Ignite On Contact (Brotherhood by Fire #2) -Jaci Burton Page 0,95

again. I’ve worked hard for so long to make it back from that one. No steps backward.”

“Eating less fried foods might help keep your cholesterol down,” Felice said, coming around to the other side of the bed to squeeze his hand.

“And you’ll be the one to keep me on that new diet, won’t you, my love?”

Felice leaned over and gave him a short kiss, then pressed her hand to his cheek. “You know I will.”

Carmen could hardly hold back the tears. Between her and Felice, she knew they could get her grandfather healthy again.

The door opened, and Rafe walked in. “There’s my buddy.”

Her grandfather smiled. “Hey, Rafe.”

“Just lying around like you’ve got nothing better to do, I see.”

“Well, you know, I like the attention.”

Rafe cracked a smile. “Who doesn’t?” He handed the cup of coffee to Carmen.

“Thanks,” she said.

“So? How you feeling?” Rafe asked.

“Like a house fell on me. Mainly because it’s past my bedtime and no one will let me sleep.”

Rafe nodded. “Yeah, hospitals will do that to you. Those nurses are so mean.”

Carmen frowned. “Hey.”

Rafe nudged her with his shoulder. “I didn’t say you were mean. Just those other nurses.”

One of those other nurses just happened to come in. “We have the transfer papers for your grandfather, Carmen, so they’ll be in shortly to take him up to his room.”

“Thanks, Steph.”

It took another hour to get her grandfather moved and settled into his room, then hooked up to all the monitors and have his vitals taken. By then, Carmen could tell he’d had enough. She’d already sent home an exhausted Felice, who promised she’d be back first thing in the morning.

Once she was sure her grandfather was settled and asleep, she and Rafe left for the night, with explicit instructions to the night nurse to notify her if there were any changes.

Then they climbed into Rafe’s truck. She barely even noticed the streetlights as he drove. All she could think of was her grandfather’s face in the ER, how vulnerable he had looked, and how she’d been on the beach, out of touch, when he’d needed her the most.

She hadn’t even answered her phone when it had buzzed. She’d been so into her own feelings, her own needs, she’d ignored the most important phone call of her life.

“I should have been there,” she said.

“What?”

“He had a stroke, and I wasn’t there to take care of him.”

“He wasn’t even home, Carmen. He was at Felice’s house.”

“But if I had been available, I could have seen to him right away. I could have done something. Maybe they could have both been at the house.”

He made the turn onto the highway. “You’re not even making sense, babe.”

She tucked her hair back behind her ears, feeling as if she was doing this all wrong, as if she had her priorities upside down. She’d been there for her grandfather since his stroke, had helped him get stronger. Lately, she hadn’t been there for him because she’d been spending all her time fooling around with Rafe, and now this had happened.

She’d dropped the ball, big-time, and it had cost the one person who loved her without reservation.

She pressed her hand against her stomach, hardly able to breathe as the impact of it all hit her squarely in the center of her being.

“It doesn’t make sense.”

“What doesn’t?” he asked.

“You and me. I can’t do this. I can’t be with you and take care of my grandfather at the same time, Rafe. I can’t spread myself that thin. I have a job that demands so much of my time, and when I’m not doing that, I have to focus on his health. Everything was fine before.”

He exited the highway and pulled over onto a side road, put the truck in park and turned to face her. “Before what? Before you and me?”

She turned, too. “Yes. He was fine. He was getting healthy, and I was taking care of everything for him. And then I slipped. I started going out with you, and spending time with you, and I . . . I lost my focus.”

“You couldn’t have prevented his stroke tonight, Carmen. You’re a nurse. You know that.” He reached for her, but she recoiled, pushing herself against the door of the truck.

“I don’t know that. How do I know that, when I haven’t even been paying attention? Felice knows. She’s been paying attention to his diet and his exercise and everything about him. Me? I have no clue, because I’ve been giving all my attention