Part 23 (2/2)
”I suppose it is, yes.” She drew a shaky breath, she squared her shoulders.”Well, now that we're back to where we were before you found Jim, how do wehandle telling him that we're divorced?”
h.e.l.l, he'd forgotten that. ”We're scheduled to see McCurry next week, right?The doc said I'll be out of here in a day or two. I'll stay at my place untilwe go to Chicago, and you can tell Jim I'm still in the hospital.”
She gnawed her lip and considered. ”I hate lying to him.”
”Isn't that what we've been doing all along, lying to him?”
Her smile was a little sad around the edges. ”Yes, I suppose we have,” sheconceded as she got to her feet and slung her purse over her shoulder. Herface seemed paler now, the bruises darker, but her eyes were very calm.
”You know, it's a funny thing, Grady. Every time you've told me you loved me,you looked me straight in the eyes. Now, when you tell me you don't, you lookeverywhere but straight at me. It makes me wonder why.”
He dug deep and told himself it was for her. Even as he forced himself tolock his gaze on hers, pain was ripping into his gut. ”I don't love you,Ria .”
She nodded slowly, her expression perfectly composed, an indomitable womanwho had more character packed into that small body than he would ever have.
”Jimmy's waiting,” she said with only the slightest hitch in her voice. ”I'llgive him your love.” She didn't wait for a reply, but instead turned on herheel and rushed out.
He lay frozen, staring at the empty doorway until his eyes burned. And thenhe closed them tight and buried his face in the pillow.
”It smells like a frigging saloon in here.”
Sprawled half-naked and unshaven on the couch with the bottle of cheaptequila he was diligently emptying, sloppy swig by swig, Grady opened one eyeand glared at his big brother. ”Who asked you?”
Kale walked to the window and jerked back the curtain. ”When was the lasttime you had a bath?”
Grady winced at the flood of suns.h.i.+ne and closed his eye again. ”Go away.”
Instead, Kale slid open the window and filled his lungs before exhaling in adisgusted rush. ”Mom would kick your b.u.t.t if she saw you now.”
”She can try.”
”Tough talk from a guy who looks to be one step from a shroud.” Kale pickedup the bottle of antibiotic tablets on the table and grimaced. ”Still full,you stupid idiot.”
”So?”
”So you could lose that hand if the infection turns to gangrene.”
Because he wasn't as dumb as everyone thought, Grady slitted his eyes before opening them again. The glare from the d.a.m.n suns.h.i.+ne seared his retinasbig-time.
”What the h.e.l.l?” he muttered, holding up the hand encased in pristine plasterall the way to his elbow. ”I've got another one.”
”Yeah, what you ain't got is good sense, Little Brother.”
”Go to h.e.l.l.” Because he didn't have anything better to do, he took a long,satisfying pull at the bottle, belched a couple of times and glared at the bigman with the hot eyes. ”How'd you get in here, anyway?”
”Picked the lock.”
”Call a cop,” he muttered.
”You've had five of them coming around for days, banging on your door. Six, counting Tom Delaney.”
”Good man, Tom. Even if he did go private.”
Kale grabbed the wastebasket by the desk and carried it with him to the couch. Gla.s.s clinked against gla.s.s as he tossed in empties. ”He said to tellyou he's cutting his fee in half on account of catching Old Whiskerface.”
Grady reared up, then yelled at the hammer blow inside his head. ”That suckerbelonged to Jimmy, d.a.m.n it!”
”Jimmy was with him when he caught it. They took a vote and decided to letWhiskers go. Seems Jimmy wanted you to be with him when he caught the bigone.”
Grady bit off an obscenity before carefully lowering his head. ”Guess I blewthat, too.”
”Aren't you beat up enough without hammering yourself for not being perfect?”
”Not even close,” he muttered, shutting his eyes.
Jimmy glanced up from the ball he was about to whack, his head tilted to oneside and a hopeful look on his face. ”Is that Dad's truck?”
Dad. It was the first time Jimmy had used that word.
Mason andRia exchanged looks. Grady had been out of the hospital for fourdays now. He called Jimmy every day, and every day he pretended the doctorswouldn't let him come home. Neither Mason nor Sarah liked the plan she andGrady had come up with, but they'd agreed she had no option.
They'd also had a few choice words to say about their second son'smule-headed thinking. ”Sounds more like that fancy German job of your uncleKale's, tiger,” Mason said in his gruff way.
”Your dad's still in the hospital, remember?”Ria said, hating to lie, yethating the alternative more.
In three days they were to see Dr. McCurry. She had a feeling he would advisethem to tell Jimmy the truth. After that, she and Jimmy would move back to herplace and start making a life without Grady.
”Looks like another wild-and-woolly croquet tournament,” Kale said as hestepped through the gate.
”Hi, Uncle Kale. Wanna play?”
”I don't know, Jimbo. I hear you're pretty unbeatable.”
Jimmy beamed. ”That's 'cause I'm Champion of the World. Dad said.”
Kale gave a low whistle. ”If your dad said it, it's bound to be true.”
”Your turn, champ,” she said with a smile.
”Watch this, Uncle Kale,” he said with a c.o.c.ky grin. The resilience of youth,she thought. Less than two weeks ago he was sullen, withdrawn andantagonistic. He still had his moments, but each day was better than the onebefore it.
”I'm watching, sport,” Kale said, fixing his gaze obediently on the ball.
”You, too, Grandpa,” Jimmy ordered before hunkering down. He took his time,then rested his sneaker on his own ball, and gave it a whack, sending her ball flying.
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