Page 52 of Worthy Now
Jake lifts a hand and gently tugs a section of hair behind his sister’s ear in a caring gesture that makes my chest ache.
“I’m sorry, squirt. Believe me when I say I never wanted to find myself back here, either. But I promise I’ll do my best to let this be my last near-death experience. From here on out, my life is going to be so mundane and boring, watching paint dry would be the more exciting option. And someday—when I’m old and senile?you’ll find yourself wishing I’d kick the bucket already, just so you won’t have to wipe my hairy ass anymore.”
Anna pushes away from him with a disgusted sneer.
“Ew, I’ll leave that particular job to your future wife. Thank you very much.”
Jake barks out a laugh that has him hiding a flinch as he presses a hand to his sternum. As if sensing his discomfort, the nurse chooses that moment to pop her head into the room and informs us that it’s time to let the patient rest.
“Sleep,” I instruct, pressing a soft kiss to his lips and giving him a stern look. “That’s an order.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he replies, giving his baby sister a one-armed hug before his eyelids flutter shut.
My poor baby is exhausted. I give him one last lingering look before we make our way back to the waiting area to update our friends and family. My mother immediately wraps me into a warm embrace that quickly turns into a pile-up of people I love and trust. Safe in the knowledge that my fiancé is going to be okay, I promise myself I’ll never needlessly complain again. From this point forward, I’ll treasure every moment with him and never forget just how lucky I am to have him in my life.
Thirty-Four
Tessa
I’m going to kill him. I’ll do it. If that man calls out to me one more time; I’ll commit murder. Carter and Jake are sitting on the sofa, wearing matching expressions of intense focus while battling it out in a Call of Duty match, yelling profanities at the top of their lungs.
I close my eyes and take a moment to draw on every bit of patience I have left. Then, I force a fake smile to my face and step up to the dynamic duo to find out what my suffering fiancé could possibly need this time around. I’ve already prepared and hand-delivered a jug of sweet tea, an assortment of bite-sized sandwiches, and a batch of homemade oatmeal cookies. I fetched him a blanket when he complained about his feet being cold, his meds when the pain in his chest flared up, and a glass of cold milk to help washdown my bone-dry cookies, all in the span of the last half hour. Even Jude, who has the patience of a saint, changed his flight and headed back to UNT early to escape his brother’s never-ending string of demands.
Since his release from the hospital, he’s set up camp in front of the TV, barking orders and expecting everyone to wait on him hand and foot. When I called him out on his less-than-endearing behavior yesterday, asking if his royal highness needed anything else in a sugary sweet tone, he looked at me with disapproval and said, “Baby, I literally threw myself in front of a bullet for you. I almost died to keep you safe. Surely fetching me a few things and taking care of me in my time of need isn’t too much to ask.”
I didn’t hesitate to point out that the bullet was never even meant for me in the first place, and by the time I admitted that I had a mind to shoot him myself, he was shaking with laughter. Pulling me into his arms, he peppered my face with kisses, causing any lingering irritation I still had to melt away like butter on hot toast. The man makes it so damn hard to be angry with him.
“How can I be of service, my liege?” I drawl with a dramatic curtsy.
“Uh oh,” Carter mutters from the corner of his mouth. “Someone’s been playing the victim card too many times. You’d bettermake your last request, buddy, because I’m pretty sure your luck is running out.”
“Alright, first of all, I’m not as bad as everyone makes me out to be.”
An unladylike snort bursts from my nose. “Are you kidding me? Your brother didn’t even bat an eye at the ridiculous fee he had to cough up to get an earlier flight, he wanted to get away from you that bad. Come to think of it, when was the last time you saw your sister? You’re lucky I love you because if I didn’t, I would’ve packed my bags and moved back in with my parents when you had the audacity to ask me for a BJ first thing this morning. Apparently, he read an article suggesting that frequent ejaculation speeds up the recovery process,” I tag on for Carter’s benefit, who reaches for a mini sandwich and shoves the whole thing past his lips in an effort to cover up his amusement.
Jake shrugs. “Can’t blame a guy for trying. Little piece of advice, though,” he adds, nodding at Carter, who looks like he can’t wait to hear whatever ridiculous thing will fall from his friend’s lips next. “If you ever pick up a stalker and she breaks into your home and threatens the woman you love, don’t play the hero. No one appreciates a selfless sacrifice anymore.”
Rolling my eyes, I cross my arms in front of my chest. “You called. I’m here. What do you want?”
An adorable pout appears on his stupidly handsome face.
“I called because I missed you. You’ve been working so hard all day, taking such good care of me. I figured you might want to take a break and hang out with us for a bit.”
“Oh.”Way to make me feel like a bitch.
“Bullshit,” Carter coughs, and Jake shoots him a warning look that seems to have no effect on the other man. “He has a craving for Chinese food and wants to text Anna to get her to pick some up on her way home, but he left his phone in the bathroom and was too lazy to get it himself.”
My head jerks back and my hand flies to my chest as I gape at him. When the tips of his ears heat and he gives me a sheepish grin, I turn on my heel and wordlessly stalk out of the room.
“I was trying to save you from having to cook dinner,” he calls after me before he rounds on his friend. “Dude,” he whisper-yells. “After everything we’ve been through, you go and throw me under the bus like that?”
“Just keeping it real, bro. Lies will always come back to bite you in the ass. Trust me, I’m doing you a favor.”
“Oh yeah? I’ll keep that in mind the next time your wife calls me at work, asking whether or not you’ve left for your dental appointment.”
Carter gasps. “No fair. I can’t help how I feel about the dentist, man. Just thinking about that chair of horrors makes me break out in a cold sweat. It’s an actual thing. I googled it. It’s called dentophobia, and you know how Megan gets. If she finds out I’ve chickened out on the last three appointments, there’ll be hell to pay.”
“Which is why I never hesitate to cover for you, even at the risk of becoming a target myself, because that’s the kind of friend I am. But you can bet your backstabbing ass I’ll think twice about my answer from now on.”
