But first, he had to take care of his mom. As much as his heart and soul were screaming for Tess at that moment, that came first. He put up the water to boil, then called his mother’s doctor.
Tess woke up in darkness. Her insistent bladder wouldn’t let her stay asleep. She lumbered out of bed, used the restroom, then got right back into bed. The message light on her cell phone blinked at her. She turned it over, glanced at the clock—2:32 in the morning—then burrowed into her pillows and closed her eyes. Probably one of her brothers checking on her; the three of them had hovered since learning she was pregnant. They could wait until morning. She quickly fell back to sleep.
When she opened her eyes again, it was because Bubbles had hopped onto her bed to nudge her as she snuggled. Tess smiled, affectionately stroking her dog’s soft white fur as she stretched her stiff limbs and yawned. A glance at the windows showed a sunny day outside; early spring had finally arrived. The buds on the trees were an almost neon yellow-green, so bright against the blue of the sky.
Bubbles yipped and nudged her again.
“Potty time, miss?” Tess singsonged. “You gotta go?”
Bubbles barked.
“Yeah, me too. I hear you.” She glanced at the clock. It was just past eight. She’d be working from home today, so it was all right that she’d slept so late. She took herself and Bubbles through their morning routine, then went back up to her room to get her phone and check her messages. Sitting on her bed, she saw two voice mails had come in the night before. She’d fallen asleep early, around nine, so she’d missed them both. The first one was from Lisette, inviting her over for dinner on Saturday. The second one was from Logan. She felt her blood run cold as soon as he started talking. He sounded . . . wrong.
“Hi Tess, it’s me. Um . . . I’ve been . . . uh . . . shit. Shit. I don’t know what to say. There’s so much. I just . . . Well, I’ll say the rest later, but for right now, I knew you’d want to know that my mom’s in the hospital. Went in a few hours ago. She has a high fever, she’s, um . . . It’s not good. I don’t know . . .” He paused for a long moment, long enough for Tess’s heart to stutter in her chest. His voice was raw as he said, “I wish you were here with me. I wish I could just hold you. I’m scared. I’m sad. I’m upset. And I miss you like hell.”
Tess gasped and tears sprung to her eyes.
“I just needed to hear your voice. But I guess you’re not taking my calls. I don’t blame you. I was an asshole the last time we talked, and I’m really sorry for that. But . . . man, you know what, that painting is amazing. My mom loves it. That was an incredible gift. Thank you for sending her that. Um . . .” He cleared his throat, but his voice was still gravelly as he went on. “So, yeah. She’s not good. Neither one of us are, really. I, uh . . . I need you, Tess. I want you in my life. Please don’t disappear. I’m sorry for being such a jackass. Call me soon, let’s talk this out, okay? Okay. Hope you’re feeling good. Bye.”
Sniffing back her tears, Tess jumped off the bed and ran to her bathroom. She had to shower, and she had to pack. She had to get to Logan as fast as she could.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Logan stood in the cafeteria of the hospital, choking down one of the worst chocolate chip cookies he’d ever had. He hated this place. The antiseptic smell, the fluorescent lights, the air of despondency that seemed to pervade every corridor . . . He hated hospitals in general. Nothing good ever happened here.
His mom’s fever hadn’t lowered yet. The doctor said it was typical, but they hadn’t found the exact cause yet. Her white blood cell count was high, she was on antibiotics . . . It was a waiting game. At least she hadn’t had a seizure, and wasn’t in pain or out of it. She was woozy, but clear of mind.
He’d taken her to the hospital the night before, gotten her admitted, and stayed with her for a few hours before they asked him to leave for the night. He’d gone home and called Tess, to no avail. Clearly, his attempts at pushing her away had finally stuck. Miserable about that, he’d barely slept, then gone back to the hospital first thing in the morning and stayed with his mom all day, watching those cooking shows she liked so much. Truth was, he liked them too.