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  Soft footsteps cut off whatever response Michael had. A nurse smiled hesitantly when the attention of eight muscle-bound guys regarded her as though she were the answer to an unspoken prayer—how the hell were Dan and Becca doing?

  Jason squeezed Jeanie’s arm to force her focus away from the grief long enough to respond to the nurse waiting patiently to speak. A knot pulsated in his gut when he looked at the other guys. Jeanie wiped her eyes and looked up at the woman expectantly.

  “They’re out of surgery and the doctor is waiting to speak with you. If you’ll follow me, Mrs. Wincrest.”

  The knot rose, settling in his chest in a slow burn when Jeanie’s tear-filled blue eyes regarded him with a mixture of apprehension and hope. She clung to him, even though she stood.

  “I can’t do this alone, Jase.” She shuddered, warm breath fell on his shoulder. “Please.”

  “Let’s go.” He put his arm around her waist to support her weight in case she collapsed. They’d been waiting for several hours and she’d refused all offers of food or drink.

  He felt out of place when they were escorted into a small office. The doctor looked from him to her, then down at his clipboard as if confirming he’d been brought the correct patient. Jason removed his hand from around Jeanie and urged her to sit in one of the seats.

  “I’ll make this brief, Mrs. Wincrest, since I’m sure you’d like to see your husband. The surgery went as well as could be expected but there were unforeseen complications.”

  Jason fell into the chair beside Jeanie and tried not to grimace when she grabbed his hand and squeezed hard. The woman had a hell of a grip.

  “Complications?”

  “The accident severed several of his vertebrae and I’m afraid we were unable to repair the damage completely. There will be some paralysis. We have yet to determine how much.” The doctor lobbed the information like a grenade.

  Dan paralyzed? Questions ping-ponged in Jason’s head but they weren’t his to ask. He glanced over at Jeanie and noted her pallor and his heart ruptured into a thousand strands. Part of him wanted to go kill Anthony. He shouldn’t have trusted that Dan was good enough to drive. He should’ve seen that wasn’t the case.

  And Dan. What the fuck was he doing driving when stoned off his ass? He knew better.

  The discussion between the two of them probably hadn’t helped any. That was a guilt Jason suspected he’d carry for a long time. He shouldn’t have made him leave.

  “What now, Doctor?”

  “We’ll assess the success of the surgery but I do suspect partial if not full paralysis from the waist down. We’ll sit down and discuss our course of action once we know what we’re looking at.” The doctor stood and removed his glasses. “It’s important to remain positive and strong for him.”

  Right. Mind over matter and all that bullshit.

  Jeanie nodded but Jason doubted she was thinking enough to fully grasp what he said. She clutched his hand like a lifeline and he felt like a son of a bitch for wanting to be here for her. What kind of friend thought like that with his friend paralyzed in a hospital bed?

  The doctor escorted her to a private room at the end of the hall. A couple of nurses filed out as they made their way into the room. He squeezed her hand when she gasped. Tubes, machines and a mountain of surgical gauze and bandages were the first few things Jason noticed.

  Dan’s eyes were closed. “Is he in pain?”

  “No. We have him heavily sedated for now.”

  Jeanie loosened her grasp on his hand and made her way to the bed with tentative steps. Her hand reached toward the bed. “I can stay in here with him.”

  It sounded like a question but Jason knew her better than that. There was no way in hell she was leaving his side. Not until he woke up and she knew he was okay. His gut clenched as he imagined what it’d be like to have someone who felt half as much for him.

  This wasn’t the time or place for those thoughts. He backed out of the room quietly and headed toward the lobby. He froze halfway down when he saw Tyler fall to his knees and Lamar reach down to grab his shoulder. A couple of doctors consoled a screaming woman beside him.

  He slammed his hand against a wall and stifled a curse. Would this day ever fucking end?

  “This almost seems surreal.” Michael’s voice shredded the last of Jason’s control.

  “Why are you even here? You and Dan got along like oil and water.”

  “I came to assess the impact on the club. One of my best dancers was in the car.”

  So much for having a soul. The fucker was one horn away from being Satan himself.

  “Fortunately Anthony is okay.”

  “Yeah, well, I wouldn’t say that around him or Tyler right about now if I were you.” Jason glanced down the hallway and knew he should go to be with his friend. “You know what’s going on down there?”

  “That girl Tyler’s been bringing around didn’t make it.”

  “Oh no.” Jeanie’s startled response drew Jason’s attention. He placed himself between her and Michael as she looked down the hall at Tyler and the gathered group. “I should go over and offer my condolences.”

  She looked lost and close to passing out. The last thing she needed was to deal with someone else’s grief. “We’ll talk to them later, okay? Why don’t you go to the lobby and I’ll be there in a minute. I want to speak with Michael for a bit.”

  She headed toward the lobby and he silently hoped someone was there to help her. He turned his anger on Michael. “Okay, this is how it’s going to go, Michael. If you want to be helpful, organize a fundraiser to help pay Dan’s medical bills. You don’t need to be hanging around here unless you can grow a shred of humanity.”

  Michael whistled low and leaned against the wall. “That’s not really the way to be speaking to me.”

  “If you have a problem with it, do something about it. Otherwise, get the hell out of here before I do something you’ll regret.” Jason edged closer and lowered his voice. “And you had better find some of that humanity before you talk to Tyler or we’re going to have issues.”

  The man left without a word. Jason was pretty sure he could kiss his premium stage time goodbye, but maybe not. Even though Michael was an asshole, he was a money addict. And Jason and Tyler were big draws with their Top Guns act. As much as the guy might hate it, Maverick and Goose weren’t expendable.

  He found Jeanie alone in the lobby, thumbing through a fistful of papers. He knelt beside her and grasped the pile. “What are we looking for?”

  “I-I’m not sure if we got around to paying our health insurance or not. I-I n-need to call them.”

  He touched her arm and cupped her chin in his other palm. “Breathe for me, Jeans. That’s it, nice, deep breaths. One after another.”

  Her eyelids fluttered shut as her breathing steadied. He wanted to carry her out of here—away from the pain and the reality threatening to drown her in problems.

  “Remember what the doctor said. You need to be strong for Dan.”

  She nodded and took another deep breath as she held his gaze. The intensity settled in his soul and took up residence. Until Dan got better he’d be there for her.

  “Where’s Vanessa?”

  “At the neighbors’.”

  “Good.” Jason knew without asking that there was no family for either of them to rely on. It was one of the things that had drawn her to Dan. Kindred spirits in search of somewhere to belong or some shit like that. “Is she in any day camp or something since it’s summer?”

  “Like we could afford that.” She squeezed the pile of papers. “Dan’s been having a tough time at the bar. It’s still pretty new so…”

  He cut off the explanations because he knew Dan wouldn’t want him to know that sort of shit. A man dealt with his own problems. “I’m assuming Dan’s working most of the shifts himself.”

  She nodded.

  “Okay. I’m going to head over there and make sure everyone knows the bar’s closed tonight. That’ll
give us a little time to work out a game plan on how to handle everything, okay? I’ll work his shifts and drag a couple of the guys in to pick up the slack.”

  A tentative smile formed. “You always were a bossy son of a bitch.”

  He shrugged. “Might as well embrace what I’m good at.”

  She stacked the papers in her lap and fiddled with one of the sheets. Her hesitancy made him feel six inches tall. “We can’t afford to pay you much.”

  He cupped her face again and forced his voice to remain steady, void of the emotion choking him now. “Friends do for friends, Jeans. No matter what happens or how much time passes I will always be here for you. Always.”

  * * * * *

  Tyler hung away from the thickening crowd out of respect. This was Becca’s family. Even though he knew there was no love lost between them, it was a private time for them to mourn.

  He almost didn’t come but the need to say goodbye pressed heavily in him. Foreign emotions of loss and love overwhelmed him every time he thought about her. Karma was a twisted bitch for taking her away from him just when he’d begun to trust she wasn’t going anywhere.

  Unlike all the others in his life, she wanted to get closer. She accepted every idiosyncrasy of his persona with open, loving arms. God, why the hell hadn’t it been him instead? He should’ve been there. Keeping her safe.

  He tugged on the jacket he’d donned and ran his hands along the tailored pants. Suits weren’t his thing but this was for Becca. She’d always said her family only let go of a silver spoon to get a better grip. From the looks of those around him, she should’ve said gold spoon.

  The double doors to the massive church opened and people began to file in. He could count how many funerals he’d been to on one hand and have plenty of fingers left. Ill at ease with his presence and the secrecy of the role he’d had in her life, he skulked into a back pew and settled in.

  People filed past him, whispering as though at a social gathering. What little she’d divulged about her family didn’t make him feel all warm and fuzzy about them. Becca’s death was mere fodder for their event calendars. But the family would put on a pretty front because “that’s what was expected of a Hollen”.

  Becca’s voice cut through his memories like razor blades. His heart burned with the words.

  Even though he grew up piss poor, his relationship with the kinfolk was about the same as hers—respectful when called for, ignored when possible and forgotten for the most part.

  “You mind if I join you?”

  The older man leaned on his cane with a small smile on his face. Tyler looked around at the empty twenty or so pews before him and shrugged. “Go right ahead.”

  Truth told he didn’t want company. He didn’t want much of anything. He’d gone numb the night he’d gotten the call. He functioned simply out of duty and habit. He pulled out the ring box he’d kept a secret a few too many days. If only he’d manned up sooner she would’ve known he loved her before she died.

  He’d finally gotten the guts up to accept he loved her the night of the party but a part of him had accepted it long before that—long enough for him to have gotten a ring. Why the fuck hadn’t he said those few simple words so she would’ve known how he felt?

  I love you. The words hung there, choking the breath from his lungs, draining the blood from his heart. Nothing he did or said could rewind time, though. The words would never be said.

  Not to her.

  Grandpa always warned him never to put things off until tomorrow. Tyler supposed the old man had been right. The old man to his right shifted enough to draw attention.

  “You a friend of the family, son?”

  “Not exactly.” Explaining how they knew each other was complicated. “You?”

  “Well, that depends on who you ask. Seeing as how you’re asking me, I’ll proudly say I was her uncle. I don’t claim any of the others but Rebecca was something special.” The old man smiled. “I can still remember the last time I saw her—a couple of months ago. She marched into her dad’s manor with her ears clear to the back of her head like a cat about to pounce on a mouse. It was the funniest thing I’d ever seen.”

  Tyler nodded and smiled to himself. That sounded like Becca.

  “I’ve never been more proud of her as I was that day. She announced to her entire brood she was done with corporate law. She was going to open up a private practice of her own,” he boasted. “I’m pretty sure a couple of them had strokes there on the spot.”

  Tyler remembered the day fondly. She’d picked him up and they’d had dinner at Sky. They’d made love on the upper deck, not giving a damn who saw them. She’d always known how to make his heart race.

  “I managed to catch her mid-march out and I asked her what finally knocked some sense into her.” He looked over with a slow grin. “She told me she’d finally met a man who was her match in all ways. The yang to her yin. She was always into that stuff, although I never much understood it.”

  “It sounds like she was happy.”

  “Yeah. The funniest thing is she swore I’d love him to pieces even though I’ve never cared for any of the riffraff she’d dragged in before.” He regarded Tyler for a few moments. “I figured if he loved her half as much as she did him he’d be here today, needing a friend to get him through this. God knows those mucks weren’t gonna make it easy on him.”

  Tyler forced a few breaths from his lungs and tightened his hands into fists. She’d loved him. Had she said so or had the man just figured that was the case?

  “The way I see it that box you’re fiddling with was something awful important—maybe something you wish you would’ve pulled out before you did.” Emotion chewed at the man’s voice, making it raspier. “I’ve lived with many a regret in my life, son. That’s one I wouldn’t recommend you carrying around.”

  “It’s a little late.” He swiped a tear from his face and looked around.

  The old man’s hand trembled as he placed it over Tyler’s. “If you’ll trust me I’ll take it the rest of the way. I suspect you aren’t going to go up there.”

  Up there meant the casket. Becca. Her family. He wasn’t ready for that. He shook his head.

  “Sometimes a man needs help doing what he wants to do. There’s no shame in it, son. You lit her up brighter than the sun and I hope you know she loved you.”

  He did now. Thanks to this old man. He thought back to the few happy moments she’d shared with him and one name repeated again and again. “You must be her Uncle Silas. Talking about you always made her smile.”

  The old man swiped a tear away as his lower jaw trembled. “Hearing that makes my heart heal, son. I hope one day yours does too. She wouldn’t want you mourning her for long. You only live once.”

  The man struggled to stand and nodded unspoken gratitude when Tyler helped him rise and position his cane. Tyler slid the ring box into his hand. His fingers shook as he opened it and regarded the ring inside.

  “It’s a mighty nice ring, son. I’ll make my way up there and make sure she has this.” He motioned toward the pew. “We’ll talk after this is over but if you slide out before I get back here, know I’ll help you however I can. She’d want me to look out for you. It’s what family does. This might not have been official, but to me you are family.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Things changed after that. Maybe it was partly because they’d grown older, wiser. Whatever the reason, Jason knew the accident had been a critical turning point. There were still plenty of fun times ahead of them but they were peppered with responsibility and a sense of caution they hadn’t exercised before.

  He hadn’t realized they’d both been exorcising their personal demons back then. “I didn’t know how close you were to her, Goose. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

  “You had your own shit to deal with. Besides, you would’ve cramped my style.” Tyler grinned. “I was a ladies’ magnet after that. They all wanted to fix me. Funny thing, I didn’t realize I was broken.”<
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  “Great, just what we need,” Jason muttered as the Shady Pines administrator marched her way toward them. “What did you do this time, Goose?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” A twinkle showed in his gaze as he began rocking steadily.

  Mrs. Flannery was one hair bun short of being declared an old maid, even though she was probably in her late fifties at the most. Jason couldn’t help but wonder why someone so young would dress in such dull colors. Gray suits. Light-gray shirts. All covered with a gray or black sweater. She paused at the top of the stairs a few feet from them and looked behind her, where Evelyn Briggs was negotiating the stairs with her walker.

  Evelyn, aka Sourpuss, had an unspoken war going on with Tyler ever since he’d refused her invite to a church social a few months back. Apparently she was about as used to being refused as Jason’s friend was to refusing.

  “Good day, Mrs. Flannery. What can we do for you?” Jason took the initiative since Tyler was already in a stare-down with Evelyn.

  “I’m hoping you two gentlemen,” she paused to shudder at the use of the word, as though she’d sullied the word with men of their ilk, “can help me. Someone glued prophylactics to the bottom of Evelyn’s walker.”

  “She needs a demonstration on how to use them?” Tyler smirked. “’Cause I could probably squeeze some time out to demonstrate.”

  “Mr. Coombs, do you know anything about how they got there?”

  “I wouldn’t reckon so, Mrs. Flannery, but as you know some days are better than others when it comes to the old brain cells. The synapses aren’t what they used to be.”

  Some of the bluster in her stance vacated. Jason hid his grin behind his hand. Son of a bitch could still handle the ladies, no matter the situation.

  “Well, I’m hoping this sort of incident does not occur again. Such types of offensive actions and material simply cannot be condoned here at Shady Pines.”

  “Are you saying old people don’t need condoms? I’d sure appreciate if you’d pin something on the virtual board if that’s the case.” Tyler grinned. “It’s just not the same as going bareback.”