Page 21 of Saved by my Baby Daddy Spy
I laugh and drop my bag on the pullout couch in the corner before sitting in the chair beside his bed. “And to think, I’ve already been trying to set you up with that nurse who was all too happy to take my credit card information.”
“You’re not paying for me.” His eyes narrow and one of the monitors starts racing. “Not a chance in hell. I have enough money to cover the costs.”
“No,” I say softly. “You don’t. Shut up and let me help you. I have more than enough money to help you out. If it makes you feel better, I’m going to be living in your house while I’m here.”
Brodie laughs and starts coughing. I get up and grab the glass of water beside his bed, holding it to his lips as he takes a long drink.
“I think you should stop trying to pretend that you’re fine when we both know you’re not. Until you get better, feel free to call me Nurse Holden,” I chuckle.
I put the glass of water back on the little table. Brodie eyes me like he would rather tell me where to go before his eyelids drift shut.
“Are you going to reconnect with that woman you met the last time you were here?” he asks.
“Unlikely. She moved on with her life and I’ve got other things to spend my time doing.”
“You’re a coward.”
He’s not wrong, I know he’s not. Though, all his accusation does is remind me of that day so long ago when Hannah called me a coward too.
Everything reminds me of her, and it kills me.
Leaving was the right thing, but I know I’m going to live with regretting it. I’ve got a gut feeling that tells me it may have been the right thing at the time, but it’s also the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.
“How is Brodie doing?” Preston asks as I step into his house later that night. “I heard about the accident before you told me. I made sure that he got the best doctors possible.”
“How did you hear about the accident before I did?” I ask as I follow him through the house to where Audrey and Teddy are playing in the living room.
My stomach lurches at seeing the little boy, now two years older than when I last saw him. I should have been here to see him grow up, but I wasn’t.
I should have come back here sooner. I’ve missed my family.
“I didn’t know you were coming over,” Audrey says as she gets up and shoots her husband a look I can’t quite decipher. “It’s so good to see you again. Although, I might kill you. Did you know the entire family was freaking out? Hampton kept us all updated with the one message you sent before you went silent.”
My cheeks warm with shame as I pull her into a hug. “I’m sorry. There were a lot of things going on and work kept me really busy.”
Audrey hugs me back before stepping away. I can still see the concern in her eyes as she studies me like I’m a suspect of some kind.
I don’t know what she’s seeing when she looks at me, but it’s unsettling.
“Dinner is going to be ready soon. At least, I’m going to order it and then it should be here soon.” Preston grins as he pulls out his phone. “Teddy, go ask Aunt Hannah what she wants on her pizza.”
“Hannah?” I ask, swallowing hard as I look between Preston and Audrey. “She’s visiting?”
“She lives here,” Audrey says, her tone cold as Teddy takes off into the other room. “Although, you would know that if you hadn’t made the entire family sick with worry over you all this time. I can already hear your sisters and brother now. They’re going to tear a strip off you.”
“Damn,” I say, my tone teasing as I try to pretend that hearing Hannah’s name has no effect on me. “I came here first because I thought you were going to play nice.”
“Well, you thought wrong,” Preston rolls his eyes and leaves the room to order the pizza. I can hear the low rumble of his voice in the other room as he places the call while Audrey continues to glare at me.
“Can I help you with something?” My voice is strained and I’m starting to get irritated with the way she is grilling me.
Maybe Hannah told her everything. She definitely knows that I was with her sister when she got shot. There is no way that she doesn’t know I left her alone at the hospital.
Audrey has no reason to like me, and based on the way she’s looking at me, I think it’s safe to assume that she doesn’t.
“I’m going to say this once,” she says as she walks over to me and crosses her arms. “If you do anything to hurt my sister again, I’ll kill you myself.”
For a moment, I think she’s crazy enough to do it. There’s a gleam in her eyes that makes me think she would have no problem putting a bullet between my eyes. Hell, I’m mildly surprised that she hasn’t already.
