Page 6 of Hiding Rose
“What’s the problem and why did it flare up?” she asked, even as I could hear Gideon chuckle in the background. Like she needed to ask.
“You know how the nerves can cause some issues if I’m not caref—”
“Or you’ve worked too hard,” she interrupted.
“Or I’ve worked too hard. It’s no problem, though. I took some extra meds and I’ll be okay by morning.”
Kate sighed and I heard another click as if someone else picked up. “Rosie, this is Gideon.”
“Hi, Gideon,” I answered resigned. “Are you both going to gang up on me now?”
I heard them both laugh, as well as the man at the end of my bed. “No,” he said, “but I am going to insist you let Kate help you in the daycare until Winifred comes back. You can’t be there alone. Beyond the logistics of your leg, what if something happened to a child? You can’t be the only one there shouldering all the burden.”
“I can handle it. I don’t like asking other people to do extra work and with Kate’s heart—”
“My heart is fine,” Kate interrupted again. “I have a machine to make sure of it. You don’t have anything but common sense to prevent your issues. I’ll be there bright and early, no arguments.”
I shook my head and rolled my eyes. “No arguments,” I agreed. Gideon said goodbye and hung up, but Kate stayed on the line.
“Tell me honestly, Rosie. Do we need to book a flight to Honolulu? Is your leg getting worse?” she asked, concern evident in her voice.
I crossed my arm over my chest and refused to look at Sawyer. “It’s hard to tell, Kate. I think it’s only gone downhill a bit because I’ve been working alone a lot over the past month as little Flynn has been sick. If it doesn’t start improving once work gets back to normal, then I’ll have to go see him. I won’t last too many more months if it doesn’t. I can fake normalcy for only so long. Case in point, tonight.”
She laughed over the line. “For once, she’s honest!” she exclaimed and drew a giggle even from me. “Keep me posted, you know Gideon can have us there in two hours in the chopper. You can’t risk losing your leg to nerve damage because you’re being stubborn. Got it?”
“Yes, mommy,” I assured her, chuckling at her indignant snortle.
“I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Enjoy your dinner with Sawyer.”
I could tell she was itching to ask, but wasn’t going to, knowing he was in the apartment. “I will, see you in the morning.”
I hung up the phone and lowered it to my lap. He made eye contact and I smiled, rolled my eyes, and huffed. “Bosses.”
His smile was forced and he laid his hand on my calf. “They might be your bosses, but they were calling as your family. Kate was frantic when she called me. She’s incredibly worried about you.”
I hated he understood how much pain I was in. I could tell by the look in his eye. “She’s a worrier, always has been. It can’t be good for her heart, which is why I don’t make a big deal of something until I can’t go it alone any longer.”
“Which tells me you were hurting long before we left the apartment. I should have seen it when you wanted both crutches,” he said, blaming himself for something beyond his control.
“When we left the apartment, my leg was tired. It didn’t start to hurt until we sat down. Sometimes sitting still for a few minutes causes the muscles to freeze up and then spasm when you move wrong, or don’t get out of the position causing the pain. It’s not your fault.”
“I still should have seen the fatigue and known enough to let you rest. I’m truly sorry for being insensitive,” he apologized.
I sat up carefully and took his hand off my leg. “Sawyer, it’s not your fault. Don’t apologize. If I thought it was bad enough, I would have begged off. This leg turns on a dime and there’s no way to predict it.”
He squeezed my hand and held my gaze, the look in his eyes indiscernible. “Next time, if you’re hurting, tell me, please.”
I let go of his hand and glanced toward the door. “There probably shouldn’t be a next time, Sawyer. We can be friends, but it should be from a distance.”
He bolted upright from the end of the bed and stalked to the side where I half-sat half-laid. “There will be a next time and there’s no reason we can’t be friends, up close and personal. I’m not blind and I’m not deaf. I’ve gathered something happened in your past life to bring you here. No one shows up out of the blue at Kupid’s Cove and doesn’t leave, especially not someone like you. Maybe I don’t know the details, yet, but I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to do. I just want to be your friend. Can we start there?” he asked.
I nodded in resignation as the doorbell rang. He went to get dinner from Radley and I thunked my forehead on my palm. What have I done and how am I going to undo it?
“My dear, you’ve eaten all my mahi-mahi,” he teased, the plates nearly empty as they cluttered the table.
“I’m struggling to admit you were right about the fish. Give me time,” I said, laughing as he sipped the beer Radley had brought him. Considering the pain meds I took earlier, I passed on alcohol for the night.
“I don’t care all too much about being right. I care about introducing people to new foods and doing it in a way they enjoy. I’m glad me and my mahi-mahi won you over,” he joked, winking.
