Blaze (Drive Me Wild 3)

The whole scenario had played out differently in my head. Blake and I would stand together, hand in hand, while confessing our love for each other, strong and united. To me, it didn’t matter if our parents didn’t agree. I had Blake, and that was all I needed to be happy. But as I took in the hurt on Maggie’s face and how my father wasn’t looking at me at all, suddenly their feelings mattered a whole hell of a lot.

“Mom,” Blake croaked, and I looked down to see that his eyes were trained on Maggie.

“No, no, son. Rest,” she answered, her voice barely a whisper as she stood. “Sweetheart, walk with me to get a coffee, please?” Her question was directed at my father, who nodded and guided Maggie from the room with his hand on the small of her back.

As soon as the hospital door closed with a click, I slumped down and put my forehead on the bed next to Blake. I felt his hand come to rest on the back of my head.

“Tay. Don’t leave. Please.”

“Never, Blakey.” I lifted my head and placed a hand on his cheek. “I’ll always be here.”

Satisfied with my answer, his eyes closed as he drifted off to sleep.

*****

Blake spent ten days in the hospital. The doctors remained concerned about his head injury and wanted to monitor it for a while. Visitors came and went as Maggie, Dad, and I sat in separate chairs in the hospital room, not speaking. The four of us were sitting in silence, watching some sort of trashy daytime talk show, completely enthralled in finding out the paternity results for a girl who was testing three guys at once. It turned out none of them were the daddy.

Maggie stretched and yawned, catching Blake’s attention.

“Mom, why don’t you go home and lie down for a while? Besides, they’re letting me go this afternoon, anyway. No sense in hanging around.”

My dad chimed in, “He’s right, honey. If you want, maybe you can even get things ready for when he returns home.”

Maggie shot an indecisive glance to Blake, to my dad, and then back to Blake.

“But how would you get home, son?”

My face immediately twisted into a sour expression. What was I? Chopped liver? Did she even see me sitting there?

As if he could hear my thoughts, Blake spoke up. “Tayia will be here. She’ll bring me home.”

That answer didn’t seem to bring Maggie great joy. However, the resignation in her eyes showed that she’d at least accepted the solution.

“Very well.” She stood, pulled on her sweater, and spoke to Blake. “I’ll make some of Grandma’s chicken noodle soup. I know how much you like it.”

Blake smiled gratefully and nodded. “Sounds good, Mom.”

My dad guided her out as she sent hesitant glances our way before heading toward the door. Once they were gone, I felt my shoulders relax. It was exhausting to be around them knowing I was avoiding their unasked questions about Blake and me. Hell, I didn’t even know what was going on between us.

I settled back into the chair next to his bedside, reached for his hand, and smiled.

“How are you feeling, Blakey?”

“Like I crashed into a tree.” He chuckled then winced, his broken ribs not yet healed. “How are you feeling?”

“Relieved.” It was an honest answer. I’d been so grateful that he’d survived such a terrible accident.

Blake reached forward and grabbed my hand. “Tayia, I want to apologize.”

“For what?” I furrowed my brow in confusion. He was the one who had a near death experience. If anything, I should have been the one who was sorry for the way I’d handled things.

“For not believing in us.”

“Blake . . .” I was at a loss for words.

“There is nothing I regret more than not giving us a chance to be together, out in the open. To fight for us even if things turned badly with our family and friends. You were worth it. We were worth it.” His voice cracked as he closed his eyes.