Desperate Times (Boys of Silver Ridge 2)

“That’s not uncommon after losing a family member to an illness,” I say. “And she really is improving. I might have pulled my doctor-card to look at her chart once she signed to give me access. Her labs are steadily improving, and her heart rate has been good for the last few hours. She got dehydrated rather rapidly from the high fever, and I’m still kicking myself for not getting her in sooner.”

“I’m impressed you got her in when you did. I’m glad you’re there with her. “

“I’ll make sure she’s actually better before she’s discharged, and doesn’t just say she’s better.”

“Hey,” Chloe grumbles sleepily, eyes fluttering open. A small smile plays on her lips. “I’m not that sick.”

“Exactly,” I say, heart swelling in my chest when I look at her. I’d do fucking anything for this woman…and yet I haven’t done the one thing I need to do.

“You’ve been so good to my Chloe,” Mr. Fisher says. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’ve…I’ve cared about Chloe for a long time.”

“I was aware. I think everyone but the two of you were,” Mr. Fisher says. “Wendy and I need to have you two over for dinner once things calm down over here and Chloe is on the mend. How long are you staying in Silver Ridge? You’re welcome at the house as long as you need it.”

“At least through tomorrow. Chloe is here for observation, and if everything is good, she should be discharged by the afternoon.”

“The morning,” Chloe says softly, slitting her eyes open. “I’m leaving in the morning.”

“The paperwork usually takes a while,” I tell her.

“Is she being difficult already?” her dad asks with a laugh.

“Nah, Chloe is never difficult.”

“Good answer,” she replies, and her eyes fall shut again.

“Thank you again, Sam,” Mr. Fisher says. “I know my Chloe is in good hands. I like seeing her happy.”

“I do too,” I say, heart heavy in my chest. All I want is to make Chloe happy. I’d walk through Hell and back for her, and hurting her—again—is the last thing in this whole fucking world I want to do. Yet I have to do it. “I’ll update you later, if you’d like.”

“I would, thanks. I’ll talk to you later, Sam.”

“Bye,” I say and end the call. Standing, I stretch my arms out in front of me. This chair is horribly uncomfortable and is meant for anyone staying the night with a sick family member.

“Was that my dad?” Chloe asks, blinking her eyes open. “He said he was going to call you.”

“Yeah, it was.”

“I told him I was fine. Healthy as a horse.”

“A horse with a high fever, a migraine, who then had a bad reaction to medication.”

“Hey, the reaction has nothing to do with not being healthy.”

“It kind of does,” I counter with a smile. “It’s the reason you’re here.”

“Stupid medicine.”

“How are you feeling?” I ask her. “You said your headache was back not that long ago.”

“It is, but not as bad as before. Closing my eyes for a little bit helped.”

“Sleep is the best thing for you right now.”

“Yeah,” she agrees. “We can go back to your house tomorrow. You have to work on Tuesday, and I need to get back to work too or I won’t make my deadline. I’m trying not to think about it or else I’ll get panicked and—shit—I just remembered I’m supposed to do an Instagram live video tomorrow at eleven. I’ll text my assistant.” She looks at her phone, which I moved to the table against the wall opposite her bed while I was messing with her blankets. “It’s far away.”

“I got it,” I tell her. “And if you want me to text your assistant, I can. You seem sensitive to lights.”

“Thank you, and yeah, it still bothers me.” She blinks her eyes shut for a few seconds. “My password is zero-six-one-four. It’s the same password for my security system and gate to get into my driveway.”

“You’re supposed to have different codes to make it harder for people to get in.”

“I have a hard time remembering numbers. This one has significance.”

“What is it?”

“June fourteen,” she says. “The day my agent called me to tell me Lionsgate was interested in turning Nightfall into a movie.”

“I didn’t know that. How did you end up with it streaming?”

“That’s what I preferred,” she tells me, and I unlock her phone, going to the text messages. “It took nearly a full year after that to get the deal I have now. Worth the wait, though.”

“I’d say. What’s your assistant’s name?”

“Olivia. She should be one of the top text you see.”

“Yeah, found her. What do you want me to say?”

“Um…I’m sick and won’t be able to do the live tomorrow and then take a picture of me to send with it.”

“Easy enough,” I say and quickly type out the message and snap a photo of Chloe.