She brushes it off. “Of course not.” Perking up, she holds up a wrinkled finger at me and reaches for her pocketbook. “I want to give you money for my present since I can’t go out shopping on my own.”
“Mable, you don’t have to—”
“Oh, hush, Darlene.” My lips part as a crack splinters a little further down my heart. Darlene. Danny’s mom—her daughter. She passes me a twenty-dollar bill with a big smile on her face, unaware of what she even said. “I want the birthday boy to have everything he wants. He loves G.I Joe still, right?”
Mouth dry, I force a nod. “Right.” Voice cracking, I clear it and accept the money. Danny used to have a huge G.I Joe collection growing up. Mable always spoiled him with a new one any chance she got. I’ll give the money to Glenda to sneak back in her purse later. “I’ll go get you some more tea, okay?”
She waves me off and busies herself with tidying the table of her crossword puzzles. A stack of romance novels sits by the window seat, some I recognize from what I’ve given her, others that the nurses may have gifted her.
When I take her cup and walk out of the room, I find Glenda speaking with another patient’s visiting family. She stands when she sees me and knows by the look on my defeated face that Mable is slipping again. I just nod once and go to get her tea refilled.
Glenda and Mable are chatting when I return to her room, passing her the tea that’s lukewarm because I’m afraid she’ll spill it on herself if she doesn’t recognize me.
“Thank you, dear.”
I press a kiss to her cheek. “I need to get going so Ainsley isn’t bugging Jenna for too long. I’ll come see you again soon, okay?”
Her smile gives me hope as Glenda waves at me, knowing that I can find my way out. I slip her the money and gesture toward Mable’s purse. We’ve been here before. She knows the drill by now.
As soon as I close my car door, I let a single tear slip down my cheek. Then I brush it away, take a deep breath, and drive to Ainsley.
Ainsley’s head bobs beside me on the couch, causing me to hide a smile. When her cheek meets my thigh, I brush strands of her hair behind her ear like Mom used to do with me.
Her forehead is warm, confirming what her teacher warned me about earlier in the day when she found me at lunch to say Ainsley wasn’t feeling well. When I saw her during my free period, she’d been flushed. I brought her home an hour early and we’ve been tucked in on the couch watching movies ever since.
I don’t want to wake her when she drifts off to sleep on my leg. Instead, I pull her blanket around her and drape an arm over her body to tuck her closer to me. It’s sometime later when I feel something heavy get placed on my lap, and my eyes flutter open.
East’s face glows in the flickering light of the television. “Didn’t mean to wake you up.”
I shake my head and try not rouse the little girl who’s settled tight against me. “What time is it?” I have no idea how long we’ve been asleep, but it’s pitch-black out based on the front windows.
“Twelve-thirty.”
Blinking until my eyes adjust, I glance down at Ainsley to make sure she’s okay. “She has a fever. You know she’s sick when she drinks water and soup without a fight.”
He chuckles, knowing the breakdown she had once over me telling her she had to drink more water instead of stealing his ginger ale from the refrigerator. It wasn’t just a few tears and a foot stomp, but full blown, snotty tears. And still, no words. Part of me wished she’d scream at me for wanting to hydrate her, but nothing.
“Want me to take her upstairs?” His question surprises me, but I find myself shaking my head.
“I think we’ll sleep here.”
He nods once, turning to head toward the stairs like he’s heading for bed. “East?” Pressing his lips together, he raises his brows in wait. “I think there may be a movie on here that isn’t Disney princess related.”
Half his lips quirk up. The truth is, I know this man would watch anything. For Ainsley. Tattoos, muscles, and all, he sits and watches whatever she chooses whether it’s