The Baller (23 page)

I wanted to kill him then, even though he had warned me. Before he loosened his grip, he surprised me by slipping something over my head. It was his jersey. He wasn’t kidding about wanting to brand me.

“Take good care of her.” He nodded to Michael as he opened my car door.

The first few minutes of the ride were uncomfortably quiet. Eventually, Michael spoke. “So. I guess I know why you didn’t want to go out with me.”

“Sorry. I probably should have told you. But when you first asked, we weren’t dating yet, and I really was busy like I said. And then the next time, we still weren’t dating when I said yes, but by the time we—”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to explain.” He glanced at me, then back to the road. “I’m not gonna lie and say I’m not disappointed. But I won’t make things uncomfortable.”

My shoulders relaxed a little. “Thank you.”

The three-hour drive was actually really relaxing. The warm Florida sun beat down on my head while the wind from the open top kept me nice and cool. Between starting my new position a few months ago, meeting Brody, and then worrying about the reappearance of his long-lost ex, I had been really stressed lately. “I’ve never been in a convertible. I love it. Did you rent this car?”

“No. I actually have a home down here. In Miami. I keep a car at the house.”

“I didn’t realize that. Is it far from the hotel?”

“Twenty minutes with traffic.”

“Oh. I can take a cab from there, so you don’t have to go out of your way.”

“I don’t mind. But you’re welcome to stay at my place instead of the hotel.”

My eyes flashed to him.

“Relax. I have a guesthouse. You’re welcome to stay there. We don’t even have to be in the same building.”

“Thank you for the offer. But I’ll just stay at the hotel.”

Michael shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. He was so easygoing. Staying in his guesthouse probably shouldn’t have been an issue. Yet somehow it felt wrong. The hotel was definitely a better idea.

Traffic slowed to a crawl once we hit the Miami strip, and my phone buzzed in my bag. I dug it out and read the text from Brody.

Brody: Sitting on plane. Delayed. What are you doing?

I decided to screw with him a bit.

Delilah: Having margaritas poolside and working on my tan. Good thing I tossed a bathing suit in my bag.

Brody: With Langley?

Delilah: Who else would I be with?

Brody: You’re fucking with me, right?

Delilah: Guess you’ll find out when you see my tan marks.

Brody: Your ass is going to have my hand marks when I see you.

Delilah: Hmm
 . . . 
I might like that.

Brody: Are you fucking with me?

Delilah: About the drinks and pool? Yes. The handmarks
 . . . 

Brody: I’m getting wood on the plane next to a 325-pound linebacker.

Delilah: LOL

Brody: Just announced we’re finally cleared for takeoff. Gotta power off. Wish you were coming home with me. Even after three days with you, I miss you as soon as I leave.

My heart swelled a little in my chest. The man quite literally charmed the pants off me, without even trying.
I was crazy about him and finally learning to sit back, relax, and enjoy it.

Delilah: Me too.

***

It was after midnight when my phone buzzed again. I had just fallen asleep. Brody’s name flashed at me on the screen. I answered, smiling, grogginess in my voice. “Hey.”

“I woke you?”

“It’s okay. I must have just fallen asleep.”

“I shouldn’t have called so late. Sorry. I’ll call you in the morning.”

The tone of his voice made me sit up. I reached over and turned on the light. “What’s the matter?”

“I picked up my messages when we landed. Broadhollow Manor called. They took Marlene in an ambulance to the hospital.”

“What happened?”

“They’re not sure. She was a little out of it during the day. Then she took a nap, which isn’t like her, and never woke back up. Her vitals started slipping, so they called an ambulance.”

“Oh God. I’m sorry. Are you heading there now?”

“Yeah. They took her to St. Luke’s. I’m in a cab on my way.”

Brody barked orders at the cabby for the next five minutes, telling him not to take certain streets. The stress level in his voice rose as he got closer. “I’m gonna jump out and walk the last few blocks. Traffic is at a standstill on Eighth Avenue. At fucking midnight.” He pulled the phone away from his mouth and spoke to the driver. “Pull over, let me out here.” I heard the car door shut and muffled words as he exited the cab.

“I’ll get a flight first thing in the morning.”

“You have interviews to do. Your dipshit boss is already up your ass because of me. Stay. I don’t even know what’s going on yet.”

“But…”

“Get some sleep. I’ll text you when I know more.”

“Please do.”

“Yeah. All right. I’m gonna run. The hospital is only another block away, and I probably should call Willow and let her know what’s going on.”

I stayed up for a few hours hoping to hear from Brody again, but he still hadn’t texted before I fell asleep. I hated that I was so far away. I wanted to be there for him. Just sit by his side if he was going to hear bad news, to bring him comfort. And maybe, just maybe, there was a selfish part of me that wanted to make sure no one else was sitting in my seat offering him that comfort.

Willow

The emergency rooms you see on television are a crock of shit. Doctors and nurses running down the hall with gurneys, one kneeling and performing CPR on a patient as others maneuver toward some big double doors that open on their own
—yeah, right.

I looked around the depressing gray room, almost every seat taken as people waited. And waited. Three women dressed in blue uniforms sat behind thick plated-glass windows, chatting away and drinking coffee. Two security guards stood at the entrance door. It felt more like a prison waiting room than a hospital.

Two hours had passed with no updates. I walked to the reception window and waited, twisting my necklace nervously. The women continued to ignore me until one eventually looked up at me, annoyed.

“Can I help you?”

“My grandmother was brought in a few hours ago.”

“Did we call her name?”

“No.”

“We’ll call her name when the doctor is done examining her and give you a status update.”

The woman’s eyes stared above me, a non-verbal
Next.

I went back to my seat and finished picking the nail polish off my nails, then went to the ladies’ room. I had been holding it in, not wanting to miss being called, but Mother Nature had grown impatient.

When I came back, Brody was at the reception counter speaking to the nurse. I wasn’t surprised he’d shown up. The nursing home had told me they’d left him a message. Yet seeing him standing there still stopped me in my tracks for a second. Even though he’d made it clear he wanted nothing to do with me, I walked to the window and joined him. He nodded at me in acknowledgment and continued his conversation with the same miserable nurse who had just turned me away. Except now, Miss Miserable was
smiling
. And she apparently
could
get up from her chair.

“Let me go back and check for you. The system still shows her in triage, but it’s been a few hours. I’m sure they can give me an update. Just give me a minute.”

Brody turned to me while we waited. “You just get here?”

“No. I was in the ladies’ room. I came in the ambulance with her about two hours ago.”

He nodded. “I just tried to call you. What did they find out so far?”

“I have no idea. They took her in and haven’t given me an update yet.”

The nurse came back to the glass a few minutes later. She pointed to the right. “I’ll buzz you in. Why don’t you come back?”

I followed Brody, even though I hadn’t been invited. The nurse led us to an empty examining room and told us to take a seat. A few minutes later, a doctor came in. He peeled off one glove and extended his hand to Brody first. “I’m Dr. Simon. You’re Ms. Garner’s grandson?”

“I’m her legal guardian. Willow is her granddaughter.” The doctor shook my hand. Until that moment, I had no idea Brody was her legal guardian.

“Why don’t we take a seat?”

I didn’t like the sound of things so far. We both sat, my hands wringing as the doctor spoke.

“Mrs. Garner has suffered a stroke. There are many different causes of strokes. We believe hers was a brain hemorrhage produced by an artery in the brain bursting.”

“Oh my God.” My hands flew to my mouth.

“Is she okay? Can it be treated? Fixed?” Brody asked.

“She’s having a CAT scan done now. That will tell us the location of the bleeding and the level of swelling. We’ll know more after we pinpoint the extent of the damage and the size of the hematoma I suspect has formed. Right now, we’re still working on stabilizing her blood pressure and breathing. We had to put her on a ventilator to help her breathe, and we’re treating her with medicine in her IV to try to regulate her pressure.”

“Then what? You perform surgery?”

The doctor looked at Brody, then at me, then back to Brody. “Mrs. Garner is very weak right now. I’m not ruling out anything. We will do everything we can to treat her. But right now, in the condition she’s in, she wouldn’t withstand cranial surgery.”

If the gravity of the doctor’s words hadn’t told me how serious it was, I knew things were dire from Brody’s actions. He reached over and covered my hands with his.

“She should be back from the CAT scan in a few minutes if you’d like to see her. Results should come back pretty quickly after that.”

“We’d like to see her. Thank you.”

The doctor stood. “I’m sorry I don’t have better news. Why don’t you stay in here, and I’ll have a nurse grab you when she’s back?”

The tiny room felt smaller with one less body. Brody ran his hands through his hair. “You okay?”

“I think so.” My delivery was less than convincing. It was hard to sound believable when you didn’t even believe your own words.

Two fingers slipped under my chin and tilted my head up. “Let’s not think the worst. We’re going to think positive. That’s what Marlene would be doing.”

***

I stared out the hospital window, watching the sun slowly rise on the horizon. So simple. So magnificent. Yet I’d spent years not even noticing it or paying any attention. Even in my darkest hours, I’d counted on the sun rising the next morning. Not unlike the two people sleeping in the room.

After a few minutes, I peeled my eyes away from the beauty outside and looked over at the rest of my world. The only things I’d ever known for sure in my life were that the sun would shine again and that these two would be there for me. Now nothing was certain except for that sunrise.

Grams was sleeping, a dozen tubes connected to her, the sound of the ventilator sucking the air out of her lungs and hissing new life in joined by the rhythmic beeping of her monitor. She’d made it through the night, which was more than the doctor initially thought would happen. Now it was a matter of time until they could repeat the CAT scan and see if the bleeding had stopped.

My watery eyes fell on the man sleeping next to my grandmother. Brody had finally dozed off an hour or so ago, sitting up in a padded chair. I told him he could go, head home and get some rest for at least a few hours, and I would stay. But he never even considered it. Grams had always been like family to him. After his mom died of cancer when he was only seven, Grams had filled the matriarchal void in his life. She was always there for him. And he, in turn, had been the only reliable person in her life after Pop Pop had died.

Women had always loved Brody. With his undeniable good looks, physique of the professional athlete that he is and stature as one of America’s most admired quarterbacks, there wasn’t much not to like. Add a heaping dose of confidence and the ability to make a woman feel like she was the only person in the room, and it was no wonder women literally chased after him. But the thing that makes him a man who was impossible to get over is exactly who he was right now. The most devoted person I’ve ever known. When the man loves, he loves hard, nothing stood in his way.

God, I would have given anything to have my old life back again. To turn back time so I could appreciate everything I had, rather than throw it all away.
I
deserved to be the one sitting in that bed, not Grams.

I spent the next hour mindlessly fiddling with my necklace, watching the two people I cared about most in the world, and falling in love with them all over again. When Brody’s eyes fluttered open and found me sitting across the room, our gazes locked for a long moment. I saw the moment he gave in. He might hate me down deep, but he was letting go of his anger. For now at least.