Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
When Cresley and Ty returned to the waiting room, an older man had joined the others. He was seated in a wheelchair, but he stood slowly and carefully when she came in with Ty. “You’re the lovely Cresley Dane.” He held out his hand to her. “I’m Spencer Remington, Carson’s grandfather.”
“It’s so nice to meet you. This is my son, Ty.”
Spencer shook hands with Ty. “Good to meet you, young fellow.”
“I’m going to take care of Carson when he comes home from the hospital. He asked me to.”
“That’s very good of you.” Spencer hooked a hand through Cresley’s arm. “How about you take me to see my boy? And tell me all about yourself on the way.”
“I’d be happy to.”
After she’d confirmed that the others would keep an eye on Ty, she and Spencer headed for Carson’s room.
“We only have a second together,” he said, “but you should know my boy is smitten with you—and your son—and has no idea what to do about that. The whole damned lot of them have themselves convinced they need to avoid romantic entanglements for obvious reasons, but that’s horse pucky.
He’s apt to make a complete mess of it, but if you give him a chance to figure out his shit, he might surprise you in the best way possible. He’s one of the good guys.”
Utterly charmed by him and his sales pitch for Carson, Cresley said, “I already know that, but thanks for confirming it for me.” She leaned in closer to him. “He just took a knife to keep me and my son safe. He’s earned enough points to get him to at least his ninetieth birthday.”
Spencer barked out a laugh that had the nurses scowling at him. “Take it from me—that’s when the real fun begins.”
Cresley was still laughing when they stepped into Carson’s room.
“Are you making a pass at my lady, Gramps?”
“Would I do that?”
“In a heartbeat.”
Carson smiled at her and held out his hand to his grandfather. “Lose that worried expression, old man. It’s gonna take more than a couple of stab wounds to get rid of me.”
Spencer gave his grandson’s hand a squeeze. “Who you calling old, punk?” He leaned against the bed rail. “So you’re calling her ‘your lady’ now. That’s progress.” To Cresley, he added, “I couldn’t believe he took you home after you were at the house that first time. I asked him if he was crazy.”
“He spies on me through the security cameras.”
As she went around to the other side of the bed, Cresley muffled a laugh that she knew Carson wouldn’t appreciate. “I had to get home to Ty.”
“And we were still just friends then,” Carson added.
“I’m glad to see you’ve moved past that nonsense, because if you hadn’t, I might’ve had to ask out Ms. Cresley Dane myself.”
“I would’ve said yes, Spencer.”
“Damn it. Missed my window.”
Carson looked right at her when he said, “Yes, you did, and that window is closed for good.”
Holy moly… How did he manage to say everything in one sentence while lying in an ICU bed after being stabbed? Had the near-death experience made him see what was truly important to him? And that was her?
She needed a fan and a cigarette.
But wait, she didn’t smoke. Her sleep-deprived mind was running rampant.
“Cres? Are you okay?”
She put her hand on top of his. “I’m okay as long as you are. Do you want me to give you guys some time to chat?”
“No,” they both said at the same time.
Cresley laughed. “I see where Carson gets his shamelessness.”
Spencer’s smile made his eyes twinkle. “He comes by that quite naturally, my dear.” To Carson, he said, “When are they letting you out of here?”
“They said a couple of days.”
“I can set you up with nurses at home and anything else you need.”
“Thank you, but I’m going home with Cresley and Ty. I hired him to take care of me.”
“I see how it is.”
Carson looked up at her with his heart in those dreamy brown eyes. “So do I.”
“I need to tell you something,” Marlene said later that night when she brought wine and dinner over after Ty was asleep.
“What now?” Cresley asked, unnerved by Marlene’s unusually serious tone.
“It’s nothing bad, at least I don’t think it is, but the other night when we were at the bar… After you left, I got talking to this guy. He was so sweet and funny and hot as fuck.”
“Okay…”
“I ended up at his place afterward.”
This was big news indeed. As far as Cresley knew, Marlene hadn’t been with anyone since her divorce. “How was it?”
“Amazing. He blew my mind.”
“Wow. This is fabulous news! I’m so happy for you. What’s his name?”
“This is the part you might not like. I swear to God, when it happened, I only knew his name was Ethan.”
“Okay…”
“So imagine my heart attack when he came into the waiting room at Cedars the other night—and his heart attack when he saw me sitting with you.”
“You slept with Ethan Remington?”
“Apparently.”
“Oh. My. God.”
“I had no idea who he was! I swear! I literally almost had cardiac arrest when he came rushing into the ER and I put two plus two together to get that we’re sleeping with brothers. I mean, I assume you’ve slept with Carson.”
“You assume correctly.”
“How was it?”
“Good sex must run in the family.”
“They are some of the sexiest men I’ve ever encountered, and they seem to be decent people, too, which, as we know, is like finding a diamond in the wild.”
“Truly. Are you going to see Ethan again?”
“Who knows? He barely looked at me when we were at Cedars.”
“He was freaked out about his brother.”
“Right, but still… He could’ve said hello.”
“Maybe he didn’t want to give away what’d happened in front of me.”
“That’s possible, I suppose. The whole thing is crazy. Of all the men in all of Los Angeles…”
“It’s pretty funny, if you ask me.”
“I think he’s quite a bit younger than me.”
“I’d guess he’s at least thirty.”
“And I’m about to be thirty-seven, which makes me a freaking cougar with him.”
Cresley snorted out a laugh. “Hardly.”
“He was in fifth grade when I was a senior!”
“That was a hundred years ago. It doesn’t matter now, like the years between you and I don’t matter. Are you going to see him again?”
“Who knows? We exchanged numbers afterward, but I hadn’t heard from him when he turned up at Cedars the other night. I’m not sure I would’ve heard from him.”
“I bet you would have.”
“Eh, who knows?”
“If nothing else, you’re back on the horse.”
“And I’ve got the aches and pains to show for it.”
“Girl…” Cresley laughed at the face Marlene made. “Right? I felt like I’d run a marathon after the first time with Carson. All the yoga in the world couldn’t prepare me for him.”
“Even after everything you’ve done in the past?”
Marlene was one of the few people who knew that Cresley had spent time with Flynn and Hayden at Club Quantum.
“That was a long-ass time ago. A lifetime ago. The last three times I was there, it was only for drinks with friends because I couldn’t be bothered with the rest of it. I’m seriously out of sex shape.”
“I am, too, if my aches and pains are any indication.”
“I hope you hear from him.”
“Either way, it’s fine. I had a good time, got rid of the cobwebs that’d grown down there—”
“Ew! Stop!”
Marlene cracked up. “It’s true!”
Cresley laughed harder than she had since disaster struck. “You are too funny, and I really needed that. Thank you.”
“I live to serve you, my love.”
“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know.”
“Right back at you, babe. Don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Good thing you’re stuck with me.”
Marlene took a look around the room full of musical memorabilia. “I googled this chick Mama Cass, and she was the shit back in the day.”
“She’s a legend. I can’t believe we’re in her house.”
“How soon can you go back to your place?”
“I don’t know. It’s a crime scene. Never thought I’d say those words about my house.”
“I can’t believe any of this. I mean, Marlon has always been a dick, but if you’d asked me if he’d stab someone or try to kill you with his car…”
“Ty is really struggling to understand why he’d do those things.”
“I hope he never understands that kind of behavior. It’s madness.”
Cresley’s cell phone rang with a call from Carson.
“It’s your boo! I’ll let you take that while I clean up the kitchen. Don’t tell him about Ethan.”
Cresley made the lips-zipped gesture as she took the call. “Hey.”
“What’s going on?”
“Just hanging with Marlene.”
“Could she stay with Ty while you sneak back in here to see me?”
“I think they frown on nocturnal visitors in the ICU.”
“I’d like to find out. I’m lonely.”
When he put it that way, what could she say other than, “Let me see what I can do.”
“Text me.”
“I will.”
“Hey, Cres…”
“Yes?”
“I’m lonely only for you. No one else but you.”
“Will they let me in?”
“The nurses love me. I’ll make sure of it.”
Of course the nurses loved him. He was probably the sexiest patient they’d cared for in a while. “I’m coming.”
“I can’t wait.”
Cresley got up from the sofa, thankful she’d had only half a glass of wine, and went to find Marlene.
“How’s the patient?”
“He’s lonely and wants me to sneak in for a nocturnal visit. Would you mind staying with Ty for a little bit?”
“Of course not, but brush your hair first.”
Cresley made a face at her and then took off to freshen up before she left. Now that she knew she would see Carson again soon, she couldn’t wait, but as she brushed her hair and teeth and changed her clothes, she wondered if it was safe for her to leave Marlene and Ty alone.
“I don’t know if I should go.”
“Why not?”
“What if Marlon found out where we are?”
“There’s no way he could know that.”
“That’s not true. There’s always a way.”
“I have a concealed carry license. I never leave home without it. If he has the nerve to show up here, I’ll make him very sorry he fucked with us.”
“You have a gun?”
“Girl, I’ve always had one.”
“How did I not know that?”
“Because you never needed to know. Now, go see your guy. Lock your doors and keep your wits about you. We’ll be fine.”
Cresley hugged her. “Thank you.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Outside, she consulted with Anthony and told him where she was going.
“Let me take you.”
“I want you here watching out for Ty.”
“Carson will kill me if I let you go unprotected.”