Until Then (Cape Harbor 2)

For most of their friendship, at least through college, he had been by her side when she needed him. “You don’t have to stay, Ren. I don’t know how long I’m going to be here with my mom.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Graham.”

He finally accepted her offer and nodded. He was grateful for her and their friendship and had missed her over the years.

When George stood and declared it was time to head home, the four of them walked back up the stairs and out the main entrance of the hospital.

“Dad, I really think you should stay. If Grady wakes—”

“Grady’s fine,” his father said gruffly. “All this nonsense about an overdose. My boy doesn’t even do drugs.” He stormed past Graham and right to Bowie’s car. Graham stared, unsure of what to think.

Bowie’s hand came down on Graham’s shoulder and squeezed. “He’ll come around.”

“I doubt it. His son is upstairs, dying, and he wants to go home.”

“Are we ever going to go back to normal?” Bowie said as he walked toward his car. Graham didn’t have an answer for him, because he knew nothing in Cape Harbor, or at least his family, had ever been the same since the accident. It was like his father believed Grady was still a carefree twenty-two-year-old with his life ahead of him and not a middle-aged man known as the town drunk.

Rennie and Graham waved as Bowie honked on his way out of the parking lot. Graham reached for Rennie’s hand, and she gave it willingly. They passed by the security guard, who commented, “Happy to see you found your husband.”

“Husband, huh?” he said to Rennie after the guard was out of earshot.

“Visiting hours were over, and I had to be quick on my feet. Bowie’s your cousin. The guard said we could stay as long as we waited in the general waiting room.”

“Gotcha. Well, we’re going upstairs. I want to be there for my mom if and when she comes out of Grady’s room.” Graham let go of Rennie’s hand when they entered the elevator. She followed him toward the ICU and leaned her head against his shoulder while they waited for the doors to open. Inside, one other couple was sitting—actually, sleeping—in the chairs.

“They look so uncomfortable,” Rennie said quietly.

“There’s nothing comfortable about hospitals.” Graham could count on one hand how many times he had been in one.

They sat down, and within seconds, Rennie opened her bag and pulled a myriad of items out. She handed Graham a thriller. “This might interest you,” she said. “I can’t read it at night, because it’ll give me nightmares.”

Graham took the book from her and flipped it over to read the back. He chuckled. “Why would you buy something like this?”

She shrugged. “I’m trying to broaden my reading palate.”

“With reading something that induces nightmares?” Graham looked over at Rennie, and she looked away. “You’re crazy, Ren. What else do you have in that bag of yours?”

Rennie held it on her lap and looked inside. “Let’s see. I have some protein bars, a pair of yoga pants, my laptop, a couple of cases I’m working on. Pens, pencils, notepads.” She looked up at Graham. “Want to play tic-tac-toe or hangman?”

“Not really,” he said with a smile. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being here. For coming even though you didn’t have to.”

Rennie set her bag on the floor, turned in the chair, brought her leg up, and hooked it under her knee. “When Bowie told us why you called, there wasn’t any question of where I needed to be—or wanted to be, for that matter.”

“I’m sure at the inn, tucked nicely in a warm cozy bed, instead of sitting in these uncomfortable chairs.”

She nodded. “Or I’m sitting next to my friend because he needs me more than I need a feather-filled pillow.”

Graham smiled. He loved that she was there, waiting with him. He leaned his head against the wall and watched her. There was a time in his life when he wanted to marry her but never dared to say anything. Now, she was back in his life and with someone else—such was his luck.

NINE

The overhead lights illuminated, which caused Rennie to stir. She moved slightly, and her eyes shot open from the ache she felt in her neck and back. She sat alone in a small room, surrounded by orange pleather chairs, a table stacked with magazines and day-old coffee cups, and a muted television. The whoosh of the double doors reminded her of where she was—the hospital with Graham.

Her hand found the back of her neck, and she applied pressure to the kink and moved her head back and forth to loosen the muscles. Memories from last night—or more like hours ago, it seemed—replayed in her mind. Graham and Rennie played games, challenging each other in trivia and working together to solve brainteaser puzzles. The last thing she remembered was giving him an earbud and resting her head on his shoulder so they could watch a movie together. At some point, she acquired one of those white hospital blankets, which now pooled around her waist as she sat up straight. Her phone sat precariously on the armrest of the chair next to her. Someone had plugged it in for her. No, not someone, but Graham. Rennie bent forward and reached under her chair to feel for her bag. If Graham had thought to charge her phone, he would’ve hidden her bag as well. A sense of relief washed over her when she felt the leather straps.