mind that I’m going to be the one to take care of her. “I know we were on rocky ground before this, but I will do whatever I have to, to smooth that over. I need her with me, Ransom. I’ll take care of her.”I sign.
He nods, rubbing the top of Holly’s foot, looking lost in thought. This is where Kade would jump in making assumptions, defending his right to care for her. His relationship with Ransom has always been more volatile. Me? I wait, holding Holly’s hand.
“You ever wonder if Kade’s right?” he asks. I raise my eyebrows at him, letting him see my confusion. “Last family dinner, he said something…about fate.” I hum at him to continue. “First Becca. Her car dies right at the garage, so Kade meets her. She couldn’t be more perfect for him. And then Holly?” My eyes are steady on his. I want to know where he’s going with this. “It’s been just us for so long, Micah. The nine of us. Sure, the odd woman came around. There’s been fucking and fun, but nothing significant. Until now.”
“Holly knows sign,”I tell him.
He exhales heavily. “That’s what Kade said…what do you think the odds are, brother? A woman who can sign showing up to Becca’s class, them becoming friends and her taking the job at the garage? Jonas ran the numbers, and well, you’re more likely to win the lottery.”
I smile, thinking of Jonas sitting in his cardigan, running those calculations.“We already have. Our lives are one big lottery win. The money, the family we built. The business. All of it.”
“Yeah,” he says, fiddling with his cufflink. “So none of this feels like a fucking coincidence. Us. Becca. Now Holly. Maybe it’s all…perfect.”
I smile, liking that word. Our childhoods were far from perfect. My father beat me so badly I have permanent brain damage. But still, I can see the perfection, especially in Holly.
“She’s so tiny,” he says, a shadow in his eyes. She is. A touch over five feet with generous curves. Mainstream media would label her fat. Mainstream media can go fuck themselves. I think she’s fucking delicious.
I can see the fire in Ran’s eyes. The anger. Anger that she’s hurt now, and anger that she’s ever been hurt. He’s already on her side, just because she’s vulnerable. But the fact that I’m claiming her, even just to him, even if she’s never truly mine, means she’s ours. His. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’ll never have to worry again a day in her life. I’ve got her. We’ve got her. But she’s strong. She’s going to fight it, just like we did when Ransom first found us. She’s going to test me, push me away. And just like Ransom, I’ll hold steady. I’ll be her fucking rock.
“You going to help me keep her?”
He smiles, his eyes shifting from me to Holly. “Yeah man. I can’t think of anyone better. But she’s going to put you through fucking fire man. You know that, right?”
“She’s been controlled, beaten, and probably raped by her ex. She has a lot of fucking healing to do. Even if she heals, she’ll be left with scars. So yeah, she’s going to put me through fire. I’ll walk through it, man. I’ll do whatever it takes to help her feel whole again.”
He nods, pulling his hand away from her foot to take his phone out. “Ok brother, let’s get to work.”
So we do.
With Ransom’s help, it only takes a few calls and texts to arrange everything. By the time the orderlies come to move her upstairs, all my custom clients have been pushed back and I’m free to focus on her for the next few weeks. Ransom and I walk behind her stretcher, riding up to the private floor with her. We wait in the hallway while the nurses get her settled. They’ve been giving us looks on this floor too, but I don’t care. If our money buys Holly a second more care or comfort, then good. They can gawk at us all they want.
“Do you want me to stick around?” Ransom asks. I want to say no, but I need to make sure the nurses up here know about me and are ready to communicate with me. It used to embarrass me, asking for help or support. But not anymore. I wish I didn’t have the disability I do, but it’s never going away, so there’s no point fighting it.
“I’ll need a notebook, or…”I drift off as a young nurse comes up to Ransom, a sparkly pink notebook in her hand. “Here, Mr. Kyle,” she says shyly. “I’m sorry it’s a little…pink.”
I smile at her, taking them from his hands and tucking them under my arm, signing and saying “Thanks.” She rushes away with a blush, and I turn to my brother. “Thanks…brother” I say, realizing he’s already made sure every single person on this floor knows how to communicate with me. It’s pretty typical of him, always smoothing our way if he can.
He smiles, the smile only his brothers get. The big one. The real one. He reaches out and grabs the back of my neck, pulling me in until our foreheads touch. “You text me, man. For anything either of you need. Anytime. Yeah?”
“Yeah,” I agree, tugging him into a hug. He hugs me back, then raps me on the back twice before releasing me.
As he steps back, hisRansom Kyle - Billionairemask slides back over his face. “I’ll check in later, brother,” he says, before turning and walking away. All the nurses watch him go, making me chuckle. Their eyes dart to me, most of them blushing and hurrying back to what they were doing. Except one older nurse who just winks at me.
“I’m not gonna lie honey, I’ll be watching you walk away too while you’re here. I’ve gotta get my thrills where I can.”
I bark out a laugh. “Deal.”
Just then, the nurses exit Holly’s room. “You can go in now, Mr. James.” I murmur my thanks, already heading into the room, my focus on getting back to Holly as quickly as I can. I need to be there when she wakes up. I need to see those pretty blue eyes. She needs to know she’s not alone.
This room is much bigger than the little ER cubby. The walls are rich paneled wood, and there’s a private bathroom attached. I pull the big armchair near the bed closer so I can reach her hand, carefully tucking hers inside mine. As I sit in the peace of the room, the panic of the last couple of hours dissipates. She’s here, she’s breathing, and I’m right next to her. Nothing else matters. I rest my head back and close my eyes, content to wait for her to wake up.
9
HOLLY
The flaring pain in my body, and especially the throb in my ankle, pull me out of the blackness. Everything hurts.
Like I’ve done hundreds of times, I stay still, tuning into the room around me, listening for any sign Brent is still here. Too often I moved without thinking and he’d pick up where he left off, feeling like he hadn’t properly punished me if I was still conscious. But I don’t hear his heavy breaths or smell his heavy cologne. Though I do smell smoke.
