56. Nick - Good plan
FIFTY-SIX
Nick - Good plan
STEVE
Steve checked himself out of the hospital a couple of hours later. Chief Travis told him to take the rest of the shift off and that he’d be on desk and light duty at the station the following two shifts to make sure his wrist and ankle were fully healed. Steve didn’t like it, but the chief’s word was final.
He hitched a ride back to Grant’s Crossing with Kiro and Derek after their next hospital run and fell into bed.
He woke up the next morning and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, amazed to be feeling better. He still coughed a bit, but not as much the night before. He scrubbed his face with both hands, stopping to study the brace on his left wrist.
Kiro was right. He’d been a total jerk to Tara, and she didn’t deserve it.
Reacting with anger came too naturally to him. It had always served him well. It always kept him going, kept him alive. He was angry at his parents for not caring enough about their own children, angry at the Iraqi insurgents and the Taliban. He was angry at anyone who ever laid a hand on his brother, and he was angry at John’s Dad.
Now he was furious at himself for being jealous of Ethan. Hell. Maybe he should thank him for ensuring Tara was available.
On second thought, Ethan hurt her, so maybe not.
He took a shower and drove to the rehab center to visit his brother for his allotted bi-weekly visit. It wasn’t as often as he liked, but Nick needed help without unnecessary distractions. Sadly, Steve counted as one of those. At least they could see each other occasionally.
His smile was broad as he greeted his brother with arms spread wide. Nick clung to him for a couple of minutes.
“Stevie.” Nick’s light blue eyes still darted around the room with each visit, as if he was half-expecting someone from his past to jump out and surprise him. They sat in the corner of a warmly colored room on two comfortable couches with an end table between them in the corner, like two joining sides of a square.
Steve liked this room. Everything was warm and inviting, far less formal than anything they had growing up in St. Louis where they weren’t allowed to touch anything or make a mess.
Here, the chairs and couches yearned for people to take naps on them. Nick told him they sometimes spent time out here in the evenings, though most residents mostly stuck to themselves.
Despite the cozy accommodations, Nick wouldn’t truly relax until about half way through his hour-long visit. He wondered if Nick would ever shake the feeling that the men who forced him into that downward spiral were coming back for him.
“You look good, Nicky.”
“Thanks.” Nick’s shy smile made a brief appearance but disappeared just as quickly.
They talked about the small things. They talked about how Nick was doing. About a therapist he liked. And why Steve had stitches above his eye and his wrist in a brace.
“I’m fine,” he said, trying to convince his brother not to worry. “I promise.”
Steve pulled out his phone and showed his brother some pictures from the Halloween party at Jo’s. Nick always enjoyed dressing up for Halloween as a kid. Steve’s voice caught as a picture of him and Tara appeared on the screen.
“Tara,” Nick said in a whisper. He put his fingers over the picture. “She’s pretty.”
“Yeah.” Steve’s heart raced. “She is.”
Nick flipped through some more pictures.
“I’m getting better,” Nick said out of the blue.
“I know you are.”
“You don’t need to keep watching me, you know.”
“Yeah, I do. I’m your big brother. It’s what I do.”
“I mean, I’m doing alright.” Nick took a breath. “Actually, I’m messed up. I know that.”
Steve swallowed. “You’re not…”
“Yes, I am, Stevie.” Nick rocked back and forth a few times. “And it’s okay. I didn’t think I was messed up before. I just was.”
Steve frowned. “None of that was your fault, you know.”
“Some of it was.” Nick smiled and looked away, his eyes distant. After a few seconds, he turned his gaze back to Steve. “You never gave up on me.”
Steve leaned in and squeezed his brother’s shoulder. “Never, little brother.”
“So, why are you giving up on her?”
Steve pulled back and knitted his brow. “What?”
“On Tara. You’re not talking about her today. Why are you giving up on her?”
“I’m… I need to make sure you’re okay first.”
Nick nodded slowly. “You have no way of knowing I will be, but you can know I’m going to try.”
Pride filled Steve’s chest as his brother spoke.
“For the first time, Stevie, I feel like I actually have a chance.” Nick held out his hand. “Let me see those again.”
Steve opened his phone to the pictures of the party and handed over his phone.
Nick found a picture of Tara in full costume, leaning her head back and laughing. He placed the picture in front of Steve. “Do you still have a chance with her?”
Steve’s eyes gazed back and forth between the picture of Tara and his brother and back.
“You don’t have to wait for me to get better for you to be happy, you know.”
Steve stared at the picture of Tara, wondering where his brother got his wisdom. He wasn’t one to think about butterflies, but he’d be damned if they weren’t dancing in his stomach right now at the thought of being with her again.
“I don’t know, Nicky.” Steve’s voice was still scratchy. “I really overstepped.”
“I like her.”
“I do, too.”
“No. You don’t,” Nick insisted.
Steve perked up indignantly. “Yeah. I do.”
“No. It’s more.”
Steve stared at his brother when a smiling lady walked into the room with her hands clasped together. “Time to go, Nicholas.”
Steve slipped his phone into his pocket.
“Bye, Stevie.” Nick stood up. “Love you.”
“I love you, too, Nicky.”
Nick waved and then disappeared behind the doors that led back to the residential area of the rehab center.
Outside, Steve strapped his helmet on and started his engine with a renewed determination. His brother was right. He didn’t just like Tara. It was much more than that. He was falling for her. And like the dick he was accused of being, he hadn’t yet told her. And he needed to, but he also needed to start with an apology. His instinct was to protect her, but in turning her away, he made things worse. And when she hurt, he hurt. If nothing else, the churning sensation he felt in his stomach when Tara was upset confirmed it was more.
First order of business was to figure out how best to make things right. And for that, Steve needed some fresh air. He turned onto the freeway and started driving.
It was a beautiful autumn day. The sun was high in the sky, and there was barely any breeze, making it a perfect day to just ride and think.
Steve arrived home before the shop had closed, but in order to get Tara back, he needed some reinforcements. He pulled out his phone as he walked down the sidewalk.
“Hello?” Kiro answered on the other end.
In the background, Steve could hear someone talking. “Kir…” He cleared his throat. His voice was going to be scratchy for a few days. “Kiro?”
“Yeah?”
“I need your help.”
“One sec while I go where I can hear you.”
Steve stood patiently on the corner outside Jenna’s Boulangerie, already closed for the day.
When Kiro came back on the line, Steve explained his idea as well as everything he needed Kiro to do to help to make it work.
“Good plan,” Kiro said when Steve was done explaining his idea. “We can do that.”
“You can?”
“Yeah,” Kiro said. “Celeste just got here. Okay if I tell her?”
Steve stepped sideways to allow someone to pass by. “Are you going to tell her, anyway?”
“Probably.”
“Then, yes.” Steve grinned like an idiot as he walked past the florist on the square. He did an about face. “Wait. I need you to ask her something for me.”
Steve listened to Kiro telling Celeste of his plan. He heard her squeal in delight and say something about a grand gesture with an emphatic, “It’s about time, Steve!”
Kiro followed quickly with a stern directive to say nothing to Tara. “We’ll be ready tomorrow night.”
Steve heard another squeal in the background. Shaking his head, he hung up and dialed another number. He needed to get one more person on board.