Something Blue, page 13
She found she didn’t really want him waiting in the lobby, which made no sense. He wasn’t family, but she wanted him close. She wanted him with her.
Regardless, she jumped out and hurried inside. Once through security with its one security guard, she reached the front desk to find someone ahead of her.
They took what felt like an eternity to check in. Finally, it was her turn. “I’m here to see Cece Shipley. Y’all called me. I’m her sister Beth.”
“That’s right. If you’ll just sign in.”
“Is she okay?” Beth asked, as she wrote her name with shaky hands.
“Well,” the lady whispered. “I couldn’t say so before because our manager was making rounds, but I think she just broke an arm or something. Nothing too major, honey. Don’t worry. She should be fine.”
Sawyer showed up behind her. “Is she okay?”
“Just a broken arm, they think. Can he come back with me?”
“Sure. But he has to sign in.”
She turned to Sawyer.
“Are you sure? Your sister may just want you there.”
“And I want you there.”
His eyes widened.
“If that’s okay. Even if it’s just standing in the hall.”
“Yeah, no, I get it. I’m happy to go.” He quickly scrawled his name on the list and they went back.
Cece was in one of the last alcoves on the hall, the farthest from the nurses’ station. Maybe that was a good sign.
She lay inside, eyes closed, reclined back with her leg elevated and wrapped. Her bad leg.
“Cece.” Beth couldn’t keep the worry and sympathy from her voice, even though Cece detested both.
Her sister’s eyes fluttered open. “Hey, Beth. Hey, Sawyer,” she said as well, without missing a beat. “You can come on in.”
Beth rushed to her side. “They said you broke your arm.”
“Not exactly.” Cece wiggled her whole leg at the hip.
“Don’t try to move it.”
“It’s fine up here. It’s my ankle. They don’t know if I broke it or—”
Beth’s hands flew to her mouth.
“Or maybe I only fractured it.”
“A fracture is a break.”
“Relax, I could’ve just sprained it. They don’t know yet.”
“Relax?” How was she supposed to relax when her sister was in a sling? How was Cece so calm about this?
“Yes, relax. I’ll be fine.”
“What happened?”
“Well, I don’t know exactly.” Cece lifted her shoulders and eyebrows in unison. “I was hiking, making my way down a hill, and I guess the decline was kind of steep, but not really. Next thing I know, I roll my foot. I lost my balance, gravity took over, and then, splat!”
Beth winced.
“I did roll a little bit at the end.” Her sister chuckled. “Wound up on my back like a turtle, just lying there.” She flailed her hands in the air.
“Cece! This is not funny!”
“You weren’t there. I bet it was a little funny. And I’ll be okay! I’ll be in a boot for a few weeks so it will heal right, but I can still help with the wedding and stuff.”
“Don’t worry about the wedding right now. That doesn’t matter.”
“Um, yes it does.”
Beth stared at her sister silently as Aurora joined them in the room.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Cece insisted she was fine as Beth seethed.
Her sister had resilience like no one else she’d ever known, and the strongest spirit, but sometimes it was flabbergasting. And aggravating.
“Stop looking at me like that,” Cece finally said to her.
“Are they giving you crutches to go with the boot?” Sawyer asked.
“Yeah. I should be able to get around pretty good. I have lots of experience.”
“Me too.” He nodded.
Everyone stared at him.
“I fell so much as a kid, off bikes, hiking on rocky terrain, being where I wasn’t supposed to on the ranch, you name it. I’ve dislocated my shoulder, broken my arm, sprained both ankles, fractured a foot one time too—oh, and there was the time I got a stick jabbed into my leg. I thought Uncle Joe was going to pass out when that happened.”
Cece laughed, shaking the bed.
Beth looked back and forth between them, wondering if they should both be committed. “All of this when you were a kid?”
“The stick in the leg was last year.”
Cece laughed even harder, making Sawyer laugh in return.
“You’re both nuts,” Beth decided.
“Nah, just a way to cope.” Sawyer shared a knowing look with Cece.
“I am kinda doped up on meds right now, but a stick in your leg is pretty funny.”
“You want funny, have Uncle Joe tell you the story. You’d swear I was impaled through the chest when I got home. Blood everywhere, to hear him tell it.”
Aurora sniffed with laughter as Cece cackled.
“Okay, okay. I think that’s enough of the war stories for now. When can we take you home?” Beth asked.
“The doctor should be back in a moment with the X-rays and a boot.”
A moment was more like over an hour, but sure enough, Cece had broken her ankle. They placed her in a boot and discharged her with crutches and a wheelchair ride to the front door.
“I don’t need that,” she told the nurse.
“I’m sure that’s true, but hospital policy says you have to be taken to your car in one.”
“Seriously?” she asked, with more than a little attitude.
“Seriously.” The nurse had an expression on her face that left no room for argument.
“Don’t worry,” Sawyer interjected. “You can cut wheelies in it on the way out.”
Beth and the nurse both opened their mouths to object.
“I’m joking. Cece knows I’m joking.”
Beth wasn’t so sure.
Sawyer gave her a quick hug and held out his hand to the chair like he was asking Cece to dance.
That got a smile at least, and she complied.
“I’ll pull the car around. Be right back.”
“I like him,” Cece said, as soon as he was out of earshot.
Beth glanced at the nurse as she rolled Cece out.
“Were y’all on a date when they called or what?” Aurora asked.
The nurse did her best to look disinterested, but it was still a very poor portrayal.
“No, not a date. Just…work stuff. For Garrett’s wedding.” The last thing she needed was people in town spreading the word that Beth Shipley was trying to move in on the elder Silva while planning the younger Silva’s nuptials. She’d undoubtedly be seen as a social climber and gold digger trying to get her hooks into Sawyer.
“You should ask him on a date.” Cece chuckled.
“You should sleep off those pain meds.”
“If you and Sawyer can handle it, I’ll head on home to help get her in the house.”
“Y’all are making way too big a deal of this,” Cece insisted.
Aurora ignored her and walked away as Sawyer pulled up in his truck.
“Let’s get you home.” Beth locked the wheelchair in place.
Sawyer hopped out and came around, helping Cece up. “Beth, why don’t you put those crutches in the back and you can get on in and sit in the middle. Then I’ll help Cece in.”
She would be squeezed up against Sawyer. “Sure.”
Sawyer got Cece in the truck like he had a side job in hospital transport, and got them home via the smoothest ride ever. Cece was already nodding off as they pulled into Orchard Inn’s long driveway, her head on Beth’s shoulder.
“I think she’s asleep,” Beth whispered.
“I can carry her in.”
“I’m not asleep,” Cece whispered back, “but you can still carry me if you want.”
Sawyer laughed, his body warm against Beth’s. Her thoughts immediately turned to their kiss, her body pressed against his, even warmer than now, his kiss growing hotter with each passing second. Bone-melting. She might’ve even made a noise of need. She’d be embarrassed if she could bother to care.
But she didn’t. Sawyer’s kisses wiped away any other thought or concern about pretty much everything.
It was almost midnight when they pulled in, but Aurora was on the porch waiting, front door standing wide open.
“You need any help?” she asked Cece as she opened the passenger door.
“Hang on, I’ll help you out,” Sawyer insisted.
Cece pointed to the back. “Aurora, just get me the crutches. If you aren’t going to carry me, as promised, then I guess I’ll have to do it myself,” she teased Sawyer.
“I’ll carry you.”
“Eh.” Cece waved him off and took the crutches from Aurora. “I got it. Carry Beth. I think she’s the one struggling the most.”
Her sister scooted her way out of the truck and eased down to stand up. Aurora helped her up the stairs and into the front of the house.
“Are you struggling?” Sawyer nudged her with his elbow.
“No, she’s just giving me a hard time because I’m mother-henning her.”
“Gotcha.” He reached for her hand and squeezed it.
They hurried inside to join her sisters in their great room.
Beth helped Cece get settled on one of their couches in their living area, while Aurora hurried to get some tea and snacks.
“I’m fine. Really,” Cece insisted, but no one really listened. They fussed over her until she was comfortable on the sofa, both legs up, a glass of tea in one hand and half of a turkey sandwich in the other.
“By the way, I called Mom.” Aurora settled in the chair closest to Cece.
Beth bit back a groan as she sat next to Sawyer on the other sofa.
“I bet that went well,” Cece muttered.
“She’s in Florida until next week but said she could drive back tomorrow.”
“No.” Cece shook her head. “This isn’t life-threatening, and she loves visiting the Gulf Coast. She can swing by next week.”
Their mother was on the opposite end of the hen spectrum from Beth. She’d treated the girls as completely independent adults since about the age they were able to drive.
To be fair, raising three girls alone had to be a lot for any mother to handle. Better to teach them to take care of themselves than to crumble under the stress of trying to do it all.
How her mother had managed to let go and trust that they’d be okay was beyond Beth.
“So, what happened out there?” Aurora asked, pulling Beth back.
“I don’t know, exactly. I was hiking the trail by Miller Creek and I rolled my foot on a rock or something. Next thing I knew, I was flat on my back with pain shooting up my leg.”
“How did you get out of there and get to your car?”
“Luckily, I was near the end of the loop trail so I wasn’t far from being done. Some other hikers came along and got on either side of me to help me back.”
“Cece.” Beth’s stomach churned. Her sister might still be out there if those hikers hadn’t come along.
As if reading her mind and knowing the wayward path of her thoughts, Sawyer spoke up. “I know that loop. I hike it a lot. Luckily, you were on a very busy trail. Someone is always bound to come along.”
“Still.” Beth shook her head. She didn’t want to think about a worse scenario.
“I’m fine, sis.” Cece held up her sandwich as if that were some kind of proof. “All in one piece. Doc says I’ll be back up and at ’em in a few weeks.”
Cece handed her empty plate to Aurora. “I’m about full as a tick now and ready to get to my room and clean up.”
Beth got to her feet. “You need to take another pain pill before bed, so you can sleep.”
“Roger that, will do. And will you help me get my jammies on too?” She batted her eyes up at Beth in jest.
“Yes, and make sure you brush your teeth and all that. Cut me some slack—I think getting that call tonight took a year off my life.”
Beth held out a hand to help Cece rise.
“I know, I know. I’m sorry they scared you when they called, but I’m not sorry I was out living life and just had an accident.”
“I’m not asking you to be sorry.”
Sawyer had the good manners to look away from the sisterly discourse.
“Good. Because I’m not.”
“Okay.” Aurora handed Cece her crutches. “Why don’t we head on back to our rooms and y’all can clean up out here.”
Cece grabbed her crutches and thudded her way down their hall to her room and Aurora followed.
Beth let her head fall back as she sighed.
“When you go back there, tell her don’t make me come in there and tell her my stick-in-the-leg story again,” Sawyer added. “Because I’ll do it.”
His jest brought a smile to her face and helped her relax. At least a little.
“I’ll give them a few minutes and then go back to help. I’ll be sure to give her your warning.”
He took her hand in his. “I know tonight scared you. Are you okay now?”
“I think so. I just worry, you know?”
“I know exactly.”
“And she’s so stubborn. She acts like I’m nagging or just a big pain in her neck the whole time.”
“But she had them call you,” Sawyer said.
“What?”
“Cece had the hospital call you to come be with her. Not Aurora. Not your mom. She might act put-upon, but you’re the one she needs right now. It’s pretty obvious.”
Beth studied him, again at a loss for words.
“Go check on them. I’ll wait out here. Maybe help myself to one of those turkey sandwiches?”
“Oh, yes. Please. Where are my manners?”
“Your mind is on Cece, where it should be. I can take care of myself. You go. I’ll be right here if you need me.”
Beth rose up on her toes and gave him a quick, gentle kiss.
She didn’t overthink it, didn’t weigh out the result. She just did it. And it felt great. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
But a bit turned into at least half an hour. It was almost 2:00 a.m. when she returned to the living room, and Sawyer was stretched out on the couch, fast asleep.
Beth’s heart warmed at the sight, and she couldn’t resist the urge to tuck him in.
She left his boots on, for fear of waking him up, but covered him with a blanket and left an extra pillow by his head, just in case.
With another soft kiss, she wished him good night.
Chapter 13
The smell of coffee lifted his head off the pillow. He vaguely remembered where he was, and then why.
At the moment, all of that came secondary to the rich aroma of coffee.
He wanted to float up and have his nose lead him to the source, as though he were some cartoon character.
Instead, he had to sit up, rub his eyes, find the bathroom, and then find the coffee.
Luckily, the coffee came to him, in the form of Beth, in the cutest cream-colored cotton pajamas with bright llamas all over them, carrying a carafe on a tray with cream and sugar, followed by Aurora holding two mugs in each hand.
“Good morning.” Beth’s voice was like a song.
She had no business looking that good first thing in the morning.
“Morning.”
“Coffee?” Aurora asked.
“Always.”
“Same here.” Aurora set down the tray, and everyone poured their own.
Cece hopped in with her crutches and he got up to move an ottoman in front of the chair she’d chosen.
Beth settled beside him on the couch, smelling wonderful, the morning coziness only making her more beautiful.
He had to work hard not to grin into his coffee mug like a dope.
She fit so perfectly beside him. Did she feel it too? He wanted to believe that Beth felt this thing growing between them, the way he did. But something deep inside still reared its ugly disbelief.
He’d thought he found this before, only to learn he was wrong.
Still, Beth was different. He didn’t want to compare her to his past.
He squashed down the doubting voice, determined to savor this moment.
Then knocking on the back door startled all of them.
“Who in the world?” Aurora was the first to stand up, and shuffled her bedroom feet to the door. “Shelby?” She opened it, and Shelby rushed in, eyes wide, as though she’d been awake for hours.
“Oh my god. Cece, are you okay?” She bypassed everyone and reached Cece’s side.
“I’m fine. Y’all are overreacting. You know that, right?”
“That’s one of my fears, except I fall off a horse in the woods and lie there all night because no one knows where I am and I can’t call anyone for help because there’s no signal and I hear coyotes and—”
“We get the picture, Shelby.” Beth got to her feet and walked over to her friend.
“Sorry.” Shelby shook it off. “I just freaked when I heard. Beth texted and said you were doing okay, but I wanted to come over.”
“We’re glad you did. We were all worried, but Cece’s doing great.” Beth shared a look with her sister that silently spoke volumes.
“Yep. I’m great. What’s in the basket?”
“Oh!” Shelby pulled the towel off the top of the basket and lifted out an entire pie. “I brought homemade pecan pie.”
Cece smiled and hugged her. “I know it’s early, but I’m not above having pie for breakfast.”
“Me either.” Aurora raised her hand.
“I didn’t know what you might need and I was nervous waiting to check on y’all this morning, so I was up early and baked.”
“I’ll get the utensils and plates.”
“Pie is always perfect. Stay and have some.” Cece waved her toward the empty chair on her other side.
Shelby stood and, possibly for the first time, realized Sawyer was there. “Oh. Hello. I, um, I wasn’t expecting to see you.”
Thankfully, Beth jumped in to save them from the awkwardness. “He took me to the hospital last night and it got so late after, he fell asleep on the couch.”
He managed a smile and ran a hand through his no-doubt-unruly hair.
