“Even if it gets her fired?”
I winced. Well, maybe not then. “Just—”
“I’m going. You stay here.”
I crossed my arms and fell backward. Then I remembered what I was supposed to be doing and focused on trying to lower my temperature. Except how the hell was I supposed to do that? Think cool thoughts? Ice. Snow. Arctic temperature. Ellie in a fur bikini dancing in the snow.
Now that was an image I could hold on to. Except once it was in my head, the fantasy continued, with the delightful woman hopping off her dogsled and propping a hand on her hip.
“Well?” she asked. “What are you going to say to me?”
“Shut up,” I growled, not to her, but to the voices in my head that echoed her question, over and over. I had a zillion voices banging around in my skull. What was I going to say to her? What did I want?
Simple questions, but they scared the hell out me. Damn it. For all Ellie’s talk about being terrified of rejection, she was the strong one. She had all the courage that I lacked. After everything I’d done, she’d still put her feelings on the line, twice now. She’d stood up to Pops when I had given up fighting. And—
My thoughts were cut off when my brother came into the room. I frowned at him, wishing he were someone else.
“Hey,” he said, and I forced myself to look at him.
“Have you seen Ellie?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Not for a while.”
Damn, he looked like shit. “You coming off a bad shift at the firehouse?”
He shrugged. “Not so bad. What sucked was Pops calling me and telling me you were dying.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not dying. I’m just—”
“Sick, feverish, and in the hospital.” He shuffled closer to the bed. “Look, I’ve been angry with you for a while now, but that’s dumb. It’s not your fault you got talent.”
My fault? I snorted. “I worked hard to be where I am.”
“Yeah,” he echoed dully. “You did.” He stepped the last inch to the side of the bed. “I’m sorry.”
Really? That was…a surprise. But he looked like he meant it. And the idea that we could be real brothers again was so startlingly wonderful that I managed a smile. Not an Ellie-is-here smile, but a good one nonetheless.
“Yeah,” I said. “Thanks for mowing Pops’s lawn. I know I promised I’d do it.”
My brother grinned, just like he had back when we were kids. “It was the least I could do.” And just like that, we were okay. He was sorry, and I was too glad to have him back to care about the rest. Especially when I figured out what had caused my brother’s change of heart. Ellie.
“Did Ellie chew you out?”
He ducked his chin. “Not really. She just glared at me and Pops real hard, saying she didn’t like us much because of how we’ve been treating you. It’s a hard thing to have a woman like her say she didn’t like me. Damn hard.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Damn hard.” And I swore right there that she’d never have cause to say that to me. Ever.
“You ready?” Larry asked, his voice anxious, and I frowned in confusion.
“For what?”
“Pops.”
I groaned, but Larry squeezed my hand.
“It won’t be bad. I swear.”
That was a promise neither of us could keep, but I took it with the newfound hope I’d gained from my brother. He wasn’t angry at me anymore. If Larry could give up his anger, then maybe Pops could change, too. So I nodded, and Larry went to open the door and gestured our father in.
