Healing Hearts (New Hope Falls #6) - Kimberly Rae Jordan Page 0,113

smile, his hands going up to grip over Ryker’s as he pulled the cup forward for another sip.

“Thank you, Ryker,” Sophia said, blinking back tears that she knew he’d understand.

“You’re very welcome. I thought this might be a good way to get some nutrition into him.”

“And thank your mom too,” she added.

It was hard not to compare his mother’s help for her and Bryson to her own mom's. Sophia knew it wasn’t fair to do that since Ryker’s mom had medical experience, and Ryker could advise her on what he wanted her to make for Bryson. Also, her family didn’t have much experience with people being in the hospital. From what her parents had said, aside from Chloe’s regular admissions to have her babies, no one except Nana had ever been in the hospital.

From what Nana had said about her own hospital stay after breaking her hip, Sophia’s dad had visited her every day and her mom every couple of days. However, they hadn’t hung around long. Sophia figured that was just who they were, and given that they weren’t that close to Bryson, it made some sort of sense. Maybe.

Or maybe she was just trying to make excuses for them. Trying to justify why they’d never been that invested in her life, and now by default, Bryson’s.

“You okay?” Ryker asked.

Sophia looked up, not even having realized she’d dropped her gaze from him and Bryson to where her hand rested on Bryson’s leg. She gave him a smile that would hopefully reassure him since she didn’t feel like discussing her family right then. If ever.

“Yes. I’m just happy that he’s enjoying something.”

Ryker gave her a look that told her that he wasn’t completely buying that response, but he didn’t say anything about it. “I found a recipe online, then gave it to Mom to make with a couple of tweaks.”

“I might need to get a copy of that recipe because I have a feeling that even once we’re home, he’s still going to be wanting these in addition to his regular bananas and peanut butter.”

“I’m more than happy to give it to you.” Ryker set the smoothie cup on the wheeled table that sat across the end of Bryson’s bed. “Let me know when you want more, buddy, okay?”

“Okay.”

Bryson’s reply was still weaker than normal, but Sophia knew she couldn’t focus on that. In comparison to where he’d been a week ago, his current state was a considerable improvement. That was what she needed to focus on. Small steps forward were still steps in the right direction, even if they weren’t great strides.

When the nurse came in a few minutes later, she greeted Ryker with a friendly smile before turning her attention to Bryson and the monitors.

As she listened to Ryker interact with the nurse and Bryson, Sophia couldn’t help but think once again that any patient of his would be so very fortunate. His caring and loving nature shone through even in his conversations with the staff. It was probably why so many still remembered him even though it had been a while since he’d last been there.

Sophia understood that completely because she was quite sure that in years to come, both she and Bryson would remember Ryker and how caring he’d been to them.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Ryker settled back in his chair at the table, watching as the nurse spoke with Sophia and Bryson. Though he’d interacted with the staff, he knew it wasn’t his place to participate in any medical discussions. It seemed that she’d been doing just fine without his help over the past few days, so he wasn’t going to barge in now.

If she asked him for his advice on something or needed clarification about anything she was told, he’d definitely help her out. But otherwise, he needed to remember that he was there strictly as a friend…even if he might want to be more.

The nurse wanted Bryson to move around more, and though he was sure Sophia thought he was still too weak, Ryker knew it was necessary. The long road to recovery needed to be pushed forward with small steps. Physical movement being one of them. Eating and drinking being another.

Seeing Bryson enjoy the smoothie had been very gratifying since Sophia had been so worried about his intake. If that was something he’d consume willingly, Ryker wasn’t going to tell him that there was more than just bananas and peanut butter in it. Things like whole milk and some peanut butter flavored protein powder had