“Colt, stop. I can’t deal with you and your drama right now, okay.” She takes her robe and tightens the sash around her. She’s beautiful, but she’s a disaster. Her hair is a frizzy mess. Her eyes are sunken in and dark underneath. She appears thinner too. Maybe she’s been just as miserable without me as I’ve been without her.
“Are you sick, darlin’?” I check her glands and put a palm to her forehead. She feels fine. “I can get a doctor for you. Let’s go home.” I grab her hand and start to pull her toward the door.
“Colt! Stop.”
“I’m sorry. Get dressed and we’ll go.”
“Just stop. I can’t deal with your drama today. Can you please just leave me alone?” She spins on her heels and returns to her room. She slams the door behind her. I follow, unwilling to let her out of my sight for another minute.
I walk into the bedroom to find her rummaging through her suitcase. She takes clothes out and tosses them on the floor. She finally finds something and rushes out of the room, slamming the door behind her. I sit on the bed and wait. She’s not pushing me away. Not now and not ever. After ten minutes, she still doesn’t come back. I walk to the bathroom and knock on the door. She doesn’t answer, but I hear her moving around in there.
“Queen Vee, I’m going to order us some breakfast and we’ll talk. I need you to listen to me, baby. However long you’re here, we’re going to spend it together. I’ll order you eggs and French toast. I know how much you love—”
The door swings open before I can finish my sentence. She’s cleaned herself up. Her hair is in a tight bun, giving her a regal look. She’s added light makeup, but something about her still looks off. She doesn’t have her usual healthy glow, and I put my palm on her forehead again. No fever.
“No food.” She winces as if the thought of food is off putting.
“Did you catch some sort of bug over there? Let me take you to see my doctor.”
“Colt, I have my own god damn doctor, alright. I don’t need you here trying to fix things when you’re the one who—” She stops and catches herself. She shakes her head and walks past me. “Leave,” she says when I step into her bedroom.
“What’s the matter?” I take both of her hands in mine and pull her against me. I wrap my arms around her and hold her close. She lets out a strange sound and bursts into tears. Something cold grips my heart. I feel like the ground I’m standing on is starting to crumble.
“What is it? Are you sick? Did you get a bad diagnosis?” I’m already thinking of specialists when she shakes her head no. Relieved, I pull her to me and wrap my arms around her. “Then whatever it is, we can deal with it. You can tell me. We’re a team.” She lets me hold her and her cries turn into quiet sobs.
Her phone rings and she pulls away.
“Hey, Tara.” She’s doing her best to sound cheerful, but she doesn’t pull it off. Not even close. There’s no way her sister will buy her fake enthusiasm. “Wait! What did you say?” The alarm in her voice puts me on high alert. “When? Oh my God.” She looks around the room like someone who’s just had her world altered. She runs to the closet and shoves her feet into a pair of sneakers. “I’m in New York. I’ll explain later, but I’m on my way. I’ll see you when you get here. Love you guys too.”
She walks away without giving me another look or an explanation. She snatches a jacket out of her closet, grabs her purse, and runs out. I follow behind her, and when we get outside, I steer her to my car.
“Leave me the hell alone,” she says.
“What’s the matter? And where are you going? I’ll take you.” She stares at me, and I guess I must be her best option because she nods.
“My mother’s in the hospital. She was in an accident.” She bursts into tears for the second time this morning.
FIFTY
She pullsher hand away when I try to hold it, but when I put that same hand on her lap, she doesn’t push me away. Maybe it’s because she needs me, or maybe it’s because she’s afraid and tired of fighting. Whichever one it is, I’ll take it. In the harsh light of day, she looks awful. She’s still beautiful, but she looks haggard and worn out. Maybe Mexico just didn’t agree with her. Maybe she was sick before she was able to travel back, but I know she’s talked to my mother. She talks to Evan on a regular basis. They are taking an online knitting class together every Thursday night. Evan’s recruited Vincent and Tara too, and the four of them log into the class every week. It warms my heart that she’s kept her promise to him.
I check out her profile, and her skin looks sallow. It looks like she’s holding her breath, and she has a look of discomfort on her face. I touch her forehead and feel her glands again. She doesn’t fight me, and that worries me. We arrive at First Presbyterian half an hour later. She makes a mad dash for the front door before my driver comes to a full stop, and I follow behind her, but she’s fast. I’ve never been this happy to have access to the world’s best medical care than I am at this moment. Maybe she has a healing effect, but my knee feels great and I’m able to follow her with ease through the hospital emergency department.
I reach her in time to hear her say, “Alicia Taylor. My sister got a call that she’s here.” The nurse behind the desk tells her to hold on while she looks at her computer screen.
“And you are?” she asks without bothering to look up.
“I’m her daughter, Victoria Taylor.” The nurse writes something on a piece of paper and hands it to her, all without looking up. “This is her room number.”
The nurse looks at us for the first time. “Aren’t you Colt Chastain? Oh my God! You’re Victoria Taylor. Are you two back together? Girl, you just fell off the face of the earth and we haven’t—”
Vickie turns her back on the talking woman and walks away. I nod at her and follow Vickie to a set of elevators.
“Thank you for the ride, Colt. I’ve got it from here.” The polite detachment ticks me off, but I rein in my irritation and follow her into the elevator and all the way to the intensive care unit. She’s told to wait, and I take a seat next to her. Her knee bounces uncontrollably and I put my hand on it to calm her down. It works. I throw an arm over her shoulder and pull her closer. She stiffens but doesn’t try to pull away. We sit like that until a heavyset nurse with red hair and a nervous facial tick approach.
Victoria stands. I can feel the tension oozing off her while she waits to hear the news. “Ms. Taylor?” She nods, and I hold my breath. I inch closer and take her hand in mine, intertwining our fingers. She squeezes my hand, and I squeeze it back. “I’m Beth. Your mother was hit by a car. When she fell, she hit her head and was out for about twelve hours.” Vickie lets out a sharp sound and I pull her close.
“How long has she been here?” she asks, holding on tight to my hand.
