“Let me use your Insta account to send Nine a message,” I said to Evie. I stupidly didn’t have the man’s number. Hell, I didn’t even have my mom’s number, but at least I could call the hospital and find her that way.
Evie handed me her phone, and I sent two messages. The first was a DM in the Insta account, and the second was an email to our joint email account, both giving him Evie’s number and telling him what happened. Then I called the hospital in Caswell and got a hold of my mom.
“He’s fine,” she said. “They gave him the transfusion, and we’ll probably get out of here tomorrow.”
I let out a breath and finally let myself calm the fuck down. “Thank god.”
“The doc said he needs the transplant soon, Cooper. Like, in a month, no longer.” She sounded worried, and who could blame her.
A month. That changed everything. I wasn’t sure how we could swing it if we needed the money that soon, especially if that meant not being able to complete my contract with Stallion.
“I’ll figure something out. If he needs it, we’ll make it happen. I can probably do a GoFundMe online or something now that we have such a big audience.” I knew that wasn’t actually an option, not with Stallion’s contract involved. But I at least wanted to give my mom some hope while I figured something else out.
“Oh, that’s a great idea! Wonderful. Let me know how I can help.” I could hear the relief in her voice and knew I’d made the right call in suggesting it.
“Tell Jacks I love him and I’ll check in when I land in Denver tomorrow afternoon. If you need me in the meantime, call this number.”
After Evie and I stopped for my favorite salad for dinner, we went back to my hotel to look at everything we’d bought on Stallion’s credit card. We had bags full of stuff and had even begged a big shipping box off one of the shops so I could check it through on the airplane. All the big stuff I ordered was being shipped to us at the cabin.
When I started unwrapping things to repack them into the shipping box, Evie kicked back on the bed and crossed her ankles. I could tell by the look on her face we were getting ready to have a talk.
“Something on your mind?” I asked.
“Why didn’t you tell your mom you got the part? I’ve been thinking about it all afternoon, and I can’t figure it out.”
“Because they need me by the end of the month, and I can’t do that to Nine.”
She crossed her arms in front of her chest. Her red hair was loose, and curls tumbled over her shoulders, a little bit crazy from the wind outside. “Sure you can. He’d understand. This is your dream we’re talking about.”
I put down the shopping bag I’d been holding and glared at her. “Everyone’s calling this my dream, but I’m not so sure it is anymore. You know what my dream is? To not have my twin brother die. And so what about my acting dream anyway? I’m not selfish enough to walk out on Nine’s dream of finally being able to buy his own place to fix up. What about his dream?”
Evie grinned and lifted an eyebrow. “Six months ago you would have sold your favorite skinny jeans for a chance to even audition for a role like this.”
I grabbed up the shopping bag again and began rifling through it. “Yeah, well, shit changes. Besides, those jeans no longer fit since I started doing all this physical work with Nine. My ass is like twice as big as it was,” I muttered.
“But you said this vlog deal is supposed to go into August, right? That means you won’t get paid till the end of August at the earliest. But if you ditch it and take the film role, you’ll shoot in a few weeks and get paid by the end of July. That would mean quicker money for Jacks, right? Just think about it.”
“That would mean screwing Nine over,” I reminded her. “Not to mention Stallion Tools. Even if I was willing to screw them over, it would fuck up any future sponsorship for Nine with the largest tool company in the country.”
“Babe, the way you describe this guy, he’d probably tell you to do it. At least talk to him.”
I shook my head and laughed even though it wasn’t funny. “No way. He would chop off his right arm if I asked. If he even knew this was an option, he’d insist I take the part.”
She tilted her head for a minute like she was thinking. “What if… what if you went back this week, shot a ton of clips in different outfits, and stockpiled them to cover you while you leave to shoot the movie? Meanwhile Nine keeps working on the cabin, and you get to take the part. More money for everyone. Win-win.”