Page 67 of Love Me Fearless

I release Rio’s knee and turn around. “Is that an invitation?”

She licks her lips, then looks away. I can practically see the gears turning in her mind.

I take the coffee mug from her and take a slow sip, never taking my eyes off her.

“Hutch, maybewe should?—”

I step closer, boxing her into the corner. “Don’t finish that.”

“I don’t know if this is such a good idea.”

“It’s a fantastic idea. We’re good together, Greely. You know it. I know it.”

“In the moment, yeah.” She leans back against the wall and crosses her arms.

“Let’s share a few more of them.”

She releases an anguished sigh. “So we just hook up while you’re home, and then break it off when you leave?”

My chest gives a tight ache. “Is that what you want?”

From outside the barn come a series of hurried footsteps. “Rye? You in here?”

It’s Thea. I duck under Rio’s neck and cross the distance to the stall door to meet her.

“The hospital called,” Thea says, her eyes bright. “They’re going to do some kind of procedure today. It sounds promising.”

Thea’s gaze flicks to Ava, who has come up behind me, but she quickly refocuses on me. “We should go.”

“I’ll be right there,” I say.

Thea seems to hesitate for a moment, then spins and hurries out of the barn. I reach for Ava and pull her to my chest.

To my relief, she seems to relax. “Go,” she says on a sigh. “But keep me in the loop?”

“I need to see you later.” I savor the feel of her body against me.

“We’ll see, okay?”

At least she didn’t say no. I kiss the top of her head. “Okay.”

Chapter Seventeen

By the timewe get to the hospital, they are already prepping Mom for the procedure, so I barely get the details before the team comes for her.

I take Mom’s hand and send her all my positive vibes. “You’ve got this, Ma.”

She smiles. “See you on the other side.”

Thea gives her a kiss on the cheek and a high-five before the nurses wheel her from the room.

“Why didn’t they do this procedure before?” I ask Thea while we walk to the waiting area.

Thea gives me a thoughtful glance. “I don’t know. Too risky?”

That was my thinking too. This balloon procedure—valvulo-something-or-other—apparently will offer the cardiac team information about how ready Mom’s heart might be for something more invasive.

But if they’ve decided to go for it, then it means she’s getting stronger, which doesn’t fit with what I learned last night. I can’t shake the sense that her medical team isn’t telling us everything.Like is this part of her getting strong enough for the new valve, or is it a side-step to buy her more time?

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