Chapter 22
CHAPTER 22
M illie couldn’t remember the last time she was so scared. As an aerial performer and bottle-walker, she’d fallen before. Lots of times. Sometimes it was a tiny slip, a missed catch. Once she nearly rolled her ankle when a bottle slipped out from under her. She couldn’t count the number of bruises, scrapes, fabric burns and pulled muscles she’d suffered over the years. But nothing compared to the sheer terror of hearing Ace’s pain-filled shout.
She’d been cashing out a customer when the commotion sounded from the back. Trisha had graciously stayed up front while she and Kelley ran to the back to see what happened. She swore her heart stopped beating when she spied big, strong Ace splayed out on the hard cement floor. The chaos of everyone shouting, asking questions, only served to ratchet up her fear. Thankfully she managed to swallow her panic and go into crisis mode.
But now, here in the silent car where the only sounds were small grunts of pain escaping Ace’s lips, she felt the fear rising again. She wasn’t even sure he knew he was moaning, but he was. His wrist had turned a deep shade of purple. Thankfully he didn’t wear a watch because the appendage was swollen nearly twice its normal size.
“Almost there, man,” BJ said, his face a mask of concentration as his knuckles turned white from his tight grip on the wheel.
Millie couldn’t even imagine how hard this must be for BJ. Was he also in pain? She’d heard twins sometimes shared feelings like that. When one got hurt the other felt it. Even if he didn’t, she was sure BJ was worried about his brother.
She was.
“Fuck,” Ace muttered under his breath.
His head rolled forward, dipping down slightly. Terror gripped her chest as she realized no one asked if he hit his head. The wrist was an obvious injury, but if he smacked his skull on that hard floor, he could have a concussion.
“Did you hit your head?” she asked, fingers gently pushing through his hair as she carefully ran them over his head searching for bumps. “When you fell?”
“No,” he grunted, letting out an appreciative moan. “But don’t stop. That’s helping distract from the pain.”
Happy to do anything that would help, she gently massaged his scalp, breathing a sigh of relief when she didn’t find any bumps. His head tilted back, eyes closing as she drew small circles around his temple.
“Taken out by a fucking bucket.” He huffed out a small laugh. “Unbelievable.”
Millie continued her massage as the truck took a soft right. “Did I ever tell you about the time I was practicing a triple 360 drop? If you don’t wrap correctly and T your arms at the end, you can fall right out and seriously injure yourself. Anyway, it took me five whole minutes to work up the courage to throw it, but once I did, I nailed it. I was so excited and impressed with myself. Then as I was walking off the mat, I tripped over nothing, face planted and gave myself a bloody nose. All the worry over the drop and my own clumsy feet were what got me.”
Ace tilted his head to glance at her from the corner of his eye. “Did that actually happen or are you trying to make me feel better?”
“Both,” she said, placing a soft kiss on his temple.
Ace hummed, brow furrowing as he shifted his injured wrist. Millie glanced up to see BJ staring at her with a contemplative gleam in his eyes.
Shit!
She just kissed Ace in front of his brother. Not a real kiss. It was on the temple. An encouraging kiss one gives to children and elderly family members to show affection. But Ace wasn’t a child or a member of her family. He was her boss, and her lover, but no one was supposed to know that last part. Oh Crap, she might have just fucked everything up.
“We’re here,” Ace said, pulling the truck in front of the ER doors and turning in his seat to face her. “Can you take care of him? I’ll park the truck and head right in.”
She nodded. “Oh course. I’ll take care of him.”
BJ stared at her, eyes assessing her face for…something. He must have seen it because he nodded and turned back to face the front.
Millie hopped out of the truck, closing her door before opening Ace’s. She helped unbuckle him since he was working with one arm right now. He shifted in his seat, sliding out of the truck with a slight wince as the movement jostled his injury.
“I’ll be right in, Alfa,” BJ said. “I promise.”
Ace grunted, allowing her to wrap an arm around his waist as she guided them both into the ER. After they went through the metal detector, they made their way up to the front desk.
“How can I help you?” A middle-aged Black woman with pale purple scrubs covered in white flowers smiled as they approached the desk. “Ace? What happened, dear?”
“Hey, Justine.” He lifted his hand off his chest. “Had a tiny fall at work.”
Justine’s eyes widened behind gold rimmed glasses. “That looks bad, sweetie. You’re going to need an x-ray.”
“That’s what I told him, but he said he was fine,” Millie said.
Justine looked at her with a knowing smile. “My husband Don said the same thing the other day after he sliced his hand open repairing our fence. But now who has three stitches, and an updated tetanus shot?”
She liked Justine. Working in the medical field she’d bet the woman came across her fair share of stubborn patients.
“Mary, can you get Ace a wheelchair?” Justine said to a young white nurse in pink scrubs with colorful balloons on them.
“I don’t need a wheelchair,” Ace insisted. “It’s my wrist, not my legs.”
“Standard procedure, honey.” Justine insisted.
Mary wheeled the mobility device around the counter and placed it before Ace who got into it with no small amount of protest and grumbling.
“Can I go back with him?” she asked as Mary started to wheel Ace toward a hallway leading back to the main ER area.
She worried they might insist on family only. Ace was a grown adult but leaving him didn’t feel right. She hated hospitals herself. They were always full of sadness and pain. No matter how much cleaner they used, she swore she could always smell the lingering scent of death. She didn’t want to leave Ace alone. To have him worry she didn’t care. She did care.
Too much, she feared.
“Of course you can, honey.” Justine nodded. “I’ll just give you this paperwork to fill—”
“I’m here,” BJ’s voice called out from behind her. “Where is he?”
She turned to see the carbon copy of Ace, with longer hair, a beard and no broken wrist hustling into the ER.
“They’re taking him back now,” she said, noting that Mary and Ace were halfway down the hall. “He needs an x-ray.”
“Here,” Justine said, handing the clipboard to BJ. “Go with your brother and fill this out. Mary will grab it from you when you’re done.
“Thanks Justine and can you page Luc if he’s on duty. Let him know what’s going on?”
She nodded. “Sure, hon.”
Millie rushed after Mary and Ace, BJ hot on her heels. They weren’t allowed in the x-ray room, so she and BJ sat in the waiting area. BJ finished the paperwork and handed it off to a nurse named Dean who she assumed knew the family based on how worried the guy looked when he came into the waiting room. She waited as BJ made a few phone calls to his family. She overheard him assure everyone he would keep them updated. Charlie had argued about coming over, but BJ insisted there was nothing she could do, and it would be better to wait and see what Ace needed.
He was right, but Millie couldn’t imagine how hard it must be for the Jacksons to stay away. They were such a close family. Not like hers at all. Her mother had died when she was a kid. She barely remembered her, but she missed her every day. Or maybe she missed the idea of having a mother. Her dad was fine. He provided for her and her older sister, but the two of them never really understood her. He didn’t have much patience when her dyslexia and auditory processing disorder made school difficult for her. Her sister had been a straight A student while she struggled to pass. They never understood her love of circus arts and travel. She always felt like an outsider in her own home.
Seeing how much the Jackson siblings cared about each other, made her crave something she’d never had, but always wanted. Family.
“BJ,” A voice called out.
Millie glanced up to see a tall familiar looking white man with dark hair and square framed glasses heading their way. He wasn’t dressed as a doctor. Instead, he wore a pair of tan khakis and a dark blue button up shirt. The ID badge attached to his shirt pocket identified him as Luc Woolf. Her brain rapid-fired, reminding her that this was Charlie’s boyfriend. The psychologist who worked in the hospital, and had stopped by the bar a time or two since she’d been working there.
“Luc, thanks for coming, man.” BJ stood and embraced the other man in a tight hug.
“He’s in with Dr. Gray. One of the best we have. X-ray looks like a clean break with minimal displacement, so he doesn’t need surgery.”
Millie let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good news, right?”
Luc turned to her, a puzzled look on his face.
“Millie Danes. I…work at Jacks.”
A genuine smile of happiness lit his face. “Millie. I believe I’ve seen you there a time or two. Charlie speaks highly of you.”
“Coming from Charlie I take that as the highest compliment.”
He laughed. “As you should. And yes, it is good news. They’re going to set his wrist with a cast. He’ll need to take it easy for the next few weeks, but he should heal up without any complications.”
BJ chuckled. “Who’s going to be the one to tell Ace he needs to take it easy? Cause it sure as hell won’t be me. I doubt even mom can get him to slow down and rest.”
“I’ll tell him,” she said with determination. “I can get him to listen if it’s the last thing I do.”
Both men looked at her with varying expressions.
Luc nodded with a smile. “You know what, if anyone can, I bet it will be you, Millie.”
BJ said nothing, continuing to stare at her.
“He’s getting prepped for the cast now. You can both go back to see him if you’d like. Room 204.”
With that Luc nodded and headed back down the hall, disappearing around the corner. Millie started to take off for Ace’s room, but a soft hand on her arm stopped her. She glanced up to see BJ’s face. So like Ace’s it almost hurt to look at. She had no idea what he wanted, but he better spit it out. And fast. She wanted; no, she needed to see Ace. To make sure he was okay.
“You and my brother have been spending a lot of time together,” he said.
She nodded. “Yes, because of…”
“The thief,” he inclined his head. “He told me.”
She knew that. She also knew none of his siblings knew about them . She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to say anything. She didn’t like lying, but if BJ didn’t ask her outright it wasn’t really a lie to keep her relationship with Ace secret.
Please don’t ask me—
“Are you sleeping with my brother?”
Dammit!
Not sure what to say, what Ace would want, she kept her mouth shut. BJ stared harder, before a light entered his eyes, the corner of his mouth ticking up.
“Sorry, that was rude. I guess what I should have asked is, do you care about my brother?”
Now that she could answer. Because it was the truth. A truth that had been burning inside her for a while now. A truth she needed to share with someone. One she couldn’t deny any longer, no matter how much it scared her.
“Yes,” she said softly into the quiet hospital air. “Very much.”
BJ’s smile grew into a large grin. “You know he’s a stubborn ass, right?”
A watery laugh escaped her. “I know. It’s one of his most endearing qualities.”
“I think you’re really good for him, Millie.” He squeezed her arm then let go and headed to room 204.
She sniffed, blinking back a few tears as the stress of the day threatened to catch up to her. No crying now. She needed to be strong for Ace. He was going to fight the doctor’s orders, but she’d make sure he followed them even if she had to keep him in bed for the next few weeks. The thought of how she could keep him in bed had her body flushing with heat. But it was more than just tempting him with sex. She truly cared about Ace and his well-being. She realized she’d do almost anything to make him happy, keep him safe.
As she followed BJ down the hall, she pondered just when was the exact moment she fell head over heels for Alfa Jackson?