Chapter 18
“Tell me more about this Marion who inspired our facility,” Quinn said after David and Daisy went up to their apartment over the garage. “How does Daisy factor into the story?”
“One day, Marion wandered off and ended up in town in a rocking chair on Daisy’s front porch.”
“She went from their place to town by herself?” Quinn asked.
“Yeah, and she was barefoot, so her feet were all cut up. That’s when the guys realized it was really getting bad and they needed to make some changes. They hired Hope to be her live-in nurse.”
“Home nursing didn’t work out?”
“It did for a while,” Lizzie said, “but the specialist recommended in-patient care, and the mainland was their only option. They’re tied to the island because of their landscaping business, so it was an awful quandary for them.”
“Enter my gorgeous wife with the idea for a facility out here,” Jared said. “Someone mentioned the former school as a possible site, and she had me out there at seven o’clock the next morning.”
“I don’t believe in sitting on a good idea.”
“It’s a great idea,” Jared said, “and it’s going to immediately benefit our friends, not to mention so many others.”
“Naming it for Marion is a nice touch,” Quinn said.
“Thanks,” Lizzie said. “I’m glad you agree.”
“Just FYI,” Jared said, “it wouldn’t matter if you didn’t agree.”
Lizzie elbowed her husband in the ribs, drawing a grunt of laughter from him.
“Ow.”
“Be nice to me, or you’ll regret it at bedtime.”
“Yes, my love.”
After staying with them over the holidays, Quinn knew how loud bedtime could be in this house. His phone lit up with a well-timed text from Mallory.
On the way.
“That’s our cue, Brutus,” Quinn said, standing slowly and giving his leg a second to adjust.
Brutus let out an enthusiastic “woof.”
“Is that code for booty call?” Lizzie asked.
“Jared, do something about her.”
“Sorry, bro. I’ve done what I can, but she’s incorrigible.”
“Thanks for a fun night, you guys,” Quinn said. “Talk to you tomorrow.”
“Bye,” they called as he walked toward the dark driveway.
He was almost to his truck when he stepped into a small hole in the yard and pitched forward.
It happened so fast, he didn’t have time to react and hit the ground hard, his shoulder taking the brunt along with his bad leg, which wrenched within the prosthetic and slammed against the ground, making him scream from the pain.
Brutus barked and then licked his face as he whimpered in concern.
“Quinn!” Jared called out to him as he ran across the yard. “Oh my God, are you okay?”
The pain was so intense, Quinn could hardly breathe, let alone speak. He held up a hand to let Jared know he was okay.
“Lizzie, go get David!” Jared dropped to the ground next to Quinn. “Tell me what to do. I don’t know what to do.”
Quinn was trying not to be sick from the pain. “Give me a second.”
In the background, Quinn heard footsteps pounding down the stairs that led to David’s apartment.
“Give him some room,” David said. “Talk to me, Quinn. What hurts?”
Everything? “I wrenched my bad leg. I’m okay.”
“You’re not okay,” Jared said. “Let’s get you inside where David can check you out.”
The one thing Quinn didn’t want was anyone checking out his leg.
He could do that himself. But he was too shaken after the fall to get behind the wheel, so he let Jared help him up, and between him and David, they got him inside while Lizzie and Brutus followed.
His prosthesis was still in place, but pain radiated from the stump for the first time in more than a year. Fuck.
Quinn hated having to rely on anyone for anything, especially mobility, but his leg hurt so bad that he ceded to them, letting them do the work to get him settled on the sofa.
“Your lip!” Lizzie said. “It’s bleeding!”
Quinn touched his fingers to his lip and discovered she was right. He must’ve bitten it when he fell. “Sorry, everyone. Stepped in a hole and lost my balance. Nothing to worry about.”
Despite his assurances, they hovered over him, and David asked if he could take a look.
Here it was, the moment of truth he’d tried to avoid with his family.
“So, um, here’s the thing… I lost my right leg, just below the knee, two years ago, and I have a prosthetic that was jolted when I fell, thus the screaming. Hurt like a motherfucker.”
Jared stared at him, his face devoid of expression. “You lost your leg?”
“Yeah.”
“And you didn’t think to mention that to anyone?”
“It’s kind of a long story.”
“We’ve got all night, because you’re not going anywhere in this condition.”
Mallory. Damn it, he needed to text her. “I think I dropped my phone out there. Can you grab it for me, Lizzie?”
“I’ll be right back.”
Quinn took advantage of the reprieve to close his eyes and focus on breathing.
“Jared,” David said, “will you give us a minute alone?”
“Um, yeah,” his brother said, but Quinn could hear the reluctance in Jared’s voice.
“Why don’t you let me take a look?” David said.
Quinn would prefer that no one ever looked at it, but he gave a brief nod to give David permission to pull up the cuff of his khaki pants to reveal the prosthetic that sat just above where his knee should be.
David made quick work of removing the prosthesis. When he gently touched the stump to examine it, Quinn sucked in a breath and broke out in a cold sweat.
“You’re going to have some bruising that’ll make it painful to wear the prosthesis for a couple of days. Do you have crutches?”
“I’ve got some in my office.”
“How about I ask Jared to get them for you?”
“I think he’s been drinking.”
“I can drive,” Jared called from just outside the room. “I quit drinking a couple of hours ago.”
“So much for doctor-patient confidentiality,” Quinn grumbled.
David smiled. “He’s worried about you.”
“I know.”
Lizzie returned with the phone and brought it into the living room, stopping short at the sight of his prosthetic standing next to the sofa. Thankfully, David had covered his stump after he looked at it. Quinn watched as Lizzie tried and failed to not stare at the artificial leg.
“The phone, Lizzie?” he said.
“Oh. Right. Sorry.” She handed it to him. “I’ll, um, just be in the kitchen with Jared if you need us.”
“Thank you.” He wrote a quick text to Mallory. Took a damned fall and hurt my bad leg. Stuck at Jared’s. Sorry about tonight.
She responded right away. Oh my God! Are you all right?
I will be. Hurt my pride more than anything.
I’m so sorry. Let me know how you are later.
I will.
“So about the crutches?” David asked.
“Yeah, I guess I need them.”
“I’ll send Jared after them.” David got up and left the room, leaving Quinn alone to ponder the many ways this situation totally sucked.
Jared came into the room, car keys in hand. “I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll be here.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me or any of us about this.”
“Sorry.”
“What did you think we would say?”
“To be honest, I wasn’t thinking about anyone but myself.
Maybe that makes me a selfish bastard, but that’s all I was capable of at the time.
Then a year went by and then another one, and there was never a time when it felt right to say, oh by the way, I lost my leg a couple of years ago, but I never told you about it. ”
“You’ve always been a lone wolf, Quinn, and I’ve tried to give you the space you needed, but knowing you went through something like this all alone… Well, that makes me hurt for you.”
Before Quinn could reply, Jared turned and walked away. A minute later, Quinn heard the roar of Jared’s Porsche starting up outside.
“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. Despite what Jared had said, Quinn could tell his brother was hurt to have been kept in the dark about the full extent of his injury.
“Do you need anything?” Lizzie asked softly.
“How about a couple of painkillers and a glass of water?”
“Of course. Coming right up.” She returned a minute later with the water and pills, which he took right away. It’d been quite a while since he’d taken pain meds, and he hated that he needed them again. “Thanks.”
She perched gingerly on the far end of the sofa. “Do you need anything else?”
“Just a do-over of the last half hour.”
“I’m so sorry you fell. I told Jared he needed to fix that hole in the yard, and he was going to do it next week.”
“Not your fault, sweetheart. Don’t worry about it.”
“I… I’m really sorry. About your leg and everything you went through.”
“Thanks. Jared’s pissed.”
“He’s hurt more than anything, and sad to think of you enduring such an awful ordeal by yourself.”
“I get that it’s hard for you guys to understand, but that’s how I needed it to be at the time.
It wasn’t my intention to leave anyone out.
It was more that I wouldn’t have been able to handle being invaded by my family when I had all I could do to deal with everything else that was happening.
I’m not sure if that makes sense, but it’s the only explanation I have. ”
“You don’t owe us an explanation, Quinn. You did what was best for you, even if it might not have been what was best for everyone else.”
“I’m glad you understand. Maybe you can help me out with Jared.”
“I’ll do what I can.”
Someone knocked on the back door, and Brutus let out a menacing growl.
Lizzie got up to answer the door. “That might be David coming back.”
Quinn couldn’t believe when she returned with Mallory in tow or how upset and concerned Mallory seemed to be. “What’re you doing here?”
He watched her eyes shift to the prosthetic and appreciated that she didn’t linger there. Instead, she gave him her full focus. “I heard you could use a qualified nurse,” she said with a small a smile.
Quinn appreciated her subtle attempt to make light of the situation. He held out his hand to her, and she came across the room to take hold of it.
She knelt next to the sofa. “Are you okay?”