Page 77 of Always Be an Us

"And she didn’t tell you to rest it?"

She shakes her head. "Poppy once went rock climbing with a broken clavicle so she's the wrong person to be telling anyone about resting things."

"Ah."

"But I also couldn’t just sit at home doing nothing. I was so bored."

"Then paint something," I say.

"Didn’t feel like it," she says.

"No one got you pissed lately, huh."

She blushes and then sticks her nose up in the air. "Something like that. Anyway, I also had to go see Grandpa. The nurse called and told me he was awake now. "

"He is? I wanna go see him." Amelia turns a pleading gaze on me.

"We can go later," I say. "He probably needs to rest now."

"Yup," Emma concurs, while affectionately petting Amelia's hair. "But visiting hours are in a little bit and we can go then."

Amelia grins and nods and Emma takes her hand again. The pair walk hand-in-hand toward the hotel entrance. I hang back keeping an eye on Emma's ankle.

When she winces for the second time, I've had enough.

I catch up with her in the hotel lobby and sweep her up in my arms

"Declan!"

"Since you want to be stubborn, then we can do this the hard way."

"Put me down."

I note the shocked expression on the front desk clerk's face, but she looks away almost instantly as we head to the elevator. Amelia pushes the button and giggles as Emma kicks her legs and demands to be put down. I ignore all her requests, the same way she ignored mine to stay put.

Later Amelia tells Emma about her week as they make sandwiches together. Emma stays off her feet, mostly because I keep an eye on her while working on my laptop. Every time she looks like she's about to get up, I tap the table and she shoots me a sour look before thinking better of it. I smile right back at her each time.

Time flies quickly, with the easy conversation between the women, the cozy atmosphere, and the scent of grilled cheese in the air.

And then around five o’clock, we all bundle back into the Suburban to go to the hospital to visit her grandfather

A draft of cold air greets us at the entrance, along with a curious cast of people leaving, one of them being a fierce-faced, petite older woman.

We all pause simultaneously when faced with each other.

"Hey Poppy," Emma greets her. "You're just coming from visiting Grandpa?"

"Yeah." The older woman answers a tad defensively. "I was going to go hunting but the trail is closed for the day because of the storm. And I had nothing better to do, plus the rest of the crew wanted to come see your old man."

Ah. They're hunters. That would mildly explain the fatigue outfits and heavy backpacks strapped on their backs.

Though it doesn't explain why the older woman's eyes narrow on me, and the air suddenly feels chillier. I don't know how we know each other, but I'm guessing my reputation probably precedes me.

"Declan Tudor," she says. "That's you, correct?"

"Last I checked," I say. "You are?"

"Probably going to be your worst nightmare," she says. And then with a final glare from her and the rest of her group, she continues off.

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