Chapter 33
33
TESSA
“I brought donuts for my shift,” Nora declared as she walked in.
“Your shift?”
Breezing by me, Nora set the box on the table, plopped down unceremoniously, and helped herself to a donut. “Grant said not to call them shifts, but that’s what they are, right?”
“Grant said what?” I asked, no less confused than I’d been when Nora had first knocked on the door.
She took a big bite of donut, then said, “Grant said you could use some help over the next week, so he made sure someone was here all the time.”
Of course he had. As if having Nora here all day was going to be helpful. I stifled my eye roll and sat down next to her at the table, pulling the donuts closer.
“What’s with him, anyway?” She looked at me seriously. “I know it’s a small town and the Duprees are close with Mom and Dad, but don’t you think it’s weird for a doctor to be this invested in a single patient?”
My eyes went wide as I froze mid-chew. My mother was such a damn gossip, I’d taken for granted that of course she would tell the rest of the family about me and Grant. But here was Nora, absolutely oblivious.
“Do you think it’s because you’re his sister-in-law?” Nora was still musing on the subject, apparently. She cocked her head. “Are you his sister-in-law? I know I’m his sister-in-law…”
“Please stop saying sister-in-law,” I grumbled.
Nora shrugged, her purple hair bouncing, but she stopped talking. There was only one way to deal with this.
“Nora, Grant isn’t my doctor. He’s my boyfriend,” I said. Nora took another bite of her donut, and I waited for her to say anything.
“If you two get married, would we be sisters-in-law?”
“Nora!” I exclaimed irritably, wincing at the pain yelling caused me.
“I’m kidding. That’s great, but did he ask you out at the hospital? The timing is so weird.”
“No,” I replied hesitantly. “We’ve been seeing each other for a while. We just…weren’t making a big thing out of it.”
“Does that mean we’re making a big thing out of it now?”
I shrugged one shoulder, picking up my donut. “I guess, yeah. I really like him.”
Nora grinned. “Look at how cute you are.”
“Stop it,” I said, frowning for good measure.
“What’s with that Kelly girl? I didn’t like her.” She shook her head in emphasis.
“Stop. Kelly is perfectly nice, but Grant and I weren’t telling people about us, so Agatha had no way of knowing Grant wasn’t interested.”
Nora’s eyes lit up. They were the same gorgeous seafoam eyes all my sisters shared. “I heard Agatha telling Mom how much happier Grant had seemed lately. They thought it was because of Kelly, but it was you, eh?”
My cheeks heated. “I don’t know, Nor.”
“I want tea,” she said, standing up from the table. “Do you want tea?”
“Tea’s good, sure,” I replied, pointing to the cabinet where the tea was kept.
“Did Emily’s head explode when you told her?” Nora asked with a grin as she filled the kettle.
“I haven’t told her,” I admitted. “Her or Claire. I assumed Mom would’ve said something.”
Nora laughed, big and boisterous. “They don’t know? They’re going to lose their fucking minds, Tess. They hate Grant.”
I sighed. “I know that.”
“I never understood that. Grant can be a little awkward, but he’s perfectly nice. He’s always helping us out.”
“I know,” I said.
“And it was Mom’s fault he hit on Claire at the wedding,” she added.
“I know.”
“I just feel like they should give him a chance.” She pulled the kettle off the stove and poured out tea.
“Nora, I know .”
She shrugged, setting the mugs in front of us and sitting down once more, and I had a thought.
“Maybe you can explain that to Em and Claire.”
“I’m sure I’ve said all that before. Their opinion on him isn’t going to change.” She realized what she’d said and grimaced. “I mean, I’m sure it’ll change after you talk to them, but not before, is what I mean.”
“I know, but maybe they’ll take it easier coming from you.”
Nora’s bright eyes went wide. “You want me to tell Emily and Claire you’ve been secretly having sex with Grant Dupree?”
“Not what I said,” I grumbled.
“So they can yell at me about how horrible he is?” she asked, ignoring me completely. “No, thank you. You have my total support, but I’m not a masochist.”
Nora’s “shift” must’ve ended at three, because she wrapped up her donuts and headed out at three on the dot and Mom rang my bell at 3:17. I was going to murder Grant Dupree the next time I saw him.
“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” Mom asked, placing the back of her hand on my cheek as if I'd been recovering from a fever rather than a car accident.
“I’m okay,” I replied, walking back to the oversized chair Grant had set up with extra pillows for me. It usually sat next to the couch, but now it flanked the bed, leaving the couch pushed awkwardly into one corner. Mom made her way to it, and I shifted to see her where she sat.
“Was Nora a lot?” she asked as she got comfortable, and I chuckled.
“She was Nora. It was nice to spend a day with her, though. I can’t remember the last time we hung out just the two of us.”
Mom shook her head. “Neither can I. Emily and Claire were together a lot, but you and Nora each went your own ways.”
I poked at a small hole in the leg of my pajama bottoms. “I always feel a little guilty about that.”
Mom’s eyes widened. “Guilty? Why?”
“I don’t know. Am I supposed to be closer with my sisters?”
Mom shrugged. “I think you’re close with your sisters. You wish you were closer?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t feel like any of them know me very well. And I wish I didn’t feel like I had to hide things from them.”
It wasn’t as if I was being subtle, so it didn’t surprise me when Mom said, “Have you told them about Grant yet?”
“I had just assumed you shared the info.”
Her eyebrow ticked up. “It’s not really my info to share.”
“I told Nora today.”
She made a little noise, sort of a thoughtful hum. “But not Emily or Claire?”
“I haven’t really had the chance. I’ve been entertaining Nora all day,” I said, but it was an excuse and we both knew it. “I think it would be better in person. I don’t suppose either of them have a shift babysitting me any time soon?”
“No, actually,” Mom said mildly. “Em has to work and Claire and Hudson went skiing with his family for the week. She wanted to stick around, but I told her you’d be upset if she canceled her plans.”
“I would’ve.”
“I know,” Mom said. “I know you, Tess.”
I grinned. “You thought I was a lesbian.”
She rolled her eyes. “You know, plenty of kids would be grateful to have completely accepting parents.”
“Sadly, that’s true,” I agreed, grinning at her, “but being accepting of your own children seems like a bare minimum to me, so don’t expect an award or anything.”
“Fair enough,” she said dryly. “You have Hulu, right? What’s something good I haven’t seen?”
I clicked on Hulu but hadn’t even swiped before Mom squealed, nodding toward the big ad in the middle of the screen. “Let’s watch Home on the Farm.”
“A Hallmark movie?”
“When you were little you loved watching Hallmark movies with me. None of your sisters had the patience, but you would watch for hours.”
Mom was standing over me when I woke and I started, groaning at the bolt of white hot pain that lanced my stomach.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, I didn’t mean to wake you. I figured I’d steal a kiss and sneak out of here.”
“You’re leaving?” I asked, rubbing my face. I had no idea how long I’d been asleep, but through the windows I could see it was nearly dark. “What time is it? Did I sleep the whole time you were here? I’m sorry, Mom.” I pushed myself up to standing, which hurt like hell, meaning I was probably past due for my medicine.
“Don’t be silly. I was glad to see you sleep. Rest will help you heal.”
“I’m sorry,” I repeated, following her to the door. “I didn’t even get to see your Hallmark movie.”
She waved away my concerns with a single hand. “Don’t be silly. We’ll watch more later this week. I’ll be back.”
“The calendar,” I grumbled.
“Yep. I’ll be around, don’t worry.” She leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek, then swung the door open, letting in a blast of January chill with it.
The door closed behind Mom and I found myself alone pretty much for the first time today. I sighed my relief, leaning back against the door and grimacing. Medicine. It was time to take my medicine.
I shuffled my way into the kitchen and started a pot of boiling water, then took my medicine. The house seemed really quiet. “Alexa, play ‘All of Me,’” I said, and the piano started as I reached up to pull a box of macaroni and cheese from the cabinet. The reach, like so many little movements, hurt like hell, and I dropped my elbows onto the counter, my head hanging as the tears came.
“Tess?” The single syllable pulled me from my thoughts and I stood up quickly, wheeling around to see Grant. All I wanted was to hide my tears from him, but my quick turn was agonizing, and the fact that I couldn’t even hide my tears without hurting myself made a fresh wave well up in my eyes.
“Hey,” I said miserably.
Frowning, Grant closed the distance between us and wrapped me in a hug, dipping his face down into my hair. “Are you hurt or sad?” he murmured.
I gave a tiny, helpless shrug. “Both?” The word came out as a question, and he hummed his understanding.
“I’m so sorry, Tessa.” The song ended, but my face was still pressed against his chest and, honestly, I didn’t feel like letting go. “Alexa,” Grant said, “play that song again.”
The song began once more and Grant swayed us slowly. It was nothing like the big spins from the night of the wedding, but I felt better in his arms, and I let my body melt against his, finding his embrace strong and soothing and familiar.
“You want to talk about it?”
I sniffed. “No.” We continued to sway. “I missed you.”
“I can be here more, if you need.”
Propping my chin on his chest, I looked up into his eyes. Up close they were the most dazzling topaz color. “Am I going to be okay? Should I be worried?”
I watched the crease develop in real time, a dark slash between his bright eyes. “Of course you shouldn’t worry. You’re recovering well. It’s normal to have some pain.”
“ You worry about me,” I replied, interrupting whatever long medical answer he was going to continue with.
He sighed, snorting a noisy puff of air out. “Clinically, you’re doing fine. If you were my patient, I would’ve left interns to check in on you and sent you home a day earlier than Colin did. Your pain is manageable and your wound is healing beautifully.”
“My pain is painful,” I grumbled.
“But manageable,” he repeated.
“I guess.”
“If you were my patient, I’d send you on your merry way and let your GP keep an eye on you.”
“I think your dad’s my general practitioner,” I said.
Grant grinned. “If you’d like another opinion, you’re welcome to come into the office. My point is, you’re not my patient, you’re the woman I love, and even though I know you’re going to be okay, every time I close my eyes I picture the accident. The car losing control, you being thrown in the air?—”
“I’m told I was more pinned than thrown.”
“Jesus Christ,” he growled.
“I’m fine.”
“I know you’re fine,” he whispered, bending until our lips touched. He didn’t move his lips, didn’t tug me closer. He just sighed and let his body relax into mine.
I brought one hand up to stroke his cheek, then pulled back enough to speak once more. “You have to call off the volunteer rotation. I can’t have people in my house all day every day.”
His lips ticked up on one side, softening the hard lines of his face. “You didn’t appreciate the quality time with Nora?”
“Grant,” I protested, but I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of me.
He nodded. “Okay. A half hour a couple times a day. In case you need anything. Sound good?”
“Sounds amazing.”