Page 51 of When You Blush
She’s a bundle of nerves next to me. Her face is ashen and fierce at the same time, ready to fight for the one true father she’s ever known. But her hands are shaking, and she’s clinging to me. Her nails dig into my arm even though she doesn’t even realize it.
Shewantsme here, but I don’t know if she realizes she wants me here.
My girl is struggling with guilt and fear, and I’ll be goddamned if I’m going to leave her here to deal with this alone. Not until we have some answers and she’s calmed down. Not even when her words try to hurt me.
They don’t.
She doesn’t mean them.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers, holding my hand with both of hers and leaning into me, tipping her forehead against my biceps. “I don’t mean to be such a jerk. I just need him to be okay.”
I press my lips to her head and breathe her in.
“You’re not a jerk. We’ll talk about it later, sugar. Let’s check on your dad.”
Her lips roll in, and she bites that lower lip as she pokes her head around the doorway of Greg’s room.
Xander and Easton are here, and Greg is asleep. My eyes go right to the glucose monitor and see that his numbers are stable again, but he has to be exhausted. His blood pressure and oxygen levels are perfect. He’s out of the woods.
Easton immediately crosses over and hugs Harper, tugging her close.
“Hey, sweet girl,” he whispers. “This one was scary.”
Xander glares at me, but I hold his gaze, then gesture for everyone to talk in the hall, so we don’t wake Greg.
“I don’t ever want to do that again,” Easton says, letting out a deep breath.
“Where are Ava and Tuck?” Harper asks.
“Tuck just took her home a few minutes ago to get some sleep,” Easton replies. “We said we’d take this shift.”
“Why the fuck weren’t you answering your phone?” Xander asks Harper, and tears immediately spring to her eyes.
“Absolutely fucking not.” My voice is low but hard as I shake my head and take Harper’s hand in mine, holding on tight. “You won’t speak to her like that. She doesn’t deserve it.”
Xander rounds on me. “Fine. Why thefuckwasn’t she answering her goddamn phone? It’s not bad enough that we were worried sick about Dad, but we had to worry about her, too?”
“X,” Harper says, reaching out to rub his arm. “Stop. I’m sorry you worried, but I’m here now. What in the hell happened?”
“Youshould have answered your phone. That’s what happened.” Harper’s body jerks in response to his harsh words.
What’s up with this guy?Why is he taking this whole situation out on her? It’s not her fault.
“Take a walk,” Easton tells his brother before I can. “Go get some coffee. You’re about to be even more of an asshole than usual, and I can’t let you treat her that way.”
“Fuck,” Xander growls before stomping away, and Harper watches him go.
“He’s not being deliberately mean.” She wipes a tear off her cheek. “He gets this way when he’s freaked out.”
“Yeah, well, he’s annoying the shit out of me,” Easton replies. “Dad had spaghetti for dinner. He didn’t eat anything too sugary, and he didn’t realize that the carbsaresugar. He’s still new to this, and he’s learning.”
Harper’s eyes close, and she shakes her head as her shoulders droop.
“His numbers look good now,” I tell them both. “I’m not his doctor, but his monitors look stable, and he’ll rest for a good while until he gets his strength back. Is he on insulin?”
“He’s bad about taking it,” Harper says. “But yes. I’m going to have to go over every day to give it to him. You guys will have to rotate in when I’m working.”
Easton nods in understanding.
