"He's stabilized." I look over at where Dr. Tate is speaking to my mother. "They're going to monitor him tonight and decisions will be made tomorrow. He's weak, Ad."
"He needs a double bypass." She looks into my eyes. "It's risky because of his prior myocardial infarction."
"You want this, don't you?"
The sudden subject change takes her surprise. She's silent for a moment as she digests what I just said. "You mean do I want to be a doctor?"
I nod. "I see the dream."
The corner of her mouth curves into a smile. "You do?"
"This is why you kept putting off going back to school to be a vet, isn't it?"
She rubs the edge of the badge around her neck. "Yes. I always felt a pull toward taking care of animals, but then John came over to help Sydney move in. We talked for hours about his work. I was so excited by that."
"I think it's the perfect fit for you." I reach for her hands. "You know I'm on board to help in any way I can."
Her gaze drops to the tiled floor. "It's going to eat up my entire life for the next decade. Well, forever if I'm honest. But I feel a passion for this I never felt when I thought about being a vet. I know this is right for me, I just have to see if I can make it my reality."
"You can do anything, Ad," I say the words with all the assurance I feel. "You're the most determined person I've ever met. You're going to ace this and one day, you'll be the doctor people will call when they want the best of the best."
She squeezes my hands tightly. "Say that again when I start doubting myself."
"Crew?" My sister walks up beside us. "I'm going to take off. I want to go home to see Ryker and Benton."
Benton Moore. My nephew. A little boy named after our family. That was a gift from Lark. She's been a gift to me. I couldn't ask for a better sister.
"You know, Adley, right?" I wrap my arm around Adley's waist.
"We met at Matiz when she came to see you one day." She smiles at Ad. "She kept me in one piece earlier. She may be the calmest person in this waiting room."
Adley laughs. "It's all smoke and mirrors."
No, it's inner strength and a strong spirit.
I want to tell her about my adoption and the hell I've been through, but tonight is for her. I won't tarnish her dream with my nightmare. At least, not tonight.
"We're heading out too." I look back at where my mom is now sitting with my brothers in a row of chairs near a vending machine. "I'll go give mom a goodnight kiss and then I'll take my two favorite women home."
Chapter 40
Adley
I feel the cool air rise from the floor when he opens the shower door. I left him in my bedroom after we got back from the hospital.
He called Bill, who came to get us and after we dropped off Lark, we sat in the back of the car holding hands in silence. I know it has to be hard for him. His father is hanging by a thread. Before we left the hospital, I asked him twice if he wanted to stay, but he was insistent that he needed to be with me. I didn't argue.
"I need you so much," he whispers those words against the shell of my ear. "I want to be close to you, inside of you. I want to feel you all around me."
I turn quickly to face him. He's already wet. The water is running over his handsome face, down his chiseled body, and trailing along his heavy, thick cock.
I want to give him pleasure more than I've wanted to before. I can see the pain in his eyes. I can feel it in his touch. He's holding himself together even though inside, I know that pieces of him are broken beyond repair.
I lower myself to my knees, slowly. "I've wanted to do this for a long time."
He groans his approval as his legs inch apart.
I wrap my hand around the base, the pad of my thumb rubbing the underside. I inhale his scent. Masculine, musky, mine.